Tina and I have been blessed to visit the Perido Key, Florida Coast twice this spring, once as a couple and then with three couples that we have been blessed to know for over thirty years. Each time we were invited to reside in a beautiful, fifth floor condo that overlooks Johnson Beach and the Gulf Shore National Seashore Park. The owner, a friend and brother, invited us to come and stay, to make our selves at home, to enjoy the furnishings, the balcony overlooking the breathtaking views of the sky, cool blue/green water, sandy shores and amazing sunrises and full-moon lit evenings.
We don’t have one dime invested in this condo, but we have been given the gift of dwelling in it, enjoying it, treating it as if it were our home for a time, a season. What a blessing, what a generous gift!
As I reflected on this experience and the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 3 and 6, I began to draw some parallels between the body we have been given to live in and enjoy and being invited to vacation in an earthly dwelling that someone else has purchased and graciously opened to us to dwell in an enjoy.
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1 Corinthians 3:16–17 (ESV): 16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (ESV): 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
- The Condo we are invited to stay in and the body we have been given to live in are both expensive and have been fully paid for by someone other than ourselves.
“…For you were bought with a price.”
The condo we took up residence in alone and with friends and the owner this spring represented a very thought through, planned investment by the owner. He and his wife looked, shopped, considered the location, the floor, the view, access and many other factors before putting down a deposit, entering into a contract, taking out a mortgage and making monthly payments.
The body we dwell in was very carefully planned and designed by our Creator. He was intricately involved in our conception, formation in the womb, birth and development as a child. He designed us, formed us for a purpose. Then when we marred His image through our thoughtless or deliberate sin, he redeemed us, cleansing us from our sin through the precious and pure blood, shed by His beloved Son on the cruel cross of Calvary.
- The Condo we stay in and the Body we dwell in have been specially prepared for our enjoyment and management.
The owners of the Condo we vacationed in twice this spring were very thoughtful and carefully prepared for our visit. They had the beds made with fresh, clean sheets, the floors were swept and mopped, the windows were clean and clear of Ocean salty sea spray for a clear view of the pristine Johnson Beach shores, the Gulf Shore Seacoast Park, and the cool blue bay. They even stocked some enjoyable drink and food items like coffee, water, soft drinks, and condiments to put with meals.
Psalm 139:13–16 (ESV): 3 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
God created us and saved us for a purpose and we can experience joy and fulfillment in our earthly existence. We are created for relationship and mission in the image of God, the Trinity-Father, Son, Holy Spirit. We we dwell in God and He dwells in us we experience fruitfulness of love, joy and peace (Galatians 5:22, 23)
- The Condo we stay in and the Body we dwell in are loaned to us to care for and manage for the owner.
“…You are not your own…So glorify God in your body”
The Condo we stay in has been opened for our enjoyment but also with an understanding that we will take care of it as we use it. We will take our shoes off after walking on the beach to not track in sand. We will wash the dishes and clean the kitchen after using it to prepare our meals and dining at the bar or table. We will clean up our spills and repair or notify the owner if we break or damage anything.
The body we dwell in was given for our enjoyment but also for our management, utilizing it in a way that pleases the Owner. Taking care of it as we recognize how valuable God created us and that His Image is reflected in our care or disfigured through our neglect. “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
- The Condo we stay in and the Body we dwell in should be cleansed and left in better condition than when we first took up residence.
The Condo we stay in should be cleaned and left in a way the owner or another guest could come in and enjoy it just was we were able to enjoy it. So, before we left we swept and mopped the floors, washed the dishes, and stripped, washed and put the sheets back on the bed. Washed our towels, folded and replaced them on the racks and in the cabinets. I’m sure the owner may not have required it, but in our opinion this is the least we could do to show our appreciation and value of their gift of staying in their beautiful beach side condo.
The body we dwell in has been cleansed and purified by the Owner and Savior, Jesus. “Come now let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). Much could be written here regarding the cost, the completeness, the endurance of this cleansing, forgiveness and right standing with our Creator and Savior. Though we are eternally forgiven and justified, we do get dirty as we sin, fall short in our everyday life. While our relationship with the owner is unfazed, our fellowship and enjoyment of the relationship can be severely impacted. Good News! We can be cleansed of daily sin, daily, even moment by moments. “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Some have called this verse, “God’s bar of soap.”
- The Condo we stay in and the Body we dwell in are for joint relationship with the owner.
The Condo we stay in may be visited by the owner during our stay. We have stayed in a few homes or condos through the years and the owner has stopped by for a meal or even to stay a night or so. We have always embraced these opportunities and offered to cook a special meal so they could come and enjoy our relationship over a meal. I have always experienced enhanced enjoyment of the home or condo when the owner is present because they share special features or accessories that I can enjoy for the rest of my stay.
“ Do you knot know that you are God’s temple and the God’s Spirit dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16.
“Or do you knot know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you.” 1 Corinthians 6:19a
The body we dwell in is not for us alone but is actually the dwelling place on earth of the one who created and saved us, specifically the Holy Spirit. Wow! Can you fathom that? The Creator of the world, the universe, all plant, animal and human life, takes up residence in you! That reality brings a great benefit and even greater responsibility. It’s not just that the owner is away and will show up to look at the property, the reality is the Owner is on sight all the time. So what?
