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[This is the first in a series of posts on "Scriptures Taken Out of Context and Why They Matter".]

It is commonly stated by Christians (and sometimes even others) that our individual bodies are the "temples of God."   However, the Bible doesn't explicitly say that.

Well, to be more exact, English translations do say "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own..." (1 Corinthians 6:19)  But, the way we in our individualistic culture read this and what it actually says are very different.  The contextual problem here is an issue of language and the context of Paul's whole letter; and, unfortunately, from the ambiguity of the English "you" it is easy to see why people have developed the theological and anthropological view that their bodies are little temples of God.

What the passage says is:  "Do you (plural) not know that your (plural) body (singular) is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you (plural), whom you (plural) have received from God?  You (plural) are not your own(plural). . ."

Now that's quite a bit different than thinking of my individual body as being God's temple.  What Paul is saying is that the whole Corinthian community of believers represents a temple of the Holy Spirit.  If we look at Paul's other uses this makes more sense in the context of his entire letter.  The idea of the community of believers being a single metaphorical or spiritual "building" or "body" is a theme that Paul uses throughout Corinthians and even in some other Pauline works.  Ultimately in 1 Corinthians, it leads up to the metaphor of "the body of Christ" that Paul uses to describe the church itself.   If we are going to look at the body as the temple in context, we need begin reading in verse 3:9, where Paul is concluding a discussion of the works of different ministers/leaders to the Corinthian community:

"For we are God’s servants, working together; you (plural) are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward.   If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.

Do you (plural) not know that you (plural) are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you (plural)?   If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you (plural) are that temple." (1 Cor 3:9-17)

Later Paul also says:

“Do you (plural) not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you (plural) not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall be one flesh.”

But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. Or do you (plural) not know that your (plural) body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you (plural), which you (plural) have from God, and that you (plural) are not your own? For you (plural) were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your (plural) body.” (1Corinthians 6:15–20 NRSV)

Notice that when Paul wants to refer to the individual bodies of the Corinthian believers he uses the plural "bodies" in verse 9.   This is an important distinction to note regarding his use of the singular "body" with the plural "you" in other places.  If Paul were using "body" (singular) as a general reference to the individual bodies of his recipients, verse 9 should read something like:  "Do you (plural) not know that your body is a member of Christ?"

And then lastly in 1 Corinthians Paul uses the body (singular) to refer to the entire community of believers in 1 Corinthians 12:

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”  (1Corinthians 12:12–27 NRSV)

Paul seems to be very concerned that the Corinthians recognize that they are one.  Together they (we) are the body of Christ, and that body (not each of our individual bodies) is the temple of God.  We also find this concept in other locations.  In 2 Corinthians Paul says, "What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”  (2 Cor 6:16 emphasis added)  It is because God's presence is within His people that we are the temple.  Ephesians contains a similarly minded passage that can almost be seen as a summary of some of the concepts in 1 and 2 Corinthians:

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you (plural) also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.”  (Ephesians 2:19–22 NRSV)

In summation of the Scriptures on this topic, should be pointed out, however, that Jesus does refer to his own body as a temple of God at John 2:19:  "Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 

So why does this matter?

It matters because in this case is the scripture not concerned with the individual but with the corporate existence and self-understanding of the church.   Our own culture is obsessed with the individual--personal morality, personal spirituality, personal ethics, etc.  This doesn't seem to be an issue for the biblical authors very often.  The Scripture is more concerned about our life together as the people of God. The church as a gathering of believers is the community where God is present in a special way, and our individual actions have bearing upon that corporate reality.  If I sin sexually I sin against the body--not just my own body, but the Body of Christ.  Paul is also saying in segments of these passages that God is very concerned about someone who would damage the Christian community by singling out persons or gifts for special honor in terms of rank.

Another point to b made is that if you are going to quote something as an important verse (or build whole sermons or doctrines out of them), please be sure you know what the verse says.  Study both the terms used and the context of the passage within the book or letter.  And a great word of advice when reading "you" in the Bible:   always check to see if it is plural or singular.

