“Do you not know,” writes the Apostle Paul, “that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16)
This is the revelation in comparing mankind to the temple of God. As God formerly dwelt in the holy of holies in the tabernacle of Moses, so the Holy Spirit indwells man today.
By comparing mankind to the temple, we can see how the three parts of mankind are clearly demonstrated.
We know the tabernacle is divided into three parts.
The first is the outer court which is seen by all and visited by all, which is our body. All external worship is offered here.
Going further in is the Holy Place, into which only the priests can enter and where they present oil, incense and bread to God, which is our soul.
The soul is near to God: yet not the closest, because the sou is outside the veil and therefore unable to stand before His very presence.
God dwells deepest within the Holy of Holies, where darkness is overshadowed by brilliant light and into which no one, but the priest can enter.
Though the high priest does enter in the holy of holies once a year, it indicates that before the veil was rent no one, but the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies.
Mankind is God’s temple now and has three parts.
The body is like the outer court, the exterior with its life visible to all.
Our body should obey every commandment of God.
Here God’s Son serves as a substitute and dies both in soul and body for mankind.
Inside the holy place is mankind’s soul which represents the inner life of mankind which contains mankind’s, will, mind, emotions, imagination and conscience.
The soul is the Holy Place of a born again person, for God’ love, will, feelings and thoughts are enlightened through the flow of our spirit into our soul.
Behind the veil, lies the Holy of Holies our spirit. It is “the secret place of the Most High,” the dwelling place of God.
It cannot be reached by mankind unless the veil between our spirit and soul is removed.
Our spirit remains inside mankind’s self-consciousness(soul) and our physical senses are outside of our soul. It is our soul that interprets what our spirit is sensing, and our physical senses are observing.
No light is provided for the Holy of Holies because God dwells there. There is light in the Holy Place supplied by the lampstand of seven branches.
The outer court stands under the light of the world. All these serve as images and shadows to a born again person.
Their spirit is like the Holy of Holies indwelt by God, where everything is carried on by grace through faith, beyond the physical sight, senses of the physical body.
The soul resembles the Holy Place because it is enlightened by our spirit, but also the physical senses of our body.
The body is comparable to the outer court, clearly visible to all. The body’s actions may be seen by everyone.
The order which God presents to us is unmistakable: “your spirit and soul and body” (1 Thess. 5:23). It is not “soul and spirit and body,” nor is it “body and soul and spirit.”
The spirit is the preeminent part, therefore it is mentioned first; the body is the lowest and therefore is last mentioned; the soul stands between, so is mentioned in-between.
Having now seen God’s order, we can appreciate the wisdom of the Bible in likening man to a temple.
We can recognize the perfect harmony which exists between the temple and mankind in respect to both order and value.
Temple service moves according to the revelation in the Holy of Holies.
All activities in the Holy Place and in the outer court are regulated by the presence of God in the Holiest Place.
This is the most sacred place. It may seem to us that nothing is done in the Holiest because it is pitch dark. All activities are in the Holy Place; even those activities of the outer court are controlled by the priests of the Holy Place.
Yet all the activities of the Holy Place are directed by the revelation in the utter quietness and peace of the Holy of Holies.
It is not difficult to perceive “the spiritual application”.
It appears the soul is master of all actions, for the body follows its direction.
Before the fall of man, however, the soul, despite its many activities, was governed by the spirit. And this is the order God still wants: first the spirit, then the soul, and lastly the body.