1 Corinthians 6:19 NASB (19) Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
I suppose I’ve read the above scripture many times and kind of skimmed over it and the meaning didn’t really set in. Maybe you have also. Let’s take a few minutes and meditate on these verses.
Just think, the Word says our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. Now, what does that mean? When we became Christians the Holy Spirit came and now dwells in us.
2 Timothy 1:14 NASB (emphasis mine) Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
The Holy Spirit of God now actually lives in us! Wow! That seems impossible doesn’t it? But, it is true! The third head of the godhead now lives in me! And also in you! We have been changed! We are different now that we have Him in us! What an awesome privilege it is that God in His infinite wisdom chose to allow the Holy Spirit to live in us. That simply boggles my mind!
We are not the same as when we walked in the world before we were saved. In fact, the Bible says we “are a new creation.”
2 Corinthians 5:17a NASB (17) Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature;…
What does it mean that our bodies are a “temple” of the Holy Spirit? The word temple means a sacred place. We are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and our bodies are to be holy, acceptable to God. How can my body be holy? I know that when something in the Bible is holy it means that it is set apart for a special use, such as the vessels used in the temple in Old Testament days. So, that must mean we are set apart by God for a special use and part of that is for us to be a temple for the Holy Spirit.
This is serious business! As we live out our Christian lives we must remember who we are in Christ. We must remember that the Holy Spirit lives in us and that we are His holy home. We need to think about the things we do and the places we go. Remember, who is with you at all times.
As I ponder these things, I realize it is vitally important how I act, where I go, and who I spend my time with. I need to evaluate my actions with the fact that the Holy Spirit lives in me. I need to remind myself throughout the day of this fact.
Do you remember from the scriptures how Jesus went into the temple area and found the money changers there and because there was corruption and greed going on He threw over the tables and cleansed the area? He said, “…My house shall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:13 KJV) Likewise the Holy Spirit intercedes for us in prayer according to God’s will. We are the means the Holy Spirit uses to offer up His prayers.
But, what if we don’t live holy lives? We are a temple and when we sin we are as the money changers. We corrupt the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and that is shameful. Do you think God just might discipline us for that?
Do you realize that Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price to purchase our salvation? He gave His life so that we might not have to pay the penalty for our sins. The Bible tells us “the wages of sin is death.”
Romans 6:23 KJV(emphasis mine) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Corinthians 6:20 NASB (emphasis mine) (20) For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
We must keep our bodies undefiled because they are a shrine of the Holy Spirit. When we live holy lives we glorify God. We show Him respect and honor by living the right way.
After meditating on these things I think we need to take an inventory of our lives and see if we live a holy life, or if we follow the things of the world. There is much coming at us all day long that can trip us up. We need to be mindful of who we are in Christ and who lives with us.
- Can we take the Holy Spirit to the bar?
- Can we take Him to the casino?
- Can we take Him out on that date with an unbeliever?
- What about the kind of people we hang out with? Is there coarse language and dirty jokes?
- Do we watch the right kind of movies and television programs?
- Can we go out partying like we did before we were saved?
I believe that when we are faced with a decision about whether we should do something or not we need to ask ourselves: “Would Jesus do this? Does this thing honor Him and will it bring Him glory?”
A few weeks back I wrote an article about doing Tai Chi. As a Christian I determined that I could not do that because I should not participate in a false religion. I could not take Jesus with me to Tai Chi. It would not glorify God. This is just one example of how we need to evaluate what we do and who we spend our time with knowing that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit.
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