# 8 - Temple of God
The Church Defined
# 8 Temple of God
For the Audio Version, click here: Temple of God
1 Corinthians 6:19, “Don't
you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy
Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don't belong to
yourselves.” (GW)
What comes to your mind when you hear the word
‘Church’? To most of us it is a structure or a building, where we gather
together for worship. In the Old Testament it was the tabernacle and later on the
temple that was the central place of worship. However, in the New Testament,
because of what Jesus accomplished through His death, burial, resurrection and
ascension, the word ‘Church’ took on a new meaning.
When Jesus shed His sinless blood, and had His body
broken on behalf of the sins of the whole world, He became the Great High
Priest (Hebrews 4:14), who entered
the Holy of Holies. (Hebrews 10:19-21).
This was also the reason why the veil in the temple was torn in two, from top
to bottom, when Jesus was crucified (Matthew
27:51). This signified that
there was no more need for the temple, the sacrifices or regulations, for Christ had made the
perfect sacrifice once and for all.
The temple of God was redefined in great detail by the
Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians Chapter 3
and 2 Corinthians Chapter 6. Firstly,
every believer is God’s temple, and the Holy Spirit dwells within us (1 Corinthians 3:16). Secondly, we are
called to be holy, and are warned that if we defile this body of ours, which is
God’s temple, He will destroy us (1
Corinthians 3:17). Thirdly, as the
temple of the living God, He assures us that He will dwell in us, walk amongst
us, be our God and we will be His people (2
Corinthians 6:16).
Stephen,
before being martyred, conveyed this message in Acts 7:48, “However, the Most
High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands.” (NLT). In Ephesians 2:19-22, the Apostle Paul
describes this profoundly. He
says that we are God’s household, our foundation is built on the
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself is the chief cornerstone, and all
of us are being fitted together, to be built into the temple of God, in whom
the Holy Spirit dwells.
Each one of us is the temple of God, and together we
are being built into His Holy Temple. If we realize this, we will seek to honor
the Lord through our lives every day of the week and not reserve this for just
one day. This is why we should also not be perturbed if our adversaries target
our man-made structures, for they can never destroy the true temple of God which
is what each one of us is.
Life Transforming WORD – By
Esther Collins
What an assurance from God's Word to His children that we are God's temple. He dwells in us, walks with us and is our God for ever ! We are also cautioned from His Word that if we do not keep our body holy we will be destroyed. Thank you and God bless you.
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