D.L.

LIVE

Learn – Inspiration – Vision – Encounter

The first time I read Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, I was blown away by the context, content and teaching of both letters, yet among the many statements that Paul made, there is one that still stands out, and honestly, it troubles me.

I say it troubles me because it is a miracle that I do not deserve, and I just can’t get my head around it. I can only accept it by faith and believe that it is 100% true, and it is. Paul said twice, both in the form of a question:

“Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3,16 NLT-SE)
“Don’t you realize 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 honour God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6,19-20 NLT-SE)

He was writing against a background of immortality and sin, yet its truth is powerful and life changing. If we apply these two verses, we can change how we see ourselves before God and others.

Paul says that we are temples, a sacred place set apart for God’s dwelling through the work of His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit now dwells inside us. He says something very similar in Ephesians 2, where we read that God is building a temple where the Spirit dwells.

Just take some time to think about this and imagine the endless possibilities of power, authority, love, mercy, peace, joy, forgiveness, and much more, plus the capacity to hold more of God’s presence in us.
This is what Paul emphatically says:

“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” (Romans 8,11 NIV11-GKE)

We are his precious possession and are called to accomplish much under the power and influence of God’s Spirit living in us. After the miracle of salvation, I believe this is as important; it enables us to work out our salvation with fear and mercy.