DEFILING THE TEMPLE
I have entitled this message, “Defiling The Temple 1 Corinthians 3:17 that first caught my minds eye.
I could just as easily entitle it “A Call to Unity”.
The message to us as individuals as well as the local church is to “Preach the Gospel” and don’t be distracted by divisions that do not matter in eternity.
Look with me, if you will at 1 Corinthians 3:17 where we read:
If anyone defiles the temple of God temple of God
Consider with me the CONTEXT of this passage.
Let’s backup to Chapter 1 verse 1
Look with me:
I. 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 – What God has Done
As Paul addresses the church at Corinth
Chapter 1
Verse 2, he refers to them as “those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus”
Verse 4, the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus
Verse 5, you were enriched in everything by Him
Verse 8, Our Lord Jesus who will also confirm you to the end
I am reminded here of Jude 24
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
25To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.
Verse 9, He reminds the church, “God is faithful, by whom you were called
As we continue to read,
Beginning with verse 10 – we see a Call to Unity
II. 1 Corinthians 1:10 – 16 – Call to Unity, You are called by Him
Here, Paul pleads with the church to walk in unity.
It seems that not unlike us today, these new believers were placing to much emphasis on who their teacher was.
Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ."
13Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
III. 1 Corinthians – 2:6 Preach the Gospel
Paul emphasized his purpose in verse 17,
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
His emphasis is further explained in verse 21,
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
Paul’s emphasis is to “preach the gospel”.
Paul is not deemphasizing baptism but instead he is emphasizing the importance of preaching the gospel.
I would like to insert that if the gospel is preached, it is unnecessary to preach issues.
You see, if we come to Christ, we will Love God, His Church and we will despise Sin.
Paul is known for emphasizing what God has done,
In verse 30 we see these words,
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption--
In Chapter 2, Paul continues to build on a foundation,
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Beloved, that IS THE GOSPEL…..JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED
Of course, we understand his Resurrection followed His Crucifiction.
It is there He won the victory for us.
Again, we see what He has done…….
and we do not focus on what man can do
Who among us, once he has realized what God has done for us is not compelled to Love Him, serve and obey Him, knowing we will be blessed?
As we continue to consider context,
Notice that the wisdom of God is not for everyone.
IV. 1 Corinthians 2:7 – 2:16 Hidden Wisdom
But as it is written:
"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared
for those who love Him."
Paul is relentless as he continues to draw a word picture, of what God has done:
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
Paul is laying a foundation upon which we will later be asked to build.
What God has done in us and for us can not be undone, AMEN?
In verse 14 of Chapter 2, we are reminded that not every man can understand the things of God.
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
In verse 9 he refers to those who love God.
Here in verse 14 Paul refers to
all others…..The Natural Man
V. 1 Corinthians 3 : 1-4
Call to Unity, Carnal divisions
In Chapter 3 of First Corinthians,
Paul begins to hold the church accountable
Again he admonishes the church walk in Unity.
VI. 1 Corinthians 3:5-16 Building on the foundation
As we continue to read we see:
Paul is about to address our responsibility
To build on,
THE FOUNDATION of the Gospel of Christ.
In verse 7 he adds:
So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
I like to emphasize “But God”
Look with me at Romans Chapter 5, verse 8
Here we see another “But God”
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Were it not for God, we would truly be hopeless.
Verse 8 of Chapter 3, begins to set the tone of this message.
Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
Previously, we have seen what God has done for us as He laid the foundation of our faith.
The reward spoken of here is not JUST the sweet by and by but is also the Abundant Life Christ came to bring, it is also intimate fellowship with God, Himself
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Having seen “what God has done”
We know OUR works have nothing to do with our Salvation.
AND WE READ:
Ephes. 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9not of works, lest anyone should boast.
We are not saved by our works but, our works are for a purpose:
AS WE CONTINUE TO READ:
Ephes. 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
While our works have nothing to do with our salvation
They have everything to do with our reward, ………..our fellowship with God and our availability to be used by Him.
Simply put, we are blessed when we obey, Him
For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.
