God is Spirit. His Spirit fills the universe. Yet, because
of His love for His people, He desired to dwell among them.
At first, He dwelt among them in a tent in the wilderness.
Then, King Solomon built Him a magnificent Temple in the city of Jerusalem.
Even though God dwelt in a temple on earth, His Spirit was not contained within
that temple. At the same time, God’s Spirit still filled the universe.
1 Kings 8:27 KJV - But will God indeed dwell on the earth?
behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this
house that I have builded?
Exodus 29:45 KJV - And I will dwell among the children of
Israel, and will be their God.
Although God dwelt among His people in a tent and in the
Temple, He desired a closer relationship with His people. The problem is, our sins
separate us from God (Is.59:2).
Only God could solve this problem. He did this by making Himself
a temple of flesh and dwelling among His people as a man.
While the tent in the wilderness and the holy Temple in
Jerusalem were both places of sacrifice (2Chron.7:12), God’s temple of flesh
became the sacrifice that would take away the sin of the world. (John 1:29,
Col.2:14, 2Cor.5:19)
Because of God’s sacrifice of His temple of flesh, we can
become a temple of God’s Spirit. (2Cor.5:19-20) When we love Jesus with all of
our heart, soul, and might, turning away from sin, we can wash away the sin
that separates us from God by being baptized in Jesus name. With a clean
temple, we can receive His Spirit to live a holy life. (Acts 2:38) We become
the temple of God.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 KJV - 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? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your
body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
No comments:
Post a Comment