I Corinthians 6:19, 20, "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"
I Corinthians 3:16, 17, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."
II Corinthians 6:16, "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."
The most sacred place on earth to the Jew was the
temple. The most sacred place in the temple was the holy of holies. Now the
building itself was not sacred. It was made so by something within the holy of
holies. This was the Shekinah Glory, representing the presence of God with His
people. This Glory hovered over the mercy seat.
This place was so sacred that no one could look upon it but one man. That one man was the high priest. He, on the seventh month and the tenth day of the month each year, could enter, and only then could he enter if he brought with him the blood of the sacrifice on the day of atonement. This man (the high priest) was chosen by God. Imagine how he felt! Imagine how sacred was his annual entrance through the veil into the very presence of God represented by the Shekinah Glory hovering over the mercy seat! Imagine how honored he felt! He alone was chosen by God to enter into this, the holiest place of all.
There is a New Testament temple. This is not a building made with hands. This is not a church building. So often the words, "The Lord is in His holy temple," are placed above the pulpit or at some other obvious place in the church auditorium signifying that the church is the temple and the Lord is in His holy temple; that is, the church. This is contrary to the teaching of the New Testament! God does not dwell in buildings made with hands. The New Testament temple is the body of the believer. The Samaritan woman told our Saviour, "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." (John 4:20) Jesus answered her by saying, "Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what:: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him mush worship Him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:21-24).
Our Lord was teaching that since the veil of the temple was rent in train from top to bottom upon the death of our Lord, no more does the Shekinah dwell in a building made with hands but that this Shekinah now dwells within the body of the believer.
So many have the concept that God lives in the church building and that the saints come for a visit every Sunday morning to that building where God lives. Because of this, the church is often erroneously decorated with worship centers, divided chancels, burning candles, etc. The church building is NOT a temple; it is what Spurgeon called "a meeting place." It is a building to protect us from the elements and to make it convenient for the temples to meet for fellowship, for strength, for teaching, for edification.
Since the body of the believer is the New Testament temple, it then becomes the most sacred thing on earth to the Christian. Hence, it should be kept clean, pure, healthy and yielded.
When I was just a little boy, my mother said to me, "Son, there is nothing on earth as sacred as the body of a girl." She would remind me that it was delicate; it was weaker than a man's body. She would teach me never to be rough with the body of a girl. Now I'm sure that I did not know why a little girl's body was so sacred and perhaps my mother did not know the full reason, though she did teach me as I got older that it was sacred because it was used of God miraculously to bring new life into the world, but I doubt if she knew anything about the day of atonement, the high priest, the mercy seat, the ark of the covenant, or of the cherubim made of beaten gold. She probably didn't even know about the veil of the temple that was rent in twain or the fact that the body of the believer is the New Testament temple, but she did, thank God, have enough knowledge, awareness and perhaps intuition to teach me that it was sacrilegious to misuse the body of a girl.
There are some parallels between the Old Testament temple and the sacred body of a girl.
1. No one could look within the holy of holies except one man. The same is true with the body of a lady. It is reserved for one man!
I am sure that many of the Jews would love to have taken a glimpse into the holy of holies. It would have been a never-to-be-forgotten experience for them. It would have been exciting and thrilling for them, but it would not have been for their best because God did not plan it so. It is also a natural thing for a young man to want to look upon the body of a young lady, but God has ordained it that young men should restrain themselves as they yield to the Holy Spirit, realizing that the body of a lady is so sacred that God has reserved it for one man.
Just as the veil of the holy of holies separated its furnishing for the eyes of the people, except for one man, even so should modest clothing separate the Godly of a lady from all but one man. This is why the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy instructing him that ladies wear modest apparel. I Timothy 2:9, "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array."
The basic difference between modest and immodest apparel in Timothy's day was that the immodest woman had a slit in the side of her long dress. As she would walk, her thigh would be revealed. This symbolized that she had something that she wanted to show; she advertised her immodesty. The modest lady did not reveal her thigh to the public. It was too holy. It was reserved for one man.
God also admonishes woman not to wear men's clothing. Deuteronomy 22:5, "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God." God is not for the unisex movement. Not only does He want the clothing of men and women different, but He is for a man to have short hair. I Corinthians 11:14, "Doth not even nature teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" He also is for a woman to have long hair. I Corinthians 11:15, "But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering."
It would seem then that there should be a modesty and even somewhat a mystique concerning the human body. Wicked, modern educators speak through their ignorance of spiritual truth, and advise parents to let their children see Mom and Dad unclothed. These pseudo-scholars do not realize that such is forbidden by God. Genesis 9:21-25, "And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Caanan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren."
There should be a modesty even within the family circle. Family members should not walk around the house in underclothing; especially is this true concerning young ladies. Their bodies are very sacred and should be reserved for that one man in all the world who is allowed to see something so sacred that it is compared to the holy of holies in the Bible.
