You Are The

Temple of the 
Holy Spirit
1 Cor 3:16-17(NIV)  Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's
Spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple
is sacred, and you are that temple.

God, through His Word, says that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit!
If God says that you are something then:
1. You ARE what He says you are. and... 
2. You should want to KNOW what you are!
Before we start this study take a few moments and look the following diagrams. 
The first is a diagram of the tabernacle (temple) that the lord gave Moses detailed instructions
how to build.  The reason the plans were so detailed, was that Moses was to build an earthly
representation of the real temple in heaven.  The second diagram is of the tabernacle (or
structure) of man (the Temple of the Holy Spirit).  Notice the remarkable analogy between the
two.

Diagram 1:
Diagram 2:
The reason I feel that this is so important is simple.  The Christian life is predicated upon
“change” and it is very difficult to change something when you have no idea how it works. 
There are many more intricate little details that I don’t have the space here to go into.  So it is
the goal of this article simply to help you more clearly understand how God has designed you
to operate and grow while here on the earth.

First you need to grasp the concept that scripturally you are a ‘spirit;’ that you have a ‘soul’
(which contains your mind, will and emotions) and you live (dwell, abide) in a ‘body.’  Also,
according to scripture, you have a heart (not your blood pump, but your heart of hearts that
contains both your spirit and your soul). And you also have your words and your works.  You
will note in diagram 2 (above) that the nine (9) parts of man are listed.

HEART
According to Luke 4:18 Jesus stated:  “The spirit of the lord is upon me, because he hath
anointed me (and sent me) to … heal the brokenhearted.” 

Your heart of hearts, before you were born again, was completely broken.  Scripturally your
heart has two (2) chambers: your spirit and your soul.  (Locate your heart in diagram 2.)

Here are some attributes of the heart.

The heart:

 Can be clean, honest and good.

 Is where your treasure is. (Is a treasury.)
 Can contain an abundance of good and/or bad.  Including good thoughts, faith, belief,
the Word of God, love and hope or evil thoughts, doubt, sorrow, murders, adulteries,
fornications, wickedness, deceit, pride, foolishness, lawlessness, thefts, lies and
blasphemies.
 Things from there can defile a man.
 Can become calloused, hardened, slow and dull.
 Can receive the seed of sown words there good and/or bad.
 Can rejoice.
 Can be repentant.
 Can be distant from Jesus.
 Can be gentile and humble.
 Can think and consider.
 Our words can come from there.
 Can be filled (furnished) by Satan (to lie to the Holy Ghost).
 Can be broken or whole (healed).
 You can love the Lord with it.
 You can say things from there.
 You can keep sayings (rhema) there.

We must guard our hearts as to what we allow to enter our heart.

THE VEIL 
Your heart may have a veil.

Lam 3:65  Put a veil over their hearts, and may the curse be on them!

2 Cor 3:14  But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil
remains when the old covenant is read. It (the veil) has not been removed,
because only in Christ is it (the veil) taken away.
2 Cor 3:15  Even to this day when (the books of ) Moses is read, a veil covers
their hearts.

In the tabernacle, we see the veil as a heavy curtain separating the Holy Place and the Holy of
Holies.
This was known as the "third veil" or "the Life."   The Hebrew word for this veil was
'Poreketh' and translated to "the separation".  This veil was part of the curse, from which we
were redeemed by Jesus.

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me.

If you remember Jesus said, "I am "the Way" (the 1st veil), "the Truth" (the 2nd veil) and "the
Life" (the 3rd veil).  In retrospect we understand that "the Life" is the Way of Life - eternal
life with Jesus. 

I believe this 3rd veil - to be the SAME Life that we are to CHOOSE over death.  Or put
another way, This veil can mean life, or the Lack of life.

Deu 30:19  I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have
set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that
both thou and thy seed may live:

Jer 21:8  And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I
set before you the way of life, and the way of death. 

The Bible teaches that there is a surgically sharp sword which we know to be the Word of
God, (the Rhema Word of God).

Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which
is the word of God:

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful (effective), and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing (penetrating) even to 'the dividing
asunder' ("the separation") of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and
is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The Greek word for the 'two-edged' sword is 'distomos' and at first may seem very odd -
because it translates to "two-mouthed" sword. The Rhema Word of God is the 'spoken' (or
mouthed) Word of God.  And the sword is two-mouthed because first God spoke (or
revealed) His Word, and then we speak His Word, which activates it.  So the emphases here
should be that it refers to the spoken, revealed Word of God.
The Greek word for 'piercing' is 'Dukneomai' which translates to "penetrating".
The Greek word for 'the dividing asunder' is 'Merismos' and translates to "the Separation". 
The same as the Hebrew word for veil.  So Heb. 4:12 could be translated like this:

The Word of God is alive, effective, comprehensive and decisive - taking the
place of (or exceeding) any double-edged blade (or sword) penetrating the
separation (the veil) between the soul and spirit. ...

So the Rhema, the spoken, revealed Word of God can perform spiritual heart surgery;
Dividing, splitting, cutting away, opening or removing that veil when we turn our heart to the
Lord Jesus Christ!

- revealing your spirit to your soul (your mind, will and emotions). 
- revealing that your spirit is real.
- revealing your spirit's connection to the Holy spirit who abides there.

1 Cor 2:9-10  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that
love him.  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit
searches all things, yea, the deep things of God.

The Greek word for 'revealed' here is 'Apokalupto' and means "to unveil."  So vs. 10 could be
translated like this:

God has revealed to our mind, will and emotions by His spirit, by cutting
down the veil that previously obscured our view and blocked God's plan
from our sight.

