“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
(1 Cor 3:16, 17 NKJV)

Pause for a moment and reflect on what these verses mean. What are you thinking?

Perhaps about how the Holy Spirit dwells within each believer?

Now, think about what it means to “defile” the temple of God.

Are you thinking that because each person is a temple of God we shouldn’t defile our bodies by smoking, drinking, and using mind-altering substances?

If this is how you’ve thought about this verse, you aren’t alone. It is how I’ve often heard this verse explained.

This morning in my devotions I was reading through Chapter 3 of 1st Corinthians and noticed that the “you” in verse 16 had a footnote. My eyes scanned to the bottom of the page. “The Greek for you is plural in verses 16 and 17.”

How does this shift from singular to plural change what this verse means? How does that change how you see yourself and your brothers and sisters in Christ? Think about it.