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1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Know ye not that YOU ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD, and that the SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLETH IN YOU? 17 If any man DEFILE {phtheirō} the temple of God, HIM SHALL GOD DESTROY; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

When a person repents and turns away from their sin and toward Jesus, our Lord sends the Holy Spirit to each and every one of us. The Spirit is sent by the Father:

Jesus asks the Father to send the Spirit:

(John 14:16-17 NKJV) And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever– [17] THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and WILL BE IN YOU.

(John 14:26 NKJV) But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom THE FATHER WILL SEND IN MY NAME, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Why does the Father send the Spirit? Because the Father is the Head of the Trinity. The Spirit comes to cause us to be born again into the family of God (John 3:3-7; 1 Peter 1:23). We sing about that in the hymn, Heaven Came Down:

Born of the Spirit with life from above
into God’s family divine,
Justified fully thru Calvary’s love,
O what a standing is mine!
And the transaction so quickly was made,
When as a sinner I came,
Took of the offer, of grace He did proffer,
He saved me, O praise His dear name!

The Holy Spirit changes our status from child of Adam to child of God. We are adopted into the Family of God by the Blood of Christ and the operation of the Spirit:

Romans 8:15 You have RECEIVED THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION, whereby we cry, Abba, Father

We are spiritually and legally placed into God’s Family because of Jesus, because we came to Him surrendered. The Bible says:

(2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NKJV) Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us [is] God, [22] WHO ALSO HAS SEALED US and GIVEN US THE SPIRIT IN OUR HEARTS as a guarantee.

The Holy Spirit indwells the believer. The Bible is clear,

(Romans 8:9 NKJV) … you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed THE SPIRIT OF GOD INDWELLS IN YOU. Now IF ANYONE DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT of Christ, he is not His.

Word Study: In verse 17 the Apostle makes a frightening statement. He says:

1 Corinthians 3:17 If any man DEFILE {phtheirō} the temple of God, HIM SHALL GOD DESTROY; for the temple of God is HOLY, WHICH TEMPLE YE ARE.

The Greek phtheirō means “to corrupt, defile, destroy, deprave”. As we saw in John 14:16-17 the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of TRUTH – God’s Truth. As we saw in John 14:26 what the Holy Spirit does is “He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I SAID TO YOU”. The Holy Spirit teaches us God’s Word. The Holy Spirit leads us back to Christ, and away from sin.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of TRUTH. What defiles the Temple is UNTRUTH, human wisdom disconnected from the Word of God.

Preach: What defiles the temple of God, the Christian believer? The same thing that defiled Adam – acceptance of the word of man over the Word of God. The Holy Spirit will draw the believer into a “It is written” faith. These were Jesus’ favorite words, “It is written”. We will imitate Christ by cherishing the Bible over man’s doctrine. We will heed God’s Word, not man’s word. When Adam defiled the Garden by receiving the serpent’s word over God’s Word, he and his family were cast out of Eden. He lost the tree of life, and became susceptible to death. The wages of sin are always death (Romans 6:23). Step away from God’s Word and into human opinion, and you are playing with a ticking time bomb!

It is not food or drink that defile the Temple. It is the walk that does not honor God or His Word.

Paul continues this thought …

1 Corinthians 3:18-19 Let NO MAN DECEIVE HIMSELF. If any man among you seemeth to be WISE IN THIS WORLD, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For IT IS WRITTEN, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

This is not a new subject. Paul is warning us NOT TO DECEIVE YOURSELF. The wisdom of this present world is not of God, and has never been. Let the world call you a fool – cling to the Word of God and the Spirit of God. He tells us “the WISDOM ON THIS WORLD IS FOOLISHNESS WITH GOD”. In verse 19 Paul quotes

Job 5:13 He {God} taketh the wise in their own craftiness …

These are the words of Eliphaz the Temanite as he encourages Job to keep his eyes on God as he is tried. Eliphaz began by telling Job that the foolish and godless take root – they prosper – but in time they are cursed. Eliphaz was encouraging Job, telling him that, “Yes, the wise of this world may look like they are the winners. But in time God causes their own craftiness to trap and destroy them”.

