I have often heard this phrase and never thought much about
it until recently. It’s one of those
phrases that can be and often is used in ways that are confusing and just to
fill space or to make our conversation sound super spiritual. But what does it mean? Does it mean that we, as Christians must do
something special in order to be a carrier of His presence? Does it mean that only certain people can and
the rest are doomed to mediocrity? One
thought that immediately comes to mind is how some people can be carriers of a
sickness or disease but yet somehow never shows any symptoms of the
disease. These people often do not know
it and so never know the danger they may put other people into.
One day while thinking about this phrase, I read again for
at least the 100th time if not more, this verse: "Or don't you know that
your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to
you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high
price. So you must honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NLT). My first thought was this: when we think
about a temple (and it doesn't matter what religion or denomination) what do we
associate it with? Isn't it a place
where the God or god it represents has a dwelling place there, and therefore
the presence of that God or god is there?
When I thought of that, it brought some clarity to my thoughts and
questions regarding 'carrier of His presence.'
What makes it His temple?
Is it just allowing ourselves to be inhabited by Him without changing
our own thoughts and actions? This does
not seem to make sense, because when we think about a stone and steel temple,
we consider it Holy and are careful how we act and what is said and done inside
of it. Certain rules are made or left
unsaid that govern how we act in the place.
For example: No running, no bad language, being reverent and acting in
certain ways we usually don't outside of the place. Why do we have those rules? Is it to make our time there miserable and
just to try and impressive the God or god who resides there? (Ok, maybe not the miserable part but we do
try to make our actions impressive, but mostly to the other people that are there.)
If we truly are the temple of the Holy Spirit, then we would
want to do what the Holy Spirit would want us to do and act in ways that brings
Him honor. The verse above goes on to
say that we are not our own and that we were bought with a high price, that of
the death of the Son of God. It also
tells us that we must honor God with our body.
The only conclusions I can think of for that is we are to do, say, and
think only what would be pleasing to the Holy Spirit. If we don't, are we really the temple of the
Holy Spirit and therefore carriers of His presence? It seems that His presence would be
diminished by going against the wishes and commands of the Holy Spirit.
But how do we know what it is we are to do and act in order
for His presence to be carried in us?
They are all found in His word, starting in Genesis 1 and ending in
Revelation 22. It’s all in there. Will we know that we are carriers of His
presence? I would hope we will know, but
when we are certain His presence resides in His temple (us), and we choose to
leave Him out of the things we say and do, and we choose to go against His
commands and what He has for us, His presence will diminish. But when we spend time with Him and allow Him
to clean up the temple and make the changes in us He wants, the presence will
be more and more obvious, and not just to our self but to everyone we come in
contact with. Unlike those that carry a
disease and may not know it, we will know that we are carriers of His
presence. But we may not know that He has
left us. Don't be like Sampson of the
Old Testament and say "'I will do as before and shake myself free.' But he
didn't realize the LORD had left him" (Judges 16:20).
Do what you have to in order to be the temple of the Holy
Spirit you are called to be. It may be
awkward or painful at times, but as the verse said, you are not your own but
you are bought with a price. Protect
your temple. Let the Holy Spirit become
in you a very strong presence so that the world will be changed through you.
