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12 Just because something is technically legal doesn't mean that it's spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I'd be a slave to my whims. 13 You know the old saying, "First you eat to live, and then you live to eat"? Well, it may be true that the body is only a temporary thing, but that's no excuse for stuffing your body with food, or indulging it with sex. Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him with your body! 14 God honored the Master's body by raising it from the grave. He'll treat yours with the same resurrection power. 15 Until that time, remember that your bodies are created with the same dignity as the Master's body. You wouldn't take the Master's body off to a whorehouse, would you? I should hope not. 16 There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, "The two become one." 17 Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever - the kind of sex that can never "become one." 18 There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for "becoming one" with another. 19 Or didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. 20 God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body. (1 Corinthians 6:12-20 The Message Bible)
Happy Tuesday, dear Reader! May the blessings of the Lord fill your cup to overflowing in all areas of your life! May we continue to pray for one another, especially those who have asked prayers of us; may God bless them all with healing.
The City of Corinth was a bustling place. It was a metropolitan area of the first order. It could easily compare with the big cities of today in all the good and the evil that these cities offer. If you could dream it, good or bad, you could probably buy it or order it. And the same was true for Corinth. Yesterday I was so tempted to list a couple of college towns for "Nazareth? Can anything good come from Nazareth?," but today, I will say Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and those two are at the top of the list of any number of US cities. Things in Corinth were legal that would make others blush. And here the Apostle Paul is trying to bring Jesus and the Good News to the people caught up in this mess that is Corinth. "God is love" pales, for some, when they believe, "Anything goes," or "What happens in Corinth stays in Corinth." Yes, some people really believe that about Vegas and worse, a lot of people actually live it. Hear me out before you tune me out. God does love you and enough to forgive you, so when Paul writes, in this modern version, "Just because something is technically legal doesn't mean that it's spiritual appropriate." Amen? Or, is he confused? Paul is aware that what he preaches is not popular, but it is powerful and needed as he continues, "If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by (or away) with, I'd be a slave to my whims." Paul was not buying the argument that "You Only Live Once, So Live to the Fullest." Our decisions and actions all come with consequences.
If we choose to overeat, Paul says, we pay the consequences; If we choose to indulge it with sex, there are no excuses for those actions. Paul says, and we should know, that God has honored us with a body, so in return, the least we can do, is honor God with our bodies. God honored Jesus' body with glory by raising it from the dead, and God will do the same for you. But until that Resurrection moment comes, we have to remember that our bodies were created with the same dignity as Jesus' body, and we would not dream of taking the Lord's body to a place of ill repute, Paul says, and "There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact." Paul knew the reason that the Bible says "The two becomes one" is precisely because of the spiritual dimension that is a part of sex, which Paul further shares, "Since we want to be spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever - the kind of sex that can never "become one." And further, Paul knows that there is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. "In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for 'becoming one' with another." The body is the temple of God, as another version says, and as such, God's Holy Spirit resides in us, and any flesh-sins we commit, violate the sacredness of this temple. For we cannot compartmentalize one part of our body for this use, and the other, for another. "God owns the whole works. So let the people see God in and through your body."
As we reflect on this passage, here are some solid take-aways: 1). We must go beyond self-indulgence. Our freedom in Christ Jesus does not mean we can go crazy with our desires. You and I have been called to serious ponder the "beneficial" aspects of our choices. We must honor our bodies as truly being the temples of the Holy Spirit. 2). We must connect to a higher purpose. Our being alive transcends earthly pleasures and desires. We are to be instruments for God's work, vessels of God's love and His presence in the world. 3). We are called to live our lives with intentionality. We must remember that we have been "bought at a price," which imbues our choices with weight and purpose. Each decision we make is an opportunity to honor the sacrifice made for us and live lives worthy of that redemption.
PRAYER: Loving God, help us to see our bodies not as objects of indulgence, but as sacred vessels entrusted to Your care. Grant us the wisdom to discern the "beneficial" paths and the strength to resist temptations that would dishonor your temple within us. Grant us the power to intentionally reflect Your love and grace in every choice we make. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Make conscious choices that honor your body as a temple, your life as a reflection of God's love, and your existence as a testament to the price paid for your redemption.
Receive my love and thankfulness to God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
