06AM March 12 1 Corinthians 6 12_20
March 12, 2006—Morning Worship
Honoring God with Your Body
Facts that Compel Us to Honor God
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Intro: Our culture is mesmerized by the appearance of the physical body. Magazines, movies, television & advertisements in all kinds of media glamorize the physical body. & it would seem that America is striving for the perfect body. There is always another diet plan or exercise machine that’s going to make you look years younger & shed those unwanted pounds. There’s always some new hairstyle or some new fashion or some new undergarment that’s going to make the opposite sex drool over you! & now-a-days, it’s gotten to the point where plastic surgery, to “fix” your body, is as accepted as having your teeth cleaned! Our culture is mesmerized by the physical body.
But at the same time, in the same culture, the Center for Disease Control reports that 61% of all adults in NC are considered overweight or obese! They also report that 30% of all adults in the US are obese! Being overweight or obesity is a growing problem in our culture, but unfortunately, that’s not the only problem!
If we were to add up the total number of sensual images we see every day, we would quickly realize that our culture is enslaved to that train of thought; it’s mesmerized by the physical body & w/the physical union of bodies. We aren't the first culture who had this infatuation. It was also common in Bible times. It needed to be addressed then—just as it needs to be addressed today! Let's look at how Paul addressed this problem in the Corinthian church from our text in...
1 Corinthians 6 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 & the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it & them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, & the Lord for the body. 14 & God both raised up the Lord & 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 & 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 w/her? For "the two," He says, "shall become one flesh." 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit w/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, & you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body & in your spirit, which are God's.
- The city of Corinth was a wicked city. It was a city of great commerce, a city of trade.
- The Corinthians worshiped pagan deities. There were temples to various “gods” all over the city.
- & as a part of these pagan worship services in these temples, the physical body played an important part.
- In many of the temples, it was believed that a mere moral could gain access to the mind of the gods by joining in physical union w/a temple priestess (which was really nothing other than a temple prostitute).
- Many of these so-called “religions” in Corinth also taught that the physical body was evil b/c it was made of matter.
- In there doctrine, anything made of matter was evil & would be burned up & not enter the afterlife.
- So, in their doctrine, they said that anything that you did in your body was unimportant & irrelevant b/c it was going to be burned up anyway.
- So their attitude toward gratifying the desires of the body was “anything goes.”
- Unfortunately, some of the believers in Corinth had reverted back into those old patterns & habits.
- & in these vv. Paul, writes to awaken their consciences & to warn them of the dangers of following those practices.
- Today, on March 12, 2006, we still need to be warned & awakened to the fact that…
1. Some believers are caught up in the permissive culture! (vv. 12-14)
- There are those believers who are out of the will of God, who have strayed from walking w/God, who are deep in sin &…
A. They justify their sin as being Free in Christ. (v. 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.
- Paul is most likely using a local expression “All things are lawful for me….”
- It is true that believers are free in Christ, but we are not free to live as we please.
- It’s true, we are not under the law but under grace. But that is not a license to sin!
- The Corinthians’ argument was that since they were under grace, all things were lawful.
- & in view of their previous understanding of the body, they saw no need for restraint.
- Paul had already written to the Galatians about this matter probably 8 yrs. before.
Galatians 5 13a For you, brethren, have been called to liberty;
- & apparently the Corinthians stopped reading the verse there. But it goes on to say in Galatians 5 13b only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
- No one who is a believer is to use their freedom in Christ as a license to sin!
- In fact, the emphasis is to be on loving one another!
- So, the argument fails to “hold water;” it fails “the litmus test.”
- Therefore Paul’s point in v. 12 is that, while you are free in Christ, not all things are beneficial & could even be harmful to the believer.
- It’s the same for us today, while there are many things in which we could immerse ourselves, few of them are helpful & many are harmful b/c they can be addictive.
- So Paul says, “In Christ, I will not be brought under the power of any worldly thing.”
- Are there sins in your life which you try to justify by saying, “I’m free in Christ, I can do as I please”?
- Are there patterns & habits in your life that you try to justify b/c you don’t see how you can live w/o them?
- If so, maybe you need to hear Galatians 5 13 again so that your conscience is pricked b/c of your sin; “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
- Some believers are caught up in the permissive culture, trying to justify their sin as being free in Christ &…
B. They justify their sin as being “Natural.” (vv. 13-14) 13 Foods for the stomach & the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it & them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, & the Lord for the body. 14 & God both raised up the Lord & will also raise us up by His power.
- v. 13 begins w/another probable local expression, but Paul says that foods & the stomach are both temporal; they are not eternal.
- But the body you possess as a believer will one day enter eternity as a glorified body.
- Your body will be changed in the twinkling of an eye from a body soiled by sin to a body suited for glory!
- & as wonderful as that is; & marvelous as that will be; your body is in the here & now & should be a reflection of what God can do in you through Jesus Christ!
- Now I know – I’m overweight! According to the CDC website, I’m obese! & that means I’m not glorifying God in my body.
- Now I don’t for one moment judge anyone else who is overweight. I’m not the Obese Police & Lord knows I don’t have a right to be.
- But I am simply saying that those of us who are overweight need to address it just like we do any other sin!
- Someone might use the Corinthians’ argument & say, “It’s only natural to eat!”
- To which I would reply, “Yes! It is natural & that’s the problem.”
- We are not to live by the natural by but by the supernatural life of Jesus Christ in us!
- Therefore, it needs to be addressed just like any other sin in which anyone may be caught.
- & Paul draws the Corinthians back to the purpose God has for them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, & the Lord for the body.
- You were not created to live lasciviously; you were not created to live immorally; you were created to give God glory! IOW you were created by Him & for Him!
- & Paul appeals to our senses when he says that, God both raised up the Lord & will also raise us up by His power.
