The Disciple's Body
Abiding in Christ • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 46:35
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· 98 viewsIf you’re a disciple of Jesus, then your abiding in Christ and His abiding in you defines everything about who you are. In this series we’ll see how the disciple’s mission, mind, emotions, body, will, and relationships are affected by his or her relationship to Jesus. Understanding our identity in Christ is crucial as we seek to follow him faithfully.
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The Foundational Truth…
The Foundational Truth…
If you have a Bible and I hope you do, I want to invite you to open with me to , and we are going to dive in this morning to a picture of the disciple’s body. The greatest temptation we will face today when we come to this text is to think that this text is addressing someone else when it is addressing us. So keep that in mind as we begin to think about the disciple’s body.
The Foundational Truth…
If you have a Bible and I hope you do, I want to invite you to open with me to , and we are going to dive in this morning to a picture of the disciple’s body. The greatest temptation we will face today when we come to this text is to think that this text is addressing someone else when it is addressing us. So keep that in mind as we begin to think about the disciple’s body.
The prevailing philosophy in our day is that we are simply products of our DNA. This is the way we are made up. Each of us is given a body and we do whatever we want with our body. That is the mantra of our day. We do whatever pleases us most. You look at the hot button issues in our culture, in our society right now and many of them revolve around that kind of philosophy.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, your body is not your property.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, your body is not your property.
The prevailing philosophy in our day is that we are simply products of our DNA. This is the way we are made up. Each of us is given a body and we do whatever we want with our body. That is the mantra of our day. We do whatever pleases us most. You look at the hot button issues in our culture, in our society right now and many of them revolve around that kind of philosophy.
When you look at discussions about the institution of marriage, homosexuality … You look at issues like free speech and pornography. You look at issues that are out there—many of them deal with the body and many of them are dominated by this philosophy that each of us has a body for us to do with it whatever we desire, and this philosophy is alive and well in the church. And the question I want to ask this morning is what if it’s just not true?
David Platt, “The Disciple’s Body,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2007), 970.
First of all, what if our bodies are not just products of our DNA and it’s just the way we are? And maybe even deeper, what if our bodies are not ours to do with whatever we want? What if they actually don’t belong to us at all? Now we’re diving deep into a pretty countercultural thought. The idea that maybe my body is not even my own.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, your body is not your property.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, your body is not your property.
That leads us into the deep end of the foundational truth of the heart of that I want us to understand from the very beginning...
David Platt, “The Disciple’s Body,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2007), 970.
That leads us into the deep end of the foundational truth of the heart of that I want us to kind of get out on the table from the very beginning
As a follower of Jesus Christ, your body is not your property.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, your body is not your property.
David Platt, “The Disciple’s Body,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2007), 970.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, your body is not your property.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, your body is not your property.
And I believe we could make the case that even if you’re not a follower of Christ, your body is still not your own. And as we see in our picture in our notes, Christ is intended to also transform our bodies.
The Body That Belongs To Christ…
The Body That Belongs To Christ…
When we think about our bodies we know we all have natural inclinations that are inside of us that cause us to do things. We do things that we know don’t honor God. We have desires in us, in our bodies, if we’re really honest, that we know don’t honor God. We look at things. We listen to things that we know don’t honor God. We touch things. We sense things. We engage in things that we know don’t honor God so we think of the body as this picture of evil.
And it’s not helpful when we go to , and we see Paul there saying,
15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
David Platt, “The Disciple’s Body,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2007), 971.
Romans 7:15-20
He comes to the end and says...
The Body That Belongs To Christ…
22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Romans 7:22-24
Your body was created by God.
Your body was created by God.
Romans 7:
22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Apparently, Christ came not just to save our mind, to save our emotions but He came to rescue our bodies and literally to transform our bodies.
Apparently, Christ came not just to save our mind, to save our emotions but He came to rescue our bodies and literally to transform our bodies.
