What we do with our bodies matter! 1 Corinthians 6v12-20

This morning is from 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 12 to 20, and that's on page 1148 of the Church Bibles.

1 Corinthians 6:12–20

1 Corinthians 6, beginning at verse 12.

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.

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.

Slee 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, honour God with your body.

Thanks, Chris.

Well, please keep your Bibles open.

We're going to pray and then look at this section together.

So let's pray together.

Father, we have many gifts from you.

Father, we have many gifts from you.

And the Holy Spirit is another wonderful gift that you have given to your church, your people.

And it's for his help we ask right now that we may hear your word.

That we may apply it to our lives.

That you may change us.

And that we may put right in our lives the things that dishonour you.

So that we may live lives that bring honour to you.

So help us now, we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Carigaline Fornication Church.

What would you feel if you read that on the front page of the Carigdown?

Pastor sleeps with prostitute.

What would you think?

Well, that's what was happening to the church in Corinth.

Have a look at the middle of verse 13.

The body is not meant for sexual immorality.

Verse 16.

Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body?

Verse 18.

Flee from sexual immorality.

You see, Corinth as a city was well known for its promiscuous lifestyle.

It was one of the world's leading centres in trade and commerce.

But it had a very liberal view of life.

In fact, the name Corinth became associated with sexual immorality.

And to act like a Corinthian was to commit fornication.

To have sex outside of marriage.

And the problem is, what was well known in city life

was becoming well known in church life.

It was deeply rooted within the life of the church.

Now, what had happened then, although it's many, many years ago,

can still happen today.

A recent survey that I looked at,

which was conducted among the 18 to 35-year-old age group,

showed that 80% say sex before marriage is never wrong.

32% say that one-night stands are never wrong.

While an additional 38% say it's sometimes wrong.

67% of young men and 49% of young women

say viewing porn is an acceptable way to express one's sexuality.

And the reason for this attitude is individual choice,

personal conscience, and our consumer culture.

We live in an anything-goes society.

But it's not just outside the church.

It's also inside the church.

Another survey, which was conducted in the UK,

but I think it still applies to the Irish theme,

showed that 50% of Christian men

and 25% of Christian women

are addicted to porn.

In a church of 100,

that breaks down to one out of every three.

Another showed that 31% of Christians

had sexual partners before marriage.

But it's not just the young and the unmarried.

Increasingly, pastors are counselling marriages

that have broken down because of an affair.

We too, it seems,

are driven by our individual choice,

our personal conscience,

and our consumer culture.

And as we look at all of this,

we must be clear as well to say

that sex is not wrong.

It is a beautiful and it's a wonderful gift from God.

But only in the context of a marriage relationship

between one man and one woman.

And anything outside of that

damages our lives

and distorts our relationships.

For the church in Corinth back in the first century

and the church today,

it seems that everything is permissible.

Have a look at verse 12 of our reading.

The church cried out,

everything is permissible for me.

But not everything is beneficial.

The church cried,

everything is permissible for me.

But I will not be mastered

by anything.

It seems they had accepted this liberal approach

to sex in the church.

We can do what we're like.

We're free people.

We're saved by God's grace.

We're no longer under law and under rules.

I've been accepted by Christ.

Sure, it's no big deal if I sleep with my girlfriend.

God will forgive me.

And what harm is there

if I do watch a little bit of porn?

God doesn't really hold those things against us.

We're free in Christ.

We can do what we like.

But this is a complete distortion

of God's amazing grace towards us.

Have a look back at verse 11,

which we looked at last week.

Chapter 6, verse 11.

And that is what some of you were.

In other words,

this is the way you used to live.

But now that you've come to Christ,

your life has changed.

You were washed.

Your sin has been dealt with.

All your guilt and shame

has been cleaned away.

You were sanctified.

You've now been set apart

to live in God's way.

You are justified.

That means you are now treated

as God's own son.

Loved and treasured by him.

All in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ

and by the Spirit of our God.

Yes, this was the kind of behaviour

you used to live in.

But now you've been made holy.

You've been set apart for God.

So everything is not beneficial

within the Christian life.

In fact, this freedom was twisted

to separate the physical

from the spiritual.

Look at verse 13.

Food for the stomach

and the stomach for food.

It's a strange saying, isn't it?

Well, in Greek culture,

the physical was disconnected

from the spiritual.

So what you did with your physical body

had no effect, they said,

on your spiritual life.

Just as eating what you want

is not wrong,

so having sex with who you want

is not wrong.

Food for the stomach

and stomach for the food.

Or to turn it around in another way,

sex for the body

and body for sex.

It's just a physical function.

What's the harm?

Well, we mightn't take

such an extreme view,

but I think those attitudes

are still there.

