YOUR BODY HIS TEMPLE
1 Corinthians 6:11, 18-20 NKJV
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 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.
Paul is once again having to correct a young church on how to live this new life in Christ. This was the same church that Paul earlier described as being carnal or flesh ruled. Well, nothing has changed in the ensuing chapters, and now Paul is having to address sexual purity.
In verses nine and ten, Paul ticks off a list of unrighteous behaviors. He lists pretty much every sexual sin we know of, along with thieves and drunkards. It’s a pretty comprehensive list and warns them that people engaging in these activities will not inherit the kingdom of God. Verse eleven reminds the Corinthians that things have changed in their lives. They were living in these previously listed unrighteous ways, but now they are washed, sanctified, or set apart, and justified in the name of Jesus and by the Holy Spirit. I love Paul’s appeal here. He is reminding the church that they used to live wrong, but now, in Christ, they have been changed. They did not simply switch religions; they have been made new, right, in God’s sight.
In verses twelve through seventeen, Paul lays out a logical case for sexual purity. Again, he reminds the believers to live clean, not simply because it’s right, but because they are changed. They have been joined to the Lord and are part of the body of Christ. Paul appeals to the believers not to take what belongs to the Lord and join it to a harlot, or, we would say, prostitute. This is a great reason to live pure. Our relationship with the Lord is more important than fulfilling our fleshly desires.
Our verses for today sum up Paul’s argument. Run from sexual immorality because it’s sinning against your own body. And the kicker - “...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?” I have heard people refer to their bodies as a temple. To be accurate, our bodies are temples, but they are temples of the Holy Spirit if we belong to the Lord. Peter called his body a tent, a temporary dwelling. And that is true. Our bodies are the temporary dwelling places of our spirit. One day, we’ll leave our bodies behind and eventually get a new, updated, improved version. But for now, our bodies are the temple, the dwelling place of the Spirit of God. That’s an awesome thought and something we should not take lightly. And a new thought that believers are not their own.
Remember, it was God who washed and sanctified and justified believers by the name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. So Paul concludes his discourse on righteous living by declaring that the believers in Corinth have been bought at a price. That price was the blood of Jesus. So they were to glorify God in their bodies, which are God’s. This adds an additional weight to the importance of living pure. Believers are the temple of the Holy Spirit and do not belong to themselves. Those who have been joined to Christ belong to God. Paul claimed this belonging to God when he was on the boat in the storm in the book of Acts. He spoke of belonging to God and serving God. And when things get hairy, it’s a good thing to belong to the living God.
Paul is not finished correcting the church at Corinth. There are other issues he will address in upcoming chapters. I am amazed at how the issues facing the Corinthian church are still with us. Culture may change but human nature does not.
PRAYER
Lord, I belong to You. You have washed me, set me apart, and made me right in Your sight. Help me to live conscious of my body being the temple of Your Holy Spirit.