WEBVTT 00:00:00.500 --> 00:00:06.620 Throughout history, humanity has had a love-hate relationship with their own bodies. 00:00:07.320 --> 00:00:13.120 On the one hand, what we might call ascetics, they renounce and punish their own bodies 00:00:13.120 --> 00:00:16.480 for the sake of spiritual gain, what they consider to be spiritual gain, 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:20.559 whether it's through self-flagellation, whipping their own bodies, 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:23.460 or self-imposed poverty and begging. 00:00:23.460 --> 00:00:29.560 On the other hand, the hedonists, they embrace and indulge their bodies 00:00:29.560 --> 00:00:32.820 as if it had no effect on their spirituality. 00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:35.719 Whether it's through gluttony or sexual immorality, 00:00:35.820 --> 00:00:37.740 they think that they could do whatever they want to their bodies, 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:40.880 but it wouldn't have any effect on their spirituality. 00:00:41.700 --> 00:00:44.820 And both views are well-attested in the history of religion, 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:47.460 and they share a common error. They have the same error. 00:00:47.900 --> 00:00:51.240 And that's that they both discount the importance of the body 00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:56.660 and view it as something that's unnecessary and extraneous for their spirituality. 00:00:57.620 --> 00:01:00.300 The ascetics believe that the body needs to be subdued 00:01:00.300 --> 00:01:02.359 and overcome for the sake of spirituality, 00:01:02.660 --> 00:01:06.780 while the hedonists believe that the body can be indulged to whatever they want 00:01:06.780 --> 00:01:09.020 and it wouldn't have any effect on the spirituality. 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:11.719 Scripture, however, the Christian scriptures, 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:13.939 does not discount the importance of the body. 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:17.859 Rather, it teaches that we ought to glorify God in our bodies 00:01:17.859 --> 00:01:22.420 because our bodies have been united with Christ in his death and resurrection. 00:01:22.659 --> 00:01:23.980 That's the main point of this passage. 00:01:24.859 --> 00:01:29.840 And at first, I'll talk about how our bodies will be raised by God in verses 12 to 14. 00:01:30.359 --> 00:01:34.539 And then I'll talk about how our bodies are members of Christ in verses 15 to 18. 00:01:34.900 --> 00:01:39.939 And then finally about how our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit in verses 19 to 20. 00:01:39.939 --> 00:01:43.280 There's a Trinitarian outline here that Paul gives us. 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:47.480 So the Corinthians were actually guilty of both errors, 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:49.439 both the ascetic error and the hedonist error, 00:01:49.480 --> 00:01:51.239 and you'll see both of that as we go through the book. 00:01:51.620 --> 00:01:55.579 But here, Paul's concern particularly is with their hedonistic error 00:01:55.579 --> 00:01:58.579 because they were indulging in sexual immorality, 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:02.680 thinking that it wouldn't affect their spirituality and their standing with God in any way. 00:02:03.319 --> 00:02:08.060 So some of the men were blatantly hiring prostitutes and sleeping with them 00:02:08.060 --> 00:02:12.680 and then rationalizing it afterward using certain slogans that we see here in verse 12. 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:13.420 It says, 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:18.860 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful, says Paul. 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:23.539 All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything. 00:02:23.960 --> 00:02:25.740 The clause in quotation marks, 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:27.180 the all things are lawful for me. 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:29.400 That's the slogan that the Corinthian believers, 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:33.300 some of them were using to rationalize their immorality. 00:02:33.300 --> 00:02:37.360 And they were taking really the spiritual freedom that they have in Christ, 00:02:37.460 --> 00:02:38.800 which Paul teaches elsewhere, 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:41.939 and then to use that twist that it distorted to say 00:02:41.939 --> 00:02:44.500 that all things are permissible and lawful for them. 00:02:44.820 --> 00:02:47.660 I mentioned this a couple weeks ago, 00:02:47.760 --> 00:02:49.200 that that's kind of what they were doing. 00:02:49.740 --> 00:02:51.320 And it's true that while Christians, 00:02:51.420 --> 00:02:53.600 because we have been freed from the law, 00:02:53.660 --> 00:02:57.020 we're not under the law anymore because Christ fulfilled the law on our behalf. 