1 Corinthians 6:12-20 - Judging Freedom in the Church
Marc Minter
1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 21 viewsMain Point: The reality of the gospel compels us to glorify God in our bodies because we are presently joined to Christ, because we are indwelt by God’s Spirit, and because we are owned by God.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Christian freedom (not to be confused with religious freedom) is the doctrine or the concept of living under God’s grace in Christ. Jesus said, “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (Jn. 8:36). The Apostle Paul said, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1).
Religious freedom is the ability (in this world) to believe and to worship and to live according to a shared set of doctrines and practices, without being compelled by the state to do so. Christian freedom is the ability (before God) to believe and to worship and to live according to the New Covenant we have in Christ, and not according to the old covenant or to any legalistic system.
For hundreds of years now, Protestants have made a stark distinction between the “law” and the “gospel.” The law is that which commands obedience; it is that which threatens penalty for disobedience; it is the terrifying rumblings of Mt. Sinai which make us feel our weakness, our guilt, and our shame.
The gospel is that which proclaims grace; it is that which announces the arrival of a Savior who has paid the penalty for all our disobedience; it’s the joyful announcement from Mt. Zion which makes us feel loved and welcome and forgiven.
This distinction between law and gospel is vitally important. Our growth in Christian maturity will directly correspond to our understanding of this distinction and our ability to live in light of it.
But a key aspect of understanding this distinction is knowing the difference between a distinction and a separation. A separation divides two things completely, but a distinction marks differences without a total separation.
The questions before us this morning are: If Christians are free, then what do we do with our freedom? What are we free from? Are we free to sin? Is there any law we must obey as New Covenant Christians?
This is the subject before us this morning as we turn again to Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. This church was a chaotic mess. Church members were confused, many of them were scandalously sinful, and most of them seem to have been arrogant about their situation (rather than embarrassed by it)… which is the worst combination… foolishness and arrogance.
Let’s consider how the Scripture addresses this subject of Christian freedom, and let’s consider what we might learn from our passage this morning.
Let’s stand together as I read our text aloud… 1 Corinthians 6:12-20.
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
1 Corinthians 6:12–20 (ESV)
1 Corinthians 6:12–20 (ESV)
12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.
15 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! 16 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.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 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, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Main Idea:
Main Idea:
The reality of the gospel compels us to glorify God in our bodies because we are presently joined to Christ, because we are indwelt by God’s Spirit, and because we are owned by God.
Sermon
Sermon
1. Embodied Christians (v12-14)
1. Embodied Christians (v12-14)
In our passage this morning, Paul cites a phrase that comes up four times in this first letter to the church of Corinth – twice here, and twice again in chapter 10. In some of our translations, we even have quotation marks around the phrase: “All things are lawful for me” (v12). And that is because the translators are telling us that they believe these words are to be attributed not to Paul but to the Corinthians.
It seems that a common phrase among the Christians in Corinth was “All things are lawful for me” (v12). And it seems that they had a common perspective about Christian living that looked a lot like shameless immorality. Remember the arrogant sinner in chapter 5? And just wait until we read about the prejudice and self-indulgence in chapter 11! The Corinthians were all about “grace,” and for them this seems to mean that they didn’t even pretend to pursue holiness or love.
And friends, the Corinthian perspective of sin is alive and well in American Evangelicalism, and Paul’s teaching in this passage is needed today as much as ever. So many of our friends and neighbors (maybe some of us here today) seem to think that saying “I believe in Jesus” or saying the “sinner’s prayer” or being “baptized” means that this person is most definitely a Christian… that they have nothing to fear when they stand before God on the last day.
But, friends, hear me… This is not true! What you and I really believe in our hearts and minds comes out in the actions of our bodies. And the Bible warns us against a kind of “faith” or “belief” that cannot “save” (James 2:14-26). We must not think or speak or act in such a way so as to separate the spirit from the body… the words from the deeds… or the stuff we believe from the stuff we do.
In our text today, Paul is confronting this error head on. Paul had already been calling the Corinthians to live like Christians, and not like the non-Christians around them. This was true in chapter 5, when Paul told them to “purge the evil person from among you” (1 Cor. 5:13). The local church is to be a gathering of repenting sinners, not arrogant ones.
