We are Temples of the Holy Spirit
If we only see Jesus' righteous anger in today's Gospel, then we are missing the message. We need to look closely and the broader picture. Yes, Jesus actions speak of keeping the house of God clean from anything other than the Worship of God. Yet, in today's Gospel Jesus is speaking of another Temple, one that will replace forever the one standing in Jerusalem. And He is speaking to each of us for we are called to be "Temples of the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 6:29).
In our Gospel reading for this day, Jesus identifies Himself, His Body, as the New Temple that will stand forever, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2). He tells the Jews that if they destroy this Temple, His Body, He will
…show more content…
Yes, the Temple is the home of God on earth, His Throne Room. Yes, the Temple is not a place for moneychangers and the selling of sheep and cattle. And yes, the Jews have taken God's Holy of Holies and turned it into a market place. They have taken the Holy place and used it for their own selfish ends.
However, there is something even more profound happening here. As Jesus is cleansing the Temple from the evil of men, He is calling onto us this Lent, to cleanse our own Temples from the corruption of sin and evil. We must always remember that we are Temples of the Holy Spirit. St. Paul tells us, "Don't you know that your bodies are Temples of the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 6:19). Jesus is telling us that we are Temples of God and that we belong to God, not to ourselves or others, "You are not your own; you were bought for a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies" (1 Cor.
…show more content…
If we are one Body in Christ as St. Paul tells us, are we not allowing our sinfulness to diminish what is taking place in our Church? We allow many things into our hearts and souls that are sinful that have no place in the House of God. Jesus cleansed the Temple and made it clean once again for Worship. Cannot we ask Him to overturn our tables of sin? Cannot Jesus heal the wounds of the Mystical Body of Christ? Maybe, just maybe, we need to ask Jesus to come to us and let Him cleanse us through Sacramental Confession. However, is not it true that we need to come to Jesus to cleanse us and set us free from the corruption of sin in
In his thought-provoking book, “The Pursuit of Holiness,” Jerry Bridges offers a personal look on what it means to be holy like Christ. The book is scripture backed and covers all areas of holiness as a Christian. In the book, Bridges starts off with assessing just what holiness is. To be holy is to be morally blameless and to have no sin (p. 15). Holiness is being separated from the ways of the world and becoming more like Christ. To be holy does not mean that you obey a set of rules, but is instead string to do always do what is pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. In Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2, Paul challenges the people to give up their bodies as a holy sacrifice for kingdom work. He continues on saying that this is truly
Is it possible that Jesus predicted the destruction of Herod’s Temple? The Siege of Jerusalem led to the defeat of the Jews and destruction of Jerusalem, and was prophesied about in the Bible before it occurred. The Zealots rebelled against the Roman Empire during the Great Jewish Revolt. However, they lacked proper leadership, and therefore had poor training and discipline, as well as little preparation for battle. Titus, a Roman military commander, was instructed to put this Jewish rebellion to an end.
Chapter four addresses the divisions within the Corinthian church, such as jealousy, quarrelling and their defective view of the church. The apostle Paul links their view of the church to church leadership stating “If they had a true view of the church, they would have a true view of the leaders of the church” (p79). The situation was that their view was lower for the church and higher for the leaders thus they were boasting about the leaders. Paul’s view was that the Corinthian church was spoon feed Christians not maturing as they should. Paul’s reference to addressing the church as worldly did not mean they were unregenerate because they did possess the Spirit but they were not being spiritual, not being controlled by the Holy Spirit. He goes on to say “They have experienced new birth by the Spirit but have remained babies in Christ; they have not yet become mature in Christ” (p80) The Apostle most likely would express the same opinion about many Church congregations today. Many churches are elated with their church growth, but it is often superficial. If the church does not offer a real growth opportunity the journey is short lived. The church fills up with Christians not participating in the sanctification process. As with many churches today the Corinthians had a self-serving attitude about themselves and their church. The Corinthians would have never behaved the way they did if they had a higher view of the church and what it stood for and a lesser view of the leaders. Paul outlines three visions of the church “each of which has important implications” (p82). The first metaphor is agricultural: God’s field (v9) 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God...
Cult are generally accepted to be a “small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous”. Everyone is taught to fear cults because they’re “dangerous”. Most members of a cult, however, are not deranged, mindless, mentally handicapped people. Most members of a cult are regular people that are attracted to the organization’s message or “religion”. One religious cut that attracted mainstream society was the People’s Temple. The People’s Temple cult drastically changed over the course of its lifetime, when it started out as a church with good intentions, like providing for the sick and needy. Eventually the cult changed under the leadership of Jim Jones, where he went from a kindhearted man to a drugged-obsessed, power crazy monster that committed heinous, unspeakable acts in his journey for dominance. In his quest for power, he isolated his followers in a prison camp known as Jonestown and took the lives of 918 men, women, and children, before taking his own life.
