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NASB | 1 Corinthians 3:16 ¶ Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 3:16 ¶ Do you not know and understand that you [the church] are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells [permanently] in you [collectively and individually]? |
Bible Question:
I have a question concerning the following verses - 1 Cor. 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Do these verses indicate that we as the redeemed people who have the indwelling presence of Holy Spirit and are called the temple of God can personally defile the place within us in which God resides, to the point which God will destroy the person who defiles the temple, and bring about ruin upon ourselves? I know some people will want to quote verses 11-15 to me, but after reading this chapter I honestly don't see how those verses tie in with the verses that follow. Can someone please explain? |
Bible Answer: Greetings New Creature, Here is some interesting commentary on this verse.. "3:16 temple of God. God's church. Paul does not mean here that each of his readers is a temple of the Holy Spirit. He says, "You yourselves (plural) are God's temple (singular)." In 6:19 he speaks of each Christian as a temple of the Holy Spirit. 3:17 God will destroy him. Strong language, indicating that such a foolish laborer is not one of the Lord's true servants. This is in contrast to the thought of v.15, where the faulty Christian worker is saved, but his work is destroyed (he suffers loss of reward). In the context of chs. 1-4 Paul here refers to people who tear the local church apart by factions and quarrels (1:11-12).." (2) "3:16 a temple of God. Here the local church is viewed as a temple of God inhabited by the Spirit; in 6:19 the individual is a temple of God. 3:17 If any man contributes to the collapse of a local church (whether a believer (*) or a professing believer) he will be severely disciplined by God." (1) (*) I believe that Ryrie means "(whether an unbeliever or a professing believer)", since the text of his commentary seems a bit redundant. I do not believe that 1 Cor. 3:16 is saying that we, as the redeemed people, can personally defile the place within us in which God resides. I do not believe that such an association is true or warranted by the context of the passage. Blessings to you, Makarios (1) Ryrie Study Bible, Expanded Edition, 1995, The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Th.D., Ph.D. (2) Zondervan NASB Study Bible, 1999, Zondervan Corporation, Kenneth Barker, General Editor |