“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”
I Corinthians 3:16-17
God is holy. God is forgiving. God is good. God is merciful. God is love. And it’s only through His power that we are able to emulate any of His characteristics – to be holy, to forgive others, to display God’s goodness through our actions, to show mercy, to love others. These are things God expects us to do, but we’re only able to do them because His Spirit lives within us.
Romans 8:11 says, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
- Who raised Jesus from the dead? God.
- Whose Spirit dwells in us? God’s.
- Who is quickening (making alive) our mortal bodies by the Spirit that dwells in us? God.
I John 4:12-13 say, “No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.”
If you are a child of God then the Spirit of God indwells you, and if the Spirit resides within you, then you are the temple of God. What exactly does that mean for us?
- When God’s Spirit dwells within us, so does His holiness and His power. God’s Spirit empowers us to live righteously and godly in this evil, sin-cursed world.
- We must take care of God’s temple (our bodies) because they no longer belong to us.
I Corinthians 6:19-20 say, “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.”
It’s my body and I can do with it as I please. That is a common declaration among those preparing to murder their unborn baby via an abortion. But as a believer, your body no longer belongs to you. You were bought by the blood of Christ. He saved all of you – not just your soul – which means He bought all of you.
II Corinthians 6:16-18 says, “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
We are not to look like the world. We are to look and act in such a way that our thoughts, attitudes, and actions elevate Christ and exemplify the holiness of God. We are the temple of the living God. God is holy, and we are to be holy.