Temple of God

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about human leaders!All things are yours,whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. I Corinthians 3:15-23

From the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit permanently indwells every believer in Jesus Christ. Our individual bodies are temples of God, and our collective bodies in the local church (this context) make up the corporate temple of God. Paul seems to be warning these Corinthians that to continue in their squabbling about personalities would bring destruction on that local body (temple), and that in turn would eventually result in the destruction of the person or persons causing the damage (sin unto death). Proverbs 6:14-15 says of immature trouble-makers: “…with deceit in his heart—he always stirs up conflict. Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.” Among the sins that God hates is Proverbs 6:19 “…sows discord among brothers.”

This behavior is sin, and sin in a born-again believer breaks our fellowship with God. Continuing in sin builds up scar tissue on our souls and eventually leads to our removal from this physical life, because not only are we not doing our jobs as ambassadors of Christ, but we are hindering others from doing theirs, influencing them to sin. That’s called the sin unto death. Not loss of salvation, but premature departure and loss of reward. King Saul is our best Old Testament example (I Chronicles 10:13). Ananias and Sapphira are early examples in the New Testament (Acts 5:1-10).

World wisdom is complete foolishness to God. He, Who spoke the universe into being and established all things for the support of life, then sent His only Son to be the propitiation for all our sins is not impressed with the infantile craftiness of unbelieving scientists, philosophers and mystics. All that is human viewpoint, studied and professed by those who reject the perfect wisdom of God.

If you want to be truly wise, subscribe to the “foolishness” of God’s perfect plan. That’s where the truth is, and that will be the salvation and fulfillment of your life. Nevermind what the human leaders are telling you, if it is anything other than God’s Word. IN CHRIST, we are heirs and owners of all things, because all things are the property of our Father, the Sovereign Lord of the universe.