00:02:57.020 --> 00:03:01.980 So we are not legally bound to it in a sense that we're going to be punished according to the law. 00:03:01.979 --> 00:03:06.519 However, that doesn't mean that what the Corinthians are trying to make it mean, 00:03:06.579 --> 00:03:09.739 was that all things are lawful for me and you can live however you wish. 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:13.099 And so Paul sharply qualifies their slogan in verse 12 00:03:13.099 --> 00:03:16.599 by adding his own kind of qualifications to the saying, 00:03:16.679 --> 00:03:17.659 all things are lawful for me. 00:03:18.039 --> 00:03:18.780 He says first, 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:23.399 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. 00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:28.719 Sure, you might have the right or authority to do such things, 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:32.699 but that does not mean that such things are helpful or beneficial. 00:03:33.419 --> 00:03:37.419 So for Paul, it's not merely a question of what can we do, 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:40.419 but it's a question of what should we do as Christians. 00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:43.060 This issue comes up again in chapter 10, 00:03:43.219 --> 00:03:45.900 and apparently some of the Corinthian believers were eating food 00:03:45.900 --> 00:03:48.280 that had previously been sacrificed to idols. 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:51.219 And that in and of itself is not a problem 00:03:51.219 --> 00:03:55.120 because it's just good steak that Paul knows 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:56.680 that Christians have the freedom to enjoy. 00:03:56.680 --> 00:03:59.560 That's okay with him, but it's a problem 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:02.920 because Paul is saying that for the sake of Christian brothers and sisters 00:04:02.920 --> 00:04:04.740 who have weaker consciences, 00:04:04.900 --> 00:04:09.560 who do not think that eating meat that had previously been sacrificed to idols is okay, 00:04:10.200 --> 00:04:12.599 that Paul says we should abstain from such things. 00:04:12.819 --> 00:04:15.240 And in that context, in chapter 10, verse 23, 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:16.920 Paul says a very similar thing. 00:04:17.300 --> 00:04:20.439 All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. 00:04:20.860 --> 00:04:24.379 All things are lawful, but not all things build up. 00:04:24.379 --> 00:04:30.459 So that explains really what he means by not all things are helpful. 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:32.100 It doesn't build up. 00:04:32.360 --> 00:04:33.920 It doesn't build up the church. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:35.699 It doesn't build us up as believers. 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:39.120 Because the Christian life is not about our rights, 00:04:39.659 --> 00:04:43.079 but about the things that benefit and build up the church. 00:04:43.540 --> 00:04:45.920 Our decision-making process, then in all that we do, 00:04:45.980 --> 00:04:47.019 all that we're thinking about, 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:50.819 it shouldn't ever be purely self-focused, self-centered, 00:04:50.819 --> 00:04:55.459 but it should be oriented toward glorifying God and edifying the church, 00:04:55.579 --> 00:04:56.360 building up the church. 00:04:57.319 --> 00:04:59.019 That's Paul's first qualification. 00:04:59.180 --> 00:05:01.959 The proper Christian attitude is not one of entitlement, 00:05:02.339 --> 00:05:03.639 but of selfless service. 00:05:04.259 --> 00:05:08.199 We should ask ourselves not merely whether or not we have the right to do something, 00:05:08.579 --> 00:05:10.079 or permitted to do something, 00:05:10.180 --> 00:05:14.500 but whether or not what we're about to do is helpful and edifying. 00:05:15.240 --> 00:05:17.159 And Martin Luther, the reformer, 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:20.700 once wrote in his famous treaty on the freedom of a Christian, 00:05:21.260 --> 00:05:21.480 quote, 00:05:21.920 --> 00:05:25.260 A Christian is a perfectly free Lord of all, 00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:26.939 subject to none. 00:05:27.900 --> 00:05:31.740 A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, 00:05:32.460 --> 00:05:33.500 subject to all. 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:36.220 Yes, we have freedom in Christ, 00:05:36.340 --> 00:05:37.300 but with that freedom, 00:05:37.440 --> 00:05:40.100 we don't use it to abuse our own rights, 00:05:40.300 --> 00:05:41.640 but to serve others, 00:05:42.020 --> 00:05:43.720 to build up others in Christ's name. 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:47.520 And most of us probably do not go to the same extreme 00:05:47.520 --> 00:05:49.500 that Corinthian believers were going 00:05:49.500 --> 00:05:51.720 in justifying fornication and prostitution 00:05:51.720 --> 00:05:53.280 with the pretext of Christian freedom. 