You are not your own
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Transcript
Please open your bibles to 1 Corinthians 6. We are picking up our study in 1 Corinthians, and we are finding Paul transitioning to yet another issue in the church. He has been chastising them for wrong thoughts and behaviors, primarily stemming from their pride.
They tried to boast about which Christian leader they followed.
They boasted in their liberal thoughts and acceptance of gross immorality when a man was with his father’s wife.
They were taking one another to the public courts to build themselves up in the public eye.
Now, Paul transitions from their improper handling of disputes to another matter in the church.
Let’s read the passage, and see how Paul addresses the matter.
The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?
Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men
nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
“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.
You 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.
By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.
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!
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.”
But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
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.
The Issue
The Issue
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men
Paul makes the transition from the matter of lawsuits to immorality in verses 9 and 10. Here, we see him speaking of wrongdoers not inheriting the kingdom of God.
Then, he goes on to begin listing types of wrongdoing, and he begins with sexual immorality.
Sexual immorality was a huge part of life in the Roman empire, and especially in Corinth. This term would include sexual act outside of marriage.
Much of this activity took place in relation to their idolatry, which may be why Paul mentions idolatry second.
Next he mentions adultery, having sex with one who is the spouse of another.
And then, he uses two words to describe the homosexual act, because in Roman culture, there was the dominant partner, usually depicting the ‘male’ of the relationship, and the effeminate, or subdued partner, depicting the ‘female’ of the relationship. The NIV translates these two words with the phrase men who have sex with men. This act was more prominent among men in Roman culture, though there was some with females.
Then, Paul goes on to other forms of wrongdoing.
nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Stealing, being greedy, being a drunkard, being a slanderer, or a swindler were also commonplace in Corinthians culture. Again, this was a society which prided itself on getting ahead. And this was done be any means necessary.
Paul was addressing believers. Why was he addressing these issues? Because these acts were moving into the church from the culture at large.
This is a good passage for us to consider as we find ourselves in a time when these acts are once again finding their way into the church. There are churches where these actions are allowed, and approved. And, there is the danger of these actions, though not approved, to be practiced in any church, including our own.
Why is that?
Paul is going to address some of the common thinking that led to these acts creeping into the church.
The first is this one.
“I have the right to do anything...”
“I have the right to do anything...”
The Corinthians lived in a prominent city. They lived in a promiscuous culture. Many of them were free men. Some estimates put slavery in the Roman Empire during the 1st Century between 30-40%. The Corinthians prided themselves in being free men, or working their way toward freedom. They were free to do anything. Much of the culture came out of the Greek philosophy of Plato, who taught that the body is evil, and the spirit is good. Others took that philosophy, and said one could do whatever they wanted in the body. All that mattered was the spirit.
They were free to do what they wanted.
Does that kind of thinking exist in our culture today? Yes! Especially in our country where we pride ourselves on our freedoms. We are free to do what we want! Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is what our country is founded upon (though pursuit of happiness meant something different in the minds of the founders).
Our culture fully embraces the thought, “I have the right to do anything that will make me happy.”
And, this kind of thinking creeps into our lives and the church. We are trained up to pursue materialism, the pursuit of any and all things that will make us happy.
But are we, as believers ‘free to do anything’? Some would say, we are saved by grace through faith. Do what you want. We are free from the law. But is that true? Paul addresses this in Romans 6 as well, and there he says, “May it never be!”
Look there with me quickly. Romans 6.1
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
In that passage, Paul says “By no means!” and he explains that we have died to sin. We should not live that way any longer.
Here in 1 Corinthians, he has written similarly, but his immediate address to this kind of thinking is in the form of two thoughts:
“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.
Is it beneficial?
Is it beneficial?
It may make you happy in the moment, but is it beneficial? Will this lead to growing in Christ? Will this help you to mature in Christ? Will this help the other believers around you to mature in Christ? As Paul states is, ‘not everything is beneficial.’
These actions of sexual immorality of any form, slander, greed, stealing, swindling are not beneficial to the individual believer in the church, nor to the church body.
The second statement Paul makes to address this idea, “I have the right to do anything” is
Does it control you?
Does it control you?
Does this thing that you are free to do, actually control you, and make you a slave? Does it dictate how you act? Does it feel like you have to do it? When you do it, does it feel like you have to cover it up? If so, it is mastering you. It is controlling you and your behavior, both in the act itself, and afterward.
Pornography?
Video Games?
Videos, and clips? Youtube, Instagram, Facebook?
News?
Another argument the culture at large, and the Corinthian believers used to justify their behavior was this:
1 Corinthians 6:13
You 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.
“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both”
“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both”
This, again, goes back to the Greek philosophies which said the body is evil, and the spirit is good. The body will be destroyed, and the spirit will go on. So, as some interpreted this philosophy, do what you want with the body, only the spirit matters.
