This morning is from 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 12 to 20, and that's on page 1148 of the Church Bibles.
1 Corinthians 6, beginning at verse 12.
Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial.
Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.
Food for the stomach, and the stomach for food.
But God will destroy them both.
The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
By his power, God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?
Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute?
Never.
Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body?
For it is said, the two will become one flesh.
But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
Slee from sexual immorality.
All other sins a man commits are outside his body.
But he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,
whom you have received from God?
You are not your own.
You were bought at a price.
Therefore, honour God with your body.
Thanks, Chris.
Well, please keep your Bibles open.
We're going to pray and then look at this section together.
So let's pray together.
Father, we have many gifts from you.
And the Holy Spirit is another wonderful gift that you have given to your church, your people.
And it's for his help we ask right now that we may hear your word.
That we may apply it to our lives.
That you may change us.
And that we may put right in our lives the things that dishonour you.
So that we may live lives that bring honour to you.
So help us now, we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Carigaline Fornication Church.
What would you feel if you read that on the front page of the Carigdown?
Pastor sleeps with prostitute.
What would you think?
Well, that's what was happening to the church in Corinth.
Have a look at the middle of verse 13.
The body is not meant for sexual immorality.
Verse 16.
Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body?
Verse 18.
Flee from sexual immorality.
You see, Corinth as a city was well known for its promiscuous lifestyle.
It was one of the world's leading centres in trade and commerce.
But it had a very liberal view of life.
In fact, the name Corinth became associated with sexual immorality.
And to act like a Corinthian was to commit fornication.
To have sex outside of marriage.
And the problem is, what was well known in city life
was becoming well known in church life.
It was deeply rooted within the life of the church.
Now, what had happened then, although it's many, many years ago,
can still happen today.
A recent survey that I looked at,
which was conducted among the 18 to 35-year-old age group,
showed that 80% say sex before marriage is never wrong.
32% say that one-night stands are never wrong.
While an additional 38% say it's sometimes wrong.
67% of young men and 49% of young women
say viewing porn is an acceptable way to express one's sexuality.
And the reason for this attitude is individual choice,
personal conscience, and our consumer culture.
We live in an anything-goes society.
But it's not just outside the church.
It's also inside the church.
Another survey, which was conducted in the UK,
but I think it still applies to the Irish theme,
showed that 50% of Christian men
and 25% of Christian women
are addicted to porn.
In a church of 100,
that breaks down to one out of every three.
Another showed that 31% of Christians
had sexual partners before marriage.
But it's not just the young and the unmarried.
Increasingly, pastors are counselling marriages
that have broken down because of an affair.
We too, it seems,
are driven by our individual choice,
our personal conscience,
and our consumer culture.
And as we look at all of this,
we must be clear as well to say
that sex is not wrong.
It is a beautiful and it's a wonderful gift from God.
But only in the context of a marriage relationship
between one man and one woman.
And anything outside of that
damages our lives
and distorts our relationships.
For the church in Corinth back in the first century
and the church today,
it seems that everything is permissible.
Have a look at verse 12 of our reading.
The church cried out,
everything is permissible for me.
But not everything is beneficial.
The church cried,
everything is permissible for me.
But I will not be mastered
by anything.
It seems they had accepted this liberal approach
to sex in the church.
We can do what we're like.
We're free people.
We're saved by God's grace.
We're no longer under law and under rules.
I've been accepted by Christ.
Sure, it's no big deal if I sleep with my girlfriend.
God will forgive me.
And what harm is there
if I do watch a little bit of porn?
God doesn't really hold those things against us.
We're free in Christ.
We can do what we like.
But this is a complete distortion
of God's amazing grace towards us.
Have a look back at verse 11,
which we looked at last week.
Chapter 6, verse 11.
And that is what some of you were.
In other words,
this is the way you used to live.
But now that you've come to Christ,
your life has changed.
You were washed.
Your sin has been dealt with.
All your guilt and shame
has been cleaned away.
You were sanctified.
You've now been set apart
to live in God's way.
You are justified.
That means you are now treated
as God's own son.
Loved and treasured by him.
All in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and by the Spirit of our God.
Yes, this was the kind of behaviour
you used to live in.
But now you've been made holy.
You've been set apart for God.
So everything is not beneficial
within the Christian life.
In fact, this freedom was twisted
to separate the physical
from the spiritual.
Look at verse 13.
Food for the stomach
and the stomach for food.
It's a strange saying, isn't it?
Well, in Greek culture,
the physical was disconnected
from the spiritual.
So what you did with your physical body
had no effect, they said,
on your spiritual life.
Just as eating what you want
is not wrong,
so having sex with who you want
is not wrong.
Food for the stomach
and stomach for the food.
Or to turn it around in another way,
sex for the body
and body for sex.
It's just a physical function.
