1 Corinthians 3:16

Know ye not that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it is written, "He takes the wise in their own craftiness." And again, the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore, let no man glory in men, for all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God.

Let a man so account of us as the ministers of Christ and as the stewards of the mysteries of God. Father, as we look into your word, we thank you that you are present here with us today. As we read here that we are the temple of God, and Jesus, you said that wherever two or more are gathered in your name, there you are in their midst. We ask that you, by your abiding Holy Spirit, by your presence today, would speak to us.

Lord, as we have ministered to you in worship, we pray that you would minister to us by your Spirit through your word, that you would give us application and understanding, and God, that we would be transformed by the renewing of our minds today. For we ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed together, saying, "Amen." You can be seated.

Eleven times in the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul poses a rhetorical question, as he does here at verse 16, saying, "Know ye not?" Eleven different times he uses those words, "Know ye not?" or "Do you not know?" The clear implication is that these were things that the church at Corinth ought to have known.

Whether Paul considered them to be self-evident truths or merely foundational truths in Christianity, these truths are very important. This is the first of those eleven statements or questions. As Paul says, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God?" The church, whether individually as individual believers or corporately as the body of Christ, is described as the dwelling place of God.

In 1 Corinthians 5, verse 6, Paul states, "Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" This speaks to the fact that hidden sin hinders the church, and that secret and personal sin is more dangerous than we often realize. He goes on in chapter 6 and poses that same question a number of times. In verse 2, he says, "Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world?" The authority that we have been given in Christ is both powerful and important. We have a position in Christ that far exceeds our understanding, because in the very next verse, in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 3, he says, "Do you not know that we shall judge angels?" The authority and position that we have been given in Christ is far greater than we realize.

In verse 9 of 1 Corinthians 6, Paul asks, "Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?" He then goes on to describe the different characteristics of those who are unrighteous. He warns, "Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God." Here, Paul reveals that the consequences of unrepentant sin are both severe and eternal.

He continues in verse 15 of the same chapter, stating, "Do you not know that your bodies are the members of Christ?" The Christian is not simply a follower of Christ but is actually connected to Christ. We have become one with Christ, as Jesus prayed to the Father in John chapter 17, that we would be one as He and the Father are one. Therefore, he says, "Know you not that your bodies are members of Christ?" In the very next verse, verse 16, he asks, "What? Do you not know that that which is joined to a harlot is one body?" Physical interactions have spiritual implications. In this world,

The physical connections that we make have spiritual implications. Going down to verse 19 of chapter 6, He says, "What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?"

We see here in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16, that the Spirit of God inhabits the body of Christ, the church as a whole. However, in chapter 6, verse 19, we learn that the Spirit of God also inhabits the individual believer. This raises a question that may come across as rather odd: Are you possessed by the Spirit of God? You can consider that question in two contexts. First, is the Spirit of God indwelling you? Secondly, as we see at the end of verse 19 of chapter 6, where it says, "Which you have of God and you are not your own," do you recognize that you are possessed of the Spirit of God in the sense that you are His possession?

Paul asks, "Do you not know?" It is important for us to consider the realities presented in these truths and the questions that Paul poses, because it is clear that he expected the church at Corinth to know the answers. In fact, those two questions in chapter 6, verses 16 and 19, start with the inquiry, "What? Don't you know these things?" The temple of God—do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit dwells in you?

The Jewish people in the audience that Paul wrote to held the temple in Jerusalem in high reverence. Wherever they were in the known world at that time, if they were Jewish, they would pray at the appointed times each day, always facing Jerusalem, toward the temple. As of 70 A.D., the temple no longer remains; there is just the mount or the foundation upon which the temple was built. Yet, even today, over 1,900 years later, Jews pray towards Jerusalem, looking towards the temple, which they hold in very high regard.

Not only the Jewish people in the audience, but also the pagans gathered there, honored and esteemed temples. The ancient Greco-Roman world was known for its great temples, and the city of Corinth was one of those cities.

