“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16).
In the Book of Daniel, we read the story of King Nebuchadnezzar and his dream.
Daniel 2:2 tells us that “the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed.” He didn’t want them to just tell them what the dream meant but to also reveal the actual dream because he had forgotten what it was.
He thought that if they really had power to interpret the dream, they should also have the power to know what the dream was. Listen to their answer. It reveals what most people also think about God.
Their answer stated that God is way up there and we are way down here and that God doesn’t interact with man. They said,
There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men.
(Dan. 2:10-11)
Did you catch that? They said that only gods could reveal the dream and the gods don’t live amongst men!
That is what millions if not billions of people actually think today! If they believe in God at all, they think He is up somewhere on His throne and that we are for the most part a somewhat insignificant thing that shouldn’t bother Him.
The truth is the opposite of what King Nebuchadnezzar’s men thought. To those who receive Jesus as their Savior, not only is God not way up there, to the contrary, the Bible tells us is that He lives within us! Glory to God!
His Word says, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16).
That should have gotten you excited and maybe even made you want to shout with joy. Do you want to shout more? God says His Holy Spirit is to help us know and understand God’s thoughts.
We really can know what the Almighty God of the universe does think and know. That is something to spend time thinking about because it is absolutely mind-boggling. Just think, the God of this universe is actually so intimate with us that He wants to let us know His thoughts, His mind and His ways. Wow!
We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God (the Holy Spirit), so that we can understand what God has freely given us. These truths we express to you are not human thoughts figured out in the mind or taught from man’s human wisdom. They are God’s Words taught from within your heart by the Holy Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
(1 Cor. 2:12-13)
This means that as we read God’s Word and as we pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand what we read, the Holy Spirit will teach us all what God is saying through the scriptures.
Since the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, God will talk to you! These verses are also saying that a human mind can’t get God’s understanding of scripture. Understanding comes as a gift of God to each and every believer. It is the Holy Spirit that brings the revelation or understanding of what God’s Word means.
His Holy Spirit lives within us for the purpose of doing that very thing. He lives within us to reveal the secrets of God that will remain a mystery to those who don’t accept Jesus.
Contrary to what men think today and what King Nebuchadnezzar’s men thought, we have a God that loves us, and lives in and amongst us, and reveals His heart and thoughts to us!
That is something to shout about! Excuse me while I go run, sing, shout, get excited and give someone a high-five.
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Timothy Burt is a pastor, author, and writer. He is best known as the author of Fresh Manna, a daily devotional and online Bible study.
Pastor Tim became a part of the leadership team at Living Word Christian Center in 1984 and was an Associate Pastor from 1989 until May 31st, 2017. He and His wife Renee, also a Pastor at Living Word, resigned after being a part of Living Word for 33 years on May 31, 2017. They felt impressed by God to pursue the tremendous growth of their ministry "Fresh Manna," as well as teaching conferences and seminars and increasing their involvement in the mission field through Tim and Renee Burt Ministries. Tim has a Bachelor of Theology degree and is a Christian blogger who has been writing a daily inspirational and teaching devotion three days a week called "Fresh Manna" for the past 22 years. It has been read in over 227 countries (official countries and territories). Tim was named one of the top 55 blogging Pastors. He is one of the top Social Media influencers in Minnesota with a strong presence on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TimBurt with over 187,000 followers. Between Tim's Fresh Manna Devotional and Twitter influence, he virally averages reaching over 4 million people daily with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of God.
Prior to working at LWCC, he worked at Northwest Airlines for 13 years. In 1985 he founded and was President of American Infant Care Products which marketed his patented invention, the first fold-down commercial infant changing table now used worldwide in public restrooms.
In their tenure at Living Word, Timothy Burt and his wife Renee created a Small Group Ministry when the church was about 800 people in size. Under the leadership of Sr. Pastors Mac and Lynne Hammond, the church grew to over 10,000 people. Pastor Tim and Renee led a diverse Small Group Ministry of over 200 groups. Tim also led weekly men's groups and a monthly Men's Breakfast of 250 plus men called Manhood for 27 years. Tim's responsibilities also included oversight over the Visitor and Member Relations Department, Leadership and Volunteer Development, and the Pastoral Care Department. Pastor Tim was also the Minnesota State Director of Christians United for Israel from 2006 thru 2017.
Tim and Renee are the parents of four children and have seven grandchildren. Tim loves to write, golf, run, and walk, and is a master gardener. He is a five-time marathon finisher. He is also a three-time award-winning gardener winning the Grand Prize in his city for his beautiful home garden and is a Master Gardener for the University of Minnesota's Master Gardener Extension Program.