Title: Where The Spirit Lives
Text: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Date: March 18, 2012
Place: Washington A/G
Introduction
I. A Body Conscious World
A. How many focus pieces do we find in today’s publication, blogs and news programs?
B. There are great concerns about our physique
1. Every Week there’s a new diet program or several new diet programs
2. There are fitness centers, walking trails, Zumba classes on and on the list goes
C. It is an obsession for some
D. We are called to be stewards
II. A Deeper Meaning for the Christian
A. The day you became a Christian there was a transformation that was more than spiritual, more than emotional, there is a physical dimension to that conversion as well.
B. When you become a believer there is more than just the rebirth of the inner man; there is also the repurposing of the body
C. Mistaken teachings that suggest that things done in this body are of little concern because they have no bearing on spiritual things.
1. Paul dealt with this in the Corinthian church
2. They were acting in immoral ways with their bodies
D. 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. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NKJV)
Body
I. Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit
A. “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?”
1. Paul is writing to the Corinthian Church concerning the activities they were engaging their bodies in
2. He reminds them that their bodies are no longer their own but belong to God; purchased by the blood of Christ.
3. Consider the Old Testament Temple
a. The great care given to its design
b. The great wealth placed into its construction
c. There was to be something of its character and presentation that said to the world that God dwelt there.
4. The day of Dedication
When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's house. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying: "For He is good, For His mercy endures forever." (2 Chronicles 7:1-3 NKJV)
5. A Temple not Made with hands
a. God no longer confines His presence to a Temple made with wood and earthen materials but dwells with man
b. These buildings are not God’s temples; they are consecrated and set apart for His service
c. These Buildings are not even a church; they are just the place where the church meets.
6. Your Body is God’s Temple
a. Be careful where it goes
b. Be careful what it does
c. Be careful how it reacts
II. The Holy Spirit Lives in This Temple
A. It’s not just the person who looks out of your eye sockets who lives in your body if you’re a believer
B. “Who is in you”
C. How can that be?
D. We don’t understand it completely
1. Our minds cannot conceive fully the fact that the God of the universe is able to dwell within the hearts of men, corporately, individually, simultaneously
2. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit
3. Jesus Explains
"If you love Me, keep My commandments. And 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. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. (John 14:15-20 NKJV)
a. He dwells with you
- Old Testament The Spirit of the Lord would move upon an appointed individual for a specific task.
- Several times the Bible says, “and the Spirit of the Lord moved upon,
b. He will be in you
- “It’s going to be different.”
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4 NKJV)
- The Scripture encourages us
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, (Ephesians 5:19 NKJV)
E. The Result: The Spirit is with you wherever you go
1. His power is available whenever you need it
2. Every word and deed He hears and sees
a. You may have activities that you’d rather keep hidden from those around you.
b. Everything we say and do is laid bare before the eyes of the Spirit who lives within us
3. He is grieved at our inconsistencies
III. The Spirit Glorifies God in the Temple
A. You and I were made to worship
B. Our lives are to be lived as an act of worship unto the Lord
C. The Work of the Spirit is to glorify Christ
1. Jesus’ description
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. (John 16:13-14 NKJV)
2. How it works
a. The Spirit glorifies Christ in our hearts
b. The Spirit glorifies Christ through our lives
- He gives us the power to overcome temptation
- He gives us the power to bear in our lives the fruits that evidences His residence in our lives.
3. For centuries His witness in the hearts of believers has been so powerful that multitudes have glorified God by giving their lives for His glory
a. He was with Stephen when he was stoned
b. He was with Paul during his stonings and beatings
c. He was with John exiled on the isle of Patmos
Conclusion
I. Surrender your body to the Lord.
II. Glorify God in your daily life.
