Les Feldick Bible Study

What does it mean in 1 Corinthians 3:16 that believers are the temple of God?

Scripture teaches believers are God's temple, the dwelling place of God, because the Spirit of God dwells in them. The body is therefore God's holy temple, and defiling it brings God's dealing. Whatever is done to the body is done to the temple of God.

Les explains that in I Corinthians 3:16 the believer is not merely a building but the dwelling place of God, since the Spirit of God dwells in him. He then points to the next verse: if any man defiles the temple of God—his body—God will deal with it. Because the temple of God is holy, that is the kind of temple believers are. Whatever you do to the body, you are doing to the temple of God.

1 Corinthians 3:16

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

More Questions

How are believers the temple of God in 1 Corinthians 3:16?

Believers are the temple of God, his dwelling place, because the Spirit of God dwells in them.

What does 1 Corinthians 3:16 teach about believers and the Holy Spirit?

Believers are the temple and dwelling place of God because the Spirit of God dwells in them, as 1 Corinthians 3:16 says.