Words to Live by is a weekly devotional email of Scriptures and quotes that highlight and expound upon our Union with Christ. If you’d like to receive devotionals like the one below, please subscribe using this link.
Wednesday April 24, 2024
Temples of the Holy Spirit
“Now in our union life, a total reversal has taken place: not just a change of our spirit joined to His Spirit, but of the control of our whole personhood, including our soul emotions and body appetites. All are now His property. Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. Our members are ‘instruments of righteousness unto God.’ We are salves of righteousness, whereas we used to be slaves of sin. We are ‘renewed in the spirit of our minds,’ and every thought is being ‘brought into subjection to the obedience of Christ.’ There is now this upward pull on our souls and bodies–upward temptation to respond to Him. Our bodies are living sacrifices. We delight to do His will.
This is a radical reversal from our fear of flesh responses and our constant guarding against them.. Even though Christians, we have become so used to seeing ourselves negatively.: Sex is so dangerous and so close around the corner that we are captured by illicit desires…also by greed and love of material things…and by jealousy and hate and resentment. We have been afraid of our flesh, and by no means free to fearlessly use our body faculties and soul emotions for Christ and others.
We therefore, in our new union relationship, take a further step of faith on the soul-and-body level. We are firm in faith that we are kept, and He does the keeping. ‘Kept by the power of God through faith,’ wrote Peter. ‘Now unto Him who is able to keep us from falling,’ wrote Jude. And said John, ‘Perfect love casts out fear.’ So why be fearful?
So, in this new way, we have our emotions to use to express our love and joys and interests, and our minds to be stretched in daily launches of faith in the God of the impossible; our bodies too, appetites and all, are free to express our love and care for others, without being fearful of their misuse. That is our new boldness of faith, though those appetites and emotions have formerly had such a negative hold on us. But fear not. Have faith in the Keeper.
This also gives us a radical change of outlook on temptation. It used to be something to be fearful of, avoid, and feel greatly guilty about; now we see temptation as an asset, not a liability! Why and in what sense? Because light must have darkness to shine out of. Temptations are pulls back to walk again in darkness. But if we now know who we are, we see all our temptations as what God is meaning us to have, and each exactly suitable to us. We see them all as opportunities to manifest Him through our souls and bodies. Temptation has become opportunity! We understand why James tells us to count all temptations as joy. Christ is manifested by them.”
Taken from: Yes, I Am
Pages 152-154
By Norman Grubb