That had great temples on what's called the Acro-Corinth, which was the city above the city on a mountaintop there. These people understood the idea of a temple. Temples of old were built in a fashion that required considerable investment of time and treasure. The largest and most enduring structures of the ancient world were always temples. Even to this day, if you visit the ruins of the Roman Empire or the Greek Empire, you are typically looking at a temple. If you go to the Mayan culture or the Incan culture, you are also looking at temples. All these most enduring and large structures were temples.

Man has this focus on an earthly temple. The Tower of Babel essentially was a temple, and there is a desire even to have a temple. Even today, the Jewish people are looking forward to the rebuilding of a temple. Paul says to the church that we do not have an earthly building that we call a temple. Jesus expressed the very same idea when he talked to the woman at the well in John chapter 4. She asked him a question, saying, "You Jews worship in Jerusalem. We worship here in Samaria on Mount Gerizim. Who's right?" Jesus replied, "I tell you that there is a time coming, which now is, that those who worship God will worship Him in spirit and in truth, not on some mountain somewhere."

The reality that Jesus is expressing is that the worship of God, the connection with God, and the fellowship with God is not confined to one specific place at one specific time. Although in times past, before Jesus came, that was the way it was to be. Now, God, by His Spirit, can be worshipped by individual believers in their own rooms secretly or by the corporate body gathered together wherever they may be. This building has no significance to that worship. It provides an opportunity to worship together in a climate-controlled place, away from the weather, but other than that, it is nothing.

We, the body of Christ corporately, are the temple of God, as stated in 1 Corinthians 3:16. Why was this important to the church at Corinth? They were being a poor representation of God's temple in the city of Corinth. As we have already seen previously in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, they had allowed certain carnality to infiltrate the church. One such carnality that Paul observed was that they were filled with divisions.

Sedition and factions arose among the groups, with some saying, "I am of Paul," "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or Peter. They were identifying themselves according to the personalities of the pastors that God had given them in their church. These divisions were not a good representation of Christ, and Paul even asked the question, "Is Christ divided?" We are to be one body, even though we are many members.

Paul tells them that they are the temple of God. He goes a step further and states that the Holy Spirit dwells within them. In 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 19, he emphasizes that they are the temple of the Holy Spirit. There is an interesting difference between chapter 3, verse 16, and chapter 6, verse 19. In chapter 3, verse 16, it refers to the temple of God, while in chapter 6, verse 19, it refers to the temple of the Holy Spirit. This establishes for us the deity of the Holy Spirit, affirming that He is not merely an active force.

There are those within certain corners of the church, especially among the cults, who claim that the Holy Spirit is not a person but just a force, similar to the concept of "the Force" in Star Wars. However, that is not what the Scriptures reveal. The Spirit of God is a person who dwells in us, the person of God, one God dwelling in three persons. He possesses intellect, will, and emotion. When we gather together corporately, God is present. When we seek the Lord in private, God is there as well. He dwells in us.

Just as Jesus told His disciples while preparing them for His departure, He said in John chapter 14 that the Spirit of God is with them but shall be in them. On the day that Jesus rose from the dead, He met His disciples in the upper room, breathed on them, and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit." They then had the indwelling presence of God's Spirit, and now they are the temple of God.

The temple in Jerusalem is no longer necessary. In fact, when Jesus said, "It is finished" on the cross, not only was the payment for sin completed, but the temple in Jerusalem was also finished. The veil was torn from top to bottom, revealing that God's presence was no longer there. As a bold statement of the unnecessity of that temple, it was destroyed some 40 years later. It is no longer there, and had it not been destroyed, Titus, the Roman general, would have taken Jerusalem.

He would have taken the temple and given it as a gift to Caesar, resulting in pagan worship in the temple in Jerusalem. Therefore, God made provision for its destruction. However, God's temple remains because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

We need to recognize that when Paul calls the church the temple, he is not using mere word pictures. The temple that was in Jerusalem was the picture; that was the symbol. This is the reality: the body of Christ is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

The problem at Corinth was that they had the wrong focus in the building of the temple. As we have already considered, we have spent quite a bit of time in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Paul has talked about the wise master builder laying the foundation, which is Jesus Christ, and then establishing upon that foundation the temple of God, the body of Christ, where we are all being knit together as living stones in that temple.

