A Temple Not for Rent

New Testament | 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

A Temple of the Holy Spirit

12 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. 13 You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. 14 And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.

15 Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! 16 And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” 17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

Chiastic Structure: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

- A – Misused Freedom (v.12)
- B – Purpose of the Body (v.13)
- C – Resurrection & Destiny (v.14)
- D – Pivot: Union Principle (vv.15–17) – the theological keystone
- C′ – Sin’s Effect on the Body (v.18)
- B′ – Identity of the Body (v.19)
- A′ – True Use of Freedom (v.20)

Old Testament | Deuteronomy 4:5-21

5 “Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy. 6 Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’ 7 For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? 8 And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?

9 “But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. 10 Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai, where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.’

11 “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while flames from the mountain shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness. 12 And the Lord spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words but didn’t see his form; there was only a voice. 13 He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets. 14 It was at that time that the Lord commanded me to teach you his decrees and regulations so you would obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy.

A Warning against Idolatry

15 “But be very careful! You did not see the Lord’s form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai. 16 So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman, 17 an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky, 18 a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea. 19 And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The Lord your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth. 20 Remember that the Lord rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today.

21 “But the Lord was angry with me because of you. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan River into the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession.

Parallel Wisdom Echoes

• An ancient storyteller warned of a predator dressed like the flock — the danger of appearance without transformation.

• A teacher from the East said the mind and heart are the only true sanctuary, and their keeper must be vigilant.

• A rabbinic sage likened the soul to royal treasure entrusted under oath.

• A poet of the Wisdom Way said: purity cannot be outsourced; each person must guard their own temple.

Different tongues, same truth:
What you join yourself to shapes what you become.

PARDES Reflection (Four Levels of Study)

Peshat (Simple / Surface Level):

You’re not your own; your body belongs to God and must reflect His holiness.

Remez (Hint / Symbolic):

Moses’ warning against idols and Paul’s warning against sexual sin are both about union — joining with what competes for God’s place.

Drash (Inquire / Interpretive):

If your body is the meeting place of heaven and earth, how should that change your daily choices?

Sod (Secret / Mystical):

The body as temple means the Spirit is the Shekhinah between the cherubim of heart and mind. To join it with what is profane is not just self-harm — it disturbs the cosmic order. Every temple is a microcosm of heaven; what happens in it casts either shadow or light into eternity.

Hebrew & Greek Word Studies

- מִקְדָּשׁ (Mikdash) – “Sanctuary, holy place” (root קדש qadash – set apart).

- נָחַל (Nachal) – “To inherit, receive possession” (Deut 4:21).

- רוּחַ (Ruach) – “Spirit, breath, wind” – the Shekhinah presence dwelling within.

- θεμέλιος (Themelios) – Foundation: that which supports everything else.

The sacred was never meant to sit still.
The Mishkan walked with the people through the wilderness.
The Temple rooted itself in Jerusalem.
And now the Spirit makes His home —
 not in pillars of cedar,
 not behind stone gates,
 but in the marrow and breath of those who bear His name.

It’s a story in three movements: wilderness, city, incarnation —
each one pulling God’s presence closer,
until there’s no curtain left between Him and us.

The psalmist understood: the blueprint for the soul was drawn by God before the first heartbeat (Psalm 139).
Moses understood: an inheritance is only as safe as the faithfulness of those who hold it (Deut. 4).
Paul understood: the union of body and Spirit is not poetry — it’s possession.
And possession means this:
The sacred is never owned by us.
It’s entrusted.
Lived in.
But never leased out.
Sell what you don’t own,
and you tear apart the very architecture of belonging.