THE TEMPLE MATTERS TO GOD!
Reading Corinthians Ch.6. v15-20

Introduction:

Had we taken time to read the first part of this chapter you would quickly discover the contents are to do with the believers cleansing, sanctification, and justification in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

In this section of the chapter we have just read, we are asked to consider some of the practical results of all this.

If we have been redeemed to God by the precious blood of his beloved Son, if we have been regenerated by the Word of the Holy Spirit, then we are no longer to live to please ourselves but the one who has made us his own at such a cost. And for that reason, the Apostle is putting emphasises on the importance of recognising the fact that our bodies belong to our risen Lord.

In v13 of this chapter Paul very powerfully reminds us "Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body."

The believer's body is not designed with the purpose of fulfilling our own desires and ideas but to be subject to the Lord's purposes. The purpose of the body is not gratification but glorification. In other words, we are designated by a Holy God, to be filled by the Holy Spirit, to be guided by the Holy Scriptures, to be a Holy People,

Holy has the same root as wholly, it means complete. A man is not complete in spiritual stature if all his mind, heart, soul, and strength are not given to God. R. J. Stewart

A holy life is a voice; it speaks when the tongue is silent and is either a constant attraction or a perpetual reproof. Archbishop Robert Leighton.

A holy life is not an ascetic, or gloomy, or solitary life, but a life regulated by divine truth and faithful in Christian duty. It is living above the world while we are still in it. Tryon Edwards.

A holy life will produce the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns; they only shine. D. L. Moody. Question! How many want that kind of life?

That phrase in v 13 of this chapter "and the Lord for the body" means that the body was so made that God could use our bodies to fulfil his purposes.

You see, the honour of the body was never really revealed until the Lord Jesus came. The many heathen philosophies and pagan religions tell us that men as a rule distinguished between the inner man and his relation to God and the body and its relation to earth.

They say, it does not make any difference what we use the body for, it is merely physical and when you die it is gone forever. Even though your soul may persist after death the body will never rise again and it is impossible to defile the soul by anything we may do with the body

That of course was the very essence of the philosophy that was taught in Corinth where the Apostle Paul had been used of God for the calling out of this company of redeemed ones whom he now addresses as "The Church of God". Therefore, there was a very grave danger that they might bring over to the new Christian position some of the old pagan conceptions and in that way fail to appreciate the holiness, the purity, that should be connected with his physical life as well as his spiritual life.

Now, you might say, pastor, where is all this leading us with respect to our Scripture reading today?

Well, somehow today, just like the Corinthians, we have the idea or are off the opinion that what we do has no effect on what we are. The truth of course is a very different ball game. If you are saved, God lives in you by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. The little chorus says it well.

"Soon as my all I ventured,

on the atoning blood.

The Holy Spirit entered-

and I was born of God."

1. Cor. 6v19.

"What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have of God, and you are not your own?"

To put it clearly and simply, that means, he makes our hearts his dwelling place, our bodies become His Temple, these mortal frames become the Sanctuary of the living God.

That's why Paul tells these Corinthian Christians that they are God's Temples. It would seem they were using their bodies for immoral purposes and were defiling the Temple of God.

In Corinth, there was the Temple of Diana. Diana was the goddess of sex and love. In her Temple, there were over 1,000 female priestesses. In reality, they were nothing more than prostitutes. But you see, to worship Diana, you had to have a sexual relationship with one of these Temple prostitutes. And because of that vile practice of life many of these Christians were still pursuing and finding it hard to desist from pursuing that old practice.

The Apostle Paul felt it was time to instruct them in no uncertain manner that they were under "New Management". They were no longer their own, they had been bought with a price, they now belonged to another!

When God set out the blue print for the Tabernacle and at a later stage the plans for the Temple he made it very clear that he demanded purity in both of those places otherwise he would not ever come and fill them with His Glory.

So it is in this day beloved, we are under His management, we are "The Temple of God" and He demands purity at all times in His Temple!

1. The Temple Is A Place Of Holy Dedication!

Please remember the earthly Temple was a place of Holy Dedication to God and was for His glory only. No defiling thing was to enter! When some unholy happening occurred, God stepped into the situation and took immediate action to deal with the problem. Do you recall the two son's of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu who were Priests, Lev. 10v1-2. What was their sinful problem? Well, they were guilty of introducing into that Holy Place and time of worship, things that God had not commanded. They introduced strange fire. Surely they needed some kind of fire to perform their duties? Well, yes, but the problem here was that no commandment had yet been given how the incense should be kindled Lev. 16v12-13. The sin of Nadab and Abihu was acting in the things of God without seeking His mind and will on the matter. It was self-willed worship, they would do things their own way and hang the consequences.