Now, Paul says that you at Corinth are very near guilty of completing that temple in a wrong fashion. You are building it in the wrong way. The prophet Haggai speaks to this as well. In Haggai chapter 1, verses 3 and 4, God spoke to His people through the prophet Haggai after they had come out of their captivity in Babylon. The city of Jerusalem lay in waste, and the temple was not rebuilt, although it was God's desire that they would rebuild it. Instead, they were all focused on building their own houses.

God, through the prophet Haggai, asks, "Is it time for you to dwell in your paneled houses while the house of the Lord lays in waste?" The people in Jerusalem had the wrong focus, and God had to challenge and rebuke them through the prophet Haggai, just as Paul was being used by the Lord to challenge and rebuke the people in Corinth.

Is our focus in building the temple that God has called us to be in the body of Christ right or wrong? Are we focused on temporal things or eternal? If our focus is on temporal things, it is interesting how the temporal always seems to be fleeting and going away.

Again, in Haggai chapter 1, right after he says that they are so focused on building their own houses while leaving the Lord's house in waste, he tells them in verse 6, "Now therefore, thus says the Lord, consider your ways. You have sown much, but you bring in little. You eat, but you have not enough. You drink, but you are not filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but none of you is warm."

A person who is focused on building their own life, their own temple, and their own kingdom will never have enough to fulfill their desires. This is reflected in our nation today, which serves as a perfect picture of what we see in Haggai chapter 1, verse 6. It is as if the people in our nation are so focused on building their own lives that they earn wages only to put them into a bag with holes. Have you not heard people talk like that? Sadly, this kind of mindset also infiltrates the church, where our focus becomes purely temporal and not eternal.

What was Jesus' exhortation to His disciples regarding these matters? In Matthew chapter 6, verse 33, He says, "But you, seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you." What things is He talking about? Earlier in Matthew chapter 6, He instructs us not to worry about what we will wear, what we will eat, or where we will sleep. After all, these are the things that the Gentiles, the non-believers, seek. But we are to seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be taken care of.

The people in Haggai's time were so focused on their immediate needs—what they would eat, what they would wear, and where they would sleep—that they never had enough to satisfy their desires. Meanwhile, God's temple lay in waste. God says, "Listen, your focus, your orientation is wrong. Realign your focus, and things will come into line." This same issue was present in Corinth and may be reflected in our church, both corporately as a nation and in individual believers.

What is your focus today? Is it on your own life? Jesus said, "He who seeks to save his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." Paul reminds us that the Spirit of God dwells in us; we are the temple of God. Calvin renders this as, "You are the temple of God because the Spirit of God dwells in you."

Before 70 AD, the temple in Jerusalem was the dwelling place of God’s Spirit. After Jesus died on the cross, and particularly in Matthew chapter 23, when Jesus left the temple complex, the Spirit of God was no longer there. The tearing of the veil in the temple was meant to reveal to the people that God's presence no longer abode there. Now, He says, "You are the temple of God because His Spirit dwells in you." Whether we fully recognize this truth or not, the fact remains that because we are Christians, we embody this divine presence.

Because we are the temple of God and His Spirit dwells in us, that means where we go, He goes. What we see, He sees. What we hear, He hears. What we think, He knows. That's a sobering thought. In those times when we think we're alone, we're not. God is there with us, dwelling in us, and we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, the temple of God.

I love the way that Pastor Richard has illustrated this fact in the past. I think it's the best illustration. Having that constant recognition of the abiding presence of God is like imagining a 15-year-old boy sitting on the couch with a 15-year-old girl. They're getting a little frisky and doing things they probably shouldn't be doing at her house. Everything seems to be just fine until Dad's lights go across the windows, and then there's instant holiness. There's a recognition of the presence of the Father.

If we would carry with us that constant recognition of the presence of God's Spirit, it would drastically change the way we live, the way we think, and the things we do and say. Paul wants to remind this church that it had gotten off course. You are the temple of God. He dwells in you.

