The Pain of Porneia

Introduction

Dismiss Kids to Children’s Church

Transition

The Foundation

God Created Our Sexuality

We are image-bearers

Our understanding of morality, of our sexuality, is from a reverence for the creator’s design

God created our sexuality - we desire to honor and glorify God through our sexuality

What God creates is “good”

Tov - something is tov when it has within it“ the potential of life embedded in it by God when the creation brings it forth with the seeds of future life in it.

When God creates something - like our sexuality, it has the life of God embedded in it

It has the seeds of future life within it

God’s Love Doesn’t Mean He Ignores Our Sin; He Saves Us From It

There’s been a change in our culture - even in the church,

It gives us the liberty to live however we want

Sin is not sin

We don’t need to change

God’s grace accepts us

His love accepts us

Every interaction Jesus had with someone he loved them right where they were at … and then called them to a life set apart for God glory

We are called to be holy - set apart because Jesus is holy

Col 3 - Paul tells to put to death - sexual immorality, impurity, evil desires, coveting, greed anger, wrath, slander

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness

In other words - is the life your living - tov, good

Jesus is Lord

Yes, he is our savior

Yes he is our friend

But, let’s not forget - he is our Lord

Meaning - if we are part of the Kingdom of God - we must submit to the Lordship of Jesus in our lives

Luke 6:46 (NLT)

46“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?

If I’m going to call him Lord - I will do what he says - all of it.

We are made for Covenant Relationships

Covenant relationships are binding agreements

They are relationships that are meant to last - be long-term

They are never to be broken

That is what we are made for

That is how God created us

Covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ

We are created as image-bearers

Covenant relationship with other believers

We are called the body of Christ

It’s Jesus’ prayer in John 17 - unity

So the world may know

It’s Paul’s call to harmony - unity

Covenant relationship between a man and a woman

Remember the focus of the story of the creation of Eve is on the rib

Chiasm - writing tool used often in the OT

The feminine was taken from Adam

Helper fit for him - Ezer-kenegdo

The picture is of a man and woman standing face to face

The covenant relationship is the masculine and feminine coming back together again

The Voice We Listen To

Bertrand Russel - four main desires that drive humanity

Greed - the desire to possess as much as possible

We are never really satisfied

Rivalry - the desire to be better than someone else

Narcissism - or vanity - the desire to be seen

Look at me

Social media is narcissism at its best

Stronger desire than greed or rivalry

Love of Power - the desire to be in control

These desires impact our lives

They are what drive us

As humans - we are able to discipline these desires, to control these desires

God speaks to us about truth - His truth

We are to obey His truth

Our culture - truth

It is subjective - what is your truth may not be my truth ...

The question becomes - what voice are you going to listen to?

The desires within you

The voice of God outside you

Transition

For the most part, this is Paul’s world view. These are some foundational truths that he was viewing life from.

God Created our Sexuality - It Is Tov (good)

God’s Love Doesn’t Mean He Ignores Our Sin; He Saves Us From It

Jesus Is Lord

We are Made For Covenant Relationships

Are we listening to the voice of God

we need to hold and understand as we talk about anything in our culture - even as we talk about human sexuality.

We are going back to our text:

1 Corinthians 6:12–20 (NIV)

12“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.

13You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.

15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!

16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”

17But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.

19Do 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;

20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

The Problem - Porneia

Paul is tackling the arguments that the church in Corinth is making - that it’s ok to use prostitutes.

There were probably over 1000 temple prostitutes

It was normal, it was legal

it was normal for the men of Corinth to go to prostitutes

Let’s remember - Corinth is a harbor city

Thin strip of land

Would haul things by land between two different seas

That way you wouldn’t need to sail around

diverse, 1000’s of people traveling through

men who have been ships or traveling

it’s time to party!!!

Men of Corinth also used these prostitutes.

For these new believers - this was part of the culture they lived in

They grew up living in a society that prostitution was ok

That sex outside the marriage relationship was ok

As Paul proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ

As people began surrendering their lives to Jesus

Some of these issues began to creep into the church and Paul needed to address them

The culture was impacting the church

When it should be the other way around

6:7 - Do you not know - wrongdoers will not inherit the Kingdom of God

Paul lists examples - sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, greedy, slanderers, swindlers

That is what you WERE

Emphasis on WERE

Now you are washed, sanctified, justified, in the name of Jesus

Jesus is LORD

This is all part of the conversation about leaven infecting the whole lump of dough - chapter 5

We can’t have that.

Why?

Because - the body of Christ is the temple of the Holy Spirit

Where the Holy Spirit dwells, it needs to be set apart.

In other words - Paul says - stop

This is not who you are anymore

You are not people who live by whatever desire you have inside you.

