Articles
You Are God’s Temple – 1Cor. 3:16
You Are God’s Temple – 1Cor. 3:16
- "Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Do you not know - there are some things that OUGHT to be known by the Lord’s disciples and this is one of them. Temples have been built to accommodate the worship of gods by almost every society. There are remains scattered all over the Mediterranean world of the first century. The Jews had built the temple unto the true God. This temple then enjoyed the very glory of God dwelling in it until Israel corrupted themselves with idols. In the time of Ezekiel, God removed His presence from the temple and then raised up the Babylonians to utterly destroy it. With the return of Ezra and Nehemiah they rebuilt the temple. This temple served its purpose but it was not of the same glory as Solomon’s temple. Under Herod the Great, he persuaded the Jewish people to let him remodel the temple. He was known for his great building projects and this one was no different. He greatly enlarged the temple area and rebuilt and glorified the temple. Even the disciples of Jesus were impressed with the very beauty of this temple.
NOW, in the city of Corinth at the city that housed some of the great temples of the pagan gods, God is building His temple. “YOU are the temple of God” and “God’s Spirit dwells in you”. In this sentence both instances of ‘you’ is plural. The church is the temple and the Spirit dwells in it. There is one temple and collective they are ‘built together’. This same thought is stated in Ephesians 2:20-22 where Paul writes concerning the gentiles who have become Christians: "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit”.
We are the ‘building blocks’ of this new temple. Yet, some had begun to desecrate and destroy the very temple of God by causing division and apostasy among the disciples. The warning is severe: If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. Let no one deceive himself” (1 Cor. 3:17-18). We need to be careful how we treat each other! We ought never to be the stone of stumbling that would cause a brother to stumble in his faith. Even that which we have been given a right to partake of should be willingly given up for the spiritual well being of our brethren. We live in a selfish age and it has shown itself even among God’s people. Such simply should not be!
Brethren, WE are this temple. We are to be a HOLY temple. We are to be a people dedicated for the purpose of worshiping and glorifying our God.
Hugh DeLong
