God’s Holy Temple

God’s Holy Temple (by Tim Klink of Prison Discipleship Ministry)

Habakkuk 2:20

But the LORD is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him.

When I was growing up our family was in church every Sunday morning. Before most services someone would proclaim that verse as a call to worship, and in my young mind I would try to picture what that must look like. Our church building was very large at that time to a child growing up. Actually it wasn’t that big but the sanctuary had a balcony. It also had a beautiful pipe organ with the brass pipes behind the choir loft. As that verse was read I would try to imagine where in that building was the Lord. It did say that He was in His holy temple, so in my mind, He was in the building somewhere, but I never knew exactly where.

As I matured in the things of the Lord I soon realized that God’s throne is in heaven (Psalm 11:4), and it is from there that He rules and reigns. Keeping silence before Him is our act of obedience as He deals with us personally. While that is absolutely true, it tends to give the picture of distance between God and me. While God is truly in heaven, He is also within me.

1 Corinthians 6:19

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?

This gives an entirely new perspective to the presence of God. Our first verse proclaims that God is in His holy temple, which includes within me. He is not just hanging out around the organ pipes in the church, but He is dwelling within me as a believer in Jesus Christ. His presence is powerful within believers, but how many times do we ask where He is? We don’t allow Him to direct us in the paths He designed for us, but rather, prefer to go our own way.

The question is not if God is in His holy temple, the body of the believer, but if He is on His throne within us. Wouldn’t it be unthinkable to have the presence of the King in His holy temple and not permit Him to be properly seated upon His throne to rule as King? Is God properly seated upon His throne or are you making Him wait?