3:16 “Do you not know that you are a temple of God”
There is no ARTICLE with “temple” (i.e., naos, the central shrine itself). The PRONOUN “you” is PLURAL, while “temple” is SINGULAR; therefore, in this context “temple” must refer to the whole church at Corinth (cf. II Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21-22), which may have involved several house churches.

The focus of Jewish faith developed into the Temple ritual and liturgy (cf. Jer. 7) instead of personal faith in YHWH. It is not where or when or how one worships, but who one is in relationship with, God. Jesus saw His body as the temple of God (cf. John 2:21). Jesus is greater than the OT Temple (cf. Matt. 12:6). God’s activity has moved from a sacred building into a sacred (i.e., redeemed, holy) body of believers. The focus of God’s activity in the world is people! Jesus’ body is now a place, both corporately and individually.

The concept of indwelling deity is recurrent in the NT. All three persons of the Trinity are said to indwell believers: (1) the Spirit (cf. John 14:16-17; Rom. 8:9,11; I Cor. 3:16; 6:19; II Tim. 1:14); (2) the Son (cf. Matt. 28:20; John 14:20,23; 15:4-5; Rom. 8:10; II Cor. 13:5; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 3:17; Col. 1:27); and (3) both the Son and the Father (cf. John 14:23 and II Cor. 6:16).

• 3:17 “If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him”
  This is a FIRST CLASS CONDITIONAL SENTENCE, which assumes the reality of unspiritual believers damaging the work of the church (i.e., leaders or the factions). Here the emphasis is on the actions of the individual believer. This does not affect their salvation, v. 15, but their longevity and reward.The supreme tragedy of believers living selfish, fruitless lives is the potential of the resources at their disposal. They know the gospel; they have the Spirit, yet they and the church are damaged by their actions.

Only the immediate context can determine its meaning. Here it is used in parallel clauses, but it is uncertain if it has the same meaning in each clause because the first refers to the church and the second to a person. This term in context is referring to saved, but immature, believers who are causing a factious spirit to develop in the church at Corinth. See Special Topic at 15:42.It is hard to define what “destroy” means in this context (cf. Matt. 18:6; Luke 17:1-2; Rom. 14:15; I Cor. 5:5; 8:11; I Tim. 1:20).

While I am on this subject, I personally do not believe this term (and related terms) can legitimately be used to prove the physical annihilation of lost persons (Fudge, The Fire That Consumes), but rather their conscious, eternal separation from God (i.e., hell, cf. Dan. 12:2; Matt. 25:46; Acts 24:15). It is even possible that what Paul is referring to here relates to I Cor. 5:5 and I Tim. 1:20, where the church disciplines one out of their fellowship (but always with the hope and prayer of restoration following repentance).  (1)