14If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
(1) Temple 1 Corinthians 3:16
In 1 Cor. Paul tells, those who have put their faith in Christ, that they are “the temple of God
Do you not know that you are the temple of God
If a Temple
It is a spiritual matter.
The Temple
Man has a spirit.
God’s Holy Spirit indwells man.
This is one of the FOUNDATIONAL piers of our Faith.
If you have any knowledge of construction, you know that a pier is a vertical support for a horizontal surface or plain.
Our older homes have a pier and beam foundation.
However, even our concrete slab homes will have a portion that extends down into the ground further than the surface of the ground.
Depending on the soil, these concrete piers may extend a great distance, if the foundation is secured properly.
A multi story building may have several piers extending as much as half the height of the structure below the surface.
Piers must find solid Rock.
Similarly, the foundation of our faith has piers.
One of these piers is the knowledge that the Holy Spirit of God INDWELLS the believer.
(2) Sealed Believers
Not only does the Holy Spirit Indwell the believer but the scripture states this action is“Sealed”
Here again, we see a spiritual matter. It is not the physical strength of the seal that causes it to be affective.
It is the authority of the one placing the seal that gives it strength.
Even today, the seal itself may be a flimsy foil ribbon that can easily be broken, but it is the authority of the one placing the seal that brings consequences for breaking the seal.
The electric meter on your house has a seal that can easily be broken. But, if this seal is broken, there are consequences to pay.
There are questions unanswered.
There are accusations made.
There was a time when these seals were broken and
Someone could tamper with the electric meter and
Cause it to not be accurate. This was of course stealing and against the law.
MY POINT IS,
AS BELIEVERS, WE ARE SEALED BY THE GREATEST AUTHORITY AND POWER IN THE UNIV ERSE.
THE SIGN OR SEAL OF THIS AUTHORITY IS THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
BECAUSE THIS WORK IS DONE BY GOD HIMSELF,
IT CAN NOT BE UNDONE.
WE ARE PERMANANTLY SEALED.
Ephes. 1:13
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
At this point in today’s Message:
We have focused our attention on what God has done in establishing His dwelling place in each one who puts their faith in Christ.
It is God Himself who lays the Foundation for the building of the Temple
This foundation is permanent.
THE FOUNDATION IS THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST…WHICH IS………… HIS DEATH BURIAL AND RESURRECTION
For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
This Foundation can not be destroyed.
It is our Salvation “by God’s Grace through Faith”
Ephes. 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
[9] not of works, lest anyone should boast.
It is our responsibility to build on this foundation.
How do we do this?
First we must be careful not to “defile” the Temple
This brings us to our FOCAL PASSAGE
VII 1 CORINTHIANS FOCAL PASSAGE
If anyone defiles the temple of God temple of God
Defile
As we consider what it means to defile the Temple
As seen in Chapter 3 verse 15.
If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
But, OUR WORKS will give evidence of Salvation. Behavior is our Testimony.
Holman’s Definition says:
DEFILE To make ritually unclean
—R. K. Harrison
The religious rituals of Leviticus had much to say about the way in which the sinner could be cleansed from iniquity and be reconciled to God. This was a matter of great importance to the Israelites, because God required them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6).
CONTINUING TO QUOTE Harrison ,
The Law established the principle that blood made atonement for human life (Leviticus ), and thus a blood sacrifice involved the highest form of purification (Leviticus 14:6; Leviticus -20 ) or dedication to God (Leviticus -24).
Lastly, because I could not have said it better myself:
One of the most gracious assurances of His (Christ’s) New Covenant is that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7 ). Sacrifices and offerings are now unnecessary, for what Jesus demands is a penitent spirit that confesses the merits of His atonement. For the Christian the cultic provisions of the Old Testament are nullified. All meats have been declared clean (Mark ; Acts 10:9-16 ), and the only sacrifices that God requires are those that emerge from a humble and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17).
