I Am Where God Lives

"thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain" Ex. 20:7

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_Our body is a fascinating and ingeniously created object. It is a magnificently orchestrated symphony of frame and organ, bone and tissue. Each member of the body has been uniquely designed by the Master Himself. We are not the product of eons of evolution, nor are we the sum total of circumstance. Each part of our body plays an important role and was masterfully designed to do something well. Every capillary and cell was thoughtfully placed and suited to perform an important function. For example, our bones are stronger than a metal alloy, yet light enough to insure dexterity and ease of locomotion. Our bones are hard, yet not brittle. They are hollow and therefore light in weight. They not only enable us to stand erect, but they also contain a factory in their core (marrow) which produces the blood we need for life itself. Besides all that, they grow to accommodate the body from infancy to adulthood. Man is indeed a marvel of engineering. David had an appreciation for what God had done. He said it better than we could, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Such must have been the thoughts of Adam as he awakened from the clay of Eden to be a being created in God's own image.

Each finger, each joint, each hair, our eyes, our hands and our feet are all a wonder in themselves. Let us care for and use our bodies properly as God intended.

Evolutionists believe man to be at the peak of the evolutionary chain. Psalm 8 tells us that we were made a "little lower than the angels." There is a part of man that cannot be examined under a microscope. There is a part of man that cannot be heard with the stethoscope. There is a part of man that is as real as our arms and legs, but is invisible. Man is more than a physical creature, he is also spiritual. It is in that sense that he is made in the image of God.

Science has been busy for hundreds of years trying to discover "How" we are made. The real question of importance is not "How" we were made, but "Why" we were made. When a person becomes a Christian he has a new appreciation for the body and a greater understanding of self.

Man is made in the image of God in that he is "tripartite." That is, man is a Trinity in his own right. He is body, soul, and spirit (1Thes. 5:32). The body is very important. It is the point of contact with this world. It is the vehicle through which we move and act. Some religions depreciate the importance of the body even to the point of counting it an evil thing. Other religions venerate the body and worship it as being divine in itself, as does humanism. Never was there an age where more attention was given to the worship of the physical body than this age. Health spas, beauty salons, fashion boutiques are the shrines and temples of this "religion of Self." Never has more money been dedicated to the worship of "self" than in our day.

America has an obsession with looking young, trim and beautiful. Americans spent fortunes on "shaping up." and "looking good." At the same time, never has a people been more "out of shape" then we are. We stuff ourselves with sweets, we "indulge" and we bulge. We over eat and gorge ourselves. Fast food restaurants on every corner are filled with overweight individuals who are committing caloric suicide in the name of immediate pleasure.

Jesus tried to bring these matters into proper perspective by teaching: "Therefore, I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat: neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment." Luke 12:22-23

Man has a body, but he is also soul and spirit. The soul of man is the seat of the mind,the will, and the emotions. Man thinks and reasons. Man feels. Man chooses. There is a third aspect about 3I Am Where God Lives

man created in the image of God. Man is also a spirit. This spiritual aspect of man enables him to have fellowship and communion with God. It is in the "spirit" that man has a capacity to know God.

The Jewish nation had a temple which was the focal point of their worship and religious life. It consisted of three main compartments: The outer court (or court of the Gentiles), the holy place, and the Holy of Holies. It was in the outer court that the Jew would rub shoulders with the Gentile. The world could enter only so far and no farther. The court of the Gentiles was a mass of humanity, noise and confusion of activity. The holy place was off limits to the non Jew. It was where the white robed priests went through the motions of their religious responsibility. Beyond that was the inner sanctum, the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest was allowed to enter and then only under certain prescribed conditions. It was in the Holy of Holies that God Himself was to be made manifest from time to time in what was called the Shekinah Glory, (the closest equivalent to the Holy Spirit in the Jewish theology). The Holy of Holies was God's place.

So it is in man. Our bodies touch the world. Our soul is the seat of thought and reason, but it is in our spirit that we truly worship God, and "our spirit witnesses with His Spirit that we are sons of God. (Rom. 8:16).