You live by your desires being directed by the voice of God - the Holy Spirit

By the Word of God

The Church’s Argument

Vs. 12 - I have the right to do anything …

This sounds familiar doesn’t it.

This is the argument of our culture

If it feels good do it

This is my truth - you live by your truth and I’ll live by my truth

Vs. 13 - My body and food will all be gone when Christ comes again

It doesn’t matter what I do with my body because God will destroy my body

All that matters is my spirit, my soul

Paul’s Response

Do You Not Know …

Six times in chapter six we see this response from Paul - “Do You Not Know …”

It’s almost like Paul expects them to know this stuff

Like maybe Paul taught them this stuff when he was with them in the beginning.

Or, at least, it should have been taught and discussed as a church.

Vs. 15 - Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute?

NEVER!!!

This fits with Paul’s teaching elsewhere

Galatians 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I that live but Christ that lives in me …

The live I now live in the flesh i live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me

2 Cor 5:17 - I am a new creation - the old is gone

Col 3:3 - For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God

The live we live as followers of Jesus - in this flesh, in this body, is to be lived for Christ

Since your bodies are members of Christ - you should never unite with a prostitute

Vs. 16 - Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”

Unites himself - Joined - gk - kollao - to glue together, cement, to join or fasten firmly together, to cleave

To emphasize the point, Paul quotes Genesis 2:4

man shall leave his father and mother and kallao - join together, hold fast, to his wife and the two shall become one flesh

This brings us to one of our foundational points - we are created for covenant relationships

the covenant relationship between a man and woman is one that is glued together.

Remember - a covenant is not supposed to be broken

the covenant relationship is glued together when a man “knows” his wife

We talked about - Adam knowing Eve

There is a depth of knowledge that comes through sexual intimacy

Remember what Adam said about Eve

She is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh

Woman came from man and when they come back together it is a uniting again of the masculine and feminine

In today’s culture - along with the culture in Corinth - sex is a casual passing event.

it’s for pleasure only

our culture - have sex, before you get intimate

In vs 18 comes these words from Paul that are hard to understand

I with Paul would have taken more time to explain

Vs. 18 - Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.

Flee sexual immorality - porneia

The gk - porneia - means any kind of sexual activity that is outside the covenant relationship of marriage between a man and woman

Gk - porne - means prostitute

Paul earlier addressed the issue of prostitution

But here expands the message to include all porneia - all sexual immorality

Whoever sins sexually - porneia ...

Gk for all sexual sin outside of the covenant relationship between a man and woman

… sins against their own body

What does Paul mean - sins against their own body

It’s hard to grasp - but here are some thoughts on that.

Remember what Paul said

Illustration

Kalao - unite - glue together

Hebrew - cleave

Man shall leave his father and mother and cleave - unite, be glued, to his wife

Sex unites two people like glue uniting two pieces of wood.

They become one

Issue - divorce

This is why it’s so painful

It divides that which has been united - glued - become one

Issue - multiple partners

When two people have sex - there is a gluing that happens

It’s a mystery

Just like so many other mysteries

The trinity

The relationship between Jesus and the church

There is a bonding that happens

God’s design was for one man to unite - be glued, to one woman

Name tag - multiple uses - loses it’s stickiness

People who have multiple partners will find that they have a harder time sticking with one person

Band Member of sex pistols

Sex addict - yes extreme

When he has sex with a woman - he has to leave right away

Unable to be glued

Rape vs being mugged or robbed

There is pain when being mugged, beat up

There is a deeper pain when someone is violated sexually.

The Pain of Porneia …

It is not that sex is bad - it is good - tov - created by God

It’s that when sex is used for something other than what God designed it for, it can cause pain

Pain of broken relationships

Pain of unable to be in covenant relationship

This is what I think Paul is talking about when he says - porneia - sexual immorality, is a sin that is agaisnt your own body.

Paul’s last “Do You Not Know ...:”

Vs. 19 - 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;

Paul wraps up this part of his letter reminding the church in Corinth - and us, that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit

We are set apart

We are to be Holy

We are not our own

This goes back to the Lordship of Jesus

Vs. 20 - you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

You were bought with a price

Jesus died on the cross for you.

He died to set you free from sin and death

The fleeing sexual immorality is not about keeping you from experiencing some pleasure.

It is helping you see that as a follower of Jesus - you are set apart

God has something more for you.

Transition

So, there are some of you sitting here listening to this message going - well, I already screwed that up.

I’m divorced

I’ve had multiple partners

What do I do?

Finding Freedom & Healing

There is good news.

Is 61:1-4 - The Spirit of the sovereign Lord has anointed me ...

1 John 1:9 - Confess our sins -

2 Cor 5:17 - I am a new creation

The old is gone - the new is come

John 10;10 - Thief comes to steal kill and destroy

I come to give life - and give it abundantly