Move Your Body For Christ!!
This was one of the first Christian lessons I've written this year. Tell me what you think and what aspects I need to strengthen.
Hey everyone, I’m coming at you from Atlanta Georgia right now, I am off college hunting and enjoying spending my time with family for thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a time to bring the family together, I say, and be thankful you have such a loving group of people. They care ultimately for you.
Anyway, that’s another post all in itself. Today or tomorrow, whenever you finally read this and if you even read this, we will be narrowing our study today in 1 Corinthians, specifically 1 Corinthians 6:13-20
In the NKJV this section is titles Glorify God in the Body and Spirit, in the NCV Use your bodies for God’s Glory. I call this section the “move your body for Jesus section”.
So let’s just jump into this, starting right at 1 Corinthians 6:13
Ok,
Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body [is] not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
So what does this verse tell us? Well, let’s break it up: Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats. Now this verse was intended to explain some things to the Corinthians. Basically, when the Corinthians got hungry, they ate, but in that same retrospect, when they craved sex they had sex. Then the verse goes on to say: But God shall destroy both in and them. What this is saying is, they wanted food, so they ate, they wanted sex so they had sex, but both of these will eventually be destroyed or die. Then the verse says; now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
This is saying, the body is not for fornication, or for these immoral things, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.
The lord was made for the body, the two go together. There like the two parts of the wishbone, each piece goes together. The only thing is… this wishbone don’t break. Therefore it is necessary to make your body for Christ, because regardless of how you keep your body, Christ wants to jump in.
Then we move on into verse 14
And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
This verse is saying, God raised up his son, he brought him into heaven next to him. And he will do the same to you when you allow Christ into your body. He saved all of us, let him save you.
Verse 15 says: Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make [them] the members of an harlot? God forbid.
Now I like the paraphrase message version of this verse: it says “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 to a whorehouse, would you? I should hope not.
Now, I really don’t wanna get dragged down with all the sexual sin, that’s for another time. But lets look at the overall message. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ. Or for other words, remember that your bodies are created with the same dignity as the master’s body. Our bodies were made in his image, we should act like him. Don’t turn on the wrong roads, moving towards sin... instead be more like Christ... Live like he would. He made you in his image, now live in his image.
Were going to skip over the next few verses and move to 19: 16-18 is really talking all about the Corinthians sexual sins and dissolving their reasons why they were ok. But I’m looking for more about our bodies being the house of God, and this is exactly what verse 19 says.
The verse states: What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
Now, this says the body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. First thing that sticks out is the world temple. A temple was the place were you would go to worship God, a place without sin. Let me ask you, when you go to Church every Sunday, which person goes. The one that talks about people behind their backs, breaths sin like its air. Or the person that lives for Jesus, sings the songs with PASSION, is nice to everyone, and gives money freely to the church. What this verse is telling us is, our body is the Church, so you should act as you would at Church. Secondly, this verse tells us that the Holy Ghost IS in us. We are the home for the Holy Ghost. This goes with verse 16, saying that the Lord was made for us. He made a Home for the Holy Spirit IN US!
And then we move into the last verse in this section. Verse 20: For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
This verse tells us what we really already know, but what we all take for granted. God bought us for a PRICE. WE WERE NOT FREE! We were God’s at the beginning, then Adam sinned… making room for more sin and more sin, and sin, and sin… With that one bite we were born forever more with Sin. And with that sin we kept sinning. Then this amazing thing happened. A savior was born. He was born without sin, for he was conceived by a virgin, meaning God the father, and he later died a horrible death on the cross. Then rose again.
We were separated from God; a huge abyss was opened between us and God because of sin. So he paid the ultimate price, he had to watch his son get tortured and nailed. He had to watch his son die a very painful death. And what did he gain for it? US! He was able to use that cross. He made it a bridge to the other side of the abyss and we were once again brought back into God’s loving arms.
Now that’s the main stream of this podcast, however I do want to look at some other things about the body belonging to God.
The first thing I wish to look at is in Matthew 22:21
They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.
Now, this verse was the response by Jesus to a trap the pharasies were trying to get Jesus to fall for. They were asking Jesus if it was right to pay for taxes. Now, Jesus went on to say, why are you trying to trap me? Show me a coin used to pay taxes. He then said Give to Caesar’s what is Caesar’s, give to God was is God’s. So he is saying give what rightfully belongs to the government, to the government. But, give what belongs to God to God. So, we learned in 1 corinthians 6:20 that God bought us with a price. That means we are his. Our bodies, minds, spirits.. They all belong to God, who bought us. So, we must give what belongs to him (ourself) to him.
