Daily Bread 2011 - 1 Corinthians 6
Daily Bread 2011 – 1 Corinthians 6
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 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; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
What Does This Mean?
Although there are no ranking of sins as some worse than others, Paul teaches about the distinctiveness of sexual immorality as a sin against our own bodies. Since sexual immorality was one of the sins Paul was confronting in the Corinthian culture, and specifically as it had seeped its way in the church, he relates it to our body, which is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
Since the temple was a big fixture in the Jewish faith, the idea was that as God dwelt in the temple it was sacred or holy. Hence all the laws associated with the temple, who could come in and out of it, and the ceremonial cleansing that had to take place before one entered the temple, reflected this holiness.
Of course the temple was a “type” of what was to come, as Paul teaches that our bodies are the new temple because of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Since these Holy Spirit is God, as we receive the Holy Spirit, we are made holy by God’s presence in us. Therefore, when we offer ourselves to sexual immorality, we are joining our body in a way that doesn’t honor the sense it which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
What Does This Mean For Us?
In a culture where the body is constantly being degraded in our society, and at the same time it is worshiped in an idolatrous way, Paul’s words about offering our bodies to God are very relevant to us. Many young girls are taught at a young age that their body is their ultimate worth, and they are to use their body to have power over others. Others abuse their bodies with drugs and alcohol to escape the pressures of our world.
And yet Paul says in Romans 12, that our bodies are part of what we offer to God in view of His mercy. Paul calls this a “living sacrifice” in contrast to the “dead animal” sacrifices in the Old Testament. How do you view your body? Does it reflect that it is a temple of the Holy Spirit? How does knowing that the Holy Spirit dwells inside you change the way you want to treat your body and what to put into it? The key to Paul’s teaching is that we have been bought with a price, Jesus’ precious blood and therefore to offer our bodies as well as our minds in service to Him who gave His all for us!
Dear Jesus thank you for offering Your body to us to save us from our sinful nature. As we have been bought with a price may we offer bodies back to you for Your service, Amen.
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 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; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
What Does This Mean?
Although there are no ranking of sins as some worse than others, Paul teaches about the distinctiveness of sexual immorality as a sin against our own bodies. Since sexual immorality was one of the sins Paul was confronting in the Corinthian culture, and specifically as it had seeped its way in the church, he relates it to our body, which is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
Since the temple was a big fixture in the Jewish faith, the idea was that as God dwelt in the temple it was sacred or holy. Hence all the laws associated with the temple, who could come in and out of it, and the ceremonial cleansing that had to take place before one entered the temple, reflected this holiness.
Of course the temple was a “type” of what was to come, as Paul teaches that our bodies are the new temple because of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Since these Holy Spirit is God, as we receive the Holy Spirit, we are made holy by God’s presence in us. Therefore, when we offer ourselves to sexual immorality, we are joining our body in a way that doesn’t honor the sense it which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
What Does This Mean For Us?
In a culture where the body is constantly being degraded in our society, and at the same time it is worshiped in an idolatrous way, Paul’s words about offering our bodies to God are very relevant to us. Many young girls are taught at a young age that their body is their ultimate worth, and they are to use their body to have power over others. Others abuse their bodies with drugs and alcohol to escape the pressures of our world.
And yet Paul says in Romans 12, that our bodies are part of what we offer to God in view of His mercy. Paul calls this a “living sacrifice” in contrast to the “dead animal” sacrifices in the Old Testament. How do you view your body? Does it reflect that it is a temple of the Holy Spirit? How does knowing that the Holy Spirit dwells inside you change the way you want to treat your body and what to put into it? The key to Paul’s teaching is that we have been bought with a price, Jesus’ precious blood and therefore to offer our bodies as well as our minds in service to Him who gave His all for us!
Dear Jesus thank you for offering Your body to us to save us from our sinful nature. As we have been bought with a price may we offer bodies back to you for Your service, Amen.
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