“16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”

Those who really believe, our bodies are the Temple of God. The Spirit of God indwells us. The fullness of the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit fills our hearts and saturates every cell of our bodies. His presence is in us and surrounds us. He is closer to us than anyone else in our lives.

John 14:16-17

“[Jesus] I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

The gift of the Holy Spirit is that He will abide within us forever. Even when we are with Jesus, our bodies are changed to be like His, and we are completely free from this mortality: The fullness of the Holy Spirit will continue in us for eternity. He dwells with us and is in us.

John 14:23

“Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. “

The fullness of the Father and the Son has made our hearts His home. We don’t think about that sometimes. It is true. The fullness of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit indwell us. God is one and if the Holy Spirit indwells us He cannot be separated from the Father and the Son. We love Jesus, He lives in us, and we keep His word if we truly believe.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

This text points out a very important truth. Our body is the Temple of God. We do not belong to ourselves any longer. Jesus bought me. My body, my soul, and my spirit belong to God. I am the property of God. Therefore my purpose is to glorify God. I belong to Him completely, and in all honesty I have no right to do anything with myself outside of His will. I am not free, nor do I have liberty. I am a servant of Jesus Christ nothing more.

All honor and glory to His name.

Now, our text says that God will destroy anyone who defiles His Temple.

1) This text refers to anyone who would defile our bodies in one form or another. Anything that defiles His Temple will bring His wrath. There is a whole, massive list of everything that could be considered defilement.

2) I think this text refers to our actions in regard to our bodies. We are to live holy and righteous lives. We are to do what is right and good in His sight with our bodies. If we defile our bodies we can be subjected to destruction even though we are saved. God disciplines His children (Hebrews 12:3-11). We should be very careful and fearful when it comes to sin. God’s discipline can include death among other things (1 Corinthians 11:30-32). So we should be very careful how we live.

What should we do when we see evil? Not look at it. Leave.

How about hearing evil? Not listen to it. Leave.

How about speaking evil? Shut up.

What if we are somewhere in the presence of evil? Flee.

Doing something wrong? Stop.

Should we tattoo our bodies? Do we think God wants graffitti on the wall of His Temple? Would we go to Jerusalem when the Temple of God was there and write graffitti on it? I wonder if it is alright if the tattoo glorifies Christ in some way? Maybe if I tattooed scripture on my body that would be pleasing to the Lord. I’ll have to pray about that one. That brings to mind putting a Jesus fish on my car. I decided not to because I didn’t want my driving to dishonor the name of the Lord if I did something wrong or foolish. If I had a Jesus fish tattooed on my arm and someone saw it when I was doing something wrong would that dishonor His name? That brings us Leviticus 19:28. The Lord told the Israelites not to tattoo themselves. Instead He told them to tie His commands onto their bodies (Deut 6:8). Then when they made them “wide” because of their corrupt self righteousness, Jesus pointed out their hypocrisies (Matthew 23:5).

I think about what is said about Jesus in John 2:13-17.

“The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me” (ESV).

If Jesus felt that way about the Temple in Jerusalem how do you think He fills about our bodies? What would the Lord do if He cleaned out those things that defiled His Temple now? That is why Paul said we are to live holy and pleasing lives.

Romans 12:1

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

I plead with you as well. Live holy, pure lives.

Lord, help me to live a holy and pure life before you. I do not want to defile your Temple or your name.