July 25th
Our
bodies dedicated to Christ
12: All things are lawful unto me,
but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not
be brought under the power of any. 13: Meats for the belly, and the belly for
meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for
fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. 14: And God hath both
raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. 15: Know ye not
that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of
Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. 16: What? know ye
not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall
be one flesh. 17: But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 18: Flee
fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that
commiteth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19: What? know ye not that
your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of
God, and ye are not your own? 20: For ye are bought with a price: therefore
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Paul develops his theme of practical
holiness. He says everything that is lawful for me is allowed but not
everything is spiritually beneficial. Although everything is allowed there are
many things that lead me into addiction. Its one thing to eat to live, but
quite another to live to eat, – to be obsessed with food. Those who become
addicted to things, God will destroy both them and their addiction. Our bodies
are not given us to burn in the lust of fornication. They are given to us so
that we might be dedicated to the Lord. And God who raised up his Son will
raise us up to live holy lives for him. Don’t you realise that even your body
is a member of Christ? Will you take something that is joined to Christ and
join it to a prostitute? God forbid. Don’t you realise that when to have sexual
relations with a prostitute you become one in flesh. But he that is united with
the Lord is one in spirit. So flee fornication. All other sins are committed
outside the body but fornication is a sin against ones own body. Don’t you
realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you. And you
have received the Holy Spirit from God. You do not belong to yourself. You have
been purchased with a price therefore glorify God in your body and in your
spirit, both of which belong to God. This masterly explanation of the truth of
Christian holiness is the foundation of holiness in the Christian life.
No comments:
Post a Comment