My Friend Don: There are temptations all around us, Christ followers, to leave the path and follow another way. I remember years ago a Preacher I knew and had great respect for quit the ministry, walked away from his Church, and went to work for a well to do brother. I met him several years later, and he invited me out to a steak for lunch. When the check came, he grabbed it, and told me “Let me get it. I’ve got money for a change.” He mocked me for staying in the ministry. But Beloved, I’ve always had enough if I have Jesus!

I often think about that brother, where is he today? Is he happy? I am. I have Jesus. I have His Spirit. And I have my calling. It’s enough. That’s what Paul means when he writes:

1 Corinthians 3:20-21 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that THEY ARE VAIN {mataios}: therefore LET NO MAN GLORY IN MEN. For ALL THINGS ARE YOURS;

Word Study: To be the Temple of God is a great honor. God will take care of His Temple. The thoughts and philosophies of the world are “VAIN” (mataios), which means “To be devoid of force or success, to be useless or without purpose”. It is useless to worship people or idols. The Corinthians were worshiping preachers, not God. There is no value in worshiping celebrities, fallen humans. They can do nothing.

Do Not Seek Human Glory, But God’s Smile

When Paul and Barnabas went into Lystra and Derbe to preach the Gospel, they healed a man who was crippled from his mother’s womb. The Bible says:

(Acts 14:11-12, 14-15 KJV) … when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. [12] And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker. … [14] [Which] when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard [of], they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, [15] And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should TURN FROM THESE VANITIES {mataios} UNTO THE LIVING GOD, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

It is useless to worship the Pastor, a base human, the Evangelist, or anything other than the Living God. As Paul said, “LET NO MAN GLORY IN MEN. For ALL THINGS ARE YOURS”. We are children of God, indwelt by God, and we have access to God’s Word. There are no second class Christians. Every believer is a priest and a child of Christ. We are joint heirs with Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:22-23 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; and CHRIST IS GOD’S.

What does Paul mean by “ALL ARE YOURS”? Adam had everything he needed when he had Jesus. But when he received the serpent’s word, he lost everything of greatest value.

Everything you have, whether it be a Church, a Pastor, your job, your current health status, how you are now and how you will be tomorrow – these are things given you by God for your good. No single circumstance has authority over me. I belong to God. And, as the Bible says,

Romans 8:28 we know that ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THEM THAT LOVE GOD, to them who are the CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.

Preach! The greatest thing you can learn in this life, dear Christian, is “I am God’s property. I am God’s child”. Whatever happens to you, happens to God. God is in you. Keep walking with Jesus, believer. Don’t be like Ananias and Sapphira.

The Case Of Ananias And Sapphira:
Bragging And Making A Name For Themselves

We who are saved should live knowing that God is in us. He hears us. He sees us. He is with us, and will destroy those who defile the Temple unrepentantly.

When you got saved, God the Holy Spirit came to live within the framework of your life. If you persist in living fleshly, sarkikos lives, either sin or Godmay destroy your earthly vessel. We’ll see this later in Corinthians, but there are evidences throughout Scripture that dramatically show this. Consider the case of Ananias and Sapphira.

In the early Church there were no Church buildings, but local Churches met in groves, on Solomon’s Porch in the Temple, in Catacombs, or in people’s homes. The Church was heavily persecuted, so believers met in small groups. Donations were given regularly and voluntarily. The Bible says:

Acts 4:32 The multitude of them that believed were of ONE HEART and of ONE SOUL: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but THEY HAD ALL THINGS IN COMMON.

Acts 2:44-45 And ALL THAT BELIEVED WERE TOGETHER, and HAD ALL THINGS IN COMMON; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need

God gripped the heart of the early Church, and every Christians was more concerned with the glory of God and reaching souls than they were with their own earthly possessions.

Then Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold a possession (Acts 5:1). What they made for the sale, the brought only a part of it to the Apostles. This was fine – but they claimed they brought ALL of the sale price for donation. Peter told Ananias,

Acts 5:3-4 Why has Satan filled your heart to LIE TO THE HOLY SPIRIT, and to keep back a portion of the price of the land. It was your land, and you had the power to sell it or not sell it. Why did you conspire TO LIE TO GOD?