Now, the next thing I want to look at, is what Christ gave to us. He gave us HIS body. Luke 22: 19… This verse took place when Jesus was breaking the bread at the last supper. He said:
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake [it], and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
He was talking about how his Body is the ticket to freedom from Sin. He gave his body, his life, to you. You can get into heaven because of his sacrifice. Therefore, if he gave us HIS BODY, we should, even if the bible didn’t say, give him our body. He gave us everything, God gave us everything… Then, shouldn’t we give him everything. Starting with our Body.
Lastly, I just would like to touch on the Holy Spirit. It makes it’s home in you. Your body is the place the Holy Spirit calls home. It lives in you, grows in you. It is your job to keep a clean house, so the Holy Spirit can live in a clean house. Matthews 5:8 says:
Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
This is tell us to be pure. It does say the pure in heart, but this really means pure from the world. You see, you know that feeling deep down, when you are about to do something bad, that feeling (or the voice in your head) is your heart telling you.. NOOOO DON’T DO THAT!!! That could also be the Holy Spirit talking to you. Now, when I say pure of the world, I am talking about all the worldly sin. My favorite pastor, Ray Stedman talked about the time when the Isrealites crossed the red sea. What he said about this was, now-a-days, the red sea that crashed down after the isrealites were saftely across, represents us separating ourselves from the sins and temptations of the world. I would agree with him on this, and pure of heart is just another example. We must cut off all the sins and temptations of the world. When you were without Christ, the worldly sin was something you did everyday. But now, with Christ, you must cut yourself from that life.
When you accept Christ, you really are creating a new life, a better one. But with that comes a commitment. You are agreeing to live a life as close to Christ’s are possible. That means, all that sin you use to commit must now be gone. You must cut yourself from it. Its hard, I know, and it’s not easy… But it is something we must do.
So lets all work on trying to purify the body. When a guest comes to visit, you don’t leave trash lying around, do you? Well, the Holy Spirit is a lot more than a Guest, you should be rolling out the red carpet. So work on cutting yourself off from the worldly sin and work on cleaning house. Give the Holy Spirit a place to stay that’s 5 starts, not 2.
Lord, Thank you for using our body as a home for the Holy Spirit. We are so close we learn to listen, it grows in us and we do in it. Help us Lord to clean our bodies up to make the spirit a healthy home. We wish to cut ourselves off from the old worldly sin we committed without you, and start a new life with you. Help us to grow in you, to live like you lived.
In your name we pray,
Amen.
This was one of the first Christian lessons I've written this year. Tell me what you think and what aspects I need to strengthen.
Hey everyone, I’m coming at you from Atlanta Georgia right now, I am off college hunting and enjoying spending my time with family for thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a time to bring the family together, I say, and be thankful you have such a loving group of people. They care ultimately for you.
Anyway, that’s another post all in itself. Today or tomorrow, whenever you finally read this and if you even read this, we will be narrowing our study today in 1 Corinthians, specifically 1 Corinthians 6:13-20
In the NKJV this section is titles Glorify God in the Body and Spirit, in the NCV Use your bodies for God’s Glory. I call this section the “move your body for Jesus section”.
So let’s just jump into this, starting right at 1 Corinthians 6:13
Ok,
Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body [is] not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
So what does this verse tell us? Well, let’s break it up: Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats. Now this verse was intended to explain some things to the Corinthians. Basically, when the Corinthians got hungry, they ate, but in that same retrospect, when they craved sex they had sex. Then the verse goes on to say: But God shall destroy both in and them. What this is saying is, they wanted food, so they ate, they wanted sex so they had sex, but both of these will eventually be destroyed or die. Then the verse says; now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
This is saying, the body is not for fornication, or for these immoral things, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.
The lord was made for the body, the two go together. There like the two parts of the wishbone, each piece goes together. The only thing is… this wishbone don’t break. Therefore it is necessary to make your body for Christ, because regardless of how you keep your body, Christ wants to jump in.
Then we move on into verse 14
And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
This verse is saying, God raised up his son, he brought him into heaven next to him. And he will do the same to you when you allow Christ into your body. He saved all of us, let him save you.
Verse 15 says: Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make [them] the members of an harlot? God forbid.
Now I like the paraphrase message version of this verse: it says “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 to a whorehouse, would you? I should hope not.
Now, I really don’t wanna get dragged down with all the sexual sin, that’s for another time. But lets look at the overall message. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ. Or for other words, remember that your bodies are created with the same dignity as the master’s body. Our bodies were made in his image, we should act like him. Don’t turn on the wrong roads, moving towards sin... instead be more like Christ... Live like he would. He made you in his image, now live in his image.
Were going to skip over the next few verses and move to 19: 16-18 is really talking all about the Corinthians sexual sins and dissolving their reasons why they were ok. But I’m looking for more about our bodies being the house of God, and this is exactly what verse 19 says.