So what? Here are a few thoughts for your consideration and reflection as you live in your God-created, purchased, and freely given body and life.
- Realize your value to God. God doesn’t make junk. You are his special creation, you are His masterpiece! Value yourself as much as God values you. Ephesians 2:10
- Remember you are free to dwell and enjoy the body and life God has given you but you are also responsible for how you use it. Give thought to how you care for your self: body, mind, emotions, spirit and soul. Take care of it even better than if you were the creator and owner because God has done far more and will do far more than you could possibly think of or imagine. Ephesians 3:20,21
- Anticipate the coming of the Lord, your Owner and Master, who will examine your life and ask for an accounting. 1 Corinthians 3:13-17 describes a testing of our life’s activities, work, and efforts by fire. That which is worthless, temporal will be burned up, while that which is worthwhile, eternal will be refined and recognized. 2 Corinthians 5, reminds us that the Body we dwell in is a temporary tent that will be destroyed, but that we will take up residence in an eternal, perfect body, like the resurrected body of Jesus 1 John 3:2, worthy to reside in the presence of God. Before entering heaven we will give an account for what we have done in our earthly body, good or evil, worthwhile or worthless, eternal or temporary.
1 John 1:1–3 (ESV): See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
Additional commentary and scriptural references related to 1 Corinthians 3 & 6:
6:19–20. Among those grieved was the Holy Spirit who indwells every Christian (who is in you; cf. 12:13; 1 John 3:24). Also God the Father is grieved, for He seeks honor (Matt. 5:16), not shame, from those who are bought at a price (cf. 1 Cor. 7:23), that price being “the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:19).
David K. Lowery, Bible Knowledge Commentary
6:19 “Do you not know” See note at 5:6.
Bob Utley, Paul’s Letters to a Troubled Church: 1 & 2 Corinthians
© “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit” Christianity replaces the physical temple of the Jews with the spiritual temple of Christ’s physical body (cf. John 2:21) as His corporate body, the church (cf. 10:16, 17; 11:29; 12:12–27). This concept of temple is used in two senses in I Corinthians: (1) in 3:16–17 it is used of the entire local church and (2) here it is used of the individual believer. This expresses the fluid relationship between the corporate and individual aspects.
Paul’s major point in this context is a call to holiness. Believers are to be radically different from the surrounding culture. This has two purposes: (1) it accomplishes the goal of Christlikeness and (2) it attracts people to faith in Christ, which are the twin foci of the Great Commission (cf. Matt. 28:19–20).
© “the Holy Spirit who is in you” This is an emphasis on the indwelling Holy Spirit. The power for the Christian life is a gift of God, just like salvation. We must yield ourselves to the Spirit’s work. All three persons of the Trinity indwell the believer: (1) the Spirit (cf. John 14:16–17; Rom. 8:9, 11; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 2 Tim. 1:14); (2) the Son (cf. Matt. 28:20; John 14:20, 23; 15:4–5; Rom. 8:10; 2 Cor. 13:5; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 3:17; Col. 1:27); (3) the Father (cf. John 14:23; 2 Cor. 6:16).
Believers are God-possessed people. This is volitionally different from demon possession in that the volitional cooperation of the believer is crucial at every stage and level. The demonic destroys the individual’s will, but the sovereign God has chosen to honor the freedom of His human creation. Only in Christian maturity (Christlikeness) does God’s will become the dominate guiding force!
6:20 “you have been bought with a price” This is an AORIST PASSIVE INDICATIVE. This metaphor comes from the slave market (cf. 7:22–23; Rom. 3:24; Gal. 3:13; 4:5). In the OT this was known as the goʾel, a near relative who bought one back from slavery (cf. Lev. 25:25). This is a reference to Christ’s substitutionary, vicarious atonement (cf. Isa. 53; Mark 10:45; 2 Cor. 5:21). When one accepts Christ he relinquishes personal rights to his/her body and takes on the responsibility for the corporate health and vitality of the whole temple, the whole body (cf. 1 Cor. 12:7).
© “glorify God in your body” This is an AORIST ACTIVE IMPERATIVE, an urgent command, not an option. How believers live is crucial for assurance, for peace, for witness!
There are two extremes to avoid in the Christian life: (1) everything is improper; (2) everything is proper. Our bodies are for God, not for self; they are for service, not for sin (cf. Rom. 6). This view of the body is very different from the Greek view of the body as the prison house of the soul. The body is not evil, but it is the battleground of the spiritual life.
There is an additional phrase in NKJV, “and in your spirit, which are God’s,” which is in a few late uncials and in many later minuscule Greek manuscripts. However, the older texts do not have it. It is not in P46, א, A, B, C, D, F, or G.
But he was speaking about the temple of his body. (John 2:21) Romans 14:7–8 (ESV): 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 1 Corinthians 7:23 You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. Philippians 1:20–21 (ESV): 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 2 Corinthians 5:1–10 (ESV): 5 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 2 Corinthians 6:16 (ESV): 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 2 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV): Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
RESTORING HOPE 