How lovely God is Pt 9: We are God’s Temple
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 16Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 19Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
1 Peter 2:5 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Context
In modern times, we are accustomed to being able to worship our God wherever and whenever we want. But in ancient Israel, the tabernacle and later Solomon’s temple was the place the people went to worship God. The temple was designed with several courtyards and rooms inside each other intended to reflect increasing level of holiness. The most interior room, the Holy of Holies, was where God came to be with His people.
But for believers, this all changed after Christ came to open to way to full communion between God and His children. When a new believer comes to Christ, He comes into that person’s heart through the Holy Spirit taking up residence so that the new believer becomes a new person through Christ with a new direction to his or her life.
Individually we are God’s temple
The Greek word for temple refers specifically to the inner sanctuary, the holiest part of the temple where God’s presence dwelt in ancient Israel. Paul is saying that God’s Spirit doesn’t just visit believers occasionally—He dwells in them permanently. This indwelling marks a radical shift from the Old Covenant to the New. In the Old Testament, God’s presence filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34–35) and later Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 8:10–11). The people of Israel would approach that physical place to worship and offer sacrifices. But under the New Covenant, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God no longer dwells in a building made by human hands (Acts 7:48–49); instead, He has made His home within His people.
This personal aspect of being God’s temple emphasizes holiness in everyday living. Since God Himself dwells within us, the way we think, speak, and act matters deeply. The Spirit’s presence makes every decision sacred. Paul’s point is intensely practical: If you truly grasp that the Spirit of the living God is within you, how could you defile that temple with sin, pride, or impurity? It’s humbling—and also deeply comforting—to realize that every believer is a walking sanctuary of divine presence. God doesn’t merely observe us from heaven; He lives in us. That means when we’re struggling, He’s not distant. When we feel weak, He’s strengthening us from within. And when we sin, His Spirit convicts us—not to condemn, but to restore.
To live as God’s temple individually means to walk in awareness of His nearness, to guard our purity, and to yield to His Spirit’s guidance. As Jesus promised, “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things” (John 14:26). The temple is now mobile—it moves wherever you go—and so does God’s mission through you.
7Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (Psalm 139:7-10)
David wrote these words long before the Cross and long before God took up residence in the hearts of His kids. If they were true then as certainly they were, they are even more relevant for us today. God loves us more than we can know, wants to be with us in everything, and wants us to grow in intimacy with Him.
Corporately we are God’s temple
But we should understand one thing. The “you” in verse 16 is plural—literally, “you all are God’s temple.” He’s addressing the community of believers in Corinth, not isolated Christians. The Corinthian church was plagued by divisions—some following Paul, others Apollos, still others Peter (1 Corinthians 1:12). They were boasting in human leaders and tearing the fellowship apart with jealousy and pride. So Paul reminds them: You are not separate buildings—you’re one temple. God’s Spirit dwells in the whole structure, not just in individual stones.
The verse from Peter language says the same thing. The Church isn’t merely an organization or an event on Sundays—it’s a living temple made up of people redeemed and joined together by Christ. Each believer is a stone in that temple, shaped and fitted for God’s glory. In the Old Testament, the temple was the central place of worship, unity, and divine presence. Similarly, the Church is called to be a visible dwelling place of God on earth, not through a physical building, but through the body of Christ where His Spirit moves through the harmony and holiness of His people. Jesus said, “Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20).
This means unity is not optional—it’s essential. When believers gossip, divide, or hold grudges, they aren’t just breaking social harmony—they’re fracturing God’s temple. When the Church operates in love, forgiveness, and truth, God’s glory shines through it like light through stained glass.
Look at what Paul says in Ephesians 2:19–22:
“You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.”
Notice the verbs: “joined together,” “rises to become.” The Church is not static—it’s a temple under construction, continually being built by the Spirit. Every believer contributes something vital to that structure, whether through prayer, service, encouragement, or teaching.
Therefore, corporately being God’s temple calls us to unity, holiness, and active participation. The Church is not a spectator event—it’s a sacred space where God dwells among His people. The beauty of this temple depends not on architecture or ritual, but on the Spirit’s presence manifested in love (1 Corinthians 13:1–3).
