Danger: Construction Site (1 Corinthians 3:16–23)

It is a fearful thing to enter the dwelling place of God. Ask Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10). Ask Uzzah (2 Samuel 6). Ask Isaiah (Isaiah 6). Ask Ananias and Sapphira (5). Ask the first new covenant church (Acts 2:42–43). But probably don’t ask many modern-day Christians because, for them, the dwelling place of God, the local church, is merely a good idea rather than a place to experience God’s immanent transcendence. So it was with the church at Corinth. They failed to appreciate the holiness of God and therefore failed to take seriously the holiness of the church. And as Paul says in 3:16, some would pay the price for their irreverence with their lives (11:29–30). The Corinthian church needed the exhortation and the reminder that the local church is God’s people under construction and therefore one should enter into its membership with both delight and discernment. It can be a dangerous to enter what God is committed to building.

In the preceding passage, the weight of responsibility was focused on the leaders of the local church: those building on the foundation of Jesus Christ. We saw that they will give account to the Lord for the gospel integrity of the local church on that day of fiery judgement. What a tragedy if the leaders lose their focus on the message of the cross, preaching another gospel, which is not another (Galatians 1:6–9), resulting in a church that is a fraud, filled with unbelievers. Though the leaders themselves, having believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, may be saved, their failure to preach this gospel results in unregenerate, unbelieving church members condemned eternally. Though saved leaders will survive God’s judgement, an unbelieving congregation will not. That is a sobering, even a terrifying, thought. Church leaders must build with the imperishable gospel rather than with the imperishable wisdom of the world. But from v. 16 Paul turns his attention back to the congregation, reminding them of their sobering responsibility to build up rather than to tear down their local church.

In this passage Paul continues with the theme of the local church being a building of God—God’s “temple” (naos). God was causing the growth in Corinth, building his church, using the means of the likes of Paul, Apollos, Peter, and other leaders in the church (v. 10). The foundation having been laid (v. 11), this dwelling place of God was being built up. And each member had a responsibility to protect as well as to promote what God was building.

The word used here for “temple” refers not to the structure as a whole but rather to the holy place in the temple, the place where God was present among the priests. This is what the local church is, the place where God meets with his priesthood: the believing local church. And all who enter need to beware.

Under God’s command, the holy place under the old covenant had restricted access. Only the priests could enter, and only after sacrifices and cleansing. Without water and blood, there could be no access to worship holy God. That principle has not changed. In fact, a greater price of blood is now required: the blood of God’s own Son (Hebrews 9; 10:19, 29). By the washing of regeneration and the renewing work of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5), sinners are empowered to repent of their sins and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for them in his sacrificial death. This provides confident and assured access to the presence of holy God (Romans 5:1–2). This is the gracious privilege of the local church. And with this privilege comes a great responsibility: to protect this place of privilege.

The gospel-formed, gospel-shaped, gospel-reforming local church is a people under construction. As at a physical construction site, we need to beware, for it can be dangerous work. In a very real sense, when it comes to church membership, no one should enter unless they are wearing the hard hat of the gospel. In our study of this passage we will note three things the Corinthians were to remember, each with a related responsibility.

1. Remember What You Are, and Don’t Destroy It (vv. 16–17)
2. Remember Where You Are, and Don’t Be Deceived by It (vv. 18–20)
3. Remember Whose You Are, and Don’t Diminish It (vv. 21–23)

Remember What You Are, and Don’t Destroy It

In vv. 16–17, Paul urges the Corinthians to remember what they were and, remembering, to not destroy what God was doing in their midst: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

A Pastoral Rebuke

With due respect and empathy, the apostle indicates a growing exasperation with this congregation. Having begun commending them as saints—“holy ones” (1:2)—he has also acknowledged that the Corinthian church is behaving like anything but a church! In fact, in several areas, particularly when it comes to where they are finding their identity, the believers in Corinth were behaving as though they had never heard and believed the gospel. At best, they were behaving like infants in Christ unable to grasp the deep, life-transforming implications of the gospel. Though he assumed they were his brothers and sisters in Christ, they were behaving like mere natural people, those without the Spirit of God. His pastoral exasperation gives some vent here when he writes, “Do you not know?” (v. 16). Paul will use this expression ten times in this epistle. He wanted his readers to wake up, to pay attention, and to remember what they once knew but, through self-centred neglect, had forgotten.

