Theology Thursday: Build or Destroy
Bible-Read-Through Update: I’m through Isaiah, and through 1 Corinthians on my second time through the NT.
Wow, but I haven’t done one of these in a while. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to do one, but my Bible reading hasn’t inspired any topics recently. So naturally I’m going to cover two topics today (and I’ve got two more ideas, so be prepared to come back next week).
Anyway, two topics, so be warned: This is not Theology Thursday Lite. Skimming will be permitted if not recommended.
So, I recently read The Great Purgatory Proof-Text and the Great Suicide Is Unforgiveable Proof-Text. A couple of years ago, I almost wrote a Purgatory post, but then wrote something else instead. Today I’ll finally write about it, and also address the Suicide text.
Of course, most evangelicals don’t believe in Purgatory, so why should I write about it? Well, it’s because I do believe in it. Whoa, wait a sec, right? I’ll explain later. First, the Great Proof-Text…
Actually, first, a clarification. Most evangelicals, being almost completely ignorant of Catholic dogma/doctrine, don’t really know what Purgatory is (much like they don’t know what the Immaculate Conception is).
Purgatory is not a second chance for the unredeemed to reach Heaven. No, instead, you could look at it as a stop on the Up Elevator. Purgatory is, as propounded by the Catholic Church, a temporary place of punishment for redeemed people to be purged of the temporal consequences for their sins (the eternal punishment is removed by Christ’s work). For more, check out the Catholic Encyclopedia article on it.
Glad we cleared that up. It’s just the place where we get washed up before going to the Big Banquet Up Yonder. Now, that Proof-Text:
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (NLT) – my emphasis :
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
The Purgatory imagery is obvious here, right? Someone who does well building on Christ’s work (meaning living as a Christian) will be rewarded. Someone who does poorly will still be saved, but will be punished beforehand.
The problem we have here is that this passage isn’t discussing the work of an individual Christian on his/her own life. In fact, taking more context here, we notice verse 10:
10 Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.
Paul makes it clear that he’s talking about his having laid the foundation of the Church, and others are building on it. Building the Church.
So the warning is for those who build on the foundation of Christ in building His Church. This is for leaders in the Church. It has nothing to do with Purgatory. Dazzle your Catholic friends with this knowledge!
Okay, I guess that wasn’t such Heavy Theology. And now the Suicide text:
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NLT):
16 Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 17 God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
The New Living Translation does a nice job of emphasizing that this text is talking about the Church rather than individuals. Other translations just say, “you are the Temple of God.” The NLT recognizes that “you” here is plural.
If it said, “You are the Temple of God,” and then threatened anyone who destroyed the Temple of God, this might have a suicide tie-in. But it doesn’t.
So what is the Temple of God? The Church, of course. So the threat of destruction is for those who destroy the Church. Keep in mind that Paul’s letter is addressing division in the church at Corinth.
(It is possible to grab this passage and juxtapose it with Chapter Six of the same letter, where Paul refers to our bodies as the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and then apply the destruction warning, but I don’t think it’d be valid to do that since it would ignore the immediate context of Chapter Three.)
And that should do it for today’s Error Correction Post.
… … …
Okay, okay, I’ll elaborate on my “I believe in Purgatory” comment. Simply put, I believe we have to be changed before seeing God. As to the specifics of how the change happens, I’ve got nothing. It could be instantaneous, or it could be long and painful. But it fits, at least in broad strokes, with how Purgatory is actually defined.
By the way, I do not believe in Indulgences or Prayers for the Dead. So I’m still quite far from being Catholic.