“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”
—1 Corinthians 3:16 (NASB)
Beloved, hear the truth that echoes through eternity: you are the temple of the living God. Not built with human hands, not constructed from brick or stone, but fashioned by grace and made holy by the blood of the Lamb. The Spirit of God—Ruach HaKodesh—does not visit you, He indwells you. He does not pass by. He stays. He abides. This is no metaphor, no poetic suggestion. This is your present reality.
Yet how many of us walk as if we are vacant sanctuaries? How often is our speech, our conduct, our thoughts—divorced from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit? A.W. Tozer wrote with piercing clarity, “Whether He is present or absent makes no real difference to anyone.” If that grieves us, it should. And if it doesn’t, it must.
God’s Spirit dwells in you. Say it aloud. Let that reality stir your soul. The Holy Spirit is not a shadow in the corner of your doctrine, a mere name in a doxology. He is God Himself, equal with the Father and the Son, worthy of glory, honor, and full surrender. Anything less is not true worship.
John the Apostle saw the mystery and majesty of the indwelling God. He wrote, “By this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us” (1 John 3:24, NASB). You are not left to your own strength. You are not meant to live the Christian life alone. The Holy Spirit has come to lead you into truth, convict you of sin, empower you for holiness, and seal you for redemption.
But the Spirit will not share space with idols. He does not dwell in a temple that refuses His rule. He is not a guest—He is the rightful owner. And He comes not just to comfort, but to cleanse. Not just to whisper peace, but to burn away what does not belong.
If we truly believed that God’s Spirit dwells in us, our lives would look different. Holiness would be more than a concept—it would be our heartbeat. Our prayers would burn hotter. Our love would stretch further. Our eyes would stay fixed on Yeshua, and our hearts would long for more of Him and less of us.
So today, yield your temple. Let the presence of the Holy Spirit be more than a footnote in your theology. Let Him shape your thoughts, govern your actions, and fill every empty place. Invite Him to awaken what has grown cold. Ask Him to purify what has been compromised. You are not your own. You were bought at a price. God’s Spirit dwells in you.
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I lift my heart, O Flame divine,
Come cleanse my soul with fire;
Let every chamber be made Thine,
And kindle holy desire.
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Prayer
Father, awaken my heart to the glory of Your Spirit within me. Forgive me for treating Your indwelling as a concept and not a consuming fire. I surrender my body, my thoughts, my will—every part of me—to Your Spirit. Let Him rule where I have resisted. Let Him fill what I have left empty. Make me a living temple that glorifies Your Name. In Yeshua’s holy name, amen.
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