By destroying God’s temple
God’s temple is now in the heart of His people, so destroying His temple does not refer to tearing down a building but to the severing of the bonds that join people together in worship. Paul is not describing physical destruction, but moral and spiritual corruption of the Church community. He’s rebuking those who were dividing the Corinthian congregation through envy, boasting, or false teaching. These actions were tearing down the temple that God Himself was building.
Today, false teachers, schismatic leaders, or unrepentant troublemakers within the Church are not just harming people—they’re attacking God’s dwelling place. To corrupt the Church through pride, slander, or doctrinal error is to wage war against God’s own habitation. God takes seriously any act that undermines the holiness or unity of His people. Jesus is very direct about this issue:
6“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! (Matthew 18:6-7a)
The danger isn’t only external persecution but internal decay. Division, compromise, and sin within the Church can destroy its witness and grieve the Spirit. That’s why Paul urges in Ephesians 4:3, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Throughout history, churches have fallen not because of outside attacks, but because of internal corruption—spiritual pride, moral compromise, or neglect of truth. To “destroy” God’s temple can mean introducing teaching or behavior that makes the Church indistinguishable from the world. Thus, Paul’s warning is not merely for heretics or tyrants—it’s for every believer. We can “destroy” the temple through gossip, bitterness, or apathy just as easily as through false teaching. Whenever we tear others down instead of building them up, we are—knowingly or not—defiling the place where God’s Spirit dwells. Therefore, the call is to build up, not tear down. As Paul later says, “Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:29, NLT). The temple grows stronger when every believer guards it in love.
We will be destroyed
God will not tolerate those who desecrate His dwelling place. This might sound harsh in our age of tolerance, but it reveals how deeply God values His Church. The temple is “sacred”, and to harm what is holy is to invite holy judgment. It’s not that God is vindictive, but that His holiness demands purity in His house.
Peter echoes this warning: “It is time for judgment to begin with God’s household” (1 Peter 4:17).
And Jesus Himself cleansed the temple in Jerusalem with zeal, declaring, “My Father’s house shall be called a house of prayer” (Matthew 21:13). In the same way, God will purify His spiritual temple—the Church—of anything that defiles it.
The bottom line is this: While God loves us, wants the best for us, and wants us to come to Him through His Son, He cannot violate His own character. He is all about destroying evil and cleansing all of creation and returning it to its Eden-like origin. This means our calling is clear: To preserve the holiness and unity of God’s temple, both personally and corporately. To live and serve in such a way that the Spirit’s presence is welcomed, not grieved. To build with materials that last—faith, hope, and love.
In the end, the temple that began as individual hearts filled with the Spirit and assembled as one body will become the eternal dwelling of God. Revelation 21:3 declares:
“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
The temple will no longer be symbolic—it will be fulfilled. Heaven itself will be the holy of holies, filled with the unbroken presence of God and His redeemed people. Until that day, we guard the temple. We live as those who house the Spirit, build as those who honor the foundation, and love as those who know that this temple is sacred—because it belongs to God.
What about me?
God’s Spirit dwells in His people, both individually and corporately. The Church is not a club, a cause, or a crowd—it is the dwelling place of God Himself. Individually, we are temples of the Holy Spirit, called to holiness and awareness of God’s indwelling presence . Corporately, we are the unified body of Christ, joined together as living stones to display His glory on earth. But those who corrupt or divide this temple face God’s judgment, for He defends what is holy.
This truth leaves us both trembling and joyful: Trembling because the temple is sacred, and joyful because God Himself has chosen to dwell within us. To say “We are God’s temple” is to confess that heaven’s glory has taken up residence in human hearts—and that’s a truth that should change everything about how we live, love, and build together.
But we must not be flippant about it. Recently, I was telling someone about a weekend retreat I was headed to and made a small joke that I would be celebrating God with about 60 of my closest friends. The person responded, “Oh! It’s a party!” A Godly celebration has elements of a party in it certainly, but if that is the only reason, then don’t go. We are called to love the LORD or God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. That’s the main thing; the fellowship and celebration is secondary.