1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that you yourselves are God's temple, and that God's Spirit dwells in you?
Do you not know
This phrase is a rhetorical question, often used by Paul to emphasize a point that should be obvious to the Corinthians. The Greek word "οἴδατε" (oidate) implies a knowledge that is both intellectual and experiential. Paul is reminding the Corinthians of a truth they should already be aware of, urging them to reflect on their identity and responsibilities as believers. This phrase sets the tone for the verse, calling the readers to a deeper understanding of their spiritual status.

that you yourselves
The emphasis on "you yourselves" (Greek: "ὑμεῖς") highlights the collective identity of the Corinthian believers. Paul is addressing the entire community, not just individuals. This communal aspect is crucial in understanding the nature of the church as a unified body. In the historical context, the Corinthian church was struggling with divisions and factions, and Paul is reminding them of their shared identity and purpose.

are God’s temple
The term "temple" (Greek: "ναός") refers to the inner sanctuary, the most sacred part of the temple where God's presence dwelt. In the Old Testament, the temple was the physical dwelling place of God among His people. By using this imagery, Paul is conveying the profound truth that the church, as a collective body of believers, is now the dwelling place of God. This would have been a radical concept for the Corinthians, who were familiar with the grandeur of pagan temples. Theologically, this signifies the holiness and sanctity of the church, calling believers to live in a manner worthy of being God’s dwelling place.

and that God’s Spirit
The "Spirit" (Greek: "Πνεῦμα") refers to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. The presence of the Holy Spirit is a defining characteristic of the New Covenant, marking believers as God’s own. In the historical context, the Corinthians were surrounded by various spiritual influences, but Paul emphasizes that it is God’s Spirit that dwells within them, setting them apart from the world. This indwelling is both a privilege and a responsibility, as it empowers believers to live according to God’s will.

dwells in you
The word "dwells" (Greek: "οἰκεῖ") implies a permanent residence, not a temporary visit. This indicates the ongoing presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. In the scriptural context, this indwelling is a fulfillment of God’s promise to be with His people, as seen throughout the Bible. Theologically, it underscores the intimate relationship between God and His people, as well as the transformative power of the Spirit in guiding and sanctifying the church. This truth is meant to inspire believers to live in unity and holiness, reflecting the character of the God who dwells within them.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Paul the Apostle
The author of 1 Corinthians, addressing the church in Corinth with teachings and corrections.

2. The Church in Corinth
A diverse and often divided early Christian community in the city of Corinth, known for its moral and spiritual challenges.

3. God’s Temple
A metaphorical reference to the collective body of believers, emphasizing holiness and the indwelling presence of God’s Spirit.

4. God’s Spirit
The Holy Spirit, who dwells within believers, signifying God’s presence and power in their lives.
Teaching Points
Understanding Our Identity
Recognize that as believers, we are collectively God’s temple, which calls for a life of holiness and unity.

The Indwelling Spirit
Embrace the reality that God’s Spirit dwells within us, empowering us to live according to His will and purpose.

Holiness and Purity
Live a life that reflects the holiness of God’s temple, avoiding actions and attitudes that defile it.

Unity in the Body of Christ
Foster unity and love within the church, understanding that division undermines the integrity of God’s temple.

Stewardship of God’s Presence
Be mindful of how we conduct ourselves, knowing that we carry God’s presence into every aspect of our lives.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding that we are God’s temple change the way we view our personal and communal lives as Christians?

2. In what ways can we ensure that we are honoring God with our bodies, as temples of the Holy Spirit?

3. How does the concept of being God’s temple challenge us to pursue unity within the church?

4. What practical steps can we take to cultivate an awareness of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our daily lives?

5. How do the additional scriptures related to 1 Corinthians 3:16 deepen our understanding of the indwelling presence of God’s Spirit?
Connections to Other Scriptures
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
This passage reinforces the idea of believers' bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, emphasizing the need for purity and honoring God with one's body.

Ephesians 2:19-22
Paul describes believers as being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit, highlighting the communal aspect of being God’s temple.

2 Corinthians 6:16
Paul reiterates that believers are the temple of the living God, drawing from Old Testament imagery of God dwelling among His people.

