John 1:14 contains a beautiful truth: the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. God in Christ became flesh and dwelt among us. But why was this necessary? This was necessary so that Jesus could pay the price for our sins, so that He could live in us, and because He loves us.
This is the gospel: For God so loved you and I that He gave His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Now, anyone who believes in Jesus can live forever with God. The beautiful thing is, when we place our faith in Jesus, we not only receive the assurance of eternal life in the presence of God, but we receive the divine blessing of living every moment in the presence of God. No longer will God reside in a separate space from us due to sin. God resides in us in the person of the Holy Spirit.
The believer is the dwelling place of God—the temple of His Spirit. Pause and let this truth dwell in you richly. Meditate on this miracle. What an honor it is to be the temple of God Himself!
The fact that we get to be the temple of God when we place our faith in Jesus reveals God’s deep desire and love for us. He made a way for His presence to remain with us forever. This truth also confirms the purity we have in Christ. On our own, we are not a suitable dwelling place for the Lord. When we are washed in Christ’s blood at the moment of salvation, we become the house of the Holy Spirit of God.
Friend, as a believer in Jesus Christ, the spotless and loving Lamb of God, you are joined to the Lord. He is in you, and you are in Him. You are full of resurrection power. You are full of God. You have boldness and access to Him at all times. He is not far, but near and present. He is Immanuel, God with you.
Since you house the Spirit of the Living God, you get to honor Him with your body, as God commands believers in 1 Corinthians 6. Romans 12:1 shows us how to do so: we offer the entirety of ourselves to Him. In John 6:38, Jesus proclaimed boldly that He did not come to do His own will but the will of His Father. To offer ourselves entirely to God, we must proclaim this same truth. We must relinquish sin and fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2). Deep peace ensues when we surrender all to our loving Father. The enemy can not claim power over us when we surrender all to our victorious Father.
I want to remind you what it means to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Love dwells in you. Joy dwells in you. Peace dwells in you. Patience dwells in you. Kindness dwells in you. Goodness dwells in you. Gentleness dwells in you. Faithfulness dwells in you. Self-control dwells in you. The fullness of God is yours, for He chose you to be His dwelling place.
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