Lectio 3
Lecture 3
Templa Dei
Temples of God
3:16 Nescitis quia templum Dei estis, et Spiritus Dei habitat in vobis? [n. 170]
3:16 Know you not that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? [n. 170]
3:17 Si quis autem templum Dei violaverit, disperdet illum Deus. Templum enim Dei sanctum est, quod estis vos. [n. 174]
3:17 But if any man violates the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which you are. [n. 174]
3:18 Nemo se seducat: si quis videtur inter vos sapiens esse in hoc saeculo, stultus fiat ut sit sapiens. [n. 176]
3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. [n. 176]
3:19 Sapientia enim hujus mundi, stultitia est apud Deum. Scriptum est enim: comprehendam sapientes in astutia eorum. [n. 179]
3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written: I will catch the wise in their own craftiness. [n. 179]
3:20 Et iterum: Dominus novit cogitationes sapientium quoniam vanae sunt. [n. 180]
3:20 And again: the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. [n. 180]
3:21 Nemo itaque glorietur in hominibus. Omnia enim vestra sunt, [n. 181]
3:21 Let no one therefore glory in men. For all things are yours, [n. 181]
3:22 sive Paulus, sive Apollo, sive Cephas, sive mundus, sive vita, sive mors, sive praesentia, sive futura: omnia enim vestra sunt: [n. 182]
3:22 Whether it be Paul or Apollo or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. For all are yours. [n. 182]
3:23 vos autem Christi: Christus autem Dei. [n. 183]
3:23 And you are Christ’s. And Christ is God’s. [n. 183]
170. Supra ostendit Apostolus, quae sit merces bene laborantium, hic agit de poena male laborantium sive destruentium.
170. Having indicated the reward in store for those who labor well, the Apostle now deals with the punishment in store for those who do evil or destructive works.
Et circa hoc duo facit.
In regard to this he does two things.
Primo demonstrat poenam;
First, he indicates the punishment;
secundo excludit errorem contrarium, ibi nemo vos seducat.
second, he dismisses a contrary error, at let no man deceive.
Ostendit autem poenam operantium ad destructionem, prosequens similitudinem aedificii spiritualis, et circa hoc tria facit.
He indicates the punishment in store for those who work unto destruction by continuing with the metaphor of the spiritual building. In regard to his he does three things.
Primo ostendit dignitatem spiritualis aedificii;
First, he shows the dignity of the spiritual edifice;
secundo determinat poenam destruentium, ibi si quis;
second, he mentions the punishment in store for those who destroy it, at but if any man;
tertio assignat rationem poenae, ibi templum enim Dei, et cetera.
third, he assigns the reason for the punishment, at for the temple of God.
171. Dicit ergo primo: dictum est quod ille qui superaedificat, mercedem salutis accipiet, vel sine detrimento vel cum detrimento; sed ut possitis agnoscere, quae sit poena male in vobis laborantium, oportet vos vestram dignitatem agnoscere; quam primo ponit, dicens: an vos nescitis quia, vos fideles Christi, estis templum Dei? Eph. c. II, 21 s.: in quo omnis aedificatio constructa crescit in templum sanctum in Domino, in quo et vos coaedificamini in habitaculum Dei.
171. He says, therefore: I have said that everyone who builds on the foundation will receive the reward of salvation without a loss or with a loss. But if you are to understand the punishment in store for those who labor evilly among you, you must recognize your dignity, which he indicates when he says, know you not that you, Christ’s faithful, are the temple of God? 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 (Eph 2:21).
172. Secundo probat quod fideles sint templum Dei.
172. Second, he proves that the faithful are God’s temple.
Est enim de ratione templi quod sit habitaculum Dei, secundum illud Ps. X, 5: Deus in templo sancto suo. Unde omne illud in quo Deus habitat, potest dici templum. Habitat autem Deus principaliter in seipso, quia ipse solus se comprehendit. Unde et ipse Deus templum Dei dicitur Apoc. XXI, 22: Dominus Deus omnipotens templum illius est. Habitat etiam Deus in domo sacrata per spiritualem cultum, qui in ea sibi exhibetur; et ideo domus sacrata dicitur templum, secundum illud Ps. V, 8: adorabo ad templum sanctum tuum, et cetera. Habitat etiam Deus in hominibus per fidem, quae per dilectionem operatur, secundum illud Eph. III, 17: habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris.
