The temple of God is a sacred place of worship filled with the awesome presence of the Lord. God designed two types of temple. The first one is made from materials (structures of heaven and church buildings on earth). And the second type of temple is constructed through His breath (the body of Angels and Man).

The main purpose of creation is to worship God in praises. Psalm 66 verse 4 says: “All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.”

Why did God create our body as a form of temple? Well, the answer is not far fetched, because God dwells in the Praises of His people. Thus, our body must be designed to contain His presence. You will understand this point clearly if you are the type that worship God with all your heart. My body is not always the same when the Lord dwells in my praises to Him…it is a wonderful experience I love so much. Psalm 22 verse 3 says: “But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.”

If you engage yourself in praise and worship to the Lord, then His Presence will dwell in your body (which is linked to your soul and spirit).

The plan of God for the population of about 7 billion people on earth is to become His temples (dwelling places of praise and worship). But the publication released by the International Bulletin of Missionary Research in mid-2015 showed that the total number of Christian in the world is about 2.42 billion. Does that translate to 2.42 billion temples?

False Teaching about the Body

Your body is fearfully and wonderfully made by God. The psalmist meditated and discovered the great significance of the body. “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” (Psalm 139:14)

But, devil cooked-up false teachings about our body so that we can sin against God’s temple. Few of the false teachings are:

1. God does not care about your body, but cares about your spirit and soul…
2. You can do anything to ‘beautify’ your body…
3. Since you are born again then you have the liberty to do anything…

They deceive people through the misconception of Paul’s statements such as: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13)

How to Purify God’s Temple

Your body is the temple of God. And he will dwell in you if your body is holy. The book of Leviticus chapter 19 verse 2 says: “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.”

1. Clean with the Blood of Jesus

The temple of the Old Testament was purified with the blood of the spotless lamb. But our body (temple) must be purified with the Blood of Jesus. “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (First Peter 1:18-19)

God does not dwell in the temple of sinners. Thus, you have to give your life to Jesus by forsaking all sinful attitudes. Jesus fulfilled His promise mentioned in the book of John chapter 14 verses 16. The presence of the Holy Spirit in us took away the forces of loneliness. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever…”

2. Don’t Change the Structure

God created you in His image and He won’t be glad to see the temple He created to be restructured by another fake creator. For instance;God did not support the popular fashion of tattoo on the body. “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:28)

The Spirit of God disapproves the use of cosmetics, bleaching creams and ornaments because they transform the image of God on the body to another strange image.

First Peter chapter 3 verse 3 and 4 says: “Do not let your adornment be merely outward–arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel–rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”

Bad eating habits such as; gluttony, fast food, alcohol, concentrate juice and lack of balance diet defiles the body formation. The defilement of the body through this medium contributes to low life span in this generation.

It’s also a causal agent to the high occurrence of diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart attack, kidney problem etc.

3. Abstain from Sexual Immorality

I always preach in the Ministers’ conference that anointing does not guarantee over-confidence to sex related temptations. The best you can do is not to cast and bind, but to flee from the venue of temptation.

An African adage says: “you don’t smell the meal you won’t eat.” Thus, God detests any form of sexual sins with our body because He dwells in the temple filled with holiness.

Your country might legalize gay marriage, divorce and remarriage, fornication/adultery, but God will never accept such body as His temple.

First Corinthians chapter 6 verse 14 to 20 says: “…But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

What happens if the Temple is defiled?

God is holy and He also wants you to be holy. It is only the holy interrelationship that can make God to dwell in you. If the temple is defiled, then God will be angry and His Spirit will not dwell in such body.

Anyone that defiles his or her body with sins will face the wrath of the Lord. First Corinthians chapter 3 verse 17 says: “If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”

Your body is the temple of God and it carries the personality of your soul and spirit. God designed your trinity in this form so that He can dwell in you when you praise and worship Him. John chapter 4 verse 24 say: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

If you notice that the temple of God in you is not purified, please do not hesitate to run to Jesus for a cleanup. Jesus will restore and save you from eternal destruction.