The sound of a church door being bolted shut may be music to the ears of the unbeliever, but it is meaningless to the true believers who know God in their hearts. Christians know that Christ comes to dwell in them by way of His Holy Spirit. Paul tells the Corinthians: 1 Corinthians 6:19 (NKJV) "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" And in 2 Tim 1:14 he writes, "That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us." And in Romans 16:3, "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house."

So, it is obvious that the Church is not a building made by human hands but a group of believers that have the common factor: the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. No one can shut the doors of the Church as long as Jesus dwells in His people. His Spirit is greater than any lock.

William Muscella

Waterford