2 Corinthians 6:16

2Co_6:16

Ye are the temple of the living God.

The soul temple

From this analogy between the Christians soul and the old Jewish temple we learn concerning Christians that--

I. They are the objects of special Divine regard. At the beginning of the promises which God made concerning the old temple, He said, Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be there perpetually, I will gild its glories with My smile, scathe its defilers with My frown, Mine heart too, shall be there, as a proprietor with his most treasured possession, a king with his most valued province, a father with the home of his family. So with good men. With that man will I dwell, etc. Lo, I am with you always, etc.

II. They are the scene of special divine manifestation. It was not the magnificence of the building, nor the fragrance of the incense, nor the solemn order of the services, that revealed Gods presence. It was the Shekinah. And so with men. It is not the gold or intellect that tells us God is with men, but it is Christs Spirit in the heart.

III. They are the subjects of entire Divine consecration. Solomons prayer shows to what perfect devotedness to God the temple was dedicated, and Christs expulsion of the traders from its sacred precincts, at the beginning and at the close of His ministry, proves how thoroughly He recognised that consecration, and suggests, moreover, how it was the grand purpose of His incarnation to purify and hallow the living temple of mens souls, of which that temple was but a type. In our hearts, then--

1. There must be no worldly merchandise, lest we make it a den of thieves instead of a house of prayer.

2. There must be no idol; it is the temple of the living God.

3. There must be an altar. And yet, how many of us are there in whose hearts an altar for self-sacrifice is a strange thing! Conclusion: Let us beware lest the doom of the old temple should be ours. Our souls through sin must incur a still more terrible ruin. (U. R. Thomas.)

Temples of God

1. If we be the temples of God, let us be holy: for holiness, O Lord, becometh Thy house for ever.

2. The temple is the house of prayer. Wouldst thou pray in Gods temple? Pray in thyself.

3. The sound of the high praises of God must be heard in these temples. Even in the midst of ourselves, in our own hearts, let us think upon His mercies, there echo forth His praises.

4. The inhabitant disposeth all the rooms of his house: if God dwell in us, let Him rule us. Submit thy will to His Word, thy affections to His Spirit. It is fit that every man should bear rule in his own house.

5. Let us be glad when He is in us, and give Him no disturbance. Let not the foulness of any room make Him dislike His habitation. Cleanse all the corners of sin, and perfume the whole house.

6. If we be the Lords houses, then nobodys else. The material temples are not to be diverted to common offices; much more should the spiritual be used only for Gods service. Let us not alienate His rights: thus He will say, This is My house, here will I dwell, for I have a delight therein. Oh, may we so adorn these temples with graces, that God may take delight to dwell in us! (T. Adams.)

I will be their God, and they shall be My people.--

The covenant relationship between God and His people

I. Let us consider the relation alluded to in our text, in so far as man is concerned. They shall be My people. That to man, the inferior party, such a connection is honourable, is self-evident. Is it a good ground of honest pride to be connected with the illustrious? How honourable, then, must it be to stand in any relation to Him, whose fingers formed the heavens and the earth, and who in wisdom made them all? Is it a ground of honest pride to be connected with the mighty, who, while they are reverenced for their power, are admired for their goodness? But if we would have any adequate idea of the extent to which the believer is honoured in his relation to God, we must penetrate more deeply into the nature of the connection, and consider its mysterious intimacy. Between the Head of the universe and the inhabitants of the earth many relationships subsist, and not a few of these extend to all created intelligences. All are related to Him as the great Creator, as a preserving God. All are indebted to Him as a general benefactor. All are related to Him as a resistless Governor. In a word, all, without exception, are related to Him as a Judge. But mark the honourable relation in which the Christian stands to a Being so great, so powerful, so glorious. In the best, the most extensive sense of the appropriation, he can humbly add, God is my friend. His consolations are mine in the hour of sickness--His approval is mine as I sojourn toward heaven--His guidance is mine in every perplexity--His blessing shall be mine for ever. They know that however much their God may afflict them, He is their God, and afflicts them for their good. But while the relation referred to in our text is thus honourable to the inferior party, it is just as evident that it is highly advantageous. When we consider what God can do for those in whom He is interested, when we consider how much He has already done for them, the advantage of the favoured man in whom He is thus interested admits of no controversy.

II. That it is also glorious to God. And hero we cannot fail to remark that it throws a halo, exquisitely brilliant, on the beauty of the Divine grace and condescension. We have only to contemplate the majesty of the Most High and the meanness of the human family, in order to adore the condescension of our covenanted God. Does the master condescend who admits his servant to his confidence, his friendship and esteem? Had Adam and all his sons continued to reflect the heavenly image, it would have been less an object of wonder that God should have said to the holy men, I am your God, and ye are My people. Had rebellion never entered into this province of the universe, a fatherly relation to us had been less magnificently manifested. But here, perhaps, it may be urged that although the relation with Himself into which the Deity introduces His people, may be glorious to His condescension, it cannot be equally so to all the rest of His perfections. How, it may be asked, can it consist with the holiness of Him who is immaculate, that He should give to the polluted the adoption of sons? The gospel affords us a luminous reply to these disputing questions. It tells us that the Most High in becoming His peoples God, and in constituting them His children, fulfils a purpose, as glorious to His justice as it is to His compassion, as illustrative of tits majesty as it is of His condescension, as honourable to His holiness as it is to His love.

