The Temple of the Holy Spirit

A news report came out on the first week of July in 2011 that reported the discovery of a great treasure in poverty-filled South India. The vaults of the Indian temple called Padmanabbaswamy were opened after 130 years. The preliminary inventory discovered a ton of gold, sacks of diamonds and precious stones, gold necklaces over three meters long and weighing over 2.5 kilograms, gold crowns, thousands of pieces of antique jewelry, idols and artifacts studded with diamond s and emeralds. Estimates place the value of the treasure over $22 billion USD. This makes this little-known temple the richest place of religion in the world.

The Bible tells us about a temple with an infinitely greater value than the one discovered in India. The physical body of those who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior is called the temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul uncovers this truth in 1 Corinthians 6:19,20: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s”. In the Old Testament God allowed his presence to dwell in the tabernacle and later in the temple. But when Christ came the Spirit indwells the bodies of believers. So that means we are not our own, we belong to Him.

We should be overwhelmed with a sense of humility and honor that God has chosen us to be His temple. We are called to glorify God in our bodies and in our spirit. We must be careful not to disobey or dishonor our Lord. Paul told the Corinthians that this means first of all that they were not to engage in any kind of sexual immorality. Other things like drunkenness and illegal drugs can defile and damage our bodies. We must be sure that we take care of our body which belongs to the Lord.

One day the Lord is going to issue a recall on our bodies. At the rapture we will receive a glorified body. Until that day comes always remember, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.