“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?”. – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
All people are ‘made in the image of God’, which means God is the original and divine human. Everything reflects that which made it, and so we are all in human form and so is the universe. Because God is human, the human form is a universal form in the universe; this means that the whole of heaven is in the shape and structure of a human, called the Grand man. With this it is essential to conceive that all the parts and processes in the human body have correspondence with all of heaven and the universe.
Because we are made in God’s image every person is unique, a microcosm of heaven and with this we have been given the ability to be sovereign. Our sovereignty is true; it means we have an inner temple with which we are connected to God; and we must take this seat of our own will. (This is where Jesus speaks to us, ‘welcome my good and faithful servant’). Self-hood and freedom is entirely provided by God, which is meant by ‘you are not your own’. This is the paradox – we are truly our own sovereign person but this is entirely provided by God (this shows how profoundly we are in a position of humility toward Him, which all the angels proclaim with joy). He is the creator and source of life, and we humans are receptacles of life. Only He has intrinsic life; we have no life without him.
He provides our freedom and consciousness. In the deepest seat of our living soul – there is God! We are all tethered to him by this inner place like spokes on a wheel. This place is beyond our consciousness but there are levels descending from it where we are conscious. This is our inner temple. This is the most intimate relationship in the universe. (This is why true marriage love is the image of worship). From here, we can approach the Lord in humility and grow in strength for eternity but never reach Him, for He is an infinite horizon. There is no ratio between His wisdom and ours for He is infinite and we are finite.
Every person in soul and body is born on earth, and is made for, and meant for heaven (but not all make it). Our body is the temple; it is the external, the physical container of the soul. The body is in perfect likeness with the soul, and the body is (meant to be) one with the soul. To the degree the body and soul are in harmony we are in a genuine and heavenly state. The soul shines through the eyes and the face especially, and these show our true affections. The soul also shines through our whole body and gestures.
To the degree we are deceiving, harboring secret enmity and hate towards others and community we are in discord with our body, using to to hide and lie.
Thus, the body is essential to life and salvation; the body is a temple because it is a receptacle of life from the divine. This makes it a temple, it is the ‘vessel’, and God is the ‘Potter’. We are the ‘creature’ and He is the ‘creator’. We are to be good stewards of our body for its gaol and use is to help the soul be saved in heaven. We must take care our body, listen to God, grow and be honest to bring union between our body and soul for this is the spiritual work that makes us heavenly.
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