It is God who works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure.  Phil 2:13

Today’s message is in honor of one of the giants of our faith, Oswald Chambers.  The topic is dear to this ministry and copied from his best known book, a Christian classic in print since 1935, My Utmost for His Highest, (Dec 5).

 “The Temple of the Holy Spirit”

“…only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you” (Genesis 41:40).

I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under His authority.  Paul said he did not “set aside the grace of God” — make it ineffective (Gal 2:21).  The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever.  I am not being saved–I am saved.  Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God has placed within me.  To “work out [my] own salvation” (Phil 2:12) means that I am responsible for using what He has given me.  It also means I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or secretly, but openly and boldly. “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection…” (1 Cor 9:27). Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God.  God has given us the responsibility to rule over all “the temple of the Holy Spirit,” including our thoughts and desires (1 Cor 6:19).  We are responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones.  But most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others than we are in judging ourselves.  We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we condemn things in the lives of others simply because we are not naturally inclined to do them.

Paul said, “I beseech you … that you present your bodies a living sacrifice…” (Rom 12:1).  What I must decide is whether or not I will agree with my Lord and Master that my body will indeed be His temple.  Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the law concerning the body are summed up for me in this revealed truth–my body is “the temple of the Holy Spirit.”

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According to God’s Word, the living temple of God is not some fancy building, but the loving hearts, the renewed minds, and the obedient actions of His people gathering within it. The inner presence of the Holy Spirit is His ministry and He is available to each of us who believe.

Family and friends, the truth that God is who He says He is, and prepares us as His workmanship, is His idea and trusted expectation for us — not some disappointing or exaggerated dream of yours or mine.  May we be further awakened to joyfully welcome His Holy Spirit to work in us both to will and to do His good pleasure.   It’s in that best and humble act alone that we will shake and retake the world on His behalf and for His glory!

 John 14:15-23; Luke 17:20-21; Eph 2:10; Eph 4:4-6