John 14:16-17
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to His followers, who will dwell with them and be in them, aligning with the concept of God’s Spirit residing in believers.
The Cure for the Party SpiritR. Tuck 1 Corinthians 3:13-23
God's TempleE. Hurndall 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17
The Church a TempleR. Tuck 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17
The New Testament TempleD. Fraser 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17
The Temple of GodJ.R. Thomson 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17
The Temple of GodH. Bremner 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17
Believers as the Temple of GodC. Lipscomb 1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Defiling the Temple of GodA. Burgess.1 Corinthians 3:16-23
God's Spiritual TempleA. Burgess.1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Humanity the Temple of GodD. Thomas, D. D.1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Temples of GodA. Maclaren, D. D.1 Corinthians 3:16-23
The Believer a Temple of GodC. New.1 Corinthians 3:16-23
The Christian Church the Temple of God the Holy SpiritJ. G. Angley, M. A.1 Corinthians 3:16-23
The Divine Spirit Dwelling in the ChurchA. Burgess.1 Corinthians 3:16-23
The Holiness of God's Temple1 Corinthians 3:16-23
The House BeautifulHomiletic Monthly1 Corinthians 3:16-23
The Human Soul God's Truest TempleE. L. Hull, B. A.1 Corinthians 3:16-23
The Indwelling of the Holy SpiritF. J. Chevasse, M. A.1 Corinthians 3:16-23
The Indwelling of the SpiritE. B. Pusey, D. D.1 Corinthians 3:16-23
The Mystical Temple1 Corinthians 3:16-23
The Nature and Offices of the Holy SpiritH. Melvill, B. D.1 Corinthians 3:16-23
The Spirit's DwellingD. Thomas, D. D.1 Corinthians 3:16-23
The Two TemplesD. Y. Currie.1 Corinthians 3:16-23
People
Apollos, Cephas, Corinthians, Paul, Peter
Places
Corinth
Topics
Dwell, Dwelleth, Dwells, God's, Holy, Home, Sanctuary, Spirit, Temple, Within
Dictionary of Bible Themes
1 Corinthians 3:16

     1110   God, present everywhere
     1170   God, unity of
     1511   Trinity, relationships in
     1513   Trinity, mission of
     1680   types
     2227   Immanuel
     3015   Holy Spirit, divinity
     3035   Holy Spirit, presence of
     3254   Holy Spirit, fruit of
     3275   Holy Spirit, in the church
     3278   Holy Spirit, indwelling
     6647   eternal life, experience
     7028   church, life of
     7382   house of God
     8102   abiding in Christ

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

     7024   church, nature of
     7470   temple, significance
     8271   holiness, purpose
     8340   self-respect

Library
Twenty-Third Day. Holiness and the Body.
The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. The body is for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you; therefore glorify God in your body.'--1 Cor. iii. 16, vi. 13, 19. 'She that is unmarried is careful for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit.'--1 Cor. vii. 34. 'Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God.'--Rom. xii. 1. Coming into the world, our Blessed
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

November the Ninth the Holy Spirit as Emancipator
2 CORINTHIANS iii. 4-18. In the Holy Spirit I experience a large emancipation. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." I am delivered from all enslaving bondage--from the bondage of literalism, and legalism, and ritualism. I am not hampered by excessive harness, by multitudinous rules. The harness is fitting and congenial, and I have freedom of movement, and "my yoke is easy and my burden is light." And I am to use my emancipation of spirit in the ministry of contemplation. I am to
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Temples of God
'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?'--1 COR. iii. 16 The great purpose of Christianity is to make men like Jesus Christ. As He is the image of the invisible God we are to be the images of the unseen Christ. The Scripture is very bold and emphatic in attributing to Christ's followers likeness to Him, in nature, in character, in relation to the world, in office, and in ultimate destiny. Is He the anointed of God? We are anointed--Christs in Him. Is He the Son of God? We in Him receive the
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

God's Fellow-Workers
'Labourers together with God.'--1 COR. iii. 9. The characteristic Greek tendency to factions was threatening to rend the Corinthian Church, and each faction was swearing by a favourite teacher. Paul and his companion, Apollos, had been taken as the figureheads of two of these parties, and so he sets himself in the context, first of all to show that neither of the two was of any real importance in regard to the Church's life. They were like a couple of gardeners, one of whom did the planting, and
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

Death, the Friend
'... All things are yours ... death.'--1 COR. iii. 21, 22. What Jesus Christ is to a man settles what everything else is to Him. Our relation to Jesus determines our relation to the universe. If we belong to Him, everything belongs to us. If we are His servants, all things are our servants. The household of Jesus, which is the whole Creation, is not divided against itself, and the fellow-servants do not beat one another. Two bodies moving in the same direction, and under the impulse of the same
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

