The Body as a Temple I. Base Text: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 II. Introduction A. Christianity maintains many guidelines regarding the satisfaction of desire and the use of the body B. Why is there such a focus on the body and its use? C. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul provides an explanation in terms of the image of the body as a Temple of the Holy Spirit D. Let us consider this image in Scripture III. The Temple A. In order to understand the image, we must first understand the concept of a temple B. Throughout history, time, and culture, a temple is understood as a structure in which it is believed that God or god/gods dwell(s), maintain(s) a presence, or in some way connect(s) with believers 1. Not limited to Israel; prevalent in ancient Near East as well as in Greece and Rome 2. In all such societies, a temple was a place, normally with a building C. In early Israel, the Tabernacle served as the location of the Presence of God; after Solomon, the Temple in Jerusalem served as such (Exodus 25-40, 1 Kings 6-9) D. The value of the Tabernacle/Temple derives from the presence of God within it 1. Exodus 29:43-46, 40:34-35, 1 Kings 8:10-13, 27-29, 9:3 2. Ezekiel 10: Ezekiel sees a vision of the glory of the LORD departing from the Temple, symbolizing the departure of God's presence from the Temple, leading to its destruction soon afterward E. The Presence of God within the Tabernacle/Temple establishes its holiness (Psalm 11:4) 1. Logic: God is holy; wherever God is manifest must be holy because He is there and He is holy (Exodus 3:5, Leviticus 11:44, 1 Samuel 6:20, 2 Chronicles 8:11) 2. This is based even within the architecture of the Tabernacle and Temple a. Most inner room is the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies) in which the Presence of God dwells with the Ark of the Covenant, into which the High Priest enters only once a year (cf. Exodus 26:34, Hebrews 9:3-7) b. The Most Holy Place is entered from the Holy Place in which were found the lampstand and table and bread of the Presence; all priests could minister in the Holy Place, but none else (cf. Hebrews 9:1-2, 6) c. The Temple also featured an inner court and an outer court; any Israelite man could enter the inner court, and any Israelite could enter the outer court (Acts 2:46, 21:29-30) d. Outside of those was the court of the Gentiles, where anyone could enter e. Therefore, the closer one gets to the Holy of Holies, the more separate and holy one had to be! 3. Aaron and the priests must be holy and wear holy garments in order to enter (Exodus 28, Leviticus 16:1-33) 4. Aaron, the priests, and even the Tabernacle and its utensils were to be anointed with holy anointing oil (Exodus 30:31-36) 5. Aaron and his children were to maintain righteous conduct in order to make a separation between the holy and the common and to maintain the holiness necessary to minister before God (Leviticus 10:8-10, 21:1-24) F. Israel was not to defile or profane the Tabernacle/Temple by committing sin in it or regarding it (Leviticus 20:3, Numbers 18:32, 2 Chronicles 29:5-9) 1. This warning is especially sharp for Aaron and his sons: they are to act properly in all things lest they profane the Tabernacle/Temple through their thoughtlessness or rebellion (cf. Leviticus 21-22) 2. Such led to the death of Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-3)! 3. Because of the sins of Israel, particularly in regards to their profanation of the Temple, God saw to it that the Temple would be profaned and destroyed (Psalm 79:1, Ezekiel 23:38-39, 24:21) G. The Temple, therefore, was made holy by God's presence within it, and Israel was not to defile or profane it through unrighteousness or immorality IV. The Temple in the New Covenant A. We see a major shift in emphasis in regards to "Temple" in the new covenant between God and man in Jesus B. John 4:19-24 1. Jesus points to a change which will mark the new covenant 2. Prostration will be done in spirit and truth, and not on Mount Gerizim or Zion! C. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, Ephesians 2:20-22, 1 Peter 2:4-8 1. Both Peter and Paul use the image of a Temple to describe the church 2. Believers are considered as (living) stones which make up the Temple walls 3. Jesus is the founding cornerstone; Apostles and prophets as foundation 4. NT Temple is not a building or a structure but is people! D. If the idea of people as a collective as temple is not radical enough, the New Testament also considers individuals as temples as well! 1. John 2:18-22: Jesus speaks of His body as a Temple 2. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: the body as a Temple of the Holy Spirit a. Yes, Paul uses the plural "you" in these verses, but it is distributive, not collective b. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "body" is singular, demonstrating that Paul has each individual in mind, not the group as a collective c. After all, individuals have bodies in which they can glorify God; the collective does not, and the context is about the use of the body in sexual terms! E. To consider a person as a temple is rather radical: this is a new concept! 1. Temples were buildings; deity, however conceived, dwelt or made its presence there 2. All the people of Israel were to be holy and separate because God is holy and separated them out for Himself (Leviticus 11:44, 20:7, 26), but even then, we do not see the concept of God's presence with each individual Israelite but always understood as present in the Temple in Jerusalem! F. How can this be? G. This shift takes place in the new covenant because of the presence of the Holy Spirit with believers individually and corporately 1. So it is in 1 Corinthians 6:19: the body is a Temple because the Holy Spirit is "in you," having been given by God 2. Ephesians 2:22: in Jesus believers are built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit 3. The ontology of how the Spirit's presence is manifest in believers individually and corporately is not explicitly set forth and there is much we cannot understand 4. Nevertheless, we must take the text at its word: the Holy Spirit "dwells in us," and therefore our bodies are the location in which God's Presence "dwells" 5. And what do we call the place in which God's Presence "dwells"? The Temple! H. So it is that the body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit V. The Body as Temple of the Holy Spirit A. Paul describes the body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit for quite important reasons! B. From our understanding of the Temple, we can extrapolate what it means to be the Temple of the Holy Spirit 