Your Church Life Does Not Replace Your Devotional Life - Part 3
Temple of the Holy Spirit
This post is the continuation of Part 1 and Part 2. You can read those parts first before reading Part 3 below.
“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?” [1 Cor 6:19]
“the kingdom of God is within you.” [Luke 17:21]
To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [Col 1:27]
Welcome to Part 3 of Your Church Life Does Not Replace Your Devotional Life! Above I have introduced three Bible verses that are key to this subject. These verses talk about the ability that we have, as born again believers, to connect with God “inwardly,” not needing to rely on an “outward” or outside structure, system, or organization to facilitate our relationship with God.
What is a temple? In the most general sense, a temple is a place where we worship deity. In other religions (outside of Christianity), temples are physical structures, but for the Christian, we ourselves are the temple of God. Before the arrival of Christ upon the earth, people did worship the one true living God in tabernacles and temples (Moses’ and David’s tabernacles, Solomon’s and Herod’s temples).
Now, after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, and with the Holy Spirit being given to individual believers, a person can connect with God one-on-one like never before! One does not need to go through a priest, a pastor, a teacher, or a minister to reach God. Through the blood of Jesus, each believer can access the throne room of heaven.
In Moses’ tabernacle, and in the temple, there are two compartments, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.
For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, [Hebrews 9:2-3]
Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy. [Exodus 26:33]
These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. [Hebrews 9:6-7]
From the text above, we see that in those days, only the high priest can enter into the Most Holy Place, one day a year. The Most Holy Place is always an one-on-one encounter, with no other witnesses. The Most Holy Place is where the glory of God dwells. Now, Jesus has become our high priest, and He is the Lamb of God whose blood has been spilled for us. We who believe in Him can now enter into Most Holy Place ourselves and meet with God. This is amazing!
So, as we, the redeemed, are the temple of God, what is the Holy Place in our lives? The Holy Place is our church life, where we come together with other saints to minister to the Lord, and minister to each other.
What is the Most Holy Place in our lives? The Most Holy Place is our devotional life where we meet with God in the “Secret Place.” (see Part 1) Our devotional life should be the place where we experience the manifest presence of God the most. Remember Moses went up the mountain, alone, for 40 days, on two separate occasions, to meet with God. (Ex 24:18, Ex 34:28) What really happened each day during these encounters? No one knows. This information is only known between God and Moses. Such is the secrecy of the Secret Place.
Our devotional life is where we go to get spiritually fed by God Himself, not through a third party such as a pastor or a teacher. When Moses went up the mountain, he did not eat or drink for 40 days. God fed him. God nourished him. God sustained him. Moses did not starve nor thirst. The secret place is where we receive sustenance for life!
If you are stuck on a desert island alone, like in the movie Cast Away, you won’t have a church life (there is no one else around!) but you can still have a devotional life. You can still have intimacy with Father God. You can fellowship with Christ in you. You are never alone.
God created you in such a way, that no matter where you are, you can tap into the kingdom within you and receive the abundance of heaven. This is why I believe that you “devo” life is more important than your church life. Both are essential, but I would definitely prioritize the devotional life over the church life. Everything you need is available through Christ as you abide in Him. Let us go back to John 15:31,
…you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.
In our devotional life, let us boldly enter into the Most Holy Place by the blood of the Lamb. And as we draw near to our Father, we will receive everything He has in store for us, satisfying the deepest desires of our hearts.
