The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 122

Vers. 16, 17.-The New 7'.estament temple. Under the Old Testament, the temple of God ,,;,as a house made with hands, a worldly sanctuary. The New Testament or clispensation reckons the people of God to be his temple, "the habitation of God in the Spirit." At Corinth there were many temples to the gods, but one temple of God . .And the former were of dead stones, however beautiful to tho eye. It is a common sayina "As dead as a stone." But St. Paul, with a fine audacity of thouaht conceived of th~ latter-the temple of God-as formed of living stones, from the Fo~rndation upwards. I. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE. The foundation of the whole Church God himself laid in raising up Christ from the dead. Whom men despised he accepted· whom men slew, he quickened. And this living One is made" the He;dstone of th; corner." A "tried stone," too, thoroughly tested and proved to be sufficient. The ·foundation of the local Church at Corinth, Paul as a. wise master-builder bad laid, i.e. be bad made known Jesus Christ as crucified and risen from the dead, and tauabt the Corinthian converts to rest on him. Eloquent Apollos followed; and, though : party formed itself ur.der his name, saying "I am of A polios," St. Paul never blamed the eloquent preacher for this or showed the least jealousy of his influence. On the con- trary, at the end of the Epistle be promised to the Corinthians another visit from" our brother Apollos. . . . when be shall have convenient time." Any builder was welcome to continue the work and enter into St. Paul's labours, provided that he did not disturb the Foundation which had been laid and could not be improved, and that he took good heed how he built thereon. The duty of builders is first to gather men, even though they be dead stones, to Jesus Christ, that they may live; and then to build them together, or edify them in faith and love. For thi~ the proper means are found in tlw exposition and application of the Word with tenderness, pointedness, comprehensiveness, fearlessness, and fidelity. The power is altogether of God. Paul planted, .Apollos watered; but the Church at Corinth was not their husbandry, but God's. Paul laid the foundation, .Apollos built on it; but the Church was God's building, not theirs. It is so always and everywhere. "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it." IL THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TEMPLE. 1. Holiness. "Holiness becometh thine i1ouse, 0 Lord, for ever." The temple built by Solomon was holy, or separated to s:.cred use; but when its holiness was outraged by the idolatrous images and altars ,11terwards placed within its courts, it still retained beauty, because it was material. But now that the temple is spiritual only, its holiness is its attraction. Corrupt the character, degrade the purity of the Church, and you destroy its beauty too. 'fhe 1,uliness of the Church is produced and maintained by the Holy Ghost a.biding therein. '\Ve have not "influences of the Spirit" as from a distance, but his personal presence. ·when the Lord Jesus stood in the house of God at Jerusalem, he said, "Jn this place is One greater than the temple." For once, the less contained the Greater. Now in every meeting of the saints is One greater than the Church, for the Holy Spirit is there. And it concerns his Divine honour to purify the place of his habitation. It is his high prerogative to consecrate; and the New Testament temple is throughout consecrated, !lot by man, but by the t;pirit of God. And as it is in calling and consecration, so ought it to be in fact and in service-holy to the Lord. 2. Unity. We read not of temples, but of one temple. However men may arrange themselves ecclesiastically, (jod sees but one temple or Church in each city, as of old at Corinth or at Ephesus. Indeed, there is but one temple, one Body of Christ, in all the world. And the unity is not brought about by negotiation or legislation; it is wrought by God. "By one Spirit are we all baptized into one Body." We have nothing to do with making tho unity; but we are to know, feel, and evince it, worshipping together with joy, helping and exhorting each other, working together for the glory of God and good of man, and I ,artaking together of the same bread and the sa~e cup, not as partisan~, but as Cl11i.stians, members of one Body, guided by one Spirit, and cheered hy one hope of en. m. 1-23.J 'l'HE FIHST EPISTLE TO 'l'ilE CORI~THIANS. 125