III. That it is maintained and endeared by much mutual fellowship between the parties in this world, while it is destined to issue in close and uninterrupted communion in the next. The believer enjoys it and he rejoices in it, while engaged in humble prayer. But more particularly, we remark that the Word of God is one of the means by which the intimacies of relationship are maintained between Him and His people in this world. We might refer you to the ordinances of the gospel, and the dealings of God with man at large, for a fuller illustration of the topic now under review. But we have said that while the relationship that subsists between God and His people is closened by much endearing fellowship on earth, it is moreover destined eventually to issue in uninterrupted communion in heaven; and so assuredly shall it be. (W. Craig.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6:16 Believers together are the temple of the living God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit and thus holy (1 Cor 3:16; 1 Pet 2:1-10).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2Co 6:16. Συγκατάθεσις) LXX. Exo 23:1: οὐ συγκαταθήσῃ μετὰ τοῦ ἀδίκου, thou shalt not agree with the wicked.—μετὰ εἰδώλων, with idols) He does not say, μετὰ ναοῦ εἰδώλων, with the temple of idols (although the Syriac version supplies with the temple), for idols do not dwell in their worshippers.—ὑμεῖς, ye) The promises, made to Israel, belong also to us.—ἐνοικήσω—λαὸς, I will dwell in them—my people) Lev 26:11-12, LXX. θήσω τὴν σκηνήν μου ἐν ὑμῖν—καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσω ἐν ὑμῖν, καὶ ἔσομαι ὑμῶν Θεὸς, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἕσεσθέ μοι λαός: I will set my tabernacle among you—and I will walk among you, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people. Paul quotes a single verse, he wishes the whole paragraph to be considered as repeated.—ἐμπεριπατήσω, I will walk among [in]) I will dwell signifies the continuance of the Divine presence; I will walk; its operation. The subject of God’s gracious dwelling in the soul and body of the saints may be explained from its contrary, viz., the subject of [the question concerning] spiritual and bodily [demoniacal] possession; as every dispensation of evil and good may be compared together according to their opposite aspects [principles].—ἔσομαι, I will be) The sum of the Divine covenant, Exo 6:7; Heb 8:10.—Θεός· λαός, their God: my people) There is a gradation, [here Θεὸς; but in 2Co 6:18, εἰς πατέρα] in the relation of a father; [again here λαός; but εἰς υἱοὺς] in the relation of sons, 2Co 6:18; Rev 21:3; Rev 21:7; Jer 31:1; Jer 31:9.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co_6:16. Comp. 1Co_10:20. What agreement (Polyb. ii. 58. 11, iv. 17. 8) has the temple of God with idols? how can it reconcile itself with them? Comp. on συγκατάθ.; also Exo_23:11; Luk_23:51. The two are contraries, which stand negatively related to one another; if the temple of God should come into contact with idols (as was the case, e.g., under Ahaz), it would be desecrate.

ἡμεῖς γὰρ κ.τ.λ.] With this Paul proves that he was not without reason in using the words τίς δὲ συγκατάθεσις ναῷ θεοῦ κ.τ.λ. of the contradiction between the Christian and the heathen character. The emphasis is on ἡμεῖς: for we Christians are (sensu mystico) the temple of the living God.[252]

ζῶντος] in contrast with the dead idols in the heathen temple.

ΚΑΘῺς ΕἾΠΕΝ Ὁ ΘΕΌς] in accordance with the utterance of God: Lev_26:12, freely after the LXX., the summary of the divine covenant of promis.

ἐν αὐτοῖς] among them; see below, ἐμπεριπατήσω, walk about in (Lucian, adv. Ind. 6; Ach. Tat. i. 6; LXX.). The indwelling of God in the body of Christians as in His temple, and the intercourse of His gracious rule in it (ἐμπεριπ.), take place through the medium of the Spirit. See on 1Co_3:16; Joh_14:23.

[252] So according to the reading ἡμεῖς … ἐσυεν. See the critical remarks. According to the Recepta ὑμεῖς … ἐστε (so also Tisch., defended by Rückert, Osiander, Hofmann) it would apply to the Corinthian church, which in the spiritual sense is the temple of God, as 1Co_3:16. Ewald has rightly upheld the reading ἡμεῖς … ἐσμεν, but has wrongly used it against the genuineness of the section (Jahrb. IX. p. 216). How often in a connection, where Paul is speaking of himself in the first person plural, has he thereupon expressed also in the same person the consciousness of Christians generally, as e.g. just at 2Co_5:21.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co 6:16 . τίς δὲ συγκατάθεσις κ . τ . λ .: and what agreement has the Temple of God with idols? It is quite unnecessary to mark the absence of the article by translating “ a temple of God”: ναὸς Θεοῦ has become anarthrous, as a quasi-technical phrase, and in the Apostle’s thought there is only one such Temple, which is built up by the whole body of believers (see reff.). ἡμεῖς γὰρ κ . τ . λ .: for we are the Temple of a God who is alive (see reff.); note that ζῶντος as the emphatic word is placed last. καθὼς εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς κ . τ . λ .: as God said , “ I will dwell in them (these words are only a paraphrase of Lev 26:11 ; the quotation begins with 2Co 6:12 ) and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people ” ( cf. Exo 6:7 , Jer 31:33 , Eze 11:20 , Zec 8:8 ; Zec 13:9 , etc., where the promise is reiterated). Several passages of the O.T., viz. , Lev 26:12 , Isa 52:11 , Eze 20:34 and 2Sa 7:14 are here combined; and it is worth noticing that the first, second and fourth of these are marked as distinct quotations by the introductory formulæ which precede them in the O.T. in each case, viz. , καθὼς εἶπεν ὁ Θεός from Lev 26:12 , λέγει Κύριος from Isa 52:5 (or Eze 20:33 ), and λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ from 2Sa 7:8 .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He setteth the living God against idols.

