Book of 1 Corinthians - Ch. 3, Vs. 15-18 (11/05/2000)

1 Corinthians 3:15 and the Saved Work That Is Burned Up

Turn to the book of 1st Corinthians chapter 3, verse 15. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved. Yet so is my fire, so his work will be lost, but he'll be saved.

Now we're coming to verse 16 and this morning. I'm going to lay out for you a very, very important subject. You will have to listen extraordinarily diligently. And I ask you to come with no preconceived ideas.

I want everyone, first of all, I wanted everybody here on time. Now let me start over. This morning, beginning with verse 16 of the third chapter of 1st Corinthians. I'm going to discuss with you a very, very important theological thought.

There are some rules we must lay down in the beginning. First is that we all have an open mind and not use preconceived ideas. Second is that no one jumps to conclusions. Wait until we're through with all of the discussion.

It could take a month, but it won't. But as I have been studying over the last three months this one verse, there have been lots of things opened up to me. And I know that the Lord has prompted me to share them with you.

So you're going to need to listen very closely. And when I make a statement, don't jump to the negative. Don't jump to the positive. Just take the statement and think about it. The verse reads like this.

The Temple of God as the Spiritual Man Within

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? First of all, how do we know that the body is not the man? Well, the body dies, so we know it because the man can exist without the body.

Right? Because we have eternal life. This physical body is but a tent. It is a house in which we live. Someday it will be taken away. If we die, it will decompose, and we will go on to be with the Lord.

If we live till the rapture, Russell, it will be changed. Changed from what it is into an immortal body. One that we will have the rest of our eternal life. Verse 17. If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Now, the word temple is in italics. If it is not in your Bible, it should be. So it reads like this. For the temple of God is holy, which ye are. It refers to the holy, not to the temple. You are holy.

Deborah, what does the word holy mean to you? Could we say it is God himself? I gave you a handout last week. I hope you have read it and not read it to argue with it, but read it to understand. Is it reasonable that a holy, righteous, pure, undefiled, godly creature would live in a sinful, lustful, debauched, wretched house?

Is that reasonable? That he would? Okay. Certainly, God is holy. He lives. He does not live. He resides. His presence is in a holy dwelling, not a dwelling as we think of a dwelling, for he is every place.

Our old body will never be redeemed. Is that right? I got an affirmative at the beginning that the body would die and decay and go away. When it has served its purpose, it will be gone, Greg. Yet, we will not be gone.

We will be transformed, translated into another body. So, is it reasonable that you can house or keep a godly spirit in a deplorable dwelling? That, of course, demands a negative answer. It is not reasonable that you can do that.

This temple of which we are cannot be the wicked, physical body of a righteous person. I want you to understand we have two bodies. We have the physical. We have the spiritual. The physical we can see.

But, David, the spiritual I cannot see. I believe it exists, but I believe it by faith because I have never seen it. So, our temple is the spiritual body in which we exist because it is holy. His temple is holy.

Now, don't get it confused with the physical body. It is true that our spiritual is housed in the physical. And in that sense, our temple could be in the physical body, yet not the physical body. If you go back to the wilderness, to the tabernacle, and I hope we're all familiar with the picture of that tabernacle.

We had a courtyard around the outside. There's a tent set up. Then we had the outside yard where the women and Gentiles could be. Then we had the tabernacle itself made up of two rooms. The first room was called the meeting room or where God met with man.

And into this, all priests could go. We are a priest, a holy, righteous priest. Into the Holy of Holies, the high priest went once a year. No one else did. It is in that Holy of Holies that is within us that the Holy Spirit or God dwells.

We have a replica of the tabernacle within us. We have the outside, which is outside of the fence. That's the world. Then, depending upon our growth and upon our state, we are either in the outside court or in the meeting place.

And we meet then with God in the Holy of Holies. So, the temple of which we're discussing this morning cannot be just the physical body.

Yes? The fleshly body. The outside. That's right. The innermost part. That's right.

That's right. As you traveled through the wilderness, as you walked, you could see the tabernacle. You could see the curtain that was around the outside. That's us. As I walk across the yard, I can see you, but I'm not in you.

