1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (ESV)
[16] Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit
dwells in you? [17] If anyone destroys God’s temple, God
will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
When
I hear 1 Corinthians 6:19 quoted, “Do you not know that your body is a temple
of the Holy Spirit,” the application is often “Take care of your body.” But
when 1 Corinthians 3:16 says “you are God’s temple,” it is not talking about
your physical body. It is talking about the church, the Body of Christ. The application
is almost the same. Instead of “take care of your body,” the application is “take
care of Christ’s body.”
We
read, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him” (1 Cor 3:17), and
we think of those we would call enemies of God. Unfortunately the enemies of the
church rarely have to do much. We are too busy destroying his Body ourselves. We
divide. We attack. We criticize. We complain. Then we talk about the dangers of
“them” out there who are out to destroy our country, the biblical roots of our
country, and the Christian faith, all the while missing the fact that we are
our own worst enemy.
When
Paul wrote that “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him” (1 Cor
3:17), I wonder if he was thinking about enemies of the cross, or members of
the church. Looking at the context around verse 17, I think he had in mind
members of the Corinthian church. I wonder what he would say about our churches.
How are we building in our local church? Are we building with that which will
burn up or that which will last for eternity? Are we busy tearing down, or
building up? How are you building today?
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