Servants and Lords
'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 ye are Christ's.'--1 COR. iii. 21-23. The Corinthian Christians seem to have carried into the Church some of the worst vices of Greek--and English--political life. They were split up into wrangling factions, each swearing by the name of some person. Paul was the battle-cry of one set; Apollos of another. Paul and Apollos were very good friends,
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

Sanctified for Service.
"We are labourers together with God; ye are God's husbandry; ye are God's building."--1 COR. iii. 9. In this passage St. Paul is rebuking the Corinthians for that spirit of party which was dividing them into followers of this or that teacher and so destroying their unity in Christ. You do not belong, he says, to Paul or to Apollos; we have no claim upon you; ye are not to be called by our name: you are God's husbandry, and God's building, not ours; we are but labourers in His service and
John Percival—Sermons at Rugby

On the Wisdom of this World
"The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God."--I Cor. iii. 19. It is remarkable that about the time of our Saviour's coming into the world all kinds of learning flourished to a very great degree, insomuch that nothing is more frequent in the mouths of many men, even such who pretend to read and to know, than an extravagant praise and opinion of the wisdom and virtue of the Gentile sages of those days, and likewise of those ancient philosophers who went before them, whose doctrines are left
Jonathan Swift—Three Sermons, Three Prayers

On the Interpretation of Scripture
IT is a strange, though familiar fact, that great differences of opinion exist respecting the Interpretation of Scripture. All Christians receive the Old and New Testament as sacred writings, but they are not agreed about the meaning which they attribute to them. The book itself remains as at the first; the commentators seem rather to reflect the changing atmosphere of the world or of the Church. Different individuals or bodies of Christians have a different point of view, to which their interpretation
Frederick Temple—Essays and Reviews: The Education of the World

The Existence of Merit
1. HERETICAL ERRORS AND THE TEACHING OF THE CHURCH.--a) The medieval Beguins and Beghards held that man is able to attain such a perfect state of holiness here below as no longer to require an increase of grace or good works.(1226) Luther, holding that justification consists in the covering up of sin and the external imputation of the justice of Christ, consistently though falsely asserted that "the just man sins in every good work,"(1227) that "a good work, no matter how well performed, is a venial
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

The Objects of Merit
After defining the existence of merit the Tridentine Council enumerates its objects as follows: "If anyone saith that the justified, by the good works which he performs, ... does not truly merit increase of grace, eternal life, and the attainment of that eternal life,--if it be so, however, that he depart in grace,--and also an increase of glory: let him be anathema."(1320) Hence merit calls for a threefold reward: (1) an increase of sanctifying grace; (2) heavenly glory; and (3) an increase of that
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

The Christian Church
Scriptures references: 1 Corinthians 3:11; 3:6-9; Colossians 1:18; Acts 2:47; Ephesians 5:23-27; Matthew 16:16,18; 18:17; Acts 5:11,12; 13:1,2; 14:23; 16:5; 1 Corinthians 11:18-34; 12:28-31; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2:14; 1 Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 12:22,23; Revelation 1:4,11,20; 2:7,11; 22:16; 22:12-15,17. THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH What is the Christian Church?--One of the best definitions is as follows: "The church consists of all who acknowledge the Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, the blessed Saviour
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

Carnal Christians.
1 Corinthians 3:1.--And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. The apostle here speaks of two stages of the Christian life, two types of Christians: "I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ." They were Christians, in Christ, but instead of being spiritual Christians, they were carnal. "I have fed you with milk, and not with meat, for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet are ye able, for ye are
Andrew Murray—The Master's Indwelling

The Indwelling Spirit Fully and Forever Satisfying.
The Holy Spirit takes up His abode in the one who is born of the Spirit. The Apostle Paul says to the believers in Corinth in 1 Cor. iii. 16, R. V., "Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" This passage refers, not so much to the individual believer, as to the whole body of believers, the Church. The Church as a body is indwelt by the Spirit of God. But in 1 Cor. vi. 19, R. V., we read, "Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

Dedicatory Letter.
To the respected and worthy NICOLAUS VON AMSDORF, Licentiate in the Holy Scriptures and Canon of Wittenberg, [14] My particular and affectionate friend. Dr. MARTIN LUTHER. The Grace and Peace of God be with you! Respected, worthy Sir and dear friend. The time for silence is gone and the time to speak has come, as we read in Ecclesiastes (iii. 7.) I have in conformity with our resolve put together some few points concerning the Reformation of the Christian Estate, with the intent of placing the same
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

