THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT –
Monday August 21st 2017
Memorise: For ye are bought
with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are
God’s. 1st Corinthians 6:20
Read: 1st
Corinthians 3:16-17 (KJV)
3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the
Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God
destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
Bible in one year: 2nd
Kings 24-25, Ezekiel 28:11-24, Hymn: Sing hymn 6
MESSAGE:
The
response of the Lord Jesus Christ to the question of a Samaritan woman on God’s
approval location of acceptable worship, in John 4:20, put an end to the era
where God could only be worshipped in specific places. John 4:21& 23 says,
“Jesus saith unto her, Woman,
believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at
Jerusalem, worship the Father. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true
worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father
seeketh such to worship him.”
Jesus
taught her that the time has come when true worshippers of God are not required
to visit any physical temple or be present in any particular location in order
to worship God acceptably. True worshipper can now worship the Father in spirit
and in truth.
Building
on this teaching, Apostle Paul expounded that the dwelling of God is no longer
in temples made by human hands (Acts 17:24). He further revealed that God, in
the person of the Holy Spirit, now dwells in the body of those who have yielded
to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In 1st Corinthians 6:19 He wrote this:
“What? Know ye not that your body
is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye
are not your own?”
If
you are indeed a Christian, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Out of
love for you, God gave you a unique body; and He wants you to reciprocate His
love by making good use of it. The question is, are you conscious of the fact
that God’s Holy Spirit dwells in you? Are you aware that you are not your own,
and that you are bought with a price? Are you aware that you are to glorify God
in your body (1st
Corinthians 6:20)? As a child of God, God has taken ownership of
your body. You therefore have no preferences in matters concerning your body.
You must commit your body to God as a living sacrifice and consciously conduct
yourself as the dwelling place of His Holy Spirit. A Christian cannot therefore
make choices about sexual orientation or engage in behaviours on the basis of
personal preference. Without any ambiguity, God has made clear the purpose of
our body; therefore, any notion about freedom of choice regarding sexuality and
sexual acts is essentially incompatible with God’s word. God also warns that He
will destroy those who defile His temple, which is our body. Take note of this
and be wise!
Prayer Point
Father, please abide in me;
make my body Your dwelling place, and give me the grace to resist any
temptation to misuse my body, in Jesus’ Name.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide
was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed
Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical Church in the world and
also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version
of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across
all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia,
Windows Mobile and PC.
No comments:
Post a Comment