Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
If any . . . defile . . . destroy—rather as the Greek verb is the same in both cases, "destroy . . . destroy." God repays in kind by a righteous retaliation. The destroyer shall himself be destroyed. As temporal death was the penalty of marring the material temple (Leviticus 16:2; Daniel 5:2-3, Daniel 5:30), so eternal death is the penalty of marring the spiritual temple—the Church. The destroyers here (I Corinthians 3:16-17), are distinct from the unwise or unskilful builders (I Corinthians 3:12, I Corinthians 3:15); the latter held fast the "foundation" (I Corinthians 3:11), and, therefore, though they lose their work of superstructure and the special reward, yet they are themselves saved; the destroyers, on the contrary, assailed with false teaching the foundation, and so subvert the temple itself, and shall therefore be destroyed. (See on I Corinthians 3:10), [ESTIUS and NEANDER]. I think Paul passes here from the teachers to all the members of the Church, who, by profession, are "priests unto God" (Exodus 19:6; I Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6). As the Aaronic priests were doomed to die if they violated the old temple (Exodus 28:43), so any Christian who violates the sanctity of the spiritual temple, shall perish eternally (Hebrews 12:14; Hebrews 10:26, Hebrews 10:31).
holy—inviolable (Habakkuk 2:20).
which temple ye are—rather, "the which (that is, holy) are ye" [ALFORD], and, therefore, want of holiness on the part of any of you (or, as ESTIUS, "to tamper with the foundation in teaching you") is a violation of the temple, which cannot be let to pass with impunity. GROTIUS supports English Version.
Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing 1 Corinthians 3:17:
Zechariah 6:12
1 Corinthians 3:7
1 Corinthians 3:17
1 Corinthians 6:19
Galatians 6:8
Ephesians 2:22
Ephesians 6:24
2 Thessalonians 2:4
Revelation 11:1
Revelation 21:22
DISCLAIMER: Church of the Great God (CGG) provides these resources to aid the individual in studying the Bible. However, it is up to the individual to "prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). The content of these resources does not necessarily reflect the views of CGG. They are provided for information purposes only.