The verse states: What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
Now, this says the body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. First thing that sticks out is the world temple. A temple was the place were you would go to worship God, a place without sin. Let me ask you, when you go to Church every Sunday, which person goes. The one that talks about people behind their backs, breaths sin like its air. Or the person that lives for Jesus, sings the songs with PASSION, is nice to everyone, and gives money freely to the church. What this verse is telling us is, our body is the Church, so you should act as you would at Church. Secondly, this verse tells us that the Holy Ghost IS in us. We are the home for the Holy Ghost. This goes with verse 16, saying that the Lord was made for us. He made a Home for the Holy Spirit IN US!
And then we move into the last verse in this section. Verse 20: For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
This verse tells us what we really already know, but what we all take for granted. God bought us for a PRICE. WE WERE NOT FREE! We were God’s at the beginning, then Adam sinned… making room for more sin and more sin, and sin, and sin… With that one bite we were born forever more with Sin. And with that sin we kept sinning. Then this amazing thing happened. A savior was born. He was born without sin, for he was conceived by a virgin, meaning God the father, and he later died a horrible death on the cross. Then rose again.
We were separated from God; a huge abyss was opened between us and God because of sin. So he paid the ultimate price, he had to watch his son get tortured and nailed. He had to watch his son die a very painful death. And what did he gain for it? US! He was able to use that cross. He made it a bridge to the other side of the abyss and we were once again brought back into God’s loving arms.
Now that’s the main stream of this podcast, however I do want to look at some other things about the body belonging to God.
The first thing I wish to look at is in Matthew 22:21
They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.
Now, this verse was the response by Jesus to a trap the pharasies were trying to get Jesus to fall for. They were asking Jesus if it was right to pay for taxes. Now, Jesus went on to say, why are you trying to trap me? Show me a coin used to pay taxes. He then said Give to Caesar’s what is Caesar’s, give to God was is God’s. So he is saying give what rightfully belongs to the government, to the government. But, give what belongs to God to God. So, we learned in 1 corinthians 6:20 that God bought us with a price. That means we are his. Our bodies, minds, spirits.. They all belong to God, who bought us. So, we must give what belongs to him (ourself) to him.
Now, the next thing I want to look at, is what Christ gave to us. He gave us HIS body. Luke 22: 19… This verse took place when Jesus was breaking the bread at the last supper. He said:
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake [it], and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
He was talking about how his Body is the ticket to freedom from Sin. He gave his body, his life, to you. You can get into heaven because of his sacrifice. Therefore, if he gave us HIS BODY, we should, even if the bible didn’t say, give him our body. He gave us everything, God gave us everything… Then, shouldn’t we give him everything. Starting with our Body.
Lastly, I just would like to touch on the Holy Spirit. It makes it’s home in you. Your body is the place the Holy Spirit calls home. It lives in you, grows in you. It is your job to keep a clean house, so the Holy Spirit can live in a clean house. Matthews 5:8 says:
Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
This is tell us to be pure. It does say the pure in heart, but this really means pure from the world. You see, you know that feeling deep down, when you are about to do something bad, that feeling (or the voice in your head) is your heart telling you.. NOOOO DON’T DO THAT!!! That could also be the Holy Spirit talking to you. Now, when I say pure of the world, I am talking about all the worldly sin. My favorite pastor, Ray Stedman talked about the time when the Isrealites crossed the red sea. What he said about this was, now-a-days, the red sea that crashed down after the isrealites were saftely across, represents us separating ourselves from the sins and temptations of the world. I would agree with him on this, and pure of heart is just another example. We must cut off all the sins and temptations of the world. When you were without Christ, the worldly sin was something you did everyday. But now, with Christ, you must cut yourself from that life.
When you accept Christ, you really are creating a new life, a better one. But with that comes a commitment. You are agreeing to live a life as close to Christ’s are possible. That means, all that sin you use to commit must now be gone. You must cut yourself from it. Its hard, I know, and it’s not easy… But it is something we must do.
So lets all work on trying to purify the body. When a guest comes to visit, you don’t leave trash lying around, do you? Well, the Holy Spirit is a lot more than a Guest, you should be rolling out the red carpet. So work on cutting yourself off from the worldly sin and work on cleaning house. Give the Holy Spirit a place to stay that’s 5 starts, not 2.
Lord, Thank you for using our body as a home for the Holy Spirit. We are so close we learn to listen, it grows in us and we do in it. Help us Lord to clean our bodies up to make the spirit a healthy home. We wish to cut ourselves off from the old worldly sin we committed without you, and start a new life with you. Help us to grow in you, to live like you lived.
In your name we pray,
Amen.