I can just see you. The outside curtain was, I forget exactly the height, but it was over six foot. In fact, it's about eight foot, meaning that nobody can look over into the temple by walking up to it.

They can't see over it. Well, the world cannot see anything spiritual. Now, the fact that the real us, the born-again us, is in the holy temple that is within our bodies, does not give us the right to stay in a dirty house.

It is well documented that if you live in a dirty, unkempt house, you will become the same. By the house, I mean our physical body. Because we are born again, because we are living in the temple, and we have the temple, the holy temple within us, does not give us the right to expose the physical body to anything that comes along.

Now, why would that be true? Why is it that a Christian cannot live physically like he used to? What does that do? No, you would be influencing others. Your influence would not amount to much. If you are a Christian and you live like the world, because you look just like them.

Now, let's keep them straight. We have a temple which is holy within us. We have a body which is not holy, and that's where the temple is contained. He made it that way. It has to be that way. Because right now, I cannot exist outside of this body.

I know there are people who claim to have an out-of-body experience. Did you ever hear that? Well, only in their dreams do they ever have that. Yes, I understand what you're saying. But I want you all to not rush ahead of me.

Just absorb what's being said as we go, and don't try to draw any conclusions until we get all the way through. That's right. That's right. That's right. We represent God. Diane?

God, which is salvation. We cannot... Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world outside. So we can never lose that salvation. But what is lost, if you're truly His, is that work. That's divine.

That's right. That's just what I'm thinking. I don't want to jump ahead. Well, just set that to the side for a minute, because we're going to get to the defining of the temple. But I'm purposely taking it very, very slow, because I have learned.

You all are so advanced to what most of my students have been, that I have realized that I'm misinterpreted sometimes, even by you. Part of it is that you have already made up your mind as to what it is, and you're usually right.

But this time, just wipe everything clean, and just start with me, step by step. And we'll finally get to the defining of the temple. And it is possible. But we'll leave that until we get there. And what you've all said is right.

Christian Witness, Works, and the Judgment of Influence

Now, it is wrong to teach that because your body, meaning the physical body, is the temple of God, you must not drink, smoke, dance, play cards, do anything that would defile the temple. I grew up with that philosophy.

Mother would tell me, now, you're not supposed to do that, because remember, you are the temple of God. And I was doing physical things. Well, that's not really true. Now, we're not supposed to do that.

But it's not because that body is the temple of God. We're not supposed to do it because of our witness, our influence, our works in the world. We're to be different. All right? She meant that I was the temple, meaning the physical body again.

Yes, sir. That's right. That's right. And he had already established that we will be saved even though the work's burned up. We've already established that man exists outside of the body. So the body is not it.

And that's where I would say, David, 90%, at least, of Christians that study are locked into the body, physical, is the temple of God. I want us to understand the difference. No. But I want us to get beyond that because it will increase our knowledge of God tremendously.

Now, please understand that the degrading things should not be done. Remember, Paul said, shall we sin then because we're saved? My words. And he said, God forbid such a thought. Yes. Can't see him. Well, that's that's the first room of the tabernacle.

Outside of that is the courtyard. That's right. That's right. That's a good point. It's the spiritual body. OK. Now, we're to not do those degrading things for that would destroy your Christian influence.

Can you see that? If you just live like everybody else, then you come up, you remember a lot. When he found out he's going to have to leave, he went out and talked to his son-in-law and they laughed at him.

It was because of the life that he'd led. You, you have gotten word from God. We would say you're a Christian. I never knew it till now. And you had to tell me. This is what we will be judged for is our influence on other people.

Our works is we're going to be judged not for salvation, not for destination. That's already fixed. But we will be judged upon our works. That comes from the influence we have on other people. And that can only spring from a godlike spirit.

But it does not defile the holy temple. There's nothing you can do outside that will defile the holy of holies that's in you. You understand? You can't sin enough to where it will defile that part of you.

You can sin enough to where, well there's another aspect that's coming, but you can sin until you have absolutely no influence on anybody else whatsoever. Please understand we have a physical body and we have a spiritual body.

Is everybody straight on that? Is anybody wondering about it? Right now is the time to ask. Don't, don't jump ahead of me. I'm determined to hold Diane to what we're talking about today. She's so knowledgeable on the Bible, which is fine.