And the same pastoral instruction is there at the beginning of ch. 6. Paul told them to be willing to “suffer wrong” and even endure being “defrauded,” forgiving one another instead of fighting to defend their own stuff, their own reputation, or their own comforts (1 Cor. 6:7).
And now, in our passage (at the end of ch. 6), Paul is calling them to resist the temptation to go on living like they used to when they were non-Christians.
Remember the rich doctrine we considered the last time we were in 1 Corinthians – “do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11).
You are Christians – justified before God and righteous in Christ – not because you were never guilty sinners, but because God has “washed” you “in the name of the Lord Jesus” (or by His work upon the cross)!
Friends, this is the glorious center of the gospel! The message of the Bible (the whole storyline of Scripture) is that God has loved and saved sinful people through the life and death of His own Son. We deserve wrath, because we are disobedient rebels; but God offers us cleansing, purification, and even a legal defense against the punishment of His own judgments! And all of this is what Jesus gives to those who turn from sin and trust in Him.
But what does this mean for Christian living? Does the “washing” or the “sanctification” or the “justification” of sinners in “the name” of “Christ” and by the power of the “Spirit” mean that Christians can live any way they want? Now that we have been set free from the law of God that condemns us, shall we go on happily sinning (Rom. 6:1-2)? If “All things are lawful for me” (v12), why not?!
Ah, says Paul, “‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything” (v12).
Almost every time the word translated here “lawful” or “expedient” (KJV) or “profitable” (NASB) or “permissible” (NIV) shows up in the NT it is referring to something that either is or is not “lawful” according to the OT legal system or the Mosaic law code. The question is, “Does God permit it?” And for the New Testament or New Covenant Christian, the answer is often, “Yes!”
Does God permit me to eat crab or pork? The Mosaic law forbids it, but… Yes! I can eat them… preferably bacon-wrapped shrimp with crab cakes.
Does God permit me plant a field with different kinds of seed? Again, the Mosaic law prohibits it, but… Yes! As I understand it, it’s actually good to have different plants growing near one another.
Does God permit me to trim my beard, to marry someone of a different ethnicity, to work on Saturdays, or to draw near to God despite any number of blemishes or defects in my body? All of these are forbidden by the old covenant delivered at Sinai, but… YES! The New Covenant Christian (one who comes to God through Jesus Christ) is free from the civil and ceremonial laws of OT Israel.
When Jesus came to this world, the author of Hebrews tells us Christ “appeared as a high priest,” entering “once and for all into the holy places” and offering a sacrifice “of his own blood,” by which He “secured an eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:11-12). “Therefore,” the Scripture says, “he is the mediator of a new covenant” (Heb. 9:15), and “since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us… and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:19-22).
Friends, the gospel of Christ teaches me that I don’t need a kosher diet or a liturgical calendar or even an ordained priest to make me acceptable in God’s presence. What I need is a mediator of grace, who will clean me up (on the inside and the outside) and walk me right into the presence of the King of glory… not on the basis of anything I’ve ever done or not done… but on the basis of His own righteousness and sacrifice on my behalf.
And this is exactly what Christ does! In Christ, I am free… Free from sin’s curse… free from God’s wrath… and free from legal demands of God’s OT law!
But I am not free to sin…
The Christian… whose heart has come to love Christ… whose mind has come to know the truth of Christ… The Christian who has been “washed” and “sanctified” and “justified” in “the name” of “Christ” doesn’t think about sin the same way as he did before. Now I feel a mixture of desires with regard to sin. I know that I still want to sin, but I also know that sin will kill me. I know that sin will destroy everything it touches… and I know that my life in/with Christ holds out a better promise than sin ever could… resurrection and all that comes with it.
There’s so much more for us to unpack as context and related doctrines as we think through this passage, but if we’re ever going to get to the end of my sermon, I’m going to have to get on with points 2, 3, and 4.
Two more things, though, before we build out the rest of this… Notice [1] the emphasis on “the body” (v13-14) and [2] the examples of “food” (v13) and “sex” (v13).
