Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
—1 Corinthians 3:16
In using the illustration of the temple as the type of God’s dwelling in us by the Holy Spirit, Scripture invites us to study this analogy. The temple was made in all things according to a pattern seen by Moses. Because man was created in the image of God, the temple represented the mystery of man’s approach into the presence of God. It also represented God’s way of entering into man, to take up His abode with him.
The temple was divided into three parts. There was its exterior with the Outer Court, into which every Israelite could enter. All the external religious services were performed there. Next, there was the Holy Place, into which the priests alone might enter, to present to God the blood or the incense, the bread or the oil.
But God dwelt in the Holy of Holies where none might venture. The momentary entering of the high priest once a year brought into full consciousness the truth that there was no place for man there, until the veil would be torn and taken away.
Man is God’s temple. In him, too, there are the three parts. In the body you have the Outer Court, the external visible life. Then there is the soul, with its inner life, its power of mind and feeling and will. There, the soul’s thoughts and desires move to and fro as the priests of the sanctuary, rendering God their service. Then comes, within the veil, hidden from all human sight and light, the hidden, innermost sanctuary, “the secret place of the most High” (Psalm 91:1). This is where God dwells and where man may not enter until the veil is torn at God’s own bidding.
Man does not have only body and soul, but also spirit. In the believer it is the inner chamber of the heart that the Spirit has taken possession of. He waits to do His glorious work, making soul and body holy to the Lord.
This indwelling, unless it is recognized, yielded to, and humbly maintained in love, often brings comparatively little blessing. The one great lesson, which the truth that we are God’s temple must teach us, is this: to acknowledge the Holy Presence that dwells within us. This alone will enable us to regard the whole temple, even the Outer Court, as sacred to His service and to yield every power of our nature to His leading and will.