Bible Strands
Ephesians 2:22
And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The apostle Paul addresses Gentile believers in Ephesus, concluding his explanation of how Jewish and Gentile Christians are united through Christ’s death. He describes their present spiritual construction as the immediate result of being joined to the Lord.
The words — συνοικοδομεῖσθε (sunoikodomeisthe) means “are being built together,” and κατοικητὴριον (katoikētērion) translates literally as “a dwelling place” or habitation. These terms frame the church not as a static structure but as a continuous, joint construction.
The thread — The temple motif appears in 1 Peter 2:4 with believers coming to Christ the living stone, and in 1 Corinthians 3:16 where the community itself is identified as God’s temple. John 17:21 extends the imagery into mutual indwelling among the Father, Son, and believers.
Why it lands — The text states that believers are actively being joined into a single structure where God’s Spirit resides. It requires readers to recognize their identity as integral parts of a shared spiritual dwelling rather than isolated individuals.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Cross-references
- 1 Peter 2:4 As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
- 1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
- John 17:21 that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
- 1 John 4:16 And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
- John 14:17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you.
- 1 John 4:13 By this we know that we remain in Him, and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit.
- Romans 8:9 You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
- 2 Corinthians 6:16 What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
- Ephesians 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,