Alright. The physical, we can see. I can see Bill sitting there. I see Richard. That's the physical. I can see half of him now. I've just got one eye. The spiritual we cannot see. Now, Joy, because I cannot see the spiritual, then does that mean it doesn't exist?

No. Just because we can't see it is no rule to say it doesn't exist. We have a carnal mind that should, and I'll say should, be under the influence of our spiritual being. It isn't always. And when it isn't, Russell, we sin.

Our physical body, our hands, our tongue, our ears, our feet, everything about the physical should be under the domination of the spiritual part of you. Any disagreement? The reason I put should in is because it not always is.

And when it is not is when we sin. Go to Romans 6, 14. 15 and 16 and 17 and 18. Let's get some confirmation on what we're saying this morning. Romans 6, 14. For sin, and in Romans 6 especially always read as sin nature.

For sin nature shall not, imperative, have dominion over you. For ye are not under the law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we're not under the law but under grace? God forbid. Know you not that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey.

Whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness. But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin. The sin nature. But you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered to you.

And he says I know it because I'm the one that delivered it to you. Being then made free from sin. Oh I like that David. It is a known absolute positive fact. I am free from sin as being the dominating force in my life.

Being made free from sin ye become the servants of righteousness. You got to be one or the other you cannot be in between. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat because he. Now this is Romans 14 23 excuse me.

And he that doubteth is damned if he eat because he eateth not of faith. For whatsoever is not of faith is sin. The last part of that is the most powerful part. Whatever is not of faith is sin. Very simply stated Greg.

So everything that we do and believe is by faith. If you have to see it to believe it then that's not faith. And again he says in 1 John 3 chapter 9 verse. Whosoever is born of God doth not sin. Doth not commit sin.

For his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God. Now we know we sin. We also know we're Christian. So there's got to be some correlation here Greg. Because it says whosoever is born of God does not commit sin.

How would you explain that Greg? So we'd have to define whosoever wouldn't we? The whosoever part of you which is the spiritual born again. That part does not sin. You understand that? Now it's when you leave that part.

And you run back under the old sin nature that we sin. We don't have to wait till we get there. It's just by leaving that we sin. So we now know that the born again part. The redeemed part. The new man.

The righteousness of Christ that is in us cannot sin. Could Jesus sin? Can Christ sin? Can God sin? Then we're in him. Do you suppose he would have us in him if we were going to spend a life of sinning?

No way. Our sin occurs when we choose to leave the protection of our God like spiritual redeemed being. And return to the old nature. And we have that option Richard. That we can sin if we want to. We never have to.

Every sin is because you want to. It would be like the Israelites going back to Egypt. You remember when they come out and they hadn't been out but about three or four days. And they said we ought to go back.

We missed those cucumbers. And boiled cabbage. Did they get to go back? Why didn't they get to go back David? Right. He wouldn't allow it. Neither will he allow us to return under the domination of sin.

The carnal mind, when not under the direct influence of our spiritual dictation, can only work by sight. Let me say that again. The carnal mind, when not under the direct influence of our spiritual dictation, can only function by sight.

Not by faith. Now to defile our holy temple means this. First of all, you are saved or you would not have a holy temple. You see that? Otherwise you could not have a spiritual temple. So to defile our holy temple means to bring into it something that is not holy.

Now again keep the tabernacle in mind. It is as though you come from outside into the holy place, the meeting room, and you have something that is all I can think of is that sow that was slaughtered. But you have something that you have brought of yourself, and that's enough to make it sinful, and you carry it right on into the holy of holies.

But you can do that only this way. To defile our holy temple is to bring into it something that is not holy, to teach or believe a false doctrine, to intentionally lead innocent people down the path of hell.

The false teaching does not affect the outward body. The false teaching does not affect the outward physical body. It's working in the spiritual now. Yes. Yes. That's right. The false teaching does not affect the outward body, but rather the inward man.

And this is why it's so dangerous. When we force the carnal to become the spiritual, when we demand that it is my Christianity, the carnal, and I demand that as my Christianity, when we bring the old man to life again and teach that that old man is my new man, then we have brought Satan into the holy temple of ourself, and that is sin.

