Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Know ye not - It is no new thing I tell you, in calling you "God's building;" ye are the noblest of buildings, "the temple of God."

Ye - Christians form together one vast temple. Not, 'ye are temples,' but "ye are the temple" collectively, and "lively stones" (1 Peter 2:5) individually.

God ... Spirit - God's indwelling, and that of the Holy Spirit, are one; and therefore the Holy Spirit is God. No literal "temple" is recognized in the Christian Church. The only one is the spiritual temple, the whole body of believing worshippers which the Holy Spirit dwells in (1 Corinthians 6:19; John 4:23). The synagogue was the model of the Christian house of worship. The temple was the house of sacrifice, rather than of prayer. Prayers in the temple were silent and individual (Luke 1:10; Luke 18:10), not joint and public, nor with reading of Scripture, as in the synagogue. The temple (since naos (G3485) means, from a root 'to dwell') was the earthly dwelling-place of God, where alone He put His name. The synagogue (i:e., an assembly) was the place for assembling. God now has His earthly temple, not of wood and stone, but the congregation of believers, the 'living stones' in the 'spiritual house.' Believers are all spiritual priests in it. Jesus, our High Priest, has the only literal priesthood (Malachi 1:11; Matthew 18:20; 1 Peter 2:5).

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