I Corinthians 6:19-20: Our Body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit

The Temple of the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

A. The Holy Spirit’s Temple, (v. 19), 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?

1. This reminds us of the temple in the Old Testament

a. Great care was given to its design.

b. Wealth was placed into its construction.

c. The people were to know that God dwelt there.

d. When God gave His plans for the Tabernacle, and later the Temple, He set forth in no uncertain terms the plain fact that He demanded purity in the materials and construction, otherwise, He would never fill it with His glory.

e. God will not fill a dirty temple.

2. Note the day of dedication of Solomon’s temple (2 Chronicles 7:1-3, 12-15).

Charles Hodge: There are two things characteristic of a temple. First, it is sacred as a dwelling-place of God, and therefore cannot be profaned with impunity. Second, the proprietorship of a temple is not in man, but in God. Both these things are true of the believer's body. It is a temple because the Holy Ghost dwells in it; and because it is not his own. It belongs to God. As it is a temple of the Holy Ghost, it cannot be profaned without incurring great and peculiar guilt. And as it belongs in a peculiar sense to God, it is not at our own disposal.

a. But there is no temple in the age of grace (Church Age)

1. This building is not God’s temple.

2. When we speak of the church, we are often referring to this building where we gather for worship.

3. However, this building is not the church!

4. It is a place where the church gathers.

5. The church is made up of every person who has trusted Jesus Christ by faith and has been born into the family of God.

b. Your Body, God’s temple

Oswald Chambers: The Temple of the Holy Spirit--I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under His authority. Paul said he did not “set aside the grace of God”--make it ineffective (Galatians 2:21). The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved--I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God has placed within me. To “work out [my] own salvation” (Philippians 2:12) means that I am responsible for using what He has given me. It also means that I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or secretly, but openly and boldly. “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection . . . “ (1 Corinthians 9:27). Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God. God has given us the responsibility to rule over all “the temple of the Holy Spirit,” including our thoughts and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones. But most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others than we are in judging ourselves. We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we condemn things in the lives of others simply because we are not naturally inclined to do them. Paul said, “I beseech you . . . that you present your bodies a living sacrifice . . .” (Romans 12:1). What I must decide is whether or not I will agree with my Lord and Master that my body will indeed be His temple. Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the law concerning the body are summed up for me in this revealed truth--my body is “the temple of the Holy Spirit.”

a. Be careful where it goes.

b. Be careful what it does.

c. Be careful what it ponders.

d. Be careful how it reacts.

B. The Holy Spirit Lives Within His Temple

1. “Which is in you,” (v. 19).

C. The Holy Spirit and the Believer’s Obligation

1. The believer is purchased, “ye are bought with a price.”

a. The price was high, unmeasurable.

b. Jesus died on a cruel cross.

c. There was no greater price paid.

d. He thought of us to be so valuable that He was willing to pay the ultimate price with His own precious sinless blood.

e. He gave His life a ransom for our sin.

2. The believer’s purpose, “Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit.”

a. God can receive glory through your body and spirit.

b. Believers are to honor God with both their body and spirit.

c. God paid such a great price for our salvation that should motivate us to live pure lives.

d. How we use our bodies either honor or dishonor God.

Our special relationship to the Holy Spirit brings with it obligation.

3. The Believer’s possession, “Which are God’s.”

a. God owns the redeemed.

b. This is great encouragement for the saved to know they belong to God.

c. Because He owns us, we must submit to Him.

d. The believer sometimes acts like they own their self and go their own way.

A. Surrender your body to the Lord

B. Glorify God in daily Life