- 159., Temple of God
2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
The promise contained in this “temple promise” is that God is in us; God is present with us. God is in His Temple and the bodies of believers are temples. This promise, in the first place, means that God dwells in us and walks in us. Presence is a really big deal. God the Almighty, the Creator of the universe, is transcendent and far off and fills the universe. But He is also nearby, close, intimate and personally related to us, so much so that He lives within our very bodies. This fact blows us away. We do not pray through the ceiling up to the heavens, but we pray to the God within us wherever we are, for He is with us always. Help, comfort, hope, and love is never far away.
In the second place, He is our God and we are His people, meaning we are in a covenant relationship with the Almighty God. He makes promises and keeps promises. He hears us and responds to our prayers and needs. He knows all about us and caresabout what happens to us. In response, we are His people, meaning that we thank and praise, serve and obey Him. We believe Him and trust His Word and His words. We want to do what He says all the time. This relationship is life, a full and rich and wonderful life.
In the third place, when we believe this promise we develop a great respect for the body in which we live. We love the body, not to provide creature comforts and seek to avoid pain, but we love the body for it is the dwelling place of the God whom we love infinitely and forever. This truth affects how we treat the body and nourish and cherish it. Everyone cherishes his own body, but the reason and motivation for doing so changes, because it is the house of God. It deserves special care. The more we think about it the less we might abuse our bodies. We treat the body well and thoughtfully not for selfish reasons but for a much higher reason: because God is there.