Then Ananias died. The Bible addresses a “sin unto death”. The wages of sin is always death (Romans 3:23), but the Apostle John warned:

1 John 5:16-17 If any man see his brother SIN A SIN WHICH IS NOT UNTO DEATH, he shall ask, and He shall give him life for them that SIN NOT UNTO DEATH. THERE IS A SIN UNTO DEATH: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and THERE IS A SIN NOT UNTO DEATH…

Both Ananias and Sapphira committed a sin unto death. God dramatically took their lives so the early Church – and we – can know that the greatest sin you can commit is to try and lie to God.

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as LIVELY STONES, are built up A SPIRITUAL HOUSE, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

The Synagogue was the Old Covenant Church, where believers regularly met to study the Word of God. The Temple was the House of Sacrifice and of Prayer. People came to the Temple to worship and pray (Luke 1:10; 18:10-13), and the Temple with its Holy of Holies was the earthly dwelling place of God. Under the New Covenant the Temple was destroyed, and believers themselves became the dwelling place of God.

Jesus Christ is our High Priest, and we are a kingdom of priests (Malachi 1:11; Matthew 18:20; 1 Peter 2:5). We are each responsible to keep our temple undefiled.

We do this by heeding God’s Word, and living to please Him.

We Are Called To Faithful Stewardship

1 Corinthians 4:1-4 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and STEWARDS {oikonomos} of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in STEWARDS {oikonomos}, that A MAN BE FOUND FAITHFUL. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. 4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but HE THAT JUDGETH ME IS THE LORD.

Word Study: A “STEWARD” , the Greek oikonomos, means “someone appointed or commissioned to manage household affairs”. The steward was appointed by the owner, the head of the house, or the proprietor to manage his affairs, to take care of receipts and expenditures, and to even pay other staff members.

The steward is accountable to the owner, and to no one else. The steward owns nothing, but manages what is entrusted to him for the owner.

Paul was a steward “OF THE MYSTERIES OF GOD”. God wrote Scripture through Paul and the other Apostles. The Apostles lived so as to please – not themselves or others – but the Lord. This is true for every Christian.

1. God owns everything – and the Christian should recognize this and live this principle. The Psalmist states:

(Psalm 24:1 NKJV) The EARTH IS THE LORD’s, and ALL ITS FULLNESS, THE WORLD AND THOSE WHO DWELL THEREIN.

God owns everything and everybody. It’s not ours, but His. When God requires a tithe, or ten percent, He could require all. In reality, He gives us all – but He can take back all anytime He wants. The lost person, blinded by sin and greed, thinks they are over everything. How foolish! God gave you life, and breath, and talent. God told His Israel:

(Deuteronomy 8:17-20 NKJV) … you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ [18] “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for IT IS HE WHO GIVES YOU POWER TO GET WEALTH, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as [it is] this day. [19] “Then it shall be, if you by any means FORGET THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND FOLLOW OTHER GODS, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that YOU SHALL SURELY PERISH. [20] “As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would NOT BE OBEDIENT TO THE VOICE of the LORD your God.

God owns every single thing that we have. We should never worship our stuff, but Him Who has so graciously given us our blessings. God even owns my life, and can take me home anytime He wishes. As stewards, we will all be held accountable for how we spent that which God gave us.

2. Good stewards are rewarded for doing what pleases the Lord. The Apostle told the Church at Colossae:

(Colossians 3:23-25 NKJV) And whatever you do, do it heartily, AS TO THE LORD, AND NOT TO MEN, [24] knowing that FROM THE LORD you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for YOU SERVE THE LORD CHRIST. [25] But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

I heard a preacher the other day recounting what happened in his Church. He said a young girl came to him and said, “Pastor, I love your sermons! My boyfriend and I laid in bed last Sunday listening to you preach”. The Pastor was stunned. He told the young woman, “Don’t you know you’re not to be in bed with a man not your husband? Don’t you know that sexual sin defiles the Temple of God? It defiles YOU?” He said that several members told him they were leaving the Church because of his comments to that girl. His response – “Then leave. I will not change the truth of God into a lie.”

God give us all Biblical leaders who love Jesus.