After Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as King Messiah, He went into the temple area where He saw atrocities done in the name of God. He proceeded to rectify the situation by forcefully confronting and rejecting the wrongs being done, and by restoring the right and proper activities.
We find in Paul’s epistles the teaching of the Holy Spirit that the born-again Christian is the temple of God. What an incredible revelation is given to the disciples of Jesus, that our bodies are His temple! Note this: our physical bodies are God’s temple because Jesus paid the price to redeem not only our souls, but our bodies as well.
Too many saints have an incorrect view of redemption. They do not realize that Jesus Christ not only completely paid the debt for sin, but has also provided the key to remove the handcuffs of sin that held us in bondage. Understand, though, that forgiveness of sin does not mean that we will be sinless, but it does mean that we will indeed sin less.
Just as Jesus cleansed the temple building 2000 years ago, He is doing the same thing now in you and me. However, He cleanses us like a loving father disciplines his children. He exposes and convicts of areas of impurity in both flesh and spirit as we spend time in prayer and meditation upon His word. He works from the inside out, piercing our hearts just like He did on Pentecost.
But, secure in Jesus’ forgiveness and the Father’s declaration that we’re now “justified”, we are enabled by His power to “work out (our) salvation with fear and trembling.” This cleansing is how we add to our saving faith other attributes of salvation. As long as we are in this imperfect condition, the temple cleaning that we need is unfinished. It must be a daily, ongoing work.
May God’s Word cleanse each of us today from any and all unholy deeds or attitudes, and in so doing produce godly sorrow and activity that glorifies our heavenly Father.
