[MC1171611]

Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Sow to the flesh corruption = reap corruption of the flesh. I think this correlates nicely with that passage.

[Biblestudent]

Originally Posted by Luke

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Are these verses referring to the individual believers body as the temple of God, or the church (invisible) as the temple of God?

Whichever one it is, what do these verses mean for someone who has defiled the temple of God after salvation?

Verse 16 seems to refer to believers collectively but verse 17 is obviously to believers individually.

As Kiwi cited, 1 Corinthians 5:5 ("destruction of the flesh") sheds light to 1 Corinthians 3:17 "him" (the "temple of God") shall God "destroy". Also, 1 Corithians 6:19 talks about the physical "body" being the "temple of God".

Hi Biblestudent,

verse 17 is obviously to believers individually

It is? How is it obvious? The man that defiles, not the temple, is the "him" later in the verse. The rest of this verse bears this out: "for the temple of God is holy, which temple (singular) ye (plural) are".

Also, 1 Corithians 6:19 talks about the physical "body" being the "temple of God".

I don't think so, for the same reason: "What? know ye (plural) not that your (plural) body (singular) is the temple (singular) of the Holy Ghost which is in you (plural), which ye (plural) have of God, and ye (plural) are not your own(plurla)? For ye (plural) are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your (plural) body (singular), and in your (plural) spirit (singular), which are God's." "You" and "your" is plural in the KJV. "Thee/thou" and "thy/thine" is singular. Yes, we have individual bodies, but we are all one body (Rom 12:4-5, 1 Cor 10:17, 1 Cor 12:12-25, Eph 2:16, Eph 4:4, Col 3:15).

Nowhere do we see the singular pronoun (thee/thou) associated with a singular temple, nor the plural pronoun (you) associated with multiple temples. Besides the verses already mentioned in this thread, we see the exact same thing in 2 Cor 6:16 ("...for ye (plural) are the temple (singular) of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them (as a group), and walk in them (as a group); and I will be their God, and they shall be my people") and even more explicitly in Eph 2:20-22 ("And are built upon the foundation (singular) of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone (singular); In whom all the building (singular) fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple (singular) in the Lord: In whom ye (plural) also are builded together for an habitation (singular) of God through the Spirit.")

God bless,
Brian

[Kiwi Christian]

Originally Posted by BrianT

Yes, we have individual bodies, but we are all one body

Bro. Brian, do you believe that each individual Christian has the Holy Spirit dwelling inside his/her literal body at all times?

Bro. Brian, do you believe that each individual Christian has the Holy Spirit dwelling inside his/her literal body at all times?

Absolutely.

[Harley]

Originally Posted by Luke

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Are these verses referring to the individual believers body as the temple of God, or the church (invisible) as the temple of God?

Whichever one it is, what do these verses mean for someone who has defiled the temple of God after salvation?

Hi Luke,
Great question. I'm a simple guy so for me what Paul is telling the Corithians is the same thing he told the Romans:

Ro 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The wages of sin or defiling of the temple is going to result in the destruction and death of that temple. The temple is my physical body and so the destruction and death is physical, not spiritual. One application I have always been taught relates to longevity. Why is it some live longer than others? The Corithians, because of the way they chose to live were jeopardizing their own lives. Paul told them in the first verse he was going to talk to them as children:

1Co 3:1 ¶ And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

I would think for the "eat, drink, and be merry" Corinthians (Americans? ) the message of eternal life combined with grace was misinterpreted as a life long party and Paul was bringing the cold harsh reality of the Christian life back home:

Ro 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Peace,
Harley

[stephanos]

On this issue I agree with Brian T. To me the passages here that address the body are refering to the Church as a Body. I guess there is some application to the individual, but what doesn't sit right with me is how a man might defile himself by indoctrinating himself with heresy, which seems to be the context of these passages when they speak of defile.

Just mytwocents(tm). Oh and I did look into a couple commentaries (Albert Barnes, Gill, Wesley, Adam Clarke's) and this seems to be their view as well.

Peace and Love,
Stephen

[Kiwi Christian]

Originally Posted by BrianT

I don't see the concept of millions of temples of God in scripture, only one.

1 Corinthians 6:19 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.

Bro. Brian, you believe that "body" in the passage above, mentioned twice, is a reference to the body of Christ, the church, and NOT the individual Christian. So, how do you explain verse 20 where it says "in your body, and in your spirit"? You say "your body" is the church, what is "your spirit" if not the spirit of an individual believer?

I have considered what you say about the pronouns, and agree that in some verses it is referring to the corporate body as a temple, but I also believe that every Christian's body is a temple of the Holy Ghost.

Brother Kiwi,
You are asking questions of a man who doesn't even believe in an inerrant Bible. Even worse, Brian has an entire website forum dedicated to teaching lies about the KJV. Several of us have been slapping around some 15 pages of his opinions on the thread below, starting with his post on page 9...

Originally Posted by BrianT

"So yes, I deny the doctrine of an inerrant Bible composed of 66 books as having ever existed and certainly not now."

http://av1611.com/forums/showthread.php?t=761

[Biblestudent]

Originally Posted by BrianT

It is my opinion it refers to the church.

John Wesley's opinon (1 Corinthians 3:16,17):

Verse 16. Ye - All Christians. Are the temple of God - The most noble kind of building, ver. 9.
Verse 17. If any man destroy the temple of God - Destroy a real Christian, by schisms, or doctrines fundamentally wrong. Him shall God destroy - He shall not be saved at all; not even as through the fire."