Is Your Temple Fit For A King? (Part 2)
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The following is "Part 2" of "Is Your Temple Fit For A King?" To read "Part 1", click here.
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."~ 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ~
So we've all been convicted, challenged and motivated to start taking better care of ourselves physically... at least I hope we have. But the question that naturally arises when one looks at the verse above is: "Was Paul just concerned about our physical temples?" I believe the answer is no. As we look through scripture, it becomes very obvious that the temples seen throughout history had one thing in common - they were holy places, held in reverence to worship a Holy God. How interesting that Paul would compare our bodies to a temple of this magnitude.
A quick word study and one finds out that the word "Holy" can be defined as being "set apart". The physical temples in the Bible were set apart as special places. Places that were to be respected, honored and undefiled. So, what does that mean in our lives; not only on a physical level but spiritually? I believe that it means the same thing it always has. When we give our lives to Christ, when we become a Christian, we recognize the fact that we have been bought with a price and that the Holy Spirit now takes up residence within us. Thus, we become a temple containing God Himself. What was once reserved for a physical building is now spread out to anyone who would believe. A life that was once common has now become a holy place set apart to honor God.
So is your temple a holy place? Do the things that take place within your temple honor God? Do your thoughts, words, and actions bring glory or do they defile this holy place? Maybe our temples need to be cleaned. Maybe there are things that we have allowed inside that would have never been allowed in the temples of old. Confused? Let me put it this way:
A few weeks ago I did a sermon on holiness that began by me bringing a toilet up on the platform in the sanctuary of our church. Needless to say, as that toilet was being put into position the looks I began to receive from some of those in the church were not very favorable (and when I actually sat down on it they went from unfavorable to downright disgust). But that is okay. As I said on that day, we should get upset when something unclean is placed in a holy setting. However, what is sad is that we often fail to remember that we are now the Holy Temples of God. While we can get so mad about toilets in the sanctuary, we seem to be okay with gossip, pornography, lust, envy, etc... within God's new dwelling. Sin in our life should make us angry because we realize that the temple, God's temple, has been defiled. When sin is discovered we should go to work immediately getting it removed (a process called sanctification... but that will have to be another post).
So, is your temple fit for a King? Are you in the process of removing the unholy things that are there? It is definitely a continual process; but be encouraged to know that God has promised to help us clean! I hope you will continue to give God your Heart / Soul / Mind / Strength - in doing so, you are setting your temple apart... or in other words, becoming holy.
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."~ 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ~
So we've all been convicted, challenged and motivated to start taking better care of ourselves physically... at least I hope we have. But the question that naturally arises when one looks at the verse above is: "Was Paul just concerned about our physical temples?" I believe the answer is no. As we look through scripture, it becomes very obvious that the temples seen throughout history had one thing in common - they were holy places, held in reverence to worship a Holy God. How interesting that Paul would compare our bodies to a temple of this magnitude.
A quick word study and one finds out that the word "Holy" can be defined as being "set apart". The physical temples in the Bible were set apart as special places. Places that were to be respected, honored and undefiled. So, what does that mean in our lives; not only on a physical level but spiritually? I believe that it means the same thing it always has. When we give our lives to Christ, when we become a Christian, we recognize the fact that we have been bought with a price and that the Holy Spirit now takes up residence within us. Thus, we become a temple containing God Himself. What was once reserved for a physical building is now spread out to anyone who would believe. A life that was once common has now become a holy place set apart to honor God.
So is your temple a holy place? Do the things that take place within your temple honor God? Do your thoughts, words, and actions bring glory or do they defile this holy place? Maybe our temples need to be cleaned. Maybe there are things that we have allowed inside that would have never been allowed in the temples of old. Confused? Let me put it this way:
A few weeks ago I did a sermon on holiness that began by me bringing a toilet up on the platform in the sanctuary of our church. Needless to say, as that toilet was being put into position the looks I began to receive from some of those in the church were not very favorable (and when I actually sat down on it they went from unfavorable to downright disgust). But that is okay. As I said on that day, we should get upset when something unclean is placed in a holy setting. However, what is sad is that we often fail to remember that we are now the Holy Temples of God. While we can get so mad about toilets in the sanctuary, we seem to be okay with gossip, pornography, lust, envy, etc... within God's new dwelling. Sin in our life should make us angry because we realize that the temple, God's temple, has been defiled. When sin is discovered we should go to work immediately getting it removed (a process called sanctification... but that will have to be another post).
So, is your temple fit for a King? Are you in the process of removing the unholy things that are there? It is definitely a continual process; but be encouraged to know that God has promised to help us clean! I hope you will continue to give God your Heart / Soul / Mind / Strength - in doing so, you are setting your temple apart... or in other words, becoming holy.
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