His Dwelling Place

What is the purpose for which our bodies were made? It is an important purpose, and the answer is exciting and simple. In his first epistle to the church at Corinth, Paul wrote:

“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?” (1 Corinthians 6:19)

Why did God design and create a body for man? The answer is amazing. He wanted the body of each redeemed believer to be a temple for Him to dwell in, through His Holy Spirit. Again, if you view your own body from that perspective, it will give you a totally different attitude toward it. Your body was designed to be a temple for God to inhabit.

The Bible tells us that God does not dwell in temples made with hands (see Acts 7:48; 17:24). You could build any building—a synagogue, a cathedral, a church, whatever you desire—but God will not live there. When God’s people meet in such buildings, God will be there with them, but He doesn’t live there. God has designed His own temple. What is it? Our bodies.

It is staggering to think that almighty God, the Creator of heaven and earth, wants to occupy our physical bodies and make them His temple.

When Jesus was speaking about the Holy Spirit in John 7, He said:

“‘He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.’ (But this spake he of the Spirit…)” (verse 38, KJV)

There is an area in your physical body that God wants to occupy with His Holy Spirit.