Your Body is a Temple - Part Three

 

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV

Having established that we belong to God and that His Holy Spirit now dwells within us, we become caretakers of our temple with the responsibility to guard our temple against any and all things that would defile it. That said, I want to close the study of this scripture for now with a few other observations and scripture references.

In thinking about the role of a caretaker in guarding against things that would defile the temple, I thought that a better term might be that of a soldier. A caretaker might be armed with a mop, as in the photo from my last post, while a soldier is equipped with everything he needs to resist the enemy. Read Ephesians 6:11-18.

But how do we know when we're being tempted to allow something to enter that would desecrate our temple? We know from 1 John 3:20-21 that we have a conscience that convicts us, but usually conviction comes after the fact. We need an early warning system like the watchmen in the Old Testament who looked outside the city for any sign of an enemy. The idea of being watchful is also found in the New Testament when Jesus chided His disciples for sleeping after He had asked them to watch with Him. "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” [Matthew 26:41] I'm currently reading a book by John Owen called, "Temptation: Winning the Battle Before the War". In it, Owens makes the statement, "Our Savior prescribes two means for prevention: watch and pray."

But, you say, I've tried to be on my guard but I still get surprised by the enemy. Remember, the command to watch is accompanied by the command to pray. It's not an either/or proposition but requires both. We need to pray that our spirit is listening to the Holy Spirit who will sound a warning should temptation arise. Each letter to the seven churches in Revelation concludes with the warning to "hear what the Spirit says to the churches." But asking the Holy Spirit to speak words of warning requires that we ask in faith, as James says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." [James 1:5-8 ESV]

That reminds me of the lukewarm Christians in Laodicea who because they were neither hot nor cold were in danger of being spit out. Vigilance regarding temptation requires more than casual observance. A lukewarm attitude invites disaster. Hearing the Holy Spirit also calls for shutting out external noise that distracts us. One of my favorite Bible stories is found in 1 Kings 19:11-12 when the Lord spoke to Elijah in a whisper. In Psalm 46:10 we read, “Be still, and know that I am God", which inspired me to write the following chorus.

Be still and know that I am God, says the Word of the Lord.

And as we gather let our hearts be all in one accord.

For in the stillness we may find a place of quiet rest,

Where God's own Spirit speaks to us with words by which we're blessed.

I realize there is much more that could be said regarding these verses, but I do pray that these last three posts have been helpful, and maybe even given you a new sense of urgency regarding your own watchfulness. Watch and pray!