Christianity is an embodied religion. God is very interested in what we do with our bodies now, and God has promised that in Christ He will “raise… up” our physical “bodies” on the last day. Christianity is not just about what we believe in our heads or feel in our hearts… it’s also about what we do with our bodies… and the fundamental hope of the gospel is that we will be with Christ our Savior one day… embodied… our souls and our bodies… physically living in a re-created world with no pain and no sorrow and no shame and no death.
Also, the examples of “food” (v13) and “sex” (v13) here are not meant to isolate our applications of the overarching imperative we find in our passage… We are commanded to “glorify God in your bodies” (v20)! And we should apply this everywhere… in every way we use and think about our bodies.
What these two examples show us is that “food” (v13) and “sex” (v13) are the main ways in which the Corinthians were being foolish with their bodies, and (if we’re honest) these are common to most all of us as well.
2. Joined to Christ (v15-17)
2. Joined to Christ (v15-17)
I’ve heard it said that younger or less mature pastors tend to preach with a harsher tone, assuming that the best way to motivate is with a rod. I admit that this is my own tendency. But older and more mature pastors tend to preach with a more hopeful and encouraging tone, understanding that a reassuring word of what could be or what will be is often far more effective than a rebuke of what is.
We all, at various times, need both sorts of words spoken to us. When we are arrogant and stubborn, we need a word of rebuke; and when we are fragile and downcast, we are probably in need of hope. In our passage today, the Apostle Paul has turned to encouragement after having shamed the Corinthians in earlier portions of this letter… It seems there is something in this letter for everyone.
There are three doctrinal truths which Paul lists here to encourage the Corinthians to “glorify God” in their “bodies” (v20)… four, if you count the one we already noted in v14, that the God who “raised the Lord” will “also raise us up by his power” on the last day.” Indeed, “the body is… meant… for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (v13). As I’ve already said, Christianity is embodied.
But for the purpose of my sermon outline this morning, I’m going to start the doctrine count in v15, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” This is the first doctrinal truth that comes along with an imperative (or a command), and so too do the other two doctrines that follow.
In v15-17, the emphasis is on union with Christ. Paul exhorts the Corinthians to understand themselves as already “joined to the Lord” (v17) or already “members of Christ” (v15). Paul is using the imagery of “body” in order to help the Corinthians understand that what they do with their own “bodies” should be affected by their perspective of having become members of Christ’s body.
Paul will use this imagery of “body” again later in the letter to teach on the church members’ relationships with one another (1 Cor. 12:12-31), but here he’s using it to call church members to live personally holy lives. And the “body” analogy is applied to sexual fidelity. If Christians are “members” of Christ’s body, then they (like a faithful husband) should not use their own bodies to be unfaithful or adulterous or sexually immoral (v15)… They ought not use their freedom to sin.
Union with Christ is one of the most fundamental doctrines of the Christian gospel. In Christ’s earthly life and ministry, Christians are united with Christ in that they share in His earned righteousness – because Christ was obedient and holy and righteous, so too are all those in or united to Christ counted as obedient and holy and righteous before God.
In Christ’s death upon the cross, Christians are united with Christ in that they share in His atonement – because Christ was condemned as guilty and shameful and cursed, so too are all those in or united to Christ counted as having already been judged for their guilt and shame and cursing under God’s law.
In Christ’s resurrection and ascension, Christians are united with Christ in that they share in His vindication and glorification– because Christ has been raised from the dead and seated on the throne of heaven, so too are all those in or united to Christ (in a sense) already raised with Him to the height of heavenly glory, and so too shall they (one day) fully enjoy the completion of God’s promise to glorify them with Christ forever and ever.
Brothers and sisters, if this is our present reality… if we are joined with Christ now… and if we are simply awaiting the day when we shall be joined with Him forever in glory… then why in the world would we indulge in sin?
We are joined with Christ! Therefore, we ought “never” to make use of our bodies in such a way that we pull Christ down into sin or throw sin upon the glory of His name (v15). It may be that we will continue to sin, since we are not yet free from all temptation or even the desire to sin, but may God help us to be those who only fall into sin as a surprise… a shock… a momentary lapse.
