1 Corinthians 3:16-17

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Have you not known that you all are a temple of God and the Spirit of God indwells in you all?  If anyone corrupts the temple of God, God will corrupt that one.  For the temple of God is holy, which is you all.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Remember Paul’s discussion from yesterday.  He told us that we build on the foundation of Christ.  We know from all over the Bible that Christ is the foundation of the church.  Therefore, what Paul is saying here in these verses is actually an extension of what he began in yesterday’s readings.  When we build, we build on Christ.  When we build, we are actually building a temple of God.  We can build using gold, silver, or precious stones – that is, we can do the work of God and thus build His temple strong.  Or we can build with wood, hay, or straw – that is, spend our life doing things that are for us and not of God.  But whatever we are doing, we are building the temple of God.  When we focus on ourselves, we send a clear message to the world that God’s temple is not made of strong stuff.  When we focus on God and God’s ways, we send a message that God’s temple is strong.  Essentially, that which we build into our own lives we are actually building into the temple of God!

Have you ever thought of your selfish and sinful actions as being built into the temple of God?  How does this make you feel?  How can this information cause you to think about your actions in the future?

Second Thought:

Paul then gives us a warning.  If we corrupt the temple of God, God will corrupt us.  Another way to translate the Greek word for “corrupt” is to ruin, destroy, or cease to exist in its desired form.  Now, this shouldn’t be taken to imply an eternal message.  Paul isn’t saying that if we live imperfect lives that God will condemn us.  After all, remember the analogy that Paul gave us yesterday.  Even if we build poorly on the foundation of Christ, in the end we will still be saved because of the foundation, not because of our works.  So here is what Paul is saying.  If we choose to be in Christ but not take our faith seriously and spend our life doing the things of the world and not the things of God, then God will not spare us from the consequences of our bad choices.

Why is it important to understand that we are saved through the grace of Jesus Christ and not through our own works?  Why is it important to understand that in spite of this, our choices with respect to how we live still have consequences on our lives?

Third Thought:

Paul tells us that the temple of God – each of us – is holy.  It is worth pausing here and remembering what the Greek definition of the word holy means.  Holy means separate.  Holy means different.  When Paul tells us that God’s temple – us – is holy, he means that we are to be separate from the world.  He means that we should be building with gold, silver, and precious stones rather than the wood, straw and hay that the world uses.

How holy are you?  Does your life look more like the life of Christ or like the world?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 3:18-23