Print This Article“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?” (1 Cor. 6:19).
A retired clergyman told the following story: “When I was a younger man, I volunteered to read to a degree student named John who was blind. One day I asked him, ‘How did you lose your sight?’
“‘A chemical explosion,’ John said, ‘at the age of thirteen.’ ‘How did that make you feel?’ I asked. ‘Life was over. I felt helpless…,’ John responded. ‘For the first six months I did nothing to improve my lot in life. I would eat all my meals alone in my room. One day my father entered my room and said, “John, winter’s coming and the storm windows need to be up—that’s your job. I want those hung by the time I get back this evening…!” Then he turned, walked out of the room and slammed the door. I got so angry. I thought, “Who does he think I am? I’m blind!” I was so angry I decided to do it. I felt my way to the garage, found the windows, located the necessary tools, found the ladder, all the while muttering under my breath, “I’ll show them. I’ll fall, then they’ll have a blind and paralyzed son!’” John continued, ‘I got the windows up. I found out later that never at any moment was my father more than four or five feet away from my side.’”1
In time past, God’s glorious presence resided in the temple in Jerusalem. Today, under grace, if you have trusted Christ as your personal Savior, God’s Word teaches “that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you” (1 Cor. 6:19). Under grace, the body of each believer is the temple of God and so is blessed with the indwelling presence of God. God lives in us!
Like that blind young man, perhaps we are unaware that God is there and with us. Maybe we need the reminder that Paul gave the Corinthians: “What? know ye not…?” Since the Spirit is in us, He is with us in and through all of life’s experiences. It is impossible for Him not to know what we do or go through on a moment-to-moment basis. And thus the Word teaches that the Spirit feels our hurts (Rom. 8:26), grieves when we sin (Eph. 4:30), leads us (Rom. 8:14), strengthens us in the inner man (Eph. 3:16), and gives supply for our needs (Phil. 1:19).
May we nurture a strong, ever-growing awareness of God and live in light of His presence in us.
1. William Frey, Sermon Central, contributed April 6, 2004, https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/16198/william-frey-retired-episcopal-bishop-from-by-evie-megginson.
To the Reader:
Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:
"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."
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