God's Temple

Today's reading is very short. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17. Being that it is so short, I read it over and over and over. I didn't really get hung up on "Do you not know" because Paul really thinks they should understand this by now. I didn't get hung up on "If anyone destroys Gods temple, God will destroy him" because that seems like a no-brainer. What did I get hung up on, you may ask. I got hung up on "you (y'all if you are a Texan) are God's temple."

You see, in the Old Testament, David decided that he wanted to build a permanent structure for God to live in, since up to that point, God was still dwelling with his people in the tabernacle, a portable tent structure. So God tells David he cannot be the one to build the permanent temple because he shed too much blood. But David's son, Solomon, would be the one to build the temple. And he did, and it was called Solomon's temple. Then it was destroyed when the Babylonians wiped out Judah. And when the people returned, they built another, less-impressive temple under the leadership of Zerubbabel. It was called Zerubbabel's temple. Later, Herod the great would dismantle Zerubbabel's temple and construct his own, and it was very impressive. It was called Herod's temple.

But Paul says that you (the Church in Corinth, as a cross-section of the entire Church, including you and me) are God's temple. God doesn't dwell in buildings anymore; there is no need for a temple anymore. God's Spirit dwells in people, and because of that, God is building his own temple to live in, and it consists of people. Those who are looking for another temple to be built in Jerusalem should only look as far as those who have surrendered their lives to God through Christ. The temple is being built, alright, but not of bricks and stone, and not in some particular geographical location. It is being built everywhere people are responding to the gospel.

The other thing that got me hung up is simply that the Spirit of God dwells in us. It doesn't say you and me as individuals, but us as a collective whole group of people. I think Paul describes this concept better in Ephesians 2 - "So then you (gentiles) are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit." The Spirit is dwelling in us, and crafting us together to make one grand temple for God to reside in. That is amazing!

This is really cool stuff, but there are a couple of questions which arise out of such theology. First, Are we being built together with others, or are we trying to become God's temple on our own as individuals? Second, do we allow the Spirit to dwell among us, or do we incarcerate Him, almost as if we are saying, "It's so cool that you are here among us, but we are doing just fine without you"?

There is some cool stuff Paul is bringing to the light in these two short verses. But cool doesn't mean anything unless we take part in what is going on. My encouragement to you, today, is to make sure you are connected to the temple, and that you are allowing the Spirit of God to dwell among you. Let him be in charge because he knows what he is doing a lot better than we do.

- Gary Luedecke