You Are a Living Temple

Our family recently observed Pentecost. If you aren’t familiar, this is a traditional ancient Israelite festival in which thousands would gather in Jerusalem from all over the world on the 50th day (pentecost means “fifty” in Greek) after Passover. After Jesus’ resurrection, he spends a few weeks teaching about his “upside down kingdom,” eventually telling his disciples he must depart (but to not worry), because they were going to receive a helper that would allow them to share the gospel through out the nations. The disciples were told to stay in Jerusalem and await the new kind of power promised… and then it comes (well, HE comes).

During the festival, the disciples were gathered in a house that was suddenly filled with a rush of wind and fire. Interestingly, fire has long been associated with an intimacy with God throughout scripture (think of Moses and the burning bush, or the pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the wilderness by night).

On Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit filled the Church with power and added 3,000 new believers. The account in Act 2 reports that the Holy Spirit “filled the whole house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2). “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4). This is a big deal because it fulfills prophesy spoken in Old Testament scripture (John 14 and Joel 2).

What brings me comfort (and is so worthy of celebrating!), is that we as believers now are essentially closer to Jesus than his very own disciples were then. You see when Jesus was teaching and preaching in person, he could only be in one place at any one given time; and while he has two distinct natures in being fully God and fully man, his very humanness limited him just like it does us. But, the Holy Spirit now dwells in all believers, allowing us to become more like Christ and commune closely with the Father, whenever and wherever we go!

This is why the body of believers are considered living temples today. No longer do we have to atone for our sins like they did in ancient times at the temple. No longer do we have to shed blood through animal sacrifice, or partake in various rituals such as burnt, grain, or peace offerings. Because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, we can freely enter God’s presence as it is the final and only sacrifice needed to atone for our sins forever.

So what does this mean for us? Well, we get to honor and glorify God with our bodies as they “are not [our] own,” just as Paul said. The temple of Jerusalem may be no longer, but the equivalent exists which is now the body of Christ (the church). We are missioned to be the holy dwelling place for God’s presence. He is still our God, and we still get to be His people.

If this is all new to you, I want to leave you with a few points to ponder. Having a rich doctrine of the Holy Spirit is so important as a believer, and one I didn’t have a clear grasp on until a few years ago. This is what I wish I knew then:

The Holy Spirit:

convicts: he allows us to know God’s word and understand it in order to guide us to walk in the ways worthy of the Lord (John 16:13)

searches: God is able to reveal things about us, to us, through the help of the Holy Spirit. He searches our hearts and thoughts in ways and places that other people or things simply can’t (1 Cor. 2:10)

reveals: revelation is a work of the Holy Spirit, because there is no wisdom apart from God. (1 Cor 2:12)

assists: he assists us in prayer, helping us to know what to pray, and also intercedes on our behalf to the Father (Rom. 8:26)

gifts: he gives us spiritual gifts so that we can shine as ambassadors of Christ in a dark world (1 Cor. 12)

produces: he helps us produce fruit in our lives. The good that we exude isn’t done through our own works. When the Holy Spirit dwells within us, it shows up as harvest of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22)

If you haven’t take some time to study the role of the Holy Spirit and the trinity in general, I highly recommend it! Delighting in the Trinity is a book I would suggest starting with.

As a former people pleaser and woman who struggled with debilitating codependency, understanding more on our triune God (and specifically the Holy Spirit) has helped me a ton. I now trust that the Holy Spirit is assisting, searching, and convicting the people in my life I love, just as much as He is doing all of that on my behalf. Trusting this has allowed me more peace and freedom within my relationships.