Chapter 4 · Encounter 11 of 12
You Are His Temple
Prepare
In the story you’ve traced, God’s dwelling moves from the tent to the temple to Christ. Now Paul says something startling: God’s temple is now his people. As you read, notice who Paul says the temple is and what he draws from that truth.
Read Scripture
Open each passage here without leaving this Encounter.
1 Cor. 3:16-17
16Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
1 Cor. 6:19-20
19Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Ephesians 2:19-22
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Ponder
- Paul says God’s Spirit dwells in his people and that they are his temple. What does it mean that the place where God lives is no longer a building but people? How should that shape the way you see yourself and other believers?
- In 1 Corinthians 6:19–20, Paul connects the Spirit’s presence with how we treat our bodies. In Ephesians 2:19–22
1 Cor. 6:19-20
19Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
, he describes believers being built together into a dwelling place for God. What do these passages say about the personal and communal sides of being his temple?Ephesians 2:19-22
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Look Again
In 1 Corinthians 3:16 16Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 1 Cor. 3:16
Then read Ephesians 2:21–22 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.Ephesians 2:21-22
Both are true: God lives in each believer, and he lives among his people together.
How might remembering both change the way you think about your own life, and about your commitment to the church?
Practice
Do one thing today to honor God with your body as a place where his Spirit lives—rest, nourishment, movement, or care you’ve been neglecting.
Then do one thing to build up another believer, as part of the same temple: a message, a prayer, a word of encouragement, or a practical act of help.
Prayer
Thank God for choosing to live in people rather than buildings. Ask him to help you honor him with your body and your life. Pray for the church, that God would build his people together as a place where his presence is known.