Alcuin on True Missionary Labours.
THE cause of the first failure of the mission amongst the Saxons, may serve as a lesson and a warning to all times. It was this: that they sought to introduce from without what can only be effected from within; that worldly aims were blended with the diffusion of Christianity; that men did not follow the example of the Apostle Paul, who, in preaching the Gospel, allowed the Jews to remain Jews, and the Greeks, Greeks, and knew how to become to the Jews as a Jew, and to the Greeks as a Greek. The
Augustus Neander—Light in the Dark Places

Certain it Is, Albeit all this Disputation Go from Side to Side...
38. Certain it is, albeit all this disputation go from side to side, some asserting that it is never right to lie, and to this effect reciting divine testimonies: others gainsaying, and even in the midst of the very words of the divine testimonies seeking place for a lie; yet no man can say, that he finds this either in example or in word of the Scriptures, that any lie should seem a thing to be loved, or not had in hatred; howbeit sometimes by telling a lie thou must do that thou hatest, that what
St. Augustine—On Lying

It Follows after Commendation of the Trinity, "The Holy Church. ...
14. It follows after commendation of the Trinity, "The Holy Church." God is pointed out, and His temple. "For the temple of God is holy," says the Apostle, "which (temple) are ye." [1801] This same is the holy Church, the one Church, the true Church, the catholic Church, fighting against all heresies: fight, it can: be fought down, it cannot. As for heresies, they went all out of it, like as unprofitable branches pruned from the vine: but itself abideth in its root, in its Vine, in its charity. "The
St. Augustine—On the Creeds

Now it Has Been My Wish on this Account to Say Something on This...
22. Now it has been my wish on this account to say something on this subject, by reason of certain of our brethren most friendly and dear to us, and without willful guilt indeed entangled in this error, but yet entangled; who think, that, when they exhort any to righteousness and piety, their exhortation will not have force, unless the whole of that, wherein they would work upon man that man should work, they set in the power of man, not helped by the grace of God, but put forth by the alone choice
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

Homilies on the Statues.
Abel, beloved of God, yet slain, [466]342; more blessed in his death than Cain, [467]374; died the first to instruct Adam, [468]414; his sacrifice good, [469]422. Abraham, rich but not covetous: entertaining angels, [470]349; tent of, stronger than Sodom, [471]456. Absolution, [472]356; at the altar, [473]443. Accused at Antioch, tortured, [474]474. Acrobats, [475]470. Actions, few, for their own sake, [476]379; end of, [477]459, n.; the proof of philosophy, [478]465. Adam, fell when idle, [479]353,
St. Chrysostom—On the Priesthood

Epistle Xlvi. To Isacius, Bishop of Jerusalem .
To Isacius, Bishop of Jerusalem [159] . Gregory to Isacius, &c. In keeping with the truth of history, what means the fact that at the time of the flood the human race outside the ark dies, but within the ark is preserved unto life, but what we see plainly now, namely that all the unfaithful perish under the wave of their sin, while the unity of holy Church, like the compactness of the ark, keeps her faithful ones in faith and in charity? And this ark in truth is compacted of incorruptible timber,
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Epistle Xlix. To Anastasius, Bishop of Antioch .
To Anastasius, Bishop of Antioch [35] . Gregory to Anastasius, &c. I received the letters of thy Fraternity, rightly holding fast the profession of the faith; and I returned great thanks to Almighty God, who, when the shepherds of His flock are changed, still, even after such change, guards the faith which He once delivered to the holy Fathers. Now the excellent preacher says, Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus (1 Cor. iii. 2). Whosoever, then, with love of
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

How the Wise and the Dull are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 7). Differently to be admonished are the wise of this world and the dull. For the wise are to be admonished that they leave off knowing what they know: the dull also are to be admonished that they seek to know what they know not. In the former this thing first, that they think themselves wise, is to be thrown down; in the latter whatsoever is already known of heavenly wisdom is to be built up; since, being in no wise proud, they have, as it were, prepared their hearts for supporting
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

First Sunday in Lent
Text: Second Corinthians 6, 1-10. 1 And working together with him we entreat also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain 2 (for he saith, At an acceptable time I hearkened unto thee, and in a day of salvation did I succor thee: behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation): 3 giving no occasion of stumbling in anything, that our ministration be not blamed; 4 but in everything commending ourselves, as ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities,
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

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