The Temple of God

Ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. —1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Our text presents three important truths regarding “the temple of God” today… First, the temple DEFINED.  God has no man-made temple in Jerusalem today. It was destroyed in 70 AD by Titus the Roman.  God’s temple today is the body of the believer—“Ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you… the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”  God lives in the body of every believer.

Second, we see the temple DEFILED.  “If any man defile the temple of God…” “DEFILED” means “to mar.”  There are examples in the Old Testament how God’s temple in Jerusalem was defiled by bringing into it things God detested (2 Kings 16:10-14; 21:4).  Today we can defile God’s temple by what we allow to enter our body—the habits we indulge in; what we look at (porn; movies); what we read or listen to; and lustful thinking.

Third, we see the temple DESTROYED— “…shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”  Jesus cleansed the temple twice in His ministry—Once at the beginning and again at the close.  Jews continued to defile the temple so God destroyed it in 70 AD (Mt. 24:1-2).

The lesson is we must cleanse the temple of our body of anything that defiles it. As Paul admonishes, “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:2).  The warning is, if we continually defile our body, which is “the temple of God,” He will destroy it as He did His literal temple in Jerusalem.

“For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” — God wants His temple to be holy.  Is there some “house-cleaning” you need to tend to today?