What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
2 Corinthians 6:16b-17 NIV
“I will live with them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.”
Therefore,
“Come out from them
and be separate,
says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.”
Under the old covenant, God gave instructions for building the Tabernacle, which was later replaced with the Temple. This was a holy place, representing God’s presence among the people. Nothing ordinary or unclean was to come into or near it.
But under the new covenant, we no longer worship in a temple built by human hands. Instead, it is a temple built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus as the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:19-22). This temple comprises all those who follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. We are the temple of the living God.
As the Church, and members of that Church, it is important that we recognize who and what we are. We are God’s temple, his people. And we are called to be separate and distinct from the rest of the world. To be holy. And, when we do, he will live and walk among us.
But all too often, we follow the example of Israel, trying to live as his people and as a part of the world. But when we hold on to the world, trying to fit in, and compromising with it, we bring uncleanness into the temple of the living God, desecrating it. And we should not expect that God will be pleased with us.
As individual believers, and as the church, we need to separate ourselves from the world. To be his people, holy and committed wholeheartedly to him. When we do, we will sanctify his temple and experience his presence. And his glory will fill his temple for all the world to see.
