1 Timothy 3:15 But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.
Since the church is the house of the living God, it is a matter of life and spirit. Both the Body of Christ and the house of God are organic; both are hinged on the life of God and the Spirit of God. Without the life of God or the Spirit of God, both the house of God and the Body of Christ are gone. All that is left is a human organization, a mere assembling of the called-out congregation. If there is no life or spirit, there is no reality of the Body of Christ. Moreover, if there is no life or spirit, there is no reality of the house of God.