Something that God has been laying on my heart a lot recently is how we, being His people, are a holy people (or at least are supposed to be). In Ephesians 5:4 is says, “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” Being impure (whether that be your mind, actions, or tongue) or sinful is out of place for a follower of Jesus. In 1 Peter 5:9 it states, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” Because we are His holy people and a holy temple, we should act our part. It should not come out of obligation but out of delightment because of our reverence for Jesus.
Let me explain “holy temple.” In the time of Moses when the Israelites were wandering throughout the wilderness, God spoke to Moses of the building of the tabernacle. Inside the tabernacle, there was the holy place and the holy of holies place. The vail that split the two sacred rooms apart was very thick and woven with chains (Exodus 26). Inside the holy of holies was where the priests (Aaron for example) went to inquire of The Holy Spirit and God. There were many regulations to being suitable and holy enough to enter into the presence of God. When Jesus died on that cross, it says in Matthew 27:51, “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” At that moment, everyone who believed Christ was the Son of God and the only way to The Father, had full access to The Holy Spirit and conversing with God. I never knew the meaning of “the veil tore from top to bottom” until my faithful team mate, Caitlyn, explained it to me. This is an overlooked but very important piece of the death and resurrection of Christ.
Now, being a New Testament church, we have full access to the gifts of the Spirit and the intimacy The Father offers. Another reason why we no longer need to obey the laws of the old testament. When Jesus gave up His life on the cross (which I am honestly still pondering very deeply into the reason why He did this… darn it skepticism) He became the only way to the Father. In Jeremiah 31:33-34 it says, “’There is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’” declares The Lord. “’I will put my law in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, “’’Know the Lord,’’” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.’” This is a prophecy from one of the greatest prophets, Jeremiah, of the coming of Jesus and the freedom He is going to grant His people.
Why would a Christian gossip, judge, or curse? It is out of place. However, human flesh is strong, making us imperfect people serving a perfect God. The Lord has called us to be holy, but do we live up to it? John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever keeps my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved be my father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” The Holy Spirit is the breath of life inside of us. The other day I had a discussion with my ministry host here in India. He told me something profound that I had never pondered on before. He said, “ God spoke it, Holy Spirit created it (putting forth himself in everything He created), and everything was created for Jesus. We have our physical bodies which is the image of God. Inside of our bodies we have our soul/heart which makes up our mind, will, and emotions. Inside of our soul/heart there is where our spirit lives, GOD’S BREATH OF LIFE. These three elements are meant to coordinate together creating a follower of Jesus, a pure and holy human, one who “loves the Lord with all of their heart, soul, and mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22: 37-40). Love God first, people second, and yourself third. Love God with all parts of your being, the spiritual and the physical. When he says to love Him with your mind, it means glorify Him with your mind. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed FOR THE DAY OF REDEMPTION” (Ephesians 4:29). EVERYTHING that comes out of your mouth should glorify God and love Him while also building others up. We are called to tell the truth in love, however, our tongue can play tricks on us. What God has made so beautiful, we humans have corrupted. Whatever is in your MIND often comes out of your mouth. That is why you must always be growing in loving Christ with ALL OF YOUR MIND.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). With your mind, BODY, and soul, do everything for the glory of God. Going back to being the temple of The Holy Spirit. He now lives inside of us which makes us holy and we should TAKE CARE OF HIS TEMPLE!! Meaning, the substances we intake should always be glorifying to God. Treating your body with care and keeping it healthy is holy and pleasing to God. We should also love our bodies dearly because The Lord spoke each crevice of our body into life and everything God creates is beautiful. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your BODIES as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1). This is another example of treating your bodies as the temple of God. This also ties into sexual immorality and drunkenness. Drunkenness corrupts your mind and can hinder your relationship with The Lord. Is your mind glorifying God when you are drunk? Sexual relations outside of marriage do not glorify God because it is going against his commands which is not loving Him well. The Lord actually set up these commandments for own good. God showed the Israelites these commands because He knew that sleeping around would cause sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. He knew that stealing from a neighbor would cause conflict within one another. He knew that drunkenness could cause people to do stupid things and possibly end up in jail. He made these commandments because He loves us. He also made them because He wants to know that we love Him.
Before Jesus came and died for us, people showed their love to God by many sets of laws. After He came HE BECAME THE WAY TO THE FATHER. IF WE LOVE JESUS THAT IS LOVING GOD. Philippians 1:9-10 says, “and this is my prayer; that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth and insight, so that you may be able to discern what is vast and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ in the glory and praise of God.” The Bible does not give us specifically all the answers. That is why we have the gift of the Holy Spirit to discern what is loving Christ and what is not!!!!
In one of Francis Chan’s sermons, He speaks of how holy God is. In Isaiah 6:1 is says, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
God is so holy, that even the angels are so overwhelmed by Him and cannot look upon Him. Their wings cover their faces because His image is too overwhelming. Many people say, “God looks like this or that because that’s what I believe in my heart.” We have absolutely no idea, there is nothing we can create in our minds that can explain the appearance or presence of God, it’s too great. Francis made a good point of how he is 5’9” and chinese. If someone thinks “no I think he’s 4’11” and Irish,” or “no I think he’s 7’ and Nigerian,” then another person comes over to the conversation and says, “no I think Francis is whatever you think in your heart he is.” *audience laughs.* We are just so small, anyone who looks upon his awesomeness drops dead.
We are to be glorifying God 100% everyday; not just when I go to ministry or when I am in a worship setting, but in all of the spaces in between. We are to love Christ, glorify Him, and worship all throughout the day while understanding His heart. When two people are married to each other, they try to show their spouse how much they love them and desire love from them. They do not go out and have sex with someone else and think, “Oh but I still love the other person so much.” That is not loving the other person very well. How do you feel when you are talking to someone and they just ignore you? Does it feel like they are loving you very well? Nay, try to find the best way to love one another and to keep that flame alive.
If you are a Christian, do you love Christ a lot? Are you cheating on Him? Are you ignoring His voice? Are you taking advantage of His freedom, free will, and unending mercy that he offers us? Show Jesus how much you love Him! Desire a healthy relationship, otherwise your life will be a mess. Before Jesus came to earth, there was Moses, judges, and others who interceded between God and people. They did this in such a way of pleading to God to not destroy the wicked people. God would hear the inquiry of His servant and listen to them granting mercy. When a judge would die, another would replace him, in the meantime disaster would strike the Israelites. When Jesus came, He became the ETERNAL judge, intercessor, and way to God. We always have access to Jesus, and He is always granting grace on us because He loves us that much. Jesus is our connection to The Father. We no longer have to worry about various sacrifices and rituals to prove our love to The Lord, we now “prove” our love to the Lord by loving Him and His people, that is what the law now hinges on.