God dwelleth with us, because Christ is become God with us.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

agreement--accordance of sentiments (compare Kg1 18:21; Eph 5:7, Eph 5:11).

the temple of God--that is, you believers (Co1 3:16; Co1 6:19).

with idols--Compare Dagon before the ark (Sa1 5:2-4).

as--"even as God said." Quotation from Lev 26:12; Jer 31:33; Jer 32:38; Eze 37:26-27; compare Mat 28:20; Joh 14:23.

walk in them--rather, "among them." As "dwell" implies the divine presence, so "walk," the divine operation. God's dwelling in the body and soul of saints may be illustrated by its opposite, demoniacal possession of body and soul.

my people--rather, "they shall be to me a people."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 16. What agreement hath the temple of God with idols] Nothing could appear more abominable to a Jew than an idol in the temple of God: here, then, could be no agreement; the worship of the two is wholly incompatible. An idolater never worships the true God; a Christian never worships an idol. If ye join in idolatrous rites, it is impossible that ye should be Christians.

Ye are the temple of the living God] God intends to make the heart of every believer his own house.

I will dwell in them, and walk in them] The words are very emphatic: ενοικησωεναυτοις. I will inhabit in them. I will not be as a wayfaring man, who turns aside to tarry as for a night, but I will take up my constant residence with them; I will dwell in and among them.

I will be their God] They shall have no other God, they shall have none besides me; and if they take me for their God, I will be to them all that an infinite, eternal, and self-sufficient Being can be to his intelligent offspring.

They shall be my people.] If they take me for their GOD, their supreme and eternal GOOD, I will take them for my people; and instruct, enlighten, defend, provide for, support, and bless them, as if I had none else to care for in the creation.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? Hitherto he has in general terms prohibited believers from associating with the wicked. He now lets them know what was the chief reason, why he had prohibited them from such an association — because they had ceased to reckon the profession of idolatry to be a sin. He had censured that liberty, and had exposed it at great length in the former Epistle. It is probable, however, that all had not yet been gained over, so as to receive the counsel which he had given. Hence it was that he complained of their being straitened in their own bowels — the only thing that hindered their proficiency. He does not, however, resume that subject anew, but contents himself with a short admonition, as we are accustomed to do, when we treat of things that are well known. At the same time his brevity does not prevent his giving sharp cuts. For how much emphasis there is in that single word, where he teaches that there is no agreement between the temple of God and idols! “It is a sacrilegious profanation, when an idol or any idolatrous service is introduced into the temple of God Now we are the true temples of God. Hence it is sacrilege to defile ourselves with any contamination of idols. This one consideration, I say, should be to you as good as a thousand. If you are a Christian, what have you to do with idols, (Hosea 14:8,) for you are the temple of God?” Paul, however, as I have already in part noticed, contends rather by way of exhortation than of doctrine, inasmuch as it would have been superfluous to be still treating of it, as if it were a thing doubtful or obscure.

As God saith, I will walk. He proves that we are the temples of God from this, that God of old promised to the people of Israel that he would dwell in the midst of them. In the first place, God cannot dwell among us, without dwelling in each one of us, for he promises this as a singular privilege — I will dwell in the midst of you Nor does this dwelling or presence consist merely in earthly blessings, but must be understood chiefly of spiritual grace. Hence it does not mean simply that God is near us, as though he were in the air, flying round about us, but it means rather that he has his abode in our hearts. If, then, any one objects, that the particle in simply means among, I grant it; but I affirm that, from the circumstance that God promises that he will dwell among us, we may infer that he also remains in us. And such was the type of the ark, of which mention is made by Moses in that passage, from which Paul appears to have borrowed this quotation. (Leviticus 26:12.) If, however, any one thinks that Paul had rather in his eye Ezekiel 37:27, the argument will be the same. For the Prophet, when describing the restoration of the Church, mentions as the chief good, the presence of God, which he had himself in the beginning promised by Moses. Now what was prefigured by the ark, was manifested to us more fully in Christ, when he became to us Immanuel (Matthew 1:23.) On this account, I am of opinion that it is Ezekiel, rather than Moses, that is here quoted, because Ezekiel alludes at the same time to the type of the ark, and declares that it will have its fulfillment under the reign of Christ. Now the Apostle takes it for granted, that God dwells nowhere but in a sacred place. If we say of a man, “he dwells here,” that will not make the place a temple; but as to God there is this peculiarity, that whatever place he honors with his presence, he at the same time sanctifies.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(16) And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?—Here we see clearly the drift of the Apostle’s thoughts. His mind travels back to the controversy about things sacrificed to idols. Was there not a risk that what he had said about “width” and “expansion” of feeling would be perverted by those who claimed the right to sit at an idol’s feast even in the precincts of the idol’s temple (1Co_8:10)? Against that perversion he thinks it necessary to enter his protest. And the ground of that protest is that they, collectively and individually (1Co_3:16; 1Co_6:19), are the temples of God, and that there can be no “agreement” between that temple and one dedicated to an idol. The word translated “agreement” expresses, like the English, a compact or treaty of alliance. In modern phrase, a concordat between the two antagonistic systems was an impossibility.

