Thomas Aquinas Commentary 1 Corinthians 3:16-23

"Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye. Let no man deceive himself. If any man thinketh that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He that taketh the wise in their craftiness: and again, The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise that they are vain. Wherefore let no one glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ`s; and Christ is God`s." — 1 Corinthians 3:16-23 (ASV)

Having indicated the reward for those who labor well, the Apostle now deals with the punishment for those who do evil or destructive works. Regarding this, he does two things:

1. He indicates the punishment.
2. He dismisses a contrary error (verse 18).

The Apostle indicates the punishment for those who work toward destruction by continuing with the metaphor of the spiritual building. In this regard, he does three things:

1. He shows the dignity of the spiritual edifice.
2. He mentions the punishment for those who destroy it (verse 17a).
3. He assigns the reason for the punishment (verse 17b).

Therefore, he says: I have said that everyone who builds on the foundation will receive the reward of salvation, either without loss or with loss. But if you are to understand the punishment for those who labor wickedly among you, you must recognize your dignity. He indicates this when he says, “Do you not know that you, Christ’s faithful, are the temple of God?” as it is written, In whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:21).

Secondly, he proves that the faithful are God’s temple. A temple is marked by being God’s dwelling place: The Lord is in his holy temple (Psalms 11:4). Therefore, everything in which God dwells can be called a temple. God dwells chiefly in Himself, because He alone comprehends Himself; thus, God Himself is called a temple: Its temple is the Lord God (Revelation 21:22). God also dwells in a building consecrated by the special worship offered to Him there; therefore, a holy building is called a temple: I will worship at the holy temple in your fear (Psalms 5:8).

Furthermore, God dwells in people by faith, which works through love: That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts (Ephesians 3:17). To prove that the faithful are God’s temple, the Apostle adds that they are indwelt by God when he says, “and the Spirit of God dwells in you.” This is confirmed in Romans 8:11, The Spirit who raised Jesus Christ dwells in you, and in Ezekiel 36:27, I will put my spirit within you. This shows that the Spirit is God, by whose indwelling the faithful are called God’s temple, for only God’s indwelling makes something God’s dwelling, as has been said.

It should be noted, however, that God exists in all creatures by His essence, power, and presence, filling all things with His goodness: Do I not fill heaven and earth? (Jeremiah 23:24). But God is said to dwell spiritually in the saints as in a home. Their minds are capable of God by knowledge and love, even if they are not actively thinking of or loving Him, provided that by grace they possess the habit of faith and charity, as is the case with baptized infants. However, knowledge without love is not sufficient for God’s indwelling, for 1 John 4:16 says, He who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. That is why many people know God either by natural knowledge or by unformed faith, yet God’s Spirit does not dwell in them.

Next, when he says, But if any man, he mentions the punishment for those who do evil works: But if any man destroy the temple of God, him will God destroy. The temple of God is violated in two ways. First, it is violated by false teaching, which does not build on the foundation but instead uproots it and destroys the edifice. Thus, Ezekiel 13:19 says of false prophets, You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread.

Second, a person violates the temple of God by mortal sin, through which he destroys himself or someone else by his actions or example. As it says in Malachi 2:11, Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves. Therefore, anyone who violates a spiritual temple of God or profanes it in any way deserves to be destroyed by God through eternal damnation. As Malachi 2:12 continues, May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob the man who does this, both the master and the disciple. And Psalm 12:3 says, May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts.

When he says, For the temple, he gives the reason for his statement about the temple’s holiness. A person who profanes a sacred thing commits sacrilege and therefore deserves to be destroyed. For the temple of God is holy, and that temple you are. This was stated earlier and is also found in Psalm 65:4, Holy is your temple, wonderful in justice, and again in Psalm 93:5, Holiness befits your house, O Lord. A material temple has a certain sacramental holiness, since it is dedicated to divine worship. But in Christ’s faithful, there is the holiness of grace, which they acquired by baptism: You have been washed, you have been sanctified (1 Corinthians 6:11).

Next, when he says, Let no man, he excludes an opposite error. In this, he does three things:

1. He warns the faithful to be careful not to be deceived by error.
2. He teaches how to be careful (verse 18).
3. He assigns the reason (verse 19).

Regarding the first point, it should be noted that some people claim God neither rewards nor punishes human deeds, as they say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill’ (Zephaniah 1:12). They also ask, Who has commanded and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and evil come? (Lamentations 3:37). To exclude this error, the Apostle says, let no man deceive himself with the assertion that a person who violates the temple of God will not be destroyed. For, Let no man deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 5:6).

