The temple of God is holy
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Christ lives in all true believers, and Christians should be pure both in their hearts and their interactions with others.
By יוני שפירא - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, model of Solomon’s Temple
”Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.“
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NASB1995
We’re back to another one of Paul’s epistles, this time a warning to those Christians living in sinful Corinth. In the first verse, Paul is asking a question of the church in Corinth, not individual Christians. He’ll describe individual Christians as temples in 1 Corinthians 6:19-21, so that’s probably a topic for a future Heaven On Wheels write up.
Paul had used this “Do you not know?” questioning technique elsewhere in the epistle. He expects that the Corinthians will provide positive answers to his questions, since they had received intensive instruction from the apostles (including Paul himself and their associates. By asking questions, Paul is refreshing the memory of the flock in Corinth, building on what knowledge they hopefully picked up at an earlier time. In a way, he seems to be chastising the Corinthians for not taking advantage of the wisdom they should have acquired.
In earlier parts of this epistle, Paul makes it clear that false teachers in the church anre teaching unholy doctrines. In Paul’s analogy, their teaching is corrupting and will eventually destroy the temple (not a physical building but the collection of believers that make up the church). Paul is saying that those who are spreading the false doctrine turn the church from holiness, and bring destruction on themselves as well.
Christ lives in all true believers, and Christians should be pure both in their hearts and their interactions with others. Anyone who believes that he or she is a true follower of Christ but doesn’t care about personal holiness, peace in the corporate body of the church, or the purity of the church is deceiving themselves.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, as I learn more about You every day, I begin to understand both the privilege and consequences of having Your Spirit dwelling in me. I pray that my life is worthy of the calling to which I have been invited. Help me to live my life in a way that You would be pleased with. I pray this in the name of Jesus, AMEN.