If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
God's holy dwelling is both His people together as a church and each person's body individually, because His Spirit lives in them. Anyone who corrupts that dwelling will be destroyed by God, a solemn warning that stands for all time. That corruption comes through division and strife, false teaching and pride, sexual impurity, intemperate eating and drinking and use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs, neglect and abuse of the body, and selfishness, covetousness and worldliness, with its influence spreading to others. Breaking the laws of health is breaking God's law, and the penalty falls in suffering, disease, weakened mind and morals, and death in this life, and in eternal loss at the judgment unless cleansed. No one can cleanse himself, but Christ will cleanse the heart-temple when welcomed and sought in repentance, confession and reform, and the cleansed life is kept holy by temperance, purity, unity and faithful care of the body for His service in readiness for His coming.
Temple Identity and Holiness
Believers together are God's holy temple because His Spirit dwells in them, and this temple is holy, so anyone who defiles it God will destroy. The warning belongs to the truth that all do not have the same work, but are ministers and laborers together with God who plant and water and build upon the one foundation which is Jesus Christ. It applies to carnal conduct among believers, for jealousy, strife, division, and selfishness defile the church and show that its members are not living by Christ's Spirit, so Christians must be purged of wrong tendencies and keep God's temple free from defilement.
Each person individually is also in co-partnership with God as His building, and the human body itself is God's holy temple made holy by the Spirit of God dwelling in it. This lesson applied to the daily lives of Israel, and it means the body as God's temple must not be defiled but must be cared for conscientiously, which condemns ignorant or careless neglect. Uncleanliness in dress defiles the temple because it is unhealthful to body and soul, so dress must be cleanly to keep the temple undefiled.
The soul, heart, and mind are God's temple and soul-temple with an inner sanctuary meant for Christ and the Holy Spirit to occupy and dwell in. It is desecrated when frivolous reading, trifling conversation, worldly pleasure, worldliness, frivolity, and pride crowd out God's Word and take the place Christ should occupy, and when the heart filled with pride, pleasure-loving, and love of display leaves no room for ennobling truth and allows Satan rather than Christ to dwell within. Selfish thoughts and interests defile it, and so do pride, self-uplifting, self-glorying, self-exaltation, pet idols, favorite sins, covetousness, worldliness, deceit, falsehood, impurity, and offerings tainted with the corruption of self; when truth sanctifies the heart those cherished sins are put away. Habits and vicious practices pollute the soul-temple and must be given up, for merely improving outward conduct while cherishing sin within does not cleanse it, and unless the defiled soul-temple is purged it will become entirely corrupted. Those guilty often do not discern their condition yet are in imminent danger of losing their souls, with the same blindness that kept the Jews from receiving Christ now keeping people from receiving Him into the inner sanctuary, so that because of cherished sin the Holy Spirit can do little for the professed believer, leaving the church weak and institutions tainted while the Lord is coming and His people are far from walking in the light. Cleansing requires confession of sin and seeking the Lord, with the temple refined, purified, and cleansed through thorough conversion.
The temple is God's workmanship and masterpiece, every human being created for a high and holy purpose, with the body with every nerve, muscle, and mental and physical power to be kept pure as a temple for His Spirit and with God's law to be written on every part of the human tabernacle. Bodies are not their own but God's property bought with the infinite price of Christ's humiliation, suffering and death, so they must glorify God in body and spirit, and solemn accountability rests on every soul to keep soul, body, and spirit free from all that defiles. From eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator, a purpose represented by the sanctuary and by the skillful workmanship done for the tabernacle as a special representation of the exalted character of God's service and of the sacredness of the human temple. Because of sin humanity ceased to be a temple for God, the heart darkened and defiled by evil and no longer revealing the glory of the divine One, but by the incarnation of the Son of God the purpose of heaven is fulfilled, God dwells in humanity, and through saving grace the heart becomes again His temple with pardon for sin and power to obey. The temple of God is thus the human body with soul and spirit as the habitation of God through the Spirit, to be garrisoned and preserved holy unto the Lord by thorough conversion of the whole being to God. To defile the temple is to defile body and self by false doctrine or by any unholy practice, including careless example, criticism, and faultfinding, and to allow anything to enter that weakens or cripples the human machinery by disordering the body through gratification of appetites and passions and by wrong habits and practices in eating and drinking and in labor in any line, living apart from God in imperfection. Such habits determine the future destiny of man, and a habitation not converted to God is entered by Satan to destroy the human organism, but God will destroy those who defile His temple because His temple is holy. Defilement is never private, for individual influence works for good or for evil, and one who defiles himself harms himself and many others and helps defile the church, as corrupting influence spreads like evil leaven through the church of God. Because the human temple is sacred and holy, working men should show refinement and true Christian courtesy and not become exalted over skill and aptitude.
The temple also includes God's church on earth and His church buildings, institutions, and meetinghouses established for His work, which must stand holy without corruption. The church is made of living stones fitted closely together with each stone having its own place to fill, and now is the time for the stones to be taken from the quarry of the world into God's workshop to be hewed, squared, and polished so they shine. All who profess the truth are to fill their respective places in the great work for this time, standing like Daniel with every phase of character under divine control, prepared day by day to fill a place in the temple of God, for Sabbathkeepers should be all that the name Christian represents, having an experimental knowledge of what it means to be Christians and children of God that shows in baptism and in free testimony. Just as God's temple was built with exact care, so His church must be built with exact care in character building, with no cheap material, no worthless timbers brought into character, and no haphazard, careless, indifferent work, but piece fitting piece perfectly in matching the different parts. Men who submit to God's control become a holy temple unto the Lord, and this applies to all Christian activity, including the building of meetinghouses and a new chapel built to comfortably accommodate those who assemble to worship God and do Him honor, where God signalizes His presence in their midst and where those appointed with skill and understanding must ask God, work in harmony with Him, and make God's glory the motive in handling tools and in every phase of the work. God's people and their institutions belong to Him as His holy temple and may not use that identity to excuse disobedience, for God will cleanse and purify His temple when commercial activity displaces Him and His law is neglected, and His people must answer for how much of His law they have obeyed. The house dedicated to the worship of God must not be defiled by bringing in intemperate tobacco users who profess to be temperance advocates, for using tobacco in the house of God defiles the temple of God, and coarse speeches and noisy talk and actions in the house of God also defile it, bring no credit, and are not in God's order. If leaders persist in exalting themselves after warnings, God will bring judgment upon their bodies.
Corinthian Context and Building
Paul's warning belongs to his reproof of carnality at Corinth, where envying, strife, divisions and party spirit around Paul and Apollos proved believers were babes in Christ and not spiritual. Claiming to believe while counting themselves as independent atoms or linking up with the one man under whose labors they received light, taking sides with a favorite minister and refusing harmony, showed they were walking as men and not being sanctified through the truth. Glorying in men, self-deception through worldly wisdom, and building with wood, hay and stubble that will not stand the fire's test defile God's building and bring loss and destruction, while worldly wisdom must be given up to become truly wise because it is foolishness with God. The whole chapter corrects that divisive spirit to bring believers to the spirit that should control their actions in Christ Jesus, calling those cemented to men and tied up in separate bundles to reconversion lest their claimed conversion become a stumbling block to sinners.
