The Bible teaches that our bodies are a “habitat for divinity” – that once we are cleansed from our sins by the blood of Christ then God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit dwell in us. That is the motivation, Paul writes, for us to make sure we do not involve our bodies in sin, in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20. We will conclude our study this morning in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, but here I want to point out that Paul’s argument in that passage says that because the Holy Spirit dwells in us, then we do not involve our bodies in sin.
Now, this passage is not talking about eating sugar. It’s not about eating trans-saturated fats. It’s not about exercise. It is specifically about trying to engage in sexual sins, arguing that a Christian cannot engage in sexual sins because you would then involve the Lord – who dwells in you – in such a sin – the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. In the same way, a Christian cannot lie because then we would involve our tongue in sin, and the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. A Christian cannot slap or punch someone out of anger, because that would involve the body in sin, and the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE TEMPLE – 11:15-16:
The temple was the heart and soul of the Jewish faith. It was prepared for by King David; it was built by King Solomon. When the Babylonians destroyed it, the Israelites rebuilt it. When the Greeks desecrated it, Judas Maccabeus rebuilt it. When the Romans desecrated it, Herod rebuilt it. The Israelites thought so highly of the temple, that they were willing to swear oaths by the temple. Of course, Jesus is going to not just desecrate or destroy the temple, He will annihilate the temple, and rebuild the temple according to a spiritual pattern rather than a physical pattern.
The place where Jesus is right now, in Mark 11, is the Court of the Gentiles. The population of Jerusalem at this time, under normal circumstances, was around 80,000. During the Passover, it could more than double that number as Jews came from all over the world to worship God.
THE DESECRATION OF THE TEMPLE – 11:17:
Seeing that the Israelites did not learn the lesson from three years earlier, nor the lessons given by the prophets since the days of Isaiah and Jeremiah, Jesus now storms the temple and He quotes two of God’s prophets from the OT: Isaiah (56:7) and Jeremiah (7:11).
The reason why the Corinthian Christians were able to engage in sexual immorality was because they had ceased to respect God in their hearts. They did not love Him, respect Him, or carry His word in their hearts. That’s why Paul told them they were desecrating the temple of the Holy Spirit, which was, in fact, their bodies.
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A DECISION AT THE TEMPLE – 11:18:
When the Jewish leaders heard Jesus criticize them, rather than repenting of their sins and getting their lives right with God, they followed the pattern of their ancestors who killed the prophets. They made plans to kill Jesus. Before the week was over, the Jews would have Jesus hanging on a cross.
WE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD – 1 Cor. 6:12-20:
We can be a people God will bless, or we can be a people God will judge. Which we are will be determined by how much we love Him and obey His commandments. God is not playing games.
The whole issue of moral living is a problem of the heart. The Jews had abandoned authentic worship and lived like the world and God destroyed their temple as a punishment. We cannot worship God in spirit and truth and then leave this worship and live any way we want to! If we do not treat the temple of the Holy Spirit (our bodies) in a way that honors the God who bought us, we can expect the same response from God as the temple in Jerusalem.
As Christians, the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Our bodies ought to be a “house of prayer” for our Creator and our Redeemer. Let us be careful, with our hands, what we do. Let us be careful, with our mouths, what we say. Let us be careful, with our feet, where we go…
Paul Holland
