Temple of God - I Corinthians 3:16

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (KJV)

Then: Most Christians don't do temples, but Corinthians did. Every temple had a deity with its images everywhere (Thiselton, p. 316). Think Apollo, Aphrodite and Octavia. What about the Christians? They met in someone's large house. Corinthians needed this explanation on two levels. First, theological. Paul speaks to the entire group for "you" is plural, but temple is singular. The Spirt of God resides in the corporate community and "temple" is a metaphoric explanation (Collins, p. 161). Second, practical. They'd just heard that buildings can be destroyed by fire, so too could temples be burned. Christians were a spiritual temple, whose Lord could never be destroyed. In the tongue lashing they could still take comfort that the Lord them so much he sent warnings of their transgressions.

Now: We understand that each individual is also a temple of God. This is the verse Christians cite, but actually, that specific meaning comes later in 6:1 (Collins, p. 161). "Know ye not" or "Don't you know" is the first of ten times Paul uses the phrase. Thiselton (p. 316) points out that its use means Paul cares deeply that believers know a fundamental principle. Actions detrimental to the Spirit cannot stand - especially when they are magnified in the corporate body and threaten the standing of the whole church, not just an individual.

Extra Source: The First Epistle to the Corinthians: a commentary on the Greek text by Anthony C. Thiselton (Authentic Media, c2000) online at http://books.google.com/books?id=IHG_DNLpmroC&dq=1st+Corinthian+commentaries&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=W9fQSpC1GILplAfHiumoCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CB8Q6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=&f=false
First Corinthians by Raymond F. Collins and Daniel J. Harrington (Collegeville MN: Liturgical Press, c1999) online at http://books.google.com/books?id=c4VXq9fKoRwC&dq=Sacra+Pagina+and+1st+Corinthians&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=NqEJS7XzEITklAeejdiEBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CDUQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=&f=false