(The following is the July 10 devotional from my Next Step Devotions book. Before reading it, I suggest you read 1 Corinthians 3 and pay close attention to verses 16-17.)

Paul asked the Corinthians several related questions: “Don’t you yourselves know you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are” (vv. 16-17). “Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). He asked a similar one in 1 Corinthians 6:15.

As Christians, we readily affirm our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, but how does that impact daily life? There should be personal and churchwide implications for living together as the body of Christ.   Our bodies are mortal and will pass away unless Jesus returns first to receive us unto himself. We should be good stewards of our God-given bodies as long as we live. Why? We are not our own. We were bought at a price. We have work to do serving Christ until our final breath, which requires maintaining our bodies the best we can.

This doesn’t mean we never stray from perfect, healthy foods or actions that stretch our physical limits. It means we predominantly make healthy choices in food, drink, and activities to best position ourselves to serve God for his glory for as long as possible. If we make choices that harm our health, we limit our usefulness to God. Christ needs more laborers for his harvest, not fewer (Matt. 9:37-38).

Likewise, if we understand the church as the body of Christ, we will make decisions about our role in that body to promote its health and service for Christ’s kingdom for as long as we can.

If our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and the church is Christ’s body, we should never mistreat either. May we honor both as ways of honoring Christ.

Next Step:
What practices or habits do you need to change to respect your body as the Holy Spirit’s temple and the church as Christ’s body?