Sin is the stuff that put Jesus upon the cross… these are the thoughts and words and deeds which made it necessary for Him to die… Sin is what brings guilt and shame and a curse upon all who engage with it.
But we are “joined to the Lord” (v17)! We are “members of Christ” (v15)! We have no need of false pleasures or worldly enticements! Ours is the incomparable union of creature and Creator, and He has made us one with Him!
3. Indwelt by the Spirit (v18-19a)
3. Indwelt by the Spirit (v18-19a)
The reality of the gospel compels us to glorify God in our bodies because we are presently joined to Christ and also because we are indwelt by God’s Spirit. Let’s look now at v18-19.
The imperative (or command) in this section is more obvious. You can see it there in v18, “Flee from sexual immorality.” The verb here (“Flee”) is a strong one – “Run away from it as you would run away from death!”
Elsewhere the Scripture says, “sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints… For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure… has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ… Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not become partners with them…” (Eph. 5:3-7).
Friends, it is no coincidence that the same people in our own day who are promoting total autonomy in the area of sexuality are also completely opposed to biblically and historically grounded Christianity. If we prize sexual freedom, then we will despise biblical and Christian ethics. If we expect the freedom to choose our own gender, to experience whatever sexual practices feel good to us, or to define sexual relationships according to our own desires, then we have left behind all biblical constraints, and we will not tolerate anyone reminding us of them.
The Bible teaches us that sexual sin is in some sense more devastating, more egregious, and more self-destructive than other kinds of sin. That’s the point Paul is getting at when he says, “Every other sin a person commits outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (v18).
This is not to say that other sins – like pride or greed or slander or hatred or lying – do not affect one internally or bodily. All sin is destructive, and all sin radically (both inside and outside) corrupts us and others. There are no “safe sins” or “tolerable sins.”
But some sins are more self-destructive than others, and sexual sin leaves a horrific wake of devastation behind it. Some of us here today can tell you about the destructive nature of pornography. Maybe we once thought it was just a private indulgence, but now we wallow in self-hatred, insecurity, and loneliness.
Some of us can tell you about the destructive nature of adultery. Maybe we once thought it was just an innocent flirtation or a necessary relief during a hard season of marriage, but now we can hardly face a day without feeling the pain of broken relationships, failed promises, and seemingly unrecoverable trust.
Friends, our culture is going the way of many before it… running headlong toward utter self-destruction… and one of the main ways we can see this on display all around us is in the promotion and celebration of sexual immorality. As Christians, we may energetically work to resist this advance in our broader culture, but we must absolutely refuse to be deceived by it in our own lives. We are not commanded anywhere in Scripture to “redeem the culture,” but we are certainly commanded to “flee sexual immorality” (v18).
And one of the main reasons we’re given in our passage is that “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you” (v19). Once again, Paul is offering not a negative warning, but a positive encouragement. And this second doctrinal truth is yet another profound and fundamental reality of the Christian gospel.
The Bible tells a story of man’s exclusion from God’s presence because of sin, and then God’s plan to reunite Himself with sinful humans. Again and again, we are reminded of man’s inability to re-enter God’s presence because of all manner of sin and impurity and immorality. And, again and again, we are shown God’s exceedingly great mercy and power… which culminates in the ministry of Jesus and the arrival of God’s Spirit.
The day of Pentecost was not just one special occasion among many for the early Christians. It was the fulfillment of God’s promise to be withHis people. The OT prophets spoke of a day when God would “pour out [His] Spirit on all flesh,” and salvation would come to “everyone who calls on the name of the LORD” (Joel 2:28-32). On that day, God said, “You shall know that I am in the midst of [My people], and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else” (Joel 2:27). And the Bible tells us that Pentecost is when this promise was fulfilled (Acts 2:16-21)!
And every New Testament Christian has that same fulfillment… every New Testament Christian (from Acts 2 until Christ returns on the last day) is filled with God’s “Holy Spirit,” who indwells us personally and intimately (v19)!