References

If you would like to do a little of your own research, the totality of NT uses of the word "temple" can be found at: 

Matt 4:5; 12:5–6; 17:24; 21:12, 14–15, 23; 23:16–17, 21, 35; 24:1; 26:55, 61; 27:5, 40, 51;

Mark 11:11, 15–16, 27; 12:35, 41; 13:1, 3; 14:49, 58; 15:29, 38;

Luke 1:9, 21–22; 2:27, 37, 46; 4:9; 18:10; 19:45, 47; 20:1; 21:1, 5, 37–38; 22:4, 52–53; 23:45; 24:53;

John 2:14–15, 19–21; 5:14; 7:14, 28, 32, 45; 8:2, 20, 59; 10:23; 11:56; 18:20;

Acts 2:46; 3:1–2, 8, 10; 4:1; 5:20–21, 24–25, 42; 14:13; 19:27, 35; 21:26–30; 22:17; 24:6, 12, 18; 25:8; 26:21;

Rom 9:4;

1 Cor 3:16–17; 6:19; 8:10; 9:13; 2 Cor 6:16;

Eph 2:21;

2 Thess 2:4;

Rev 3:12; 7:15; 11:1, 19; 14:15, 17; 15:5–6, 8–16:1; 16:17; 21:22

This year I'll be posting the daily readings from a 1-Year Bible reading plan.  It runs straight through the Scriptures.  I'll also be linking to free audio downloads of an updated version of the American Standard Version, so you can listen if the reading isn't possible.  It may not be the best translation, but it is free and open source.

Today's Reading:  Genesis 7-9

MP3 Audio:

Gen 7   | Gen 8   |  Gen 9

Here's my personal translations from Genesis 1-11 that I blogged last year:

Genesis 7  Translation  

Genesis 8  Translation  

Genesis 9  Translation

For reading, I highly recommend The Five Books of Moses by Everett Fox as a great English version of Genesis-Deuteronomy.  In my opinion it captures the feel of the Hebrew text great, while also being a very readable and accurate translation.  I discovered it after I had worked on my translation and was thrilled that in some places I had made similar choices.

This year I'll be posting the daily readings from a 1-Year Bible reading plan.  It runs straight through the Scriptures.  I'll also be linking to free audio downloads of an updated version of the American Standard Version, so you can listen if the reading isn't possible.  It may not be the best translation, but it is free and open source.

Today's Reading:  Genesis 4-6

MP3 Audio:

Gen 4   | Gen 5   |  Gen 6

Here's my personal translation and commentaries from Genesis 1-11 that I blogged last year:

Genesis 4  Translation   |  Commentary

Genesis 5  Translation 

Genesis 6  Translation

For reading, I highly recommend The Five Books of Moses by Everett Fox as a great English version of Genesis-Deuteronomy.  In my opinion it captures the feel of the Hebrew text great, while also being a very readable and accurate translation.  I discovered it after I had worked on my translation and was thrilled that in some places I had made similar choices.

From an article about the first burial shroud from 1st century Judea being found:

"We really hit the jackpot."

Found in a first-century cemetery filled with priestly and aristocratic burials, the tomb was initially opened by looters, who left the shroud behind, apparently thinking it has no market value. Experts were able to retrieve the artifact before it began to disintegrate.

The so-called Tomb of the Shroud is a rarity among Jerusalem tombs from the time of Jesus.

For starters, the Tomb of the Shroud appears to have been sealed shut with plaster for 2,000 years, perhaps as a precaution against the spread of leprosy or tuberculosis, which was also detected in DNA extracted from the man's bones.

The tight seal apparently allowed the shroud—radiocarbon-dated to between A.D. 1 and 50—to survive the high humidity levels characteristic of Jerusalem-area caves.

Archaeologists were surprised to even find remains inside the tomb. Traditionally corpses were removed from such tombs after a year or so and placed in ossuaries, or bone boxes.

The article also briefly mentions the following significant discovery:

. . . the remains of the man wrapped in the shroud are said to hold DNA evidence of leprosy—the earliest known case of the disease.

So after all these years of connecting the leprosy of the Bible with skin disorders others than Hansen's Disease, maybe it was leprosy after all?

This year I'll be posting the daily readings from a 1-Year Bible reading plan.  It runs straight through the Scriptures.  I'll also be linking to free audio downloads of an updated version of the American Standard Version, so you can listen if the reading isn't possible.  It may not be the best translation, but it is free and open source.

Today's Reading:  Genesis 1-3

MP3 Audio:

Gen 1   | Gen 2   |  Gen 3

Here's my personal translation and commentaries from Genesis 1-11 that I blogged last year:

Intro to Genesis 1-11, part 1

Intro to Genesis 1-11, part 2

Genesis 1, part 1

Genesis 1, part 2

Genesis 1, part 3

Genesis 1, part 4

Genesis 2, Part 1

Genesis 2, Part 2

Genesis 3, Translation

Genesis 3, Commentary

For reading, I highly recommend The Five Books of Moses by Everett Fox as a great English version of Genesis-Deuteronomy.  In my opinion it captures the feel of the Hebrew text great, while also being a very readable and accurate translation.  I discovered it after I had worked on my translation and was thrilled that in some places I had made similar choices.

