MOBILE TEMPLES
1 Corinthians 3:13-17
What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
In our text, Apostle Paul describes the believer as the temple of the Lord. And in the quoted text above, he asks rhetorically: Don’t you know that your body (i. e. you) is the temple of the Holy Spirit? We all know what a temple is. It is usually a building dedicated to the worship of God. Remember Solomon’s temple? What a beautiful edifice! It comprised of the Holy of holies, the Inner court and the outer court. Inside the Holy of holies, were the Ark of the covenant, the mercy seat and the two cherubim. The Inner court is for general sacrifices while the outer court is for meetings and gatherings.
What does it mean for the believer to be the temple of God? Indeed, God the Father created our bodies, God the son redeemed them, and God the Holy Spirit indwells them. This makes our body the very temple of the Holy Spirit of God. As the Holy Spirit resides in us, we must therefore honour God with our bodies as they are no longer our own but God’s. Now God is usually careful with words. By choosing the word “temple”, rather than house, he conveys the idea that our bodies are the “shrine”, a place of worship; a place of sacrifice and a holy place special and sacred to him. A shrine is different from a house.
Therefore, how we behave, think and speak, and what we put into the temple (through our eyes, ears and mouth) becomes critically important. How we treat the temple of God (our body) is also of interest to him. If God indwells you, it means you are his “landlord” and you can demand your dues. He will pay rents in form of sound health, sound mind, sound home; success in your vocation and so on. But keep the temple habitable and hallow the occupant. It shall be well with you in Jesus Name.
PRAYER: Dear Father, my life is available to you. Please make my body your sanctuary.
