Honor God in Your Body

1 Corinthians 6:13-20 ESV

“The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

Have you ever noticed that most of the lists of sins in the New Testament Scriptures begin with sexual sin? These Bible verses use the terms “sexual immorality,” “idolatry,” “adultery,” the practice of “homosexuality,” “impurity,” “sensuality,” “passion” (or “passion of lust”), and “orgies.” And do you know the meaning of the word “sensuality”? It means “violent spite which rejects restraint and indulges in lawless insolence.” And it means “conduct shocking to public decency; lewdness” (source: biblehub.com interlinear).

Biblical lists of sins: [Matt 5:27-30; Rom 1:18-32; 1 Co 6:9-10; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 3:5-11; 1 Thess 4:1-8]

And what is sexual immorality? In the Greek the word is “porneia.” It is defined as “fornication, harlotry, and idolatry”. It means “a selling of (surrendering) of sexual purity; promiscuity of any kind (every type),” which includes marital unfaithfulness, i.e. adultery (see biblehub.com interlinear). 

Thus, sexual immorality is not limited to actual physical contact with another person. For Jesus defined adultery as looking at another person with lustful intent (Matt 5:28). So the adultery doesn’t have to be of a physical nature at all, but it can be solely in one’s heart and mind, which might then be acted out in self-gratification (sexually), which is a sexual act, just with oneself. And sometimes the “looking” is via viewing sexually explicit media and videos. Or it may be via sex-texting and other means I don’t know about.

Now some conduct that would be considered lewdness would be indecent exposure (exhibitionism), voyeurism (peeping Toms), groping and fondling of others, pornographic videos and the viewing of them, prostitution, and other sexual conduct outside the context of a morally proper and loving marriage relationship. It could also be course joking and lewd comments, and the listening of music lyrics which are lewd and obscene and sensual, or the playing of “adult” games which are in the same category.

So, please know that the body includes the mind and the heart as well as the parts of the body considered to be our sexual organs. Thus, our minds, our hearts, and our physical bodies as a whole are not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And if we are genuine believers in Christ via dying with him to sin and living to him and to his righteousness, by his grace and in his power, then our bodies are members of Christ. Our minds and our hearts are members of Christ.

So taking our minds and our hearts and/or our physical bodies and joining them with a prostitute may be literal, with regard to the prostitute, but it also may have to do with the surrendering of sexual purity, and with promiscuity of any kind, which may or may not engage another person in physical contact. For all these words used here in these Scriptures cover a whole lot of territory beyond just physical intercourse with someone to whom you are not married.

And if you are married to someone but you are addicted to masturbation (self-gratification), you are sinning sexually against God and against your spouse, and it is adultery. And then when you try to hide it, or you try to hide your viewing of inappropriate sexually explicit material, and so you cover it up with lies, that just adds even more pain and suffering to your spouse who is already suffering from your marital unfaithfulness. And then when you add on excuses for why you are still doing that to your spouse, you only add even more hurt to your spouse’s tender heart.

So, when this says here that the sexually immoral person sins against his own body, please remember here that when you marry someone that the two of you are to become one flesh and the man’s body is to belong to his wife and his wife’s body is to belong to her husband. So, when you choose to sin against your own body you are sinning against your spouse’s body, too. That does not make your spouse guilty of sin, though. But it demonstrates that you are still united (one) with yourself and not with your spouse.

But this goes beyond just sinning against one’s spouse or your own body, which is supposed to belong to God, too. This has to do with sinning against God, for if you are a believer in Christ, in truth, and so the Holy Spirit does live within you, then your body is the temple of God, and we, as Christ’s followers, are to glorify God with our bodies. Yet, remember that the Scriptures teach that if we practice such sins as these that we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips have professed.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Broken Cord

An Original Work / August 29, 2018

Your bond is broken with your Lord and Savior

And your testimony is separate from Him.

Your words not matching your actions today.

Repent of your sin and bow down and pray.

Live what you testify in truth always.

Purity’s lacking in your life and witness,

For you profess one thing, but other you do.

Not moral, spiritual. Still of the flesh.

Not living in truth to what you confess.

Lying about it puts you in a mess.

Living a lie is your practice, ‘tis true of you.

Masquerade righteousness – none of it true.

Your heart is not given to your Lord God.

Because of how you live, you are a fraud.

Turn from your sin and give your life to God.

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