00:05:53.540 --> 00:05:57.320 But this still remains a helpful principle for us 00:05:57.320 --> 00:05:59.600 because it has a very wide-ranging application. 00:06:00.200 --> 00:06:01.200 So think about it for a second, 00:06:01.340 --> 00:06:03.560 and I'm not giving you guys any conclusions at this point, 00:06:03.640 --> 00:06:04.700 but ask yourselves, 00:06:05.200 --> 00:06:05.860 yes, right, 00:06:05.940 --> 00:06:08.860 it is lawful for us to smoke cigars. 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:10.160 It is. 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:14.560 Yes, it is lawful for us to binge-watch TV shows on Netflix. 00:06:15.380 --> 00:06:16.700 It's lawful for us to do that. 00:06:17.660 --> 00:06:21.060 Yes, it's lawful for us to spend hours every day on video games. 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:26.520 It's lawful for us to drink heavily caffeinated energy drinks every day. 00:06:27.320 --> 00:06:30.160 Yes, it's lawful for us to partake in extreme sports 00:06:30.760 --> 00:06:33.180 that have exceptionally high degree of risk. 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:35.340 It's all lawful to do. 00:06:35.740 --> 00:06:36.800 But let me ask you, 00:06:37.240 --> 00:06:38.220 is it helpful? 00:06:38.220 --> 00:06:43.320 Does it really tend to the glory of God? 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:46.840 Does it really tend to the good of the church? 00:06:48.340 --> 00:06:49.500 Is it good for you? 00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:53.640 I'm not going to answer those questions for you specifically 00:06:53.640 --> 00:06:55.540 because this is a general principle here, 00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:58.440 and I don't want to err by overreaching 00:06:58.440 --> 00:07:01.480 with specific applications that are not warranted by this principle. 00:07:01.860 --> 00:07:03.660 But this principle is clearly here, 00:07:03.780 --> 00:07:06.760 and I think each of us needs to at least wrestle with it, 00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:09.360 asking ourselves, is what I am about to do helpful? 00:07:10.039 --> 00:07:10.839 Is it edifying? 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:14.099 And I want you to do that, to ask that question prayerfully, 00:07:14.159 --> 00:07:16.219 and then do only what your conscience allows. 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:19.939 Because speaking of, right, in Romans 14, 00:07:20.139 --> 00:07:22.939 speaking of whether or not Christians are able to eat foods 00:07:22.939 --> 00:07:24.860 that are ritually unclean, 00:07:24.860 --> 00:07:25.639 he says, 00:07:25.639 --> 00:07:28.360 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus 00:07:28.360 --> 00:07:30.319 that nothing is unclean in itself, 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:33.759 but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 00:07:34.400 --> 00:07:36.420 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, 00:07:36.460 --> 00:07:38.319 you are no longer walking in love. 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:39.740 By what you eat, 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:42.300 do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 00:07:42.860 --> 00:07:44.280 This is a really helpful principle. 00:07:44.279 --> 00:07:48.739 If you're not fully convinced that whatever you're doing is lawful, 00:07:48.939 --> 00:07:50.939 and you do it nonetheless, 00:07:51.619 --> 00:07:54.159 then your action does not proceed from faith, 00:07:54.219 --> 00:07:55.319 and therefore it is sinful. 00:07:55.959 --> 00:07:56.899 Do you guys follow me? 00:07:57.659 --> 00:08:01.219 And now, even if you are fully convinced 00:08:01.219 --> 00:08:03.159 that what you're doing is lawful, 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:05.979 but you deem that it is not helpful 00:08:05.979 --> 00:08:08.419 for building up your brothers and sisters in Christ, 00:08:09.079 --> 00:08:10.119 and you do it anyway, 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:12.959 then your action does not spring from love, 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:14.319 and it is therefore sinful. 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:15.620 Do you follow that? 00:08:17.379 --> 00:08:19.959 This is an extraordinarily high call for the Christian. 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:25.199 It's the Christ-like road of sacrifice and servanthood. 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:28.800 And Paul also provides a second qualification 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:31.560 to the Christian, to the Corinthian slogan. 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:32.000 He says, 00:08:32.539 --> 00:08:34.680 All things are lawful for me, still in verse 12, 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:37.379 but I will not be dominated by anything. 00:08:37.379 --> 00:08:41.059 The word dominated is a word play on the word lawful. 