Building up the Temple of God

Articles

Shane Millard
05/01/24 - Monthly Article

What’s easier to accomplish? To build something up or to tear something down? This week we recently purchased a house and I have been helping out with some of the remodeling work before we move in. One point that became crystal clear to me is how quickly something can be destroyed and in contrast, how long it takes to build something up. What may take months or even years to build can be destroyed in a matter of days or even minutes.

Keeping this principle in mind, I want us to think about our theme for this year. We have been focusing on our identity of being the temple of God from 1 Corinthians 3:16-17. Paul uses this same construction illustration earlier in chapter three. He says in verse 9 that the church is God’s building - a reference likely to the temple. According to the grace of God given to him, like a skilled master builder, he laid the foundation; but others are building on the foundation that he has laid. This likely refers to Apollos, but it would include anyone that is participating in trying to build up the church. But notice, what he says in verse 10 “Let each one take care how he builds upon it.” Every one of us has a charge to build up the temple of God. But we must be careful how we go about that process. Paul goes on to add about the various materials that are used and that there will be a day when the work is examined by fire. Ultimately, we must decide how we will build, what we will build with, and understand that the Lord will test that work when he returns.

Now, if that sounds like an involved process - it is. Just like any construction project, it takes a while to plan, gather materials, and there must be special care put into the actual work that is being done. This is an important metaphor for us all. All of us are part of God’s construction team that he has charged with the building up of his church.

However, Paul adds that there are some people that may destroy the church. In verse 17 he says “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” Just as we opened with the illustration, there is a choice put before us of building up the temple of God or tearing it down. There are some people whose actions are not building up the church, but they are tearing it down. Like in a construction project, it is much, much easier to tear something down than it is to build it up. What may take years for a church to build up and accomplish regarding membership, teaching, encouragement, and more, can be dashed in a matter of moments when a person is set on destroying a local church.

Paul had worked hard with the church at Corinth, and there were certain people that were set on destroying the temple in Corinth. Through their pride, division, sexual immorality, suing one another, eating in idols temples, disorderly worship, and false teaching, they were systematically destroying the church and trying to tear up the foundation Paul had laid down. The same thing can happen today. How many churches have been destroying by sexual immorality, pride, division, uncaring relationships, disorderly worship, false teaching and more? How did it happen? It happened by individual decisions where people were led away by the devil and their own desires. Now, how does God feel about that? Paul says God will destroy people who do that kind of thing. Is that you? Is that me? Are we building up or are we tearing down the church?

But, for all the negative things that were tearing down the church, Paul specifies a number of things that speak to the goal of everything we do to build up the temple of God, including the specifics of how we accomplish that work (1 Corinthians 8:1, 10:23, 14:4, 12, 26). To summarize, here is how we build up the church: First, it is by love. Love considers others. Love sacrifices for others. Love doesn’t insist on its rights. Love is patient with others. Love is the core value needed in any construction project or relationship for the work to be done well and to be done right. Second, it is by leveraging our gifts. The sections in 1 Corinthians 14 center around their abilities with spiritual gifts and how they can use all of those gifts wisely to build up the temple of God. This is done primarily through teaching - in speaking languages, prophesying (teaching), singing, and more. This is how God wants us to build up the church and all of us can participate in that. So, will you build up the temple of God for his glory and our good?