The Temple and Man — The Spiritual Man

The Temple and Man

In 1 Corinthians 3:16, the apostle says, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” From this verse, we understand that the apostle, under divine inspiration, likens man to a temple. Just as God once dwelt in the temple, so now the Holy Spirit dwells within man (the believer). The Bible here invites us to compare man to the temple. Through this comparison, the threefold nature of man becomes clearly revealed.

We know the temple is divided into three parts. First, there is the outer court, visible and accessible to all people. All outward worship is offered to God in this place. Going further in, there is the Holy Place. Only priests could enter here to offer blood, oil, incense, and bread to God. Although they were closer, they were still not the closest, for they remained outside the veil and could not enter into God's very presence. God dwelled in the Most Holy Place (the Holy of Holies), radiating His infinite glory—though the place itself was dark. No one could come before Him. Although the high priest entered the Most Holy Place once a year, this act only demonstrated that, before the veil was torn, no one could dwell in the Most Holy Place.

Man is also God’s temple. Within man, there are likewise three parts. The body corresponds to the outer court—it is outward and visible to others. It is here that man is to obey all of God’s commandments. It is here that the Son of God died in man’s place. Going further in, there is the soul—man's inward life, comprising feelings, will, and thoughts. This is the Holy Place of a regenerated person, for his affections, thoughts, and desires reside here, full of light and clarity, just as priests minister before God. Going further still, behind the veil, is the Holy of Holies—a place untouched by man’s light, unseen by his eyes. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High”—this is the dwelling place of God, a place man cannot access unless God chooses to tear open the veil. This is the human spirit. Man is not composed of just body and soul; he also has a spirit. This spirit is found in the deepest part of man’s consciousness, beyond natural awareness. It is the part that fellowships and unites with God.

The Holy of Holies is dark because it is God's dwelling place. The Holy Place has light, for it contains the seven-branched lampstand. The outer court is under the open sky. This is a picture of a regenerated person. His spirit is like the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of God. It is dark through faith—unseen, unfelt, and beyond understanding, because it is the realm of belief. The soul is like the Holy Place, full of reasoning, thoughts, knowledge, and order—understanding both the ideal and material realms. It is like the light of the lampstand. The body is like the outer court, visible to all. All its actions and life are seen by others.

God has given us a specific order: “your spirit and soul and body” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Not “soul, spirit, and body” or “body, soul, and spirit,” but “spirit, soul, and body.” The spirit is the highest and thus listed first; the body is the lowest and therefore last; the soul is in between and placed accordingly. Once we understand God's order, we see the wisdom of the Bible in comparing man to the temple. The correspondence between the Most Holy Place, the Holy Place, and the outer court with spirit, soul, and body aligns perfectly in both structure and honor.

The activity of the temple flows from the revelation of the Holy of Holies. All actions in the Holy Place and the outer court are governed by the presence of God in the Most Holy Place. The Most Holy Place is the most sacred area, and the rest of the temple submits to and depends upon it. Though it appears to be a place of stillness and darkness, with no visible activity, all the work done in the Holy Place, and consequently the outer court, is inspired by the silent presence within the Holy of Holies.

This spiritual truth is not hard to grasp. The soul is the organ of our personality, containing the mind, will, and emotions. All of man’s actions seem to be directed by the soul, with the body carrying out its commands. However, before man fell, though the soul had much activity and function, it was completely governed by the spirit. God's intended order is: first, spirit; second, soul; third, body.