Now, it's customary in our day and in our culture that many in America, in this new-agey culture we live in, say that everyone has the Spirit of God. They claim the Spirit of God is everywhere and that He is everything. Some people say that others just haven't been enlightened enough to realize it yet, but the Spirit of God is indeed everywhere. We have to wonder, how do we respond? Does the assertion of our culture line up with what the Scriptures say? Simply put, no, it doesn't.

In Romans chapter 8, Paul says in verse 9, "But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, church. If so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you." If the Spirit of God dwells in you, you don't walk in the flesh; you walk in the Spirit. Now, if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not God's possession; he is none of His.

So Paul says that if you're a believer in Christ, basically, if we're reading this in the inverse, if you're a believer in Christ, you have the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in you. If you're not a believer in Christ, you do not have the Spirit. This is the same thing Jesus said in John chapter 14 as He was telling His disciples about His departure. He said, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, another Helper, that He may abide with you forever."

Even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, is a crucial aspect of our understanding. We also saw this previously in 1 Corinthians, chapter 2. There, in verse 14, Paul said, "But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned." The natural man, that is, the person who is not born again by the Spirit of God, does not have the Spirit and does not understand spiritual things. Therefore, the assertion of our culture is wrong. Only the church of God is the temple of God and has the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

The question is, is this reality being worked out in our lives, both individually and corporately as the body of Christ? Is it being manifested in our lives? Do we have the witness of the Spirit within? In Romans, chapter 8, verse 16, Paul states that His Spirit will bear witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Do we have the internal witness of the Holy Spirit in our lives, bearing witness with our spirit that we are indeed the children of God?

Secondly, is there an external witness? Galatians, chapter 5, verses 22 and 23, speak of the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, long-suffering, meekness, and temperance. Against such, there is no law. Paul provides a list of visible evidences that ought to be present in the life of the believer because that is the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. So, do we have the internal evidence? Do we have the external evidence of God's Holy Spirit?

So much so that when people come into contact with us individually, or when they gather with the body of Christ, do they recognize and say, "God is here"? This recognition should not depend on external appearances. People come into this room, and it is not exactly the most holy room in the eyes of man. I have been in some pretty spectacular churches, but this is just a steel building with stucco and some high windows.

A number of years ago, I was with some friends in Rome, and we visited St. Peter's Basilica. When you enter that place, if you have ever been there, you know it has an air of holiness. The smell of incense and the quietest whisper seem to reverberate through the space. There is this idea that that place is holy.

And so, everything in there must be holy because it is holy. Not so. The temple does not make those who come to it holy; rather, that which is in the temple makes it a holy place. I remember when we went to St. Peter's. As we were walking up to go in, they stopped us and said, "No, you can't come in here; you're wearing shorts because it's holy." I understand the desire to respect this structure that has been constructed, but it's not holy in the sense of being something to be bowed down to in worship. Not so. Hopefully, the things that take place in there are holy, but unfortunately, a lot of times, that's not the case. I know I'll upset somebody. I'll get an email. I know.

What makes something holy? Remember in Exodus chapter 3, verse 15, as Moses approaches the burning bush, the voice of God comes from the midst of it, saying, "Stop. Take the sandals from your feet. The place on which you stand is holy ground." Was there something spectacular and amazing about that dirt? Should we find that dirt and market it as holy dirt? I'm sure someone's already tried. There's nothing spectacular about that dirt. What made that dirt holy was the presence of God.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 17, it says, "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." Notice what Paul is saying here: you are the temple of God, and you are holy. You're not holy because you speak in King James English. You're not holy because you wear a cross, have a fish on your car, or carry a Bible. Holiness is determined by whether or not God, by His Holy Spirit, dwells in us. If not, then you are not a part of this holy dwelling that he speaks of in this passage.