David Platt, “The Disciple’s Body,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2007), 972.
So how do we glorify Christ with what we do with our bodies? How do you glorify Christ with the way you dress your body or the way you carry your body or the way you care for your body or the way you use your body? That’s what I want us to dive into.
Your body was created by God.
Your body was created by God.
It’s so important here in 1 Corinthians to realize these were people who had distinguished the two. They saw faith in the spiritual realm over here and they thought it really didn’t matter what you did with your body. And they lived in a city, Corinth, that was known for rampant immorality, particularly, sexual immorality.
This is one of the most important passages, significant theological passages in all the New Testament about how Christ transforms our body. So let’s come in on what Paul says to them and then consider what this might mean for us.
David Platt, “The Disciple’s Body,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2007), 972.
12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
This is one of the most important passages, significant theological passages in all the New Testament about how Christ transforms our body. So let’s come in on what Paul says to them and then consider what this might mean for us.
What I want us to see here, as we are surrounded by a culture that fills our minds, telling us over and over again, do whatever you want to do to please your body. So I want us to see these truths that must be foundational to our faith that affect the way we live out our lives in these bodies. What does it mean for your body to belong to Christ?
Your body was created by God.
Your body was created by God.
What I want us to see here, as we are surrounded by a culture that fills our minds, telling us over and over again, do whatever you want to do to please your body.
David Platt, “The Disciple’s Body,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2007), 972.
Your body was created by God.
Your body was created by God.
Your body was created by God.
Your body was created by God.
Now this is the crux of the picture and it’s in verse 13 and we’ll come back to verse 12 in a minute. But Paul uses a phrase here that was common among these Corinthians, especially the Corinthian Christians. “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food” ()
13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
In other words, what they were saying is, “Well, my stomach was made for food and food was made for my stomach,” so automatically you put them together and there’s no problem there. And the implication was that’s how they also looked at sexuality. “Well, my body was made for sex and sex was made for the body so they go together.” This is the way things work. Paul says, “On the contrary, the body is not meant for sexual immorality.”
Our bodies are invaluable to Him.
Our bodies are invaluable to Him.
In other words, what they were saying is, “Well, my stomach was made for food and food was made for my stomach,” so automatically you put them together and there’s no problem there. And the implication was that’s how they also looked at sexuality. “Well, my body was made for sex and sex was made for the body so they go together.” This is the way things work. Paul says, “On the contrary, the body is not meant for sexual immorality.”
But here’s the phrase that is so key, “The body is meant for the Lord and the Lord for the body.” You might underline that. That is the key phrase. The body is meant “for the Lord and the Lord for the body.” Two pictures there.
The first and it’s a pretty heavy truth—our bodies are meant for the Lord but what’s really interesting is the second part of that phrase—the Lord is for the body. What is that about? What does that mean? God created our bodies for a purpose. He created our bodies to be used for His honor and His glory. We were created by God and that means...
David Platt, “The Disciple’s Body,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2007), 973.
Our bodies are invaluable to Him.
Our bodies are invaluable to Him.
He created us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, right? ? God cares about our bodies and what we do in them. This is the picture in . It’s a dangerous tendency for many today. To think that I can grow in the spiritual realm, but I dan do things over here in the physical realm that don’t matter as much. Our body is precious to God, therefore honor God in your bodies.
Not only are our bodies invaluable to Him, but...
He has made an eternal investment in our bodies.
He has made an eternal investment in our bodies.
Listen to verse 14...
14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.
1 Corinthians 6:
Now picture what these Corinthians thought, “Well, my soul is OK. It doesn’t matter about my body.” God says, “Well, it mattered for Jesus’ body.” He didn’t just have a raised soul from the dead. He was raised bodily. This is the whole point.
The picture here is verse 14 is one day we will bodily reign with Christ (glorified bodies…). Our bodies are important to God. God has an eternal investment in your body, therefore honor God with it. That leads us to the next point...
Your body was purchased by Christ.