For it is the mark of a temple to be God’s dwelling place: the Lord is in his holy temple (Ps 11:4); hence everything in which God dwells can be called a temple. Now God dwells chiefly in himself, because he alone comprehends himself; hence God himself is called a temple: its temple is the Lord God (Rev 21:22). God also dwells in a building consecrated by the special worship offered him in it; therefore, a holy building is called a temple: I will worship at the holy temple in your fear (Ps 5:8). Furthermore, he dwells in men by faith, which works through love: that Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts (Eph 3:17).
Unde et ad probandum quod fideles sint templum Dei, subiungit quod inhabitantur a Deo, cum dicit et Spiritus Dei habitat in vobis. Et Rom. VIII, 11 dictum est: Spiritus, qui suscitavit Iesum Christum habitabit in vobis. Ez. XXXVI, 27: Spiritum meum ponam in medio vestri.
Hence to prove that the faithful are God’s temple, he adds that they are dwelt in by God when he says, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you, as in Romans when he said: the Spirit who raised Jesus Christ dwells in you (Rom 8:11); I will put my Spirit within you (Ez 36:27).
Ex quo patet quod Spiritus Sanctus est Deus, per cuius inhabitationem fideles dicuntur templum Dei. Sola enim inhabitatio Dei templum Dei facit, ut dictum est.
This shows that the Spirit is God, by whose indwelling the faithful are called God’s temple, for only God’s indwelling makes a thing God’s dwelling, as has been said.
173. Est autem considerandum quod Deus est in omnibus creaturis, in quibus est per essentiam, potentiam et praesentiam, implens omnia bonitatibus suis, secundum illud Ier. XXIII, 24: caelum et terram ego impleo. Sed spiritualiter dicitur Deus inhabitare tamquam in familiari domo in sanctis, quorum mens capax est Dei per cognitionem et amorem, etiam si ipsi in actu non cognoscant et diligant, dummodo habeant per gratiam habitum fidei et caritatis, sicut patet de pueris baptizatis. Et cognitio sine dilectione non sufficit ad inhabitationem Dei, secundum illud I Io. IV, 16: qui manet in caritate, in Deo manet, et Deus in eo. Inde est quod multi cognoscunt Deum, vel per naturalem cognitionem, vel per fidem informem, quos tamen non inhabitat Spiritus Dei.
173. But it should be noted that God exists in all creatures. He exists in them by his essence, power, and presence, filling all things with his goodness: do I not fill heaven and earth? (Jer 23:24). But God is said to dwell spiritually as in a family in the saints, whose mind is capable of God by knowledge and love, even though they may not be actually thinking of him 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 does not suffice for God’s indwelling: he who abides in love abides in God and God in him (1 John 4:16). That is why many persons know God either by natural knowledge or by unformed faith, yet God’s Spirit does not dwell in them.
174. Deinde cum dicit si quis autem templum, etc., subiungit poenam male operantium secundum convenientiam praedictorum, dicens si quis autem, et cetera.
174. Then when he says, but if any man, he mentions the punishment in store for those who do evil works, saying, but if any man violates the temple of God, him shall God destroy.
Violatur autem templum Dei dupliciter. Uno modo per falsam doctrinam, quae non superaedificatur fundamento, sed magis subruit fundamentum et destruit aedificium. Unde dicitur Ez. XIII, 19 de falsis prophetis: violabant me ac populum meum propter pugillum hordei et fragmentum panis. Alio modo violat aliquis templum Dei per peccatum mortale, per quod aliquis vel seipsum corrumpit vel alium, opere vel exemplo. Unde dicitur Malac. II, 11: contaminavit Iudas sanctificationem Domini quam dilexit.
Now the temple of God is violated in two ways: in one way, by false teaching, which does not build on the foundation, but rather uproots it and destroys the edifice; hence, Ezekiel says of false prophets: you have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread (Ezek 13:19). In another way a person violates the temple of God by mortal sin, through which he destroys himself or someone else by his works or example; hence it is said: Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves (Mal 2:11).
Sic autem dignum est, ut disperdatur ille a Deo per damnationem aeternam qui violat spirituale templum Dei, vel qualitercumque polluit. Unde dicitur Malac. II, 12: disperdet Dominus virum qui fecerit hoc, magistrum et discipulum. Et in Ps. XI, 4: disperdet Dominus universa labia dolosa, et cetera.
