“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16
In a city full of idol temples, Paul tells the Saints they are the temple. Lay the foundation, choose what lasts, walk through the fire, and see what is holy.
Paul had spent 18 months in Corinth, a wealthy port city crowded with temples to idols and known for its immorality. Later, hearing that the Saints there were divided, he wrote to remind them who they were. He compared himself to a master builder who laid the only true foundation, Jesus Christ, and warned each person to take heed what they built on it: gold, silver and precious stones, or wood, hay and stubble.
One day, Paul said, fire would test every work; what was built well would stand, and what was not would burn. Then he asked, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” A few chapters later he applied the same truth to each person’s body: “your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost … and ye are not your own,” for “ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit.”
Who’s who
Paul: an Apostle who founded the branch in Corinth
The Corinthian Saints: new members in a city full of idols
Apollos: another teacher who “watered” what Paul planted
Where and when
Corinth, a busy Greek port city, capital of the Roman province of Achaia.
Watch for the Savior
Watch how Paul keeps pointing to Jesus Christ as the foundation and the price.
Eight stops from Corinth’s idol temples to friends glorifying God. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
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The story, plainly
Four scenes: the foundation, the materials, the fire and the temple. Look for the Savior in each one.
Read it plainly
The words that trip people up
Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1
1 Corinthians 3:9“ye are God’s Meaning: farm or field.”
1 Corinthians 3:12“wood, hay, Meaning: dry straw left after harvest.”
1 Corinthians 3:13“the fire shall Meaning: test. every man’s work”
1 Corinthians 3:17“If any man Meaning: make unclean. the temple of God”
1 Corinthians 6:11“ye are Meaning: made holy.”
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Look closer
Small details tell the story. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from prophets or Church resources. Each card says which.
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All nine. The stone, the gold, the straw, the fire, the temple, the dove, the cross, the body and the builder’s square. 1 Corinthians 3:9–17
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Where are you?
Building something good, unhappy with my body, pressured by friends, or caring for my temple. Which feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
Your choice is saved only on this device.
Try it
Build it in order
Paul described how a holy temple is built, from the ground up. Tap each step in the order it comes.
“Let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.” 1 Corinthians 3:10
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Their world, their words
A little background helps us see Corinth and why Paul wrote this. Outside sources are labeled.
Church resource · Student manual
A city of temples
The student manual: in Corinth “idol worship dominated Corinthian religious culture, and there were numerous temples and shrines throughout the city.”5
Paul pointed to a different kind of temple.
Church resource · Student manual
18 months
“Paul remained in Corinth for 18 months, proclaiming the gospel and organizing the Church.”5
He knew these Saints well.
Church resource · Student manual
God gave the increase
Missionaries “are instruments in the hands of God, but it is ‘God that giveth the increase.’”5
Paul planted; God made it grow.
Church resource · Student manual
Two temples
In chapter 3 the temple is the congregation; in chapter 6 it is “a person’s physical body.”5
Both are holy.
Word study · Greek
naos ναός · “temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:19)
The price that bought you also tells you your value.2
What the text does not say
The story does not say anyone who has made mistakes cannot be a temple. Paul wrote, “Such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified … in the name of the Lord Jesus.”2
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Look to Him
The foundation is Jesus Christ, and the price was His. Every temple is built on Him.
Paul’s question: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?”
“What an expensive price and what a merciful purchase!”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, quoted in the student manual5
“The Lord will lift you and carry your burden during the suffering and struggle required to make you clean. That is what the Atonement of Christ is all about.”
Look at how you spent your time yesterday. Which parts were gold and precious stones, and which were straw? Choose one change for tomorrow.
Try it today
One step each day. It saves on this device, one day at a time.
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This week:0 of 7 days
Seven days of building. Come again tomorrow.
A quiet moment
“Ye are not your own.”
Read 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 slowly. Then thank the Savior for the price He paid for you, and ask the Holy Ghost to dwell with you. 1 Corinthians 6:19–20
A verse to hold
Talk about it
What is the only foundation Paul says we can build on?
What things in our lives are like gold, and what is like straw?
How is your body like a temple?
What does “bought with a price” mean?
Open
For adults and deeper study
Go deeper
Longer readings, harder questions, and where to study next. Each one says what it is before you click.
Apostle
President Boyd K. Packer, “Ye Are the Temple of God” (2000)
A talk to youth on the body as the instrument of the mind, the Word of Wisdom, modesty and the cleansing power of the Atonement.3
Everything on this page as a 11-page letter-size PDF: the map, scenes, cards, activity, word studies, tracker, Go deeper and sources. For home, class or a quiet Sunday.
The Temple of God is part of the Scripture Story Sketch Notes for the New Testament, set alongside Come, Follow Me for August 16–22, 2027 (1 Corinthians 1–7).
Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. The story is told in 1 Corinthians 3 and 6; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