Here are the various versions of the birth/advent of Christ in NT sources:

The Gospel of Matthew:

The Gospel of Luke:

“Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus to register all the empire for taxes. This was the first registration, taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone went to his own town to be registered. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David. He went to be registered with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him, and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Now there were shepherds nearby living out in the field, keeping guard over their flock at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were absolutely terrified.But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, for I proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all the people: Today your Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”Suddenly a vast, heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord has made known to us.” So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger.When they saw him, they related what they had been told about this child, and all who heard it were astonished at what the shepherds said. But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering in her heart what they might mean.So the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; everything was just as they had been told.”

(Luke 2:1–20 NET)

The Gospel of John

“Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory—the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.”

(John 1:14 NET)

Paul's Letter to the Philippians

“. . . though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death –even death on a cross! As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow –in heaven and on earth and under the earth– and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”

(Philippians 2:6–11 NET)

The Revelation to John:

“Then a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars.She was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, struggling to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns.Now the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. So the woman gave birth to a son, a male child, who is going to rule over all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne, and she fled into the wilderness where a place had been prepared for her by God, so she could be taken care of for 1,260 days.”

(Revelation 12:1–6 NET)

  News of an early Roman period house that has been excavated in Nazareth.  This is the first residential building in Nazareth from the time of Jesus that has been excavated.  

An archaeological excavation the Israel Antiquities Authority recently conducted has revealed new information about ancient Nazareth from the time of Jesus. Remains of a dwelling that date to the Early Roman period were discovered for the first time in an excavation . . .

. . . 

According to Yardenna Alexandre, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The discovery is of the utmost importance since it reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of Nazareth and thereby sheds light on the way of life at the time of Jesus. The building that we found is small and modest and it is most likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period. From the few written sources that there are, we know that in the first century CE Nazareth was a small Jewish village, located inside a valley. Until now a number of tombs from the time of Jesus were found in Nazareth; however, no settlement remains have been discovered that are attributed to this period."  

Read the entire press release from the IAA here.

Todd Bolen quoting Joe Lauer:

This morning the IAA's Spokesperson circulated a notice to journalists inviting them to a Press Conference to be held tomorrow morning, December 21, at which "The IAA will Reveal a New Archeological Find in Nazareth". The meeting point will be behind the Church of the Annunciation, next to the upper entrance to the old school of Saint Joseph at 10:20 AM.

The notice does not give a hint of what that "New Archeological find" is, although I suspect that some list recipients are in the know (and some might think that it may have something to do with a fast-approaching date on the calendar).

So, stay tuned.

Hmmm . . . nice timing for an announcement from Nazareth.

The press release from ITSEE at Universitiy of Birmingham:

New Papyrus of Acts
Volume 74 of The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, recently published, contains David Parker's edition of P127, a fifth-century papyrus containing parts of Acts 10-12 and 15-17.
According to the introduction it is "the most significant new addition to the Greek evidence since ... 1927... It offers a new free version of Acts. Although it differs greatly from Codex Vaticanus, it also presents a strikingly different version from that found in Codex Bezae".

I woud love a chance to see it and compre it to the Bezae and Vaticanus texts.

A couple of weeks ago I received my review copy of the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on the Old Testament (ZIBBCOT) Volume 5:  The Minor Prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon from Zondervan.  On first note, I must say that I am thoroughly impressed with this newly published commentary series on the Old Testament.  If you are a reader of this blog and want a solid introductory commentary to the Hebrew scriptures that addresses their cultural and literary context in the broader ancient Near Eastern world, this commentary would make an excellent choice.  I have already recommended this book to several of my friends who have expressed interest in gaining an understanding the Hebrew scripture from the perspective of its cultural and literary settings. 

Perspective and Methodology of the Series

Like most Zondervan publications, ZIBBCOT has a decidedly evangelical and conservative perspective in its scholarship.  Prior to receiving the review copy, I was very interested to see how the commentary series would deal with the cosmologies, theologies, and mythologies of the ancient Near East and their comparative relationship to biblical texts.  There was a period of time when Biblical parallels to other ANE texts would have been downplayed by conservative scholars, as many seemed to fear the implications of making too many close comparisons between the inspired text of the Bible and ancient pagan texts.   After all, if the Hebrew scriptures talk about mythological creatures as if they are real or borrows hymns to pagan gods, what does that mean in terms of divine inspiration of the canonical texts and their "timeless meaning?"