When Adam fell he damaged the body and the soul, but more grievous than that, he ruined for all his posterity their capacity to know God. From that time on the "natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God" 1Cor 2:14. The Bible is a cold and dead book, and the voice of God is inaudible until a person is "born again." The new birth and "regeneration" restores the broken receiver and spirit of man enabling man to hear God's voice once again in the garden of God's Word.

Man is more than muscles and bone marrow. Man is where God lives, or at least where He wants to live. "That Christ might dwell in you" said Paul (Eph. 3:17). When we become born-again believers, we become the "habitation" of God (Eph 2:22).

The third command is a warning to not take the name of the LORD in vain. Many see it as a prohibition against bad language or cursing. It is much more than that. The Jew bore the name of God in the very name "Jew." They were Jehovah's people. Each time they rebelled against God's commands they failed to live up to the special and unique name they carried.

In Acts 11:26 the followers of Christ were first called "Christians." It is a befitting name for all true believers. It is the stamp of ownership. We belong to Christ. Just as the name etched in the granite stone of the County Court House declares the purpose and function of the building that bears its name, or the title over the door of a fire house identifies it to all who pass by, the name "Christian" should declare to the world that Christ lives with us and that we are his.

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God , and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" 1Cor 6:12. The very name Christian should announce to the world that I am where Christ lives. "I am crucified with Christ, never the less I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me..." Gal. 2:20. We are where God lives.

For some reason to own a BMW automobile has become a mark of prestige and status symbol in the United States. For a time some people were even stealing the emblems off parked cars in some cities. I once saw a Volkswagon with a BMW emblem on it. It looked ridiculous. Likewise any person who calls himself a "Christian," but is not a Christian is taking the name of the Lord in vain. In the same vain, a Christian who lives like the ungodly takes the name of the Lord in vain and fails to live up to the name he bears.

I was once talking to a man who was doing some work for the church. He had recently placed his faith in Christ, but he still had a habit of smoking cigarettes. He wanted to take a smoke and asked if he could step outside for a few minutes so he could have a cigarette. He said he did not want to smoke in "God's House." I asked him why he felt uncomfortable smoking in the church building. He was surprised by the question. It would be very "sacrilegious" to smoke inside he explained. It was then that I pointed out that God now dwells in the hearts of men and womenwho have trusted Christ. The body is the temple of God these days and the same reasons he gave for not defiling the House of God were the reasons why he should not smoke and violate the living temple of the Holy Spirit. God gave him victory over his habit. This man also had a better understanding of the importance of personal purity and care for the body God gave him.

What is in a name? Companies are very careful about the use of their name. "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD…in vain." This means more than: don't cuss. I means "don't misuse God's name."

Suppose I developed a soft drink and I was looking for a catchy name- - to set it apart from all other brands, so you would know what to ask for when you went into the store. Suppose I decided to call it Coca-Cola. Is that OK? I don't think so. That name is already taken. I have no legal right to use that name. Christian means Christ lives in you.

Our bodies belong to God. They are a sacred trust given to us on loan for a little while. They will wear out in time and then we will move to a mansion. Until that day we need to care for God's temple. Let's not abuse it or neglect it. Neither let us become so preoccupied with it that we forget it is just the box, not the jewel. Let us not whip it, but neither let us not worship it. Let us not hate it, and let us not love it too much. Let us not defile it, nor glory in it. Let us feed it but not gorge it. Let us tone it but remember we do not own it. It is where God lives.

When we see the body of another Christian, let us try to look past the outward appearance. It is the house. Let us not be so impressed with the well manicured lawn, or the slate roof nor pre-occupied with the peeling paint that we forget that it is just the house, or better "the temple." God lives on the inside. When we look at an unbeliever, let us remember that no matter how well kept the outward appearance, the inside is still sadly empty. Let us also realize that God can do amazing things if he allowed to. No matter how poor, dilapidated or hopeless one may seem, there is great potential in every case, if only God were to move in and become the Divine resident.