---
title: 1 Corinthians 3:16
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-corinthians-3-16/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-corinthians-3-16.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: 1 Corinthians 3:16
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# 1 Corinthians 3:16

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

## JW Usage

The Watchtower reads 3:16 corporately — the Christian congregation (the anointed remnant in the modern era) is collectively God's temple. The plural "you" is emphasised to avoid individual personal application. The individual believer's body as a Spirit-indwelt temple is minimised; the collective-corporate reading supports the anointed-body framework in which the Spirit indwells the organisation but not necessarily each member of the great crowd.

## Protestant Usage

The "you" in 3:16 IS plural — but the plural does not exclude the individual. Paul applies the same temple language individually in 1 Corinthians 6:19 — "your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God." The corporate and individual readings are not in conflict — the church is the temple BECAUSE each member is indwelt. At the door: "If God's Spirit dwells in you (plural), it has to dwell in each one for the plural to be true. Romans 8:9 says 'if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.' Paul's assumption throughout is personal indwelling, not a corporate-only framework where the Spirit indwells the organisation but not the member."

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Acts 15 — A One-Time Council, Not a Standing Body](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/acts15-one-time-not-template.md) — The Jerusalem meeting never reconvened, never legislated again, never appointed successors [Authority]