1st Cor. 3:16-17 "Total Man"

1 Corinthians 3:16–17 (ESV) 16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

“Total Man “

1st Cor. 3:16-17

16 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”

Women will invest in their – pedicure, manicure, hair, stomach reduction, dieting, food, children etc. but NO investment in the Spirit.

Men will invest in their – cars, trucks, business, haircut, beard, workouts, healthy eating, guns, 4 wheelers, motorcycles etc. But NO investment in the Spirit.

Note: We must be concerned about our TOTAL MAN, I’m dealing with the SPIRIT MAN on today, but this lesson is to Challenge us to take care of the total man.

Note: The CHURCH should have ministries in place where we can meet the NEEDS of the congregation Spiritually which every church do through worship service, bible study & Sunday school but Physically, Emotionally & Mentally. But the problem becomes the church/body of Christ is not growing SPIRITUALLY , don’t want to SACRIFICE and SELFISH to meet the needs in these different areas.

Hospital’s have different ares

Grocery stores have different areas

Food-N-Fun stores have different areas

But The Church have mostly Preaching/Teaching & Worship/Praise [ The Total Man ]

Note: when I go to the doctor my doctor before he even tried to treat my pain the area where I am suffering or experiencing some discomfort, he asked me a plethora of questions about my personal life because my personal life has such a great effect on my physical body. [ The Total Man ]

Note: So many things effect the unity of the body of Christ. It’s not so much that people don’t love God but it’s so much that the people of God don’t build and take care of the Spirit Man and because of that there, it brings disunity to the church.

The Corinthians had possessed the GIFTS of the Spirit but have not CULTIVATED the FRUIT of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23 KJV

22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, 23 gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

love, joy, peace – is my PERSONAL relationship with God.

longsuffering, gentleness, goodness – is my RELATIONSHIP with others.

faith, meekness, temperance – is my PERSONAL development in Christ.

Note: We are spirit - soul - body not body - soul - spirit.

Note: This is not saying it the same way because if you look at yourself, body - soul - spirit you will live your life from the outside in but if you understand that you are spirit - soul - body then you’ll live your life from the inside out.

Note: If we start living from the inside out, our life becomes totally about God and obeying God.

Note: If we start living life from the outside in, our life becomes about US and therefore making it easier to disobey God. From the outside in God becomes a PART of your life and NOT YOUR LIFE.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NASB)

23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[ What is your Spirit] — it's that part of you that gives you the ability to communicate with God.

[ What is your Soul] — it's that part of you that gives you the ability to communicate with yourself.

[ What is your Body] — your body gives you the ability to communicate with your environment the five senses.

• So, the way you should live Life God says is from your spirit to your soul and then to your body.

• The reason we have messed up bodies is because we got messed up souls and the reason why we got messed up souls we are not under spirit control.

• When you are under Spirit control the spirit fixes the soul when the soul gets fixed up the soul retrains the body.

Example: nobody eats raw popcorn every kernel of corn has moisture on the inside of it you put the corn in the microwave the microwave heats up the moisture the moisture becomes steam the steam pushes against the shell and after 3 minutes you’re eating popcorn, but it started from the inside. [ Spirit — Soul — Body]

1st Corinthians Chapter 3

Corinthians 3:1-4

Paul had to treat the Corinthians as if they did not have the mind of Christ (2:16) because of their carnality.

(v.1)Spiritual men -- are characterized by the Spirit, but Paul maintained that this church was conducting itself more like men of flesh (sarkinos), i.e., like unbelievers.

Note: The word used in verse 1 is sarkinos and the one used twice in verse 3 is sarkikos.

I Corinthians 3:1 NKJV

1 “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.”

Carnal – Sarkinos - means “made of flesh,” that is, weak but without attaching any blame to that condition. In the case of the Corinthians, their weakness was due to their immaturity.

I Corinthians 3:3 NKJV

3 “For you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?”

Carnal -- Sarkikos - does have an ethical or moral connotation. It means “to be characterized by the flesh, something that is willful and blameworthy.” The first word means “made of flesh,” while the second means “controlled by the flesh.”

Paul sometimes used infants in reference to unbelievers (Rm 2:20; Gl 4:3), but he qualifies the word with in Christ to indicate that he knew they were saved, though acting like unbelievers.

(v.2) Milk -- refers to the basic facts of the gospel that saved them.

Solid food -- is probably the weightier implications of that same gospel, which would help them be less like the world and more united (cf. Php 2:5–11 where Jesus’ sacrifice [the milk] is an example of serving others [solid food]).

