81 A TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

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A TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

A building image that Paul uses is a temple for God or for the Holy Spirit. It is a picture of an expensive or valuable building. In 1 Corinthians 6:19, the image of a person's body is used as a temple for the Holy Spirit. Paul also uses the image in 1 Corinthians 3: 16-17, where he compares the temple of God, the most sacred and precious edifice in the ancient Middle East, with the church.

Read 1 Corinthians 3: 16-17. What does it mean that the church is a temple of the Holy Spirit? What is the warning in verse 17 about?

It is obvious that when Paul refers to the church, he is not thinking of a physical temple or a physical abode for God.

The text says "I", ie many people. The image thus refers to a common unit. Together, the Christians in Corinth constitute a temple of the Holy Spirit, and in a spiritual sense, God dwells among them.

In Paul's view, God dwells in the Christian community; therefore, he warns that anyone who destroys that community will suffer the consequences of judgment. The unity of the believer is the core of that community and of God's presence in this temple. Although this text is often used to say that we must take care of our physical body (which Christians, of course, must), that is not Paul's particular point here. His message was instead a warning to those who would destroy the unity of the Church.