Sunday Sermons
The Body for the Lord
The Body for the Lord
Long ago Solomon said, “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:10). I have lived long enough to see that this truism clearly applies not only to human trends and fads, but also to human excuses and arguments. Centuries later, Paul in the First Corinthian letter writes, “Meat's for the belly, and the belly for meats” (1 Corinthians 6:13). This may have been a slogan that some in Corinth were using. It appears that Paul is answering one of their argument that may have sounded something like, ‘Eating meat and sexual relations are both bodily functions and since eating meats sacrificed to idols is a morally neutral practice, then having sexual relations with a temple prostitute must also be morally neutral.’ In my generation I have heard the same kind of argument – that sex is just a bodily function like eating or going to the bathroom and therefore there can be nothing moral or immoral about it. Paul quickly adds. “But God shall bring to nought both it and them”. That is, let’s remember to factor God into our thinking. Then he adds, “But the body is not for fornication but for the Lord”: The Lord did not create the body for fornication, He created it for Himself. The human body has a far higher mission that mere physical gratification.
The Corinthians were surrounded by a culture that believed the human body would be destroyed and therefore it was inconsequential what one did with his or her body in this life. A modern form of the this argument, is that my personal life (what I do in my body) doesn't have anything to do with my faith. Yet Paul is demonstrating the dignity and destiny of the human body. “The body is not for fornication but for the Lord; and it is not destined for destruction but for resurrection, the proof of which is Christ's resurrection” (1 Corinthians, Gordon Fee, p. 255). Sometimes we forget that our salvation includes the redemption of our physical bodies as well (Romans 8:23; Philippians 3:21).
The Real Body to Ponder: 1 Corinthians 6:15
Paul is shocked that some of the Corinthian believers would ever make such arguments. “Know ye not!” He then asserts that the body of Christ is composed of individual members. Therefore, our physical bodies are limbs for Christ (Romans 6:16). Now, how could I take members of the body of Christ and join them with a harlot?
The Reality of Being with That Woman
Paul reminds them that the believer who is joined with a harlot is one body with her, then cites Genesis 2:24 as proof. Some may have tried to argue that sex with a temple prostitute was simply a business arrangement. It was all right because that was her job, and they were investing nothing emotionally into the relationship. He did not love her was making no commitments or promises to her. Yet the Holy Spirit reminds them that the sexual relationship always unites much more than just two bodies. Now I do not believe that Paul is saying that one who lies with a harlot is instantly married to her, for based on that reasoning she already would have been married to her first customer. Rather, I believe that Paul is showing the Corinthians that fornication with a harlot is not just a "casual", "no strings attached", "nothing invested" kind of thing. There is a great lesson here for those that might to be tempted to believe the lie of supposed no strings attached sexual relationships.
Remember Your Previous "Marriage" — Is To Christ: 1 Corinthians 6:17
When we were "joined" (married) to the Lord in the act of faith expressed in baptism, we took upon ourselves the obligation to become "one spirit" with Him. Because that is true, consistency would require that we conduct ourselves in a way that accords with the will of Christ (Galatians 2:20; Philippians 2:3-5; Colossians 3:1-2). Therefore, anything done with our body that is not pleasing to Him, is absolutely off limits.
“Flee Fornication”
“Don't debate with it. Don't rationalize about it. Run!” (Romans, Jim McGuiggan, p. 80). “An echo, perhaps, of Joseph's literal fleeing from a temptation of this kind (Genesis 39:12)” (Romans, F.F. Bruce, p. 65). “Present imperative. Have the habit of fleeing without delay or parley” (Word Pictures in the New Testament, Robertson, p. 122). “Avoid sexual looseness like the plague!” (Phillips Translation)
The Sin Against Your Body
“But he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body”: The verse does not say that fornication is the most serious of all sins, and certainly other sins also end up bringing physical consequences to the body of the sinner. Again, fornication is obviously not the only sin that results in a negative impact upon one’s own body. What Paul may be driving at is that God designed the sexual relationship to unite two individuals (husband and wife) not only physically but emotionally, mentally, relationally and spiritually as well. Human sexuality was designed to cement the relationship between married couples (Genesis 2:24). Yet sex with a prostitute or without the commitment of marriage tends to make it into only a physical thing. The man has no mental, emotional, or spiritual connection with a prostitute, rather she is just someone to be used for gratification. “Every time he has sex with a prostitute he further separates the physical component of sexuality from its emotional, mental, and spiritual components. In so doing he becomes less than human in his sexuality (acts more like just an animal); he has deadened himself to the emotional, mental, and spiritual components of sexuality, and may never be able to restore them… Therefore, if you participate in fornication or use pornography, who is hurt? You are! In fact, you are ruining yourself. Every time you participate in the gratification of physical lust outside of marriage you further divorce the physical component of sexuality from its emotional, mental and spiritual components. Every such use will make it that much harder to fully give yourself, mind, body, and soul, to your present or future spouse” (Sinning Against the Body, Ethan Longhenry, Truth Magazine, February 2016, p. 11). We all need to ponder these statements. Increasingly I am hearing about men and women in our culture who cannot enjoy the sexual relationship in a marriage because they have for so long divorced sexual activity from the vital emotional, mental and spiritual connection in their brains.
The Forgotten Temple
While some of the Corinthian believers were arguing for their right to go and attend the sacrificial meals at the local temple (1 Corinthians 8) and even visiting one of the temple prostitutes, they had forgotten that their own bodies were the true sacred temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). Some religious groups, like these Corinthians, have a false view of what it means to be spiritual. Some think that being spiritual means that it does not really matter what is done with one’s body. Often we hear, “It is what is in the heart that really matters”, or , “As long as ones heart is right it does not matter what a person believes or does.” Scripture disagrees. Being spiritual and faithful means that we regard our bodies as a temple, understanding that it does not belong to us for the satisfying of sinful desires or selfish whims.
You are Not Your Own
It was probably just as difficult for the Corinthians to accept this statement as it is for our culture of: “Live for the moment”, “You are awesome”, and “God would not want me to be unhappy” world. Yet, just because the culture is being really selfish, does not mean that we are exempt from God's expectations, especially seeing that He has redeemed us with such a high price.
1 Corinthians 6:20 “for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body”
The purchase price of your soul was the blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19; Matthew 20:28). “Glorify God therefore in your body”: “So use every part of your body to give glory back to God” (Tay). Practical applications are demanded from such a conclusion: Am I glorifying God or am I dishonoring God with my body? Does my speech, dress, and bodily activity bring honor to God? When people observe what my body says, what it wears, how it acts and where it is found to hangout, is it clear to all that my body serves God? Or, would people never guess that I profess to be a Christian? Right now, "who" is in charge of my body? Christ or myself? Who calls the shots for what my body will do this week and where it will be found? Do I really demonstrate the truth that I have been bought with a price, and that I am no longer my own? Fee offers some good concluding remarks, “Sexual immorality is still sin, even though it has been justified under every conceivable rationalization. Those who take Scripture seriously are not prudes or legalists at this point; rather, they recognize that God has purchased us for higher things” (Fee, p. 266).
Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net