Therefore, any person who violates a spiritual temple of God or profanes it in any way deserves to be destroyed by God through eternal damnation; hence Malachi continues: may the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob and the man who does this, both the master and the disciple (Mal 2:12), and in a psalm: may the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts (Ps 12:3).
175. Deinde cum dicit templum Dei, etc., assignat rationem eius quod dixerat de sanctitate templi.
175. Then when he says, for the temple, he gives the reason for what he had said about the holiness of the temple.
Qui enim aliquam rem sacram violat, sacrilegium committit, unde dignum est ut disperdatur. Templum enim Dei sanctum est quod estis vos, sicut supra dictum est, et in Ps. LXIV, 5 dicitur: sanctum est templum tuum, mirabile in aequitate; et alibi domum tuam, Domine, decet sanctitudo. Et quidem in materiali templo est quaedam sacramentalis Sanctitas, prout templum divino cultui dedicatur, sed in fidelibus Christi est sanctitas gratiae, quam consecuti sunt per baptismum, secundum illud infra IV, 11: abluti estis, sanctificati estis.
For a person who profanes a sacred thing commits a sacrilege; hence he deserves to be destroyed. For the temple of God is holy, which you are, as he stated earlier and as stated in a psalm: holy is your temple, wonderful in justice (Ps 65:4), and again: holiness befits your house, O Lord (Ps 93:5). In a material temple, however, is a certain sacramental holiness, inasmuch as the temple is dedicated to divine worship; but in Christ’s faithful is the holiness of grace, which they acquired by baptism: you are washed, you are sanctified (1 Cor 6:11).
176. Deinde cum dicit nemo vos seducat, excludit errorem contrarium. Et
176. Then when he says, let no man deceive, he excludes an opposite error.
primo monet fideles ut sibi caveant a seductione errorum;
First, he warns the faithful to be careful not to be deceived by error;
secundo docet modum cavendi, ibi si quis inter vos;
second, he teaches how to be careful, at if any man among you;
tertio assignat rationem, ibi sapientia enim huius mundi, et cetera.
third, he assigns the reason, at for the wisdom of this world.
177. Circa primum sciendum quod quidam dixerunt quod Deus neque punit, neque remunerat hominum facta; ex quorum persona dicitur Sophon. I, 12: qui dicunt in cordibus suis: non faciet bene Dominus, et non faciet male. Et Thren. III, 37 s.: quis est iste qui dixit, ut fieret, Domino non iubente? Ex ore Altissimi non egredietur bonum neque malum. Ad hunc ergo errorem excludendum dicit nemo vos seducat, asserens scilicet quod ille qui templum Dei violat, non disperdatur a Deo, sicut Eph. V, 6 dicitur: nemo vos seducat inanibus verbis, propter hoc enim venit ira Dei in filios diffidentiae.
177. In regard to the first it should be noted that some people say that God neither rewards nor punishes men’s deeds: they say in their hearts: the Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill (Zeph 1:12); 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? (Lam 3:37). To exclude this error he says, let no man deceive himself with the assertion that a person who violates the temple of God will not be destroyed: 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 (Eph 5:6).
178. Deinde cum dicit si quis inter vos, etc., docet modum cavendi huiusmodi seductionem.
178. Then when he says, if any man, he shows how to avoid being deceived in this way.
Ubi sciendum est quod quidam dixerunt Deum non punire peccata hominum, innitentes rationibus humanae sapientiae, puta quod Deus non cognoscat singularia, quae fiunt hic, ex quorum persona dicitur Iob XXII, v. 14: circa cardines caeli perambulat, nec nostra considerat. Ad hoc ergo vitandum dicit si quis inter vos videtur esse sapiens in hoc saeculo, id est, sapientia saeculari, quae in eo quod contrariatur veritati fidei, non est sapientia, licet videatur esse, stultus fiat, abiiciendo istam sapientiam apparentem, ut sit sapiens, scilicet secundum sapientiam divinam, quae est vera sapientia.
Here it should be noted that some, appealing to the reasons of human wisdom, have declared that God does not punish men’s sins on the ground that God 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 he says: if any man among you seems to be wise in this world, i.e., has worldly wisdom, which in those points that are contrary to the faith is not wisdom, even though it appears to be, let him become a fool by eschewing that seeming wisdom, that he may be wise, namely, according to divine wisdom, which is the true wisdom.