Episode 8 - We are created to be the Temple of the Living God

AMAZING TRUTH: YOUR BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF GOD (1ST Corinthians 3:17-18, 1st Corinthians 6:17-20). 

THE HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 

When King Solomon finished the first Temple, which took him seven years to build at a cost of  about 3 hundred million dollars, the Temple was eleven floors high, 1 million square feet, could  house up to ten thousand people and was divided into three parts: 

1. The Great or Outer Court. This is where the general public could gather for worship.

2. The Holy Place. This is where the priest would offer sacrifices for sin on a daily basis.

3. The Holies of Holies. This is the place where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. The Ark of the Covenant contained: 

1) Aaron (the first High Priest). His rod that budded. 

2) The Golden Pot of Manna. 

3) The 10 Commandments (Hebrews 9:4). 

The High Priest would enter the Holies of Holies for the atonement for sin once per year. This  was known as the day of atonement or Yom Kippur (the word atonement is mentioned about  130 times in the Old Testament, and it means (substitute/forgiveness/to appease/to  condone/to reconcile). 

Two goats were brought to the High Priest on the day of Yom Kippur. The blood of the goat that  was sacrificed would be sprinkled seven times on the Mercy Seat which was the top of the Ark  of the Covenant. 

The blood was then sprinkled seven times on the head of the live goat. This goat became  known as the scapegoat (the number ‘seven’ in the Bible is mentioned hundreds of times and is  the number of completion). 

The Holies of Holies was a perfect cube that was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, 30 feet high, and was overlaid with gold (1st King 6:19-20). 

The New Jerusalem (Revelations 21) is also a perfect cube of 1400 miles or 2200 kilometres which equals 2 million square miles. Interestingly enough, it is also paved with gold. 

NOW THE MIRACLE OF YOU AND ME 

We also are made up of three parts: 

1. Body/Physical 

2. Soul/Emotional 

3. Spirit/Spiritual (1st Thessalonians 5:23) 

Unlike Solomon’s Temple, which was made of brick and mortar, God formed each of us and  knew us in our mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5). We are also told that we are fearfully and  wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). HERE IS AN AMAZING BIBLICAL TRUTH. The word atonement  in the New Testament is mentioned only once and it means restoration to a Divine Favor  (Romans 5:11). 

WHEN DID THIS HUGE TRANSFORMATION TAKE PLACE? 

It happened at the very moment when Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. Jesus Christ  shed his blood seven ways. 

At this moment the veil of the Temple which protected the Holies of Holies was split in two  from the top to the bottom. At this moment of transformation there was a massive earthquake  so powerful that many graves were opened, and many dead people arose (Matthew 27:50-54).  This was no accidental event. Consider this: It is estimated that the veil of the Temple was as  high as 30 feet and Jewish custom says that if it was wet it would take 300 men just to pull it  and even two horses could not pull it. 

The significance of this incredible event again in the Old Testament you would need a High  Priest and then only once per year could enter the Holies of Holies. 

Because you and I are now the Temple, the veil has been ripped from top to bottom which now  allows us 7/24 access to our High Priest which is Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:14-16). 

If this doesn’t convince you who you are in the Lord, consider this: 

The DNA in one cell in the human body holds the equivalent of roughly 800 books of  information. A typical human body has about - hundred trillion cells, each of which has a DNA  strand that could be uncoiled to about three metres in length. Thus, if the DNA in one adult  human were strung together it would stretch from Earth to the Sun and back about 70 times. 

– Josh MacDowell 

AS THE TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT WE ARE TO THE LORD 

Jesus Christ Himself prophesied that the brick and mortar Temple would be destroyed, and  it was in 70 AD (Mark 13:1-2). 

King Solomon, the wisest, richest man that ever lived, gives us some incredible, amazing  principles on how we should live today as the TEMPLE OF GOD (Proverbs 3). Proverbs 3  contains: 

• 25 COMMANDS 
• 23 BLESSINGS 
• 10 VALUES OF HAPPINESS 
• WORDS OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE FROM GOD 

The context is VERY IMPORTANT. 

When Solomon wrote these words, which were directed by the Holy Spirit, the Jewish men  of the day would place the Words of God in a pouch which would then be tied around their  neck as they went to their daily prayer. Lesson learned. In other words, where their neck  went God went. THINK ABOUT THIS: Why would the Jewish men do this? Almighty  God calls His Holy Word the apple of His eye. Apple means pupil. The pupil of the eye is  what lets the light in. 

"MY BODY IS A TEMPLE AND MY TEMPLE NEEDS REDECORATING" - JOAN RIVERS 

HERE IS THE BOTTOM LINE – "YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE AND YOU HAVE TO TREAT  IT THIS WAY BECAUSE THAT IS HOW GOD HAS DESIGNED YOU."  - Ray Lewis

Download notes for this episode (PDF): CLICK HERE

Last episode: CLICK HERE