Temple of the Holy Spirit

Chuckle: "Why are buildings called buildings when they are finished? Shouldn't they be called builts?"

Good Quote: "Prayer doesn't get man's will done in heaven; it gets God's will done on earth." --Ronald Dunn

TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

"Or don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself. For God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body" (I Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT).

When Jesus found the money changers and merchants doing business in the temple, he became angry and forcefully drove them out. Then he said, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple (house) will be called a place of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves" (Matthew 21:13 NLT). God condemns the desecration of his place of worship and prayer. It is to be a sacred and holy place at all times. Here, the commercialism in God's house frustrated people's attempts to worship. It's no surprise that such actions angered Jesus. Any practice that hinders or interferes with genuine worship should be ended quickly if we are to please God.

Now, let's look at our basic text which says our bodies are God's temples of the Holy Spirit. Many think their bodies belong to them and they have the right to do whatever they wish with and to them. But under the guise of freedom, they become slaves to their own desires: sex, drugs, tobacco, gluttony, etc. You see, the Spirit of the Living God does not reside only in buildings, although he is there (omnipresent), but in the hearts of believers. Doesn't it track that our bodies, as temples of God's Spirit, should always be treated as holy, sacred, and instruments of worship and prayer? We should never abuse the temple of the Holy Spirit by mistreating our bodies. It is the Holy Spirit within us that enables and helps us to live and pray in such a way that honors and pleases God.

Now to our bodies as temples of prayer. "And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will" (Romans 8:26-27 NLT). As a believer, God does not leave you alone to cope with life's problems. Even when you are at a loss for words in expressing the desires of your heart in prayer, the Spirit prays with and for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for you and help you to pray in harmony with God's will. Then, when you pray, trust that he will always do what is best.

So, in summary: Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who resides in you. You are not your own, but were purchased by God with the blood of Jesus. Your body should be treated as holy and sacred and should never be defiled. As a temple of the Holy Spirit, your body should be an instrument of worship. And the Holy Spirit within you intercedes for you before the Father and helps you pray in harmony with his will.

Love, Jerry & Dotse