The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 128

Ycrs. 16, Ii.-The Chm·ch a temple. It is usual to re()'ard these verses as referrin<> tu the individual Christian, but the Epistle is acldressed "u~to the Church of God which is at Corinth," and we may profitably dwell on some thoughts suggested by the corn- ] ,uison; premising that the peculiarities of ancient temples are well understood. The central building of a structure cal!ed a temple was not a place of meeting or of worship, it "·as the sacred shrine or dwelling-place of the deity. Round this central building \\"Cre grouped the courts in which worship was conducted .. Eastern people are extremely jealous about the sanctity of their temples. 'l'he Christian system transfers the sanctity from the buildings to the body of believers, and even to the individual believer. All the sacredness which Jews felt to $Urround their temple at Jerusalem Christians ought to feel surrounds them and the Church; consequently each Christian should anxiously gusrd the Church, 1est it should be injured by false teachings or defiled by the evil living of any of its me111bers. No donbt St. Paul had chiefly in mind to warn all those teachers who were l:kely so to teach as to split the Church into divisions; for, in his thought, the Church is one great whole, and strife and party feeling are the very thinc?:S that most seriously defile it. I. "THE CHURCH A TEMPLE, WITH AN INDWELLING DEITY, Compare the descent of God, in his symbol of fiery cloud, to take up his abode in Solomon's temple, with the c.lescent of God the Holy Ghost-manifest through symbols of wind, fire, and tongues- to take up his abode in his Church, on the day of Pentecost. Observe how clearly St. Paul apprehended the truth of God's real and permanent presence with his Church, and how strongly he urges the consequent sanctity of the Church. It may be true that God is not seen, but he was not seen in the earlier shrines of tabernacle and temple. He is not therefore unknown or unfelt. Spiritual worshippers realized his presence in the older days; and spiritually quickened men and women feel his nearness r10w. How should we think of ourselves; how of each other; and how of the Church, if it be true that "God d welleth with us, and is in us"? JI, THE IKDWJ-:LLING DEITY UNIFIES AND SANCTIFIES 'l'HE WHOLE TEMPLE PRECINCTS, If he makes that innermost chamber the" holy of holies," because his cloud-symbol, !,is Shechinah-glory, rests there; his presence makes the outer chamber holy, and the cuurts all holy, and the altar and lavers and utensils all holy. And if Christ "dwells i it our hearts," and makes them like the holy of holies, we must realize that he ~auctifies all our being and all our relations; sanctifies mind, affection, will, body, so toat the prophetic figure should be fulfilled, and in the Christian life and Christian Church holiness should be inscribed on the very "bells of the horses." The one anxious endeavour of a Christian life is to get all the "cou,ts" of our body-temple ll'holly sanctified. III. 'l'liE OLD LAWS OF JUDGMEKT ON THE DEFILEMENT OF Goo's TEMPLE APPLY TO THE CHHISTIA~ TEMPLE. Compare Exod. xxviii. 43; Lev. xvi. 2. The word used here, ' defile the :em pie or God," is better read" de~troy," as the opposite of" building up," wl,ich is the Christian te«cher's duty. \Vays in which a man may defile, or destroy, tlw temple of God, \Yhich he i~ himself, or ll"hich the Church is, may l:,e detailed and <lH. m. 1-23.J 'l'HE FIRST EPISTLE 'l'O THE CORINTIIIA~S. 131