God Keeps His Body Clean

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (1Co 3:16-17 AV)

 

I used to think Paul is referring to the physical body of the individual saint here.  What Paul says in verse sixteen is certainly true of the saint.  The Holy Spirit does indwell the individual saint, this making his body the temple of the Holy Ghost.  This understanding is affirmed in chapter six.  However, all of my commentators teach this temple mentioned in this passage is the local church and not the individual saint.  They keep these verses in context to that which Paul had just discussed.  That is, building upon the foundation of Jesus Christ a solid ministry.  I would have to agree with the fathers of old that Paul is not referring to the individual physical body of the saint here, but rather, the body of Christ – the church.  Having established this, let us consider the warning of this verse.  If anyone were to defile the body of Christ, God would destroy them.  We will see what Paul is referring to when we read chapter five.  An illicit intimate relationship between a step-son and his step-mother became common knowledge in the church.  So much so they refused to deal with it.  Paul dealt with it and instructed them to turn the young man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.  The warning above came to pass in the life of an unrepentant saint.

If what Paul is referring to here is the wicked couple of verse five, the question might become: isn’t simply removing them from membership enough?  Why would the LORD seek to destroy someone who is living in unrepentant immorality?  Why not simply erase them from the records of the church as though they never were there and be done with it.  It is insufficient because as long as someone like that is living like that, regardless of affiliation, he will still be considered a member of the body by those who don’t know better.  The world will always see that individual as a saint regardless of his testimony.  As long as he is not severely dealt with, the world will mock the gospel message.  This is why the LORD dealt harshly with Israel.  They were the face of God to a lost world.  The more like the world they lived, the less credibility the LORD had.  He had to destroy them before the face of the world so the world would understand God is real and a God of holiness. 

The LORD takes the condition of His church seriously.  After all, we are referred to as the bride of Christ.  After all, Jesus made a promise to His disciples.  “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:18 AV)  God is not going to allow the wickedness of mankind, even if it is the saints themselves, to defile His church.  He will clean it out.  He will chasten the guilty.  He will remove the filthy from the body if they refuse to live for the glory of God by living a moral life.  The warning above is a stern one because God loves His church more than we could ever know.  It isn’t just His reputation.  It is the love He has for us and the price He paid for us.  Those who would live like the devil and come to church anyway, the LORD will deal with.  Those who would bring shame to the name of Christ and show no remorse in spite of correction, the LORD will deal with this.  God takes this very seriously.  He is not going to remain silent when His body is under attack from within.