Dwell in the Word 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Think on these questions as you dwell in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20:

1. How does Paul address the issue of lawsuits among believers in the Corinthian church? What is his primary concern regarding the involvement of outsiders in these disputes? How does Paul emphasize the importance of righteousness within the body of believers?

2. In the passage, Paul provides a list of behaviors considered immoral. How does he emphasize the need for believers to distance themselves from such behaviors? What significance does Paul attach to the process of sanctification and justification in this context?

3. Paul emphasizes that believers are defined by their identity in Christ, rather than by their past sins. How does he illustrate this concept through the progression of being "washed," "sanctified," and "justified"? How can understanding this identity impact the way believers view and address their struggles with sin?

Transcript:

 Alright, so we see Paul finishing up some of his thoughts regarding sexual immorality and his, his conclusion here is to flee this.  Now, it seems like maybe Paul is quoting here some ideas that maybe were common in Corinth and maybe in the Roman Empire as a whole. This idea that, well, I can do whatever I want.

Well, Paul's saying not everything is helpful. Paul says, yeah, I am free to go out and do what I want, but, but I don't want to be dominated by anything. I don't want anything to run my life the way sinful things can. And then there's another spot where we feel like Paul is quoting something here, some idea within the culture.

Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food. And the idea here is that sexual desires. are, are meant to be taken care of. Just as I desire food, I'm supposed to eat. If I have sexual desires, then I must be able to go and, uh, do those things as I see fit. And so, what we have here is Paul saying, no, don't you realize that your body is God's, that he designed it, that he's the one that owns it.

Now, we live in a culture that is ridiculously autonomous, right? We believe that we are completely and totally in control of what we do. We make the rules. This idea of autonomy is a serious issue. Now, of course, obviously we do what we will to do. You know, I picked up this pen or I decided to make this video.

But the idea that Paul is talking about here is. Ultimately, who is the one who makes the rules about how you, uh, behave, how you, uh, use your body? Are you autonomous? Do you make the rules for yourself? Or is, are you under the authority of God?  We know what the answer is, right? God made us, God, God loves us.

He cares for us. He gives us the rules that we are to follow. He is the one who shows us how we are to live. And so, what does Paul say? He says, flee from sexual immorality because every other sin is a, is a sin that you commit outside your body, but sexual immorality you do to your body itself. And so what does Paul say?

Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is within you. Why would you sin against your body when God himself inhabits you in that way as, as the indwelling Holy Spirit? And so, what does Paul say here? This is, this is a powerful statement. You are not your own.  For you were bought with a price.

And so therefore, glorify God in your body. If you were, if Christ died for you, if he suffered for you, if he paid the ultimate price for sin for you, then use your body that he, that he bought and paid for. A body that will be resurrected, let's not forget that. A body that will be around for eternity when Christ returns to deliver his kingdom to his Father and we are resurrected from the dead.

Then glorify God with that body. Don't sin in that body. And so, Paul says to flee it. And so, the idea here is get away from it. Don't, don't skirt around with it. Don't flirt with it a little bit and say, you know, I can, I can get close, but I won't do anything. Paul's saying, get away, get in the car and get away from those temptations.

Avoid it because this is serious. Sexual immorality is a sin against your own body and the Holy Spirit indwells you.  And so, instead of committing sin, glorify God in your body. Now, the personal application for this is obviously pretty obvious. Um, we know what the standard is here, right? But I want to really think about this, this idea of fleeing.

Do we flee from sin? Do we, or do we like to stick around a little bit? Regardless if the sin is sexual immorality or if it's something else. Do we flee from sin? Do we run from sin? Do we do our best to get away from it? Are we actively pursuing holiness? Whether it is stuff like this or any sin that we struggle with, are we doing our best to flee from it?

So may we pursue holiness. May we be thinking about the idea because I think holiness is a category for us as modern people that we just, it doesn't really resonate with us. But it's something that we're called to do by God. And the reason  is the same regardless if it is sexual immorality or some other sin.

You were bought with a price. And so, we are to glorify God. And so may we glorify God with our bodies as we step out into the world, and we pursue holiness. May we look to keep God's commands. That our lives, that our bodies might be glorified before Him.