00:08:41.799 --> 00:08:44.320 They look and very sound similar in the Greek. 00:08:44.939 --> 00:08:46.299 And so this is kind of, 00:08:46.379 --> 00:08:49.019 so he's saying that while all things may be permitted to you, 00:08:49.500 --> 00:08:52.480 they are not to be controlled by it, by anything. 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:55.139 And this is really echoing Paul's teaching elsewhere 00:08:55.139 --> 00:08:56.600 in Romans 6, 12 to 16. 00:08:56.700 --> 00:08:56.899 He says, 00:08:56.899 --> 00:09:00.659 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body 00:09:00.659 --> 00:09:02.659 to make you obey its passions. 00:09:03.259 --> 00:09:05.080 Do not present your members to sin 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:07.279 as instruments for unrighteousness, 00:09:07.379 --> 00:09:08.820 but present yourselves to God 00:09:08.820 --> 00:09:11.320 as those who have been brought from death to life, 00:09:11.700 --> 00:09:13.299 and your members to God 00:09:13.299 --> 00:09:14.620 as instruments for righteousness. 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:19.019 For sin will have no dominion over you, 00:09:19.659 --> 00:09:22.039 since you are not under law but under grace. 00:09:22.700 --> 00:09:23.379 What then? 00:09:23.539 --> 00:09:26.580 Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? 00:09:26.580 --> 00:09:31.379 By no means do you not know that if you present yourself to anyone as obedient slaves, 00:09:31.520 --> 00:09:33.920 you are slaves of the one whom you obey, 00:09:34.420 --> 00:09:36.259 either of sin, which leads to death, 00:09:36.400 --> 00:09:39.200 or of obedience, which leads to righteousness. 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:40.060 Right? 00:09:40.400 --> 00:09:43.860 So this is Paul clarifying really his teaching on the freedom of the Christian. 00:09:44.220 --> 00:09:46.680 He's saying that while it is true that those who are in Christ, 00:09:46.680 --> 00:09:49.320 because Christ fulfilled the law perfectly on our behalf, 00:09:49.580 --> 00:09:51.300 are no longer under the law, 00:09:51.560 --> 00:09:54.220 and we're free from the law and its legal demands, 00:09:54.520 --> 00:09:57.460 but this did not mean that they could go on sinning, 00:09:57.580 --> 00:10:01.580 because to do so would mean that we are still dominated by sin, 00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:03.280 under its authority, 00:10:03.640 --> 00:10:04.660 and slaves to sin. 00:10:05.139 --> 00:10:06.219 Christian freedom, right? 00:10:06.319 --> 00:10:07.600 Far from permitting sin, 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:08.939 it's supposed to preclude sin, 00:10:09.079 --> 00:10:11.939 because Christian freedom means servitude to God. 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:13.899 That's what Christian freedom means. 00:10:14.159 --> 00:10:16.439 So it is a contradiction in terms to say, 00:10:16.620 --> 00:10:18.480 oh, I'm spiritual and I have freedom, 00:10:18.919 --> 00:10:20.519 and then to be dominated by sin. 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:25.000 And even if the activity in view is not sinful in and of itself, 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:26.120 even if it is lawful, 00:10:26.199 --> 00:10:28.379 if our appetite for it becomes inordinate, 00:10:28.740 --> 00:10:31.600 and it begins to dominate and control us, 00:10:32.500 --> 00:10:33.980 then we violate this principle. 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:36.879 That we would not be dominated by anything. 00:10:37.620 --> 00:10:38.399 So let me ask you, 00:10:38.439 --> 00:10:39.439 is there a practice, 00:10:40.139 --> 00:10:41.039 or a preference, 00:10:41.699 --> 00:10:45.459 or a substance in your life that dominates you? 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:52.839 If you are unwilling to give it up for the sake of glorifying God, 00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:55.339 and for the sake of edifying the church, 00:10:55.559 --> 00:10:58.759 or if you are willing but unable to do so, 00:10:59.159 --> 00:11:01.759 those are sure indicators that your appetite for this thing 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:04.899 has grown inordinately to idolatrous proportions. 00:11:06.779 --> 00:11:10.000 And when it comes to conquering the desires of the flesh, 00:11:10.100 --> 00:11:11.200 and the desires of the eyes, 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:12.179 and the pride of life, 00:11:12.379 --> 00:11:14.600 we have to be decisive and ruthless, 00:11:15.100 --> 00:11:17.500 and we can do it in the power of the Holy Spirit, 00:11:17.500 --> 00:11:19.639 with the loving accountability of the church. 00:11:19.639 --> 00:11:22.860 And then in verses 13 to 14, 00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:25.460 Paul challenges another one of the Corinthian slogans. 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:27.039 Read with me, 00:11:27.080 --> 00:11:28.000 verses 13 to 14, 00:11:28.100 --> 00:11:29.740 food is meant for the stomach, 00:11:29.879 --> 00:11:30.840 and the stomach for food. 