In 1 Cor. 3:16 -17 does that refer to other people trying to destroy your temple? Exactly what is meant by defile?Can you give some examples? Thank-you
Hello Beth. Thank you for your good question. I'll share my understanding - others may share other things.
I liken the mention of the temple in these verses to the Temple that God ordained for His people, Israel. Just as anything entering that temple had to be washed, without spot & sanctified, so too God requires His Temple now (our bodies indwelt by the Holy Spirit) to be clean. If anything unclean entered the old temple, it had to removed & the place cleansed.
Our bodies (God's Temple), likewise needs to be kept clean, as holy vessels fit for His indwelling & His use. Yes, sin & temptations come to us, but His Presence in us alerts us & helps us deal with it through repentance & removal. But what happens if we refuse God's warning & let sins remain & fester, making what should be precious & holy into something vile & disgusting? Verse 17 tells us that "God will destroy him (i.e the body)". See 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 as an example.
There can be times when a believer veers so far off God's requirements for him, that God must take severe action. If a believer fails to heed the warning & conviction but pursues in some sin, then God will act. The sins are many & varied - any sins or behaviour that is permitted to control one's life, thereby quenching any pleas by God's Spirit & making excuse for the sin to be acceptable, will incur God's action.
Let us not tempt the Lord, rather we must seek to please Him in every area of our lives, keeping short accounts with Him. When we remain in the Word & prayer, Satan's thrusts against us will be thwarted & God's Name will be honoured in our lives & we will be used by Him.
I liken the mention of the temple in these verses to the Temple that God ordained for His people, Israel. Just as anything entering that temple had to be washed, without spot & sanctified, so too God requires His Temple now (our bodies indwelt by the Holy Spirit) to be clean. If anything unclean entered the old temple, it had to removed & the place cleansed.
Our bodies (God's Temple), likewise needs to be kept clean, as holy vessels fit for His indwelling & His use. Yes, sin & temptations come to us, but His Presence in us alerts us & helps us deal with it through repentance & removal. But what happens if we refuse God's warning & let sins remain & fester, making what should be precious & holy into something vile & disgusting? Verse 17 tells us that "God will destroy him (i.e the body)". See 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 as an example.
There can be times when a believer veers so far off God's requirements for him, that God must take severe action. If a believer fails to heed the warning & conviction but pursues in some sin, then God will act. The sins are many & varied - any sins or behaviour that is permitted to control one's life, thereby quenching any pleas by God's Spirit & making excuse for the sin to be acceptable, will incur God's action.
Let us not tempt the Lord, rather we must seek to please Him in every area of our lives, keeping short accounts with Him. When we remain in the Word & prayer, Satan's thrusts against us will be thwarted & God's Name will be honoured in our lives & we will be used by Him.
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