The first thing Paul exhorts them to remember is what they are: “God’s temple,” in whom God’s “Spirit dwells.” This is (or should be) a stunning statement.

A Stunning Reality

The Corinthians, whether Jewish or Gentile, would have been familiar with the various shrines dotting the city where sacrifices were offered (cf. chapter 8). There were shrines to Aphrodite, Dionysus, Poseidon, Asclepius, and Sisyphus. The shrines were considered temporary abodes of these false gods and were considered sacred. When attending a shrine, the worshipper was to be respectful of that place. To lay a hand on it to damage it was to commit a serious transgression, probably resulting in a death penalty. If shrines or temples were considered sacred to a pagan worshipper, how much more should the temple of God be treated with sanctity by his worshippers? But Paul is not considering here a mere physical building when he speaks of God’s temple; he is referring to God’s new covenant garden-temple of the local church.

A Jewish a convert would be particularly stunned by the identification of the local church as God’s holy temple. After all, Solomon’s temple—and then Herod’s temple—loomed large in their religious psyche. To an instructed believer, the old covenant temple held deep reverence, for it was the place where God met with his people. But since the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, that temple, that dwelling place of God, is now the Body of Christ (John 2:18–22). Paul had obviously instructed the Corinthian church concerning this new reality, but they were now living as though they had forgotten it. Paul confronts their ignorance reminding them of this remarkable reality.

Again, the context of chapter 3 needs to be kept in mind. Paul was presumably addressing people indwelt by the Spirit of God but who were living far below that reality. They were not keeping in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).

Corporate, Not Individual

In chapter 6, Paul will remind his readers that, as individuals, they are indwelt by the Spirit of God, but here he speaks in corporate, congregational terms. They—the church of God at Corinth—are God’s temple in Corinth (see Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Peter 2:4–5, where Jesus is also said to be the foundation stone). Thiselton observes, “All three metaphors (of field, building, and shrine) project a communal vision of the church that discourages individualism.” In fact, individualism is destructive to the people of God.

In short, Paul is reminding the congregation of their immense privilege to be God’s dwelling place. He is reminding them of this awesome (in the full sense of that word) reality that God is amongst them, and therefore of the value of the local church.

Having just spoken about the fiery judgement that leaders will face concerning their stewardship of the gospel, and its effect on the local church (vv. 10–15), Paul drives home how seriously he takes this responsibility as he reminds them of their value before God as his people, as his dwelling place. After all, “to call the church ‘holy’ (cf. 1:2) is a way of underscoring its value to God” (Rosner and Ciampa).

Paul wants them to share the same esteem for the local church. Do we? Do we appreciate the stunning grace of God in causing us to be a stone in his building, in his temple? When we fail to esteem the church as God’s dwelling place then the wisdom of the world will influence church life. This is where Paul is heading.

A Sobering Responsibility

Continuing with the reminder of what they are—“and you are that temple”—Paul issues a sobering warning, implying a great responsibility to beware of how one treats God’s temple. Specifically, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him.” As to how this might be done, Paul will address in what follows, but let this warning sink in.

I have recently been reading through Jeremiah, a prophecy that has much to do with the destruction of the temple under the orders of Nebuchadnezzar. God ordained this judgement and yet those who carried it out were held responsible for their evil intentions. Throughout the prophecy, promises of the destruction of Babylon are recorded, but it all comes to a head in chapter 51. For 64 verses, God pronounces severe judgement upon that pagan nation (through the means of the kingdom of the Medes) for her desecration and destruction of God’s dwelling place with this people. The prophecy was fulfilled down to the very detail.

