December 2

Am I a temple of God?

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16).
“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” (2 Cor. 6:16).

How have I kept Thy temple, Guest divine—
The house that Thou hast deigned to call Thy shrine,
And bought, at such a price, to make it Thine?

How have I watched beside its fivefold gate
Against the crafty foes that lie in wait
And never let their vigilance abate? . . .

Scourge from its courts whatever can defile,
Malice and wrath and selfish greed and guile,
Each word and act on which Thou canst not smile;

For Thou Thyself must cleanse Thy dwelling-place,
Illumine with the brightness of Thy face,
And furnish with Thine all-sufficient grace.

Enter Thou in and make me all Thine own,
In spirit, soul and body reign alone
Without a rival on my being’s throne.
—Annie Johnson Flint.

God’s presence dwelt in Solomon’s temple in Old Testament times. A prayer uttered toward the temple could be assured of being heard. Trespasses, failures could be confessed, lack of rain, sickness, blighting and war could be entreated for with hands spread toward the temple, and God would hear. Daniel in captivity prayed facing Jerusalem and the temple, so confident was he of God’s presence.
But after the day of Pentecost, Stephen filled with the Holy Ghost uttered the new truth, “the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” And Paul numbers of times startles his correspondents with that grand truth that each of us are “temples of the Holy Ghost.”

And will the mighty God
Whom Heaven cannot contain,
Make me His temple and abode,
And in me live and reign?
—George Rawson.

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