BECOME WHO YOU ARE 

             "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11). In the previous two verses, Paul listed at least 11 categories of sinners and added that none of them "shall inherit the kingdom of God" (verse 10f). Then, in our verse he reminded them that each one of them was previously guilty of some of those sins, but not anymore! They had all now been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the work of the Holy Spirit! They had been made brand new! "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). The work the Holy Spirit had done within in the name of the Lord Jesus now needed to be revealed to the world. The world cannot see what happened on the inside! Others can only see what is on the inside by the effect it has on the outside! Therefore, you need to become in your body on the outside the person you have become on the inside.

            The Bible describes the body of each Christian as being a temple wherein the Holy Spirit resides. What is the purpose of a temple? It is a place of worship where all glory should be given to God! The world looks upon a temple as a place that ought to be dedicated to God. As one who is saved, you need to see the need of your body also being available to God for His glory. "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" (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17). While these verses are found in Chapter 3 of 1 Corinthians, the Holy Spirit wrote through Paul in Chapter 6 that He was astounded that they still did not know that their bodies belonged to God as a dwelling place of His Spirit to bring glory to Him through their inward spirits and their outward bodies. "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" (verses 19, 20). Does your body reveal to the world who you have become as a temple of the Holy Spirit?

            As Christians, we need to constantly be constructing on the temple we are presenting to the world so they will know who we have become in the Lord. Reverend Billy Graham was traveling with Ruth, his wife, when suddenly they were going through a lengthy highway construction project. Upon emerging from the project, the Highway Department had posted a sign that caught Ruth's attention. She wrote it down and told her husband she wanted that to be the epitaph on her grave. It is! There is a marker on her grave that states, "End of construction. Thanks for your patience." I was blessed to attend a week-long conference entitled "Basic Youth Conflicts" in the Dallas area in the mid-1970s. In one of the sessions we were each given a button to attach to our shirts with the letters PBPWMGINFWMY on it. We were all confused until we were given the meaning: "Please Be Patient With Me. God Is Not Finished With Me Yet". We do need to be patient with one another as each of us strives to become who we are on the outside based on what the Holy Spirit has done on the inside. Each of us is still under construction as the Apostle wrote, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13, 14). The Lord has provided us the materials we need to build the temple we live in to enable us to become who we are.

            The grace He has given to save our souls will continue to work in us to enable us to grow. "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen" (2 Peter 3:18). Some builders may run out of material, but we will always have sufficient grace! "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble" (James 4:6). Other builders will waste some of the material available to them instead of using it properly. We all have been gifted with grace to serve together in Holy Spirit power, but often times some have wasted the available grace given to them. Paul described it as receiving the grace in vain. "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain" (2 Corinthians 6:1).

            Our faith and confidence in the Lord should also be increasing as we observe His faithfulness to all His promises through the years. Jude described it as building up our faith. "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost" (verse 20). The temple Paul lived in was bound in a prison and facing death but his circumstances did not hinder his confidence in the Lord, as he wrote, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13).

            Our physical bodies need to be taken care of through proper nutrition and exercise to help them remain healthy. It is even more important that our bodies as temples of the Lord need to be properly cared for! "For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come" (1 Timothy 4:8). A continual diet of feeding on the Word of God will keep us faithful and available to the Lord. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Psalm 119:11). Many Christian activities will help you to grow in the Lord, such as praying, witnessing, faithfulness to church attendance, caring for the aged, and helping the needy.

            Having been saved, you have been washed, sanctified and justified within. The word 'sanctify' means to 'be made holy, or set aside for God's use'. The Holy Spirit residing within you deserves to be in a  temple that is also holy. You can give Him that if you will become who you are! "In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord" (Ephesians 2:21).