(v.3) Fleshly -- means “to think or behave as an unregenerate person under the control of the sin nature,” and is parallel to walking like mere (unsaved) men, a phrase Paul used to describe a purely secular mindset (Rm 3:5; 1Co 9:8; 15:32; Gl 1:1).

Corinthians 3:5–9

Here Paul sought to temper their overinflated view of their church heroes.

(v.5) The key to the success of Apollos and Paul was the Lord who gave opportunity to each one (v. 5).

(v.6) Paul used the imperfect tense in the phrase, was causing the growth (v. 6), to emphasize God’s role in their progress.

Note: Don’t let the lack of RESULTS mess you up, just keep OBEYING God.

(v.7) But he also used aorist verbs (planted; watered) to understate the significance of the human servants, a point made clearly in v. 7.

(v.8) Paul and Apollos were one (v. 8), probably a reference to sharing the same level of relative (un)importance for the church’s development.

They have a similar status, but will receive distinct rewards (reward means “payment earned for work one has completed”).

Serving God to gain eternal rewards is a legitimate motivation, and neither Jesus nor Paul discouraged it (Mt 5:12, 46; 6:1, 4; 1Co 9:17; Rv 22:12).

Part of Paul’s and Apollos’s similar status (v. 8a) included them being fellow workers employed by God (not “they both work alongside God as He works”). God is the employer, the owner of the farm and the building.

Corinthians 3:10–15

(v.9) Those who worked on constructing God’s building (the church ) will be held accountable for it. Paul attributed his ministerial success to God’s grace (“exceptional effect produced by [God’s] generosity,” roughly synonymous with God’s power; cf. BDAG, 1080) (v. 10).

(v.11) A master builder (architekton) was both a building’s designer and construction supervisor. Paul laid the right foundation, Jesus Christ (v. 11), but he warned the harsh leaders at Corinth to be careful about how they built on it.

(v.12) Gold, silver, precious stones in the context of 1Co 1–4 refers to ministry that produces harmony. Wood, hay, straw refers to practices that lead to personal aggrandizement and widespread disunity.

Note: You can work good (That’s for YOU) or you can do good works (That’s for GOD) Matthew 5:16

16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

(v.13) In the day of the Lord following the rapture of the Church, God will demonstrate that He is aware of those negative influences (v. 13) and will evaluate them negatively. Fire serves as a symbol of God’s judgment that consumes what is not acceptable to Him (cf. Zch 13:9).

(v. 15) Those whose toil resulted in strife will be saved but barely (yet so as through fire describing a narrow escape from some catastrophe). He or she will suffer loss of rewards. The reward (v. 14) probably includes expanded opportunities to serve Jesus with profound satisfaction in a glorious setting (His kingdom), and hearing the commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (see the comments on Mt 25:21, 23; 1Co 4:5).

Corinthians 3:16–17

Paul wants the Corinthians to take seriously what they were doing (the you here is plural in the original Greek text). They were not their own. As the church of Jesus Christ, they were in fact God’s temple, indwelt by the Spirit of God (3:16).

To bring harm upon the church through illegitimate division or false doctrine would result in God’s temporal judgment because God manifests his holy presence among his people (3:17). It is no small thing in God’s eyes to bring destruction upon his church (see Acts 5:1–11)

3:16 Paul reminds the believers that they are the temple (Gk., the inner shrine or sanctuary) of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in them. It is true that every individual believer is also a temple of God indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but that is not the thought here. The apostle is looking at the church as a collective company, and wishes them to realize the holy dignity of such a calling.

THE TOTAL MAN

1st The Scriptures must be the FINAL AUTHORITHY in the church.

Psalm 119:89

“Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.”

2nd The Saints must make a Symphony Sound

Note: if we are going to have unity in the body of Christ, there’s something very important that we need to know if we’re going to have unity and that is we all are different and we all have issues .

Note: Being on ONE ACCORD is not us thinking the same , acting the same but being on one accord is all of us submitting to the AUTHORITY of the Spirit to govern our doings, actions and ministries and having the MIND of CHRIST.

Eph. 4:2-6

1 “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

3rd Sanctification keep the Saints with Standards

Romans 6:6

6 “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”

Col. 3:5

5 “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

4th The Saints hold each other Accountable.

Note: Nathan and David [ 2nd Samuel 12:1-5]

5th The Steadfastness of the Saints

1st Cor. 15

15 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”