His temple

In the Old Testament, God’s people made much of the temple. It was revered as the dwelling place of God:

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah (Psalm 84:1–4)

In the New Testament, God moved into a new dwelling place. These and other verses say that the people of God have become His temple. Even though He cannot be contained in a building, He lives in us!

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16–17)

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)

I know I am not to worship my body as the Jews thought of and loved their temple. I know also that I’m not to think of other Christians in that way. Their bodies are holy places yet it is God who is worshiped. At the same time, I’m wondering if my attitude toward other Christians would benefit from a more continual thought that God does indeed dwell in them — yes, in all His children.

At our small group Bible study, the man in the video we were watching said that humility was realizing that God lives in His people and because of that, others are as important or even more important than I am. They may not look like Jesus (as if I know what He looks like) and may not always behave as Jesus, yet they are temples of the Holy Spirit.

For the Jews, the temple was also a social place where they met with and enjoyed one another's company. For the Christian, the fact of God living in us is our connection to each other. I can have an experience of deep communion when there is nothing between the God in me and the same God in others. Our relationship is rich because it is about sharing Jesus with each other. We can share, understand and appreciate Christian fellowship because our common foundation is the Holy Spirit and the mind of God.

The only way this can be ruined is if one or both sides of the conversation have unconfessed sin in their lives. Because sin puts a barricade between me and God, it most certainly puts a barricade between me and other Christians. I can smile nicely and fake it, but I cannot make it happen unless I keep short accounts with the Lord.

^^^^^^^

Jesus, I am extremely grateful for the fellowship You make possible between Your people. I’m also thankful that when it is missing, either I need to be confessing something, or interceding for the other person. I cannot judge them about my ideas of what might be wrong, but I can ask You to clear the barricade so we can freely and transparently share the blessings of Your grace.