Sadly, like many dear Christians today! Nobody is going to tell me what I can or can't do. I'll come as I please, I'll go when I please, I'll do as I please, I'll be what I please. If something is not to my liking, even though it's a command of scripture and a ruling in the church, if does not suit me I will make my own rules up and act on them. Sure you will, but at what cost beloved? Nadab and Abihu said, we will do it our way! Why do you think that was? I'll tell you why! Lev.10v9.

"Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:"

Folks, I have a feeling these two boys had drunk a skin-full before they entered into that Holy place to Worship God. Dear folks, be careful how you come to Worship God! Don’t think you can come as you please, don’t think you will go when you please, don’t think you will do as you please, don’t think you will be what you please. If you do there will be a price to pay.

Lev. 10v2.

"And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD."

What kind of price are you paying today for disobedience?

These earthly bodies in which we dwell are set apart for the glory of God! And if my reading of our text is correct, no one, but no one in this building has the right or authority to use his or her body for anything other than that which glorifies God. Reason? Because we are under "New Management."

1 Cor.6v19b-20.

"You are not your own, you have been bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."

"God has hemmed me in to nothing, that I many have nothing, do nothing, want nothing, save Himself." Jim Elliot.

2. The Temple Is A Place Of High Devotion!

It is evident from our many readings in the Scriptures that the Temple was a place where people would gather to Worship.

This was a place where songs were sung, prayer was made, the scroll would be opened and the portion of Scripture they had would be read, and God was magnified. It really was the centre of Worship.

Isaiah 56v7.

"Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people."

Now, just as the temple was given over to God as a place of devotion, worship, praise and prayer, so these bodies are to be places, temples of worship, prayer, praise and devotion.

The motto of every missionary, whether preacher, printer, or schoolmaster, ought to be "Devoted for life." Adoniram Judson.

In the final years of our imprisonment, the North Vietnamese moved us from small cells with one or two prisoners to large rooms with as many as 30-40 men to a room. We preferred this situation for the companionship and strength we could draw from our fellow prisoners. In addition to moving us to new quarters, our captors also let us receive packages and letters from home. Many men received word from their families for the first time in several years. The improved conditions were a result of public pressure put on the North Vietnamese by the American public.

In our cell was one Navy officer, Lt. Commander Mike Christian. Over a period of time Mike had gathered bits and pieces of red and white cloth from various packages. Using a piece of bamboo he had fashioned into a needle, Mike sewed a United States flag on the inside of his shirt, one of the blue pyjama tops we all wore. Every night in our cell, Mike would put his shirt on the wall, and we would say the pledge of allegiance. I know that the pledge of allegiance may not be the most important aspect of our day now, but I can tell you that at the time it was the most important aspect of our lives.

This had been going on for some time until one of the guards came in as we were reciting our pledge. They ripped the flag off the wall and dragged Mike out. He was beaten for several hours and then thrown back into the cell. Later that night, as we were settling down to sleep on the concrete slabs that were our beds, I looked over to the spot where the guards had thrown Mike. There, under the solitary light bulb hanging from the ceiling, I saw Mike. Still bloody and his face swollen beyond recognition, Mike was gathering bits and pieces of cloth together. He was sewing a new American flag. John McCain. From the files of Leadership.

Now, that's devotion folks, in any man's language!

And just as the temple in Old Testament times was a place of devotion so these bodies, because the Holy Spirit has set up home in us and we have become the temple of God we are to be a people of devotion. You see, the Corinthian believers, with their minds and their mouths, were acknowledging Jesus Christ but with their bodies which is the dwelling place of God they were indulging in perverted worship.

And dear folks, we can so easily slip into the same kind of lifestyle. With our minds and our mouths pretend to worship God on Sunday, but the rest of the week we allow this body, which remember is the Temple of the Holy Ghost, to become contaminated in perverted living.

Worship is the highest and noblest act that any person can do. When men worship, God is satisfied! And when you worship, you are fulfilled! Think about this: why did Jesus Christ come? He came to make worshipers out of rebels. We who were once self-centred have to be completely changed so that we can shift our attention outside of ourselves and become able to worship him. Raymond C. Ortlund.