We separate the physical

from the spiritual.

Oh yes, having an affair is wrong.

I'd never do anything like that.

But watching a little bit of porn

is not going to harm my marriage,

is it?

Having multiple partners

is not right.

I'd never do anything like that.

But sleeping with the same person

before marriage,

so long as I'm committed to them,

that's okay.

Or having a one-night stand.

I mean, it's not such a big issue,

is it really?

As long as it didn't mean anything.

No, we cannot separate

the physical from the spiritual.

These things do matter.

What we do with our physical body

has a profound effect

on our spiritual life.

Verse 13, the end of verse 13.

The body is not meant

for sexual immorality,

but for the Lord.

And the Lord for the body.

You see, our physical bodies

that we have,

they do not belong to us

to do with whatever we like.

They belong to the Lord.

He created us.

He made us.

And we are here to serve Him

and to honour Him.

We're going to look at three things

that show us

that what we do with our bodies

really matters.

And before we look at them,

I need to just point out

that the three titles

that I have here

are not original.

I've stolen them.

I couldn't make them

any better myself.

So there we are.

Here's the first one.

The Christian body

is raised

by God the Father.

So the reason why

our bodies matter

are first,

the Christian body

is raised

by God the Father.

So look at verse 14.

By His power,

God raised the Lord

from the dead

and He will raise us also.

You see,

when Jesus was raised

from the dead,

He was raised

with a physical body.

He actually goes on

to talk about

all of this

in chapter 15.

Have a look with me

if you just go forward

to chapter 15

in 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 15:3

Chapter 15, verse 3.

And in that whole chapter

He talks about

the resurrection.

Chapter 15, verse 3.

We see here

that Christ was raised

with a physical body.

Verse 3.

So what I received

I passed on to you

as of first importance.

That 1.

Christ died

for our sins

according to the scriptures.

That 2.

He was buried.

3.

He was raised

on the third day

according to the scriptures.

And 4.

That He appeared

to Peter.

And then He appeared

to the twelve.

And after that

He appeared

to more than 500

of the brothers

at the same time

most of whom

are still living.

You see,

Jesus,

when He rose again

from the grave,

He wasn't a ghost.

He wasn't just

a floating soul

moving around the place.

Jesus was a risen,

living person

with a physical body

that would never

decay or die again.

And what God

has done for Jesus,

God will do

for those

who love Him.

So have a look

at chapter 15

verse 42.

See what it says there?

Chapter 15

verse 42.

So will it be

with the resurrection

of the dead.

The body that is

sown perishable,

well, it will be raised

imperishable.

It's sown in dishonour.

But it's raised

in glory.

It's sown in weakness.

It's raised in power.

It's sown a natural body.

It is raised

a spiritual body.

You see,

for God,

our resurrection life

isn't just physical,

isn't just spiritual,

it's physical.

One day the Lord

is going to return again

and He's going to establish

a new heavens

and a new earth

and this broken,

decaying,

disease-ridden world

is all going to be

put right

and we will be raised

with physical,

brand new bodies

so that we can

enjoy it.

Look at verse 51

of the same chapter.

Listen, I tell you a mystery.

We will not all sleep

but we will be

changed

in a flash,

in the twinkling of an eye,

at the last trumpet.

For the trumpet will sound,

the dead will be raised

imperishable

and we will be

changed.

changed.

We are going to have

brand new bodies.

Now,

if all of that is true,

it has a profound impact

on how we live our life

today.

So look in the same chapter,

verse 58.

The conclusion

of the truth

of the resurrection

and our physical bodies.

Look what it says

in verse 58.

Therefore,

because of that truth,

my dear brothers and sisters,

stand firm,

let nothing move you,

always give yourselves

fully

to the work of the Lord

because you know

that your labour

in the Lord

is not

in vain.

Do you see the connection?

Because our bodies

are going to be raised,

we are now

to use our bodies

to serve the Lord

well today.

Why are we saying

all of this?

Well,

because sexual immorality

actually hinders

our service

for God.

If we behave

in ways we shouldn't do,

it affects

how we serve

the Lord.

Listen to this

very provocative quote

from John Piper

and it's directed

particularly

at the younger men,

to all men.

Here's what he says.

A young man

hears a challenging

call

to throw himself

into the cause

of world evangelisation

or intermission.

He feels the promptings

of the Holy Spirit.

He tastes

the thrill

of following

Jesus,

the King of Kings,

into battle.

But he does not

obey

because he is

viewing porn,

masturbating

or sleeping around.

He feels

guilty.

He can hardly

imagine witnessing

to a pretty girl

about the eternal

plight of her soul

because he is

so habitually

looked at a girl's

naked image

in his imagination.

So he feels

unworthy

and unable

to obey

the call

of God.

