I just love it when the Bible just jumps out and hits you with something. I am working through a section in my theology book called the Knowledge of God. It says that God initiates our knowledge of Him, otherwise we would have no way TO know Him; That only true truth comes from God, and that we try to create our own truth; and that God sent the Holy Spirit to teach us about Him. I was reading in 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19-20. I have heard these verses numbers of times, quoted by people and used to argue several points. But tonight God revealed it to me in another way. "Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" and "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, who you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body." Most people look at the "Your body is a temple" part of the verse as a way to warn to take care of your health, don't get tattoos or piercings and to not be overweight. But tonight I see it a little more clearly.
Temples are not to be taken lightly. There were times in the Bible that temples were destroyed. Jesus overturned tables because of sin going on in the temple. The temple was holy because people went there to worship God. Now, because of salvation, the Holy Spirit lives within us. That is what makes our bodies a temple. God looked at us, knowing our worst, and called us to salvation. He cleansed our sins, gave us a new heart, and the Holy Spirit promptly moved into that heart to guide us, if we are willing, to a closer relationship with God. We attend church, we pray, we read our Bible, all in the attempt to both worship God and to learn to know Him better. The Holy Spirit teaches us, convicts us, and shows us in many ways, the things God wants us to know. Not an all out dump of information, but gradually, each at their own pace. Those of us that the Spirit indwells, are a constant work in progress, and we should be growing until we take our last breath. If we aren't growing, does the Spirit dwell inside? Because I don't think that God saves us to sit. But back to the temple.
I don't think it is necessarily just about the exterior of our temple that God is concerned with. Yes, He wants us healthy so we can do His work. But, He saves people covered in tattoos and piercings the same as He saves those who have none. He saves overweight people the same as He does those who are physically fit. He saves vegetarians, baconators, and bacon haters. Those aren't the important things. Our body is a temple because God said so. Because the Spirit lives inside us. So it's not only about how we treat our OWN temple but let us consider how we treat the temples of others? If I attend Solid Rock, which I do, that is my exterior temple, where God called me to serve. Would I be wrong to talk badly about Wheaton Southern? Yes. Even though that is not MY temple, it's also a temple of God. Would I be wrong to talk bad about New Hope? Yes, because that is also a temple of God, even if it's not MY temple. So when we talk badly about other Christians, we are also demeaning God's temple. If we treat another Christian badly, we are trashing God's temple the same as if we spraypainted graffiti on the side of the church building. If we gossip about a Christain, we are defaming a temple of God. If we see a fellow Christian downtrodden and refuse to offer to help, we are telling God that His temple doesn't matter to us. If we are all temples of God, then we should treat each other better. We should love each other even if we don't agree. We should help each other every chance we get. We should see Jesus every time we look at each other, and remember that the Spirit of God lives in them, so how we treat them is a reflection of how we treat the Spirit. We were all bought with a price, the blood of Christ, so we are all part of one Body, one church, and one God. We need to remember that it's not just about OUR own temple, but the temple of every Christian and we can't pick and choose. Because to reject the person, you are also rejecting the Spirit that lives with them. And since we have to give an account of everything we say and do, at the judgment, we need to be more mindful of how we treat each other. We need to spend less time worrying about the exterior of our temple, and more time worrying about the internal part. God doesn't care what our clothes look like, about our hair and makeup, if we are skinny or heavy, He cares about our heart, our soul, and our attitude. He cares about how we treat His children, and how much we love Him and His Son. The exterior of the temple falls away, in the end, and it's the inside that counts. Jesus gave us two commandments to follow: Love God and love each other. I don't think He said we could pick and choose who we feel is deserving, He just said to do it.
