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Timothy: I Corinthians 3:16-23; 6:19-20
The Temple of God

I Corinthians 3:16-23

16 Do you not know that you are a sanctuary of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?

17 If anyone corrupts the sanctuary of God, God will bring that one to corruption; for the sanctuary of God is holy, which you are.

18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks to be wise among you in this age, let him become foolish, that he may become wise.

19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it has been written, “He takes the wise in their own craftiness.” Job 5:13

20 And again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are worthless.” LXX-Psa. 93:11; MT-Psa. 94:11

21 So let no one glory in men; for all things are yours,

22 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours,

23 and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

I Corinthians 6:19-20

19 Or do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit in you, which you have from God, and you are not of yourselves?

20 You were bought with a price; then glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are of God.

[Literal Translation of the Holy Bible]

Dear God, my Beloved Father, I offer you my praise and gratitude. You are my God, my Heavenly Father, and Your love and grace pour endlessly upon me. I welcome the new day that You have given me with joy and reflect upon the Eternal Living Word of God. I pray to Christ to heal my weaknesses and illnesses and give me strength. I pray to the Holy Spirit to enlighten my spirit so that I may understand the depth of the Word of God. I thank the Triune God.

Father, I would like to present my reflections on I Corinthians 3:16-23 and 6:19-20 as follows:

Chapter 3, verse 16: Paul teaches the people of God in the Church at Corinth that they are the Temple of God because the Spirit of God dwells in them. I understand that the title “the Spirit of God” is used to emphasize that God, in the person of the Holy Spirit, was sent by God the Father to His people. I also understand that the Holy Spirit, when dwelling in the people of God, is referred to as the Holy Spirit in the Bible to differentiate Him from human spirits and the spirits of fallen angels that may enter human bodies.

Chapter 3, verse 17: The physical and spiritual bodies of the people of God are the Temple of God because they worship God through their bodies. The people of God will sin and destroy the Temple of God if they do not take care of their physical bodies, neglect their hygiene, or abuse substances that harm their bodies. The people of God also sin and destroy the Temple of God when they commit sin, making their physical bodies instruments of evil or allowing their spiritual bodies to be in communion with demons. Destroying the Temple of God can also happen when non-believers harm the people of God physically, such as by imprisoning, beating, or killing them. If someone destroys the Temple of God and does not repent, God will destroy that person in this life and the next.

Chapter 3, verse 18: The people of God have been taught by the Word of God to understand the truth, but if they deliberately commit sin, they deceive themselves. They deceive themselves when they think that their sin is not serious, when they believe that they will have time to repent after committing the sin, when they think that they are too weak to resist temptation, or when they believe that their actions are the only way to solve a problem. But any action that goes against the Word of God is a sin. Those who do things that go against the Word of God are foolish because they bring themselves to eternal damnation. Those who abandon worldly wisdom and endure being mocked by the world to avoid sin are wise, for they keep their souls from being lost.

Chapter 3, verses 19 and 20: The wisdom of this world is wisdom according to the standards of those who do not worship God. They only act in a way that benefits themselves, without caring about the harm it may cause others. They also do not care about violating the commandments of God. Therefore, the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. God will use the schemes of those who boast that they are wise according to this world to bring them down.

Chapter 3, verse 21: The people of God should not boast as the world does. Those who do not worship God can only boast about their worldly possessions, which they often obtain through unjust means. The people of God possess all the good deeds that will last forever in Christ. But the people of God do not need to show off to those who belong to the world because they will not understand and may even mock and insult them.

Chapter 3, verse 22: The apostles belong to the people of God because God uses them to preach the Gospel and build the people of God. The world belongs to the people of God, because during the Millennium, the world will be given to the people of God. The life and death of the physical body belong to the people of God, because the life of the physical body is a new life that God has given them, and the death of the physical body is a means that God has given them to glorify Him and enter into the rest of the flesh. The things of this present age belong to the people of God, so that they can use them to serve God and build the Church of God. The things to come belong to the people of God, because they will reign with Christ.

Chapter 3, verse 23: The people of God belong to Christ because He redeemed them with His own life. They belong to Christ because He has united them with Himself. Christ belongs to God because He is God.

Chapter 6, verses 19 and 20: After condemning the person who committed sexual immorality in the Church in Corinth and talking about the seriousness of sexual sin, the apostle Paul reminds the people of God in Corinth that their bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. This time, Paul uses the term “Temple of the Holy Spirit” to emphasize the presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit within the bodies of the people of God. Paul also reminds the people of God that their entire being no longer belongs to themselves. They were lost, but Christ sacrificed his life to redeem them, making them children of God. Therefore, the people of God must use their physical and spiritual bodies to worship, glorify God, and serve him. Their entire being – soul, spirit, and body – belongs to God.

Dear Father, I thank You for today’s lesson. This lesson reminds me that my entire being belongs to You, and is also the Temple of God. I must use my own life to glorify You and serve You through my body. May You keep my soul, spirit, and body completely blameless. I thank You, Father. I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

In the grace of Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Timothy Christian Huynh
04/26/2023