GOD'S DWELLING PLACE.
Flannery O'Connor's short story A Temple of the Holy
Ghost written in 1953, tells of a precocious 12-year-old girl and two country
boys who have come to court her visiting cousins. The girl overhears her
teenage cousins mock a nun, Sister Perpetua, who has suggested a formula to use
in fending off fresh young men in the back seats of cars. "Stop, sir! I am
a Temple of the Holy Ghost!" the nun taught the girls to say. The cousins
think such advice is hilarious.
However, the girl could not follow the conversation but
was moved. The news that she is the dwelling place of God makes her feel as if
somebody has given her a present."[1] This fictional story may
help girls to fend off any guys making undue advances. On the other hand, when
it comes to thinking of it, being the Temple of the Holy Ghost is an honor to
consider.
Last week we learned that we are given the weapons of
righteousness to attack and defend against the tactics of Satan and his demonic
forces. Today we will learn about the impact of unhealthy partnerships with
unbelievers and where God's dwelling place is.
I.
Can we partner with unbelievers? (Vs. 14)
I conversed with my cousin's American husband in India
a few years ago. I told him how I work with Sharon's interfaith clergy for the
town's Shalom. Suddenly he became very judgmental and began to say, I
compromised my faith and, to an extent, lost my salvation. What made him and
other over-zealous Christians take these extreme views of the scripture?
I Cor 6:14. "Don't team up with those who are
unbelievers." Some quote this as saying
we should not have any contact with unbelievers. There is a doctrine called the
doctrine of separation or non-fellowship. Some protestants believe that the
members of a church should be separate from "the world" and not
associate with people of the world.
Many scriptures in the Old and New Testaments provide
some basis for this doctrine."[2] Is II Cor 6:14 saying that
we should never be friends with unbelievers? Is this encouraging a kind of
unhealthy separatism to the extent that we become insular and exclusive? The
context in which it was said matters. Paul was warning the Corinthians against
the dangers of idolatry.
Let us examine what Paul meant by "Do not team up
with those who are unbelievers" or "Don't be yoked together with
unbelievers." (NIV). Paul is not suggesting that we should not have any relationships
or associations with unbelievers. Instead, this is a prohibition against
forming close partnerships with non-Christians. He uses an agricultural
metaphor about yoking.
To fully understand the impact of this scripture, we
need to know what a Yoke is. Farmers commonly use a yoke on their cattle. It is a
wooden device that goes on the neck of two cattle connecting them. It is tied
around both animals so that it is secure and they cannot escape.
They must walk next to each other. If they are not
equally yoked, one ox will drag the other. It even causes them to choke the
other. God warned His people against unequally yoked alliances, saying,
"You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together." Dt
22:10.
For the Corinthian believers to cooperate with false
teachers, who are servants of Satan, falling for their charming ways, is to
become unequally yoked, which would destroy destroying their relationships with
Christ and one another. How does being unequally yoked affect us?
Partnering with unbelievers would compromise our faith,
weaken our witness, and ruin our good relationships. Unequally yoked with
unbelievers is a warning, especially for Christians seeking marriage alliances.
Marrying a non-Christian will cause you to be unequally yoked. That unbelieving
marriage partner might turn you away from following Christ. Paul encourages us
to avoid such partnerships to protect us from wounds caused by unequally yoked
alliances.
What if you are a Christian and have already married a
non-believer? Or your believing partner becomes an unbeliever? God can redeem
and heal any marriage relationship. Paul has a bit of advice for Christians
whose partner is not a believer in the I Corinthians 7th
chapter.
II.
Three contrasts explain why partnering with unbelievers would not work.
The Apostle Paul uses three contrasts to explain unequally
yoked partnerships cannot survive. Vs. 14-15, "How can
righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What
harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a
partner with an unbeliever?" These verses encourage Christians to live
differently in the world.
Just as righteousness can not stand wickedness, as darkness
flees from the light, Christians must be wise in dealing with unbelievers. As
Christ stood against the works of Satan, we must stand up and resist the devil
and his followers, not walking hand in hand with them.
What does that mean practically? It means a child of
God must recognize that they are in the world but not of the world. We have
been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the glorious kingdom of
light. Therefore, let us live like the children of light.
As the Apostle Paul advised the Roman believers, we
should not copy the world's behavior, culture, and customs, like celebrating a
pagan festival, Halloween, etc. Instead, we should let God transform us into
new people by changing our thinking. We must give up destructive friendships
and seek spiritually and emotionally healthy partnerships. There is another
chief reason why Christians should avoid compromising alliances with
unbelievers.
III.
God's Dwelling Place (Vs. 16)
Vs. 16 "And what union can
there be between God's temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living
God. As God said: "I will live in them and walk among them. I will be
their God, and they will be my people." Here Paul was referring to a
portion of the Israelite's history.
In the OT, God commanded Moses to build a holy
sanctuary, the Tabernacle, so that He could live among them. The Tabernacle
became God's dwelling place. In Leviticus 26, we read about God's pronounced
blessings for obedience and punishment for disobedience.
One of the blessings of obedience to God was His
abiding and accompanying presence. But the Israelites failed to obey God. Instead,
they made alliances with people of other nations and worshipped their idols.
God punished them by exiling them into Babylon.
What can we learn from this history lesson? God dwelt
in the Tabernacle in the wilderness and later in king Solomon's temple and now
resides in His people. In other words, we become God's dwelling place. Like the
little girl in the story earlier, consider it an honor.
In the OT, God appointed priests to maintain and keep
His temple. The priest's responsibility was to keep themselves pure and keep
unholy people or animals from entering and defiling the temple. Similarly, let
us get to work and take good care of God's dwelling place.
Paul lays out some practical ways to care for our
bodies, God's dwelling place here in this passage and elsewhere. First, we take
care of God's dwelling place by not entering unholy partnerships with
unbelievers. Secondly, by avoiding sexual immorality. "Run from sexual
sin!
No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one
does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don't you realize
that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given
to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high
price. So, you must honor God with your body." I Cor 6:18-20
We are strengthened and encouraged in our faith when we
come together with fellow brothers and sisters and worship God on the Lord's Day.
God not only dwells in our hearts individually but also among us when the
living stones unite to serve the Lord. May Hope Church become God's dwelling
place as we become devoted followers of Christ.