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:33.819 And God will destroy both one and the other. 00:11:34.460 --> 00:11:37.139 The body is not meant for sexual immorality, 00:11:37.240 --> 00:11:38.279 but for the Lord, 00:11:38.679 --> 00:11:40.360 and the Lord for the body. 00:11:40.779 --> 00:11:42.340 And God raised the Lord, 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:45.259 and will also raise us up by His power. 00:11:45.259 --> 00:11:47.039 The saying, 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:52.200 I know we have some real foodies in the house, 00:11:52.259 --> 00:11:53.120 in the church, 00:11:53.220 --> 00:11:54.899 so this might be discouraging to some of you, 00:11:55.019 --> 00:11:57.139 but it's food is meant for the stomach, 00:11:57.279 --> 00:11:58.439 and the stomach for food. 00:11:58.700 --> 00:12:00.439 So this is a saying that dealt with 00:12:00.439 --> 00:12:02.179 the irrelevance of food restrictions, 00:12:02.939 --> 00:12:03.879 and there was no longer, 00:12:04.500 --> 00:12:06.960 well I guess this is good for some of the foodies for now, 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:09.019 is that there is no longer need to fret 00:12:09.019 --> 00:12:10.139 about what you're eating, 00:12:10.299 --> 00:12:12.519 whether some kind of foods are clean or unclean, 00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:13.259 ritually speaking, 00:12:13.259 --> 00:12:14.659 whether it's appropriate for you to eat, 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:15.819 or inappropriate for you to eat it. 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:17.939 And note that Paul doesn't dispute this fact, 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:19.779 he agrees with the Corinthian slogan at this point, 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:21.500 yes, the food is meant for the stomach, 00:12:21.559 --> 00:12:22.379 and the stomach for food. 00:12:23.659 --> 00:12:25.139 But their ultimate fate, 00:12:25.179 --> 00:12:26.899 ultimate fate for both the stomach and food, 00:12:27.019 --> 00:12:29.620 is God will destroy both one and the other. 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:32.179 So food and the stomach 00:12:32.179 --> 00:12:35.860 are intended for our sustenance in this life, 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:36.980 here and now, 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:38.779 and they will not be the means 00:12:38.779 --> 00:12:41.480 of our eternal sustenance in the resurrection life. 00:12:41.480 --> 00:12:44.240 So that they are destined for destruction, 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:45.899 that's what Paul's speaking of here. 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:47.960 And this is similar to what Paul teaches, 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:49.100 Romans 14, 17, 00:12:49.180 --> 00:12:49.279 it says, 00:12:49.379 --> 00:12:50.440 For the kingdom of God 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:52.379 is not a matter of eating and drinking, 00:12:52.820 --> 00:12:55.159 but of righteousness and peace and joy 00:12:55.159 --> 00:12:56.539 in the Holy Spirit. 00:12:56.940 --> 00:12:58.980 It doesn't make sense in light of that 00:12:58.980 --> 00:13:00.460 for us who are destined for heaven 00:13:00.460 --> 00:13:03.600 to be so consumed by our physical appetites, 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:06.340 or to be overly concerned with what we eat or drink, 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:08.060 because these are earthly things 00:13:08.060 --> 00:13:09.000 that will pass away. 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:11.059 Their ultimate destiny is destruction. 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:13.799 The Corinthians were right in this regard. 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:15.620 They understood this correctly, 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:16.740 but that wasn't the problem. 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:18.480 The problem was that the Corinthians 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:20.399 adapted this line of reasoning, 00:13:21.059 --> 00:13:22.980 and they were arguing by analogy 00:13:22.980 --> 00:13:25.460 that the body was meant for sex, 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:27.940 or sexual immorality in this case, 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:29.200 and sex for the body. 00:13:29.860 --> 00:13:30.940 So our bodily organs, 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:32.539 this is kind of how they were thinking and reasoning, 00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:33.440 our bodily organs, 00:13:33.559 --> 00:13:34.240 our brains, 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:35.679 our bodily chemicals, 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:37.339 all of these things worked together 00:13:37.339 --> 00:13:38.659 to make sex pleasurable. 