When Paul wrote this epistle, the Roman army would, in a decade, attack Jerusalem, culminating in the desecration and destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. God would eventually destroy that empire. We should fully expect that this promise of 1 Corinthians 3:17 will also come to pass to those who defile, destroy, and spoil the temple of the God, the dwelling place of God’s Spirit, the local church.

Remembering that Paul is dealing with a biblical view of Christian leadership in the church, we must first apply this to those who lead the church, but the obvious shift of emphasis in the passage makes it clear that Paul is warning the entire congregation. That is, each member of the local church is to consider how they treat the church and its one foundation, Jesus Christ her Lord.

Contextually, Paul is warning, as we will see, against worldly wisdom. But the point needs to be emphasised that it is a serious offence, which God takes personally, when people mess with what he is building. As the sign so often reads, “Danger: Construction Site. Do Not Enter.”

Of course, that is not an absolute statement. At a construction site, those who are authorised and have been prepared do enter the construction site. Engineers, workers, foremen, and health and safety officials must, necessarily, enter the construction site. The point is that important and dangerous work is taking place and so one must take great caution before entering. Failure to do so may result in personal injury, if not damage to what is taking place. So it is with the construction of the local church.

Only those who are authorised to enter are to do so. I don’t mean the church building; I mean the church membership. Only those who are appropriately donned in the apparel of the gospel and who are protected from the wrath of God with the hard hat of the gospel are to be admitted.

Michael Lawrence helpfully writes, “When we admit someone to the church who gives little or no evidence of being regenerate, or when we allow someone to continue as a member despite persistent unrepentant sin, we blur the line between the world and the church, and dim our display of God’s glory.”

We are told that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31). You can’t come much closer to the hands of God—apart from death—than being a stone in God’s temple in which he dwells by his Spirit. When you harm God’s people, you are sticking your finger in God’s eye (see Zechariah 2:8–9). Not a smart move.

I don’t pretend to know all that this warning implies as far as its details. But we should all take this very seriously. If you spoil God’s church, prepare yourself to be spoiled by God. If you defile God’s church, be prepared to be defiled by God. God’s principle of justice stands: an eye for an eye. Be careful before you enter.

Remember Where You Are, and Don’t Be Deceived by It

In vv. 18–20, Paul urges the Corinthians to remember where they were, and not to be deceived by the spirit of the world in which they lived. He writes, “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness,’ and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.’”

Remembering what we are—the dwelling place of God through his indwelling Spirit—is essential if the church of God will be well-stewarded and built up in the most holy faith. But we need to be aware that where we are can assault what we are. Paul tells us, in vv. 18–20, about the danger of deception, and that, if we are not careful, we will be deceived into destroying/defiling the temple of God, the local church. In the words of the Socratic principle, “Admit how little you know in order that you may begin to learn.”

Since chapter 1, Paul has warned the Corinthians of the corrupting influence of their surrounding culture for, sadly, the church had imbibed deeply at its individualistic, immoral, and idolatrous wells. This wisdom of the age was defiling the church through unwise members. Paul here jarringly—again—exhorts them to reject the wisdom of where they are and rather to be wise about what they are. They no longer belong to this “age” for they have been born again by the Spirit of God. Yet where they are is, obviously, still a temptation. They are to beware.

These verses are clearly connected to what Paul has just said (vv. 16–17) because he quotes two verses that speak to God’s contemptuous rejection and destruction of that which opposes him and his work.

The first quotation is from Job 5:13 (the only direct quotation from Job in the New Testament). Eliphaz was the speaker, and though Eliphaz generally did not speak rightly about God (Job 42:7), nevertheless in this verse he was accurate in saying that God actively turns against those who seek to craftily oppose him and his ways. As Schreiner summarises, “Paul is not merely saying that God considers the ‘wisdom of this world’ to be foolish; he argues that actually God makes the world’s wisdom foolish…The point of the citation [Job] is that, according to the designs of the Lord, the intelligence of the wicked proves to be their undoing.” Those who bring the wisdom of the world into the church will be undone by the Lord.

