Do Not Attempt to Destroy God’s Holy Temple

By Robb Brunansky

Published June 9, 2026

Charles Spurgeon once said, “If you want a special display of [God], if you would know what is the secret place of the tabernacle of the Most High, the inner chamber of divinity, you must go where you find the church of true believers, for it is here He makes His continual residence known – in the hearts of the humble and contrite, who tremble at His word.”

In this quote, Spurgeon touches on the heart of why the church is so important. It is in the church of gathered true believers where God makes His continual residence known. Paul makes much of this point in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.

We have considered verse 16, seeing two truths on why the church matters. The first is that the gathered church is God’s temple. The second is that God’s Spirit must dwell among His church.

As we think about what the church is, these two truths have two consequences for us to contemplate (verse 17). The first is that temple destroyers will themselves be destroyed.

If the church is God’s temple where His Spirit dwells, then those who seek to destroy the church will be destroyed by the Lord. There are no exceptions. No one has the right or the authority to destroy God’s church. Anyone who does so – no matter what they might claim to believe, to be doing, or to be motivated by – will be destroyed by God.

The word translated “destroys” and “will destroy” is the same word, but because of its multiple meanings, it’s a play on words for readers. In the first instance, it has the idea of destroying something by corrupting it.

We’ve already seen several ways in this letter that someone might wage war on and destroy the temple of God through corruption, including dividing it into factions, introducing false doctrine and gospels, and exalting one person over another. Some within the Corinthian congregation were in the process of committing these very sins, and they were in grave spiritual danger because of the destruction they were threatening to bring to God’s temple.

Another way someone might seek to bring destruction to the local church is by corrupting it through sin and immorality. When persistently ungodly people are allowed within the church, without any discipline, the body’s very existence is threatened. A little sin tolerated in the congregation infects the entire body of Christ and threatens to destroy the church. Sin must be dealt with, and those who are unrepentant must be removed from the body for the church’s purity and protection.

People can also destroy the church through gossip and slander, tearing down others, speaking evil of one another, and going to war with each other. As this occurs amongst the brethren, God’s great work in the church is destroyed. Christians must realize gossip and slander in the church are just as deadly to God’s temple as any other sin. When we use our words to tear down others, rather than to build up, we are destroying the very temple of God. The consequences of gossip and slander seem so insignificant, and yet we know the effects of the damage to individuals and to the church are massive.

The second instance of this word is used of God destroying the one who destroys His temple. Here the word has the same idea of destruction; but instead of destroying by corruption, it’s destroying by condemnation. Obviously, God does not corrupt people, but He does condemn those who are corrupt. By condemning these individuals to eternal judgment, God destroys them.

God’s response to those who destroy His temple is representative of the nature of His perfect justice. In the Mosaic Law, God made it clear that whatever evil one did to someone else would be reciprocated as judgment for those sinful deeds. Christians should love and admire God’s justice because He always gives sinners what their sins deserve – both in the kind and degree of punishment He inflicts.

The only exception to this judgment is when God shows grace rather than justice. God does not always give us what our sins deserve because He offers forgiveness to those who trust in Christ. Christians receive forgiveness, righteousness, and eternal life – all things we do not deserve and did not earn. However, God’s justice is never violated because Christ bore the punishment we deserved in His death on the cross. So, God shows mercy and grace toward us, and He is able to do this and remain just because He poured out His wrath on Christ crucified.

For those outside of Christ, however, they will experience the perfect justice of God and receive exactly what their sins deserve – no more and no less. This is the fate that awaits the individuals who destroy God’s temple: they will be destroyed.

The destruction Paul has in mind is not temporal; it is eternal condemnation and destruction at the final judgment. The punishment that fits the crime for destroying the temple of God is eternal condemnation. We must understand that within local churches, there are false teachers, prophets, brothers, and disciples who all harm God’s temple. Such imposters, who are damaging God’s people, will be exposed and ultimately condemned.

The second consequence of these truths is that God’s temple is holy.

The church is holy. It is a holy people and place as it gathers together, not because the ground or the building is holy, but because of God’s presence among His people.

We should consider what an astonishing statement this is when we think about the Corinthian church (verse 17)! This local congregation was rife with divisions, worldly wisdom, and pride and arrogance. Yet, Paul says they are holy as God’s temple.

So, what about these people was holy? The answer is not that the people were in great shape, or that the church was the beacon of godliness, but that the Holy Spirit is there. God has set apart the church for Himself, and He dwells among His people through the Spirit. The church is God’s holy people even with all of our sins, weaknesses, and failures.

Because the church is holy, we see the enormous sin of seeking to destroy it. To attack the holy temple of God is to attack the Lord and His holiness. To seek to destroy the church is nothing less than to seek to destroy Christ because He is so closely and intimately identified with His people, imperfect as we are. That’s why Jesus asked Saul on the Damascus Road, “Why are you persecuting Me?” when Saul was persecuting the church. Those who attack and seek to destroy the church are ultimately seeking to attack and destroy the Lord of the church.

These are the consequences of the truths in 1 Corinthians 3:16 that the gathered church is God’s temple and that the Spirit dwells in His gathered church: Destroyers of the church will be destroyed, and God’s temple, His church, is holy.