THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which you have received from God?” (1 Cor. 6:19). Do you believe that every child of God is the dwelling place of God’s Spirit? I am afraid that there are many even now who “do not know” that their body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Yet it is one of the most important and encouraging doctrines in the Bible. It relates to every aspect of our relationship with God. It touches how we relate to God, how we relate to others, and how we view ourselves.
For example, because I am the temple of the Holy Spirit, I am one with God and my worship and service to Him flows from that oneness. I am not worshipping out of fear, but out of love and dedication to God. Because I am the temple of the Holy Spirit, I allow the Spirit to reach out to others through me. I become a vessel of Christ’s love, living in service to the poor, those in need, and my brothers and sisters in the Lord. And because I am the temple of the Holy Spirit, I can see myself as God sees me. I can understand how much worth I have because of His love for me.
The fact that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit speaks of the sufficiency and power of Christ’s blood. It was the blood of Jesus that cleansed our hearts and took away our sins to the point that we are now a fit habitation for God. There is no way that God could dwell in an unclean vessel. Where sin is, God is not. God does not dwell in “temples made with hands,” nor does He dwell in “impure temples.” We are clean because of Christ and God is at home within us. What power there is in the blood of Christ that it could accomplish such purification for sinners such as we are!
It speaks of the fact that we are one with God. Just before Paul made the amazing statement that as believers, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, he wrote, “For he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” That, in itself, reveals just what the presence of the Holy Spirit within us is all about. We are one with God. We live in Him and He lives in us. This is the most important, the most significant and the most life-altering relationship there is. We are speaking of eternity when we speak of our abiding in God and His abiding in us.
And being the temple of the Holy Spirit is a wonderful safeguard against temptation. When Paul wrote these words in the Corinthian letter, he was in the middle of warning them against committing sexual sin. We will seek to live pure and holy lives when we remember that God dwells within us. He has purified the vessel—our hearts and bodies—so that He may dwell in us with all of His holiness and perfect splendor. How could we “go on sinning” on purpose if we believe that (Romans 6:1-4)? Yes, this doctrine carries tremendous practical significance.
Dewayne Dunaway