How can I worship God with my body then, is the question that arises in many a heart? Well, there are many ways, let me list just some of those ways.

A. The Believers Self-Life! Rom. 12v1-2.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

You see it’s one thing to offer on the Altar of God a dead sacrifice, it’s there until the sacrifice is complete, but it’s quite another thing to offer on the Altar of God a living sacrifice. That living sacrifice can have a mind of its own and when the heat of that fire is turned up it seems to that living sacrifice the most reasonable thing in the world to get out of there.

This is without doubt one of the most difficult offerings we can make! Why? Because it hurts so much, but oh, the rewards to follow.

The idea is that we will covenant with God that we will use our bodies, our Temples, for nothing that will degrade or dishonour His lovely name.

The Believers Supplicatory Life! Phil. 4v6.
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."

Here is another way to use our Temple's, our bodies, for the glory of God. Prayer!

For the Christian, prayer should be like breathing. You don’t have to think to breathe because the atmosphere exerts pressure on your lungs and forces you to breathe. That's why it is more difficult to hold your breath than it is to breathe. So it is when we are born into God's family, you enter into a spiritual atmosphere wherein God's presence and grace exert pressure, or influence on your life and prayer is the normal response. As believers, we who know the Lord as Saviour are now enveloped into the divine atmosphere to breathe the air of prayer. Only then can we survive in the darkness of the world.

Sadly many believers hold their spiritual breaths for long periods, thinking brief moments with God are sufficient to allow them to survive. But such restricting of their spiritual intake is caused by sinful desires. The fact is beloved, every believer must be continually in the presence of God, constantly breathing in His truths to be fully functional.

Because ours is such a free and prosperous society, it is easier for Christians to feel secure by presuming on instead of depending on God's grace.

Too many believers become satisfied with physical blessings and have a dwindling desire for spiritual blessings. Having become so dependent on our physical resources, we feel little or no need of spiritual resources.

When programs, methods, and money produce impressive results, there is an inclination to confuse human success with divine blessing. Christians can actually behave like practical humanists, living as if God is not necessary. Beloved, when that happens, passionate longing for God and yearning for his help will be missing, along with his empowerment.

Great supplicants have sought the secret place of the Most High, not that they might escape the world, but that they might learn to conquer it. Samuel Chadwick.

C. The Believer's Spiritual Life! Rom. 1v16.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

This is one of the most potent, penetrating statements in all the New Testament. Paul equates the gospel itself with God's almighty power! No wonder he says he is not ashamed of the gospel.

The remainder of the epistle is an exposition of this one statement, unfolding in brilliant detail the truth of the gospel and showing why it is so powerful.

That's why Romans takes such a prominent place among the Pauline epistles.

Paul was so committed to the gospel that occasionally he referred to it as "my gospel" (Rom. 2v16. 16V25. 2 Tim. 2v8). Far from being ashamed of it, he spoke of it as if it were his own prized possession!

But as Paul well knew, the cost of standing up for the gospel could be great.

Consequently, too many of us who profess the name of Christ behave as though we are ashamed of the gospel. That's why one of the ways we must display this Temple to be a place of devotion is by our spiritual standing in this world. Be spiritually strong, don’t allow this world the privilege of mocking our testimony. Too many people by far are a laughing stock to the world. Why? Because their Christian life is not in keeping with their Christian profession.

Do you know, mockery was a key weapon used by the earliest enemies of Christianity. The Romans especially tended to look upon Christianity as a crude and uncultured religion. Rumours circulated among Roman society that Christians were cannibals because they partook of the Lord's Supper. Christians were accused of sedition, murder, and other treacherous crimes.

It is not easy to take a bold stand for the gospel of Christ but it is necessary. Let me say it again as I have done in the past, how we live gives credibility to what comes from our lips. These are but three ways of using these Temples as a place of high devotion.

3. The Temple Is A Place Of Honourable Death!

That amazing Temple in Jerusalem was the Place, or Altar, of many a sacrifice unto death. Over the years, thousands and thousands of animals, at God's command, had been brought to that Place, or Altar for the express purpose of death! Yes, it was a place where praise and worship was the order of the day. Yet on absolutely every occasion those worshipers would come to that good place they would be greeted by the stench of death. This was a stark reminder that before praise and worship could take place, as God had commanded, there had to be the exercise of death.

Likewise beloved when we come to a public place for worship there must always be the mark of death about us.