Your body was purchased by Christ.
Your body is not only created by God, your body was purchased by Christ. Let’s go back to ...
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!
Let’s break down this picture...
He has united us with Himself.
He has united us with Himself.
Our bodies are members of Christ Himself. That’s the picture He’s given us in verse 15. So here’s the picture of how Christ unites us to Himself...
Christ took on a body like us.
Christ took on a body like us.
Christ gave His body for us.
Christ gave His body for us.
There was no sin in His body. Not one time did Jesus use His body for anything that dishonored the Father. And because of that, He was able to take upon Himself the full weight of our sin on a cross.
Christ now displays His body through us.
Christ now displays His body through us.
That’s the point of . We don’t see Christ physically today. Instead you see His hand and His feet, His eyes, His ears, His smiles through His people on earth. That’s the picture of Christ in you. And based on that he says, “Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute?” No, that would be unthinkable.
And we see the phrase in verse 12...
12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
This is an extremely common phrase at this point for the people in Corinth. “Well, everything’s ok for me do do. I’m free. This is actually something that Paul teaches at other points in the New Testament. In Christ you are free. If it’s not sin, it’s ok. The problem is they had taken that truth and so warped it to think that it was ok in the extreme. And Paul says, “Let’s rethink that phrase. Everything’s permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial.”
Don’t ask if you have the right to do something. Ask is it beneficial. Not only for us, but for others.
He has set us free from …
He has set us free from …
Christ died to set us free. Free from what?
Bodily sin that harms so deeply.
Bodily sin that harms so deeply.
The picture here in chapter 6 is very specifically sexual sin. But it goes beyond that. Paul is asking them, “Is this of advantage to the church? Is this an advantage in brining people to Christ? This is absolutely not.”
Sin not only harms us, but others as well.
Bodily sin that controls so quickly.
Bodily sin that controls so quickly.
That’s the way sin works. It ultimately controls us...
12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
Paul says I will not be enslaved by anything. Sin creeps in and begins to control more and more. That’s why Paul says in verse 18...
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
Bodily sin that devastates so painfully.
Bodily sin that devastates so painfully.
Bodily sin devastates so painfully. That’s why he says it’s different.
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
In verses 9 and 10 he says those who engage in these types of sins won’t inherit the kingdom of God. You may be asking, is there any hope? No look at what it says...
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians
He says you’re forgiven. You’ve been set free from that. He has set us free to...
He has set us free to…
He has set us free to…
Enjoy His great purpose for our bodies.
Enjoy His great purpose for our bodies.
This is
4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
Not just to enjoy His purpose for our bodies, but...
Exalt His great glory in our bodies.
Exalt His great glory in our bodies.
Remember, this life is not about us. We are here to glorify God in our bodies. Everything we do should exalt God and bring glory to Him. And this brings us to our next main point...
Your body is filled by the Spirit.
Your body is filled by the Spirit.
This is the beautiful picture at the end...
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
Just a short lesson on the temple from the OT. The temple is...
The temple…
The temple…
The place where God’s presence dwells among His people.
The place where God’s presence dwells among His people.
The place where God’s holiness draws the nations to Himself.
The place where God’s holiness draws the nations to Himself.
You get to the NT and Jesus says, “I’m the temple, I’m the place where you meet the glory of God. I’m drawing the nations to myself.” And then he says to us, “Now you’re the temple. you are what I’m going to use to draw the nations to me. You are my presence in this world.”
Isn’t that awesome? And then our bodies...
Our bodies…
Our bodies…
We possess His presence as the church.
We possess His presence as the church.
We display His holiness to the nations.
We display His holiness to the nations.
We can either use our bodies as instruments of wickedness, or an instrument of righteousness. Christ longs to purify us. He rose from the grave so that your body could be an instrument of righteousness. He died to transform our bodies for His glory.
Our question this morning is, “What in my body needs to be purified for the glory of God?