The Temple of God Versus Idols
"What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16)
We have been on the same theme for the past two days, and today, we wrap up on this subject of the social life of the believer.
There is no agreement between the temple of God and idols. The temple of God symbolizes God's presence - a place God resides. In this context therefore, an idol is a physical representation of the presence of any other spiritual force other than God. We are talking here about spiritual atmospheres - the presence of deities.
Here, Paul is teaching a deep principle - the principle of discernment - which must guide us in our social life. We must not be ignorant of the spiritual atmospheres we expose ourselves to.
"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God…" (1 John 4:1)
This is why it is not every place, program, event, or company of people that you can comfortably dwell as a Christian. For example, you cannot find yourself in a nightclub, observing all the illicit activities, and claim you did not participate. Your presence there is not warranted in the first place because the spiritual atmosphere there is opposed to the spiritual presence that you carry as the temple of God.
The music you listen to, the movies you watch, they all place you in a certain spiritual atmosphere. You must test the spirit that is present in that atmosphere, whether it is of God.
To preserve your spiritual sanctity, you must always keep in mind that there is no agreement between the temple of God and idols.
The psalmist gives us a good summary of the lessons we have learnt so far over these three days…
"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers." (Psalms 1:1)
Remain inspired!
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