I Am God’s Temple

INTRODUCTION: Over the next few weeks, Time With God will be exploring who we are in Christ. Our prayer is that you will grow in confidence and hope as we unpack biblical truth about who God has made us to be. Please note that there will be no Digging Deeper section

GETTING STARTED

In the Garden of Eden, God was fully present with Adam and Eve. Creation itself was, in a way, the temple of God. But when Adam and Eve chose sin—when they chose their own way above God’s—they chose separation from God, because a perfect and holy God cannot be where sin is. The tabernacle or the temple was God’s provision for the return of his earthly presence among his people. The temple had an outer court, an inner sanctuary, and a place called the “holy of holies” where a high priest entered once a year to atone for the sins of the people. In the Old Testament, the temple was an ongoing sign of God’s presence among his people. It was the dwelling place of God.

  • Where do you go when you want to experience the presence of God?

READ THE WORD: 1 CORINTHIANS 6:19-20 (ESV)

19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

RESPOND TO GOD

These verses in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians are astounding. Jesus, our great high priest, paid with the price of his life so that we could once again have total access to God’s presence. And we do not have to travel anywhere to access it. If you believe that Jesus atoned for your sins once and for all on the cross, you are now the temple. Your body is a house of worship, a sanctuary of praise, a shelter for sacrifice. It is the dwelling place of God. Is this how you view your body? When you are making a decision about how to act, or what to say, or where to go, do you think about whether or not that action or word or place will glorify God with your body? That sounds like a lot of pressure. But the key to these verses is that the Holy Spirit is now within you, giving you the power to keep the temple pure for the glory of the Lord.

  • Thank God that Jesus provided a way for you to have direct access to him. Soak in the fact that you are God’s temple because Jesus paid such a high price for you.
  • Pray that God would change the way you view your body, and that your words and actions would also change as you take in this facet of your identity in Christ.