What's the harm?
Well, we mightn't take
such an extreme view,
but I think those attitudes
are still there.
We separate the physical
from the spiritual.
Oh yes, having an affair is wrong.
I'd never do anything like that.
But watching a little bit of porn
is not going to harm my marriage,
is it?
Having multiple partners
is not right.
I'd never do anything like that.
But sleeping with the same person
before marriage,
so long as I'm committed to them,
that's okay.
Or having a one-night stand.
I mean, it's not such a big issue,
is it really?
As long as it didn't mean anything.
No, we cannot separate
the physical from the spiritual.
These things do matter.
What we do with our physical body
has a profound effect
on our spiritual life.
Verse 13, the end of verse 13.
The body is not meant
for sexual immorality,
but for the Lord.
And the Lord for the body.
You see, our physical bodies
that we have,
they do not belong to us
to do with whatever we like.
They belong to the Lord.
He created us.
He made us.
And we are here to serve Him
and to honour Him.
We're going to look at three things
that show us
that what we do with our bodies
really matters.
And before we look at them,
I need to just point out
that the three titles
that I have here
are not original.
I've stolen them.
I couldn't make them
any better myself.
So there we are.
Here's the first one.
The Christian body
is raised
by God the Father.
So the reason why
our bodies matter
are first,
the Christian body
is raised
by God the Father.
So look at verse 14.
By His power,
God raised the Lord
from the dead
and He will raise us also.
You see,
when Jesus was raised
from the dead,
He was raised
with a physical body.
He actually goes on
to talk about
all of this
in chapter 15.
Have a look with me
if you just go forward
to chapter 15
in 1 Corinthians.
Chapter 15, verse 3.
And in that whole chapter
He talks about
the resurrection.
Chapter 15, verse 3.
We see here
that Christ was raised
with a physical body.
Verse 3.
So what I received
I passed on to you
as of first importance.
That 1.
Christ died
for our sins
according to the scriptures.
That 2.
He was buried.
3.
He was raised
on the third day
according to the scriptures.
And 4.
That He appeared
to Peter.
And then He appeared
to the twelve.
And after that
He appeared
to more than 500
of the brothers
at the same time
most of whom
are still living.
You see,
Jesus,
when He rose again
from the grave,
He wasn't a ghost.
He wasn't just
a floating soul
moving around the place.
Jesus was a risen,
living person
with a physical body
that would never
decay or die again.
And what God
has done for Jesus,
God will do
for those
who love Him.
So have a look
at chapter 15
verse 42.
See what it says there?
Chapter 15
verse 42.
So will it be
with the resurrection
of the dead.
The body that is
sown perishable,
well, it will be raised
imperishable.
It's sown in dishonour.
But it's raised
in glory.
It's sown in weakness.
It's raised in power.
It's sown a natural body.
It is raised
a spiritual body.
You see,
for God,
our resurrection life
isn't just physical,
isn't just spiritual,
it's physical.
One day the Lord
is going to return again
and He's going to establish
a new heavens
and a new earth
and this broken,
decaying,
disease-ridden world
is all going to be
put right
and we will be raised
with physical,
brand new bodies
so that we can
enjoy it.
Look at verse 51
of the same chapter.
Listen, I tell you a mystery.
We will not all sleep
but we will be
changed
in a flash,
in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound,
the dead will be raised
imperishable
and we will be
changed.
We are going to have
brand new bodies.
Now,
if all of that is true,
it has a profound impact
on how we live our life
today.
So look in the same chapter,
verse 58.
The conclusion
of the truth
of the resurrection
and our physical bodies.
Look what it says
in verse 58.
Therefore,
because of that truth,
my dear brothers and sisters,
stand firm,
let nothing move you,
always give yourselves
fully
to the work of the Lord
because you know
that your labour
in the Lord
is not
in vain.
Do you see the connection?
Because our bodies
are going to be raised,
we are now
to use our bodies
to serve the Lord
well today.
Why are we saying
all of this?
Well,
because sexual immorality
actually hinders
our service
for God.
If we behave
in ways we shouldn't do,
it affects
how we serve
the Lord.
Listen to this
very provocative quote
from John Piper
and it's directed
particularly
at the younger men,
to all men.
Here's what he says.
A young man
hears a challenging
call
to throw himself
into the cause
of world evangelisation
or intermission.
He feels the promptings
of the Holy Spirit.
He tastes
the thrill
of following
Jesus,
the King of Kings,
into battle.
But he does not
obey
because he is
viewing porn,
masturbating
or sleeping around.
He feels
guilty.
He can hardly
imagine witnessing
to a pretty girl
about the eternal
plight of her soul
because he is
so habitually
looked at a girl's
naked image
in his imagination.
So he feels
unworthy
and unable
to obey
the call
of God.
Do you see
what he's saying?
