“The Temple Of The Living God”

II Corinthians 6:14-18

14) ¹⁴   Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

15)  And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

16) And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17) Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

18) And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Preface

W

e are dealing with this series primarily because many feel that they are “waiting” on God. What we are trying to get the people of God to accept is that when it comes to the Lord, we wait on nothing, for we have all that we need when we are willing to accept it by faith. Part of why we frequently “go without” is because we attempt to process using “natural” means—and this leads us to the wrong answer.

God is to be taken at His word! Doing so proves to be too easy for many. Why is this? Because as human beings, we are used to there being “hidden meanings” behind what is said and done. When we are told that we can accept anything at “face value,” it does not “sit well” with us and therefore, we find ourselves unable to carry out our responsibility.

Today’s religious culture is one that focuses on “breakthroughs” and takes them to be “do-all and end-all” of spiritual “improvement.” A “breakthrough,” however, is not just being brought to tears by a preacher who tells you of how much God loves you. A “breakthrough” is really a conscious decision to repent. In other words, one “breaks through” to the knowledge that he must just stop doing it—whatever that “it” might be! We must recognize fleshly habits for what they are—attributes of the flesh. Now, once we stop “living” here, we will be free from the habits.

Most often, one of Man’s biggest impediments to being able to accept what the Lord has done is questioning “how?” Particularly, since one cannot feel, smell, see, touch, or hear “it.” But, you see, faith is what must “kick in” in all of these instances and anything that we come to “know,” we will know because God said it!

Main Thought

In the Old Testament, the scriptures tells us that the Spirit of God tabernacled with Israel as they escaped bondage. We know from these and earlier scriptures that the Tabernacle, itself, was made from badger skins and therefore, was rough and ugly—at least, from the outside. The real “treasure” was found only within—where the people were instructed to install scarlet, brass, and purple. So, if one were never inclined to step inside the Tabernacle, he would forever have an incorrect impression of it.

How like the state of many, today. Too many who agree to accept the “gift” of God refuse ever to step far enough into Him to see “below the surface.” Therefore, they become “stuck” on what the human being perceives as “rules” that limit “self-expression.” This blinds them to being able to see the beauty that lies within the “confines” of Christ.

The reality of serving Christ is that Jesus can never be judged from the “outside.” Just as with the Outer Court of the Tabernacle, which housed the brazen altar used in the sacrifices, the “surface” of Jesus is not pleasant to the human being. All that is and will be seen is the harshness, “brutality” and sacrifice of belonging to Him. In order for the truth and beauty of Jesus to be uncovered, one must venture below-the-surface. But, this will be done only through “closeness”—and closeness requires relationship and relationship requires trust. This leaves many “out” who have never gotten “close” enough to Jesus to really see Who He is.

The “temple of the Living God” (hence, the temple of Jesus) is the bodies of men. In that we are “bought with a price,” we have no right to decide what we will and will not do. This applies not only to what we do with our bodies, but what we do with our lives as well.

The struggles that are consistent in our lives after salvation are perpetuated because of the lie that Satan presents and gets us to accept that we are no different after salvation than before. You see, though the scripture clearly states tat we are made “new creatures,” because of our thinking and the fact that the devil is able to elicit the same behaviors in us, we are deceived into believing that we are, indeed, the “same.” The truth is that we are “the temple of the Living God” and so, cannot continue to live our lives as if we are “in control of” them.

Most of us are familiar with the scripture text of today’s message. Generally, it is taken to refer to marriage. However, what we must understand is that when the scripture admonishes its reader to “be ye not unequally yoked…,” it has a far greater application. After all, why would anyone born of God want to be “yoked” with the unrighteous while claiming to be “righteous?”

This age is the age of “phoniness.” Many report qualifications that are “phony,” degrees that are phony, even body parts and attributes that are phony. When combined with the “phony” proclamation of “holiness,” we see that we are embroiled in a “mess.” You see, if there is no true dedication or discipline behind one’s “profession,” when put to the test, one’s “tarnish” of (phoniness) will show. Only that which is “natural” will be spared through the “acid test.”

We have experienced enough to know that if we say that we “love” Jesus, we are going to be tested in order to prove it! And if that “love” cannot survive, then we need not even consider speaking on the Lord’s behalf. After all, what we will not live, He does not need our help in propagating.

Concerning verse 15, which asks us a rhetorical question about our “allegiances,” the question that we can all ask ourselves is how could one say that he cannot “stand” saints, yet is comfortable “hanging” with sinners? What does this really tell us?

Being “the temple of the Living God” confers upon us the essence of Whom and What Jesus is. Therefore, after salvation, we are to be likened unto Him, unencumbered by anything that we were before salvation. What this means, then, is that we are not to claim possible negative “traits” from our parents or families, for upon salvation, we receive an entirely different “Parent.” As “Our Father,” we need to let God do His job, including allowing opposition to come to us. Contrary to how we choose to receive it (the opposition), this is how we are to be blessed!

If the World is to have a chance even to approach coming to know the Lord, they will have to be exposed to the truth of salvation. Man dies and ends up in hell not because of what he knows, but rather, what he does not know. And in order to come to know what he must, he needs us. Now, for a long time, Man has lived a life just being blessed and enjoying himself (largely, by himself) “in the Lord.” Though the Lord has never had a problem with blessing His people, He is expecting that in turn, we will proffer our praise and devotion.

If these “temples” would be pleasant “dwelling places” for the Lord, we who inhabit them are going to have to be “infected” with real joy. Since so few really appear to have it, what is the secret to getting it? For one thing, real joy must be based upon Who Jesus is and all that He’s done. Since these things are Truth, then our joy must be based on truth. How we think and what we feel can never be “part of the equation,” for being based as they are on human emotions (which are transitory), they cannot be true representations of life.

If the God Whom we serve had not arisen from the grave, perhaps He would not expect the redeemed to embrace “new life” as He does. However, in that He did, and in doing so, is able to grant us the new life that we enjoy, we are obligated to step away from the “mediocrity” that accompanies the human being ad embrace the excellence of the spiritual being. After all, how could a being that has been “rescued” from certain death and destruction not be excellent when he need worry for nothing because his “Rescuer” is the Maker and Subduer of all things?