The Sanctuary of the Lord - Psalms 113-115 and I Corinthians 6
The word sanctuary means "the place set apart", the holy place. In the Bible it refers to the place set apart for God. It is the special place where God has chosen to dwell. It is almost too marvelous for us to comprehend that God wants to live with us, but He does. He desires to be with us, right where we live.
In the Old Testament God chose to dwell in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple. The psalmist said that "Judah became His sanctuary." Of all the nations of the world, God chose to live with the Jewish people. This was a great honor. They had the presence of God with them, and they could worship Him and serve Him in a very personal and intimate way. They could go to the Temple, sing His praises, and offer His sacrifices, but instead they chose to worship idols and depart from God. God came to them, bu they left Him. What a tragedy!
Before we get too judgmental, we need to consider the sanctuary of God today. It is not a building, even though we call one room in our church building, the sanctuary, sometimes. God lives in every believer. He has chosen us as His sanctuary. I Corinthians 6 speaks of the Corinthian Christians suing each other in secular courts and going to prostitutes. They were grieving the Holy Spirit who lived in them by their sinful actions. They were disgracing God in front of the unbelievers, too. That is why Paul reminded them that their bodies were the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Whatever they did, they did in the presence of God. Therefore, instead of sinning, they should have been glorifying God in their actions. The same is true of us as believers today. Do we stop and think that we are God's sanctuary? We should think of this all the time. There is no way we can escape from His presence, but we can grieve Him and disgrace Him before others. What a blessing to have God live with us. Let's not put Him through such grief. Let's glorify God in our bodies.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 116-118 and I Corinthians 7:1-19.
In the Old Testament God chose to dwell in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple. The psalmist said that "Judah became His sanctuary." Of all the nations of the world, God chose to live with the Jewish people. This was a great honor. They had the presence of God with them, and they could worship Him and serve Him in a very personal and intimate way. They could go to the Temple, sing His praises, and offer His sacrifices, but instead they chose to worship idols and depart from God. God came to them, bu they left Him. What a tragedy!
Before we get too judgmental, we need to consider the sanctuary of God today. It is not a building, even though we call one room in our church building, the sanctuary, sometimes. God lives in every believer. He has chosen us as His sanctuary. I Corinthians 6 speaks of the Corinthian Christians suing each other in secular courts and going to prostitutes. They were grieving the Holy Spirit who lived in them by their sinful actions. They were disgracing God in front of the unbelievers, too. That is why Paul reminded them that their bodies were the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Whatever they did, they did in the presence of God. Therefore, instead of sinning, they should have been glorifying God in their actions. The same is true of us as believers today. Do we stop and think that we are God's sanctuary? We should think of this all the time. There is no way we can escape from His presence, but we can grieve Him and disgrace Him before others. What a blessing to have God live with us. Let's not put Him through such grief. Let's glorify God in our bodies.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 116-118 and I Corinthians 7:1-19.