Can we not conclude that to defile the temple, (the church) is to be carnal
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. [2] I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; [3] for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
Because Paul gives THREE calls to Unity within the first THREE CHAPTERS of 1 Corinthians to the church at CORINTH
I believe he is addressing divisions within the local congregation.
These divisions, I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephus were distracting believers from their purpose and that was to PREACH THE GOSPEL.
It is to fuss and fight over things that are not of great significance.
This does not mean we will always agree on every matter.
It does mean we will give priority to preaching the gospel.
Everything else is of lesser value and significance.
It means we will not split and destroy our testimony in the community over the color of the carpet, what song books are used or the style of worship.
NO TRADITION, will destroy
Our witness
Our testimony
Our vision
Our purpose
AMEN?
We can disagree without being disagreeable
VIII. 1 CORINTHIANS – 23 CALL TO UNITY, YOU ARE CHRIST’S
Lastly, as we turn our attention to the later portion of chapter 3.
For the THIRD time in three Chapters, Paul has issued a call to Unity.
First, Chapter 1 verses 9 – 16
Secondly, Chapter 3 verses 1 — 4
With a third mention in such a short period,
We can conclude it is important ……can we not?
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
[19] For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”;
[20] and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
[21] Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours:
[22] whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours.
CHAPTER 3 ENDS WITH THIS STATEMENT OF SECURITY.
[23] And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
CONCLUSION:
To place our study in context,
We have:
First, considered What God has done
Three times we noted the Call to Unity
Preaching the Gospel has been given the highest priority
We understand the World will not understand us or God
We understand the Foundation we are to build on is Jesus
We understand we are to build on the Foundation with our works and our works will be tested by fire.
APPLICATION
TWO VIEWS
If we view the “you” in verse 17 as an individual believer, can defilement of the temple be seen as neglect or abuse of our body?
If we view the “you” in verse 17 as plural, as in the church, can defilement of the temple be seen as failure to conduct ourselves in an agreeable manner?
In either case, there are consequences to our choices.
A personal Application:
“Controlling my Blood Sugar”
There are situations that can lead to the death of our affectiveness as a testimony for Christ. There are also cultural habits that can lead to the death of the physical body.
There are practices that can lead to the death of a local congregations affectiveness or even to its end.
I submit to you that the message is both:
To individual believers as well as The Church
We are inseperable.
We are THE CHURCH.
Again, The message to us as individuals as well as the local church is to “Preach the Gospel” and don’t be distracted by divisions that do not matter in eternity.
INVI TATION
Is the love of God in you?
Does the Holy Spirit of God dwell in you?
Are you the Temple of God
If not: You can come to Christ right now.
Simply realize:
All have sinned:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
The penalty for sin is death:
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God has made provision for your salvation:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
[9] that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
[10] For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
It is not the craftiness of this preacher or any other preacher that bids you come to Christ.
It is the Holy Spirit of God, ……God Himself…
Won’t you come to the alter and make your decision known…..
Remembering the words of Jesus…
When we come to Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. We become the Temple of God
As is our tradition, the alter is open to give you the opportunity to make your decision known.
Won’t You Come?
I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND YOU OF THE WORDS OF A GREAT HYMN,
(read or sing a few verses)
"How Firm a Foundation, Ye Saints of the Lord"
by "Keen," 1787, alt.
1. How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,by "Keen," 1787, alt.
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?
2. In every condition, -- in sickness, in health,
In poverty's vale, or abounding in wealth,
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea, --
The Lord, the Almighty, they strength e'er shall be.
3. "Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
4. "When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
5. "When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
6. "E'en down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.
7. "The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, no never, forsake!"
Hymn #427
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Isaiah 43:1-7
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Isaiah 43:1-7
But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
[2] When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
[3] For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel
I gave Egypt
[4] Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored,
And I have loved you;
Therefore I will give men for you,
And people for your life.
[5] Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your descendants from the east,
And gather you from the west;
[6] I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!'
Bring My sons from afar,
And My daughters from the ends of the earth--
[7] Everyone who is called by My name,
Whom I have created for My glory;
I have formed him, yes, I have made him."