I will dwell in them, and walk in them.—The citation which follows is, like many others in St. Paul’s writings, a composite one: Lev_26:12 giving, “I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people;” and Exo_29:45, “I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.” The implied premise is that wherever God dwells there is His temple. The word indicates the “sanctuary,” or holiest part of the temple. (See Note on Joh_2:19.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?] Cf. 1Co_3:16-17; 1Co_6:19-20; 1Co_8:10; 1Co_10:14-21. St Paul does not lay stress on the abuse of liberty to which he devotes so large a portion of the first Epistle (see note on 2Co_6:14), but we may gather from this hint that there was still some need of improvement in this particular as well as in the general relations of Christians with heathens.

for ye are the temple of the living God] Cf. 1Co_3:16; Eph_2:21-22; 1Ti_3:15; Heb_3:6; 1Pe_2:5.

as God hath said] The Apostle here combines, as was customary among Jewish teachers, Lev_26:11-12 with Eze_37:26-27; Eze_43:7 (cf. also Zec_2:10-11). The citation is in many respects verbally accurate, but it is a citation, no doubt, from memory. The Apostle has, however, given a Christian turn to his translation. The Hebrew cannot be shewn to mean more than ‘I will dwell among them.’ The LXX., in the remarkable word ἐμπεριπατήσω, seems to have anticipated the Christian idea of the indwelling of God in His people. But the Apostle was evidently also thinking of some words of Christ, known to him by tradition, and afterwards recorded by the Evangelist St John in such passages as Joh_6:56; Joh_17:21; Joh_17:23.

and I will be their God, and they shall be my people] St Paul here boldly transfers the prophecies that relate to the earthly Israel to the spiritual Israel, the Christian Church. Cf. Rom_9:25-26; 1Co_10:1-11; Gal_4:26; Heb_12:22; 1Pe_2:9-10; Rev_3:12; Rev_21:2; Rev_21:10.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Wherefore come out from among them,.... Since they were the temple of the living God, built up an habitation for the Most High; since he resided among them, took his walks in the midst of them, was their God, and they were his people. These words are taken out of Isa 52:11 where the several phrases here used may be observed. They seem to be directed to the Israelites, and particularly to the priests and Levites, who bore the vessels of the Lord; and are fitly applied to believers under the Gospel dispensation, who are by Christ made priests unto God. They are usually interpreted by the Jewish writers, as a call to the Jews to come out of captivity, to quit Babylon and Persia, and the several cities and countries where they were; and are applied in Rev 18:4 to mystical Babylon, the church of Rome, as a call to God's people, to leave the superstitions and idolatries of that church, lest they be partakers of her plagues; and here, by the apostle, as an exhortation to believers in general, to forsake the company and conversation of the men of the world: who may be said to come out from among them at first conversion, when they are called to forsake their own people, and their Father's house, to leave their native country, and seek an heavenly one; and when, in consequence of effectual calling grace, their conversations are different from what they were before, and from other Gentiles; when they dislike their former companions, abhor their sinful conversation, abstain from it, keep out of it, as being infectious, hurtful, and detrimental to them; when they have no fellowship with the workers of iniquity, but reprove them both by words and deeds, which is their incumbent duty: the phrase in Isaiah is, "go ye out from the midst of her"; which Kimchi interprets, "out of the midst of every city in which thou art"; that is, in which idolaters lived; and well agrees with here, "out of the midst of them":

and be ye separate, saith the Lord; this phrase is not to be met with expressly in our version of the above text in Isaiah, but is signified by several expressions in it; the words rendered "depart ye, depart ye", are by the Targum, or Chaldee paraphrase on the place, expressed by , "be ye separate, be ye separate", which are the very words of the apostle here; and the phrase, "touch no unclean thing", is explained by R. Aben Ezra, "that they might be separate from the nations of the world" and another word, "be ye clean", signifies such a purgation as is made by separation, by removing the clean from the unclean, by separating the wheat from the chaff. The people of God are a separate people in election, redemption, and the effectual calling, and ought to be so in their conduct and conversation; they ought to separate themselves from all superstition and will worship in religious matters, and from the evil customs and manners of the world, though they are sure to become a prey, and to expose themselves to the contempt and rage of it:

and touch not the unclean thing. The allusion is to several laws under the former dispensation, which forbid touching many things which were accounted unclean, whereby pollution was contracted, and the persons were obliged to a ceremonial cleansing; see Lev 5:2 Num 19:11. It has no regard to touching, tasting, and eating any sort of food, which was forbid as unclean by the ceremonial law; for the difference between meats clean and unclean was now removed; but if anything is particularly designed by the unclean thing, it seems to be idolatry, and to be a prohibition of joining with worshippers of idols in their idolatrous practices, whereby a moral pollution is contracted; since in the beginning of the former verse it is said, "what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" though it is rather intended in general, to forbid all communion and fellowship with unclean persons and things, not to touch them, to come nigh them, or have anything to do with them:

