There is a really helpful paragraph in Carson's wonderful commentary on John expounding John 2:21, where Jesus speaks of his body as a temple. I've grasped the general idea expressed in John 2:21 for some time, but Carson's paragraph is very helpful for its clarity.
John explains that what Jesus was really referring to (in v 19) was his own body, that body in which the Word became flesh (1:14). The Father and the incarnate Son enjoy mutual indwelling (14:10-11). Therefore it is the human body of Jesus that uniquely manifests the Father, and becomes the focal point of the manifestation of God to man, the living abode of God on earth, the fulfilment of all the temple meant, and the centre of all true worship (over against all other claims of ‘holy space’, 4:20-24). In this ‘temple’ the ultimate sacrifice would take place; within three days of death and burial, Jesus Christ, the true temple, would rise from the dead. (Page 182)
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