- He’s saying that since God has done so much for us & will do so much for us – we should be living for Him & not ourselves!
- It is true, some believers are caught up in the permissive culture, living an ungodly life…
2. But God demands our moral purity! (vv. 15-20)
- Some of us want to be like 2 year old children & ask, “Why? Why does God demand our moral purity? Why can’t I live my life the way I want to live it?”
- & the simplest answer I can give is, “It’s not your life!”
Galatians 2 20 I have been crucified w/Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; & the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me & gave Himself for me.
- If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, He lives His life through you! According to the Bible, as Paul wrote, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me!
- & that is the reason for…
A. The priority of your Spirituality. (vv. 15-17) 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ & 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 w/her? For "the two," He says, "shall become one flesh." 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit w/Him.
- Everywhere you go & everything you do – you go & do as part of the Body of Christ.
- So when you go to places you should not go & do the things you should not do, you not only take the name of Christ w/you as a believer, but you also take Christ who is in you.
- So if a believer is involved in immorality, he/she involves the Lord who is in them!
- You soil the name of Jesus; you defile the name of Jesus; you make Him a mockery for your own pleasure!
[I’ve heard of some people who put solid gold fixtures on toilets so that when they flush the toilet their hands only touch solid gold! But putting a solid gold fixture on a toilet does not improve the worth of the toilet. It’s a toilet! It carries away human waste! Putting a solid gold fixture on a toilet cheapens the golden fixture; it doesn’t elevate the porcelain toilet!]
- & that’s what happens when we involve ourselves in immorality; we defile the Lord!
- Paul says, “Certainly not!” literally it means “God forbid!”
- But he says in v. 17 that those joined to the Lord are one spirit w/Him.
- That’s the emphasis – your spirituality. Paul is telling us to forget about the physical & concentrate on the spiritual.
- That’s what’s going to last! & that’s where our priority should be!
- But notice that the Bible does not dismiss your responsibility b/c it speaks about…
B. The prominence of your Morality. (v. 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.
- Did you catch the Biblical command? You’re not to dabble, trifle, study or even talk about sexual immorality. You are to FLEE from it!
- The best example of that is found in Gen. 39 when Potiphar’s wife was enticing Joseph to “lie w/her.” Joseph refused & continued to refuse until one day she couldn’t stand it anymore & grabbed his garment thinking that he could not refuse then.
- But Joseph ran outside leaving his garment behind. He would have rather ran outside naked than to stay in a situation he knew would be too great!
- You see, sexual immorality always hurts someone! It hurts God b/c it shows we prefer our own desires instead of God’s.
- It hurts others b/c it violates the commitment that’s so necessary to a relationship & it often brings disease to our bodies.
- & it deeply affects our personalities b/c of the anguish of hurting ourselves physically & spiritually.
- The Bible teaches us here that believers are to have no part in sexual immorality – even if it is acceptable & popular in the culture in which we live – God says FLEE!
- Your morality is to be prominent in your lifestyle so that the world can see the difference Jesus makes in His people!
- God demands your moral purity b/c He has given…
C. The power for you to be Holy. (v. 19a) 19a Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God
- The word “holy” simply means to be set apart for God’s use, to be different.
- & here the Bible tells us that God Himself dwells in us & that makes our bodies His temple!
- Therefore, everything about our bodies should be holy, separate, different, unique for Jesus’ sake!
- He is the power in you to be holy! When you encounter temptations He is there!
- He will provide the way of escape. He will guide you through. He will keep you IF YOU walk w/Him!
- Your body is for the Lord; it’s to worship the Lord; it’s His dwelling place if you are a child of God!
1 Corinthians 10 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but w/the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
- Don’t say the Devil made you do it! Don’t say you couldn’t help it! Don’t say you didn’t have a choice!
- You can be holy; separate; different, unique & distinct b/c the Holy Spirit of God dwells in you & gives you the power to be holy!
- & BTW, that should also serve as your motivation to be holy!
- God demands your moral purity b/c of…
D. The price of your Delivery. (vv. 19b-20) 19b & you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body & in your spirit, which are God's.
- The unbelieving world says they can do w/their bodies as they please.
- But for the believer, our bodies are not our own; we were bought at a high price!
- Paul doesn’t spell out that high price here as Peter did in 1 Peter 1 19 but w/the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb w/o blemish & w/o spot.
- & Jesus said in Matthew 20 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, & to give His life a ransom for many."
- You were bought at the high price of the blood of Christ as He laid down His life a ransom for you!
- A ransom of that value must be honored w/a life given in appreciation & love & humility.
Conclusion: If you are a believer, accept God's standards; they are for your benefit. God gives us His guidelines not to rob us of fulfillment but to lead us to true fulfillment, which ultimately is found only in Him.
You see if you are living for your pleasure; you are living a self-centered, self-gratifying, self-directed life. But if you are living for the glory of God as you honor Him w/your body & spirit, then you can truly say as Paul did, “I have been crucified w/Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; & the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me & gave Himself for me.”
Some believers are caught up in the permissive culture but God demands our moral purity! Don’t fall back into the old patterns & habits of life. Press on for the glory of God! As Paul also wrote in Romans 12 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 & do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God.
Invitation: If God has spoken to you today, showing you your true spiritual condition & has called you to salvation, will you respond to the grace of God offered in Jesus Christ? Will you come in repentance of sin & place your faith in Christ alone & be converted?
Or maybe God has spoken to believers today who are not honoring God in their bodies. If He has shown you some area of need in your life, would you come today in repentance & offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God?
Or maybe God has spoken to you about a matter that’s totally different. Maybe it’s church membership or baptism or maybe you just need to pray for the salvation of a loved one. Would you come today in obedience to God as we stand & sing…
Hymn 499 Open Our Eyes, Lord