“And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.“

Colossians 1:17

All things consist because of the Lord Jesus Christ. From all of creation to the saints in particular, we exist because of Christ. In verse fifteen of the same chapter, it says that Christ is the “image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.” The word image means body or substance. The contrast is the word shadow.  Colossians 2:17 says “which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” In Hebrews 10:1, it says “for the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things…” Then, in Hebrews 1:3 it says of Christ that He is “express image of His [God’s] person.” Christ is God Himself in the flesh. He is fully man and fully God. Then, we of course have one of the most well known verses of Scripture which is John 1:1.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.“

John 1:1

It continues to say that Christ is the firstborn of every creature. This doesn’t mean that Christ was created. For we know that Christ created all things Himself as it says in Colossians 1:16. Ephesians 3:9 says “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” The title firstborn must mean something else then. I think it is important to see from Scripture that the term firstborn isn’t always given to the person that was literally born first.

• Genesis 27:19 – Jacob (the younger) pretends to be Esau and says “I am Esau thy firstborn.” Jacob ends up being the one to get the blessing from his father Isaac.
• Genesis 48:14 – Israel (Jacob) puts his right hand on Ephraim’s (the younger) head, not Manasseh’s head. It wasn’t a mistake on Israel’s part. It says that Israel was “guiding his hands wittingly.”
• Exodus 4:22 – God Himself declares Israel to be His firstborn.
• Jeremiah 31:9 -God delcares Ephraim, my firstborn

It was Jacob, instead of Esau who got the privilege of getting the blessing. We know from Galatians 3 that it is through Abraham and his seed that all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gal. 3:9). In Galatians 3:16, we learn that Christ is the seed to whom the promises were made. It is through Jesus Christ that we receive the blessing of Abraham (Gal. 3:14). Therefore, He is called the firstborn. It has “pleased the Father that in Him should all the fulness dwell” (Col. 1:19). That is, Christ, who is the express image of God’s person (God Himself), who created all things, is before all things, and by Him all things consist, and is the head of the body. It has pleased the Father that it should be in His Son that we receive the blessing of eternal life.

Now, not only does all creation consist by Him, as John 1:3 says, “And all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made.” But, the saints (believers) have a special relationship to Christ that is above the rest of creation. Christ also made in Himself one new man in order to reconcile us back unto God, unto Himself.

“Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;“

Ephesians 2:15

This one new man is also called the Body of Christ, the inheritance of the saints, and the kingdom of His dear Son (Col. 1:12-13). And Christ is the head of the body, the church (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22-23). We as God’s saints, members of Christ’s body, all consist together as one in Christ. I particularly like the definition of the word consist in Webster’s 1828 dictionary. It says, “to stand together; to be in a fixed or permanent state, as a body composed of parts in union or connection. Hence, to be; to exist; to subsist; to be supported and maintained.”¹ I like it because it specifically uses the body as the illustration. We are many members, and yet we are one body. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 says, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.” We all stand together in Christ Jesus our Lord. Since we consist together because of Christ or literally held together by Christ, “there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1) and nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39). “And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power” (Col. 2:10).

“In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.“

Ephesians 2:21-22

In Ephesians 2, it says that it is in Christ that we as believers are fitly framed together and groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. The building here is the Body of Christ. We are as the Scriptures say “builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” And we are builded together in Christ. Instead of God dwelling in a physical tabernacle or house/temple like in the days of Moses, David, and Solomon, God dwells inside each and every believer today. Paul himself uses the illustration of the tabernacle and house to make his point in 2 Corinthians 5:1. He says “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (cf. Col. 2:11; Acts 7:46-50). He is saying this to comfort those at Corinth, as well as us today, to not be afraid to suffer for Christ’s sake, because even if the the world kills us we know that we will be with the Lord. The world cannot tear down the building, the Body of Christ. It is first and foremost eternal. Secondly, it is in the heavens. And Christ is the Head of that Body! He made it in Himself. For we are the temple of God, the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19). We have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God (1 Cor. 6:11). We have been set apart unto God as a holy temple in the Lord (cf. Eph. 1:4; 5:27). Now, God will still set up a physical kingdom/temple on the earth when He comes back. But for now, in the Dispensation of the Grace of God He is dwelling in each of us. We are to, therefore, walk in the Spirit. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25). We are to “labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him” (2 Cor. 5:9) (that is, in a practical way. For we know that we already are accepted in Him (Eph. 1:6)). We labor for the Lord so that we may approve ourselves as the ministers of God (2 Cor. 6:4).

