Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? – 1 Corinthians 6:19

Scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Considering how remarkable the Holy Spirit is and acts, He could not be so were He not divine. The Christian confession about the Holy Spirit starts this way: “First, He as well as the Father and the Son, is eternal God” (Heidelberg Catechism, Question 53).

Scripture speaks to the Spirit’s divinity. The Holy Spirit creates (Genesis 1:1-2). He knows the mind of God (1 Corinthians 2:11), and He is eternal (Hebrews 9:14). As our passage instructs us, our physical bodies are the residences of the divine in Christ, becoming temples of the Spirit.

The Spirit is not some impersonal and fickle Force; instead, He is the personal God, worthy of our worship and worthy of a life of purity. We sinful creatures can be known, physically, as temples of the Holy Spirit! The more we appreciate that truth, the more our gratitude will mount in praise to God and the more holy our lives will be as reflections of the Holy Spirit Who resides within us.

Suggestions for prayer

Pray to the Lord for a greater appreciation of the wonder of the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life, so that your praise of God and your life might be affected for the good.

This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. John Vermeer is the pastor of Doon United Reformed Church in Doon, Iowa.