1 Corinthians 3:16 - Exposition

Know ye not. The phrase is used by St. Paul in this Epistle to emphasize important truths, as in 1 Corinthians 5:6 ; 1 Corinthians 6:2 ,.9, 15; 1 Corinthians 9:13 , 1 Corinthians 9:24 . Out of this Epistle it only occurs in Romans 6:16 ; Romans 11:2 . That ye are the temple of God. "Ye," both collectively ( Ephesians 2:21 ) and individually; "God's shrine;" not built for men's glory. The word "temple" in the Old Testament always means the material temple; in the Gospels our Lord "spake of the temple of his body;" in the rest of the New Testament the body of every baptized Christian is the temple of God ( 1 Corinthians 6:16 ), because "God dwelleth in him" ( 1 John 4:16 ; comp. John 14:23 ). In another aspect Christians can be regarded as "living stones in one spiritual house" ( 1 Peter 2:5 ). The temple; rather, the shrine ( uses ) wherein God dwells ( naiei ) , and which is the holiest part of the temple ( hieron ) .