Type of Christ’s Human Body

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The Church is a type of Christ’s own physical Body when He was on earth and, as its Head, He governs, directs and builds it, adding to it daily (Acts 2:47). The above verses describe that Body as being unified in both doctrinal truth and love. In phrase after phrase, this passage demonstrates that the entire Church (“whole body” and “every part”) must be walking together in complete doctrinal agreement under Christ’s authority. And He works through His true ministers to keep the Church from drifting into “every wind of doctrine.”

The New Testament Temple of God

We cannot leave the subject of the Body of Christ until another vitally important connection to all that the Church is becomes clear. The New Testament Church of God, which we have seen to be the same as the biblical Body of Christ, is also described as the “temple of the Lord.” There are a number of New Testament passages that make this plain, and they are crucial to understand. Recognize that in the Old Testament the magnificent physical temple (first built by Solomon, and later rebuilt by Zerubbabel, with a still later renovation by Herod) was the place where God dwelled. Everyone understood this. The Old Testament Temple, as we will see with the New, was also often referred to as the “House of the Lord.”

The term “temple” is used in a host of contexts throughout the New Testament. This word appears literally scores of times through the gospels and epistles of Paul, as well as in various places in the book of Revelation, usually there referring to the Temple of God around God’s throne in the third heaven.

The English word “temple” generally derives from three separate Greek words that can correctly be translated as “temple.” These are oikos (oy’ kos): “a dwelling, by implication a family home, household or temple”—hieron (hee-er-on’): “a sacred place, that is, the entire precincts of the temple (at Jerusalem or elsewhere)”—and naos (nah-os’): “a feign shrined temple—the central sanctuary itself.” Let’s examine passages that remove all doubt about what—more correctly, who—is the Temple of God today.

John 2:19-21 is the place to start, and it was quoted earlier in a different setting. It offers important proof that the Body of Christ is the same as the Temple of God. As you read, realize that Christ’s words are the Bible interpreting the Bible, and they provide the best introduction to the subject of the New Testament Temple. Note especially the final part of the passage: “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building [the renovated second temple built after Solomon’s had been destroyed], and will you rear it up in three days? But He spoke of the temple of His body.”

If you have come to understand that Christ’s “body” is also His “temple”—and that the “temple” is “His body”—obviously the same as the term “Body of Christ”—you cannot get confused. All you must do is take Jesus’ words at face value. The Bible will continue to be seen to interpret itself. As you read, recognize that you are receiving astonishing understanding known to but the tiniest few alive on earth today!

What Paul Recorded

Paul recorded much more than any other biblical writer about the New Testament Temple. Let’s start with his foundational statement in Ephesians 2:19-21: “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto an holy temple in the Lord.”

He also wrote this to the Corinthians: “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building” (I Cor. 3:9). Note this. Unlike the custom of today’s English, the King James translators carefully used “ye” whenever the intent was plural and “you” when it was singular. The ye here means all of the Ephesians and all of the Corinthians, or thus the whole Church, collectively. It will become clearer as we proceed that individual members are not the Temple of God, but rather the entire Church as a whole comprises the Temple.

We will later come to understand how the Bible describes—the specific term that it uses for—individuals within that Temple. It cannot be overstressed that this is supremely important understanding for all who seek to serve God in the manner and in the place that He requires. A few verses later in I Corinthians 3:1-23 Paul added this: “Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in ye? If any man defile the Temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the Temple of God is holy, which Temple ye are” (I Cor 3:16-17).

Placed together, these verses reveal that God sees His people—the true Church—as both His Building and His Temple. Understand that God is building a Temple—or a House. Almost identical, I Corinthians 6:19 does add a little more, making clear how serious it is if those called of God treat lightly the incredible privilege it is to have God dwelling in them—if God’s people do not conduct themselves in a manner that reflects this.

But the second epistle to the Corinthians adds significantly more understanding. Let’s notice: “And what agreement has the Temple of God with idols? for ye [notice the plural pronoun is used throughout] are the Temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (II Cor 6:16).