What we do
with our bodies
matter
because
what we do
affects whether
we serve the Lord
as we ought to
or not.
Remember,
we are raised
with a physical body.
We will be raised
a glorious body
in God's new
and perfect world.
So start living
that life
now
with the body
that God
has given to you.
Second,
the Christian body
has been united
with God's Son.
So look at
verse 15.
Back in
1 Corinthians
chapter 6.
verse 15.
Do you not
know that your
bodies are
members of
Christ himself?
If we're
Christians,
we have been
united to
Christ.
We are in
Christ and
Christ is in
us.
We're bound
together as
one.
That's why
the church
is called
the body
of Christ.
Together,
as God's
people,
we represent
Christ.
The gathered
people are
God's very
presence here
on earth.
So that means
what I do
with my body
reflects who
Christ is
to the world.
We are the
body of Christ
on earth.
So the question
is asked in
the rest of
verse 15.
Shall I then
take the
members of
Christ and
unite them
with a
prostitute?
Never.
do you
not know
that he
who unites
himself with
a prostitute
is one
with her
in body?
Could you
imagine a
husband who's
been away
on a trip?
He comes
back to his
wife after
the weekend
away and
she discovers
that, well,
he's been
sleeping with
another woman.
Wondering what
all the fuss
is about,
he turns
round to
his wife
and he
says,
it didn't
mean anything.
It's not
like I
knew her
or anything.
How do
you think
that would
make her
feel?
Oh,
that's okay
dear,
as long
as it
didn't
mean
anything,
that's
all right.
No,
that's not
how she
feels.
She feels
hurt and
betrayed.
It doesn't
mean anything.
Of course
it means
something.
It means
you have
become,
look at
the rest
of verse
16,
he says
the two
will become
one flesh.
Now,
can you see
the connection
here?
He's saying
how can we
use our
bodies for
sexually
immoral
behaviour
and say
it doesn't
mean anything
spiritually?
Of course
it means
something.
it means
we are
uniting
Christ
to our
behaviour.
We're
including
Christ
in what
we do.
What I
do is
I'm
bringing
Christ
into it.
Remember,
we represent
Christ,
we're united
to Christ,
we are
Christ's
presence
here on
earth.
So how
we behave
is how
Christ is
being
portrayed.
Verse
17,
but he
who unites
himself
with the
Lord
is one
with him
in spirit.
How can
we pretend
to be
united to
Christ
if in
fact we
are uniting
ourselves to
other things
and to
other people?
What we
do with
our body
matters.
it declares
to those
around us
who we
are united
to.
So our
bodies
matter
because the
Christian
body is
raised by
God.
It matters
because we
are united
with God's
Son.
And third,
the Christian
body is
occupied
by God's
Spirit.
Have a look
at verse
19.
Do you
not know
that your
body,
your physical
body,
is a
temple of
the Holy
Spirit who
is in
you,
whom you've
received from
God?
It's an
amazing
statement.
The Old
Testament
temple that
we read
about in
the Old
Testament was
the central
and focal
point of
the city.
God
was the
place where
God came
to dwell
with his
people.
Of course,
we know that
the temple
could never
contain God.
It was
simply a
way of
God to
show his
desire to
be with
his people.
So in
a sense,
God was
saying,
I'm moving
in with
you.
I want
to be
with you.
And all
of that
imagery
was a
picture of
God moving
into our
physical
bodies by
his
spirit.
So verse
19,
do you
not know
that your
body is
a temple
of the
Holy Spirit
who is
in you?
God has
made our
physical
bodies his
home address.
If we are
Christians,
God is
saying,
I live
in you.
Now again,
this has a
profound effect
on how we
view our
physical
bodies.
You see,
the Spirit,
the Holy
Spirit,
is not
just a
tenant that
we can
kick out
when we
like.
He didn't
just kind
of arrive
in and we
go,
sorry,
don't want
you anymore
and boot
him out
again.
He's not
a tenant.
He's our
new landlord
who's moved
into our
lives.
He now
decides what
is right
and best
for us
and how
we should
live our
life.
In fact,
like a
good landlord,
the Holy
Spirit checks
every single
room in
our lives
convicting
us of
our sin
but also
cleaning us
of our
sin.
So that
means
he's with
you in
the TV
room.
He is
with you
when you
search the
internet.
He is
with you
when you
go to the
bedroom.
the Spirit
of God
is in
us
urging
us
to live
pure
and holy
lives
and enabling
us to
live
holy
lives.
Look at
the rest
of verse
19.
You are
not your
own.
You were
brought at
a price.
Look at
the value
of your
life.
God gave
his life
for you.
he died
on the
cross for
you.
He's
rescued
you.
He's
freed
you from
a life
of sexual
immorality
which only
enslaves
us and
breaks
us and
destroys
us.
