08/25/2021
Scripture tells us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and this is an incredible statement, and blessing for us. Once we understand what it means for Him to desire us to the point that He wishes to live within us there should be no greater longing than for us to love, and please Him always. As you go about your life do you keep the temple, your body, in good repair, free of sin? Do you maintain the sanctity of God’s residence and keep it Holy? We are not proclaimed to be a warm and comfortable cabin in the woods, a bright and fun vacation bungalow on the beach, a shack on the wrong side of the tracks in which we suffer, or the grandest of houses where we are pampered and waited on continuously by servants… we are a temple, meant to be a place of worship, a Holy place like none other, where we glorify the God of all creation, and serve Him righteously, all the days of our lives.
“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
As a temple we are the residence, and the resting place of God. He chose us before all creation, and has purchased us with the very blood of His only begotten Son. Now He desires to consecrate us as Holy ground, and reside within us forevermore. We are the place He calls His own, and where He chooses to be… just like Zion.
“For the LORD hath chosen Zion; He hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: Here will I dwell; for I have desired it.”
Psalm 132:13-14 KJV
We are given a wonderful model in this Psalm that helps us understand just what a blessing it is for us to be a temple. God hasn’t just moved in as an owner, He loves us, and wants to be here within us so that He is close to us. We are His beloved, and He wants to do amazing and wonderful things for us. Listen as Psalms 132 continues on…
“I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread. Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy. There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.””
Psalm 132:15-18 ESV
So as the temple we know that God will bless us, and even when we are serving Him as poor servants that He will provide for us, and that we will not thirst, or go hungry. He will give us bread, but He wants us to be more than this, He wants us to be Saints, and priests. Yes, once we have joined the holy priesthood of Christ, God wants us to be infused with His joy, and to receive salvation, and His anointing. He will be the light of our life, and we, His temple, will be its source. Our heads will be crowned, not with a golden crown as earthly kings, but with His crown… more precious than gold, and shining brighter than the sun.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
1 Peter 2:9 ESV
We are God’s chosen, His people, His nation, and far more than this… we are the royal priests who are meant to serve in His temple, and are called to proclaim His glory, and goodness into the world; blotting out the darkness there. So as His temple God desires to bless us beyond our wildest dreams, but are we ready to accept His blessing in its fullest by becoming a house of prayer, or perhaps we will simply be satisfied with the bread… or, Heaven forbid, tragically ignore what He offers us, and desecrate ourselves… bringing shame to the temple we are meant to be?
“And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.”
Matthew 21:12-14 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for loving us so much that you have desired for us to become the temple of your Holy Spirit, and to serve in it as Saints, and priests… righteously proclaiming you, and the gospel of Christ to the lost, and sinners in world. Holy, Holy, Holy, we sing of you our God, and we honor you by setting aside our bodies as your pure and holy sanctuary. Praised be your name for the simple bread of your provision when we are serving you less, but hear the joy in our voices as we praise you before your altar that has been made within us, and where we serve as priests. Merciful are you who sent your Son Jesus Christ to redeem us, and to serve as the payment made in full for us… your temple, and your Holy abode. See Jesus in us, and call us worthy as you proclaim our salvation. Lift us up and seat us at your table where we can dine with you forevermore, not on bread alone, but on the amazing bounty of your fields, and all the goodness within your storehouses… never ending, and laid up there for an eternity with you.
Rich Forbes