07/11/2018
We as Christians talk readily about our bodies being a living temple, and we quote certain scripture to make that point, but if our body is our temple then where is our altar, and what is our sacrifice? The temple is where we meet God, the altar is what makes our sacrifice Holy, and the sacrifice itself must be pleasing and received by God. Are you a temple? Do you contain an altar, and what is your sacrifice?
“Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.”
Exodus 29:37 ESV
Seven days... from the beginning, until God rested. The altar is a symbol of creation, and yet is a place where, by death, sacrifices of life are made. I ask you... is the sacrifice the lamb, or is it the blood (life) it contains? The body, or the life? When you sacrifice within your bodily temple what are you sacrificing; a thing or the life it contains?
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV
When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we become new creations... we are razed to the ground, and rebuilt as a totally new creation. We become temples, and by the fact that Jesus is in us, and we in Him, He becomes our altar as well. We are a temple constructed of living stone in which an altar stands ready.
So if our bodies have become a spiritual temple do we offer sacrifices there? The answer is in scripture and the response to that question is “Yes.” Let’s read this answer in verse...
“you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 2:5 ESV
Peter goes into great detail as he discusses Jesus being the “corner” stone and “living stone”, then he goes on to say that we too are like living stones, and goes even further to say that we are built into a temple, are meant to be holy, and to offer sacrifices... through Jesus Christ. So by this we come to understand that Jesus is the altar, and we hear it again in Hebrews. Listen:
“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
Hebrews 13:15-16 ESV
We are a spiritual temple, and we contain an altar which is Jesus, so what do we offer? We offer the same thing that Jesus offered... ourselves. We give our entirety to God through Jesus Christ. We do this in offering the daily things that represent our life, and then our life force itself.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Romans 12:1 ESV
Are your sacrifices mournful, or perhaps prideful, to you? Do you place all of your value on the sacrifices you are making? Let me give you something to consider, and it is this... is your offering important and holy of itself? If your answer is correctly “No”, then at what point was it made acceptable and holy? Here in scripture is the key to that answer...
“You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.' You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?”
Matthew 23:17-19 ESV
This scripture isn’t actually focused on swearing, but is talking about the source of holiness. The final determination is that our offering isn’t holy, but is only made so by the altar. This is true in our spiritual temples, and on our personal altars, as well. Without placing ourselves on the altar of Jesus Christ we will never become acceptable, and ultimately holy.
“So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.”
Matthew 23:20-22 ESV
Are you a new creation? Are you a temple in which God can reside and be with you? Do you visit the altar which is Jesus Christ? Have you sacrificed yourself there? These are the questions for us to consider today, and the answers to them will either make us new, or convict us as we wander lost.
Prayer:
Thank you Holy Father for sending your Son Jesus Christ to redeem us, to make us new creations; to be for us the altar on which we offer ourselves to you, and become Holy. Thank you for allowing us to dwell within your Son, and He within us so that we too mighty have the same relationship with you that He has. Help me Father to become righteous as I seek and follow Jesus. Help me, in this way, to become acceptable to you, and my life serve as a living sacrifice that pleases you... made unblemished by His blood. Make us holy by the mere touch of the robe of Christ, by the touch of the altar. Accept us Gracious Father as the heirs and joint heirs of Your Son Jesus. Accept our love, and the life from which it emanates as belonging to you... made holy by your grace and the altar of Christ. You are great Father, and have made it possible for my reconciliation with you by the blood of Jesus! Holy, Holy, Holy are you my God, in which all things are possible, and my offering is made righteous, and holy in you, through Jesus Christ.
Rich Forbes