2. God chose that one man. The one man that could see the holy of holies was the high priest. He was chosen by God for that specific task. The holy of holies of a young woman not only should be seen by just one man, but God is the One to choose that man. For every young lady who is to marry, God has chosen the one man in all the world who is to have a right to look upon her and to love her. Because of this, a young lady should not choose her husband because he is cute, handsome, muscular, or athletic; or because he has a good personality; appeals to her physically, is educated, is wealthy or because he is talented! She is to go to her prayer closet and seek the will of God concerning her high priest, the one who is to share with her in that which is most sacred. To be sure, when God reveals to her the one who is allowed to enter into the holy of holies, He no doubt will create in her desires for him and a taste for him. Since God has created her for him and him for her, He certainly would choose someone whose personality would be pleasing to her and someone who would offer to her emotional, mental and physical appeal.
The truth remains, however, that the final criterion for choosing a husband should be the will of God. From childhood a young person should pray for the Holy Spirit to lead him to the right mate, to that one person in all the world with whom he or she will become heirs together of the grace of life. I Peter 3:7, "Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that our prayers be not hindered."
The wise and spiritual young lady will wait until she finds the man whom God has chosen to be her high priest. She will not allow other men to see her body immodestly clothed. She will not dress to appeal to the sensuous nature of men but will rather keep her body reserved and veiled, as was the holy of holies, waiting for that man in all the world who has been chosen by God for her.
Certainly this makes the chosen man honored and exalted. Fortunate is that woman whose high priest approaches her with all of the dignity, holiness, love and gratitude with which the high priest entered into the holy of holies. How sacred is this relationship! How beautiful it can be! How sad that wicked minds and mercenary motives have joined to commercialize something so sacred as a woman's body!
3. Only one man was allowed to touch to furnishings of the holy of holies. Only one man could enter; only one man could see, and only one man could touch! Uzzah was a man in the Bible who touched the sacred furnishings of the holy of holies and who immediately died because of his sin. "And when they cane to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his had to the ark of God to hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. And David was displeased, because the Lord had made a breech upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day." (II Samuel 6:6-8) Likewise the New Testament temple should be touched only by the one chosen as the one high priest. That sacred body of a lady is not only reserved for the eyes of one man and the presence of one man but for the touch of one man. Fortunate is that man who has such a temple that has been reserved for him, and fortunate is that lady who has a temple that has been reserved for her. This means that men should be very careful to be proper. "Hands off" should be the motto. Sometimes imprudent men carelessly touch the hand, arm or shoulder of a lady other than their own.
When our younger daughter, Cindy, was married she gave daddy quite a thrill. We were waiting just outside the door to walk the aisle. Her high priest was waiting at the altar. The music was being played. Cindy looked up and said, "Daddy, I have a wedding present to give you." I asked, "What is it, Puddin'?" She said, "Daddy, in a few minutes I will become Mrs. Jack Schaap. After you pronounce us husband and wife, we will kiss. Now, Daddy, here is the wedding present: This will be the first time I have ever kissed a boy. I have wanted to, but I wanted more to give you this present." Tears filled the eyes of a happy and proud father who realized that here was a holy of holies that had been veiled from the eyes of lustful men and reserved for that chosen high priest that he alone may see, tough and enter."
A young lady came to our church during her high school years. She wanted to attend our Christian high school, but she was not allowed to do so. She did, however, vow that she would be true to Jesus as she attended a large public school in Hammond. True to Jesus she was. She carried her Bible to class. She dressed like a lady with modesty and propriety. The careless students called her "the Jesus girl." When she became senior in high school she was chosen as homecoming queen and was crowned as such at the homecoming football game. As she was crowned, the band played a song that they had chosen just for her! It was "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found; was blind, but now I see." Somehow this just seemed appropriate for "the Jesus girl."
The is just one of hundreds of examples of young ladies who have grown up in the First Baptist Church and who have believed the Pastor's teaching about the Holy Spirit and the opposite sex. These young ladies have dressed modestly. They have not worn the clothing of men. They have guarded their purity and their visibility even as God Himself guarded the holy of holies in the temple. They have realized that out yonder somewhere there was a chosen high priest who alone could see them, touch them and enter into the holy of holies in the temple. They waited for God's revelation of that chosen priest. One day God revealed to them His choice. How happy they are! How proud of them I am! How pleased the Saviour is! Their faces show true beauty. Their lives reveal the grace of God. Their husbands feel as important as Aaron felt when he approached the mercy seat inside the veil. Their pastor says, "It's all worthwhile!" Their parents feel a heavenly reward. One day these lovely, holy, young ladies can join hands with their high priest and train their children concerning the Holy Spirit and the opposite sex.
