YOUR BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY GHOST

When a person is converted we usually say that his soul has been saved. But at the same time a number of other things happen as well. We know, from verse 20 in this chapter, that the spirit and body of the believer become God’s possession by right of redemption. A tremendous price has been paid for them, the blood of Christ; the believer, as it were, hands over control of himself to the Lord. The Holy Spirit of God takes up residence in the individual believer’s body and, in so doing, makes it a sanc­tuary for God. The body is no longer the possession of the believer but is surrendered to God. At the same time, we know that conversion does not make a person perfect. From time to time he will commit sin and that will have the effect of grieving the Spirit within. But there are sins … and sins!

Most sins are ‘without’ the body, i.e. they may affect the part of the body used to commit the sin, and guilt may prey on the mind, but it does not overwhelm the whole body. However, sexual sin is different! The illustration used is a believer having intercourse with a prostitute. In the act, the two become one body. This should be an act of holiness between husband and wife, but outside of that union it is sinful. What has happened is that the temple of the Holy Spirit has been compromised and merged with sin by deliberate action. Such union affects the whole body. There is a price to be paid for it here and now because the body may succumb to sexually transmitted disease; the mind will never forget the occasion even through the pass­ing of time; the ear will be embarrassed and the tongue silenced when such matters are discussed. This kind of sin, like leaven, pervades and pollutes the whole body.

The answer to such temptation when it arises is to flee, see v. 18. The perfect example of this is, of course, Joseph when he was nearly seduced by Potiphar’s wife. The scriptures advise that Christians should flee youthful lusts; these affect young, middle aged and old alike. We do well to take heed to the exhor­tation in Romans chapter 12 and verse 1, ‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice … which is your reasonable service’.