Each member shares in the responsibility of the health and soundness of the local church. Therefore, each of us must be alert to where we are—to the cultural influences that so subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) heat up the water in which we live. Failure to do so can lead to unbiblical behaviour and unbiblical mindsets concerning life in the church. Jackman helpfully comments, “The reference may be to the church’s inability to function any longer as a viable alternative to the pagan culture of Corinth, if it was so infected by Corinthian thinking and ways.” But if we are aware of what we are, then we will realise that “The church … is God’s demonstration, in time, of the transforming power of the cross and the resurrection” and hence will be alert to where we are.

For example, think of James and John, who wanted to call down flaming judgement upon those who disagreed with them. Or consider Peter’s initial rejection of a cross-carrying Christianity (Matthew 16:22–24), or think of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), or Peter’s prejudice (Galatians 2), or the status-sensitive of James 2. Examples of mistreating the church by imbibing worldly thinking abound today. Too many pastors treat the church as if they are the CEO of a corporation. Worldly marketing methods are employed by too many seeker-sensitive churches as if the church is nothing different. Too many turn the church into a political institution, or treat church membership like worldly individualists. Too many openly affirm what God clearly rejects. The apostle admonishes the Corinthian church members and, by extension, us to guard against such deceptive, foolish, and ultimately destructive thinking and rather to embrace God’s wisdom.

Brothers and sisters, we are called to be what we are where we are, which means we must be aware of wherewe are. Don’t underestimate the cultural influences (and influencers) that surround us: social media; entertainment media; the ethos of the workplace; the ethos of educational institutions; etc.

Remember Whose You Are, and Don’t Diminish It

Paul next, in vv. 21–23, exhorts the Corinthians to remember whose they were, and not to diminish that great privilege: “So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”

Reminiscent of previous passages, Paul again warns the Corinthians against the danger of deifying their leaders and favoured preachers or pastors (cf. 1:12–15; 3:4). Though he continues for another 21 verses on this theme (4:1–21), here he summarises all he has said, exhorting, “So let no one boast in men,” including but not limited to Paul or Apollos or Cephas (Peter).

Paul seeks to show them how they impoverish themselves when they build their identity around personalities for, in fact, “all things are yours” (v. 21) and, again, “all are yours” (v. 22). Ultimately, “you are Christ’s” (23). Paul was reminding the Corinthian church to whom they ultimately belonged. He was reminding them of their almost unfathomable privilege of whose they were—God’s, in Christ! He wanted them to not only remember this but to never diminish all this should mean to them. They were to never disregard, never to devalue, never to depreciate this incredible privilege.

Of course, this is precisely what they had done by their personality cliques and cults. Again, as we have seen time and again, Paul was pointing the Corinthian church to their identity in Christ rather than in mere people—regardless of how wonderful those people might be.

The Corinthians had foolishly seen themselves as belonging to a certain leader when, in fact, these leaders all belonged to them. The Lord God had given these men to help the church to be constructed into God’s temple and yet the Corinthians were foolishly not utilising all that was theirs. But worse, while boasting that they belonged to a particular Christian leader, they most foolishly neglected their immense privilege of belonging to Christ, who belongs to God! In other words, they needed to remember whose they were—and they weren’t Paul’s, Apollos’s, or Peter’s. They were Christ’s alone.

The Real Hero

Fundamentally, it appears that the Corinthian church suffered from what so many Christians have throughout history: They stopped being impressed with Jesus and were therefore less than impacted by the gospel, so that they became overly impressed with people. As we saw previously, they lost sight of the real hero of the story.

The phrase “whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours” may be confusing. It appears to be a confusion of categories. What is Paul getting at?