Then, with the words, if any man, he shows how to avoid being deceived. It should be noted that some, appealing to the arguments of human wisdom, have declared that God does not punish people’s sins because He does not know the particular things that happen here: And you say, ‘Thick clouds enwrap him, so that he does not see’ (Job 22:14). Therefore, to avoid this error, the Apostle says, If any man among you thinks he is wise in this world—that is, has worldly wisdom, which is not true wisdom on points contrary to the faith, even though it appears to be—let him become a fool by rejecting that seeming wisdom, that he may become wise according to divine wisdom, which is the true wisdom. This must be observed not only in matters where worldly wisdom is contrary to the truth of faith, but also in all matters where it is contrary to genuine morality. As it is written, He is a shield to those who take refuge in him (Proverbs 30:5).

When he says, For the wisdom, he gives the reason for his previous statement. It seems inappropriate to advise a person to become foolish, and indeed it would be if this foolishness were a denial of true wisdom. But that is not the case, for the wisdom of this world is folly with God. It rests mainly on this world, whereas the wisdom that attains to God through the things of this world is not the wisdom of the world but the wisdom of God. As Romans 1:19 says, For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. His invisible nature has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.

Therefore, the wisdom of this world—which considers worldly things in such a way that it does not arrive at divine truth—is folly with God. That is, in God’s judgment it is folly: The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel (Isaiah 19:11).

Secondly, he proves his point by citing two authorities. The first is from Job 5:13, where he says, He catches the wise in their own craftiness. The Lord catches the wise in their own craftiness because when they lay crafty plans contrary to God, He frustrates them and fulfills His own plan. For example, through the malice of Joseph’s brothers who tried to prevent his rise, it came to pass by divine providence that Joseph, after being sold, became a ruler in Egypt. Just before the words quoted, Job says, He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. This is because, as it says in Proverbs 21:30, No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel, can avail against the Lord.

The second authority is taken from Psalm 94:11, where it is written, The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile. The thoughts of those wise according to the world are futile because they do not reach the goal of human knowledge, which is the knowledge of divine truth. As Wisdom 13:1 says, All men who are ignorant of God are foolish.

Then, with the words, let no man, he draws his main conclusion: they should not glory in God’s ministers. He states the conclusion, saying, Therefore... let no man boast of men, since ministers are merely people laboring for a reward. As it says in Psalm 146:3, Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help. And Jeremiah 17:5 says, Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm.

Secondly, he gives a reason based on the dignity of Christ’s faithful. He first mentions the relationship between all things and the faithful, saying, For all things are yours. It is as if to say: just as a person does not glory in things subject to him, so you should not glory in the things of the world, all of which have been given to you by God. As Psalm 8:8 says, You have put all things under his feet.

He then specifies what he means by “all things.” First, he mentions Christ’s ministers, who are appointed by God to minister to the faithful: With ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake (2 Corinthians 4:5). This is what he means when he says, whether Paul, who planted, or Apollos, who watered, or Cephas (that is, Peter), who is the universal shepherd of Christ’s sheep, as stated in John 21. After these, he mentions external things: or the world, which contains all creatures and belongs to Christ’s faithful, since a person is helped by worldly things to fulfill his bodily needs and to attain a knowledge of God: From the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator .

He then lists things that pertain to the human condition itself, saying, or life or death. Life is useful to Christ’s faithful as the time for meriting grace, and so is death, by which they reach their reward: Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s (Romans 14:8), and for me to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). Indeed, all good and evil in this world are related to these two, because life is preserved by good things and death is brought on by evil things. Finally, he lists things pertaining to our present or future state: or the present—that is, things of this life by which we are aided in meriting—or the future—that is, things reserved for us as a reward. As Hebrews 13:14 says, We have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come. He concludes, All are yours, meaning they all serve your advantage: In everything God works for good with those who love him (Romans 8:28).

The Apostle then describes a series of relationships. The first is that of all things to the faithful, and the second is that of the faithful to Christ. He mentions this when he says, and you are Christ’s, because He redeemed us by His death: Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s (Romans 14:8). The third relationship is that of Christ as man to God; thus, he adds, and Christ is God’s. Christ as man calls God his Lord, as in Psalm 7:1, O Lord my God, in you I take refuge, where the whole Trinity is understood by the name “God.”

Therefore, because no one should glory in anything beneath him but only in what is above him, the faithful of Christ should not glory in His ministers. Rather, the ministers should glory in them: I have great confidence in you; I have great pride in you (2 Corinthians 7:4). Instead, Christ’s faithful should glory in Christ: Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:14). In the same way, Christ as the Son glories in the Father: He boasts that God is his father .