[Biblestudent]

1 Corinthians 6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

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?

I see that the problem comes in when we get one definition (such as "temple of God") and force it to mean the same way every time. That's not rightly dividing the word of truth.

In the Bible, the word "body" and "temple" is used different ways, and it's also used as a reference to man's physical body.

Both of these statements are believed to be true:

1. All believers are the temple of God.
2. Each believer is also individually the temple of God.


Some illustrations:

1. "Man" is used to describe human beings as a whole
2. "Man" is also used to describe each individual.

1. All three Persons in the Godhead are one God.
2. Each individual Person in the Godhead is God.

1. All BELIEVERS are MEMBERS of the Body of Christ. (1 Cor. 12:27)
2. All BODIES of believers are MEMBERS of the body of Christ. (1 Cor. 6:15)

1. All believers are members of the CHURCH, which is the Body of Christ.
2. Local groups of believers are called a CHURCH, and all saved believers are also called the CHURCH.

[Kiwi Christian]

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?

Brother, scripture with scripture gives us the correct interpretation of what this temple is here:

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?

As a Christian, if you continue to defile your body willfully then God will bring judgment upon you, and may even have to destroy your body (the wages of sin is death!). This truth is clear from several other passages:

1 Corinthians 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

1 Corinthians 5:1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. 2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

This is a very serious business, hence why it is important for every Christian to confess and repent of sin regularly, and make their best attempt to live a holy life. We are to fear the Lord and depart form evil. Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap, and if you continue to sow to the flesh you will reap corruption, God will not be mocked.

[Luke]

But on this comparing scripture with scripture, the only references I can find to "destroy" all seem to be in relation to hell "destroy body and soul in hell", "destroy with everlasting fire" etc.

Yes, and what's the problem? Is the problem you can't reconcile that with OSAS?

God bless,
Brian

[Luke]

In a word - yes.

But it's more than that. Even if Eternal Security were not a biblical doctrine, there is only one defilement here, and God SHALL (not might) destroy them. So I guess I am asking what it means in light of all scripture, because I have defiled this temple (my body) in the past, as a Christian, and repented, but that verse leaves no room for repentance. It says God SHALL destroy. It doesn't say SHALL destroy unless he repents or something.

Then it depends on what "defile" means here, and it has largely to do (in my opinion) with the idea that we (plural) are the temple (singular). I don't see the concept of millions of temples of God in scripture, only one.

[Kiwi Christian]

Originally Posted by Luke

It says God SHALL destroy. It doesn't say SHALL destroy unless he repents or something.

Yes, but it doesn't have to mean sudden destruction, it could be a slow process, and often will be because of God's patience and longsuffering. Reminds me of Ecclesiastes 8:11 "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil."

God "shall destroy" the body/flesh of a self-defiling Christian, but it may not happen for 5-10 years, and it might be a slow and painful process, but God shall perform that which He has said. That's what the verse means IMO.

[Kiwi Christian]

Originally Posted by Luke

But on this comparing scripture with scripture, the only references I can find to "destroy" all seem to be in relation to hell "destroy body and soul in hell", "destroy with everlasting fire" etc.

I gave you the scripture, it's in 1 Cori 5:5 "the destruction of the flesh".

[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