| MEMORY
VERSE: For ye are bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,
which are God's (1 Corinthians 6:20).
We
Are Not Our Own
1 Corinthians 6:15 The first fact
to realize as we begin this lesson is that our bodies
belong to Christ. Our entire being belongs to Jesus
Christ. He has all rights of ownership, first, because
He created us; second, because He bought us with His
blood. This truth is basic for the guarding of the
physical body. There is a greater meaning here. Not
only does He own us, but when He saves us, He makes
us part of Himself. This is the normal and intended
position of every person. If then we take
the members of Christ, and make them the members of
an harlot, we are taking part of the holy
and glorious Christ and polluting it with the blackest
filth there is.
Fornication Is Degrading
1 Corinthians 6:16-18 The particular
sin of fornication is named here. This is taking one's
body from the pure Christ and making it a part of
a corrupt harlot. It is exchanging spiritual union
with Christ for physical union with a harlot. The
bond belonging to marriage only is entered outside
of marriage. When God said two ... shall be
one flesh, He put in force a law to bless
marriage and the home. To violate this law outside
of marriage is to bring oneself sorrow and suffering
now and damnation finally. It is sin against
one's own body and that of another.
(Read Hebrews 13:4.)
The Body Has Divine Purpose
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Your body is the temple
of the Holy Ghost. The body is for more than
to satisfy appetites, to move about, and to accumulate
possessions. When first made, it was filled with the
breath of God. It was made for a home for the Holy
Spirit, but sin has hindered God's plan. God will
not share room with evil lusts and works of the flesh.
Through salvation and the setting aside of ourselves,
both body and spirit, the Holy Spirit moves into the
body as His temple (John 14:17). Then, and only then,
does the physical body fulfill its purpose as the
temple of the Holy Ghost.
Defilement Brings Destruction
1 Corinthians 3:17 If any man defile the temple
of God, him shall God destroy. Any sin against
the body defiles it. Sexual sins defile. Use of tobacco,
alcohol, or drugs defiles it. Anything which makes
the body a less suitable home for the Spirit is defilement.
Can we partake of these things and still glorify Christ?
No! Injuries, sorrows, diseases, and death are directly
caused, many times, by sins against the body. Along
with this comes eternal destruction. There are those
who do not respect the sacredness of the body—fornicators
... adulterers ... effeminate ... abusers of themselves
with mankind ... drunkards ... They shall
not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians
6:9-10).
Does not reverence for Christ include respect for
that which He entrusts to us? One with a proper sense
of stewardship will respect not only his body but
the body of another. Only a depraved person would
encourage another to use that which will harm his
body, such as tobacco, alcohol, drugs, or a number
of other things. Only such a one would lead another
into immoral acts and steal that which can never be
restored. To do any of these for money only magnifies
the evil. (Read Romans 6:12-13.)
All cannot wear the best of clothing, but it can be
kept reasonably clean. Some faces are better featured
than others, but all can be made more beautiful with
soap and water. There is nothing wrong with controlling
offensive odors with a pleasing deodorant. An old
saying is "cleanliness is next to godliness."
This may not be altogether correct, but it has merit.
God expects each of us to wear the best he has for
the occasion, whether it be to work, school, or church.
Shine the shoes, press the clothing, brush the teeth,
and comb the hair. This should be standard procedure
for anyone having respect for his or her body and
for those around them.
No
person keeping guard on the body will allow himself
to be put into a situation or position which will
put him or another into temptation. Young ladies should
be taught how to sit properly. A good guide is to
sit with both feet flat on the floor.
The Divine Pattern
Romans 12:1-2 We are made pure in
Christ by an inner, unseen operation in the heart.
To communicate that purity to the outside requires
the exercise of body members. Christ puts it in; we
work it out. It takes our will and a desire to do
this. The people to whom this epistle was addressed
were accustomed to dead sacrifices, bodies of slain
animals offered up in sacrifices for sins. Christ,
a living Sacrifice, died on the Cross to bring about
man's forgiveness. We are to follow that example.
There is no testimony, no passing on of the Gospel,
no good deed, no Christian expression of any kind
without use of body members. God asks that our bodies
be sacrificed to Him. Not dead sacrifices, but living
to produce daily service to the Lord of all Creation.
Let no Christian say that he does not know how to
conduct himself in the social circles in which he
lives. There is a divine pattern laid down. Present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God ... And be not conformed ... but be ye transformed
... Upright living is purchased at the cost
of sacrifice. It never was, and it never will be,
easy to live a good life in a wicked world. Have times
changed? Yes! Has human nature changed? No! Has God
or His Word changed? No!
JUST
A THOUGHT
A sound Christian life needs the support of
Christian environment.
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