Ephesians 2:22
God In You
22 In whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.
Now, Paul gets personal, pointing out that you as a Christian are part of this building project that Christ is doing. You are set in the wall as one of the living stones of the temple of the Holy Spirit, the place where God will live among His people.
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would live within each person who loved Him and served Him. "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you... If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." (John 14:17-18, 23)
This should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been born again. Jesus gave us a key for knowing that the Holy Spirit lives within us and has changed our lives. The key is to evaluate our own hearts. He literally said, "If anyone is continuously, or habitually, loving me..." The love that a true believer has for God is not a series of impulsive, emotional outbursts with nothing in between. It is not a love that is there and then temporarily lost during some so called period of "backsliding." The grammatical construction of this phrase in the original Greek makes it clear that this love is an ongoing and continuous love affair with God.
This love is then demonstrated in the things that a person does. "He will keep my words." He will jealously guard the word of God, hiding it in his heart so that he might not sin against God. He will guard God's word and do what it demands of him. The person in whom the Spirit lives will understand what Paul was trying to teach the troubled church at Corinth. "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
You no longer are bound by sin. You were purchased at a very dear price, i.e. the blood and suffering of Jesus Christ. Thus, your love for Him is continuous, your obedience to Him is unwavering and you know that the Spirit dwells within you, because of those two characteristics, which you did not have previously.
"And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us... No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world." (1 John 3:24; 4:12-14)
So, it is by the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ that you have been reconciled to your God and it is through the work of the Holy Spirit that God has come to live in and you and among His people. You are an important part of the temple that Jesus is building for His Father. Will you help to build it?
After Simon Peter had made his case in Jerusalem to take the gospel to the Gentiles, James answered, "Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things." (Acts 15:13-17) Then, the apostles voted to send Paul, Barnabas, Judas and Silas to the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. The temple of the Holy Spirit continued to grow. Will you continue to build it today?
Before The Throne:
Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the thought that God lives in me. Meditate on that thought for a moment. Isn't it awesome? Thank God for making you a part of His Holy Temple. Thank Him for giving you Jesus Christ for the cornerstone of your faith. Ask Him to help you demonstrate your love for Him through your love for His word and the spreading of the gospel. Pray that your love will never waiver.
For Further Study:
(v.22) **an: Joh 14:17-23; 17:21-23; Rom 8:9-11; 1Co 3:16; 6:19; 1Pe 2:4, 5; 1Jo 3:24; 4:13, 4:16;
22 In whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.
Now, Paul gets personal, pointing out that you as a Christian are part of this building project that Christ is doing. You are set in the wall as one of the living stones of the temple of the Holy Spirit, the place where God will live among His people.
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would live within each person who loved Him and served Him. "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you... If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." (John 14:17-18, 23)
This should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been born again. Jesus gave us a key for knowing that the Holy Spirit lives within us and has changed our lives. The key is to evaluate our own hearts. He literally said, "If anyone is continuously, or habitually, loving me..." The love that a true believer has for God is not a series of impulsive, emotional outbursts with nothing in between. It is not a love that is there and then temporarily lost during some so called period of "backsliding." The grammatical construction of this phrase in the original Greek makes it clear that this love is an ongoing and continuous love affair with God.
This love is then demonstrated in the things that a person does. "He will keep my words." He will jealously guard the word of God, hiding it in his heart so that he might not sin against God. He will guard God's word and do what it demands of him. The person in whom the Spirit lives will understand what Paul was trying to teach the troubled church at Corinth. "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
You no longer are bound by sin. You were purchased at a very dear price, i.e. the blood and suffering of Jesus Christ. Thus, your love for Him is continuous, your obedience to Him is unwavering and you know that the Spirit dwells within you, because of those two characteristics, which you did not have previously.
"And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us... No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world." (1 John 3:24; 4:12-14)
So, it is by the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ that you have been reconciled to your God and it is through the work of the Holy Spirit that God has come to live in and you and among His people. You are an important part of the temple that Jesus is building for His Father. Will you help to build it?
After Simon Peter had made his case in Jerusalem to take the gospel to the Gentiles, James answered, "Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things." (Acts 15:13-17) Then, the apostles voted to send Paul, Barnabas, Judas and Silas to the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. The temple of the Holy Spirit continued to grow. Will you continue to build it today?
Before The Throne:
Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the thought that God lives in me. Meditate on that thought for a moment. Isn't it awesome? Thank God for making you a part of His Holy Temple. Thank Him for giving you Jesus Christ for the cornerstone of your faith. Ask Him to help you demonstrate your love for Him through your love for His word and the spreading of the gospel. Pray that your love will never waiver.
For Further Study:
(v.22) **an: Joh 14:17-23; 17:21-23; Rom 8:9-11; 1Co 3:16; 6:19; 1Pe 2:4, 5; 1Jo 3:24; 4:13, 4:16;
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