Reason #21: Jesus Rose From The Dead…So That Our Bodies Might Become Temples
In the previous Reason (#20) we made the connection between Jesus and the theme of the temple in the Bible--just as the temple was the place where heaven and earth met so too we see that Jesus is the place (house, "temple") where God and humanity meet perfectly.
That Jesus is the temple is both true of Jesus Himself (he is both divine and human) as well as what Christ accomplished through his life, death and resurretion.
But the theme of the temple does not end with Jesus. It is fulfilled through Jesus but does not end with Jesus.
As we keep reading the story we find out that not only is Jesus the temple but through Him, disciples of Jesus also become temples--places where heaven and earth meet.
One place this is expressed is in 1 Corinthians chapter 6:
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).
Jesus, through the gift of His Spirit, makes our bodies into temples. In the context of these verses this truth has implications for our sexual lives but, by implication, that our bodies are temples has implications for our whole lives!
Christ's desire is that in our bodies and through our bodies heaven and earth meet and so we fulfill in our bodies the prayer of Jesus: "Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Let's worship God with our bodies, temples of the Holy Spirit!
Note: For more on this temple theme check out the following video: