Taking Care of the Temple
Declaring God's Word
Audio icon
2 March 
Share notification iconFree gift iconBlack donate icon

Taking Care of the Temple

A portrait of Derek Prince in black and white
2 March 

By Derek Prince

📨
Subscribe for free devotional emails.

My body is a temple for the Holy Spirit, redeemed, cleansed, and sanctified by the blood of Jesus

Scripture has led me to some practical conclusions regarding my body. I do not seek to impose these on anybody, but I have given a lot of care and prayer to this subject, and I have been prepared to make radical changes in my own lifestyle, if they are God’s will.

My first conclusion, the basis of all the other conclusions, is that I must treat my body with reverence and attune to it as a temple of the Holy Spirit. Again, Paul said:

“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” (1 Corinthians 6:19)

If we take this passage seriously, then we are going to deal with our bodies as with a temple, for that is what they are.

Suppose for a moment that God put us in charge of a material temple — a building of stone, timber, and glass. If we were conscientious, we would be concerned about looking after it —keeping it clean and free from dust, with no broken windows or clogged toilets. We would feel tremendous responsibility to keep that building in the best possible condition. As Christians, you and I have an even greater responsibility to keep our bodies, which are the temple of Holy Spirit, in the best possible condition, and we need to find out what is involved in doing that.

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul wrote:

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity [or fear], but a spirit of power, of love and of self  discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7, NIV)

We see here that the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of self discipline. But there is a subtle balance: He won’t discipline us if we are not willing to be disciplined. If we seek the help of the Holy Spirit in cultivating self discipline, He will help us.

Prayer response

Thank You, Lord, for the blood of Jesus and the work of Your Holy Spirit. I will seek the help of the Holy Spirit in cultivating self discipline to keep my body in the best possible condition, for it is a temple of the Holy Spirit, redeemed, cleansed, and sanctified by the blood of Jesus. Amen.

Free Download

Download and print your free copy of this daily devotional for personal use.

Download PDF
Code: BD-B097-061-ENG
Blue scroll to top arrow iconBlue scroll to top arrow icon
Share on social media

Thank you for sharing.

Page Link
Link Copied!
https://www.derekprince.com/
Black copy link icon