1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]? You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body.”

The temple of Solomon was a very massive structure. It was something like 90ft by 45ft and 3 stories high. It had about 90 rooms and many windows and staircases, built to the exact specifications that God had given David. There were areas of the temple in which the public had free access to, rooms where the priests ministered, rooms to prepare the sacrifices and offer the sacrifices to the Lord, rooms where supplies were kept, and rooms for the storage of items that were rarely used. There were many places in the temple with many different purposes and functions. The windows throughout the temple were strategically placed to allow light in and also to serve as watch posts for protection of the sacred place of the Lord. Staircases allowed for the travel from level to level within the temple. It was a complex structure in which every inch was given a holy purpose..even the rooms rarely visited. When enemies came against the nation of Israel and entered the temple and defiled the holy places and items within in the temple, it was devastating to the people and to God. The violation of their most sacred places was an abomination. And we see in the passage where Jesus flipped the money changers’ tables over that even the Jews themselves violated the temple. The perfect plan of God was for the temple to be a holy, sacred, safe place of consecration, sacrifice and worship to Him. His Spirit resided in this temple made with man’s hands until Jesus came and then the Holy Spirit was sent to dwell in us.

Paul says our bodies are this temple. It displeases and grieves our Father when our temples are violated by unholy things. How does this happen? Through sins we commit and those sins committed against us. It’s time for us to clean our house. It’s time to repent, turn from the ways that defile our bodies and honor the Lord with our entire being: spirit, soul and body. Ask God to search your heart. Is there anything hidden in those rooms that needs to come out? Our bodies are the “windows” through which the unholy and defiling things enter our souls. Maybe it’s obvious…you know some things you need to stop doing or you know the things you need to repent of. What about those things done to you as a child…those sins committed against you over the course of your life? Wounds that have not properly healed? Unforgiveness, bitterness, fear, root of rejection, fear of abandonment, pride, anger, grief, insecurity, abuse, neglect, trauma? Ask God to bring those things out into the light and let’s deal with them through the lens of God’s love, who you are in Christ and what the Word says about you and these sins committed against you.

You do understand that the enemy of your souls works his best work in these hidden, unhealed, unresolved places, right? What goes on in your soul affects your body. Allow Holy Spirit to take a “broom” and begin sweeping out these places that are “defiling” you and polluting your walk with the Lord and your effectiveness for the Kingdom. Allow Holy Spirit to bring these things to your attention. Acknowledge them out loud. Tell the enemy you are done and it must go. You have the authority to command demons to leave in Jesus’ name. Then fill that empty room up with the truth of the Word, worship and the Holy Spirit. This is true freedom.

Deliverance from the enemy is hard work. Sometimes it takes a little while to root out all that baggage hiding in your temple. But, I can assure you that it is worth the effort. You can be free from the oppressor. I’m not talking about your salvation here. If you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, your spirit is whole, new and perfect. The enemy cannot take your salvation. You are safe and secure in the arms of the Father. You cannot be “snatched” from His hand. I am talking about the ways the enemy uses our bodies to paralyze and disable our souls (mind, will and emotions) and makes us ineffective as the hands and feet of Jesus. We have the victory but we have to do the work to clean our houses, with God’s loving help.

Father, I thank you that nothing can separate me from your love. I thank you that my spirit is safe and secure in You. But today, I want to honor the body you have paid such a high price for. I ask you to cleanse my temple. Clear out every room, especially those hidden places. Give me the courage to allow You to examine me and help me to process all that I have done and gone through over the course of my life. Allow Your light to shine on and in those dark rooms and expose the works of the enemy. Give me the strength to bind the works of the enemy and cast them out and away from me. Fill me up with Your love, Your power, Your Word and put a new song on my lips to sing to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.