1. Since God is holy, wherever He is must be holy; if God maintains a presence in the believer, the believer must be holy 2. God demands holiness from those who minister before Him lest His Temple be profaned 3. His Temple is profaned or defiled when sin is committed within it or regarding it C. And so it is in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 1. Context: 1 Corinthians is Paul's response to some of the challenges of the church in Corinth, based on reports given to him and the letter they sent to him 2. There seems to be an attitude among the Christians in Corinth that all things were lawful, and thus satisfaction of desire was normal, natural, and acceptable, especially in terms of food, drink, and sex (1 Corinthians 6:12-14, 10:23ff) 3. The Corinthians were therefore eating any sort of meat no matter how it seared the consciences of others, and some seem to continue to visit and "enjoy" prostitutes (1 Corinthians 6:15-18, 8:1-13, 10:23-33) 4. To demonstrate the sinfulness of sexually deviant behavior (Greek porneia, often translated "fornication" or "sexual immorality," with a wide definition, but in context mostly about sex with prostitutes), Paul employs many arguments a. How can the bodies which are members of Christ be joined to a prostitute (1 Corinthians 6:15)? b. The one who has sex with a prostitute becomes one flesh with her; he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:16-17) c. Sexually deviant behavior is the one sin done against the "inside" of the body, while other sins are done "outside" of the body (1 Corinthians 6:18) d. The body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit, given by God; you are not your own; you were bought with a price; glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) 5. It is within this last, most clinching argument which Paul talks of the body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit! 6. Notice what proceeds from the truth that the body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) a. The Holy Spirit came from God; it is not from the Corinthians themselves b. You are not your own, since you were bought with a price c. Because of these things, glorify God in your body! D. Sexually deviant behavior is sinful, in part, because it profanes/defiles the body, and the body is to be a Temple of the Holy Spirit E. Is this the only application? 1. Some feel that it is inappropriate to discuss any other issue in terms of the body as a Temple of the Holy Spirit 2. This is said because the context speaks only of sexually deviant behavior, and it involves the sin done against the body (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:14-18) 3. Yet the context also mentions foods, and the discussion is framed with the same statement as will frame the discussion about eating meats (1 Corinthians 6:12-13, 10:23-33) 4. What is Paul's distinction about sexually deviant behavior in 1 Corinthians 6:18? a. Is it that sexually deviant behavior's physical consequences can lead to disease and death? That is also true of drinking and drug use (cf. Galatians 5:19-21) b. Other sins degrade and dehumanize others; sexually deviant behavior dehumanizes one's own body and humanity, reducing such a one to being as an animal in lust 5. The declaration of the body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit is an argument introduced into the context but maintains its legitimacy because it remains true outside of the context as well! 6. One can defile/profane the Temple of the Holy Spirit in ways other than sexually deviant behavior! F. How can a person profane or defile their body in regards to it being the Temple of the Holy Spirit? 1. As we have seen, God is holy, thus, temples in which God's presence dwells must be holy 2. In the old covenant, the Temple was defiled and profaned when sacrifices were not offered properly, the priests did not maintain purity, and/or when other gods were served, whether in the Temple precinct itself or elsewhere 3. Therefore, in one sense, Christians defile the "Temple of the Holy Spirit" when they do not offer themselves properly as spiritual sacrifices, participate in impurity, and/or when they serve other gods (cf. Mark 7:15-23, Romans 12:1-2, Hebrews 12:15-16, 1 John 5:21) 4. This is seen in how we are bought with a price and not our own: we must seek God's glory, honor, and praise in all things (Romans 6:18-23, Galatians 2:20) 5. Yet there remains an emphasis on the body and its use with which we must reckon (1 Corinthians 6:20) G. Glorifying God in our Body 1. As humans, we are each a body and a soul; our bodies impact our souls, and vice versa (Genesis 1:27-28) 2. Yet there are aspects to our existence which specifically involve the body and its use 3. We must glorify God in these matters 4. This is well-expressed in the concepts of sobriety and self-control (1 Peter 4:7) a. Sobriety: free from any intoxicant (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10) b. Self-control: always in charge of one's faculties, living in moderation and self-discipline (illustrated in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27) 5. We glorify God in our bodies, therefore, when we maintain our bodies soberly and in self-control 6. Anything which is not consistent with sobriety and self-control does not glorify God! 7. Sexually deviant behavior involves a lack of self-control and often intoxication with sex; it does not glorify God, and defiles/profanes the body 8. Gluttony and drunkenness involve a lack of self-control and often intoxication with food and drink; it does not glorify God, and defiles/profanes the body 9. Recreational drug use and addiction to any drug demands a lack of self-control and intoxication with the drug; it does not glorify God, and defiles/profanes the body 10. In anything in which we use the body to satisfy desire without sobriety and self-control, God is not glorified, and the body is defiled/profaned! VI. Conclusion A. Well does Paul consider the body the Temple of the Holy Spirit 1. Temples are places in which God's presence dwells 2. The Holy Spirit is said to be "in" the believer 3. Therefore, the body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit B. Since God is holy, and where God dwells is holy, the body of the believer must be holy 1. The body must manifest holiness if the Most Holy God will dwell "in" it 2. We must not profane or defile the body, but glorify God in the body! 3. Therefore, all immorality, but especially sexually deviant behavior and all things contrary to self-control, sobriety, and moderation must be set aside! C. Let us maintain our bodies and ourselves in holiness and glorify God! D. Invitation/songbook