Ahhh, the wonder of single verse theology. As the Catholic New Year began (not the Hebrew or Chinese, but the one named after a Pope) many were compelled to make those well meaning resolutions.(By the way you may change your behavior any time you feel convicted, you don't need to wait for January first.) As conversations flowed around me I heard a variety of new found or reaffirmations of past resolutions. Many deal with physical improvements like more exercise, less sugar, fewer carbs, no more smoking, or better eating and sleeping habits. For those who claim to be followers of Messiah, Christians as we call ourselves, there is often an additional incentive that I have heard spoken. "I need to get in shape, after all my body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit." And why would you say that? "Well, we see that right there in 1 Corinthians 6:19, "or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" It is obvious that I am a temple of the Holy Spirit, Paul said so. Or did he? It depends on whether you believe Paul was a Greek philosopher or a Hebrew Rabbi. It also depends on whether you want to look at the actual text, as well as its historic context. Are you willing to ask what those in Corinth would have thought when they read the letter? Or are you just interested in what you want it to mean to you? Let's take a little deeper look.
The confusion here comes from two directions. First, English pronouns are ambiguous. When we ask the question, "How are you doing?", we could mean you as an individual or as a family or as an entire community. Those proficient in "Southern" have less problems, as there is you, the individual, ya'll, as a small group and "all ya'll", for the bigger group. Our translations are not in "Southern" so we have to guess according to what we think the context is. The second, is that we look to the immediate context and forget the context of Paul's letter or the issues he is addressing in the assembly of believers in Corinth. The immediate context speaks of the act of sexual sin, "he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body" (1 Cor. 6:18). This is followed by "do you not know that your body is a temple (not the temple, there is no definite article and those in Corinth knew The Temple was in Jerusalem when this was written) of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and you are not your own" (1 Cor. 6:19). The easy assumption is to make this about me. However, if we had a Southern translation it would read, "do all ya'll not know that all ya'll's body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in all ya'll's midst, whom all ya'll have from God, and all ya'll do not just live for yourself?' You see the pronoun in Greek is plural all the way through. So why is this important?
We need to go back to the purpose of the letter. The folks in Corinth who had come to Messiah were a diverse group. They also came from a city who prided itself on competition. There was a huge stadium/Colosseum with all sorts of sporting events, as well as amphitheaters for public debate where you could compete for intellectual points. This spirit had invaded the assembly. Everyone seemed to want to be the best. Who had the best spiritual heritage (1:12), who was the most mighty (1:26), who was the most tolerant (5:1), who had the best gift (12), who was the most sacrificial spiritual one, "Hey, I gave up sexual intimacy with my wife so I could be more spiritual" (7:5), and the list goes on and on. The whole letter is a plea for unity in the "Body". It is not about individuals. Everything you do, including sexual immorality, damages the whole body, the whole assembly. Yet they brag about the tolerance of a man who has his father's wife (5:1). The Temple of the Holy Spirit is about unity in obedience, not some misplaced idea of love and tolerance. We find the same temple concept in 3:16 - 17. All ya'll are the temple of God, not you as an individual, yet as individuals we can defile God's Temple. We can defile the assembly. The fractured fellowship was displeasing to the Lord and to Paul.
Our Greek based culture drives us to be self-focused. We are under the illusion that what we do only affects us. But Paul's Hebraic viewpoint gives us his illustration in 1 Cor. 12 of our being a part of a "body". In Hebraic thought what we do touches all around us, either for good or for bad. As private as sexual sin may seem, it damages the whole body. To tolerate it is an affront to God and brings corruption to the assembly. We are not our own, we belong to God and one another. We must not be fractured or the whole "Temple" suffers. Peter uses this illustration as well. In 1 Peter 2:5 "you (read all ya'll) are as living stones, being built up to a spiritual house (or maybe a temple)." When we personalize a Temple of the Holy Spirit to mean that it is all about me and my being God's temple, we miss Paul's, and God's point. It is when we are gathered in unity and obedience together that provides a temple for the Holy Spirit to indwell. The work and ministry of the Spirit of God is magnified when we are in fellowship together. That is where the gifts He gives are best manifested. For your gift was given to edify the Body not to hold in your own personal "Holy Spirit Temple".
Now please do not misunderstand. I believe that we, as disciples of Messiah, are given the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures say that we are indwelt, the Spirit of God is in us individually (Jn 14:27), We are to keep being filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18) and not grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30). The Spirit of God gives us individual gifts(1 Cor 12:11). He comforts (2 Cor 1) and convicts (Jn 16:8). The Spirit of God ministers to us as individuals. However, if that is our motivating factor we have missed the point. All those things are true so that you can function within a community. And when that is so, Paul says "all ya'll are a Temple of the Holy Spirit." "All ya'll are a Temple of God."
This doesn't mean you don't have to eat healthy or determine to quit smoking. It doesn't mean to take a pass on reading through the Bible this year. Healthy people who know God's Word are a benefit and blessing to the whole "Body". Your obedience and discipline strengthens the whole Temple. After all, "all ya'll are a Temple of the Holy Spirit."
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