All building must be done upon the one foundation which is Jesus Christ, for believers together are God's building and holy temple in whom the Spirit dwells. Ministers are laborers together with God with differing yet one work, one planting and another watering while God gives the increase, so neither planter nor waterer is anything and each shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. Work built with gold, silver and precious stones abides and receives reward, while every person's work will be revealed and tested by fire, and wood, hay and stubble brings loss. Character must be built in union with the divine Builder upon the sure foundation with careful material brought to the foundation-stone, piece fitting piece perfectly with no cheap, worthless, haphazard or careless work, since daily choices and small departures from principle shape either a crooked structure or a fitting temple for God.
No person is appointed to be a foundation for others to build on, nor to order, control or judge the duties of God's laborers in place of God. Putting human restraints on His servants dishonors God and hinders His work, and a minister who emphasizes another phase of truth or presents the Word in a different way is not to be condemned. Each person is to seek God directly, be taught by the Holy Spirit, cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils, and refuse to lean on human wisdom or be compelled by any ruling power, because leaning on human wisdom places a veil between God and man. Cherishing prejudice, envy, jealousy, evil surmisings and discord separates from brethren and from God and hinders the Spirit, so His people must obey to be all of one mind, love as brethren, be pitiful and courteous, united in mind, heart, soul and strength with heavenly agencies and without spot and wrinkle.
The special instruction and reproof in 1 Corinthians 1-3 must be read carefully in every church and received by every minister for the soul's sake, reproving all the churches wherever located as carnal rather than spiritual. Every word of the chapter is to be understood and appreciated, thought over at home and given personal application, with God helping understanding. Ministers and churches are to search the Scriptures, seek the truth, humble their hearts before God, stop finding fault with one another and improve themselves, separate from all hindrances and travel in the pathway of God's will. A great many who think they are prepared for the Lord's coming are not, and unless humbled and obedient, confessing Christ and coming out of darkness into His marvelous light to become free and all light in the Lord, their names will not be placed in the book of life.
How Temple Is Defiled
The temple is defiled by carnal conduct in the church, for jealousy, strife, division, selfishness, rivalry, selfish thoughts and interests, and refusal of harmony show members are not living by Christ's Spirit and bring God's destruction upon His holy dwelling. Envying, strife, divisions and party spirit prove believers are carnal babes in Christ and not spiritual, especially when they claim to believe yet stand as independent atoms or link up in separate bundles around the one man under whose labors they received light, saying I am of Paul and I am of Apollos and taking sides with a favorite minister. Withdrawing from some for imagined reasons and binding up with others, cherishing prejudice, evil surmisings, discord, harsh domineering authority, and judging fellow believers because they do not appear perfect in words, spirit or actions separates from brethren and from God, hinders the manifestation of the Spirit, and leaves the church weak. Paul and Apollos are only ministers by whom belief came, one planting and one watering while God gives the increase, so neither is anything, and every laborer receives reward according to his own labor whether building with gold, silver and precious stones that abide or with wood, hay and stubble that fire reveals and consumes to loss. Those truly converted are sanctified to be channels of grace in love and unity from one great Source, each strengthening the other, making straight paths for the feet lest the lame be turned out of the way, and taking diligent heed to present sanctifying truth until differences are put away and all are of one mind, pitiful and courteous.
The temple is defiled by false doctrine, worldly wisdom, man-worship and idolatry in the heart, pride and self-exaltation, and teachings that excuse sin and lead others into error. All building must be on the foundation of Jesus Christ, with no self-deception through wisdom of this world which is foolishness with God, no glorying in men, and no human skill or hand designing the dwelling for the Most High, which each must prepare with a contrite and humble spirit. To defile body and self by false doctrine or any unholy practice, including careless example, criticism and faultfinding, yielding to lower appetites and passions, refusing conversion, refusing to bow the will to heaven, refusing forgiveness, and letting Satan plant evil seed in the mind and pass it to others, corrupts the holy dwelling and brings destruction by allowing cause to produce effect. Such defilement requires the soul to be purified through obedience to the truth, guarding the mind from wrong channels, doing all the Lord requires, becoming a fool to become wise, and keeping soul, body and spirit free as those bought with a price with God's law written on every part of the human tabernacle.
The temple is defiled by sexual immorality and indulgence of baser passions, including secret habits that corrupt the body, use up vital powers, and bring gradual decay and death. Adultery, fornication, lustful practices even through the years husband and wife are united, perverted appetites and passions, impurity abiding in mind or heart, sentimentalism and spiritualistic affection outside marriage, giving a wife second place in affections, and receiving or showing affection that belongs to marriage outside marriage spoil purity, destroy self-control and moral power, debase the mind, weaken the brain, and corrupt physical, mental and moral power. Those who indulge such habits cannot be Christians while persisting in them and cannot enjoy God's favor unless they sincerely repent, reform completely, pursue holiness, and overcome lustful practices rather than let them consume vital powers, for moral pollution leaves them diseased in body, soul and spirit as instruments of unrighteousness and unfit temples for the Holy Spirit who cannot offer acceptable sacrifice. Keeping thoughts and actions elevated, being true as steel to marriage vows in thought, word and deed, respecting, cherishing and loving one's wife, centering affections on proper objects, turning wholly to God so Christ takes charge of affections, and keeping character without blemish prepares for immortality and life with holy beings. Eating and drinking that excite and strengthen lower passions and deaden moral powers belongs to the same defilement, requiring moral principle strictly carried out and a simple, unfeverish diet of grains and fruits in as natural condition as possible rather than meat and rich food, with taste never consulted apart from physical, intellectual and moral health so passions can be controlled by those preparing for translation.
The temple is defiled by intemperate eating and drinking and by drugs and stimulants, for the body belongs to God by creation and redemption, purchased at the infinite price of Christ's life, and must be consecrated, valued, and preserved in best condition for service rather than knowingly abused or treated carelessly. Gluttony and strong drink, surrender to satanic control in practices ruinous to health, piety and spirituality, indulgence of tobacco, liquor or other harmful appetites, and use of meat, tea, coffee, cheese, rich and unhealthful food, alcohol, wine, opium and poisonous drugs weaken, disease and burden the body and bring God's judgment and destruction. Serving the flesh of dead animals even in a health institution defiles that temple and merits God's displeasure, so meat has no place in the diet of Christians. Wrong diet and careless treatment violate individual consecration, for the body fearfully and wonderfully made must be kept in perfect order with keen and strong brain power, and any unnecessary burden on the stomach, eating many kinds at one meal, and failing to live in self-denial and self-sacrifice according to light beclouds the brain, leaves the mind sleepy and unable to understand truth, and degrades intellect and moral powers. Conviction to obey in what to eat or do must rest on the Bible itself and not on any human example or authority, with no human being made the criterion.
