Do You Not Realize?

In the Old Testament era, God's presence on earth dwelt in a man-made structure, first in the tabernacle, a portable tent made by the Israelites during the time of Moses, and then in the temple, a stationary building constructed by King Solomon.

On the other hand, in the New Testament era, God's presence on earth dwells in people, first in His Son, Jesus, and then, after Jesus ascended into heaven and God gave us His Holy Spirit, in everyone who gives his/her heart and life to Him.

And yet today, Christians tend to believe that God's presence stills resides in a building, and we call these buildings churches. Why else would Christians spend millions of dollars on constructing and furnishing these churches while the real temples of God are neglected, defiled by the lusts of the world, and ruined? (Such neglect quenches God's presence, dims His glory, and causes us to be ineffective for Him.)

If we want others to experience God's presence and see His glory, we need to focus on honouring and restoring the true temples of God, not extravagantly building or updating the man-made false ones that feed arrogance and pride, and rob the poor, the hungry, the needy, and the desperate, Christ-less souls in the world.

"Don't you realize that your body

is the temple of the Holy Spirit,

who lives in you

and was given to you by God?

You do not belong to yourself."

1 Corinthians 6:19 (NLT)

As Christians, our bodies, which are given to us by God, are the temples of God's Holy Spirit. Therefore, we do not belong to ourselves. Instead, our bodies belong to God. These temples, which are our bodies, are what we need to continually clean, restore, care for, protect, strengthen, and cherish. If we do these things, then God's glory will shine and His power and might will be revealed.