Do you see

what he's saying?

What we do

with our bodies

matter

because

what we do

affects whether

we serve the Lord

as we ought to

or not.

Remember,

we are raised

with a physical body.

We will be raised

a glorious body

in God's new

and perfect world.

So start living

that life

now

with the body

that God

has given to you.

Second,

the Christian body

has been united

with God's Son.

So look at

verse 15.

Back in

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6.

verse 15.

Do you not

know that your

bodies are

members of

Christ himself?

If we're

Christians,

we have been

united to

Christ.

We are in

Christ and

Christ is in

us.

We're bound

together as

one.

That's why

the church

is called

the body

of Christ.

Together,

as God's

people,

we represent

Christ.

The gathered

people are

God's very

presence here

on earth.

So that means

what I do

with my body

reflects who

Christ is

to the world.

We are the

body of Christ

on earth.

So the question

is asked in

the rest of

verse 15.

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?

Could you

imagine a

husband who's

been away

on a trip?

He comes

back to his

wife after

the weekend

away and

she discovers

that, well,

he's been

sleeping with

another woman.

Wondering what

all the fuss

is about,

he turns

round to

his wife

and he

says,

it didn't

mean anything.

It's not

like I

knew her

or anything.

How do

you think

that would

make her

feel?

Oh,

that's okay

dear,

as long

as it

didn't

mean

anything,

that's

all right.

No,

that's not

how she

feels.

She feels

hurt and

betrayed.

It doesn't

mean anything.

Of course

it means

something.

It means

you have

become,

look at

the rest

of verse

16,

he says

the two

will become

one flesh.

Now,

can you see

the connection

here?

He's saying

how can we

use our

bodies for

sexually

immoral

behaviour

and say

it doesn't

mean anything

spiritually?

Of course

it means

something.

it means

we are

uniting

Christ

to our

behaviour.

We're

including

Christ

in what

we do.

What I

do is

I'm

bringing

Christ

into it.

Remember,

we represent

Christ,

we're united

to Christ,

we are

Christ's

presence

here on

earth.

So how

we behave

is how

Christ is

being

portrayed.

Verse

17,

but he

who unites

himself

with the

Lord

is one

with him

in spirit.

How can

we pretend

to be

united to

Christ

if in

fact we

are uniting

ourselves to

other things

and to

other people?

What we

do with

our body

matters.

it declares

to those

around us

who we

are united

to.

So our

bodies

matter

because the

Christian

body is

raised by

God.

It matters

because we

are united

with God's

Son.

And third,

the Christian

body is

occupied

by God's

Spirit.

Have a look

at verse

19.

Do you

not know

that your

body,

your physical

body,

is a

temple of

the Holy

Spirit who

is in

you,

whom you've

received from

God?

It's an

amazing

statement.

The Old

Testament

temple that

we read

about in

the Old

Testament was

the central

and focal

point of

the city.

God

was the

place where

God came

to dwell

with his

people.

Of course,

we know that

the temple

could never

contain God.

It was

simply a

way of

God to

show his

desire to

be with

his people.

So in

a sense,

God was

saying,

I'm moving

in with

you.

I want

to be

with you.

And all

of that

imagery

was a

picture of

God moving

into our

physical

bodies by

his

spirit.

So verse

19,

do you

not know

that your

body is

a temple

of the

Holy Spirit

who is

in you?

God has

made our

physical

bodies his

home address.

If we are

Christians,

God is

saying,

I live

in you.

Now again,

this has a

profound effect

on how we

view our

physical

bodies.

You see,

the Spirit,

the Holy

Spirit,

is not

just a

tenant that

we can

kick out

when we

like.

He didn't

just kind

of arrive

in and we

go,

sorry,

don't want

you anymore

and boot

him out

again.

He's not

a tenant.

He's our

new landlord

who's moved

into our

lives.

He now

decides what

is right

and best

for us

and how

we should

live our

life.

In fact,

like a

good landlord,

the Holy

Spirit checks

every single

room in

our lives

convicting

us of

our sin

but also

cleaning us

of our

sin.

So that

means

he's with

you in

the TV

room.

He is

with you

when you

search the

internet.

He is

with you

when you

go to the

bedroom.

the Spirit

of God

is in

us

urging

us

to live

pure

and holy

lives

and enabling

us to

live

holy

lives.

Look at

the rest

of verse

19.

You are

not your

own.

You were

brought at

a price.

Look at

the value

of your

life.

God gave

his life

for you.

he died

on the

cross for

you.

He's

rescued

you.

He's

freed

you from

a life

of sexual

immorality

which only

enslaves

us and

breaks

us and

destroys

us.