The temple is defiled by uncleanliness in dress and by careless treatment of the body, because Christians themselves are God's holy temple and unclean, unhealthful dress harms health of body and soul. Gross indulgence, neglect, ignorant or careless neglect, perverted appetite, excessive strain, reckless exhaustion of strength, overwork and overtaxing, and failure to respect the laws of life in breathing, digestion, sleep, work and rest defile or imperil God's property and workmanship whose holiness makes its care a duty. Air, sunshine, rain, breathing and digestion are gifts from God on whom body and organs depend for life and health, so human effort must work with His provision and remember nothing is accomplished apart from Him. Bodies must be cared for intelligently, including adequate sleep for organs to recover and repair, lest imprudent habits disqualify for service, dishonor the temple, and bring judgment. God does not require rigid self-denial or invented religious duties that weaken or injure the body, for His word does not demand harm to His temple.
The temple is defiled by selfishness, covetousness and worldliness, especially covetous practices, hoarding wealth, oppressing the poor for gain, making the lot of fellow men more trying, abetting Satan and becoming co-partner with satanic agencies in robbing the poor. As the Jerusalem temple was polluted, so the present Christian world defiles God's dwelling by substituting gain for godliness and outward pomp, show and display for inward purity, bringing sacred things down to worldly matters, mistaking vice for virtue, mingling temporal business with worship, and practicing extortion, unjust gain, wicked speculation, frivolity and pride while professing to serve the Most High. The temple of the heart where Christ should dwell and walk is thus defiled by selfishness, love of the world, malice, envy, unholy passions, and corrupting thoughts and affections, and rejecting warnings and appeals to repentance after receiving light leaves sinners in danger. As Jesus cleansed the literal temple, He must occupy the human heart every day, dwell within continually, and cleanse it from sin and defilement.
Defilement is never merely private, for individual influence works for good or evil and one who defiles himself harms himself and many others and helps defile the church as corrupting influence spreads like evil leaven. Leading another into sin, letting Satan use one to corrupt God's sanctuary, and passing evil planted in the mind on to others brings destruction by cause producing effect. Disloyalty to God's Word in marriage defiles His holy temple, requiring divine counsel, refusal to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, refusal to break down God's barrier by marrying an unbeliever, and entrance into marriage only in harmony with God's will and Scripture directions, with purity kept clean from all filthiness of flesh and spirit in perfecting holiness in fear of God and having no agreement with idols. Unfaithfulness to marriage vows in thought, word or deed, impurity in mind or heart, and dangerous sentimentalism must be overcome by grace giving victory over the natural heart.
Divine Judgment for Defilement
Whoever defiles God's holy temple will be destroyed by God, for the temple is holy. The warning is solemn and fearful and belongs to the church in all ages, reproving carnal conduct such as jealousy, strife, division, selfishness, envying, party spirit, and building with wood, hay and stubble that will not stand the test of fire, in contrast to faithful building with gold, silver and precious stones that abides and receives reward. Believers together are that temple and building because the Spirit of God dwells in them upon the one foundation which is Jesus Christ, and each human body individually is also that holy temple made for His Spirit to dwell in. Even uncleanliness in dress defiles it, because what is unhealthful to body and soul corrupts God's dwelling and must be put away for cleanliness.
Destruction comes through terrible penalties fixed in nature that fall sooner or later in suffering, disease, imbecility and death, and concealment from fellow men does not escape the result. Secret habits that corrupt the body and use up its vital powers bring gradual decay, while sexual sins such as those at Beth-peor more than any other have caused degeneracy of the race and the weight of disease and misery in the world. Forming any habit that lessens the healthful action of any organ of mind or body, perverting entrusted powers, neglecting to improve mental and physical endowments, wasting reason, intelligence and talents on continual excitement, and letting the faculties wither and decay all bring that destruction. This includes degrading soul, mind and body by drugs, tobacco in any form, wine, liquor, tea, coffee and other poisonous agencies that destroy appreciation for sacred things and intellect, degrade the senses, minister to the desires of the carnal mind, and leave the drunkard under Satan's control of reason, affections and conscience as wood, hay and stubble. Those who so violate physical law by sinful health-destroying indulgences, careless self-degradation and ruthless disregard for the body make their own harvest of corruption and misery, with intellect clouded, moral powers enfeebled, and soul unfitted to appreciate sacred truth, and God will not work a miracle to restore soundness while the harmful use continues. Defilement is never private, for corrupting influence spreads like evil leaven through the church, harming many others through careless example, criticism, faultfinding and false doctrine as well as unholy practice.
Beyond this life the defiler faces the tribunal of the judgment with eternal penalties. Though retribution is not always as speedy as it was for Israel and judgment may seem long delayed, it is sure. Not a soul living in careless self-degradation will stand in the great day of trial just before us, but will have a terrible account to render to God. Those who indulge habits that debilitate the body and destroy its vital powers cannot remain in God's favor unless they sincerely repent, reform completely and pursue holiness, keeping thoughts and actions elevated and character without blemish in preparation for immortality and life with holy beings. Unless the soul-temple defiled by pride, self-uplifting, self-glorying, self-exaltation, pet idols, favorite sins and offerings tainted with self is purged, it will become entirely corrupted, and those who refuse cleansing of moral and spiritual defilement from heart, mind, soul and strength will perish in their sins, unable to escape the plagues or enter the city of God.
Violating the physical laws of life and health is transgression of God's law and sin against God, whose punishment is death. God is the Author of both physical and moral law, so breaking the laws of the body breaks His moral law and works against His work, whether by unhealthful principles, poisonous drugs that destroy His building, or ruthless disregard for the body. Remaining in sinful ignorance of the laws of the body is itself sin against God, and ignorance does not excuse, for it is personal duty to study those laws and conform to them rather than follow the world. Each person is bought with a price and kept under God's supervision as His workmanship and masterpiece for a high and holy purpose, with His law to be written on every part of the human tabernacle, and each must answer to God for obedience in keeping soul, body and spirit pure and preserving physical powers in the best condition for acceptable service.
Cleansing Through Christ
No one can by himself drive out the evil throng that has taken possession of the heart, for the heart is defiled by sin and moral defilement must be cleansed to make it ready for Christ to dwell in it. Only Christ can cleanse the soul-temple, and when a person willingly welcomes Him His continuing presence subdues iniquities, casts all sins into the depths of the sea, and cleanses and sanctifies the soul. By His presence the soul becomes a holy temple unto the Lord, an habitation of God through the Spirit, and holiness to God through Christ is required so that the soul-temple is not corrupted. Christ works to restore God's image in people, and as that work goes on character is reshaped so they do not remain as before.
