We think of idols as those little statues that people made and put in their homes or in their sacred places. Those graven images were icons of something in the heart. The goddess of fertility was an icon for the desire to have children. Another idol was the god of wine and sex, an icon of the desire for pleasure apart from God. The god of power represented the power people wanted for themselves.
Americans are polytheists too. We build our spectacular temples to the icons of money, pleasure, and power.
An idol is someone, something or some desire that becomes more important than God.
The reason that idolatry must not be allowed to infiltrate the church is that we are the temple of the Living God. The better textual evidence reads "we are" (ἐσμεν) instead of "you are" (ἐστε) the temple. The "we" (ἡμεῖς) is emphatic because the pronoun doubles the verb and because it is first in the clause. The "living" (ζῶντος) God stresses the difference between the Christian God and the idols in the pagan temple which the Corinthians frequented for social, economic and business reasons. The idols of the world are dead. The God we worship is alive.
Temple (ναὸς) originally meant a dwelling place or home. However, it came to refer specifically to the dwelling place of a god in the ancient world. More specifically, the word was used for the inner sanctuary of the temple as opposed to the temple complex (τὸ ἱερόν) referring to the collection of buildings that made up the temple at Jerusalem (NIDNTT, 3:781). When Paul writes that we are the temple of the Living God, he is talking about the sanctuary where God resides. He cites Leviticus 26:12 and Ezekiel 37:27 in support. "I will live (ἐνοικήσω), and I will walk about (ἐμπεριπατήσω) among them" (cf. Jer. 31:31; Hughes, 2 Corinthians, 253-254). God does not dwell in a house made of brick and stone. We are the home of God on earth.
When Paul writes that we are the temple of God, is he speaking corporately or individually? Is the temple of God the physical body of an individual believer (1 Cor. 6:19) or the church as a whole (1 Cor. 3:16)? Paul is primarily thinking about the corporate body of Christ, the church as opposed to individual Christians in this verse (Martin, 2 Corinthians, 202; Hughes, 2 Corinthians, 252) for the following reasons. 1) The context is corporate. Paul is writing to the body as a whole - the church - not individual Christians in this chapter. 2) The pronouns are all plural pronouns. Paul writes that "we" (ἡμεῖς) are the temple. God lives and walks among "them" (αὐτοῖς). God will be "their" (αὐτῶν) God and "they" (αὐτοὶ) will be His people. 3) The imagery pictures God living and walking among the people who make up the corporate church. The pronoun can certainly be translated "among" (ἐν) which fits the sense of the passage.
Qumran, in Paul's day, had separated from the temple complex in Jerusalem to establish a spiritual community that worshiped God in purity and in truth. They believed the priesthood had corrupted the temple worship. The community of Qumran was now the true sanctuary of God. Paul reflects this corporate sense when he thinks about the believing community among whom God resides. He lodges in our gathered assembly and walks among the believers who worship Him. We are His sanctuary much like Qumran viewed their community as the sanctuary of God (NIDNTT, 3:783-784). Therefore, we must be separated from the idols of this world if we are to truly be the sanctuary of God in our worship. His presence among us in worship drives away all idols that might compete for our devotion instead of God.
The Old Testament Psalms picture the temple of God not so much as a place of ritual sacrifice and priestly functions but as a place where the presence of God fills the lives of those gathered (NIDNTT, 3:782-783). Believers long for the presence of God in the house of the Lord (Ps. 27:4). Believers cry out to God for help (Ps. 28:2) and worship God in His holy temple (Ps. 138:2). A temple is a place of spiritual comfort (Ps. 65:4) where God responds to our deepest needs (Ps. 18:6) and demonstrates His power to strengthen us (Ps. 29:9). So it is in our corporate worship as the temple of God on earth.
Western Christianity tends to be individualistic and miss the power of corporate worship. Corporate worship is the visible expression of the presence of God on earth. The sanctuary of God is not the building but the people. True worship is infectious as people see the presence of God in our gathered assembly. Our witness is most powerful when it rises out of our corporate worship. Our worship as a community drives our witness for Christ.
The presence of the Living God lodges within us and walks about among us in our gathered worship since we, the church, are the living, breathing house of God.
Temple (ναὸς) originally meant a dwelling place or home. However, it came to refer specifically to the dwelling place of a god in the ancient world. More specifically, the word was used for the inner sanctuary of the temple as opposed to the temple complex (τὸ ἱερόν) referring to the collection of buildings that made up the temple at Jerusalem (NIDNTT, 3:781). When Paul writes that we are the temple of the Living God, he is talking about the sanctuary where God resides. He cites Leviticus 26:12 and Ezekiel 37:27 in support. "I will live (ἐνοικήσω), and I will walk about (ἐμπεριπατήσω) among them" (cf. Jer. 31:31; Hughes, 2 Corinthians, 253-254). God does not dwell in a house made of brick and stone. We are the home of God on earth.
When Paul writes that we are the temple of God, is he speaking corporately or individually? Is the temple of God the physical body of an individual believer (1 Cor. 6:19) or the church as a whole (1 Cor. 3:16)? Paul is primarily thinking about the corporate body of Christ, the church as opposed to individual Christians in this verse (Martin, 2 Corinthians, 202; Hughes, 2 Corinthians, 252) for the following reasons. 1) The context is corporate. Paul is writing to the body as a whole - the church - not individual Christians in this chapter. 2) The pronouns are all plural pronouns. Paul writes that "we" (ἡμεῖς) are the temple. God lives and walks among "them" (αὐτοῖς). God will be "their" (αὐτῶν) God and "they" (αὐτοὶ) will be His people. 3) The imagery pictures God living and walking among the people who make up the corporate church. The pronoun can certainly be translated "among" (ἐν) which fits the sense of the passage.
Qumran, in Paul's day, had separated from the temple complex in Jerusalem to establish a spiritual community that worshiped God in purity and in truth. They believed the priesthood had corrupted the temple worship. The community of Qumran was now the true sanctuary of God. Paul reflects this corporate sense when he thinks about the believing community among whom God resides. He lodges in our gathered assembly and walks among the believers who worship Him. We are His sanctuary much like Qumran viewed their community as the sanctuary of God (NIDNTT, 3:783-784). Therefore, we must be separated from the idols of this world if we are to truly be the sanctuary of God in our worship. His presence among us in worship drives away all idols that might compete for our devotion instead of God.
The Old Testament Psalms picture the temple of God not so much as a place of ritual sacrifice and priestly functions but as a place where the presence of God fills the lives of those gathered (NIDNTT, 3:782-783). Believers long for the presence of God in the house of the Lord (Ps. 27:4). Believers cry out to God for help (Ps. 28:2) and worship God in His holy temple (Ps. 138:2). A temple is a place of spiritual comfort (Ps. 65:4) where God responds to our deepest needs (Ps. 18:6) and demonstrates His power to strengthen us (Ps. 29:9). So it is in our corporate worship as the temple of God on earth.
Western Christianity tends to be individualistic and miss the power of corporate worship. Corporate worship is the visible expression of the presence of God on earth. The sanctuary of God is not the building but the people. True worship is infectious as people see the presence of God in our gathered assembly. Our witness is most powerful when it rises out of our corporate worship. Our worship as a community drives our witness for Christ.
The presence of the Living God lodges within us and walks about among us in our gathered worship since we, the church, are the living, breathing house of God.
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