You are God's dwelling place

The greatest privilege and honor given to the human race is the potential of becoming part of God’s dwelling place. Paul wrote to the Corinthians (6:16), “For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’” The previous passage (Eph. 3:14-20 above) is an explanation of how the glory of God – in the presence of Christ by His Spirit – actually comes into the temple of your body.

It will help you understand what Paul is saying if you keep in mind the structure of the Old Testament temple. First there was the outer court where people would come to interact with God. Think of this as a metaphor for the human body. Now let’s let the writer of Hebrews tell us about the inside rooms (9:2-3). “In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place.” This “Holy of Holies” is where God’s presence dwelled.

Think of the “Holy Place” as your soul – the seat of your emotions, intellect, and will. Then, think of the “Most Holy Place” as your human spirit. This is the part of your being that has communion with God.

First, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit in our “inner being” or human spirit – the inner sanctuary of our being. Christ comes to dwell in this “Holy of Holies” by faith. By His presence within our spirit, we are “rooted and grounded” in love.”

Love becomes the basis of our thoughts, emotions, and behavior. It becomes the operating principle of our soul. We are enabled to understand something that is incomprehensible to the natural human mind – the breadth, length, and depth of Christ’s love.

So we become saturated with God’s love. It fills us – takes over our entire being – and is revealed in our bodies - the outer court of our temple where people come in contact with us.

When the glory of the Lord comes to His temple (our bodies) like this, God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine through us. Since the operating principle in our lives is no longer selfishness, God does not hesitate to speak and act through us. This brings great glory to God through his church because we are reflecting the presence of Christ to the world.