Christ does not force an entrance as into the temple of old, but stands at the door and knocks, coming in only when His voice is heard and the door is opened. Then He dwells and walks within continually and takes them as His people, occupying the temple of the human heart every day and cleansing it from its defilement and sin. The defilement He removes is the spirit that polluted the Jerusalem temple carried into the present Christian world: substituting gain for godliness and outward pomp for inward purity, bringing sacred things down to worldly matters, mistaking vice for virtue, mingling temporal business with worship, and practicing extortion and wicked speculation while professing to serve the Most High.
Cleansing calls for sincere repentance and complete reform, for those who indulge habits that debilitate the body and destroy its vital powers cannot remain Christians while persisting in them but must repent, reform, and pursue holiness with thoughts and actions elevated in preparation for immortality without blemish. It requires emptying the soul of sin, confession of sin and seeking the Lord, bringing truth into the inner sanctuary to cleanse and consecrate heart and soul to God's service, since selfish thoughts and interests defile the soul-temple. It requires morning prayer for His Spirit, receiving orders from above, and a living, active, working faith that causes growth in grace and in knowledge of the Lord and Saviour, while God builds up His temple by giving words and courage and doing far more than is realized to perfect character against carelessness and foolishness. The work must begin in this life in haste and be thorough, separating from all hindrances, knowing the will of God and traveling in that pathway, confessing Christ and bearing testimony, coming out of darkness into marvelous light as free men all light in the Lord, removing disunion, strife and desire for supremacy.
From eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator, and the temple erected for the abode of the divine Presence was designed as an object lesson of this for Israel and for the world. Because of sin humanity ceased to be a temple for God, the heart darkened and defiled by evil and no longer revealing the glory of the divine One. By the incarnation of the Son of God God dwells in humanity, fulfilling the purpose of heaven, and through saving grace the heart of man becomes again His temple. In cleansing the literal temple Jesus was announcing His mission as Messiah and entering upon His work of that restoration, and the human soul as God's dwelling, represented by the tabernacle, is prepared through cooperation with God and with one another, cleansed and sanctified through the Holy Spirit so that sin's debasing and disordering of human powers is reversed and the redeemed become agents of good serving God's will.
Keeping Temple in Practice
The body is God's holy temple and God's own property, bought with Christ's blood at the infinite price of His humiliation, suffering and death, and it must be cared for conscientiously, preserved in the best condition, kept in perfect order, and kept pure and fit for His service. Ignorant or careless neglect, wrong diet, and careless treatment of the body are condemned by the warning that God will destroy whoever defiles His temple, for the body is fearfully and wonderfully made and knowing health principles is not enough unless they are put into practice. Appetites and passions must be controlled and temperance practiced so the body is not weakened or defiled, brain power stays keen and strong, and no unnecessary burden is placed on the stomach to becloud the brain and leave the mind sleepy and unable to understand truth. Defiling the temple in this sense includes violating health reform in eating and drinking, such as the use of meat, tea, coffee, cheese, rich or unhealthful food, alcohol, wine, liquor, tobacco in any form, opium and poisonous drugs, eating many kinds at one meal, and failing to live in self-denial and self-sacrifice according to the light given. Health reform and care of the body require each person to stand in individual dignity and consecration before God with the whole being, body and soul, dedicated to Him, with conviction resting on the Bible itself and personal accountability to God rather than on copying any human example or authority, for no human being is to be made the criterion and reform based merely on imitating another's diet is worthless.
Keeping the temple means glorifying God in body and spirit because His Spirit dwells within, serving Him with every power of the being, employing every faculty in His service, and taking great care of the human machinery. The body belongs to God by creation and redemption to be consecrated to Him, not treated carelessly, so every person is accountable to God for the use made of it and its habits must be guarded and controlled as part of being conformed to God physically and spiritually. To defile it is to deny God by any act of intemperance, by indulging tobacco, liquor, intoxicants or other harmful appetites that weaken and disease the body, by placing in the stomach food that pleases appetite but injures the digestive organs, and by spoiling God's property through improper habits of eating, drinking, or dressing. Intoxicants weaken the body, confuse the mind, dull moral perception, deaden the conscience to sin, harden toward iniquity, and erase the difference between the common and the sacred, so that the standard of the divine requirements cannot be met and acceptable service cannot be rendered. Because the only begotten Son purchased men and women at infinite cost with His life to make them sons and daughters of God, they are to place the will on the side of His will, so they can work in co-partnership with God and be healthy, happy, and useful, with every power preserved in the best possible condition.
Keeping the temple together requires unity, humility, and love from one great Source in harmonious action, being united in mind, heart, soul and strength with heavenly agencies and with each other, and refusing division, party spirit around the one man under whose labors light was received, and standing as independent atoms for want of meekness, humility and kindness. Those truly converted to the truth are sanctified to be channels of His grace, each strengthening the other and taking diligent heed to his own course in presenting sanctifying truth to dying souls, prepared and aided by one Agency, making straight paths for the feet lest the lame be turned out of the way. As God's temple was built with exact care, so character and the church must be built with exact care, diligently stone by stone into a beautiful and fitting temple for the Lord, with no cheap material, no worthless timbers, and no haphazard, careless or indifferent work, but piece fitting piece perfectly. Daily choices and small departures from principle shape a person into either a crooked structure or a fitting temple, and becoming competent requires work, prayer, faith, virtue, knowledge and continued willingness to learn, while self-sufficiency that rejects instruction puts a person in danger. Keeping the soul-temple pure and free from all defilement means refusing self-deception, thinking far less of worldly wisdom, not glorying in men, not seeking the highest place, humbling the self so God can give the wisdom that comes only with true humility, counting obedience to God as of far higher value than the estimation of the world, and laying righteous foundations in children with truth sanctifying the whole person.
Keeping the temple undefiled prepares for immortality and Christ's coming, with thoughts and actions elevated, life kept pure, clean healthful habits practiced, and character without blemish, stain or defect, fit for life with holy beings and for heaven. Corrupting the body by habits that debilitate it and destroy its vital powers, including secret habits that corrupt the body and use up vital powers unto gradual decay and death, adultery and indulgence of the baser passions, and eating and drinking that excite and strengthen the lower passions and deaden the moral powers, defiles God's holy temple where His Spirit dwells and brings His judgment. Those who indulge such habits cannot be Christians while persisting in them and cannot enjoy God's favor unless they sincerely repent, reform completely, and pursue holiness, refusing to indulge what debilitates and ruins the body. Moral principle strictly carried out is the only safeguard, requiring a simple, unfeverish diet of grains and fruits in as natural a condition as possible rather than meat and rich food, with gratification of taste never consulted apart from physical, intellectual and moral health, so that the passions can be controlled by those preparing for translation to heaven. Every stain and defect of character must be removed and the soul-temple cleansed from every trace of pollution, to be pure, virtuous, holy, and healthy physically and spiritually, which is connected with being ready to receive the seal of God, to escape the plagues as judgment nears, and to stand with crowns of glory.
