1 Corinthians 3 (KJ2000)
16 Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17 If any man defiles the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
The New Testament makes an astonishing statement about you.
You are the temple of God.
Paul does not say you are trying to become His temple. He does not say you become His temple when you pray enough, worship long enough, or finally become spiritual enough.
He says, “which temple you are.”
God lives in you.
God Has Changed His Address
Under the Old Covenant, the temple was a place.
Solomon built a magnificent temple in Jerusalem. The presence of God filled it. Priests ministered there. Sacrifices were offered there. Certain places within it were restricted. Only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place, and only once each year.
If you wanted to speak about the dwelling place of God, you pointed to a building.
Then Jesus came.
Something changed.
Paul writes to ordinary Christians in Corinth and tells them that they are now the temple of God because the Spirit of God lives in them.
This is the reality behind the metaphor.
A temple is a dwelling place for deity. When the New Testament calls you God’s temple, it is teaching you something about the mystery of the indwelling Spirit.
God has made His home in you.
Your Body Is His Temple
Paul makes this even more personal a few chapters later.
1 Corinthians 6 (KJ2000)
18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man does is outside the body; but he that commits fornication sins against his own body.
19 What? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have of God, and you are not your own?
20 For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Notice the context.
Paul is talking about sexual conduct.
His argument is not merely, “Fornication is against the rules.”
His argument is, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.”
That changes the conversation.
Your body matters because God lives in you. What you do with it matters. Where you take it matters. What you use it for matters.
You were bought with a price.
You belong to God.
And the body that belongs to God has become the dwelling place of His Spirit.
Holiness therefore begins with identity.
You do not live holy so that God will move into you. You live holy because He already has.
Stop Looking for God in the Wrong Place
This truth should change the way you relate to God.
Many Christians keep looking for God outside themselves.
They go to church hoping God will “come down”. They travel to special meetings hoping to find His presence. They look for a particular preacher, atmosphere, song, mountain or prayer ground.
Thank God for church meetings. Thank God for ministers. Thank God for places where you can withdraw and pray.
But none of those places is where God lives.
He lives in you.
This does not mean God is absent from the church gathering. It means He arrives with His people.
You do not leave God at home and meet Him at church.
You carry Him there.
You Are Part of a Bigger Temple
There is also a corporate side to this metaphor.
Ephesians 2 (KJ2000)
19 Now therefore you are no more strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto a holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom you also are built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.
Individually, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Collectively, believers are being built together into a holy temple.
Both truths matter.
Christianity is personal, but it is not solitary.
You are a living stone in something God is building. Other believers matter. Fellowship matters. The local church matters. Your relationships with other Christians matter.
God is building us together “for a habitation of God through the Spirit.”
That also gives you a reason to treat other believers with care.
They belong to the same temple.
Learn to Be God-Inside-Minded
If the Holy Spirit lives in you, you should become conscious of His presence.
When you need wisdom, remember who lives in you.
When you feel afraid, remember who lives in you.
When temptation comes, remember whose temple you are.
When you feel weak, remember that you are not empty.
You have spent enough time thinking about what you lack.
Begin thinking about Who you carry.
The Holy Spirit is not a visitor who occasionally comes when you create the right atmosphere. He did not move into you for weekends and special services.
He dwells in you.
You are His temple.
This is one more picture the New Testament gives you of the mystery of your new life in Christ. You are in Christ. Christ is in you. You are part of His body. He is your Head. And now Scripture gives you another picture.
You are God’s dwelling place.
Do not spend your Christian life searching outside for the God who has chosen to live inside you.
Continue in grace!