Therefore, we are to take heed how we build off the foundation that the Apostle Paul has laid according to the grace of God that was given to him (1 Cor. 3:10), because we are that holy temple in the Lord. The temple of God is holy, which temple we are. So, everything we do both in word or deed should be done with three things in mind. We should ask ourselves about what we’re each doing for the Lord. Is it for the perfecting of the saints, the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:12-13)? In other words, are we serving God or are we serving sin? Are we walking after the Spirit or after the flesh?

Each of us will give an account to God of what we each did in our own body, whether good or bad. If a man’s work abides, he shall be given a reward, but if his work is burned he shall suffer loss (that is, loss of reward), but he himself shall be saved (1 Cor. 3:14-15). So, what does it mean when it says in verse seventeen of 1st Corinthians 3, “if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy.” Does it mean that we can lose our salvation? No. Once you are in Christ, you are there to stay. All things consist by Christ, especially the saints. We are held together by Him. There is nothing that can separate us from His love. We are made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). It says in verse 15 that “he himself shall be saved” and the end of verse 17 adds “for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” So, what does this mean? In the context, the Corinthians were carnal. They were walking after the flesh, not after the Spirit. There was a man who committed fornication by taking His father’s wife (1 Cor. 5:1) and the rest of the church at Corinth did not judge this man like they should have. They should have not kept company with him anymore, but instead they still did keep company with him (1 Cor. 5). We learn from chapter six that what they were doing was to make the members of Christ the members of a harlot (1 Cor. 6:15-16). Which of course is not what they or any of us should do. Paul adds “God forbid!” That thought shouldn’t even cross our minds. Instead, as members of Christ we are to “Flee fornication” because when we do sin we do it “without [or, outside] the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” (1 Cor. 6:18). When we sin, we do it outside the Body of Christ and do it against our own body. As verse 16 says, when we join ourselves to a harlot we become one body, or one flesh with that harlot. Romans 6:6 calls it the “body of sin” and Romans 7:24 calls it the “body of this death.”

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.“

Romans 6:6

Our old man is crucified with Christ, so that the body of sin might be destroyed, so that we don’t have to serve sin. Christ has delivered us from that former life, where we were once under the law of sin and death, so that we can serve Him instead. But, when we sin we don’t allow that body of sin to be destroyed, which is not God’s purpose for that body of sin. He crucified our old man, so that it would be destroyed. (Now, ultimately that body of sin will be destroyed. But, I’ll get to that in a second. God will destroy it.) Instead, when we sin we are joining ourselves to that body of sin, also known as the flesh, and walking after it. Therefore, we end up serving sin.

But, God has crucified our old man with Christ so that we don’t have to serve sin anymore. We have been joined to Christ, and are members of His own body, in order to be presented as holy unto God. And if we walk after the Spirit, we shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Gal. 5:16).

So, when it says in 1 Corinthians 3:17, “him shall God destroy,” it’s really talking about that person’s flesh or that body of sin that the person is joining themselves to. To clarify, I’m not saying that it’s only the flesh’s fault, and not yours, and therefore you bear no responsibility at all. You will be held accountable for whatever you do in your body, whether good or bad. It might be helpful to look back to Israel under the law. In Leviticus 11, it describes what Israel could and couldn’t eat. Some animals would make them unclean if they ate of them. In Leviticus 11:43, it says that they were not to make themselves “unclean with them” (the animals they weren’t supposed to eat). The key word I want you to notice is the word “with.” They were to sanctify themselves or set themselves apart from the world, the Gentiles, and not be associated with them. While we of course are not under the law today, and are not Israel, we as members of Christ are still to be holy because we are that holy temple in the Lord. We are to be holy, because God is holy. We are not to be associated with our old man, and that body of sin anymore. We are not to be joined with that body of sin. When we walk by the flesh, or join ourselves to that body of sin, we become one flesh or one body with sin itself. But, we are instead to sanctify ourselves by walking after the Spirit. “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit” (1 Cor. 6:17). For we are the members of Christ, members of His Body, therefore we are to be only joined to Christ.