God's holy dwelling is both His people together as a church and each person's body individually, because His Spirit lives in them. Anyone who corrupts that dwelling will be destroyed by God, a solemn warning that stands for all time. That corruption comes through division and strife, false teaching and pride, sexual impurity, intemperate eating and drinking and use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs, neglect and abuse of the body, and selfishness, covetousness and worldliness, with its influence spreading to others. Breaking the laws of health is breaking God's law, and the penalty falls in suffering, disease, weakened mind and morals, and death in this life, and in eternal loss at the judgment unless cleansed. No one can cleanse himself, but Christ will cleanse the heart-temple when welcomed and sought in repentance, confession and reform, and the cleansed life is kept holy by temperance, purity, unity and faithful care of the body for His service in readiness for His coming.
Temple Identity and Holiness
Believers together are God's holy temple because His Spirit dwells in them, and this temple is holy, so anyone who defiles it God will destroy. The warning belongs to the truth that all do not have the same work, but are ministers and laborers together with God who plant and water and build upon the one foundation which is Jesus Christ. It applies to carnal conduct among believers, for jealousy, strife, division, and selfishness defile the church and show that its members are not living by Christ's Spirit, so Christians must be purged of wrong tendencies and keep God's temple free from defilement.
Each person individually is also in co-partnership with God as His building, and the human body itself is God's holy temple made holy by the Spirit of God dwelling in it. This lesson applied to the daily lives of Israel, and it means the body as God's temple must not be defiled but must be cared for conscientiously, which condemns ignorant or careless neglect. Uncleanliness in dress defiles the temple because it is unhealthful to body and soul, so dress must be cleanly to keep the temple undefiled.
The soul, heart, and mind are God's temple and soul-temple with an inner sanctuary meant for Christ and the Holy Spirit to occupy and dwell in. It is desecrated when frivolous reading, trifling conversation, worldly pleasure, worldliness, frivolity, and pride crowd out God's Word and take the place Christ should occupy, and when the heart filled with pride, pleasure-loving, and love of display leaves no room for ennobling truth and allows Satan rather than Christ to dwell within. Selfish thoughts and interests defile it, and so do pride, self-uplifting, self-glorying, self-exaltation, pet idols, favorite sins, covetousness, worldliness, deceit, falsehood, impurity, and offerings tainted with the corruption of self; when truth sanctifies the heart those cherished sins are put away. Habits and vicious practices pollute the soul-temple and must be given up, for merely improving outward conduct while cherishing sin within does not cleanse it, and unless the defiled soul-temple is purged it will become entirely corrupted. Those guilty often do not discern their condition yet are in imminent danger of losing their souls, with the same blindness that kept the Jews from receiving Christ now keeping people from receiving Him into the inner sanctuary, so that because of cherished sin the Holy Spirit can do little for the professed believer, leaving the church weak and institutions tainted while the Lord is coming and His people are far from walking in the light. Cleansing requires confession of sin and seeking the Lord, with the temple refined, purified, and cleansed through thorough conversion.
The temple is God's workmanship and masterpiece, every human being created for a high and holy purpose, with the body with every nerve, muscle, and mental and physical power to be kept pure as a temple for His Spirit and with God's law to be written on every part of the human tabernacle. Bodies are not their own but God's property bought with the infinite price of Christ's humiliation, suffering and death, so they must glorify God in body and spirit, and solemn accountability rests on every soul to keep soul, body, and spirit free from all that defiles. From eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator, a purpose represented by the sanctuary and by the skillful workmanship done for the tabernacle as a special representation of the exalted character of God's service and of the sacredness of the human temple. Because of sin humanity ceased to be a temple for God, the heart darkened and defiled by evil and no longer revealing the glory of the divine One, but by the incarnation of the Son of God the purpose of heaven is fulfilled, God dwells in humanity, and through saving grace the heart becomes again His temple with pardon for sin and power to obey. The temple of God is thus the human body with soul and spirit as the habitation of God through the Spirit, to be garrisoned and preserved holy unto the Lord by thorough conversion of the whole being to God. To defile the temple is to defile body and self by false doctrine or by any unholy practice, including careless example, criticism, and faultfinding, and to allow anything to enter that weakens or cripples the human machinery by disordering the body through gratification of appetites and passions and by wrong habits and practices in eating and drinking and in labor in any line, living apart from God in imperfection. Such habits determine the future destiny of man, and a habitation not converted to God is entered by Satan to destroy the human organism, but God will destroy those who defile His temple because His temple is holy. Defilement is never private, for individual influence works for good or for evil, and one who defiles himself harms himself and many others and helps defile the church, as corrupting influence spreads like evil leaven through the church of God. Because the human temple is sacred and holy, working men should show refinement and true Christian courtesy and not become exalted over skill and aptitude.
The temple also includes God's church on earth and His church buildings, institutions, and meetinghouses established for His work, which must stand holy without corruption. The church is made of living stones fitted closely together with each stone having its own place to fill, and now is the time for the stones to be taken from the quarry of the world into God's workshop to be hewed, squared, and polished so they shine. All who profess the truth are to fill their respective places in the great work for this time, standing like Daniel with every phase of character under divine control, prepared day by day to fill a place in the temple of God, for Sabbathkeepers should be all that the name Christian represents, having an experimental knowledge of what it means to be Christians and children of God that shows in baptism and in free testimony. Just as God's temple was built with exact care, so His church must be built with exact care in character building, with no cheap material, no worthless timbers brought into character, and no haphazard, careless, indifferent work, but piece fitting piece perfectly in matching the different parts. Men who submit to God's control become a holy temple unto the Lord, and this applies to all Christian activity, including the building of meetinghouses and a new chapel built to comfortably accommodate those who assemble to worship God and do Him honor, where God signalizes His presence in their midst and where those appointed with skill and understanding must ask God, work in harmony with Him, and make God's glory the motive in handling tools and in every phase of the work. God's people and their institutions belong to Him as His holy temple and may not use that identity to excuse disobedience, for God will cleanse and purify His temple when commercial activity displaces Him and His law is neglected, and His people must answer for how much of His law they have obeyed. The house dedicated to the worship of God must not be defiled by bringing in intemperate tobacco users who profess to be temperance advocates, for using tobacco in the house of God defiles the temple of God, and coarse speeches and noisy talk and actions in the house of God also defile it, bring no credit, and are not in God's order. If leaders persist in exalting themselves after warnings, God will bring judgment upon their bodies.
Corinthian Context and Building
Paul's warning belongs to his reproof of carnality at Corinth, where envying, strife, divisions and party spirit around Paul and Apollos proved believers were babes in Christ and not spiritual. Claiming to believe while counting themselves as independent atoms or linking up with the one man under whose labors they received light, taking sides with a favorite minister and refusing harmony, showed they were walking as men and not being sanctified through the truth. Glorying in men, self-deception through worldly wisdom, and building with wood, hay and stubble that will not stand the fire's test defile God's building and bring loss and destruction, while worldly wisdom must be given up to become truly wise because it is foolishness with God. The whole chapter corrects that divisive spirit to bring believers to the spirit that should control their actions in Christ Jesus, calling those cemented to men and tied up in separate bundles to reconversion lest their claimed conversion become a stumbling block to sinners.
