Being
One With The Lord In Spirit
[1Corinth.
6, verses 12-20]
In
today's Bible study we will finish up the sixth chapter of First
Corinthians, beginning at verse 12. The apostle Paul had just
finished writing to the Corinthian church about settling legal
matters and scriptural disputes from within the congregation, out of
the view of non-believers. He has warned them that those persons who
practice this and other forms of evil, particularly in church, will
not make it into heaven when their lives are over. Apparently there
was some dissent from within the Corinthian church about this
teaching, with at least a few believers taking the position that if
something they say or do does not bother the conscience of that
believer, then it shouldn't bother anyone else either. Although I'm
not sure what Paul was originally referring to, it appears that some
people in that church were saying that if anything was said or done
that offended someone else but not themselves, then that becomes the
other person's problem. Paul responds directly to this line of
thinking beginning in verses 12 and 13:
“Everything
is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything
is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. 'Food
for the stomach and the stomach for food', but God will destroy them
both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord,
and the Lord for the body.”
So
now we can see that Paul is responding that just because something
that we say and do is permissible for us, doesn't make it right when
it offends or sins against others. I'm sure that's what he was
thinking when he wrote, “Everything
is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything
is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.”
For example, I would never consider inviting a vegetarian friend to
my apartment for a nice dinner and then serving steak. I would never
consider inviting a bunch of recovering alcoholics to my apartment
for a nice dinner and then serve wine with the meal. You get the
idea. Real Christians don't do things in front of other believers
that offends them even if we think its okay for ourselves. Had I had
done either of the two things that I mentioned above, then that would
amount to a sin on my part against those other believers. The people
in my example did not sin by what they did in God's eyes, but in that
case it would be myself who sinned against them and against God by
being an enabler for sin. Paul then closes this portion of his train
of thought by reminding all believers that as this applies to the
consumption of food and drink, so it applies to our sex lives. As
Paul wrote about “not [being] mastered by anything”, he warns us
all that the same thing applies from a moral viewpoint, beginning at
verse 14.
“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 he who
unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in Spirit.” (I
Corinthians 6, verses 14-16 NIV)
In this portion of his letter to the Corinthian church,
Paul applies whatever believers think about their sex lives to
Christ's resurrection, connecting it with the ultimate resurrection
of all true believers (that is, those who keep themselves pure). As
Christ Jesus has risen from the dead unto immortality, so it will be
for all who truly believe in the sanctifying power of His blood. None
of us can risk being found wanting at the end of our physical lives
here on earth because that could result in eternal death in hell as
opposed to eternal life in heaven with God. To live our lives in any
other manner is, as Paul writes, comparable to hopping from one
prostitute to another. He then closes this portion of Scripture with
an admonition to the Corinthian church.
“Flee
from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his
body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not
know that your body is a temple 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 body.”
(I
Corinthians 6; verses 18-20 NIV)
As Paul warned the early church back in chapter five,
when he told them to “expel the immoral brother from among you”,
so he warns them again in these closing verses of chapter six, “Flee
from sexual immorality”. Don't just avoid it, Paul is warning us,
but turn and run from it when you encounter it. We all encounter
sexually immoral people at some point in our lives. Paul warns us
that getting involved in sexual immorality of any kind can do more
damage in our lives than any other kind of sin. Sexual immorality
spreads sexually transmitted diseases, ruins marriages, and results
in crimes of passion. Nobody wants to get involved with something
that can result in sickness, ruined lives and untimely death.
Let
this be a lesson for all of us and a part of our guide for daily
living. Let's follow Paul's example and his instruction for the
mutual benefit and edification of all the church, from all faiths and
denominations. After all, the second coming of Christ is drawing ever
closer, and this is a day that we should all be preparing ourselves
for. One of the ways we can do this is to steer clear of sexual
immorality for the express purpose of keeping our hearts and thoughts
pure for Christ. Remember what Jesus said about this in the Sermon on
the Mount: “Blessed
are the pure in Spirit, for they will see God.”
Because if we don't keep away from openly immoral people, we will be
setting ourselves up for a lifetime of sickness and regret, and
possibly even an early death. Pray about this for the rest of this
week, and ask God what you can do to be more pure for Him. Your life
and your walk with Christ will improve proportionately as a result,
and you will be a better witness for Jesus than you ever thought
possible.
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