The Body is for the Lord

1 Corinthians 6:11–16“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.” :

BBC Earth:

“So what is our story? Let’s start with the facts. We are one species of primate that emerged from the dry savannahs of East Africa just over 100,000 years ago and began a migration that continues to today.

We weren’t the strongest animal, but we had an unusually large brain and held ourselves upright, giving us a high vantage to scan the distant horizon for enemies, and the freedom to use our hands for other purposes. Over time we began to fashion tools. These were primitive, but could tear through skin and muscle and gave us an advantage as we prowled our wild habitat for prey.”

What does it mean to be human?

BBC: “But to be human is to be at the centre of our own universe, to experience life in all its colours and all its potential.’

On a website called “Human Origins,” this same question was proposed. What does it mean to be human? Answers varied:

-Keith Bassette, wrote: “We are self-perpetuating patterns of matter that have emerged from the chaos of the universe. Tiny whirlpools in a great sea.”

-Anil Das Gupta: “To be conscious.”

slightly closer to the truth is Sohee, from CA: “To be human is to question and wonder about things that happen around us. As a human, we are able to ask questions, reason, and gain knowledge.”

-Nayeli: “First things first, the size of our brains makes us humans, the development in our neocortex is critical to our superior development it is what sets us apart from any other being. Our fine and gross motor skills, the ability to walk on two legs...” Just over the weekend, Elon Musk made this statement: “We are microbes on a dust mote in a vast emptiness overwhelming dominated by the sun.”

I break from these for just a moment, and ask you if any of these answers remotely address the basic existential questions we ask:

Of origin…WHERE DID WE COME FROM?

of purpose…WHY ARE WE HERE?

of destiny…WHERE ARE WE GOING WHEN WE DIE? IS THERE AN AFTERLIFE?

Your Body is to be Used for the Lord

1 Corinthians 6:11–13“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.”

THE VALUE OF THE BODY

because of its creation/bears the marks of the Creator

Psalm 100:3: “Know ye that the Lord he is God: It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”

Isaiah 64:8: “But now, O Lord, thou art our father; We are the clay, and thou our potter; And we all are the work of thy hand.”

Job 10:8: “Thine hands have made me and fashioned me Together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.”

because of its design- telos You are more than- -what you eat (12) -what you desire/liberties you take (11-12)

more than what you CAN do or SHOULD do

Psalm 139:14-15: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Marvellous are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, When I was made in secret, And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.”

You have naturally what is called the imago dei. You were made in God’s image— DAMAGED COIN---

b-the body gives us consciousness and connectivity to the world around us; therefore, the creation mandate is to exert dominion and control over the natural world; CREATE; ORDER; ENJOY; WORK

Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”

BARRY COOPER WRITES THAT this mandate means that all work— if not sinful— is an act of worship in which we may bring glory to God.

Soul- self-consciousness

Spirit-God-consciousness

Body- world-consciousness- am known and know- I move- my “earth vehicle” The Tabernacle: Outer Court- Body- your body is the outer court of a Temple 1 Thessalonians 5:23: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Inner Court- Soul Holy- Spirit- where God abides FB Meyer: “Hand the keeping of your body over to Him!”

because of its potential

historians note that the ancients believed that only the lords, and rulers, and emperors, and hoity-toidy, and royals were made in the image of God— but the Bible says that ALL MEN are elevated to such status— we are all royal before the Creator King!

God created man

Man disobeyed God

man was cursed

So, God did the unthinkable.

He took on flesh and dwelt among men

He lived in our world— drank of water— rather, the water He had once made— He died at our hands and was buried in a borrowed tomb—

Hebrews 10:5: “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:”

Colossians 2:9: “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

1 Peter 2:24: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

Hebrews 10:10: “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

No wonder, Paul aspired to such sacrifice

2 Corinthians 4:9-11: “Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.”

Your Body Will be Resurrected to God Someday

Because of the gospel, we will be resurrected to be with Christ— our flesh!

Job 19:24–26“That they were graven with an iron pen and lead In the rock for ever! For I know that my redeemer liveth, And that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, Yet in my flesh shall I see God:” :

Christian, your body is special!

I Corinthians 6:19-20: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

I Corinthians 10:31: “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

We’ll talk later about same-sex attractions and the biblical model of sexuality in marriage, but let me just insert here that a biblical worldview honors the body and considers it the workmanship of a holy and all-wise God— And how did the early church fathers express their opposition to the same-sex agendas billowing out of the Roman culture? CREATION THEOLOGY— just as we are doing today. We are created by God with a body and in that body we are to glorify God!

CHRISTOPHER WEST: It’s critical to let this point sink in. Unwittingly, we often give evil far more weight than it deserves, as if the devil had created his own “evil world” to battle God’s “good world.” But the devil is a creature, not a creator. And this means the devil does not have his own clay. All he can do is take God’s clay (which is always very good) and twist it, distort it. That’s what evil is: the twisting or distortion of good. Redemption, therefore, involves the untwisting of what sin and evil have twisted so we can recover the true good.

Your Body is a Member of Christ

1 Corinthians 6:15–16“Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.” :

Piercey:

“Christianity offers a genuine alternative to an empty, pointless cosmos. It says that we are not alone, that the universe is meaningful, that we do have intrinsic value, that sexuality has its own purpose or telos, that human community is real, and that there is objective truth, goodness, and beauty. Most of all, we are not products of mindless chance but the creation of a loving Creator. Each one of us was loved into existence, and we have the high calling of inviting others into the astonishingly rich experience of living in a cosmos centered in love.”