All building must be done upon the one foundation which is Jesus Christ, for believers together are God's building and holy temple in whom the Spirit dwells. Ministers are laborers together with God with differing yet one work, one planting and another watering while God gives the increase, so neither planter nor waterer is anything and each shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. Work built with gold, silver and precious stones abides and receives reward, while every person's work will be revealed and tested by fire, and wood, hay and stubble brings loss. Character must be built in union with the divine Builder upon the sure foundation with careful material brought to the foundation-stone, piece fitting piece perfectly with no cheap, worthless, haphazard or careless work, since daily choices and small departures from principle shape either a crooked structure or a fitting temple for God.
No person is appointed to be a foundation for others to build on, nor to order, control or judge the duties of God's laborers in place of God. Putting human restraints on His servants dishonors God and hinders His work, and a minister who emphasizes another phase of truth or presents the Word in a different way is not to be condemned. Each person is to seek God directly, be taught by the Holy Spirit, cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils, and refuse to lean on human wisdom or be compelled by any ruling power, because leaning on human wisdom places a veil between God and man. Cherishing prejudice, envy, jealousy, evil surmisings and discord separates from brethren and from God and hinders the Spirit, so His people must obey to be all of one mind, love as brethren, be pitiful and courteous, united in mind, heart, soul and strength with heavenly agencies and without spot and wrinkle.
The special instruction and reproof in 1 Corinthians 1-3 must be read carefully in every church and received by every minister for the soul's sake, reproving all the churches wherever located as carnal rather than spiritual. Every word of the chapter is to be understood and appreciated, thought over at home and given personal application, with God helping understanding. Ministers and churches are to search the Scriptures, seek the truth, humble their hearts before God, stop finding fault with one another and improve themselves, separate from all hindrances and travel in the pathway of God's will. A great many who think they are prepared for the Lord's coming are not, and unless humbled and obedient, confessing Christ and coming out of darkness into His marvelous light to become free and all light in the Lord, their names will not be placed in the book of life.
How Temple Is Defiled
The temple is defiled by carnal conduct in the church, for jealousy, strife, division, selfishness, rivalry, selfish thoughts and interests, and refusal of harmony show members are not living by Christ's Spirit and bring God's destruction upon His holy dwelling. Envying, strife, divisions and party spirit prove believers are carnal babes in Christ and not spiritual, especially when they claim to believe yet stand as independent atoms or link up in separate bundles around the one man under whose labors they received light, saying I am of Paul and I am of Apollos and taking sides with a favorite minister. Withdrawing from some for imagined reasons and binding up with others, cherishing prejudice, evil surmisings, discord, harsh domineering authority, and judging fellow believers because they do not appear perfect in words, spirit or actions separates from brethren and from God, hinders the manifestation of the Spirit, and leaves the church weak. Paul and Apollos are only ministers by whom belief came, one planting and one watering while God gives the increase, so neither is anything, and every laborer receives reward according to his own labor whether building with gold, silver and precious stones that abide or with wood, hay and stubble that fire reveals and consumes to loss. Those truly converted are sanctified to be channels of grace in love and unity from one great Source, each strengthening the other, making straight paths for the feet lest the lame be turned out of the way, and taking diligent heed to present sanctifying truth until differences are put away and all are of one mind, pitiful and courteous.
The temple is defiled by false doctrine, worldly wisdom, man-worship and idolatry in the heart, pride and self-exaltation, and teachings that excuse sin and lead others into error. All building must be on the foundation of Jesus Christ, with no self-deception through wisdom of this world which is foolishness with God, no glorying in men, and no human skill or hand designing the dwelling for the Most High, which each must prepare with a contrite and humble spirit. To defile body and self by false doctrine or any unholy practice, including careless example, criticism and faultfinding, yielding to lower appetites and passions, refusing conversion, refusing to bow the will to heaven, refusing forgiveness, and letting Satan plant evil seed in the mind and pass it to others, corrupts the holy dwelling and brings destruction by allowing cause to produce effect. Such defilement requires the soul to be purified through obedience to the truth, guarding the mind from wrong channels, doing all the Lord requires, becoming a fool to become wise, and keeping soul, body and spirit free as those bought with a price with God's law written on every part of the human tabernacle.
The temple is defiled by sexual immorality and indulgence of baser passions, including secret habits that corrupt the body, use up vital powers, and bring gradual decay and death. Adultery, fornication, lustful practices even through the years husband and wife are united, perverted appetites and passions, impurity abiding in mind or heart, sentimentalism and spiritualistic affection outside marriage, giving a wife second place in affections, and receiving or showing affection that belongs to marriage outside marriage spoil purity, destroy self-control and moral power, debase the mind, weaken the brain, and corrupt physical, mental and moral power. Those who indulge such habits cannot be Christians while persisting in them and cannot enjoy God's favor unless they sincerely repent, reform completely, pursue holiness, and overcome lustful practices rather than let them consume vital powers, for moral pollution leaves them diseased in body, soul and spirit as instruments of unrighteousness and unfit temples for the Holy Spirit who cannot offer acceptable sacrifice. Keeping thoughts and actions elevated, being true as steel to marriage vows in thought, word and deed, respecting, cherishing and loving one's wife, centering affections on proper objects, turning wholly to God so Christ takes charge of affections, and keeping character without blemish prepares for immortality and life with holy beings. Eating and drinking that excite and strengthen lower passions and deaden moral powers belongs to the same defilement, requiring moral principle strictly carried out and a simple, unfeverish diet of grains and fruits in as natural condition as possible rather than meat and rich food, with taste never consulted apart from physical, intellectual and moral health so passions can be controlled by those preparing for translation.
The temple is defiled by intemperate eating and drinking and by drugs and stimulants, for the body belongs to God by creation and redemption, purchased at the infinite price of Christ's life, and must be consecrated, valued, and preserved in best condition for service rather than knowingly abused or treated carelessly. Gluttony and strong drink, surrender to satanic control in practices ruinous to health, piety and spirituality, indulgence of tobacco, liquor or other harmful appetites, and use of meat, tea, coffee, cheese, rich and unhealthful food, alcohol, wine, opium and poisonous drugs weaken, disease and burden the body and bring God's judgment and destruction. Serving the flesh of dead animals even in a health institution defiles that temple and merits God's displeasure, so meat has no place in the diet of Christians. Wrong diet and careless treatment violate individual consecration, for the body fearfully and wonderfully made must be kept in perfect order with keen and strong brain power, and any unnecessary burden on the stomach, eating many kinds at one meal, and failing to live in self-denial and self-sacrifice according to light beclouds the brain, leaves the mind sleepy and unable to understand truth, and degrades intellect and moral powers. Conviction to obey in what to eat or do must rest on the Bible itself and not on any human example or authority, with no human being made the criterion.