And now
he's
taken
ownership
of our
lives
so that
we might
live a
guilt-free
life,
rid of
shame,
rid of
our sin,
that we
might serve
God.
Look at
the end
of verse
20.
Therefore,
honour
God
with
your
body.
If we're
Christians,
our bodies
have been
redeemed
by God
and now
they are
occupied
by God's
Holy Spirit
so let us
use them
to do
good so
that we
might reflect
the beauty
of Christ
and the
purity of
Christ
to the
world
around us.
So how
we use
our bodies
really
matters.
But what
does all
of this
mean in
practice
for us?
Well,
look at
verse 18.
What does
he say?
Flee
from
sexual
immorality.
Run
away
from it.
Don't
get caught
up in
it.
Use
your
physical
bodies
to
actually
move
away
from
it.
All
other
sins
a man
commits
are
outside
his
body.
But he
who sins
sexually
sins
against
his
own
body.
You
see,
as we've
been looking
at through
Corinthians,
all sin
is serious.
But
sexual
sin
ruins
us
in a
way
that
all other
sins
do not.
You
see,
sexual
sin
damages
us
physically.
STDs,
which
in turn
can affect
the
chances
of
pregnancy.
Sexual
sin
breaks
us
emotionally.
The
feeling
of being
used
and abused,
reduced
as an
object
for
somebody
else's
pleasure.
Sexual
sin
destroys
us
relationally,
breaks
up marriages,
creates a
fear of
commitment,
reduces the
loss of
trust.
And
sexual
sin
wrecks us
spiritually,
no longer
walking forward
in service,
instead we're
hiding under
a cloud of
guilt and
shame.
So that's
why he says
in verse
18,
flee from
sexual
immorality,
run away
from it,
put in
place
everything
physically
you need
to do
so that
you live
a pure
life.
Don't go
where temptation
will take
you.
Don't
watch
what will
control
you.
And don't
touch
what you
cannot
stop.
But it's
not just
enough to
flee from
sexual
immorality.
We must
also run
to Christ
and his
cross.
You see,
whatever our
past is,
whatever our
sexual sin
may be,
and let's
be honest,
we all
fail and
fall in
this area,
every single
one of us.
So whatever
our hurts
and our
pains may
be from
the past
and that we
carry into
our lives
today,
run to
Christ and
his cross
because only
Christ
can forgive
you.
And only
Christ
can heal
you.
Remember
what we
read in
chapter 1
verse 18?
The message
of the cross
is foolishness
to those
who are
perishing.
So for
those who
want to
live a
sexually
immoral
life,
they'll
look at
Christ and
the cross
and they'll
say,
how stupid,
how ridiculous.
How
are
saved?
But to
those who
are being
saved,
the cross
is the
power of
God.
So run
to the
cross
because
Christ
takes our
past life
and he
gives us
a brand
new life.
Christ
takes the
consequences
of our
sin and
he fills
our life
with the
Holy Spirit.
He takes
away the
momentary
pleasures
and he
replaces it
with everlasting
joy.
He takes
away our
guilt and
our shame
and he
gives us
gifts
so that we
might serve.
Run to
Christ and
his cross
because there
we are
washed
like
stepping into
a shower
and all
the dirt
being washed
away so
Christ
washes us
deep inside
purifying us
from all
our guilt
and shame
and all
the mess
that is
there
purifying
us so
that we
can be a
clean and
holy people
so that we
can honour
God
with our
bodies.
Our
bodies are
not our
own.
They were
bought at
a price.
Therefore,
honour God
with your
body.
Let's pray.
our
Father God,
we're
conscious
that as
we read
your word
and as
we listen
to it,
we realise
that we
are all,
every
single one
of us,
we have
all,
we are
all impure.
We've
all done
things,
we've all
watched
things,
said
things
that are
not honourable
to you.
and so
we come
to you
afresh,
Father God,
and pray
that cleansing
forgiveness
in our
lives.
Help us
that we
may see
that our
bodies have
been made
by you,
created by
you,
created
for a
wonderful
purpose,
a purpose
to honour
you and
serve you.
thank you
that one
day our
bodies will
be raised
to be
brand new
when we
will live
with you
in your
new heaven
and new
earth.
Thank you
that today
through
faith in
Jesus we
are united
to Christ,
belonging
to him.
And thank
you that
you have
not abandoned
us but
that you
live in
us by
your Holy
Spirit.
it.
We pray
Father God
that all
of us
and you
would enable
each one
of us to
live lives
that reflect
the purity
of Christ
and the
love of
Christ to
those around
us.
We pray
this in
Jesus name.
Amen.
We're going
to sing
together
a song
which helps
us to
reflect on
what we've
just been
looking at
and a
song that
will prepare
us as
we come
to share
the
love of
Christ.
Amen.