In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Ephesians 2:21-22 NIV
I think sometimes, in our day, we emphasize the presence of God in each of us to the exclusion of the presence that is in all of us. Paul talks about both. Certainly, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and you should treat it as such. He is in you to guide and teach and sanctify. But Paul also says that we are being built up together for a dwelling of God’s Spirit. Jesus referred to His presence when we gather in His name: “There am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)
As we gather today, let’s do so with a sense of the presence of God. The place of gathering for worship in most churches is referred to as the “sanctuary.” It means it’s a holy place. Webster says, “a consecrated place: such as the ancient Hebrew temple at Jerusalem or its holy of holies, the most sacred part of a religious building.” What is it that sanctifies it? His presence. When we get there, He comes with us. Somewhere in our services, between the announcements, the hugs, and the rock show, we might want to remember we come to meet with God in a special, tangible way that comes in no other way. “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? (1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV)” This is holy ground.
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