“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.” (2Corinthians 6:16)
This is the big difference in pagan religions and Christianity. All other religions have majestic buildings for temples in which they believe their god dwells. But can the One True Almighty God dwell in a man-made building? Even in the Old Testament, God did not dwell in the Ark, but His Presence came to the Ark of the Covenant in a cloud to commune with the people through Moses or the high priest. The Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies and only the high priest could go there on Yom Kipper, the Day of Atonement. It wasn’t until Solomon built the temple that it was placed in a building.
With the New Covenant of Jesus, God the Holy Spirit Himself comes and indwells in man. “Surely you know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you!” (1Corinthians 3:16) It is only in Christianity where our God dwells in us. He no longer just hovers over man to help him do His Will, but He lives in us to help us, instruct us and lead us in righteousness. He is in constant communication with the Father and Jesus and communicates God’s Will to our human spirit. “When, however, the Spirit comes, Who reveals the truth about God, He will lead you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own authority, but He will speak of what He hears and will tell you of things to come.” (John 16:13)
When we receive Jesus, the Holy Spirit indwells and baptizes us. “For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with His death. By our baptism, then, we were buried with Him and shared His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also, we might live a new life. For since we have become one with Him in dying as he did, in the same way we shall be one with Him by being raised to life as He was. And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on His cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin.” (Romans 6:3-6) This is one of the most important principles of the Gospel to know. Our sinful “old man” was crucified on the cross. And we have been raised a new creation, holy and pure, born of God.
God dwelling in us gives us gifts. “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them.” (1Corinthians 12:4) These gifts are gifts of service to God’s people. “The Spirit gives one person a message full of wisdom, while to another person the same Spirit gives a message full of knowledge. One and the same Spirit gives faith to one person, while to another person He gives the power to heal. The Spirit gives one person the power to work miracles; to another, the gift of speaking God's message; and to yet another, the ability to tell the difference between gifts that come from the Spirit and those that do not. To one person He gives the ability to speak in strange tongues, and to another He gives the ability to explain what is said. But it is one and the same Spirit who does all this; as He wishes, He gives a different gift to each person.” (1Corinthians 12:8-11)
Because God is in us, He has sealed us and is the guarantee of what is to come. “The Spirit is the guarantee that we shall receive what God has promised His people, and this assures us that God will give complete freedom to those who are His. Let us praise His glory!” (Ephesians 1:14) Because God is in us, He calls us His people. He is our God. And we are His people. “But you do not live as your human nature tells you to; instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to—if, in fact, God's Spirit lives in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.” (Romans 8:9) And there it is. Only those who have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit are God’s people. That is what makes us different. That is what makes us holy. That is what makes us righteous. It’s nothing in ourselves, but God living in us.
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