Yes — God will destroy the physical body of a believer who defiles His temple, but the soul and spirit remain saved.
According to 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, the believer's body is the temple of God, and anyone who defiles that temple will be destroyed by God. Les Feldick teaches that this destruction targets the physical body, not the soul and spirit, since the flesh and the soul and spirit are not the same (1 Corinthians 5:5).
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 — This is the passage that directly states the believer is the temple of God and warns that God will destroy anyone who defiles that temple.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 — This verse explains that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and that believers are bought with a price, so they are not their own.
The apostle Paul asks believers, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" He then issues a sober warning: "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are" (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). In the same letter, Paul writes, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Scripture also gives a practical example of what this judgment looks like. In dealing with a man at Corinth who was living in sexual immorality, Paul instructed the church to "deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (1 Corinthians 5:5).
Les Feldick teaches that in this age of grace, every believer becomes the temple and dwelling place of God the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. Just as the Shekinah glory came down into Solomon's temple, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside the believer (Clip 0). He emphasizes that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and because believers have been bought with a price, they are not their own (Clips 2, 6). Les applies this directly to defilement: "So if any man defiles the temple of God, his body, God is going to deal with it... Whatever you do to the body, you're doing to the temple of God" (Clip 1). He clarifies that this destruction is of the physical body, not the eternal soul and spirit. Using the Corinthian case, he points out that the flesh and the soul and spirit are not the same, so Paul was not demanding the destruction of the man's soul and spirit. The man was a believer, but he could be turned over to Satan for the destruction of his physical life (Clip 3). Les further notes that some sin is gross enough to be a "sin unto death," causing God to take that believer out ahead of time if they do not repent (Clip 7).
Les Feldick clarifies that when God destroys the defiled temple, He is dealing with the physical body, not the eternal soul and spirit. He says, "For the temple of God is holy, and that's the kind of a temple that you and I are." In the Corinthian case, Paul instructed the church to deliver the offender "unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh" so that "the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (1 Corinthians 5:5). The flesh is not the same as the soul and spirit.
The church at Corinth included a man who was living with his stepmother in a marital relationship, a sin Les calls "a sin unto death." Paul told the local church to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, if he did not repent and turn around. Les emphasizes that Paul was not demanding the destruction of the man's soul and spirit as a believer; rather, the purpose was that his spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Les Feldick compares the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to the Shekinah glory that filled Solomon's temple. When God saves an individual, He immediately becomes a temple and dwelling place, and the Holy Spirit comes into that person. As Paul writes, "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you?" Because the body is God's temple, whatever a believer does to the body is done to the temple of God. And because believers are bought with a price, they are not their own.
No. Les Feldick is explicit that the destruction is of the flesh only, which is separate from the soul and spirit. The man in Corinth was a believer, or Paul would not address him as such. The deliverance to Satan for the destruction of the flesh was so that the spirit "may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." The soul and spirit are not the object of this judgment.
The Holy Spirit Indwells Every Believer
Les explains that just as the Shekinah glory filled Solomon's temple, the Holy Spirit comes into every believer at salvation, making the believer God's dwelling place.
Defiling the Temple Brings God's Judgment
Les directly applies 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 to believers, saying that if anyone defiles the temple of God — that temple being the believer's body — God will deal with it.
The Body Is the Spirit's Dwelling Place
Les teaches that the body is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and because believers are bought with a price, they are not their own and must not be amalgamated with the world.
Delivering to Satan for Destruction of the Flesh
Les explains that when the Corinthian man was delivered to Satan, it was for the destruction of the flesh only, not his soul and spirit, because the flesh and the soul and spirit are not the same.
Abusing the Blessing Has Consequences
Les warns that if a believer abuses the blessing of being the temple of the Holy Spirit, it will pay its dues, connecting the temple teaching to real physical consequences.
The Corinthian Background of Sexual Immorality
Les uses the temple of Aphrodite in Corinth to show why Paul was so explicit about not taking the members of Christ and joining them to a prostitute.
The Holy Spirit Is a Gift, Not Purchased
Les emphasizes that the Holy Spirit is a gift of God, not something earned or bought, and that the believer's body is the temple of this indwelling Spirit.
The Sin Unto Death
Les teaches that some sins are gross enough to be a 'sin unto death,' causing God to take the believer out ahead of time unless they repent, as with the Corinthian offender.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17: 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.
This is the foundational warning that believers are God's temple and that defiling it brings God's destruction.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20: What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
This passage identifies the body as the Holy Spirit's temple and calls believers to glorify God with that body.
1 Corinthians 5:5: To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
This verse shows that the judgment for defiling the temple targets the flesh, while the spirit remains saved.
1 John 5:16-17: If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
Paul's instruction to the Corinthians is what Les cites to explain that some sin is unto death, meaning God may take the believer out early.
According to Les Feldick, yes — the warning is that God will destroy the physical body of a believer who persistently defiles His temple, but not their soul and spirit. He teaches that the 'destruction of the flesh' is what is in view, with the spirit saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Les Feldick teaches that some sin is gross enough that God will take that believer out ahead of time, as in the Corinthian man living with his stepmother. The flesh is destroyed under Satan's power, but the believer's spirit is saved.
The main biblical example is sexual immorality, because of the temple of Aphrodite in Corinth. But Les says, 'Whatever you do to the body, you're doing to the temple of God,' and he warns that abusing this blessing will 'pay its dues.'
Watch the Teaching: Your Body Is God's Temple — What 1 Corinthians 3 Really Means