They also took this in the way that just as the body craves food, we have other body parts that have other cravings. You are just meeting your appetites.
Has this thinking invaded our culture? YES! Sexual immorality of all forms is prevalent because of this kind of thinking. It is just a normal appetite that needs to be met. Do what you want. It doesn’t matter. As long as it satisfies your appetites, it is good.
And, for the believer, it doesn’t really matter. The spirit is saved.
Paul refutes this by pointing out two main arguments.
“The body is for the Lord”
“The body is for the Lord”
God gave us these bodies for us to use for Him and His glory. God did not just purchase our spirits when he saved us. He redeemed our bodies for Himself.
As Paul wrote in Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
We need to offer our bodies to the Lord as a living sacrifice. We need to use our bodies to serve Him, not our appetites!
The second argument Paul uses is this,
1 cor 6.14
By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.
“The body will be in eternity”
“The body will be in eternity”
Our bodies will be with the Lord, not just our spirits. This goes contrary to the root of the philosophy behind, do what you want in your body, it doesn’t matter.
Paul’s third agrument is the seriousness of sexual relations.
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!
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.”
But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
“The two become one flesh”
“The two become one flesh”
In Corinthian culture, and in our society, sex is treated as a selfish appetite. They even make movies about casual sex, or friends with benefits. However, the sexual union, as God created it, is a union. There is a bonding that takes place. In the confines of marriage it is a unifying bond that is blessed. Outside of marriage, it can destroy us, as sex is cheapened, and the bonds are continually broken.
Wiersbe put it this way,
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Five: Be Wise about … Church Discipline (1 Corinthians 5–6)
Sex outside of marriage is like a man robbing a bank: he gets something, but it is not his and he will one day pay for it. Sex within marriage can be like a person putting money into a bank: there is safety, security, and he will collect dividends. Sex within marriage can build a relationship that brings joys in the future; but sex apart from marriage has a way of weakening future relationships, as every Christian marriage counselor will tell you.
examples
Pornography and sex outside of marriage - if cannot keep himself for you before marriage, trust him during marriage?
It destroys us.
Final argument,
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
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 are the temple of the Holy Spirit”
“You are the temple of the Holy Spirit”
You is plural, but the body is singular. Paul may be pointing out that though we are individuals, the Holy Spirit has made us a part of one body, which he goes on to explain further on in the letter in more detail.
The idea is that what I do, what you do as individuals, will affect the body. We do not sin in isolation. Our sin will affect others. When we spend time in our indulgences, we are not building ourselves up spiritually, and we will not be ready to minister to another.
Additionally, the body is to be the temple, the dwelling place of the Lord. Through the body, the Lord will shine to the rest of the world. As we sin individually, it does hurt the body, and hurts the testimony of the body to the world.
We are not our own, we belong to one another; we belong to the Spirit who indwells us.
We need to glorify the Spirit in our bodies!
Paul’s final argument is found in the end of verse 19, and the beginning of verse 20.
1 Cor 6.19-20
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.
“You were bought with a price”
“You were bought with a price”
When we are tempted to sin in some way, whether in sexual immorality of any kind, idolatry (serving things rather than the Lord), slander, greed, malice, etc., we need to remember this concept. Our sin is what put Jesus on the cross. And, when he died on the cross, he did so to redeem us, to buy us out of slavery to sin. That cost him dearly.
As Peter said,
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,
but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
Jesus bought us at the high price of his own life! He suffered and died for us, so we could be free from the slavery of sin.
Let’s remember the price paid for us, and honor Him with our bodies!
And that really is the crux of the issue as Paul is addressing it.
Though in this portion of the letter, Paul is specifically addressing sexual sins, as he pointed out, all sins separate us from the Lord.
As believers, God will forgive our sins, but there is a difference between those who fail at times, and those who practice sin. As Paul wrote, those who are sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunkards, slanderers and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God.
John wrote similarly in 1 John 3:4-10:
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.
No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.
This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
The one who practices sin, that is, it is their way of life, is not truly born again.
We need to take that thought seriously.
We are bought with a price. If we are in Him, we will not practice these sins, though we are tempted. We may fall into temptation at times, however it will not be our accepted way of life!
The good news is this.
Though that is who and what we used to be, when we are saved, that is not who are are any longer.
1 Cor 6.11
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
This is the gospel. When we receive God’s salvation from sin by believing in Jesus, we are no longer identified by our sinful way of life. We have the new identity of Saved child of God. We are called righteous by Him, the Judge of All.
We are washed clean. We are set apart by God as his special possession. We are declared righteous.
We were sinners. But now, things are changed. We are forgiven and made new.
We are brought out of slavery, and made his children!
This is where we need to focus.
Do not identify as what you were.
You were bought with a price. You are not your own. You are His child! You are redeemed and precious to Him!
Live in the truth of who you are, and not what you were.
Come out of the darkness of your past, into the light of His present!
“You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
“You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.