Lesson 470: 1 Corinthians 3:16
The Blueprint — The Verse
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s templeThe Temple was the permanent house of worship built in Jerusalem to replace the Tabernacle as the central place of sacrifice, prayer, and covenant worship for Israel. It served as the dwelling place of God's presence among His people and became one of the most sacred locations in biblical history. The Temple pointed forward to the coming of the Messiah,... More and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
Memorization Practice
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King James Version (KJV) — Public Domain.
The Context — The History
PaulPaul is the apostle who carried the message of Jesus into the Gentile world, transforming early Christianity through his missionary journeys, his letters, and his profound teaching on grace, faith, and the New Covenant. More wrote 1 Corinthians to a gifted but divided church in a prosperous, immoral Greek city. Corinth's culture prized wisdom, status, and freedom — pressures that distorted church life.
The Narrative — The Lead-Up
PaulPaul is the apostle who carried the message of Jesus into the Gentile world, transforming early Christianity through his missionary journeys, his letters, and his profound teaching on grace, faith, and the New Covenant. More addressed quarrels over leaders and the folly of worldly wisdom. He reminded believers that God's Spirit dwells among them communally — they together are God's templeThe Temple was the permanent house of worship built in Jerusalem to replace the Tabernacle as the central place of sacrifice, prayer, and covenant worship for Israel. It served as the dwelling place of God's presence among His people and became one of the most sacred locations in biblical history. The Temple pointed forward to the coming of the Messiah,... More where His Spirit lives.
The Echo — Follow-on Verses
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If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Read the verse immediately before this lesson () to hear the lead-in to the passage.
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If any man defile the templeThe Temple was the permanent house of worship built in Jerusalem to replace the Tabernacle as the central place of sacrifice, prayer, and covenant worship for Israel. It served as the dwelling place of God's presence among His people and became one of the most sacred locations in biblical history. The Temple pointed forward to the coming of the Messiah,... More of God, him shall God destroy; for the templeThe Temple was the permanent house of worship built in Jerusalem to replace the Tabernacle as the central place of sacrifice, prayer, and covenant worship for Israel. It served as the dwelling place of God's presence among His people and became one of the most sacred locations in biblical history. The Temple pointed forward to the coming of the Messiah,... More of God is holy, which templeThe Temple was the permanent house of worship built in Jerusalem to replace the Tabernacle as the central place of sacrifice, prayer, and covenant worship for Israel. It served as the dwelling place of God's presence among His people and became one of the most sacred locations in biblical history. The Temple pointed forward to the coming of the Messiah,... More ye are.
Read the verse immediately after this lesson () to continue the passage.
Discussion
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What does it mean that the church community is God's templeThe Temple was the permanent house of worship built in Jerusalem to replace the Tabernacle as the central place of sacrifice, prayer, and covenant worship for Israel. It served as the dwelling place of God's presence among His people and became one of the most sacred locations in biblical history. The Temple pointed forward to the coming of the Messiah,... More?
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How should that truth affect how you treat other believers?
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Where does division damage God's dwelling place among His people?
