Holy Temples

Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
(Hebrews 10:29 – NKJV)

When God declares something holy He is declaring that His presence is there and that a work is being done. Too often we say we want to see God work in our lives but we fail to realize God is still doing His redemptive work in the earth. The ground where God works is holy and we dare not treat it as common. If we repent of that He can restore what we have wasted. The biblical stories about holy ground are about what we call redemptive history but you and I also have a personal redemptive history. God is buying back time, setting more of you free in practical ways, leading more of you to conquer the sin in your life and lead others to the Lord. It is time to repent of commonplace Christianity. It is time to stand on holy ground.

To treat as common means to treat as unholy, to profane something holy as if it were not that big of a deal. This is someone who hasn’t “taken off his shoes”; he treats the blood, the things of God as common. Where God is working to change your life we had best not treat this as a common thing. God is trying to set us apart to be more than a common, or we could say carnal, Christian, as if they actually exist, which is debatable. Indeed Christians shouldn’t be common but be portraits of grace, testimonies of changed lives and changing lives that give God glory. The things of God are not profane; they are graced in the supernatural.

Ephesians 4 speaks about telling the truth in love, and believing lies. When we see these things we start to immediately think of our own personal holiness. But if you keep that exhortation firmly planted in the context of Ephesians 3, it’s clear that Paul has more than one person in mind here. He’s talking to a group of people, not just individuals. Cultivating a holy unity based on truth is our responsibility as church members.

Some people may make individual witness to Christ but they are not contributing to the corporate witness of Christ. God calls out a people, not just individuals, but individuals to reflect a group witness. Church is one way we magnify God’s name in this world.

It is the entire church that has been gifted by the Spirit, and so Paul calls the entire church to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). Individuals are holy temples (1 Corinthians 6:17-20), but the church is also holy ground, and those whom treat it as common, those who destroy God’s temple God will destroy (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©