Living Temples of the Spirit of God

1 Cor 3:16-17
"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple."

This verse is very timely, especially on this Good Friday. The accounts of Jesus' death in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark & Luke) have vivid descriptions of what took place in the instant the He gave up His spirit.

Matt 27:50-52
"And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life."

Mark 15:38
"The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."

Luke 23:44-45
"It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two."

Only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement. Only then could he cross through the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the Sanctuary. When he entered, he had to ritually purify himself and follow a strict set of rules as he offered the sacrifice for the atonement of the sins of Israel. There were bells sewn in the hem of his robe and a rope tied around his ankle because when you entered the Holy of Holies you were literally entering into the presence of God. If you weren't pure or if you made a mistake (like touching the Ark of the Covenant) you would instantly drop dead. If the bells stopped ringing the attending priest would call out and if there was no response they would pull on the rope because this was the only way to recover the body.

They key point  of these accounts in the Gospels is that the curtain of the temple that separated the Holy of Holies from the sanctuary was torn in two. Furthermore it was torn from the top down.  What is the significance of this?

It meant the Jesus had become our sacrifice, our atonement and become our sacrificial lamb. Because He was the perfect sacrifice the atonement had been satisfied once and for all meaning that no further sacrifice was necessary. By being torn top to bottom it also signifies that the temple is no longer God's dwelling place. From the day of Pentecost on, His Spirit would dwell in the hearts of all who call upon the name of Jesus for their salvation. In essence, we become the temple that is indwelled by God. There is no more need for a temple building, no more need for sacrifices and no more need for the priesthood as it was then constituted. In fact, (in spite of the teachings of the Roman Church) we, the body of Christ, become the priesthood.

1 Peter 2:5
"you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood , offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

1 Peter 2:9
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood , a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

If then, our bodies, our hearts are the temple, the dwelling place of the Spirit of God how are we to live? How are we to treat our bodies?

 We are sacred.

Let that sink in.

 We are the dwelling place of the Most High God.

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