2 Cor 5:17.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on that old rugged cross and by grace through faith we have been made "New Creatures" in Christ.

"New lamps for old!" you may remember was the cry of the old schemer who wished to own for himself Aladdin's wonderful lamp. The old Arabian story tells how Aladdin discovered a battered old lamp that, upon rubbing its side, produced a genie of great power and of complete subservience to the owner of the lamp. With the genie's aid Aladdin became one the most powerful and wealthy men of his day, winning the heart and hand of the beautiful princess.

His wife did not know the secret of the battered old lamp, so quite freely and willingly she agreed to swap the old for the new when the old schemer came around calling out "New lamps for old!"

"New lives for old!" Only with God it is not a con game but a thrilling, blessed reality. And with that new life comes, not a genie but God's blessed Holy Spirit to make all things possible for us. New lives for old! Why, it’s the very essence of the gospel. For God does not patch up old lives; he gives new ones.

The cross of Christ is God's instrument for delivering us from the old nature. God does not take us back to Pentecost but back to Calvary. He does not give us some kind of warm and fussy experience; He takes us to the cross. It is in our death, burial, and resurrection with Christ that deliverance comes. Jesus died not only for me but, as me! At Calvary, God dealt not only with the question of sin and Satan but also with the question of the death of my old man.

Dr. John Phillips of the "Exploring " series puts it like this.

Romans 6v1-Ch.7v6. The old nature in the believer is likened to---

An Old Man Rom. 6v6. The old man is now dead!
B. An Old Monarch Rom. 6v12-14. The old monarch is now defeated!

C. An Old Master Rom. 6v16-18. The old master is now deposed!

D. An Old Marriage Rom. 7v1-6. The old marriage is now dissolved!

An Irishman found a turtle in his back yard. It had been completely decapitated. Its head lay off by itself yet the turtle was still running around, all over the yard. Patrick was amazed and he called his friend Mike over to see it. "It's dead," said Patrick; "but it's still running around." "It can't be dead," said Mike, "or else it would be still." "It is dead," said Patrick, "here's its head and there's its body." The argument was getting hotter when just then along came O'Brian. They decided his verdict should be final. O'Brian looked at the turtle and it's decapitated head. "Well, there's no doubt about it, it's dead," he decided, "But it don’t believe it!"

Romans 6v6. "Our old man is crucified with Christ" and it’s time we began to show the mark of death to the old man and being alive to the new!

What does all that mean? It means we are to keep the body under control. Paul says in 1 Cor. 9v27 "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection:"

Purity of life is the mark of death to the old man and alive unto Christ!

4. The Temple Is A Place Of Heavenly Display!

When the people would see that Temple stand in all its glory in the sunlight of the day, it would be a constant reminder to them that the glory of the Lord shone within that Holy Building. It was without doubt a Heavenly Display of the Glory of God.

These bodies are a constant reminder or display to this old sin sick world that God lives within us. Every time this world of sinners lost and ruined by the fall, look on the children of God, it should be like a manifestation of the Light of God. That’s why Paul reminds the Corinthian believers in 2 Cor. 3v2.

"Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:"

You see dear folks, we may be the only sermon some people ever see or hear, SO IT NEEDS TO BE A GOOD ONE!

Whether we care for it or not, we are His witnesses. Our lives either reveal His love and grace or we bring dishonour to His Holy name. We are to be reflectors of the glory of God that men and women may see his power working in our lives and desire the kind of lifestyle we have.

Suppose the mole should cry out, "How I could have honoured the Creator had I been allowed to fly!" It would be very foolish, for a mole flying would be a most ridiculous object; while a mole fashioning its tunnels and casting up its castles is viewed with admiring wonder by the naturalist, who perceives its remarkable suitability to its sphere. The fish of the sea might say, "How I could display the wisdom of God if I could sing, or mount a tree, like a bird," but a dolphin in a tree would be a very grotesque affair, and there would be no wisdom of God to admire in trout's singing in the groves. But when the fish cuts the wave with agile fin, all who have observed it say how wonderfully it is adapted to its habitat, how exactly its every bone is fitted for its mode of life. Brother, it is just so with you. If you begin to say, "I cannot glorify God where I am, and as I am," I answer, neither could you anywhere if not where you are. Providence, which arranged your surroundings, appointed them so that, all things being considered, you are in the position in which you can best display the wisdom and grace of God. Charles Haddon Spurgeon.