Speaking in context of this passage, Paul was talking to the Corinth church regarding sexual immorality, that it is the only sin that we commit to our body whereas every other sin that we commit is outside of our body.
But why should this matter?
Well, because if you are a believer who has given their life to Jesus then you have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit living inside of you.
But it goes beyond this.
God used the word “temple” to portray the idea that the Holy Spirit lives inside every believer.
But the thing is, He could have chosen any other word beside that, such as “home”, “house”, or “residence” but He didn’t.
Why?
Let me bring it all the way back for you, to get a deeper understanding of the importance and power of our bodies being a temple for the Holy Spirit.
Before there was a temple, in the Old Testament the Israelites would worship God in a tabernacle. A tabernacle was a portable earthly dwelling place of God where the Israelites would transport the tabernacle with them on their journey through the wilderness to the Promise Land, as a meeting place to worship God (Exodus 39:32-43, 40:34-36).
Then 440 years after, God instructed Solomon (David’s son) to build the first Temple in Jerusalem for God. God gave Solomon a detailed plan on how the Temple should be built, from the structure and the interior design to ensuring that the Ark of Covenant which held the 10 commandments to be inside of the Temple (1 Kings 6). It was built next to the king’s palace and was both God’s royal palace and Israel’s centre of worship.
Everything had a purpose!
Now fast forward Jesus comes on the scene and teaches us that the law of God is written on our hearts. He also warns the disciples that He had to leave earth because it was for our benefit that the Holy Spirit comes (John 16:7). He then pays our debts by dying on the cross for our sins and resurrects on the third day, so that we could be free from sin and have eternal life in Christ Jesus.
Soon after, the early Christian church was born and they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5, Acts 2:1-4).
Here is how all of this relates to the power and importance of our bodies being the dwelling place (Temple) for the Holy Spirit to reside in.
Number 1.
We don’t need to go to a Temple or church to meet with God because His Spirit is literally living inside of us. This means that God is literally with us wherever we go and who we are with and whatever we are watching or listening to.
He is there!
Keep that in mind.
Number 2.
Solomon’s Temple is a foreshadowing of how our bodies are to be.
Solomon’s Temple was created for God. Therefore, our bodies belong to God.
Solomon’s Temple was intricately designed as a sanctuary to honour and worship God. The inner sanctuary of the Temple was the Most Holy Place (1 Kings 6:16). Hence, our bodies are to be offered as a living sacrifice to God to demonstrate true worship to Him (Romans 12:1) and the Holy Spirit is the inner sanctuary of our bodies.
And number 3.
Solomon’s Temple had the Ark of Covenant in it. Thus, our hearts have the word of God written on it, that we may live our lives holy and righteously according to the law of God, and upholding it through the power of the Holy Spirit as He lives inside of us to help us to do so.
As you can see our body is holy which in Greek means “set apart” or “separate”. This makes sense because we are supposed to be separate from sin and set apart for the Spirit of God who is Holy.
The Holy Spirit does not associate Himself with sin and nor should we.
This means we need to be very mindful of how we behave, think and speak, what we let our eyes see and our ears listen to and the thoughts that run through our minds because whatever you do the Holy Spirit is there doing it with you.
So, you’ve got to ask yourself “Is what I’m doing pleasing to the Holy Spirit or is it making Him uncomfortable?”
What is your answer?
God should have royal reign and holy ownership of your body. We should treat it as such.
And I will leave you with this just as Paul said to the Corinth church, “…Therefore honor God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:20).
Stay blessed,
Divine L.
Hi, I am Divine L., your sister-in-F.A.I.T.H., who is passionate about discipling Christian girls to be a walking embodiment of Jesus Christ in their daily lives and to help young girls and woman become who God destined for them to become. It is a great blessing to welcome you to the F.A.I.T.H. sisterhood!