June 11

And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit. — Eph 2:22 BSB

These words apply both to the entire body of Christ, seen as a whole, and to each individual member of that body. Just as the Church in its fullness is complete in Christ and will one day be in heaven, each individual believer is also part of that Church here on earth. This solemn truth gives these words great weight for each believer. Since we will all answer for ourselves and “die alone,” and since faith is personal, how carefully we should walk before God and others! We must seek both an inward and outward testimony that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), and that we are a dwelling place for God by His Spirit.

If we understand this truth and live under its weight, we will be careful not to defile our bodies, which are temples of the Holy Spirit. We will desire not to defile our eyes with lust, our ears with worldly or ungodly talk, our lips with deceit or frivolous words, our hands with evil deeds, or our feet by running after vanity. Instead, we will see our bodies as members of Christ (1 Cor. 6:15), sanctified for His service and His glory.