and I will receive you; this, and what follows in the next verse, are said to encourage believers to keep at a distance from wicked and immoral persons, whose company and conversation are dishonourable, ensnaring, and defiling. These persons had been already received into the love of God, his best and strongest affections, from which there can be no separation; and in the covenant of grace, which as it cannot be removed, so neither could they be removed out of that; they were received into the church of Christ, and had a place and a name in it, better than that of sons and daughters; and as they had been received by Christ, when they came to him as poor perishing sinners without him, so they were still received graciously, notwithstanding their many backslidings: neither of these therefore is the sense of this passage: but, that whereas by quitting society with carnal men, they would expose themselves to their resentments; the Lord here promises, that he would take them under the wings of his protection; he would take care of them and preserve them, keep them as the apple of his eye, and be a wall of fire round about them, whilst in this world; and when he had guided them by his counsel here, would "receive" them "to glory": this clause seems to be taken from the latter part of Isa 52:12 which may be rendered, "the God of Israel will gather you"; i.e. to himself, and protect them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Ver. 16. I will dwell in them] Gr. ενοικησω εν αυτοις, I will indwell in them. This notes God’s nearest communion with them. He setteth them before his face continually, Psa 41:12, as loving to look upon them. The philosopher told his friends, when they came into his little low cottage, The gods are here with me: εντευθεν ουκ απεισι θεοι. God and angels are with his saints.

And walk in them] As they did in Solomon’s porch, and other walks and galleries about the temple. And hereunto the prophet alludes, Zec 3:7. The Turks wonder to see a man walk to and fro, and usually ask such whether they be out of their way or out of their wits. (Biddulph.)

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And what agreement - (συγκατάθεσις sugkatathesis). Assent, accord, agreement. what putting or laying down together is there? What is there in one that resembles the other?

The temple of God - What has a temple of God to do with idol worship? It is erected for a different purpose, and the worship of idols in it would not be tolerated. It is implied here that Christians are themselves the temple of God, a fact which Paul proceeds immediately to illustrate; and that it is as absurd for them to mingle with the infidel world as it would be to erect the image of a pagan god in the temple of Yahweh. This is strong language, and we cannot but admire the energy and copiousness of the expressions used by Paul, “which cannot,” says Bloomfield, “be easily paralleled in the best Classical writers.”

With idols - Those objects which God hates, and on which he cannot look but with abhorrence. The sense is, that for Christians to mingle with the sinful world; to partake of their pleasures, pursuits, and follies, is as detestable and hateful in the sight of God as if his temple were profaned by erecting a deformed, and shapeless, and senseless block in it as an object of worship. And, assuredly, if Christians had such a sense of the abomination of mingling with the world, they would feel the obligation to be separate and pure.

For ye are the temple of the living God - see this explained in the notes on 1Co 3:16-17. The idea is, that as God dwells with his people, they ought to be separated from a sinful and polluted world.

As God hath said - The words here quoted are taken substantially from Exo 29:45; Lev 26:12; Eze 37:27. They are not literally quoted, but Paul has thrown together the substance of what occurs in several places. The sense, however, is the same as occurs in the places referred to.

I will dwell in them - (ἐνοικήτω enoikētō). I will take up my indwelling in them. There is an allusion doubtless to the fact that he would be present among his people by the Sechinah, or the visible symbol of his presence; see the note on 1Co 3:16-17. It implies, when used with reference to Christians, that the Holy Spirit would abide with them, and that the blessing of God would attend them; see Rom. 8; Col 3:16; 2Ti 1:14.

And walk in them - That is, I will walk among them. I will be one of their number. He was present among the Jews by the public manifestation of his presence by a symbol; he is present with Christians by the presence and guidance of his Holy Spirit.

And I will be their God - Not only the God whom they worship, but the God who will protect and bless them. I will take them under my special protection, and they shall enjoy my favor. This is certainly as true of Christians as it was of the Jews, and Paul has not departed from the spirit of the promise in applying it to the Christian character. His object in quoting these passages is, to impress on Christians the solemnity and importance of the truth that God dwelt among them and with them; that they were under his care and protection; that they belonged to him, and that they therefore should be separate from the world.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The apostle here blames the too great affection the Corinthians had for the Gentiles, who sometimes invited them to their religious feasts, at which were eaten meats which had been offered to idols, and which gave scandal both to the Christians and Gentiles. To draw them from these feasts he tells them, that they are the temples of the Holy Ghost, and that consequently they ought not to make themselves the temples of devils, by eating of the sacrifices of devils. (Calmet) --- St. Paul, in this and the foregoing verses, clearly shews that the faithful ought not to frequent, on any account, the tabernacles of those who have left the Church. In the old law, Moses was ordered to command the ancients of Israel, on the part of God, to depart from the tents of those wicked men, lest they be involved in their sins. (Numbers xvi. 27.)