Now, he says if any man defiles the temple, God will destroy him. That's heavy. The Jewish mind would completely comprehend this reality. If anyone were to corrupt, desecrate, defile, or destroy the building of the temple or the grounds of the temple there in Jerusalem, they would be killed. It was a capital offense. In fact, in the first century, we've even found archaeological evidence of this in our day. There were inscriptions at the temple precincts.

That would tell Gentiles not to cross certain points because if they did, they would be guilty of defiling the temple, and they would be put to death. In the opinion of the Jews, the temple was corrupted or destroyed when anyone defiled it in the slightest degree or damaged it in any way. If the guardians of the temple neglected their duties, they considered that it had been defiled.

Paul says that if any man defiles the temple of God, he will be destroyed. We know there is not an earthly temple in the sense of a building any longer. The body of Christ is the temple of God, and he says that therefore, if anybody defiles that temple, he will be destroyed. But what does it mean to defile it? It can be defiled with the wisdom of the world, through philosophy, through vain deceit, or through the bringing in of false doctrines, errors, or heresies. These corrupt the minds of the body of Christ, moving them away from the simplicity that is in Christ. Those who come in and bring division and factions in this way also defile the temple, and God says they will be destroyed.

Now, we might find that really hard to handle. Jesus said it like this in the Gospel of Matthew. In Matthew chapter 18, verse 6, he said, "But whosoever offends one of these little ones that believes in me, it would be better for him if a millstone were hanged about his neck and he were drowned in the depth of the sea." So, Paul reiterates that if any man defiles the temple, God will destroy him.

Seventeen times in 1 Corinthians, Paul uses the phrase "if any man." He has already used it three times in chapter 3. In verse 12, he says, "If any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and stubble." In verse 14, he states, "If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward." In verse 15, he adds, "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire."

What Paul is saying here, when he tells us that if any man defiles the temple, he will be destroyed, is that there is no exemption. No one is exempt. If anyone defiles the temple, if anyone attacks God's people with the view of destroying them, they themselves will be destroyed by God. This immediately seems to make...

In our culture, we are generally uncomfortable with the idea of God destroying people. When we talk about God exercising His wrath and destroying those who defile His work and His people, many tend to squirm. This discomfort is similar to the feelings we often experience when discussing the death penalty. However, God is not uncomfortable with the death penalty at all. In fact, He clearly outlined it in His command: "You take a life by man; your life shall be taken." God made this very clear.

We can debate the social implications of this all day long, but the reality is what God has said. He is not fearful of what people will think. God does not make decisions based on polling. I won't go any further on that, or I might get in trouble. But it is very clear that God says, "Listen, if you defile My temple, you will be destroyed," because He cares about His church. There is no hope in eternity for those who reject Christ and seek to destroy Him through His people. The person who commits a grave sin lays upon themselves a grave penalty.

In this context, Paul gives a strong rebuke to God's people. He states that if any man defiles the temple, God shall destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. The temple is holy because of the presence of God. We are holy.

When I say "holy," many times our minds jump to the idea of sinless perfection, but that is not really what Paul is talking about here. Of course, when we discuss God's holiness, we acknowledge that He is completely separate from sinners and absolutely perfect. However, a better understanding of the holiness we have in Christ is that we are set apart and consecrated to God for His use only. We are the temple of God; it is His temple for His use as He determines it. Those who trample on that, He says, "I will destroy."

We see a great illustration of this in the book of Daniel, specifically in Daniel chapter 5. In this chapter, Belshazzar, the king, has a great party in Babylon and foolishly decides to use the instruments of the temple that his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem.

Of nice gold and silver dishes over there in the treasury, let's use those for the party. The night that he did that, there was handwriting on the wall that said, "Many, many, tackle your farts. You have been weighed in the balances; you have been found wanting. Tonight, you are destroyed." And he was destroyed. The Medo-Persian Empire came in and destroyed him.

You trample with the things of God, and it breeds destruction. We, as the temple of God, are to be used in a way that is glorifying to the Lord and are to be set apart for the Master's use. We are not to be involved in anything that might defile or that, in any way, might bring an accusation against God.

