September 1: “Your Body, God’s Temple”

5 Minute Read + Scripture readings

Today’s Bible Reading:

1 Samuel 25
1 Corinthians 6
Ezekiel 4
Psalms 40-41

Today’s Bible Verse(s):

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (CSB): “Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.”

Reflections on Today’s Bible Verse(s):

The verses I have chosen for today are absolutely fascinating. There’s no way that we could plumb the depths of their truth … but let’s at least wade into the waters.

First, let’s define “body.” Well, it’s not a body (group) of believers in which the Holy Spirit dwells. Instead, we see in the verses preceding 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that the word “body” is used of individual people. Simply put, the Apostle Paul is referring to the physical body of each individual believer.

So, what does he say about your body and my body if we are saved? It “is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you.” Just as the Old Testament temple was the place where God dwelled and His people came to experience and worship Him, so our body is now that place. We no longer have to go to a building to experience and worship God … our body is now that building.

Let me jump up on a soap box for just a moment. When contemporary Christians refer to the building in which a church meets, they sometimes call it “the Lord’s house.” Friend, that’s not biblical. The temple in the Old Testament was “the Lord’s house” because God dwelled there in His power and glory. But our bodies are now where the Lord dwells. The buildings in which we meet for church services aren’t anything more than buildings that God’s temples show up to worship in together. The buildings are just that … buildings. Our body is now the true temple.

Well, what are the implications? Does that mean that I don’t even have to go to church now since my body is the temple of God?

Nope. We are instructed in Scripture that we must show up to our church gatherings so that we can encourage each other to pursue greater degrees of holiness.

Hebrews 10:24–25 (CSB): “And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.”

Instead, we realize that 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 places an even greater privilege and responsibility upon us. Instead of us viewing Sunday morning as “church time” and the rest of the week as “our time,” we see in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that God makes every moment of every single day “worship time.” Since we are the house of worship, the temple of the living God, and since we take our body with us everywhere we go, every moment of our day should be an act of worship.

In fact, that is the conclusion that the Apostle Paul comes to. Since my body and your body (if you are saved) is God’s temple, then He sits on our heart’s throne and we no longer belong to ourselves. So, every moment of the day, we are to demonstrate in our words and actions how wonderful our God is.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (CSB): “Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.”

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Lord Jesus, I desperately want to know You more and enjoy You more. Thank You that Your Holy Spirit took up residence in my body when I first trusted in You. Help me to be continually mindful of the fact that since my body is the temple of Your Holy Spirit, that every single moment of every single day is to be seen as an opportunity to worship You and speak of Your glory. Amen.