Temple worship

There's an amazing passage in the bible that has challenged me for years. It's also a passage I have used in counseling many times. This passage is God's description of proper temple worship.

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You might respond to my thoughts, "but there is no temple, what are you talking about?"

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Here's the passage I wanted to talk about and then a few thoughts,

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1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

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What Paul is describing is the new reality for the Christian that God no longer "lives" in a temple made by man, but now resides in his people. The proper response for us has three elements to it, 1. A realization that we are God's dwelling place, 2. An understanding that a price has been paid and I am no longer my own, I now belong to God, and 3. Because of 1 & 2 my proper response is to honor (or glorify) God with my body. My response is how I live, what I do, what I say, how I act and live out this Christian life. Temple worship means that true worship for the Christian is living a life that glories God with my life, my words and my actions. It's a strange new reality that I am now the temple invited to live in such a way that I make God look good. How I live, what I say, how I act matters because it's a direct reflection on the God who dwells in me. It makes a lot of my choices much different and much easier. If I ever understand who I am, what I am, then how I live would be dramatically different.....and God would look good to the world around me.

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There is one added element to this I must mention before we leave this topic. Not only am I now described as God's new temple, but his Spirit lives in me to give me the resources I need to live this life, to be his temple. It's the Spirit in me that gives me life and all I need to glorify God as I live out the day ahead. Being the living temple of God changes a lot about how I live out each new day. You are not your own, you were bought with a price, THEREFORE glorify God with your body.

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