DON'T YOU KNOW
1 CORINTHIANS 6:19-20 NKJV
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.
In this one chapter, Paul says, "do you not know" six times. You can almost sense his frustration with this church. Because the subjects of his irritation are suing each other and sexual purity.
The believers were taking each other to court in front of unbelievers. That's not a good picture of the church of Jesus Christ. And remember that Corinth was a wild town known for promiscuity. As new converts are coming into the church, they are bringing many of their old ways with them. And so Paul is having to deal with these issues.
Paul reminds these believers that they are not the same people that they used to be. In Christ, they have been washed, separated, and justified in the name of the Lord and by the power of the Holy Spirit. What has been done in them is a real thing.
So Paul reminds them that their bodies are not meant for fornication. They belong to the Lord and are a part of His body.
Verses 19-20 are the summation of Paul's admonishment. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? That's a big statement. That's a big identity. Our body is the temple. The Holy Spirit of God lives in us. God was the One who gave us the Holy Spirit, and - this is a big and - we are not our own.
We were bought at a price. That price being the precious blood of the Lord Jesus in His sacrifice for us on the cross. Our salvation is free to us, but it came at a cost.
So now, our objective is to glorify God in our bodies. To glorify Him means to give Him praise and honor. Not only with our words but with our life. And that includes our bodies which belong to Him.
APPLICATION:
Glorifying God in our bodies is something most people involved in Christianity know about. Unless you had no religious training growing up, most know that sleeping around outside of marriage is not okay. But too often, we have not known why it is not okay.
It is because we are not our own. Because we have been bought with a massive price and we belong to God. Because the only sexual relationship that God honors is between a man and a woman in the context of marriage. And because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and members of the body of Christ. There is a great deal more to sexual purity than simply abstaining. We want to live pure because of the relationship we have with our Father God. And our connection to Jesus as a member of His body. And the fact that our bodies are set apart to house the Holy Spirit.
Don't you know God has our best interests in mind? That He knows what is best for us because He made us?
Yes, this is a disciplined life. A life accountable to God. But it's a higher life that pays off in the long run. You know that, right?
PRAYER:
Thank You for buying me at a great price. I belong to You and purpose to glorify You in my body and with my life.