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George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? This particular instance giveth some expositors occasion to interpret 2Co 6:14, of communion with idolaters in such acts of religion as are proper to them; but nothing hinders but that that precept may be interpreted more generally, though the apostle gives this as one particular instance, wherein he would have them avoid communion with unbelievers.

For ye are the temple of the living God; the argument is drawn from what the apostle had before asserted, 1Co 3:16; 6:19, their being the temples of the Holy Ghost; which he proveth from Lev 26:12; Eze 37:26,27.

As God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: not that what the apostle meaneth here, is the literal meaning of Lev 26:11,12; for it is manifest, that God by Moses there is speaking not of God’s dwelling in the persons of believers, or in his church, but of that gracious presence and manifestation of himself to his people in the tabernacle erected by his order. Some therefore think, that the place here alluded to, though not quoted verbatim, is that, Eze 37:26,27, which is a promise respecting the kingdom of Christ; where God promiseth to make a covenant of peace with his people, and saith, I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. The words, as they are here quoted, are entirely to be found in no one text of holy writ; it is sufficient that they are to be found there in parts. Nor doth this text so properly speak of God’s dwelling in particular believers, as of his dwelling in the churches of his people; therefore, though he speaks of many, ye are, yet temple is in the singular number. These many are but one body; the church in which God dwelleth, and with which he hath communion, which is expressed by walk in them; as in Rev 2:1, he is said to walk in the midst of the golden candlesticks. Nor is the term living vainly added to God; for besides that he is usually so called, as being ever-living, and the Fountain of all life; it also showeth the opposition between him and idols, which are dead things: and therefore God could have no more communion with idols, than the living can have with the dead; nor could they have communion with the living God and dead idols. Nor could they be the people of the living God, and the people or worshippers of dead idols; so as those that were idolaters must lose the advantage of that covenant wherein God had said:

I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. Temple… idols—The contrast embraces the Church collectively, of which the temple is the structural image. St. Paul does not present the contrast as between a temple of the true God and one of idolatry; but of a holy temple with an unholy idol in it. The Jews preferred to rebel against the power of imperial Rome rather than to allow an ensign of paganism to be brought into the temple.

Ye are the temple—Thus bringing emphatically home the force of the illustration.

Living God—In contrast with all other temples, which are of gods that do not live.

God hath said—We have the word of the very living God himself for it, as recorded in the Old Testament. In accordance with Jewish modes of quoting the Old Testament, St. Paul blends together the tenor of a number of different passages, like a painter forming a picture by dipping his brush in his colours to finish with a variety of touches.

I will dwell—In this verse we have the promise; in the next, the command finishing off with promises, carried into the final verse. The words of this verse refer to Lev_26:11-12, with a fragment of Eze_37:26. It is the promise of God to be present with his faithful Church.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

What agreement. The word means "unity of composition." This is the fifth synonym which St. Paul has used in this clause metocha sumfwnhsiv, meriqesiv. The verb sugkataqhmi occurs in Luk_23:51. St. Paul in this chapter shows an almost unwonted command over the Greek language. With idols (Mat_6:24; 1Jn_5:21) Ye. "We" is the reading of a, B, D, L. Ewald, without sufficient ground, makes it one of his arguments for regarding this section as interpolated. (comp. 2Co_5:21) Are the temple of the living God. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in every Christian heart, which is the distinguishing result of the new covenant, was very prominent in the thoughts of St. Paul (1Co_3:16 1Co_6:19; Eph_2:21, Eph_2:22; 1Ti_3:15; comp. 1Pe_2:5; Heb_3:6) As God hath said. The quotation is altered slightly from the LXX of Lev_26:12. But in this and the next verses we have "a mosaic of citations" from this passage and Exo_29:45; Isa_53:11; Eze_20:34; 2Sa_7:14; comp. Jer_31:9; Isa_43:6. This mode of compressing the essenceof various quotations into one passage was common among the rabbis. In them. In the original Hebrew this means "among them". (Lev_26:12) since the indwelling of God by his Holy Spirit belongs only to the new covenant.

A temple of God.

The temple at Jerusalem, built for the glory of Jehovah, and honoured by him as his dwelling place and shrine, was as edifice quite unique. No material structure can with justice be said to have replaced it; for, when the old dispensation passed away, all local and material sanctity vanished, and a spiritual dispensation surpassed as well as abolished the glory that had been. The body of Christ was the temple of God, and when that had been taken down, the only temple which remained was the spiritual edifice, built of living stones and inhabited by the Holy Spirit of God.

I THE RESPECTS IN WHICH THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IS THE TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD.

1. Christians are separated from the world around. As the temple asJerusalem was different from all other edifices, so the spiritual society designated the Church is distinct from the common and secular associations which men form for their own convenience, advantage, or pleasure.

2. In this spiritual temple the living God makes his chosen dwelling place.The Lord loved the gates of Zion: he revealed his glory in the Shechinahcloud; he was sought and found in his sanctuary. In like manner the Eternal chooses the hearts of his people for his congenial abode, where he makes himself known, and especially reveals his holiness and his grace.

3. The Church is the scene of worship; there praise, prayer, and sacrificesof obedience are offered to God and accepted by him.

II THE PECULIAR CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AS THE TEMPLE OF GOD.