Our Pentecostal and charismatic brethren may sometimes talk like that they are the ones who are really filled with the Spirit, but all Christians everywhere are indwelt by God’s Spirit… And this is not just a feeling or an impulse… this is a doctrinal reality that has huge implications for how Christians ought to live.
Brothers and sisters, if we are united with Christ (if we have been joined with Him by simple faith), then our bodies are “a temple of the Holy Spirit” (v19). God Himself is with us… He is in us… He is spiritually present with us wherever we go… and this doctrinal fact should motivate us to live holy lives with our bodies… because the Spirit of holiness resides in us!
Oh, Christian, we are not to use our bodies as common things. We are not pots or pans… we are not dishrags to be used and discarded when the house-chores are done. We are the fine China of God’s kitchen… we are the table-center display in God’s cosmic dining room… we are those who have been “sealed” by God’s “Holy Spirit” so that “in the coming ages [God] might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:13-14, 2:7).
Since we are indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit now, and since we are destined for glory in the life to come, let us “glorify God in [our] body” today (v20)!
4. Owned by God (v19b-20)
4. Owned by God (v19b-20)
The third and final doctrinal truth (along with a command) shows up at the end of v19 and into v20. And here is the summary of our whole text. “You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Is it true that “all things are lawful” for a New Covenant Christian (v12)? Well, yes… The Christian is free from the Mosaic law and also free from the legalistic demands of mere behavior modification. The Christian does not work his or her way into God’s “good graces;” The Christian is already united to Christ and already indwelt by God Spirit.
But this does not mean that the Christian is free to sin.
The Christian is (in fact) not free to entangle him or herself in sin… we must “not be dominated by anything” (v12). The Christian is not free to speak or act in such a way that disgraces or scandalizes Christ’s name… we must act as “members” of Christ’s body (v15), people who are “joined to the Lord” (v17). The Christian is not free to involve him or herself in “sexual immorality” (or immorality of any kind)… we must live as those who are indwelt by God’s “Holy Spirit” (v19)… holy living as a holy people.
The whole tone of this passage is not one of absolute freedom (a kind of freedom from everything) but of true freedom (exchanging the illusion of freedom for the real thing).
I’ve been reading a lot of Spurgeon recently, and I’m going to finish my sermon this morning in the style of a Spurgeon sermon. He was a preacher during the latter half of the 1800s in England who famously preached the most gripping sermons on just a verse or two out of the Bible. He preached at least three sermons on these last two sentences, and I (on purpose) did not read any of them before writing this final point of my own sermon. If I had, I would have been tempted to just try to say what Spurgeon already said better than I could ever say it… or I would have been tempted to throw out my entire sermon and just preach his.
What I mean by Spurgeon’s style is that he would break down the phrases of a verse or two and consider the implications of them with vivid detail. That’s what I am trying to do here, though far less detailed.
Let’s look at this together… first, “you are not your own,” second, “you were bought with a price,” and third, “so glorify God in your body.”
First, “You are not your own” (v19). Friends, don’t we understand that we have never been our own? If you are a Christian now, then you can look back on those days before Christ saved you, and you can see that you were not free… you were a slave to sin. Sin owned you; Satan dominated you; and the world tossed you this way and that way. And you were so foolish that you sometimes thought such slavery was a joy. You thought that sin was fun; you acted like all of your transgressive living was a flex of your independence.
But, at some point, the truth of the gospel pierced through your self-delusion. You saw yourself (at least a glimpse) for what you really were… a slave of sin… a dead man walking… a soul ashamed of who you were and what you’d done. But the gospel also held out to you the hope of a better master. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ spoke a kind and generous word to your hard and rebellious heart… and (by God’s grace) you heard it!
You heard Jesus’s offer to join you to His yoke, which is easy and light. You heard that Jesus would unleash your burden of sin, and that He would give you real freedom… freedom to be loved by God… freedom to love God in return… and freedom to live for Him, not out of pretense or legalism, but stimulated by love.
Friends, “you are not your own” (v19). You have never been your own. And if you belong to Christ today, then rejoice that you have a gracious and loving Master whose aim is always for your good.
