What Does ‘My Body Is a Temple’ Mean?

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

As a former personal trainer, I often heard clients express the notion that, “My body is a temple”.

In the secular world, treating your body as a temple refers to loving your body and being comfortable in your own skin. Ways to love your physical body include exercising, eating healthy, resting, wearing clothes that fit properly, and treating your body with facials, manicures, and massages.

But as a Christian, the body as a temple has a deeper meaning still. Not only do we need to respect and honor the physical body God gave us but we need to do the same with our spiritual health because our bodies house the Holy Spirit.

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? (1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV)

In the Old Testament, God’s Spirit dwelled within the Temple. The Temple at Jerusalem was a sacred place. It was a sin to defile it as it housed the presence of God. Only priests were allowed to enter the inner areas of the Temple.

But God’s Spirit wasn’t restricted to a building. He would also come upon particular individuals. This usually was for a certain time for a special purpose.

We can read many examples of God’s Spirit filling people within the pages of the Old Testament. The book of Judges alone shares examples of the Spirit of the Lord coming upon Othniel, Gideon, and Jephthah.

Today, we live under the new covenant. And with the new covenant, Jesus promises that all believers receive the Holy Spirit. He lives within us.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8 NIV).

As Christ-followers, we are all filled with the Spirit of God. Our body is God’s temple.

This is an incredible blessing. But it also carries remarkable responsibility. As God’s Spirit lives within us, we need to care for His dwelling place. We must ensure that it is free of corruption and pollution.

We need to keep our temples pure. No gossip, bitterness, lying. No pride, envy, greed. No sexual immorality. No gluttony. No anger.

Keeping the house of the Holy Spirit clean is a daily challenge. If not an hourly one.

But God does not leave us to our own devices. We can ask Him to help us to keep from defiling His temple, our body. We can trust that He will help us when we ask for things that are in His will.

Don’t let another hour go by allowing sin to defile your temple. Ask God to help you clean up and keep the house of the Holy Spirit pure.

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