Let no man deceive himself. He says in verse 18, "If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise." This is kind of an interesting verse because, when I first started reading through this a few weeks ago and thinking about chapter 3, it seemed to me that verse 18 was out of sequence with the rest of the passage and the flow.

In context, it is as if Paul is exhorting us not to deceive ourselves into thinking that we have never, nor ever will, do such a thing as defile the temple of God. He says this is a real danger. He is rebuking a church and challenging them to consider that they are the church of God, but they are in real danger of defiling the temple. God frowns upon that in a very serious way.

He challenges the church to listen up and consider this. Be careful, he says, that you do not unintentionally defile the temple of your body or the body of Christ, His church, through the apparent wisdom of this world. The very fact that this is a possibility is sobering to me. We think of what Paul says to the church at Colossae in Colossians chapter 2. There, in verse 8, he says, "Beware lest any man..."

Spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of man and after the elementary principles of the world and not after Christ. There's a very real possibility that we can bring into the church and into our communication with other Christians the philosophy and the vain wisdom of this world, and so defile, or as the Scriptures say in Colossians 2, spoil the faith of others.

We have to be very careful about the things that we say as representatives of God, ensuring that they are in line with His Word and that we do not deceive. This bears heavily upon those in the body of Christ who teach and those who give counsel. We all find ourselves in opportunities or positions at times where we give counsel. People come to us and ask, "What do you think about this?" We might respond, "Well, my old Aunt Edna told me..." but we are stepping into dangerous ground unless what Aunt Edna said aligns with the Word of God.

We must ensure that we are speaking those things that are right and that become sound doctrine. Paul continues to outline the foolishness of this world in verse 19 when he says, "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." It is written, "He takes the wise in their own craftiness." Again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." The wisdom of this world, Paul says, is foolishness.

This does not mean that we resent or reject education or intellectual advancement. Some have wrongly concluded that when they read passages such as this, they think, "Well, the wisdom of this world is foolish," and so they cast aside anything that the world comes up with. There have been great advancements in the sciences, in engineering, and in mathematics.

The wisdom that Paul calls foolishness is not speaking of such things as mathematics and science, but rather addressing those issues that ultimately have no bearing upon spiritual matters. The foolishness lies in when people look to those things for their salvation or when they seek to explain the realities of who God is through them. Ultimately, they have no ability to address the essential implications of what it means to live.

As the temple of God, we are called to live as followers of Jesus Christ. Science and mathematics cast no light upon living in Christ. They can bring a lot of advancement and great development—amazing things.

Just this last week, I was watching a video online. Sometimes I go to a website called TED. Some of you have heard of the TED conferences. They feature all these scientists, creators, and all kinds of amazing people who get up and share what they are working on. One of the things I watched in a video was about a new device developed by a group. You put on this headset, which has eight EEG electrodes that measure brainwaves.

They had a guy come up to do a demonstration. They put this headset on his head; it looked kind of funny. He stood with a lady who was conducting the demonstration, and in front of him was a computer screen displaying a cube in the middle. She said, "Okay, I'm going to record your brainwaves. I want you to think about pulling that cube towards yourself." For about 30 seconds, they measured his brain activity as he focused on pulling the cube towards him. After measuring the activity, she instructed him to think about drawing the cube to himself. He thought about it, and the next thing you know, it came towards him.

What is the practical application of that? They want to develop a system where a quadriplegic can be in a wheelchair, wearing this device. All the quadriplegic has to do is think about moving forward, and next thing you know, they move forward. If they think about turning right, they turn right. It’s phenomenal what we can do—absolutely amazing.

However, I was almost brought to the point of yelling at the television about three or four months ago. For some strange reason, I felt compelled to watch a special that the Discovery Channel was airing over several Sundays featuring Stephen Hawking. In this series, he discussed how the universe came about, claiming that aliens seeded our planet with DNA. I was ready to throw something through the TV.

