The verse in question, 1 Corinthians 3:17, states “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” This is a solemn warning against defiling or destroying the temple of God. But what exactly does it mean?
The Temple of God
In the Old Testament, the temple of God referred specifically to the tabernacle and later the temple built in Jerusalem. This was the dwelling place of God’s presence on earth. However, in the New Testament, the terminology changes. Rather than a physical building, God’s temple is now identified with believers in Christ, both individually and collectively. Several passages point to this new meaning:
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)
For we are the temple of the living God. (2 Corinthians 6:16)
In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. (Ephesians 2:21)
As the apostle Peter says, believers are like “living stones” being built into a spiritual house for God (1 Peter 2:5). So the temple has shifted from a physical building to the corporate and individual bodies of Christians.
Defiling the Temple
If believers are now God’s temple, then the warning not to “defile” or “destroy” the temple must refer to Christians. Specifically, it is referring to those in the church at Corinth. In the wider context of 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses issues of division and sexual immorality in the Corinthian church. These sins were metaphorically defiling God’s holy temple.
The particular issue Paul addresses in chapter 3 is division and quarrelling between church members over which leader to follow. He rebukes them for acting like infants, being jealous, and living by human standards (3:3-4). Such fleshly attitudes divide the unity of the Body of Christ. And Christ cannot be divided! In this sense, divisions and factions were tearing down God’s temple rather than building it up.
Paul goes on to warn that God will destroy anyone who destroys His temple. This does not mean that genuine believers will lose their salvation. Rather, those who destroy the church through division will lose rewards and face discipline from God. He may even take their physical life as occurred in Acts 5 with Ananias and Sapphira.
Practical Applications
While open divisiveness is rare today, many other sins also defile the temple of God. Based on other Scriptures, we know these include:
- Sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:13-20)
- False doctrine/teaching (Titus 1:9-11)
- Generational sins or curses (2 Corinthians 7:1)
- Defiling the body through substance abuse (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
In fact, anything we allow that grieves the Holy Spirit could be considered defiling the Lord’s temple. Believers should live in a way that honors God’s presence within.
Practically speaking, here are some ways we can keep the temple of God holy:
- Present your body as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1)
- Set your mind on things above rather than earthly things (Colossians 3:2)
- Do not grieve the Holy Spirit by your lifestyle (Ephesians 4:30)
- Throw off sin and live righteously (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
- Be reconciled to others (Matthew 5:23-24)
- Refrain from divisive disputes or arguments over doubtful matters (Titus 3:9-11)
The temple of God is sacred. This should motivate us to live holy lives. By walking in purity, we can glorify God with our bodies.
Warnings Against False Teachers
While 1 Corinthians 3:17 warns genuine believers, some Bible scholars also apply it as a warning to false teachers. For instance, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for traveling over land and sea to make a single convert and then making him “twice as much a child of hell” as themselves (Matthew 23:15). False teachers who mislead people away from Christ are destroying God’s temple.
Paul says this of false teachers:
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
Elsewhere he says:
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-8)
Peter likewise warns:
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. (2 Peter 2:1)
So Scripture makes it clear that false teachers will face judgment for misleading and deceiving God’s people. They have destroyed parts of God’s temple that they were called to build up and nourish.
Judgment in the Church
Not only will God judge false teachers, but the church body also bears responsibility to maintain purity by exercising discipline. Paul chastised the Corinthians for tolerating gross sexual immorality in their midst (1 Corinthians 5:1-5). Instead of boasting, they should have mourned and removed the wicked man from fellowship.
Why such harsh discipline? Paul explains:
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. (1 Corinthians 5:6-7)
Allowing open sin to continue defiles the whole church body. It spreads like yeast through a lump of dough. That is why discipline is sometimes necessary to remove the leaven – to protect the temple of God. Severe public sins must be dealt with for the health of the corporate Body of Christ.
Of course, church discipline should always be carried out in a spirit of gentleness, with the hope of eventual restoration (Galatians 6:1). The purpose is never to destroy but to save and purify God’s temple.
Christ’s Zeal for the Temple
The zeal of Jesus Himself also reflects the holiness of God’s temple. When He saw money changers and traders defiling the physical temple, He drove them out, declaring “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers” (Matthew 21:13). Christ’s disciples later recalled this event as a fulfillment of Psalm 69:9: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
This same zeal burns in Jesus as He sees the corruption, greed, and pride that defiles the spiritual temple of believers’ hearts. Nothing provokes His wrath like those who would exploit or mislead His flock for personal gain. This is why He warns “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea” (Mark 9:42).
The Lord highly values the sanctity of His dwelling place, whether the physical temple or the spiritual Body of Christ. Defiling the temple through sin or false doctrine invokes His righteous anger.
God Will Destroy Defilers
This brings us back to the warning that if anyone destroys the temple of God, the Lord will destroy him. Clearly, this refers firstly to divine discipline and premature physical death as already discussed. But the language seems to indicate eternal destruction as well.
Commenting on this verse, John MacArthur says, “God Himself will destroy – ultimate destruction from God in hell (cf. 1 Thess. 3:3; 2 Thess. 1:7-9).” God is patient, but His judgment will eventually fall on those who unrepentantly defile His temple, whether they are believers or unbelievers. Just as false teachers and unrepentant sinners in the church can be destroyed, so can genuine Christians experience severe discipline for defiling the temple.
The Lord preserves His church, but He also removes all who would harm her purity. The temple of God is holy, and He jealously guards it.
Conclusion
1 Corinthians 3:17 provides a sober warning. Believers are God’s sacred temple dwelling individually and collectively. We must be vigilant to avoid divisions or sins that defile the church. Unrepentant immorality and false teaching provoke God’s righteous judgment.
While God may be patient, ultimately He will destroy all who destroy His temple, whether through church discipline, premature death, or eternal damnation. As His living stones, may we treat one another with love and keep the temple of God holy to glorify His name.