Bible Questions Answered:
“In 1 Corinthians 3:16 ”the
temple of God” is Paul speaking about a christian or a group of
believers?...”
Tom/ Charlottesville, Virginia U.S.A.
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
(You-Plural)
I Corinthians 3:16,17 NLT
16 Don’t you realize that all
of you together are the temple of God and that the
Spirit of God lives in you?
17 God will destroy anyone who
destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that
temple.
II Corinthians 6:16 NLT
And what union can there be between
God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of The Living
God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them.
I will be their God, and they will be My people.
The grammatical context tells us that
the Apostle was speaking about the church, for the pronouns and verb
endings are in the plural.
Plural; The Church:
I Corinthians 1:10-17 NLT
(Factions in the Church of Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 3:17 KJV
God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple.)
10 I appeal to you, dear brothers
and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in
harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church.
Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
11 For some members of Chloe’s
household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers
and sisters.
12 Some of you are saying, “I am a
follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I
follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.”
13 Has Christ been divided into
factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you
baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!
14 I thank God that I did not
baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15 for now no one can say they were
baptized in my name.
16 (Oh yes, I also baptized the
household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone
else.)
17 For Christ didn’t send me to
baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech,
for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.
I Corinthians 3:3,4 NLT
3 for you are still controlled by
your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with
each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful
nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?
4 When one of you says, “I am a
follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t
you acting just like people of the world?
In a singular sense:
I Corinthians 3:16,17 KJV
16 Know ye not that ye are the
temple of God, and that The Spirit Of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of
God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is
holy, which temple ye are.
The Choices, words
and actions of men, can destroy the temple of God.
Matthew 12:31,32 KJV
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All
manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the
blasphemy against The Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaketh a
word against The Son Of Man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever
speaketh against The Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him,
neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
I Corinthians
6:19,20 KJV
19 What? know ye not that your
body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye
have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which
are God's.
In a real sense The
Temple Of The Holy Spirit, is both the individual and the church.
And what is true
for the one, is also true for thee other.
Question:
May The Church, the temple of God be defiled, awaiting
the judgment of God?
Answer: Yes.
Defiled by
divisions, sins, false doctrines, scorning the teachings of The
Virgin Birth, The Cross, The Atoning Blood Of Christ, The Sanctity Of
Life Of The Unborn, etc. etc. etc.
I Corinthians
16:22 KJV
If any man love not The Lord Jesus
Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.
Question:
May the physical body, the purposed temple of God's Spirit, be found
awaiting the judgment of God?
Answer: Yes.
Defiled by sins of
the flesh, sexual promiscuity, perversions, drugs, alcohol, hatred,
murder, etc. etc.
Homily:
Psalm 40:2 KJV
He brought me
up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay,
and set my feet upon a Rock, and established my goings.
Romans 3:23 KJV
For all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Romans 6:23 KJV
For the wages
of sin is death; but The Gift Of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
All of humanity since and including Adam, are under the curse of sin,
“no exceptions!”
David said he was in a horrible pit.
Mankind is in a deep, terrible, mirey pit, lost in their sins.
Above the pit, where the Light is, we hear a voice, it is the voice
of Jesus, He says, here take my life line, and He throws a rope deep
down into the pit. Many thankfully say, thank you Lord, and take His
life line to safety and life. Some others refuse Jesus and His life
line, cutting it to pieces.
So here is the question, how may these ever be saved?
Answer, they may never be saved, for they by their own hands have severed the
only Life Line there is!
This is the (blasphemy against The Holy Ghost. Matthew
12:31 KJV)
Everyone in hell, and who is ever going there, has committed, or will commit the sin
of blaspheming The Holy Spirit Of God.
Christian people, how carefully we should live.
Luke 1:74,75 KJV
74 That He
would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our
enemies might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness
and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.
II Corinthians
7:1 KJV
Having
therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in
the fear of God.
Hebrews 12:14
KJV
Follow peace
with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see The Lord:
I Peter 1:16 KJV
Because it is
written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
II Peter 3:11
KJV
Seeing then
that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons
ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
Revelations
19:6-9 KJV
6 And I heard
as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many
waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for
The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
7 Let us be
glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of The Lamb
is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.
8 And to her
was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and
white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
9 And he saith
unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage
supper of The Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings
of God.