1. It is holy.

2. It is universal, extending throughout the world; and including within itmen of every race and of every condition.

3. It is enduring. For, whilst the individual members disappear from sight,those who quit the Church militant do so only to join the Church triumphant. And whilst human societies, organizations, and states pass away, this Divine society loses nothing of its glory, but lives from age to age.

4. It is growing, Every several stone built into it adds to its majesticproportions, and prepares for its final completeness; it "groweth a holy temple unto the Lord.

III THE PRACTICAL OBLIGATIONS LAID UPON ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH IN RESPECT OF THEIR INCORPORATION IN THE SPIRITUAL TEMPLE.

1. They are called upon to Uphold the dignity of their calling and position.

2. And to maintain that purity which is their distinctive quality to be"separate, and to touch no unclean thing.

3. And to seek the consolidation and unity of the spiritual edifice.

4. And at the same time to strive after its enlargement and ultimatecompleteness. T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

What agreement hath the temple of God with idols - If God would not endure idols in any part of the land wherein he dwelt, how much less, under his own roof! He does not say, with the temple of idols, for idols do not dwell in their worshippers. As God hath said - To his ancient church, and in them to all the Israel of God. I will dwell in them, and walk in them - The former signifying his perpetual presence; the latter, his operation. And I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people - The sum of the whole gospel covenant. Lev. xxvi, 11, &c.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

temple

(Greek - ναός," the sanctuary itself).

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This form of questions evidently implies the absolute inconsistency between believers and idolaters, and the danger from communion with them. And the apostle’s calling believers the temple of the living God, represents both their dignity and duty; their dignity, in having the Spirit of God to dwell in them, and walk in them; their duty, to be purified and adorned for his habitation.

Observe, believers are a spiritual temple, in which the Holy Ghost dwells. This dwelling implies propriety, familiarity, authority, residency, and fixedness of abode.

Observe, 2. That the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in good men, as in a temple, being the highest honour and most perfect felicity of the reasonable nature, should oblige them to universal holiness, and to avoid all communion with idolaters.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said [ Lev_26:12 ; Exo_29:45 ; Eze_37:27 ; Jer_31:1 ], I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people . [In the first epistle to the Corinthians the apostle had reasoned with the church, giving it instruction as to marriage ties between pagans and believers, and as to the social and other fellowships which tempted the Corinthians to take part in idol feasts. In all this his language had been careful and guarded, and he had recognized to the full every principle of Christian liberty involved in these questions. He now lays aside the argumentative reserve which characterized his first letter and tells them plainly that by thus going to the extreme limits of their liberty they are liable to make the grace of God in vain as to them. That life is a brief day of probation wherein they should not hazard their salvation. Then, by a series of short, terse questions he shows the utter folly, the inconsistency and incongruity of every form of alliance which entangles the children of God with the children of the devil. The world has not so improved, and Satan has not so repented, as to in any way nullify, or even weaken, the weight and applicability of this apostolic warning.]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? As God's temple has nothing in common with the idol temple, so the saints are to be separated from idolators. For ye are the temple of the living God. The Christian is himself the sanctuary of the Lord, as is proved by the passage quoted from Lev. 26:12. God dwells in his people as the Shekinah dwelt between the cherubim.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

16. ἡμεῖς … ἐσμέν (אBDLP, Copt. Aeth.) rather than ὑμεῖς … ἐστέ (א3CD3FGK, Vulg. Arm. Syrr.). Comp. 2Co 7:12, 2Co 8:8; 2Co 8:19 for similar confusion between ἡμεῖς and ὑμεῖς.

16. τίς δὲ συνκατάθεσια ναῷ θεοῦ μετὰ εἰδώλων; The same construction as in the preceding question: What agreement is there for a sanctuary of God with idols? Συνκατάθεσις occurs nowhere else in Biblical Greek; but we have the verb Luk 23:51; Exo 23:1; Exo 23:32. It perhaps refers to depositing a vote with the votes of others and thus giving assent, in which sense it occurs in Polybius.

ἡμεῖς γὰρ ναὸς θεοῦ ἐσμὲν ζῶντος. See critical note. For we are a sanctuary of the living God. It is the community rather than the individual that is a sanctuary of God; but the same is true of the individual also (1Co 6:19). The emphasis is on ἡμεῖς, ‘we Christians’; and ζῶντος, emphatic by position, is in marked contrast to dead idols (1Th 1:9; Act 14:15). Just as the presence of idols pollutes the sanctuary, so the Christian community is polluted by beliefs and acts which savour of idolatry. Vos estis in quorum cordibus habitat et praesidet Deus, qui in se vivens est, et vitam suis dat aeternam; sicut e contrario idola sunt mortua suis cultoribus, qui eis sunt causa mortis aeternae (Herveius Burgidol.). As a metaphor for the Divine indwelling, the ναός, which contained the Holy of Holies, is more suitable than ἱερόν, which included the whole sacred enclosure: 1Co 3:16-17; 1Co 6:19; Eph 2:21. Converts from heathenism would understand the metaphor, for ναός to them would suggest the cella or shrine in which the image of the god was placed. The quotation is from the LXX. of Lev 26:12, with perhaps some recollection of Eze 37:27: but ἐνοικησω ἐν αὐτοῖς is in neither passage, nor in any part of the O.T., although ἔσται ἡ κατασκήνωσίς μου ἐν αὐτοῖς (l.c.) seems to be nearly equivalent. But there is wide difference between ‘walk among them,’ or ‘tabernacle among them,’ and ‘dwell in them.’ It is the difference between the Old Covenant and the New.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16.] συγκατάθ., ‘agreement in opinions;’ see reff., and cf. Plato, Gorg. § 122, σὺ δὲ δὴ πότερον συγκατατίθεσαι ἡμῖν περὶ τούτων τὴν αὐτὴν δόξαν ἢ ἀντιφῇς;

ναῷ θεοῦ, between you, the Church of God,—see below, and 1Co 3:16;—εἰδώλων, idols, as the lords and ἐπώνυμοι of the heathen world.

