Devoted to God...or Destruction? - Gloria Copeland

God wants us to be holy. First Corinthians 3:16-17 says it this way, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile [or destroy] the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy….” The “temple” in this scripture is your body, and according to this verse, our bodies are to be holy. To be holy means to be set apart, separated to something and separated from something else. Recently, as I was thinking about this, I was reminded of something else in the Word that God calls holy—the tithe. Suddenly, I realized that our bodies are much

like the tithe!

The Bible teaches us that the tithe is devoted (just like God wants us to be). That means it has been set aside for God. It is a holy thing, set apart for God’s use. If you’re a believer and in covenant with God, every time you increase, 10 percent of that increase is holy. If you don’t tithe, that 10 percent still belongs to God and the Bible says you are robbing God. The Hebrew word in Scripture that means devoted, charman, actually means “devoted to destruction.” So a person’s tithe can be devoted to God or to destruction. If they give it to God, it becomes devoted to Him. If they keep it, and rob Him of it, it becomes devoted to destruction.

Now, in the light of that, let’s read 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 again: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile [or destroy] the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy….” Just like the tithe, your body, the temple of the Holy Ghost, is holy. And in the same way, if you keep the tithe it will be devoted to destruction, if you defile your body, it will be on a course for destruction as well. If you don’t keep your body the way you should, by obeying God, it will begin to destruct. This is the law of sowing and reaping in action. The more a person uses drugs or alcohol, partakes of pornography or adultery, or any other kind of sin, the more quickly he or she will die.

Can this be true for a believer? Yes. The law of sowing and reaping works the same way as natural laws that govern this earth. Gravity works for believers and unbelievers alike. So does the law of sowing and reaping. Let’s take this a step further. Consider this in regard to your body and healing. Your body is holy, set apart, consecrated, devoted.

Therefore, no sickness or disease has the right to be in your body. No sickness or disease has the right to be in the temple of God—and that temple has no business living carnally or in an unholy way. God has called us, as His sons and daughters, to live set apart and sanctified…holy. To be holy simply means that we obey God in everything He tells us to do—that we live for Him and stop participating in the world’s ways.

-Be a Vessel of Honor

Devoted to God...or Destruction? - Gloria Copeland