Lesson 23: A Holy Temple

Getting Started: if God’s presence is in a place, that place is holy. Jacob understood that, for after his dream of the ladder stretching between heaven and earth (Genesis 28.12-15) he awoke and declared, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (Genesis 28.17). The book of Exodus records two visits of the Lord to Mount Sinai. The first was when the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and when Moses approached to investigate he was warned, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3.5). The second was when Israel arrived at the mountain following the exodus and the people were warned against going up on the mountain or even touching it, lest they be put to death (Exodus 19.12). Wherever the Lord is, that place is holy and must be treated as such!

That fact was to carry over to the place where God would dwell among the people. Thus, He commanded Moses to make Him a “sanctuary,” literally a “sacred place”. (Note: the word for sanctuary, miqdāš, comes from the word for holy, qōdeš). And if God was to dwell among the people, then His sanctuary must be treated as holy and not be profaned, i.e. treated as common (see Leviticus 19.30; 20.1-3; 22.31-33). Alas, Israel repeatedly profaned the sanctuary (Ezekiel 8) and as a result the Lord left His temple… and His people (Ezekiel 10.18-19; 11.22-23).

God’s true temple would not be profaned.

As we have already noted in this study, the Lord promised that there would be a new, glorious temple where He would once again dwell among His people. This temple was shown to Ezekiel in a vision (Ezekiel 40-48), but pay particular attention to what the Lord said in Ezekiel 43.6-12:

1. How had Israel defiled God’s holy name?
2. What would be required for the Lord to “dwell in their midst forever”?
3. Why was Ezekiel instructed to describe the temple? What do you think the Lord was trying to accomplish?
4. What is the law of the temple?

We have already considered how the second temple built in the days of Zerubbabel was not the temple of Ezekiel’s vision. Furthermore, not only had Israel continued to profane the temple (see Matthew 21.12-13), they also rejected the Lord’s true temple (Matthew 21.42). No wonder Jesus decreed that “there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Matthew 24.2). That temple was the Lord’s sanctuary; we are (Ephesians 2.19-22)! And if we are truly a “holy temple in the Lord”, we must treat His temple as holy.

A holy temple.

In his correspondence to the saints in Corinth, Paul frequently used the imagery of the temple. These saints lived in a culture with numerous temples devoted to various gods and they would have been very familiar with the ideas of the ideas of things being sacred/holy or profane/common. However, they had failed to appreciate that since they were God’s temple, they must keep themselves holy. Let’s conclude our study by noting what Paul says about treating God’s temple as sacred and holy.

In 1Corinthians 6 Paul is considering how our physical bodies are temples of God. Everything we have studied up to this point confirms this truth, for not only have we received the promise of His Spirit (Ezekiel 36.25-27; Acts 2.38; Titus 3.5) but we are each a living stone in His temple (1Peter 2.4-5; Ephesians 2.19-22). Unfortunately, it would seem that the Corinthians had perverted some teachings of Paul and/or others to conclude that they were free to do whatever they wish (1Cor. 6.12). God may have lifted regulations on food, but that was certainly not the case with sexual immorality!

1. What reasons does Paul give for why the body is not meant for sexual immorality (1Cor. 6.13-15)?
2. What relationship does Paul use to illustrate how we are joined to the Lord (1Cor. 6.16-17)?
3. How is sexual immorality different from other sins (1Cor. 6.18)? What do you think Paul means?

Paul did not mince words: flee immorality! No toying around, no half measures. Get away! First, the nature of sexual immorality is to sin against one’s body. Given what Paul had already said, it would seem that he is referencing the union we have with the Lord. Since we are “one spirit” with Him, our bodies belong to Him. Many sins affect the body, but fornication takes the body away from the Lord and joins it to another! Second, our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit (note, this would be another way of expressing our becoming “one spirit” with Him, vs. 17). God’s Spirit can only dwell in a holy place, thus we need to keep His dwelling place pure and holy. We must flee sexual immorality. Third, since we are His temple, we do not belong to ourselves, but to Him. And the price He paid for us was great (see 1Peter 1.18-19).

The passage began with a negative, “flee immorality,” but ends with a tremendous positive: “so glorify God in your body.” One cannot engage in sexual immorality and glorify God at the same time. Only when we appreciate our union with Him and use our bodies for His purposes can we glorify Him.

Paul returned to the temple imagery in 2Corinthians 6.14-7.1. The apostle’s concern in this passage was that some in Corinth were no longer his teaching and thus were in danger of receiving “the grace of God in vain” (2Cor. 6.1) and were in need of being “reconciled to God” (2Cor. 5.20). Paul used the temple imagery to urge the saints to properly consider who was influencing them and the effects of that influence.

1. What are the implied consequences of being “unequally yoked with unbelievers” (2Cor. 6.14-16)?
2. What promise is associated with being God’s temple (2Cor. 6.16)?
3. What conduct should God’s promise promote (2Cor. 6.17-7.1)?

Takeaways:

• Morality matters. It would be a serious error if all we ever taught or preached was warning against sexual immorality, homosexuality, drinking, gossiping, etc. and ignored principles of loving others, serving, patience, gentleness, etc. But teaching about moral issues and warning against sinful behavior is absolutely necessary because of the fact that we are God’s temple.
• What you do with your body matters. This isn’t about tattoos and piercings, although I won’t deny that this principle should be considered in those decisions. The simple fact is that what we do with our bodies, how we use them in God’s service, and how we take care of them, matter because our bodies are God’s temple. It may be your body, but it’s God’s temple!
• God continuing to dwell with you depends on… you. The Lord once dwelt among Israel, but when they violated His covenant and profaned His temple, He departed. Having God’s Spirit should bring great assurance (Eph. 1.13-14), but don’t confuse that assurance with an excuse to live how you want. “Once Saved, Always Saved” is the furthest thing from the truth, because we cannot be saved without God’s Presence, and we only have His presence when we continue following His covenant.