ὑμεῖς γάρ] explanation of ναῷ θεοῦ as applying to them, and justification of it by a citation from the prophetic Scriptures. The words cited are compounded of Lev 26:12, and Eze 37:26, Eze 37:27.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. τίς δὲ συνκατάθεσις ναῷ Θεοῦ μετὰ εἰδώλων; In this final question, which has no pair, there is no new construction; ‘What agreement hath God’s sanctuary with idols?’ The noun is a technical term with the Stoics; it is not found elsewhere in Bibl. Grk., but ἐκ συνκαταθέσεως, “according to agreement” occurs in papyri. Cf. οὐ συνκαταθήση μετὰ τοῦ ἀδίκου (Exo 23:1). Manasseh had put a graven image of Ashera in the house of the Lord, and Josiah removed and burnt it (2Ki 21:7, 2Ki 23:6). Ezekiel tells of other abominations (8. 3-18), for which unsparing punishments were inflicted by God. The history of Israel had shown with terrible distinctness that God allowed no agreement between His house and idols. This shows that ναοῦ is not to be understood before εἰδώλων, as if the opposition was between the temple of God and a temple of idols. The absolute incongruity is between God’s sanctuary, in which not even an image of Himself might be put up, and images of false gods; also perhaps between dead idols and the temple of the living God. By the introduction of idols the temple ceases to be a temple of God.

ἡμεῖς γὰρ ναὸς Θεοῦ ἐσμὲν ζῶντος. ‘The Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands’ (Act 7:48, Act 17:24). The only suitable temple of the living God is the souls of living beings who can adore and love Him. ‘And such are we.’ The ἡμεῖς (see crit, note) is very emphatic. The Christian Church, rather than the individual Christian (1Co 6:19), is here regarded as God’s sanctuary. What is it about us that is divine? asks Seneca; Quaerendum est quod non fiat in dies deterius, cui non possit obstari. Quid hoc est? animus; sed hit rectus, bonus, magnus. Quid aliud voces hunc, quam Deum in humano corpore hospitantem Subsilire in coelum ex angulo licet; exsurge modo, et to quoque dignum finge Deo (Ep. xxxi. 9, 10). Calvin states the same fact somewhat differently: In Deo hoc speciale est, qui quemcunque locum dignatur sua praesentia, etiam sanctificat. As in Joh 2:21, ὁ ναὸς τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, we have ναός rather than ἱερόν, when human beings are spoken of as shrines for God to dwell in. The ναός was the most sacred part of the ἱερόν, which included buildings for other uses than that of worship and also open spaces. Cf. 1Co 3:16, 1Co 3:3:6. 1Co 3:19; Eph 2:21. Ναός is from ναίειν, ‘to dwell.’

We ought certainly to read ἡμεῖς … έσμἑν (א * B D * L P 17, 67**, d e Copt. Aeth.) rather than ὑμεῖς … ἐστε (א 3 C D3 E F G K, Vulg. Syrr. Arm.), which probably comes from 1Co 3:16. The confusion between ἡμεῖς and ὑμεῖς in MSS. is freq. Cf. 7:12, 8:8, 19; 1Co 7:15. א * has ναοί, an obvious correction.

καθὼς εἶπεν ὁ Θεός. We have first a paraphrase and then a quotation of the LXX of Lev 26:11, Lev 26:12, with a mixture of other passages. Cf. Isa 52:11; Eze 20:34, Eze 20:37:27; 2Sa 7:14; but the remarkable ἐνοικήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς is not in any of them. It is much stronger than ‘walk among them’ or ‘tabernacle among them.’ The introductory words show in each case what passage the Apostle has in his mind. καθὼς εἶπεν ὁ Θεός points to Lev 26:12, λέγει Κύριος to Isa 52:5 or Eze 20:33 or 37:21, and λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ to 2Sa 7:8. Cf. Eze 11:17; Zep 3:20; Zec 10:8.

καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτῶν Θεός. This privilege depends upon their willingness to accept Him; Deus natura omnium est, voluntate paucorum (Pseudo-Primasius).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Agreement [συγκαταθεσις] . Only here in the New Testament.

Compare the kindred verb sugkatatiqemai to consent, Luk 23:51. Lit., a putting down or depositing along with one. Hence of voting the same way with another, and so agreeing.

Ye are. Read, as Rev., we are.

God hath said, etc. The quotation is combined and condensed from Lev 27:11, 12; and Eze 37:27, after the Septuagint. Paul treats it as if directly affirmed of the christian Church, thus regarding that Church as spiritually identical with the true church of Israel.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.