The Church as God's Building

Rod Flick

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for Gods temple is sacred, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17


This is a challenging scripture, because it places the responsibility on us to protect God’s temple. It is intimidating to think that I am God’s temple. When we think of a temple, we normally picture a very ornate, large and structurally sound building. I think this is the analogy that Paul intended to illustrate in this passage.

Buildings are normally constructed for a specific purpose. Some buildings are constructed as a temporary structure and do not need to be as structurally sound as buildings that are constructed for the long term. Some buildings are built for a specific purpose and when this purpose does not exist the building is practically worthless. The vacant Burger King by exit 62 is a prime example. The temple to which Paul refers is intended to be constructed to last for eternity. The blue print has been provided for us in Gods word. It is our responsibility to take the design of the scripture and build it in our hearts.

When Paul uses the temple analogy I believe he wants us to view ourselves as a beautiful, strong and sound structure. This structure requires a strong foundation and it requires continual maintenance to maintain its integrity.

I once heard a speaker state that a good architect could tell how high a building was going to be by looking at its foundation. It is true the taller the building the more massive the foundation. I feel the temple Paul describes is like the tall building. Our faith can only grow as much as the foundation will support. The major difference is the buildings foundation must be completed before the building can grow tall. The designer must decide the height of the building before construction begins. The foundation of the temple of our bodies, on the other hand, can be added to any time. God, the architect of this temple, had designed it so that it may continue to grow for a lifetime. It is our responsibility to continue to add to the foundation of our faith so our temple can grow to the heights that God had intended.


Read 1 Corinthians 3:9-17