Day 160 – June 9, 2021
Scriptures: 1 Kings 4-5, 1 Corinthians 6 Solomon is accruing great wealth, all the stones and cedars he will need to build the temple of the Lord. Solomon’s fame and stature in the world is become well known. In our Corinthian reading, Paul points the church to a different temple. This is one is not built by stones and cedar, but by lives that are joined together under Christ. This is in development to the communal idea of being one in Christ as the body of Christ. Paul takes this metaphor on to speak specifically about sin. Paul says of the church, “You were brought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. The temple would be considered God’s dwelling place. Paul changes that dramatically, as he taught “Whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit….Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God.” I’ll take this moment to mention that this verse often is used in regard to personal holiness, because we presume the “you” is calling our individual bodies a temple. The “You” in this instance is not singular but plural. English messes us up. So, we need to go with something more like, “Do y’all not know that y’all’s bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in y’all, whom y’all have received from God. Y’all are not y’all’s own.” (1 Corinthians 6:19) This is a sidebar, one of my favorite websites is https://yallversion.com – for just such occasions, it helps you have a better sense of what “you” is singular and which is plural. To the point now, we are all built together as the temple, under Jesus Christ. It’s not the hyper-individualized spirituality we’ve culturally grown accustomed to. We are together, under the reign of Christ. My conduct effects the whole body. Yours does too. We are intertwined in the love, life and body of Christ. That’s Paul’s concern. Unnoticed and unrepentant sin will destroy and harm the body of believers, the temple of God. Search our hearts God, and lead us in the way everlasting Jordan
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AuthorJordan Ickes, Minister of Etna Green Church of Christ. Archives
December 2022
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