Hello, everyone. I think we are going to spend a little time in Hebrews 9. Today, we are just going to take the first few verses and we will go from there. Above, we see the first little bit of the description of the floor plan of the earthly tabernacle. Services were held in the first part of the tabernacle and once a year only the priest went behind the veil into the Holiest of All and made sacrifices for himself and the people for sins that were committed out of ignorance (verse 6-7). The full description of the temple that is referenced here can be found in Exodus 26:31-35.
Let's talk about the veil in the temple for a moment.
Matthew 27:50-51 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. (51) Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,
With Jesus death, the temple was destroyed, and the veil that separated the Holiest of All (or the Holy of Holies), was torn from top to bottom, rendering it useless a barrier to the rest of the temple. With the shedding of the blood of the Final Lamb of Sacrifice, there is no longer separation from the dwelling place of the Presence and Spirit of the Lord. We have access to both without the barrier in place....because we are that place.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (20) For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
Now, we are the temple, our bodies are the place the Holy Spirit now dwells. As a result of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we no belong to ourselves, we belong to Him. Our bodies belong to Him. Verse 20 in 1 Corinthians 6 above says it clearly, we were bought at a price. We were ransomed out of the darkness through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who is truly our Savior. And because He ransomed us, bought us back, we are to glorify God in our body, and in our Spirit, both of which are God's.
Romans 14:7-8 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. (8) For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.
How are we to conduct ourselves as temples of the Holy Spirit? We have access to the Holiest of All, with no separation or barrier, but what does that mean for us?
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
How do we present ourselves as a living sacrifice, the temple of the living God?
1 Peter 1:13-19 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; (14) as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; (15) but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, (16) because it is written, "BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." (17) And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; (18) knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, (19) but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
1 Corinthians 6:17-18 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (18) Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
There is more at stake with our sin and sexual immorality than the weight the world, and many Christians, place on it. We are the temples of God. His Spirit now dwells within us without barrier to the holiest place. Notice above what I have highlighted, bolded, and underlined in blue above. We are joined to the Lord and are one spirit with Him. He is holy, and by dwelling within us has called us holy as well. Our conduct should be reflecting a certain level of reverence for a God who sacrificed His Son for us so He could live within us and be One with us. Are you thankful for the blood Jesus shed that tore the barrier to the presence of God for us? It is precious and valuable, and shed from One who knew no sin, but hanging on the tree became the curse for us. Now that we are redeemed and children of the Most High God, we are to leave former behaviors behind, including the lusts of our former selves...which are dead now that we are New Creations in Him, right?
Except, instead of saying new creations, Peter said, do not conform to your former lusts as in your ignorance. We were ignorant of these things prior to the revelation of Jesus Christ in our lives. Now, we have been given the Holy Spirit, which
John 16:13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
If the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth and He dwells within us, then we are responsible for those truths that are revealed to us. We are no longer our own, but belong to Christ. We are to live as though we do. We are to speak as though we do. We are to honor, glorify and magnify God as though we do. We are to leave our ignorance behind, and follow the paths of truth that we are being led through.
Tomorrow, we will pick up with the rest of Chapter 9, God willing. In the meantime, Join our discussion on Facebook. Have a wonderful day.
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