The temple is defiled by uncleanliness in dress and by careless treatment of the body, because Christians themselves are God's holy temple and unclean, unhealthful dress harms health of body and soul. Gross indulgence, neglect, ignorant or careless neglect, perverted appetite, excessive strain, reckless exhaustion of strength, overwork and overtaxing, and failure to respect the laws of life in breathing, digestion, sleep, work and rest defile or imperil God's property and workmanship whose holiness makes its care a duty. Air, sunshine, rain, breathing and digestion are gifts from God on whom body and organs depend for life and health, so human effort must work with His provision and remember nothing is accomplished apart from Him. Bodies must be cared for intelligently, including adequate sleep for organs to recover and repair, lest imprudent habits disqualify for service, dishonor the temple, and bring judgment. God does not require rigid self-denial or invented religious duties that weaken or injure the body, for His word does not demand harm to His temple.
The temple is defiled by selfishness, covetousness and worldliness, especially covetous practices, hoarding wealth, oppressing the poor for gain, making the lot of fellow men more trying, abetting Satan and becoming co-partner with satanic agencies in robbing the poor. As the Jerusalem temple was polluted, so the present Christian world defiles God's dwelling by substituting gain for godliness and outward pomp, show and display for inward purity, bringing sacred things down to worldly matters, mistaking vice for virtue, mingling temporal business with worship, and practicing extortion, unjust gain, wicked speculation, frivolity and pride while professing to serve the Most High. The temple of the heart where Christ should dwell and walk is thus defiled by selfishness, love of the world, malice, envy, unholy passions, and corrupting thoughts and affections, and rejecting warnings and appeals to repentance after receiving light leaves sinners in danger. As Jesus cleansed the literal temple, He must occupy the human heart every day, dwell within continually, and cleanse it from sin and defilement.
Defilement is never merely private, for individual influence works for good or evil and one who defiles himself harms himself and many others and helps defile the church as corrupting influence spreads like evil leaven. Leading another into sin, letting Satan use one to corrupt God's sanctuary, and passing evil planted in the mind on to others brings destruction by cause producing effect. Disloyalty to God's Word in marriage defiles His holy temple, requiring divine counsel, refusal to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, refusal to break down God's barrier by marrying an unbeliever, and entrance into marriage only in harmony with God's will and Scripture directions, with purity kept clean from all filthiness of flesh and spirit in perfecting holiness in fear of God and having no agreement with idols. Unfaithfulness to marriage vows in thought, word or deed, impurity in mind or heart, and dangerous sentimentalism must be overcome by grace giving victory over the natural heart.
Divine Judgment for Defilement
Whoever defiles God's holy temple will be destroyed by God, for the temple is holy. The warning is solemn and fearful and belongs to the church in all ages, reproving carnal conduct such as jealousy, strife, division, selfishness, envying, party spirit, and building with wood, hay and stubble that will not stand the test of fire, in contrast to faithful building with gold, silver and precious stones that abides and receives reward. Believers together are that temple and building because the Spirit of God dwells in them upon the one foundation which is Jesus Christ, and each human body individually is also that holy temple made for His Spirit to dwell in. Even uncleanliness in dress defiles it, because what is unhealthful to body and soul corrupts God's dwelling and must be put away for cleanliness.
Destruction comes through terrible penalties fixed in nature that fall sooner or later in suffering, disease, imbecility and death, and concealment from fellow men does not escape the result. Secret habits that corrupt the body and use up its vital powers bring gradual decay, while sexual sins such as those at Beth-peor more than any other have caused degeneracy of the race and the weight of disease and misery in the world. Forming any habit that lessens the healthful action of any organ of mind or body, perverting entrusted powers, neglecting to improve mental and physical endowments, wasting reason, intelligence and talents on continual excitement, and letting the faculties wither and decay all bring that destruction. This includes degrading soul, mind and body by drugs, tobacco in any form, wine, liquor, tea, coffee and other poisonous agencies that destroy appreciation for sacred things and intellect, degrade the senses, minister to the desires of the carnal mind, and leave the drunkard under Satan's control of reason, affections and conscience as wood, hay and stubble. Those who so violate physical law by sinful health-destroying indulgences, careless self-degradation and ruthless disregard for the body make their own harvest of corruption and misery, with intellect clouded, moral powers enfeebled, and soul unfitted to appreciate sacred truth, and God will not work a miracle to restore soundness while the harmful use continues. Defilement is never private, for corrupting influence spreads like evil leaven through the church, harming many others through careless example, criticism, faultfinding and false doctrine as well as unholy practice.
Beyond this life the defiler faces the tribunal of the judgment with eternal penalties. Though retribution is not always as speedy as it was for Israel and judgment may seem long delayed, it is sure. Not a soul living in careless self-degradation will stand in the great day of trial just before us, but will have a terrible account to render to God. Those who indulge habits that debilitate the body and destroy its vital powers cannot remain in God's favor unless they sincerely repent, reform completely and pursue holiness, keeping thoughts and actions elevated and character without blemish in preparation for immortality and life with holy beings. Unless the soul-temple defiled by pride, self-uplifting, self-glorying, self-exaltation, pet idols, favorite sins and offerings tainted with self is purged, it will become entirely corrupted, and those who refuse cleansing of moral and spiritual defilement from heart, mind, soul and strength will perish in their sins, unable to escape the plagues or enter the city of God.
Violating the physical laws of life and health is transgression of God's law and sin against God, whose punishment is death. God is the Author of both physical and moral law, so breaking the laws of the body breaks His moral law and works against His work, whether by unhealthful principles, poisonous drugs that destroy His building, or ruthless disregard for the body. Remaining in sinful ignorance of the laws of the body is itself sin against God, and ignorance does not excuse, for it is personal duty to study those laws and conform to them rather than follow the world. Each person is bought with a price and kept under God's supervision as His workmanship and masterpiece for a high and holy purpose, with His law to be written on every part of the human tabernacle, and each must answer to God for obedience in keeping soul, body and spirit pure and preserving physical powers in the best condition for acceptable service.
Cleansing Through Christ
No one can by himself drive out the evil throng that has taken possession of the heart, for the heart is defiled by sin and moral defilement must be cleansed to make it ready for Christ to dwell in it. Only Christ can cleanse the soul-temple, and when a person willingly welcomes Him His continuing presence subdues iniquities, casts all sins into the depths of the sea, and cleanses and sanctifies the soul. By His presence the soul becomes a holy temple unto the Lord, an habitation of God through the Spirit, and holiness to God through Christ is required so that the soul-temple is not corrupted. Christ works to restore God's image in people, and as that work goes on character is reshaped so they do not remain as before.
