Day 12 of 14
The Church as Living Temple
Built together into a dwelling place for God
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and Ephesians 2:19-22. Paul makes an audacious claim: the church — the gathered community of believers — is God's temple, and the Holy Spirit dwells within it.
Reflection
After the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, something remarkable happened. The temple theme did not end — it expanded. Jesus, the true temple, did not leave his people without a dwelling place. Instead, through the Holy Spirit, he made them into the temple.
Paul's words to the Corinthians are direct: "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). The "you" here is plural — Paul is not talking about individual bodies (though he makes that point elsewhere in 6:19). He is talking about the gathered community. When believers come together, they are the temple. God's presence fills the room not because of the architecture, but because of the Spirit dwelling in his people.
Ephesians 2 develops the image further. Believers are "fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord" (2:19-21). The language is architectural — foundation, cornerstone, structure — but the building materials are people. Living stones, as Peter would say (1 Peter 2:5).
Wright insists this is more than metaphor: "Paul's temple language is not mere metaphor. He means that the community of believers, indwelt by the Spirit, actually is the new temple — the place on earth where heaven and earth overlap." When the early church gathered for worship, prayer, and the breaking of bread, they understood themselves to be the sacred space where God's presence was manifested.
Goldsworthy places this in the sweep of biblical theology: "The church as temple is the present phase of God's temple-building programme. What began in Eden and pointed forward through tabernacle and temple now takes the form of a community of people filled with the Spirit." The temple is no longer a building in Jerusalem. It is a living, growing community scattered across the globe.
Going Deeper
If the church is God's temple, then how we treat the community matters enormously. Paul warns: "If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him" (1 Corinthians 3:17). Division, slander, and selfishness within the church are not merely social problems — they are acts of desecration. How does this perspective change the way you engage in community?
Key Quotes
“Paul's temple language is not mere metaphor. He means that the community of believers, indwelt by the Spirit, actually is the new temple — the place on earth where heaven and earth overlap.”
“The church as temple is the present phase of God's temple-building programme. What began in Eden and pointed forward through tabernacle and temple now takes the form of a community of people filled with the Spirit.”
Prayer Focus
Thank the Holy Spirit for making you — and your community — a dwelling place for God. Pray that your church would be a place where people genuinely encounter God's presence.
Meditation
You are a living stone in God's temple. How does that change the way you think about your relationships with other believers?
Question for Discussion
If the gathered church is literally God's temple, then division within the community is a form of temple desecration. How seriously should we take conflict resolution and unity in light of this reality?