The temple of the Holy Spirit

1 Corinthians 6:18–20 (NIV) — 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Have you heard the phrase your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit before? But what does that mean? What does it mean to you that your body is a temple? What might you do differently if you kept that in mind all the time?

There’s a mistranslation here with the NIV. Almost every other English translation says this: “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.” That’s because “your” is plural, “body” is singular, and “temple” is singular. This could be translated as: “all of you together make up one body which is a temple of the Holy Spirit.”

What is the difference between each of us being individual temples of the Holy Spirit or united as one temple of the Holy Spirit? Does that make you view your church differently?

You are not your own; you were bought at a price. If we are not our own, who’s are we? How does it feel to know that God owns you? Does it reassure you and give you security, or do you feel stifled?  Will this make a difference in your life?

In Paul’s discussion about sexual sins (6:12-20), he has used all the members of the trinity. God the Father made the body, raised Christ from the dead and will raise us as well (12-14). We are united with Christ and part of him (15-17). Finally, we are a temple of the Holy Spirit (18-20)