Second, “you were bought with a price” (v20). Brothers and sisters, this phrase is for you. If you are not a repenting and believingChristian today, then this promise is held out to you, but it is not something you presently possess.
Many people have a superficial knowledge of the gospel, and they think they too can lay claim on all of the promises of blessing in the Bible. But this is not so. Just think of the most famous verse in all of Scripture. We see it on highway signs and poster boards at sports events, but hardly a person seems to know what it says.
John 3:16 reads, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
So many of us hear the love of God, the giving of His Son, and the promise of eternal life… but we do not hear the condition of the hearer! The text says, “whoever believes” in the Lord Jesus Christ… that is the hearer who may enjoy all the benefits of this glorious promise!
Friend, if you are not sure if you are “believing” in Christ, then let’s talk about it after the service today. What a joy it would be to help you lay hold of this great doctrine and promise in our text – “you were bought with a price” (v20).
For those of us who are repenting and believing Christians, then our need is to feel both the cut and the balm (the pain and the relief) of this short phrase – “you were bought with a price” (v20).
Brothers and sisters, why was there any payment necessary to begin with? Was it not because of our constant rebellion and disobedience and arrogant rejection of God’s good authority over us? Was there ever a day… no, was there ever an hour in our whole lives that we have not harbored discontent for the Lord’s provision, valued sin as our cherished thing, and hated some command or limitation that God has placed upon us?
What agreeable slaves we were to sin… what a light thing we thought it was to mock God, to reject His kindness, and to pretend that sin was a better master!
Oh Christian, “you were bought with a price” must cut us deep today. We must feel the pain of such a reminder that our rebellion was so wicked (our sin-debt was so great) that it required such a price as the lifeblood of Jesus Christ!
But this phrase that cuts us is also that which binds our wound! Brothers and sisters, “you were bought with a price” (v20)! In a display of His unfathomable love, God sent His own Son to live and die for sinners like us! Despite all that we deserve and all that we have earned, in Christ God has redeemed those He loves by nothing less than the precious blood of Jesus!
“There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins; and sinners, plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.”
And as the Scripture says, “[If God] did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things [pertaining to salvation]” (Rom. 8:32).
Brothers and sisters, “you were bought with a price” (v20). It was more costly than we can know, and it has already been paid. What a gracious and generous purchase we’ve been given… “So” or “Therefore” (KJV), “glorify God in your body” (v20).
Third, and finally, “glorify God in your body” (v20). Don’t you know this is true or real freedom? Brothers and sisters, when we were unrepenting sinners, we never glorified God. Our whole lives were lived in opposition to God’s glory. But this was bondage of the worst kind. We had the illusion of freedom (we were free to shackle and afflict ourselves as much as we like), but we were not free.
Now that we’ve been set free from sin, set free from its penalty, and set free from the illusion of false freedom, we are now truly free to live (practically and physically and comprehensively) to the glory of God!
We can enjoy good food to the glory of God… We can enjoy our husband or wife to the glory of God… We can read a book, help a friend, wash a dish, finish a project, teach a class, mow a lawn, hit a ball, train a child, and enjoy a good nap to the glory of God.
Friends, the reality of the gospel compels those of us who are repenting and believing Christians to glorify God in our bodies… because we are presently joined to Christ… because we are indwelt by God’s Spirit… and because we are owned by God (purchased by the blood of Christ).
May God help us to live this out in our everyday lives… until Christ returns.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aland, Kurt, Barbara Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, and Bruce M. Metzger, eds. Novum Testamentum Graece. 28th ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012.
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Ciampa, Roy E., and Brian S. Rosner. The First Letter to the Corinthians. Logos Research Edition. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. Logos Research Edition. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
Sproul, R. C., ed. The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition). Logos Research Edition. Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Logos Research Edition. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009.
The Holy Bible: New International Version. Logos Research Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984.
The NET Bible First Edition. Logos Research Edition. Biblical Studies Press, 2005.
Vaughan, Curtis, and Thomas D. Lea. 1 Corinthians. Logos Research Edition. Founders Study Commentary. Cape Coral, FL: Founders Press, 2002.