This is the fifth episode of our six-part series, “A Vision of a Church Alive in Christ.” This episode is entitled “You Are the Temple of God.” In the last episode, “Caution: Church Under Construction,” we discussed the importance of the spiritual strengthening of the church in the world today and the role that every believer has in being a part of the spiritual church. I presented some of the challenges the church faces today and how the Lord wants us to build the church to face these challenges. I also presented a chart of Paul’s direction to the Corinthians to ensure the church is constructed with the spiritual strength to withstand the attacks being leveled against it. If you missed the previous episodes in this series, I’ve put links in the notes below.
As we follow Paul’s words to the Corinthians about the vision God gave him for a Church with the life of Jesus at its core, we now come to the “What” of our identity in the church. As I said previously, the church was struggling with its identity in the first century, and it’s struggling with its identity today. We’ve come to the point of Paul’s vision for the church where he tells the Corinthians, and in turn us, ‘what’ we are as individual believers and as a church community. By the end of this episode, you’ll have no doubt “What” you are in the body of Christ and “What” you are in the world. So let’s read together and discover “What” Paul says God intended us to be as a church from 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.
What does Paul mean by “we are God’s temple” and “God’s Spirit dwells in our midst?” To understand what the Jewish Temple should mean to believers, let’s look at the significance of the Temple to the Jewish religion and the world.
First, let’s get some background about the Jewish “Temple.” I’m not going to give an exhaustive history here of the Temple, but I’ll put a timeline and history in the notes below and on the Sonday Life website. When Israel escaped Egypt and as they wandered through the desert, they came to Mt. Sinai, where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. God also gave Moses the plans for the construction of The Tabernacle and, subsequently, the Temple.
Moses received instructions on building the Tabernacle: It was a portable focal point of religious rituals: The people provided the materials and labor to build it: Sacrifices were made in the Tabernacle: Prayers were offered to God from the Holy Place: The Presence of God came to the Holy of Holies: The Tabernacle was a symbol to all the other nations: Solomon’s Temple replaced the Tabernacle as a permanent place of worship: The Temple was built on Mt Moriah (The significance of Mt Moriah is this is where Abraham was prepared to offer his only Son Isaac to God as a sacrifice but God substituted a lamb instead: The Temple was destroyed by Babylon and rebuilt: The 2nd Temple was destroyed by Rome and not rebuilt.
After the destruction of the second Temple, the Jewish people were dispersed throughout the Eastern world. The Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall, is the second Temple’s remains.
To The World, The Temple was a symbol of holiness and the power of God to establish a chosen people and nation. Its location has become the focal point for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which represent about sixty percent of the world’s population. The Temple also displayed to the world that there was a connection between the Jews and their God. Since the Presence of God meet the priest in the Temple, this exhibited a relationship between God and his chosen people. Because of this relationship, the world saw the Jews as the Chosen of God.
To the Jewish religion, The Temple was the heart of their religious rituals, including sacrifices, prayers, dedications, and festivals like Passover, Yon Kippur, and Pentecost. The Temple was where they worshipped and honored God. They were aware of the Presence of God in the Temple just as God met with Moses on Mt Sinai and spoke with him face to face. The Glory or Shekhinah of God was in the Temple. The Hebrew word ‘Shekhinah’ represents the presence of God dwelling or manifesting himself in the world or to the Jews in the Temple.
This is a profound concept that signified the indwelling and connection of God with mankind. Paul saw this connection in the Temple as it relates to “What” believers are in Christ and our identity. Where did Paul get this understanding? From Jesus. Listen to what Jesus told the Jews about the Temple in John 2:18-21.
Jesus told the Jews that the Presence of God was shifting from the physical structure, the Temple, to the human body, the New Temple. The human body would be where God dwells and, therefore, where worship, prayer, enlightenment, and sacrifice would be fulfilled.
How do we know Paul knew this? We know this because of what he told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
With the sacrifice to end all sacrifices, the lamb of God (remember the substitution of the lamb for Isaac on the mountain where the Temple stood, and now Jesus becomes that lamb on the same mountain). His death would shift the Presence of God through the Holy Spirit from the Temple building to the Temple bodies of all who have faith in the sacrifice of His Son.
This is a revolutionary concept. The human body is the temple of God. It’s as revolutionary as when Moses introduced Monotheism. Prior to Moses, people believed in many Gods or Polytheism. Moses said, “Hear O Israel, the LORD our God is One.” With Jesus, God gave mankind the opportunity to have a personal relationship with Him through faith. Why would God make this shift? Because from the beginning, God created mankind for the purpose of having a relationship with his creation.
John 3:16, James 4:8, Revelation 3:20, 1 John 1:1-7
So, what are we doing individually and as a church? We are the Temple where God resides and has fellowship with all who believe in his Son. And God protects his Temple, as we read earlier when Paul said in verse v. 17, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”
False teachers came into the Corinthian church to corrupt believers with false doctrines, and they created divisions among believers. Divisions and doubt destroy a church by attacking faith. The church is a body of believers; if a body is divided, then that body will be destroyed.
Those who harm where God dwells will be destroyed. Listen to what Jesus told his disciples in Luke 17:1-3; “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.”
What are you and I? We’re the Temple of God. All who believe in Jesus Christ are sacred to God; through the Spirit, God dwells with each believer and has fellowship with them. God protects everyone who believes; he dwells with them, and they are his children. If anyone causes someone who believes in Christ to stumble, God will judge them for their actions against the children of his Temple.
Paul said this to the Corinthians as a warning to anyone who causes a believer to stumble or does harm to the faith of a believer. If someone says they’re a believer in Christ, and they don’t live as you live, or they don’t follow the doctrines you follow, take care that you don’t harm their faith because God is their Father, and he resides in them. They are a member of God’s Temple, and he is able to manage those who worship him and have fellowship with him. I hope I was able to help you see every believer as a member of God’s Temple and that God resides within you to fellowship with you. My prayer is God will use this message about us being His Temple so you can grow in your relationship with him and your fellowship with other believers. I also pray that you will take care not to judge the lifestyle and faith of other members of God’s Temple.