God wants to work in us in order to produce good fruit unto Him. He wants to give the increase, to profit us something, and to abound fruit to our accounts in our service for Him (1 Cor. 3:7; Gal. 5:2; Phil. 4:17). But, if we decide to join ourselves to sin and serve sin rather than God, or try to be made perfect by the works of the law, then we will not produce fruit. We will be barren. God will destroy the person that defiles His temple by making that person barren in their service (they will have no fruit to show for their work) and therefore on the day of our redemption that person will not receive a reward, because their work produced no fruit in this life. Instead, their work will be burned. But, the good news is that they will still be saved (only believers are judged at the judgment seat of Christ anyway. Unbelievers will be judged later at the Great White Throne.). For we are saved by faith alone in the finished work of Christ (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 3:24; 1 Cor. 15:3-4), and not by our own works. In 1 Corinthians 5:5, it says “to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” They are to be delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. But, their spirit would be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. The day of the Lord Jesus is the same as the day of Christ, which is the day of the Rapture. It is the day of the redemption of our bodies as Romans 8 talks about. God’s purpose that our old man was crucified with Christ was so that the body of sin would be destroyed. That is destroyed forever and it will be when we receive the adoption or the redemption of our bodies. But, God has given us His Spirit (the Spirit of adoption) so that we may still walk after the Spirit while we are waiting for the actual adoption. So, we have no excuse. We are still to be serving God, not sin, while we wait. We have the Holy Spirit inside of us to help us serve God.

If we let the Spirit work in us, He will produce. We are to be building off the right foundation and edifying the Body, because of who are in Christ.”If [or, since] ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1). Since we are alive unto God through Christ, we are therefore to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4-11). We are to only be joining ourselves in a practical sense to Christ. For we are already positionally there in Christ. We are not to be joining ourselves to a harlot. “For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Cor. 3:17b).

In conclusion, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is God Himself. He created all things and all things consist by Him. Concerning God’s saints (believers), we all consist together in Christ as members of one Body, which Christ is the Head of that Body. We are set apart as holy unto God as a holy temple in His Son. We are being fitly framed together and builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit. Therefore, we are to walk after the Spirit, because we are the temple of the Holy Ghost. If we do that, we shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. If we walk after the Spirit, then God will produce fruit (the fruit of the Spirit) in our lives that is well pleasing unto Him. We, the members of Christ, should not be joining ourselves to be the members of a harlot. If we serve sin, God won’t produce fruit in our lives and therefore we won’t receive a reward in the end. But, that person will be saved nonetheless if they have believed the gospel. For it is Christ who is our righteousness. If we recognize the fact that our old man is crucified with Christ, so that the body of sin might be destroyed and therefore don’t have to serve sin anymore, then we can instead serve God in the Spirit like we are supposed to as His saints. We would be edifying the Body of Christ, and therefore building off of the right foundation, so that we may be approved workman and ministers of God (2 Tim. 2:15; 2 Cor. 6:4).

If you have not believed yet, do so now. All you have to do is believe. Believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of your sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. If you believe, then you will be fitly framed together with the rest of God’s saints in Christ (Don’t worry about being claustrophobic!). You will be a part of that Holy Temple in the Lord and you will have the Holy Spirit in you. You will have Christ in you (Col. 1:27). The next step after believing, will be to get into the Word of God more and let it dwell in you richly (Col. 3:16), so that the Spirit may work in you to bring forth fruit unto God.

End Notes

1. Noah Webster, “Webster’s Dictionary 1828 – Consist,” Websters Dictionary 1828, accessed June 22, 2021, http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/consist.