I must say that in my review of this work, there seems to be no such fear in the approach of the various authors represented in this volume.   In the introduction to the series, General Editor, John H. Walton, directly addresses this issue: 

For over a century, studies comparing the OT and the ancient Near East have hovered on the fringe of hermeneutics and exegesis.   Since these studies were at times exploited by critical scholars for polemical attacks against the biblical text, evangelicals were long inclined to avoid or even vilify them.  They viewed the idea that the OT borrowed or adapted ancient Near Eastern ideas or literature as incompatible with Scripture's inspiration. [ix]

He then points out that the reality that the ever increasing knowledge of ancient Near Eastern culture, literature, and history has ultimately resulted in "a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of the text."  He then adds:

There is, however, nothing inherently damaging to orthodox theology and beliefs about the Bible if its authors were interacting at various levels with the literature current in the culture.  All literature is dependent on the culture in which it arises--it must be, if it intends to communicate effectively.  Even when a text engages in polemic and correction of culture, it must be aware of and interact with the current thinking and literature. [ix-x]

While Walton seems to too quickly assume that the authors of the biblical texts were either always diametrically opposed to or corrective of the pagan world around them, he is clear that a lack of comparative knowledge of the ancient Near Eastern context also results in a serious lack of knowledge in understanding the Hebrew scriptures: 

In terms of this methodology and perspective, the authors do an excellent job in making the lay reader aware of the cultures in which the biblical texts were composed.    This task is accomplished within the commentary text, through special side-notes, and impressive visuals.  A good example of the discussion of Behemoth, Leviathan, and the chaos of water/sea in the commentary on Job.  Rather than explaining away the mythological background of these concepts, Izak Conzelman and the editors give the background and meaning of Lotan, Tannin, Marduk, and other ancient Near Eastern examples of the defeat of the sea and monsters of the deep [see 297-299]:

In the Hebrew Bible the Leviathan is a mythological sea monster defeated by Yahweh . . . 

. . .  because God is the only one that can control the Leviathan and Behemoth, as argued by Job, they can only be supernatural and should best be understood against the mythological background of the book of Job.  The Leviathan embodies the cosmic evil par excellence, and the combination of these two animals is also important.  The hippopotamus and the crocodile occur together as forces of chaos in Egyptian mythology, representing the god of confusion, Seth, who is defeated by the god Horus.  This may indicate the mythological symbolism behind the texts. [298]

I have seen too many conservative commentators attempt to avoid the mythological background of these texts by simply focusing on Behemoth and Leviathan as literal references to the hippopotamus and crocodile (or elephant).  It is refreshing to see that conservative scholarship is now recognizing that an "either/or" approach does not work when placing the biblical texts in their ancient Near Eastern contexts.  The mythological, symbolic, and literal cannot be separated in these instances.  While this may cause difficulties in our doctrines concerning the Bible, it was not an issue for the authors of the text.  I also believe the general student of the Bible needs to be aware of these issues, and this commentary does a good job of introducing them in a "user-friendly" manner.

In the introductions to the texts, authors also do not shrink from discussing historical and/or textual difficulties within the texts.  While the authors do typically agree with conservative opinions on debated issues, contrary opinions and conclusions are regularly given voice without an over-biased response.  I was impressed that the authors regularly confess that their conclusions are the minority opinion on many of these issues.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Ultimately, I must admit that the aspect of this commentary that continues to draw and impress me is the "Illustrated" part.  This commentary is full of quality color photographs and images.  These include artwork, archeological remains, texts, inscriptions, etc., of the ancient Near East--not to mention many well done charts, graphs, and artist rendered visuals.    These images were gathered from a wide variety of sources, and many of them are actually under the creative commons license, which means they can be reproduced for teaching purposes. They are also often combined with explanatory notes that assist the reader in placing them within the biblical context.  This element alone has so impressed me that I'm on the verge of saying this is a "must have" type commentary for the pastor and lay reader who is researching/teaching the biblical texts.  I hope I am not wrong in predicting that this will increasingly be an aspect of commentaries in the future.  There is simply no comparison with actually seeing images of a cherub or the tree of life as it was depicted in the ancient Near East rather than simply hearing the words or a written description.  The only thing I could ask for is that Zondervan makes this work available in a digital format so that we can use all the creative commons images for our own teaching of the material!

The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary:  Volume 5 covered in this post was supplied for review by Zondervan.