1 Corinthians 3:16 (ESV) -- Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

We live in a culture that is fixated on our bodies. Billions of dollars are spent every year on products and services aimed at giving us better, stronger, faster, and more attractive bodies. People have surgeries to not only fix our broken bodies, but to beautify them. 

We take vitamins to maintain vitality. We have gym memberships to lose weight or build muscles. There are diet programs aimed at helping shed pounds, lower cholesterol, and regulate our blood-sugar. If you simply pay attention on a daily basis to the advertising happening around you, you will reach the conclusion that our bodies are really important. 

What is interesting about this is that the Bible agrees that the body is important. But not in the same way the world thinks. Yes, the Bible affirms the beauty of the body. Scripture encourages us against things destructive to the body (gluttony and drunkenness). The body matters. 

But something the Bible teaches about the body that the world does not talk about is what our passage outlines today. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul reveals that our bodies are dwelling places of the Holy Spirit. God dwells with His people, not in a temple made by hands, but in the temple of our body. The Bible calls our bodies temples of God. This has nothing to do with worshiping our bodies and has everything to do with worshiping the One who dwells in our body.

As Christians, a central teaching that we hold is that God is with His people at all times. We are never alone. The way He dwells with us is through the Holy Spirit living inside us. Where inside of us does the Spirit live? I don’t know. The Bible doesn’t explain. But it does reveal that:

Our bodies are not ours to
do with what we please.
They were made by God, for God,
and are the dwelling place of God. 
This should lead us to not
only care for our bodies,
but to worship the One dwelling there.

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Reflection & Journal
- What are some of the craziest fads with the body you have witnessed? 
- What are some reasons why the body is so important according to Scripture?
- In what ways is the Spirit dwelling in us applicable for daily living? How does He help us?

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