Thessalonians 4:3 says, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified” It is God’s goal for his people is to be blameless and holy. Once saved, we are no longer prisoner of our sin and sanctification begins. Sanctification is a process and not instantaneous. It involves you and God to make you free from sin. The process is striving to live a Christian life-style according to the word of God. In order to continue sanctification we have to put forth effort into our transformation by putting away vices and renewing our mind to be holy and just. Sanctification affects us and everyone around us and brings peace and joy into our lives. It makes us become an example to help fellowship with others in Christ and to support and grow with each other. As we grow in holiness, we aim to reflect Christ.
Christ's victory at the battle of Armageddon will prepare his was for this second coming, when the last judgment will take place
“He said not:Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be afflicted Thou shalt not be overcome” (144). Although as St. Julian reported, “As long as we be meddling with any part of sin we shall never see clearly the Blissful Countenance of our Lord” (149). It is important to stay clear of any sin and to flee from it when we find it creeping into our lives. “Though we be highly lifted up into contemplation by the special gift of our Lord, yet it is needful to us to have knowledge and sight of our sin and our feebleness”
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptiz- ing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” ( Matt. 28:19-20 NIV ). The idea of sharing in the death of Christ connects remission of sins with baptism which the death of Christ effected. ( Act 2:38; 1 Pet. 3:21). Just as physical washing cleanses our bodies from filthiness, so also baptism symbolically cleanses our spirits through participation in the death of Christ. “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink (I Cor. 12:13 NIV). In addition, baptism connects with spiritual birth along with the Spirit’s reception. Hence, participation in Christ’s resurrection indicates that the Holy Spirit is presently in our lives. Baptism is an indication of the relationship we have with Christ and wherever we find ourselves in the world, our deportment, attitude and disposition should be in alignment with our confession of faith. Jesus’ baptism should help us realize how much we are loved by God. Jesus died to pay a debt he did not owe to release from a debt we could not pay. Baptism is a two-fold operation because we are symbolically
The church is the hub in which we as Christians come together as brothers and sisters in Christ to learn and study God’s Word. The church, according to passage, states that there should be no high statuses within the church and that we should all be on the same level playing field. Scripture tells us that we should be obedient; I read this to include the church and all of us who make up the congregation. We are told that Jesus lived a selfless life as he served His Father and I believe as servants to him, we should live the same kind of life as he did. I believe that at times it is difficult to be humbled in our lives and be forgiving of others, but scripture tells us that as a church, we should lead by example. We are promised by his word, that God created all things in the heavens and earth and that we shall bow and worship Him, shout praises to him, so that we can live a glorious life with him in His kingdom
The Bible states, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are
Explanation: Jesus responds to the Jewish leaders’ anger by emphasizing and clarifying his relationship with God his Father. He begins by saying that the Son, himself, can do nothing by himself, but does what he sees the Father do. The Father loves the Son, and shows great works through him, even to raising the dead. The Father has also committed the judgment of the earth to the Son, to bring honor to the Son even as the Father is honored. To honor the one is the honor the other, and to dishonor the one is to dishonor the other.
Jesus is our Sanctifier ¡V Heb 2:11; God our Father is our Sanctifier too ¡V Jude 1:1 o Our part ¡V purging ourselves ¡V 2 Tim 2:21 „X Be a vessel unto honour and sanctification for the Master¡¦s use
John 4:24 tells us, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him in spirit and truth.” ( KJB) It is past time for people to be playing church. Revelations 3:16 warns us that because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. The time has passed for white washing sin and saying, God knows my heart. As in any relationship, God wants us to give him our very best; just as he gave his best to us, his only son Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins. Going to church on Sunday and trying to act holier than thou and living like the devil the rest of the week in contrary to God’s will. Christian values will clean you up and help you change. The truth will help you face yourself and the mess we’ve made with our lives. God’s mercy and grace will find you at your lowest when you have to face truth. His love will lift you up from that grave we call life to a life new and
laws 66). Philo then introduces the Jerusalem temple stating, “There is also the temple made by hands…” and continues discussing its importance and the reason for having one temple in one place (spec. laws 67). This dual presentation not only points to the importance both temples, but also suggest that the true and superior temple is the cosmos. Philo’s analysis continues by asserting that God “…does not consent to those who wish to perform the rites in their houses, but bids them to rise up from the ends of the earth and come to this temple” (spec. laws 68).
responded "destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. " It was not the temple that Jesus was referring to, but “he spoke of the temple of his body.” Jesus cleansing of the temple demonstrated “a prophetic sign of what he wants to do with each of us.” And this would be by dying on the cross, with the weight of mans sins on his shoulders. The “dramatic cleansing of the temple was seen by his disciples as a prophetic sign of God’s action.”