Have you ever truly reflected on the fact that…
What a privilege to know and appreciate as we live day by day on this earth!
Why do I say that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit? Check out these powerful words that St. Paul shares with us~
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? –1 Corinthians 3:16 (ESV)
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. –1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)
And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. –2 Corinthians 6:16 (NLT)
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The temple in the Old Testament represented a physical building that…
…contained God’s presence,
…was a place of worship,
…and was a place of sacrifice.
God in those days was viewed as a distant God, and only the priest was thought to have access to God in the temple. The inner curtain in the temple separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, where only the High Priest could go once a year on the Day of Atonement to offer sacrifices for people’s sins.
Jesus’ death on the cross for you and me forever changed the trajectory that the Old Testament temple represented. We read…
Jesus again gave a loud cry and breathed his last. Then the curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split apart. –Matthew 27:50-51 (GNT)
The torn curtain at Jesus’ death signifies He has given all believers the capacity to be in God’s presence! The temple was transformed because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. WE all have direct access to the temple, to God’s presence, not just near to us, but IN us, because of the Holy Spirit.
Photo courtesy of Leonard J Matthews under Creative Commons License (CC BY-ND 2.0)
We are now the living temple!
Our bodies are the physical temple that…
…contains God’s presence,
…is a place of worship,
…and is a place of sacrifice.
How do we know that?
God’s presence:
No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. –1 John 4:12 (NLT)
Do you truly believe that God’s presence is IN you?
Well, it is my dear reader! Let that truth sink into your heart. God is love and we are made in His image. Once we accept Jesus into our hearts, God’s presence dwells in us. This love is the goodness we share with others. Our hearts share God’s love.
A place of worship:
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. –Hebrews 13:15 (NIV)
Do you worship God continually throughout your day?
The simple thought of thanking God for the sunshine, the rain, and the people He puts in your path is a form of worship. Continually seeing God at work orchestrating each event with His perfect timing is worship. Listening to music that inspires your faith journey and offering a prayer for someone who comes into your mind are also forms of worship.
A place of sacrifice:
So then, my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. –Romans 12:1 (GNT)
Do you offer yourself as a true sacrifice to God?
Those struggles that you might face daily, like being in constant pain 24/7 or the thoughts of a tragic event that occurred in your life, do you offer them as a sacrifice to God? Do you face those things with a positive attitude despite the hardship you endure? Offering these things to the Lord, letting Him work through the circumstances, and holding on to Him are ways to be a living sacrifice.
Photo courtesy of UnlockingTheBible under Creative Commons License (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Since our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, of God’s presence, we need to consider how we are treating our physical bodies.
Are we using our bodies to glorify God, or are we doing some things that are abusive to our temple?
Are we eating properly, getting exercise and enough sleep?
Are we keeping free from addictions, whether it be drugs, alcohol, sexual, food or even social media?
Are we keeping our thoughts on how God views us as an encouragement to share His love with others?
Our physical bodies are a gift from God, which we should treat with respect, reverence, and holiness.
May I encourage you this week to reflect on how
Let all you are,
all you do,
and all you think
be a reflection of the temple that you represent as you glorify God with your life.
Be encouraged that God is IN you, to continually worship Him, and offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God~~
Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. –1 Peter 2:5 (GNT)
I am always in awe when I read Matthew 27:50-51 and the veil to the temple being torn in half giving us ALL access to God and the Holy Spirit. Before the death of Christ, only the High Priests could enter the temple of the Lord. It was protected by a veil. NOW, after Christ died for us, that veil was torn in half, and we are ALL allowed access to our Lord!!! Christ died for all of us.
Amen, Helen! What a powerful act of love Jesus did for us all… It truly is an honor for us to have that direct access now. 😇💜 Thank you for reading and sharing… Praying you all stay safe and healthy.