And now

he's

taken

ownership

of our

lives

so that

we might

live a

guilt-free

life,

rid of

shame,

rid of

our sin,

that we

might serve

God.

Look at

the end

of verse

20.

Therefore,

honour

God

with

your

body.

If we're

Christians,

our bodies

have been

redeemed

by God

and now

they are

occupied

by God's

Holy Spirit

so let us

use them

to do

good so

that we

might reflect

the beauty

of Christ

and the

purity of

Christ

to the

world

around us.

So how

we use

our bodies

really

matters.

But what

does all

of this

mean in

practice

for us?

Well,

look at

verse 18.

What does

he say?

Flee

from

sexual

immorality.

Run

away

from it.

Don't

get caught

up in

it.

Use

your

physical

bodies

to

actually

move

away

from

it.

All

other

sins

a man

commits

are

outside

his

body.

But he

who sins

sexually

sins

against

his

own

body.

You

see,

as we've

been looking

at through

Corinthians,

all sin

is serious.

But

sexual

sin

ruins

us

in a

way

that

all other

sins

do not.

You

see,

sexual

sin

damages

us

physically.

STDs,

which

in turn

can affect

the

chances

of

pregnancy.

Sexual

sin

breaks

us

emotionally.

The

feeling

of being

used

and abused,

reduced

as an

object

for

somebody

else's

pleasure.

Sexual

sin

destroys

us

relationally,

breaks

up marriages,

creates a

fear of

commitment,

reduces the

loss of

trust.

And

sexual

sin

wrecks us

spiritually,

no longer

walking forward

in service,

instead we're

hiding under

a cloud of

guilt and

shame.

So that's

why he says

in verse

18,

flee from

sexual

immorality,

run away

from it,

put in

place

everything

physically

you need

to do

so that

you live

a pure

life.

Don't go

where temptation

will take

you.

Don't

watch

what will

control

you.

And don't

touch

what you

cannot

stop.

But it's

not just

enough to

flee from

sexual

immorality.

We must

also run

to Christ

and his

cross.

You see,

whatever our

past is,

whatever our

sexual sin

may be,

and let's

be honest,

we all

fail and

fall in

this area,

every single

one of us.

So whatever

our hurts

and our

pains may

be from

the past

and that we

carry into

our lives

today,

run to

Christ and

his cross

because only

Christ

can forgive

you.

And only

Christ

can heal

you.

Remember

what we

read in

chapter 1

verse 18?

The message

of the cross

is foolishness

to those

who are

perishing.

So for

those who

want to

live a

sexually

immoral

life,

they'll

look at

Christ and

the cross

and they'll

say,

how stupid,

how ridiculous.

How

are

saved?

But to

those who

are being

saved,

the cross

is the

power of

God.

So run

to the

cross

because

Christ

takes our

past life

and he

gives us

a brand

new life.

Christ

takes the

consequences

of our

sin and

he fills

our life

with the

Holy Spirit.

He takes

away the

momentary

pleasures

and he

replaces it

with everlasting

joy.

He takes

away our

guilt and

our shame

and he

gives us

gifts

so that we

might serve.

Run to

Christ and

his cross

because there

we are

washed

like

stepping into

a shower

and all

the dirt

being washed

away so

Christ

washes us

deep inside

purifying us

from all

our guilt

and shame

and all

the mess

that is

there

purifying

us so

that we

can be a

clean and

holy people

so that we

can honour

God

with our

bodies.

Our

bodies are

not our

own.

They were

bought at

a price.

Therefore,

honour God

with your

body.

Let's pray.

our

Father God,

we're

conscious

that as

we read

your word

and as

we listen

to it,

we realise

that we

are all,

every

single one

of us,

we have

all,

we are

all impure.

We've

all done

things,

we've all

watched

things,

said

things

that are

not honourable

to you.

and so

we come

to you

afresh,

Father God,

and pray

that cleansing

forgiveness

in our

lives.

Help us

that we

may see

that our

bodies have

been made

by you,

created by

you,

created

for a

wonderful

purpose,

a purpose

to honour

you and

serve you.

thank you

that one

day our

bodies will

be raised

to be

brand new

when we

will live

with you

in your

new heaven

and new

earth.

Thank you

that today

through

faith in

Jesus we

are united

to Christ,

belonging

to him.

And thank

you that

you have

not abandoned

us but

that you

live in

us by

your Holy

Spirit.

it.

We pray

Father God

that all

of us

and you

would enable

each one

of us to

live lives

that reflect

the purity

of Christ

and the

love of

Christ to

those around

us.

We pray

this in

Jesus name.

Amen.

We're going

to sing

together

a song

which helps

us to

reflect on

what we've

just been

looking at

and a

song that

will prepare

us as

we come

to share

the

love of

Christ.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.