Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.”
When you look at your self in the mirror each day, what do you see? Are you just looking at an image of who you think you are? Are you looking for something specific or that is maybe out of place? Have you ever considered that this image of your body that you are looking in the mirror is much more that what you are observing?
The apostle Paul, upon writing to the church of Corinth, posed a much deeper question. He said, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” Can you imagine how eye-opening this question would have been? Just to even consider that the Holy Spirit would take residence in sinful me is overwhelming.
King Salomon posed a similar question to God as he was constructing His temple, 1 Kings 8:27 “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”
According to Solomon, if God cannot be contained in a man-built temple and we know how extraordinary Solomon’s Temple was, then how can His Holy Spirit reside in man? Although we may not find through human logic how this can actually happen, we are confirmed through God’s Word, that this will and does happen:
2 Corinthians 6:16b “For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
We may have many questions as to how can this be or why would God do this? Bottom line is that by God’s Spirit residing in us, we are able to have an intimate relationship with God Himself. Furthermore, this indwelling of God’s Spirit in the believers unifies the body of Christ, the church, for the purpose that it has been called.
Thanks be to Jesus, that through his sacrifice on the cross, He has made this indwelling possible. Let’s realize this, we now belong to God by having accepted Jesus as our Savior. Jesus paid the price, and we are now his possession. We can now call Jesus, Lord of our lives. When we realize that it’s no longer about me and that it is all about God, we will find new direction in our lives. What caused this? The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the temple that’s called your body!
As you live out each day, by the grace of God, always be reminded that what you say and what you do, is a real reflection of the One who resides in you!
Prayer:
Heavenly Father thank you for sending your Son Jesus to purchase us with this precious blood. Through His sacrifice we have opened our hearts to now have your Holy Spirit indwell us. Give us the wisdom each day to always reflect your love and grace to those around us. Through your Spirit, to strengthen our love for you and unite us, as a church, to fulfill your purpose in this world.
In Christ Jesus, Amen.