Honoring God’s Temple

Honoring God’s Temple

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV®)

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?

When God delivered the Hebrew people from slavery, He began to teach them how to worship Him. They needed a place to help them focus, so He directed them to build a tabernacle. It was a large, elaborate tent, and its center was illuminated by the presence of God. They worshipped in the tabernacle for hundreds of years until God gave Solomon permission to build a Temple in Jerusalem. It was the first permanent structure God allowed to represent His presence in the midst of His people, and it was built about nine hundred years before Christ. The Temple was the center of their religious life, and they traveled to worship and sacrifice there three times a year. So, when Paul said, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,” it was radical news. We, too, are tempted to limit our worship to times when we are in a church building. But the Bible says the Holy Spirit resides in each of us, and that knowledge should lead us to honor God with our bodies.

THINK ABOUT IT

Proclaim Daily: Jesus is Lord of my life; I have submitted my will to Him. Through the blood of Jesus, I have been forgiven, justified, sanctified, and delivered from every evil attack. My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit—redeemed, cleansed, and made whole—through the blood of Jesus.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son to redeem me. I choose to repent and yield to Jesus of Nazareth as Christ, Lord, and King of all my life. Holy Spirit, may You bring life to my mortal body and freedom to my whole person. In Jesus’ name, amen.