1 Corinthians 3:16-17
"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are."
You've heard it said before. "What I do to my own body is no one else's business. If I want to hurt myself, no one gets hurt but myself."
Sure, on a physical level this might be true, you are only hurting your own body, but God's word is clear. Believers cannot claim that their bodies belong to themselves alone.
Paul's epistle to the church at Corinth tells us our bodies belong to God, with the Spirit dwelling within the body of every believer. Therefore, we are God's house, the place he calls home. When the Spirit reaches out and touches the one of faith, God moves in and takes up residence. And what a home it is, transforming us from what we were before Christ to a temple of holiness.
While even temple built to honor the Lord God Jehovah, the temple which is the body of Christ remains. After our deaths, we'll too be resurrected as Christ, continuing to be the spiritual body of our Lord. We're the permanent temple of God who dwells with us.
That puts a new perspective on how we should treat ourselves and each other. These bodies we call our own instead belong to the Spirit. Beware. What we bring before our eyes, or put into mouths, or where we go when we walk, all affect our relationship with Christ. Don't get caught joining the Spirit with sin through your body.
LORD JESUS
Lord, once again, I thank you for your abiding presence in my life and in your church. May I treat my body with reverence because of you, not worshipping it, but making it a fitting home for my Lord. Amen.
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