He presented himself as the smartest man alive today, with an IQ off the charts. I have no doubt that he is absolutely phenomenal in his intellect. But the fact remains that, as it relates to spiritual matters and the creation of the world, he is an absolute fool. The truth is this: the children in the children's ministry who believe that God is and that He created the world are smarter than Stephen Hawking when it comes to spiritual things. Just this last week, there was an article from Stephen Hawking, and he stated in this article that...

Humanity is doomed if we don't take to the stars. If humanity is going to survive in the long run, we must escape our planet. We really only have about 200 years to get off this planet. Global warming, fossil fuels, and other issues are pressing.

In ultimate terms, the wisdom of the wise, by the standards of this age, is futile and vain. It adds nothing to what is contained in the Scriptures. Sure, advancements in technology may help us dig deeper into the Scriptures and see amazing things. They may give us the opportunity to look into the farthest parts of the universe or down to the smallest subatomic levels. But the reality is that when it comes to God, they are silent. The things of God, in their view, are foolishness. Man finds foolish the wisdom of God and considers wise things that are actually foolish to God.

In verse 21, Paul says, "Therefore, let no man glory in men, for all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come. All are yours, and you are Christ's."

We return to the original focus of chapter 3. At the beginning of this chapter, Paul considered the Corinthians to be carnal because they had established a wrong structure. They divided the temple of God and the body of Christ, saying, "Well, I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos, I'm of Cephas."

Some said, "I really like that Paul guy. He has a great heritage. Yes, he kind of bungles over his words from time to time, but my goodness, look at his lineage." Others preferred Apollos, saying, "He was trained at the Ivy League university down in Egypt. He's awesome." Then there were those who favored Peter, remarking, "Yeah, he sticks his foot in his mouth a lot, but boy, have you seen the good works he does?"

In this way, they divided themselves, and Paul pointed out that this is carnal.

In the end of things, when we stand before the Lord, there will be no boasting. There will be no glorying in the leaders that God has given us in the body of Christ. You and I will not stand before God on the day of Christ Jesus and say, "Oh my goodness, that Chuck Smith guy was amazing." Nor will we stand before the Lord and boast in any other earthly leader. If we're going to boast in anything, we should follow what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:31: "According as it is written, he that glories, let him glory in the Lord." Because the best of men are men at best.

When Paul says that Paul, Apollos, and Cephas are yours, what does he mean by that? We had a good discussion in our staff meeting about this last week. It's wrong to focus upon the leader. This wrong focus brings the mindset of "I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos, I'm of Cephas," or "I'm of Luther, I'm of Calvin, I'm of Zwingli," or "I'm of Chuck Smith," or any of those sorts of things. Why is it a wrong mindset? Because we do not belong to those teachers. What Paul says here is that those teachers are given to the church. You don't belong to them; they belong to the church.

How so? Well, in Jeremiah 3:15, God gives a prophetic promise that is fulfilled in the New Testament. He says, "And I will give pastors according to my heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." We see a fulfillment of this in the New Testament where Paul explains in Ephesians 4. In fact, turn there. This is a verse you know well if you've gone to Calvary for any length of time because we talk about it often. Ephesians 4:11 states, "And he, God, gave some apostles and some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."

So, God gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Rewind just a few verses to verse 7: "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift." Wherefore, he says, "When he ascended upon high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men."

To verse 11, he gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Yes, we recognize that Ephesians chapter 12, verse 14 speaks about the gifts of the Spirit that God gives as He wills. However, Ephesians chapter 4 reveals that another gift God gives to the church is the leaders who teach them spiritual things.

Now, I'm not standing up here and saying that I am the gift to you. What I'm saying is that Paul expresses that God ordained and gave leaders to the church to instruct, as Jeremiah says, according to God's heart and to feed knowledge and understanding. To say, "I am of Paul" or "I am of any other human being" is not in line with God's Word because we are not theirs; they are ours. We thank God for giving us such great teachers.

It's awesome to be able to access wonderful teachers here in America. You can get on the internet and listen to teachers from all over the world. You can turn on 107.9 or 88.9 right here in Escondido. Although you occasionally get the Spanish channel bumping in, you probably hear John Corson 90% of the time. That teaching is truly awesome, and we are thankful to God for these gifts.