The Old Covenant veil was a veil of separation FROM God and his plan.
The New Covenant veil is a door, an opening, a passageway TO direct contact, revelation and
communications from and with God, through His Holy Spirit.

When we read 2 Cor 3:1-17 and 2 Cor 4:3-4 together we begin to see the prophetic type and
shadow of this veil.
When Moses came down from the mountain where he in the presence of God received the
tablets of the old covenant, his face shined too bright to look directly into.  Glorious!  So he
placed a veil over his face to cover and hide the glory from the children of Israel.  It says that
Moses was actually hiding the REAL purpose of the written law which has now been voided.
It says that the children of Israel's collective minds were made or rendered "stupid, petrified
and hardened" or "made hard-headed". (Don't get mad at me, I just translated it straight from
the Greek.) And that even to this day that same veil (hiding cover) covers their collective
hearts never having been cut down or unveiled - while reading Moses (the first five books of
the Bible) that includes the old (worn out) covenant - which is made void through Christ. But
that WHEN their collective hearts turns (converts) to our Lord, that veil (hiding cover) will be
cast off (removed & unveiled).

But was it God that made or rendered the people "stupid, petrified and hardened" or "hard-
headed"?  No!  2 Cor 4:3-4 says, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost and
dying in this world whom the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them
which are unbelievers, lest the shining light of the gospel of Christ, who is the image of God,
should shine-forth unto them."

SPIRIT
When you received Jesus as your lord and savior you were ‘born-again’ and at that instant
your spirit was renewed (or made brand new). And if you invited him to do so, the Holy Spirit
moved in to live, dwell and abide in your spirit.  So that half of your heart is healed and made
whole.  (Locate your spirit in diagram 2.)

SOUL
Now the soul is a different matter.  Remember your soul contains your mind, will and
emotions.  And it does not automatically become renewed.  The renewal of the soul begins
with the renewal of the mind, which is your responsibility.

Rom. 12:2 and be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The “will of God” here is just talking about what God has already said in the Bible.  That’s
what it takes to renew the mind – to the end that you get rid of the way that you used to think
and begin to think the same way that Jesus thinks.  Once your mind starts becoming renewed,
your will and emotions will follow.  (Locate your soul in diagram 2.)

HEART AND WORDS

You can tell when your heart is being healed from being broken – when you open your mouth
and your words are now God’s words.  Diagram 2 doesn’t show it, but your words originate
in the soul, go out the door through the body and out the gate  (or your mouth). Mat 12:34
says, “… out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”  If what is in you heart is
good, then your words will be good.  Conversely if what is in your heart is bad then
eventually bad, (negative, non-productive, idle) words will come out of your mouth.

In mat. 12:36-37 Jesus says, “… Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account
thereof in the Day of Judgment.  For by your words thou shall be justified, and by your words
thou shall be condemned.”

BODY, SPIRIT AND WORKS

James 2:26 says, “for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead
also.” 

Here we see several things.  When your spirit leaves your body, your body dies.  2 Cor. 5:8
says that to be absent (you the spirit) from the body is to be present with the lord.

In the same way (it says) faith without works is dead (faith).  Or to say it another way, you
can know and believe in your mind what the word of God says, but if you don’t believe it in
your heart and act upon it (works), your faith is worthless, totally ineffective (as good as
dead).
Works are also “good works” that is to say doing what Jesus said to do and doing the same
things (works) that Jesus did during his earthly ministry – teaching, preaching and healing.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

Let’s look at how the Holy Spirit interacts with your spirit. 

God not only created you as a spirit with a soul and body, but he designed you so that you
(the spirit) would take ascendancy, dominion and authority over your soul (mind, will,
emotions), body, heart, words and works.  We refer to this as being in proper alignment. 
Unfortunately, all to many Christians are totally ignorant of that fact.  And some of those that
do know fail to act upon it due to fears, and oppressions (mostly demonic or religious in
nature).

The Bible word “submit” really just means, “come under the protection of.”  When we are in
proper alignment, all the other parts of man submit (come under the protection of) the spirit. 
This makes you (the spirit) the head of the body.  You (the spirit) were designed to submit to
the lord Jesus Christ – the soul, body, etc… will not on their own, submit to anyone or any
thing – especially God.  Rom 8:7 says, … “The carnal mind is enmity (hostile) against God.” 
Being in proper alignment is called ‘walking in the spirit’ while being out of alignment is
called ‘walking in the flesh.’

When you (the spirit) are in control, the Holy Spirit can ‘direct connect’ with you (your
spirit). This makes it easier to hear God speak to you, easier for the Holy Spirit to teach you,
lead you, and operate through you in the form of the anointing.  Being out of alignment stops
or hinders the flow of the anointing and disconnects from the Holy Spirit and the voice of
God.  It takes you out from under the protection of the blood of Jesus because the soul will
not only exalt itself over the spirit but even the blood of Jesus.

In order for the spirit to become strong it needs to be fed.  Scripture teaches that there are two
ways to edify (build up) the spirit – by reading (hearing) the word of God and by praying in
tongues (in the spirit).  Why?  That’s just the way God designed it.

An emaciated spirit can take authority and dominion but it takes a strong spirit to keep (or
retain) it.  Faith or believing and acting on the word of God is the outward manifestation of a
strong spirit and a heart full of the word of God.

You feed your body three times a day – how often do you feed your spirit?  As we Christians
get closer and closer to the return of Jesus Christ, we must get on a spirit-building program in
order to develop and strengthen our spirit.   Remember, the devil has to get you into the flesh
to touch you – you have to get into the spirit to touch the world!

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