The first part of the sentence is easy to grasp: “You are rather foolish, locking yourself into little camps of favouritism around the gifted leaders God has provided your church. After all, each of these is God’s gift to you.” In fact, rather than you belonging to them, they belong to you as God’s good gifts. Therefore, appreciate what each contributes to your construction, whether the eloquence of Apollos, the intelligence of Paul, or perhaps the earthiness of Peter along with his personal experience as a disciple of the Lord Jesus. Each makes a unique contribution to the welfare of your temple, so don’t disregard or depreciate what each contributes.” The same holds true as we consider our construction site.

For example, consider how this applies to our own eldership at BBC. There is a diversity of age, giftedness, personalities, etc. It would be foolish to have factions around individual elders when the Lord has provided the wider eldership for the benefit of the entire congregation. Though a member may have a closer relationship with some elders more than with others, nevertheless all the elders can help all the congregation. The same is true with what we might call our theological heritage.

Rather than saying, “I am of Calvin,” or “I am of Wesley,” or “I am of Sproul,” or “I am of Keller,” it is far better to say, “Though I am closer theologically to So-and-So, yet I appreciate how the Lord has used all of these men for the hallowing of his name and for the furtherance of his kingdom.” In other words, rather than embracing theological tribalism, praise God for the contributions of all orthodox tribes.

Thus far, Paul’s point is easy to grasp. However, what does he mean by the categories of “the world or life or death or the present or the future”? Gordon Fee rightly labels these as “the tyrannies of existence.” On the surface, it seems strange to include these “tyrannies” as a blessed inheritance! For example, “the world” refers to the opposition of a godless system in a fallen creation, which is opposed to the church. “Life” includes the daily burdens and challenges of our existence and “death” of course remains our enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26). “The present” includes all the above, and “the future,” at least on earth, will include the same. Until Jesus returns to set everything right once and for all, the Christian will continue to live with the pressures of the world, life, death, the present and a somewhat uncertain future. So how is this a blessing? Well, read the rest of the passage: “And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s” (v. 23). Paul is pointing this church to its complete security, not in mere men but rather in their sovereign Saviour, who is God in Christ.

Paul is reminding the readers that all of these things, which can cause so much insecurity to the inhabitants of this planet, are under the control of their sovereign Saviour, in whom they are in union, and that their sovereign Saviour is in union with the Sovereign God. Again, they needed the reminder of whose they are and therefore how they should live. As those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified for them (2:2), they had all they needed to face the uncertainties and ups and downs of life. In other words, they were not merely human (3:1–4) but rather would reign with their risen King. As Schreiner summarises, “The Corinthians failed to see all that God had for them in Christ. They were already reigning with Christ in the sense that everything in life was for their benefit.” Carson as well notes this truth, “If we truly belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God, then we belong to God. And what a God! He is sovereign over these petty tyrannies; he has shown his great love to his people; he has paid for their redemption at the cost of the death of his dear Son.”

This reminds us of another listing of some similar things as found in Romans 8:37–39. I think Paul has the same truth in mind here. He is saying that the Christian belongs to God, is secure in God, and therefore their deepest devotion and loyalty is to be to him. The Corinthians—and you and I—need this reminder—repeatedly.

We are foolish to seek our identity and therefore our security in anyone or in anything other than the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, no other person shed their sinless blood and gave their unblemished life for us. No other person or thing can guarantee our reconciliation with God. Nothing else nor no one else can provide us with soul-security throughout eternity.

Knowing who we are and whose we are is a great protector against living in such a way that would threaten to defile or deceive the people of God. If each believing church member daily remembered whose we are, we would appreciate the eternal privilege of being what we are and we would live this out where(ever) we are. As Ellsworth notes, “What a privilege it is to be a child of God! And how little we understand about this privilege!”

After contemplating this passage, I trust we understand more about this privilege and therefore that from now on we will take care as we engage with this construction site. After all, it is a fearful thing to come into the presence of God. It is also a wonderful thing. So while we should consider the dangers, this should move us to be dressed in the gospel of God and enter.

AMEN