False Teaching, the Book of the Living, and Early Judgment

Now, it says, him shall God destroy. This is what Diane had reference to a moment ago. Him shall God take out of the book of the living. Now, understand the book of living and the Lamb's book of life.

The Jews had two books. When you were born, you were entered into the one of the book of the living. When you died, your name was taken out of that and put into the other book, which they knew they had to keep track of everybody all of the time until Jesus came to know which tribe was where.

So they had a book that listed everybody that had been born and died and everybody that was living. That's the book of the living. So, him shall God take out of the book of the living. I cannot fathom a Christian knowingly teaching an untruth, but if it be possible, and it seems to me that by the word it is possible for a Christian to teach an untruth.

I can't judge that. He will be in danger of being called home early. And that's what Diane was speaking of. Yes.

Yes, that's right.

That's right. But in that case, we were not teaching it. He was teaching it. No. But we succumb to that and that's because we don't understand. That's right. And the spirit that's in us will tell you when you hear something that's wrong.

Now, you can have that experience and you have never studied the subject that's under discussion. But you know it's wrong. I know that's true because that's happened to me.

Now, Brother Lewis, if you could go one step further.

Well, you're asking me questions only God can really answer. But it would seem to me that your sin, if there are greater and lesser sins, would depend entirely upon your influence on other people. You're not doing it, as far as you're concerned, maliciously.

He is. And you should go and study it. That's exactly what you should do. Yes, exactly. Exactly. Did you say that's why he went to the Gentiles?

No, I'm saying why. It was easy for him to speak to the Gentiles and not his own people. They wouldn't listen to him.

Well, from his viewpoint, that's right. That's right. But from God's viewpoint, it was that way. He was commissioned. Well, he was told that he was to be the ambassador to the Gentiles.

Brother Otis, wouldn't this sort of be analogous to what's going on right now for all of us? Any of us who turn on the television or the radio or read the newspaper or whatever are being told things that are absolutely so contrary to the truth that we know immediately that it's wrong.

And they're trying to persuade us to do things that are wrong. And that shows you that God is operating within you all the time. That's right. He doesn't desert you ever.

All right. On the other hand, this is a very strong warning to all of those so-called preachers and teachers that are feeding the world with their damnable satanic doctrines. They shall never be saved.

This verse has and can apply to the earthly church as the temple of God. And every man that I read, all the research I have done, speaks of you are the temple of God, meaning the local earthly church.

Well, we know it can't be the building. It's got to be the people. And that brings it right back to exactly where I am. The place of His dwelling here on earth is not the building. It's the heart, the Holy of Holies in each one of His people.

But even if it were here, it would have to be His influence that is here. And His influence is here when we're here. It cannot be Him personally, because that would be the Shekinah glory, which was in the Old Testament.

And we don't have that part of Him now. The earthly church is made visible by His people. Let no man deceive you, going to verse 18 now. Let no man deceive himself. To deceive yourself, to mislead yourself.

Yourself is the new man. So don't let anybody mislead themselves, meaning the new man. So don't let your new man be deceived. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

All human philosophy is damnable when compared to the gospel. And it is vain deceit. Let no man be bloated with vain arrogance of his own wisdom. We must stop here. And I think we'll go over it next week, although just a summary.

I hope you have listened and have taken notes, mentally at least, and can think now on this temple of God. We are a holy edifice here on earth. We are holy, and it's not the physical body. All right, our time is up.

Is there anything from anyone now? Briefly? Well, we have access to the old spirit, carnally. But the real us is the new spirit. And we still have to have access to the old, or we can never sin. Yes. Our desire drives the spiritual.

We desire to please God. Now, also, our desire sins. We sin only because we desire to sin. So we have something I cannot answer right now. I can't give you the name of the object that is really driving both of these.

Maybe it's our will. Our will. Briefly. Well, we have a partial free will. We can sin if we want to. We cannot become unsaved if we want to. Anything else? Yes. No. He'll give us the desire to desire what he wants in our life.

And it is from him. Without him, without him giving us that, we'd be worse than an animal. That's good. Yes.

We're all plenty ignorant.