Paul says that all of these are yours. He goes on and builds upon the idea, stating that the world, life, death, things present, and things to come are all yours. What does he mean by that? Well, the world is ours; God has given it to us. Scientists don't ultimately know where the cosmos came from. Stephen Hawking expressed that clearly on the Discovery Channel, and his view of it was rather science fiction. They don't ultimately know where the cosmos originated. All of their best wisdom must be sacrificed before God before they will understand clearly where the cosmos came from.

But we, believers—the body of Christ, the temple of God—know where it came from, who made it, why He made it, and what it is here for. We also know what is going to happen in the end. We are not going to be escaping this place in 200 years on spaceships; I can say that for a fact. We know what is to come. Now, we don't stand in arrogance when we say these things, but we have the assurance that we know where it came from, why it is here, and what it is for. The natural man...

Does not know these things. Why? God has given us the world. All is ours. He's given life to us. Life is yours. Jesus said in John chapter 10, verse 10, "I have come that you might have life and you might have that more abundantly." In 1 John 5:12, John says, "He that has the Son has life. And he that does not have the Son does not have life." Although they may breathe, although they have brain activity, although their hearts beat, they essentially are dead. Why? Because although they have a physical life for a time, they will die eternally.

You and I, on the other hand, have life that goes on into eternity. The world is ours. Life is ours. Death is ours. Death to the unbeliever is a dead end. To the believer in Christ, it's a door through which we walk into the next life. Things present and things to come are ours. The present is ours. The future is ours. We don't waste time. We know what's coming. Because we know what's coming, we use our time wisely. As the psalmist said in Psalm 90, "Lord, teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom."

It's the unbeliever that says, "I've got time." It's the believer that recognizes tomorrow is promised to no man. And so, we live accordingly. We live in a different fashion.

Well, what's the application of this? I'd simply ask, what is stressing you out today? What's causing you anxiety? Is it the present? Are there a whole bunch of things weighing upon you right now? Listen, God has given you power in those things. Is it the future? Are you really worried about what's going to happen with America? I know there are a lot of Christians that are. Many people are afraid about what's going to happen.

I want to clue you in on a biblical truth, and you may not like it, but America is not the kingdom of God. In eternity, there will be no Constitution of the United States. I love the document that our founders created and built. It is not a divine document. It is not Scripture. At its best, it's man's wisdom built upon the wisdom of God. But that's at its best. We know what is going to come.

The future ought not scare us. Death ought not scare us. Why? Because God has given us all these things. He's given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. And so, Paul further applies it.

There, in the last verse of chapter 3, it says that all these are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's. So, what ought to be our view? Chapter 4, verse 1, states, "Let a man so account us as the ministers of Christ and as stewards of the mysteries of God." Paul says that we should not put any more stock in a human being than the fact that they are servants of Christ and stewards of the things of God.

We may respect someone in the position that God has given them. Yes, Paul does say that we are to give double honor to those who are elders in the church and those who rule well. However, beyond that, we recognize that they are merely servants in Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. We do not say, "Well, I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos," and divide the church accordingly. Calvin said that there is nothing more vain and worthless than man. How little security there is in leaning upon an insubstantial shadow.

We do not lean upon man. We do not lean upon Paul. We do not lean upon Apollos. We lean upon Christ, for He is the only sure foundation. May it be worked out in our lives that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. When people come to this place—not this building, because there is no incense being burnt here and there are no candles—those things were a shadow of things to come. They were pictures of what? Well, incense in the Scripture is like prayers rising to God, and the light, the candle in the Scriptures, is the gospel going forth.

May it be that when people come into our fellowship, they sense the presence of God because God is here. When you come in contact with people in your day-to-day life, may they see God in you. The great mystery of the Old Testament revealed in the New, as Colossians says, is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Let's stand and pray. Amen.

Father, I do thank You for Your word planted deep in our hearts as we prepare to go and as the enemy seeks to snatch it away. We pray that You, by Your Spirit, would rebuke the enemy and cause Your word to become fruitful in our lives. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.