Christ does not force an entrance as into the temple of old, but stands at the door and knocks, coming in only when His voice is heard and the door is opened. Then He dwells and walks within continually and takes them as His people, occupying the temple of the human heart every day and cleansing it from its defilement and sin. The defilement He removes is the spirit that polluted the Jerusalem temple carried into the present Christian world: substituting gain for godliness and outward pomp for inward purity, bringing sacred things down to worldly matters, mistaking vice for virtue, mingling temporal business with worship, and practicing extortion and wicked speculation while professing to serve the Most High.
Cleansing calls for sincere repentance and complete reform, for those who indulge habits that debilitate the body and destroy its vital powers cannot remain Christians while persisting in them but must repent, reform, and pursue holiness with thoughts and actions elevated in preparation for immortality without blemish. It requires emptying the soul of sin, confession of sin and seeking the Lord, bringing truth into the inner sanctuary to cleanse and consecrate heart and soul to God's service, since selfish thoughts and interests defile the soul-temple. It requires morning prayer for His Spirit, receiving orders from above, and a living, active, working faith that causes growth in grace and in knowledge of the Lord and Saviour, while God builds up His temple by giving words and courage and doing far more than is realized to perfect character against carelessness and foolishness. The work must begin in this life in haste and be thorough, separating from all hindrances, knowing the will of God and traveling in that pathway, confessing Christ and bearing testimony, coming out of darkness into marvelous light as free men all light in the Lord, removing disunion, strife and desire for supremacy.
From eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator, and the temple erected for the abode of the divine Presence was designed as an object lesson of this for Israel and for the world. Because of sin humanity ceased to be a temple for God, the heart darkened and defiled by evil and no longer revealing the glory of the divine One. By the incarnation of the Son of God God dwells in humanity, fulfilling the purpose of heaven, and through saving grace the heart of man becomes again His temple. In cleansing the literal temple Jesus was announcing His mission as Messiah and entering upon His work of that restoration, and the human soul as God's dwelling, represented by the tabernacle, is prepared through cooperation with God and with one another, cleansed and sanctified through the Holy Spirit so that sin's debasing and disordering of human powers is reversed and the redeemed become agents of good serving God's will.
Keeping Temple in Practice
The body is God's holy temple and God's own property, bought with Christ's blood at the infinite price of His humiliation, suffering and death, and it must be cared for conscientiously, preserved in the best condition, kept in perfect order, and kept pure and fit for His service. Ignorant or careless neglect, wrong diet, and careless treatment of the body are condemned by the warning that God will destroy whoever defiles His temple, for the body is fearfully and wonderfully made and knowing health principles is not enough unless they are put into practice. Appetites and passions must be controlled and temperance practiced so the body is not weakened or defiled, brain power stays keen and strong, and no unnecessary burden is placed on the stomach to becloud the brain and leave the mind sleepy and unable to understand truth. Defiling the temple in this sense includes violating health reform in eating and drinking, such as the use of meat, tea, coffee, cheese, rich or unhealthful food, alcohol, wine, liquor, tobacco in any form, opium and poisonous drugs, eating many kinds at one meal, and failing to live in self-denial and self-sacrifice according to the light given. Health reform and care of the body require each person to stand in individual dignity and consecration before God with the whole being, body and soul, dedicated to Him, with conviction resting on the Bible itself and personal accountability to God rather than on copying any human example or authority, for no human being is to be made the criterion and reform based merely on imitating another's diet is worthless.
Keeping the temple means glorifying God in body and spirit because His Spirit dwells within, serving Him with every power of the being, employing every faculty in His service, and taking great care of the human machinery. The body belongs to God by creation and redemption to be consecrated to Him, not treated carelessly, so every person is accountable to God for the use made of it and its habits must be guarded and controlled as part of being conformed to God physically and spiritually. To defile it is to deny God by any act of intemperance, by indulging tobacco, liquor, intoxicants or other harmful appetites that weaken and disease the body, by placing in the stomach food that pleases appetite but injures the digestive organs, and by spoiling God's property through improper habits of eating, drinking, or dressing. Intoxicants weaken the body, confuse the mind, dull moral perception, deaden the conscience to sin, harden toward iniquity, and erase the difference between the common and the sacred, so that the standard of the divine requirements cannot be met and acceptable service cannot be rendered. Because the only begotten Son purchased men and women at infinite cost with His life to make them sons and daughters of God, they are to place the will on the side of His will, so they can work in co-partnership with God and be healthy, happy, and useful, with every power preserved in the best possible condition.
Keeping the temple together requires unity, humility, and love from one great Source in harmonious action, being united in mind, heart, soul and strength with heavenly agencies and with each other, and refusing division, party spirit around the one man under whose labors light was received, and standing as independent atoms for want of meekness, humility and kindness. Those truly converted to the truth are sanctified to be channels of His grace, each strengthening the other and taking diligent heed to his own course in presenting sanctifying truth to dying souls, prepared and aided by one Agency, making straight paths for the feet lest the lame be turned out of the way. As God's temple was built with exact care, so character and the church must be built with exact care, diligently stone by stone into a beautiful and fitting temple for the Lord, with no cheap material, no worthless timbers, and no haphazard, careless or indifferent work, but piece fitting piece perfectly. Daily choices and small departures from principle shape a person into either a crooked structure or a fitting temple, and becoming competent requires work, prayer, faith, virtue, knowledge and continued willingness to learn, while self-sufficiency that rejects instruction puts a person in danger. Keeping the soul-temple pure and free from all defilement means refusing self-deception, thinking far less of worldly wisdom, not glorying in men, not seeking the highest place, humbling the self so God can give the wisdom that comes only with true humility, counting obedience to God as of far higher value than the estimation of the world, and laying righteous foundations in children with truth sanctifying the whole person.
Keeping the temple undefiled prepares for immortality and Christ's coming, with thoughts and actions elevated, life kept pure, clean healthful habits practiced, and character without blemish, stain or defect, fit for life with holy beings and for heaven. Corrupting the body by habits that debilitate it and destroy its vital powers, including secret habits that corrupt the body and use up vital powers unto gradual decay and death, adultery and indulgence of the baser passions, and eating and drinking that excite and strengthen the lower passions and deaden the moral powers, defiles God's holy temple where His Spirit dwells and brings His judgment. Those who indulge such habits cannot be Christians while persisting in them and cannot enjoy God's favor unless they sincerely repent, reform completely, and pursue holiness, refusing to indulge what debilitates and ruins the body. Moral principle strictly carried out is the only safeguard, requiring a simple, unfeverish diet of grains and fruits in as natural a condition as possible rather than meat and rich food, with gratification of taste never consulted apart from physical, intellectual and moral health, so that the passions can be controlled by those preparing for translation to heaven. Every stain and defect of character must be removed and the soul-temple cleansed from every trace of pollution, to be pure, virtuous, holy, and healthy physically and spiritually, which is connected with being ready to receive the seal of God, to escape the plagues as judgment nears, and to stand with crowns of glory.