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.
I Corinthians 6:19&20
God's Holy Spirit dwells in the bodies of those who have come to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, repented and have been born-again by the Holy Spirit as explained in the Gospel of John Chapter 3, where Jesus declared; "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." When asked what He meant by this Jesus explained;
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."
John 3:3, 6-7
All those who have been born again by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ are adopted into the family of God;
"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together"
Romans 8:15-17
We explain how to be born again under "How to be Saved" in the Main Menu.
The Bible clearly warns those who have been born of the Holy Spirit to keep their bodies which are the temple of the Holy Ghost pure and undefiled;
"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
The Lord Jesus Christ purified the temple building in Jerusalem twice during His three and a half year ministry before He was crucified and rose from the dead. The first purification of the temple was at the beginning of His ministry, and the second was not long before He was crucified. But with His death and resurrection Jesus Christ God established a New Covenant in His blood, where God has finished the Old Covenant which included the physical temple building; "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28). The word "testament" is means "covenant." And God's covenants were always sealed with blood.
Before Jesus gave up the ghost He declared, "It is finished," and "The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom" (Matthew 27:51). The LORD God has completely finished and ended the Old Covenant with the physical temple made from stone, and in His New and better Covenant with mankind is with those who are born again by God's Holy Spirit are the temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells. In the Lord Jesus Christ the LORD has established the New Covenant with Israel and Judah promised in Jeremiah 31:31-35. And so the temple is no longer a building, but it is the bodies of all of those, whether Jew or Gentile, who have been born-again by the Holy Spirit of God through the Lord Jesus Christ where "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:28&29).
And so, just as Jesus purified the earthly temple, so those who are now the temple of the Holy Ghost should also keep themselves pure and holy.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1: 7-9 KJV
If you want your spiritual body to be closer to the Father and the Son, do not defile your natural earthly body. When you sin sexually or speak vile words you defile your body. Jesus said that he will be in us if we believe in Him and walk in righteousness. He will dwell in our temple through the Holy Spirit. If we do sin we are to confess our sins, and ask the Lord to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
According to my earnest expectation and my hope,
that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness,
as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body,
whether it be by life, or by death.
Philippians 1:20 KJV
Keeping our Body (temple of the Holy Spirit) as righteous as we can in our walk of life is part of our fight in this spiritual war. It is hard for many Christians to understand that unclean spirits can indeed come into your body, but the Bible has so many verses on this subject that we cannot assume this only occurred in the time of Jesus and his disciples. It was then, and it is now!
The idea that; "I'm born again so I'm safe and don't get unclean spirits" is blind ignorance to God's Word. In fact, those who are in denial of such things may even be inhabited by a spirit of self righteousness and pride.
A good Scripture for us all to pray regularly and with a sincere heart is:
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23&24
You may think the unclean spirits (devils) are just here on earth because they were cast out of heaven (Revelation 12), and God caused them to be bound in the earth until the day of judgment. This is true for some of the fallen, but the vast majority are actively engaged in a spiritual war against the followers of Jesus Christ that the Bible clearly warns us against and teaches us to fight;
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
Ephesians 6:10-13
The following verses in this Chapter explain the armour of God which we all need to put on every day, in order to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Ephesians 6:14-18
If you think that the devils on this earth are just minding their own business then you are beyond Laodicean and are blind to the true word of God.
These warnings are very serious, and pose many dangers and life long strifes for anyone on this earth, but if you are a born again Christian, then know that the unclean spirits will pay you the greater attention and effort to bring you down, weaken your faith and do whatever they can to try to cause you to sin. Relationships, marriages and whole churches and Pastors have been destroyed or corrupted by unclean spirits (devils) across the earth for decades.
See: Unclean Spirits and the Devil in you - for more information.
