God's Temple

The print version of the message given in the Sunday morning worship service in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on March 5, 2023.  The Bible verses used are 1 Corinthians 3:3-17.

            We read several verses out of the Bible today, as we do every week.  But while I included other verses to give context, today I really want to focus on just one.  First Corinthians 3:16.  ”Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”

            It seems to me that this one little verse--just one sentence, seventeen words--says an awful lot to us.  The first thing it says, at least to me, is that each and every one of us is very special and very important to God.  I mean, think about this.  You are God’s temple.  Not just your physical body, but everything about you.  Your mind, your heart, your body, your soul.  Your hopes, your dreams, your fears, your desires.  Everything about you, everything that makes you you, is God’s temple.

            That’s pretty cool, you know?  Because the temple was a really special place.  Especially the original temple, the one built by King Solomon.  The Bible goes on and on about that first temple.  It gives the exact dimensions of it, which were directed by God.  It gives all the materials the temple was made out of, which were also directed by God.  

And this first temple was made out of the best, the most expensive stuff available.  It was made of cedar and juniper.  It was made of special stone from a special quarry.  There were all sorts of ornate carvings.  And everything was overlaid with silver and gold and gold and bronze.  There were tens of thousands of people who worked on that first temple, and it still took them seven years to build it, that’s how incredible it was.  And of course, the cost of it was enormous.  It’s been estimated that it would cost over two hundred billion of today’s dollars to build that temple.

            And the thing is, the Apostle Paul, and the people of Corinth that he was writing to, would’ve known all that.  What Paul was telling them, and what Paul is telling us, is that each one of us, you and me, is just as valuable as that temple.  Each one of us is just as beautiful as that temple.  Each one of us has been created out of the best stuff available.  And each one of us has been made according to exact specifications that came from God.

            That’s pretty awesome to think about.  If that does not make us feel good about ourselves I don’t know what will.  To think that we were made to God’s exact specifications with as much care as it took to make the most beautiful, most expensive building that has ever existed on earth.  That’s pretty good.

            But of course, there was a reason the temple was made the way it was.  Maybe you know what it is.  The temple was not just a place of worship, the way the church is now.  The temple was thought of as, quite literally, the house of God.  The temple was where God lived.  That was not just a metaphor or something--they believed in it literally.  The temple was where God physically lived.  That’s why it was so important that it be built the way it was.  They were not just building a house of God.  They were building a house for God.  And they wanted to build a house that was worthy of God, to the extent that it’s possible for humans to build a house that’s worthy of God.

            So when Paul says “the Spirit dwells in your midst”, that was not just poetic license.  That was not just something Paul was saying because it sounded good.  Paul meant it literally.  Paul was saying that just as God lives in the temple, the Spirit of God lives in each of us.

            Now that’s a pretty awesome thing to think about, too.  To think that God’s Spirit physically lives in each one of us.  That God’s Spirit lives in me.  That God’s Spirit lives in you.  That the Spirit of the Almighty, all-powerful God would live in us.  That’s quite an honor.  That’s pretty good, too.

            But while it’s a pretty awesome thing to think about, it’s also a pretty awesome responsibility.  Because just as the temple was made to be a house worthy of God, to the extent it’s possible for humans to do that, you and I need to make ourselves worthy of God, to the extent it’s possible for us to do that.  If you and I are God’s temple, if God’s Spirit is going to literally live in us, then we need to do everything we can to be that perfect, beautiful temple that is worthy of having God live in it.

            What does that mean?  Well, it means we need to take a look at every aspect of our lives.  Because, as I said, when Paul says that we are God’s temple, he’s talking about every aspect of our lives.  Our physical body is part of it, but only a part.  Our thoughts are part of it, too.  So are our feelings.  Our minds, our hearts, our bodies, our souls, our hopes, our dreams, our fears, our desires, everything about us, everything that makes us who we are, is part of God’s temple.

            That means we need to make everything about ourselves worthy of God, to the extent that we possibly can.  Our thoughts need to be worthy of God.  Our words need to be worthy of God.  Our feelings need to be worthy of God.  Our emotions need to be worthy of God.  Our hopes and dreams need to be worthy of God.  If you and I are God’s temple, then everything about us needs to be worthy of God.

            That’s a pretty tall order.  I certainly have not done it.  I’ve had my moments--I suspect each of us has had our moments--but I certainly am not worthy of having God dwell in me.  I don’t know anyone who is.

            But maybe that’s the point.  Because you know, as great and fantastic as that first temple was, for all the billions of dollars and all the man-hours it took to build it, it still was not really worthy of being the house of God.  It may have been the best, fanciest, most expensive building that ever was or ever will be, but it still was not worthy of being a place for God to live.  It’s simply not possible.  No building built by humans, no matter how much it costs or how long it takes to build, could ever be worthy of being the dwelling place of the almighty, all-powerful, awesome, perfect, holy God.

            And no human being, no matter how good, no matter how righteous, no matter how generous or loving or caring they are, can ever be worthy of being the dwelling place of the almighty, all-powerful, awesome, perfect, holy God either.  It’s simply not possible.  That is, it’s not possible for us.  But it is possible for God.

            See, God takes our best efforts and makes them better.  That first temple, as great as it was, was not worthy of God.  But God took the best efforts of the people of Israel and blessed them and made them worthy of God.  And that’s what God will do for us.  God will take our best efforts and bless them and make them worthy of God.

            So our part in this, what we need to do, is make sure we’re giving God our best efforts.  Our thoughts are not going to worthy of God--but we need to make our best effort to make them that way.  Our words--certainly my words--are not going to be worthy of God--but we need to make our best effort to make them that way.  Our feelings, our emotions, our hopes, our dreams, are not going to be worthy of God--but we need to make our best effort to make them that way.  If we do, then God will take our best efforts and bless them and make them worthy of God.

            And the best way I know to do that is to spend time with God.  That means prayer, of course, and it means reading the Bible, but it also means just spending time in God’s presence.  Spending time thinking about who God is.  Spending time thinking about all the things God does.  Spending time thinking about all the times God has been there for us.  Spending time thinking about all the gifts God has given us.  Spending time thinking about all the times we did not get what we wanted, but later on got something better.  Spending time thinking about how everything we have and everything we are comes from God.

            If we spend that kind of time with God, we’re more likely to give God our best efforts.  Not out of force or obligation, but because we’ll want to.  When we think about how awesome, how incredible God is, when we think of everything God has given us, we want to give God our best efforts.  It does not feel like an effort.  It feels like a joy.

            We are in the time of Lent.  A time for self-examination.  A time when we look at who we are, and who God is, and how far short we fall.  A time when we ask for forgiveness and resolve, with God’s help, to change our lives.  And not just to make minor changes–to make important, permanent changes in our lives.

            So in this period of Lent, spend time with God.  Think about who God is and what God does.  Think of all the gifts God has given you.  And then give God your best efforts.  God will bless those efforts and make them worthy of God.

            You, and I, are God’s temple.  God’s Spirit dwells within us.  That’s an incredible honor.  Let’s do all we can to be worthy of it.