“Or 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.” (1 Corinthians 6:19)
The context of this verse was that Paul was dealing with the issue of sexual sin in the Corinthian church. A false teaching had been spread that only our spirits, our soul, our inner person were what was important. God is a Spirit and because of that was not concerned about what we did in the flesh.
Obviously, this kind of false teaching would have been well-received! The Apostle Paul, however, wrote to bring correction and to let the Christians know that God is concerned with our entire being: spirit, soul, and body. Because our bodies are the temple that houses God’s Spirit, we do not have the option of living any way we want. What we do in the body has consequences, good or bad, depending on what those actions are.
In fact, Paul is very blunt a few verses before this one.
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers. nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
When we pull back and look at the larger context of Paul’s message, we understand that he was talking about an even bigger subject than moral purity. Later in the letter he reminds the believers in Corinth that they are the Body of Christ. Individually and corporately, we house God’s Spirit and are his hands and his feet in the world. The implications of this are profound.
Even for those of us who belong to Pentecostal or Charismatic churches, it is easy to forget that Almighty God lives inside of us. His resurrection power flows through our veins. His Creative Presence is always with us. The writer of Ecclesiastes said that, “he has put eternity into man’s heart.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
How would our lives change if we could get a revelation of the living God inside of us? How would we deal with the trials and tribulations of life if we could remember that Christ in us is “the hope of glory?” (Colossians 1:27) And let’s never forget, He is not the Spirit, but the Holy Spirit. May our lives become more holy as we develop our relationship with the Spirit of God.
David and Annie are serving the Lord in the United States, Africa, India, and in South America. Would you consider joining their team? Just click here to get involved. Thank you!
