We humans are a messed up lot, even those of us living for Jesus. Apparently we should live 'better' than we often do, at least if the Corinthians serve as a model. They were suing each other and struggling with sexual sins. What a church! Still Paul opened his letter calling them the church of God in Corinth … those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people (Corinthians 1:2a).
We probably aren't much different today. Oh, our sins might be different but living below God's ideal is the same.
After dealing with lawsuits, Paul tackles sexual immorality. He seals his argument against sexual immorality with an incredible understanding.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies (19-20).
Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who is in us! That thought is staggering. The Holy Spirit is the 3rd person of the Trinity and fully God and He is within us. We have God in us!!!! And just like a temple was to be maintained clean and pure so we are to keep ourselves (our bodies) clean and pure.
The thought gets even richer… we are no longer our own. Why? Because we were bought with a price… the life of Jesus, the 2nd person of the Trinity, when he died on the cross to be the payment for our (my!!!) sins.
I am not my own… I am God's.
When I was married 38 years ago. I gave up living my life for myself. I now have to factor my wife into all my decisions…her needs, wants and desires…. I went from 'me to we' thinking. I pondered this as an example of what occurred when I pledged my life and confessed Jesus as Lord. No longer do I live for myself… now it is God and me…or as Paul reminds me the Holy Spirit is in me, so it is the Holy Spirit and me. And I need to learn to build that into my regular thinking and living.
The outcome Paul says is that we should honor God with our bodies.*
Honoring God with my body goes far beyond what I do sexually. It is a bigger principle that Paul applies to a sexual problem in the church, but it could be applied to eating habits; drinking/drug habits; sleeping habits.
God has given us one body and we should honor Him with it. This speaks to the things I use my body to do. Do I honor God with the work of my body?
The reverberations of this text just keep expanding!!!
God leads me on a review of how I am using and not using my body to honor Him…
Lord, thank You for this marvelous body. May I honor You with how I treat and use it. I offer it to be a tool in Your hands to help advance Your kingdom near and far. Through , I pray. Amen.
*Implicitly this text is Trinitarian. Holy Spirit in us; bought with the blood of Jesus; therefore we should honor God!
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