The last part of this passage is a quote from Leviticus 26:12. Its use here demonstrates God has always planned—“has said” from the beginning—that His Church, those in whom He would in the future personally dwell, would be the greatest—truly the most glorious—temple of all. Realize that Leviticus was recorded long before either Solomon’s or Zerubbabel’s temple was built.

There is a powerful message for everyone in the preceding verses leading up to II Cor 6:16 quoted above. For those who desire to be in God’s Temple, there exists no room—none!—for doctrinal compromise with any of the false, pagan teachings of counterfeit Christianity—summarized as “unrighteousness” and “darkness” (II Cor 6:14). Christians are to “touch not the unclean thing” (vs. 17)—anything that is sin.

Pause to read 14 and 15. Then take the time to read each phrase in Ephesians 5:6-11, followed by Eph 5:23 and 30. The first group of verses condemns all compromise with every form of unrighteousness. The latter two verses tie Christ as Head of “the Church” to those in it being what He considers the individual “members of His Body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” Let this understanding of exactly what it means to be in the Body of Christ sober you!

Church, Body and Temple—Three Critical Verses

One final proof (there are several others) that the Church of God, the biblical Body of Christ, the Temple or House of God are the exact same thing is understood by carefully comparing three additional passages in Paul’s epistles. Follow very closely the incredible connection between these important verses.

Do not miss what they reveal!

Let’s begin by returning to I Timothy 3:15. This crucial but we saw largely ignored bedrock passage provides the New Testament definition of the true Church of God. Notice the Church is also there called “the house of God…the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” (Take more than a passing interest in the fact that this verse directly ties the Church to where “the truth” is—not “some of the truth” or “much of the truth” or even “most of the truth”—and certainly not “truth mixed with error”—but rather simply “THE TRUTH”!)

Then, get clear in your mind that the Church is called “the house of God.” (It is also more than interesting that this is virtually the same term used from the beginning regarding Solomon’s Temple—which was generally referred to as the “House of the Lord,” or “God’s House,” as in I Kings 6:37-38.)

We saw that Jesus taught in Matthew that a “house divided…shall not stand” (Mt 12:25). Why also do those who teach the New Testament Church is scattered among many organizations never reference this verse? Christ went on to explain that even the devil realizes his "kingdom” cannot survive divided.

Surely Jesus is at least as wise as the devil!

Also recall that in Ephesians 2:19-21 Paul called the Temple of the Lord a “building fitly framed together.” Here is the point not to be missed. Later, in chapter 4 of Ephesians, he said almost the identical thing about the Body of Christ. Notice: “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted [I Corinthians 12:24 adds “tempered…together”] by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part…” (Eph 4:16).

The phrases translated “fitly framed together” and “fitly joined together” derive from the exact same Greek word sunarmologeo. It means “to render close-jointed together, i.e. organized compactly, be fitly framed (joined) together (in the sense of laying).” Paul obviously had the same thing in mind whether he was discussing the Church, the Temple (or House of God) or the Body of Christ.

Sunarmologeo’ offers truly fascinating meaning. The beginning and last portions of the definition—“render close-jointed” and “together (in the sense of laying)”—carry the obvious meaning of laying individual bricks or stones that are mortared or put “close-jointed” beside each other (“together”) as one would lay them in rows within a building. (Take a moment to re-read Acts 2:42-47, where the first 3,000 baptized into the New Testament Church were bound together in all that they did.)

Since we saw that the Temple is also called God’s “building,” there is no possible way to read these passages and conclude that the true Church of God could be anything other than one undivided organization—a single building! Do not let anyone tell you that God’s Temple (and Christ’s Body) is anything less than this! His Building cannot be “spiritualized away”—as do professing Christian ministers with every doctrine in God’s Word—into a “temple” that is ill-defined, disconnected, amorphous—and meaningless.

Now let’s look more closely at what are the “bricks” or “stones” used in building—exactly what or who it is that lies together “close-jointed.” At this point the knowledge presented in this chapter becomes personal.

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