Uni-verse 171/10,000 For better through verse I Corinthians 3 v 16
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?


We are the living temple of the living God. Paul drives in this truth by asking it as a question as very often we forget who we are in Christ. We forget who we are in God as we are too aware or conscious of who we are in ourselves, our sensate life. As the temple of God, we are the Tabernacle of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit resides in us. But, we must let Him preside over our lives. Everything we say and do must be an act of worship of God. We are not just a multi-purpose building but a temple with one purpose, to know God and to worship Him.

Just as a temple has a place to wash our feet, we must always be conscious of the need to be clean and pure before God. Just as a temple has a sanctum sanctorum, the holiest place, our most sacred place is our heart or the core of our existence. Just as a temple has a gateway and approach, we too must approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving. The walls of this temple are salvation, implying that the knowledge that we are saved is what shapes and surrounds our faith and worship. Each verse of scripture that we memorise, meditate and obey constitute the bricks or stones of this temple. Each promise we appropriate in faith is the precious stones and metals that are used to adorn the temple. The foundation and the capstone is Jesus.

The persons we interact with and share our lives with are the visitors to the living temple. Our testimony is the fragrance or aroma in the temple. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the priest who prays for us with groans that words cannot express. When we do not dwell in God, our thoughts, motives, words and actions are tainted but when the Holy Spirit dwells in us, our thougts, words and actions are divinely anointed. The angels of God guard this temple day and night.

Prateep V Philip