“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.”  (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Our text brings several important thoughts to us.

The primary meaning is to show us that God has purposed to indwell each of His children as an individual temple and, by extension, the Body of Christ; as many lively stones are joined together for a spiritual habitation of God (Ephesians 2:19-22). For this purpose, the saint is told to glorify God as His Temple; this is our nature.

A secondary meaning of our text is to show us our ownership. In very clear terms, the Apostle Paul tells us that we are not our own, but that we belong to God; both our body and our spirit. To glorify God is our duty, as He has given us His Spirit, making us to be His Temple. In Romans, Paul tells us that this is our “reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

Today’s devotion focuses on a third meaning of this text as we consider the Christian’s worth in relation to our nature and our ownership as God’s Temple. The Christian’s worth is made evident in the “price” with which we are bought.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

To be sure, there is nothing in our intrinsic (fundamental) nature that prompted God to pay this Price. Rather, it is God’s intrinsic nature of Love which moved Him to bestow the Gift of Christ’s Life on us (1 John 4:9-10). Our worth then is by the imputation of Christ’s Life as the Gift of God. Let’s examine our worth to God after receiving this Gift.

1)    When we think of worth, we think of quality. We usually buy products made by certain manufacturers or producers because we trust the brand name to be an indication that we are in fact getting a high-quality product. We look at who made it. The quality of Christ’s Life in us is identifiable in the fact that it is the Gift of God. No one is capable of producing a better product than the Creator of all things.

2)    When we think of worth, we think of cost. The old saying is that you get what you pay for. If a lot is spent in the production of a thing, it will usually sell at a higher price in order to justify its expense. Likewise, when we see an item with a high price, we usually consider it to be of a greater worth than a cheaper item. The cost of Christ’s Life in us is identifiable in the fact that it is the Gift of God. The ultimate price has been paid.

3)    When we think of worth, we think of value. An object’s value is relative to its importance to us. We are often willing to sacrifice quality and cost for the sake of obtaining something we really want, although there may be no lasting worth to it. In the same way, we will view an object’s worth according to its novelty or sentimentality to us. The value of Christ’s Life in us is identifiable in the fact that it is the Gift of God. It is His; and He gives it to us.

In these three areas (quality, cost, and value) we see the worth of Christ’s Life in us. Although this worth is not our own self-generated worth, God has so lovingly bestowed it upon us, imputing worth to us by the Life of Christ.

Child of God, you have been bought with a Price – a Price that exceeds all concepts of worth in quality, cost, and value. Therefore, as the Temple of God, you are to glorify God as His chosen vessel.

What is your worth? Apart from the grace of God, nothing. But by His grace He has so loved us that He has bought us to Himself by the Blood of Jesus Christ; He has cleansed us, sanctified us, regenerated us, and established us as His Temple by the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. You are worth something to God. You are worth the Life of Christ.