00:13:39.179 --> 00:13:39.799 So clearly, 00:13:40.059 --> 00:13:41.439 the body was meant for sex. 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:42.819 It was designed for sex, 00:13:42.859 --> 00:13:43.739 and the sex for the body. 00:13:44.259 --> 00:13:45.559 So what harm is there 00:13:45.559 --> 00:13:46.159 in doing, 00:13:46.379 --> 00:13:46.919 in fulfilling, 00:13:47.099 --> 00:13:49.979 in indulging this basic biological desire? 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:51.779 That was the Corinthian reasoning. 00:13:51.879 --> 00:13:52.559 That's their rationale. 00:13:53.219 --> 00:13:55.179 So they're justifying sexual immorality 00:13:55.179 --> 00:13:55.759 by saying that, 00:13:55.819 --> 00:13:56.759 well, just like the stomach, 00:13:56.939 --> 00:13:58.399 and just like food, 00:13:58.620 --> 00:13:59.379 they all pass away. 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:00.620 Same thing with our bodies. 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:01.599 They will all pass away. 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:04.019 So why not indulge in sexual immorality 00:14:04.019 --> 00:14:04.980 while we still can, 00:14:05.259 --> 00:14:06.279 and we still have our bodies? 00:14:07.340 --> 00:14:10.080 But Paul exposes the critical flaw in their logic 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:11.700 by formulating a counterpoint 00:14:11.700 --> 00:14:13.860 in exactly the same parallel format 00:14:13.860 --> 00:14:15.560 to the Corinthian argument. 00:14:15.899 --> 00:14:17.080 Verses 13 to 14, 00:14:17.159 --> 00:14:18.159 look at it with me one more time. 00:14:18.940 --> 00:14:21.420 The body is not meant for sexual immorality, 00:14:21.560 --> 00:14:22.580 but for the Lord, 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:24.580 and the Lord for the body. 00:14:25.019 --> 00:14:26.460 And God raised the Lord 00:14:26.460 --> 00:14:29.220 and will also raise us up by His power. 00:14:29.220 --> 00:14:31.980 While it is true that food is for the stomach 00:14:31.980 --> 00:14:32.899 and stomach is for food, 00:14:33.160 --> 00:14:34.500 it does not follow from this 00:14:34.500 --> 00:14:36.360 that the body is meant for sexual immorality 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:37.920 and the sexual immorality for the body. 00:14:38.420 --> 00:14:39.460 Instead, Paul argues, 00:14:39.580 --> 00:14:41.320 the body is meant for the Lord 00:14:41.320 --> 00:14:43.160 and the Lord for the body 00:14:43.160 --> 00:14:43.779 because, 00:14:44.180 --> 00:14:45.160 and this is his reasoning, 00:14:45.500 --> 00:14:47.320 the ultimate fate of our bodies 00:14:47.320 --> 00:14:48.720 is not destruction, 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:50.279 but resurrection. 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:52.120 You guys follow that? 00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:54.920 This is the reason that Paul gives in verse 14. 00:14:54.919 --> 00:14:56.759 God raised the Lord 00:14:56.759 --> 00:15:00.979 and will also raise us up by His power. 00:15:01.479 --> 00:15:02.399 That's Paul's logic. 00:15:02.740 --> 00:15:04.419 The Corinthian believers are wrong 00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:05.579 to assume that our bodies, 00:15:05.719 --> 00:15:07.059 like our stomach for food, 00:15:07.099 --> 00:15:08.439 will be destroyed with death. 00:15:08.979 --> 00:15:10.879 They believed in the redemption of their souls, 00:15:10.979 --> 00:15:12.719 but not the redemption of their bodies. 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:14.360 And they were wrong. 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:16.779 And Greek philosophy, 00:15:17.240 --> 00:15:19.839 along with all the other really major religions, 00:15:19.959 --> 00:15:20.860 extant at this time 00:15:20.860 --> 00:15:21.899 when the Corinthians were written, 00:15:21.899 --> 00:15:25.439 taught the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:27.379 You guys have probably heard of it. 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:29.659 A lot of people would believe it nowadays as well. 00:15:30.220 --> 00:15:32.179 And where in the immortality of the soul, 00:15:32.299 --> 00:15:33.100 after death, 00:15:33.220 --> 00:15:35.559 the disembodied soul without the body 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:37.279 will either travel to the afterlife 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:39.379 to be subsumed to this divine being 00:15:39.379 --> 00:15:40.919 or the nature, 00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:41.840 whatever it might be, 00:15:42.319 --> 00:15:45.039 or it will be reincarnated 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:46.679 into a new bodily form. 00:15:46.819 --> 00:15:48.939 That's kind of what immortality of the soul would teach 00:15:48.939 --> 00:15:50.579 because immortality of the soul believes 00:15:50.579 --> 00:15:51.639 that the body is gone. 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:53.080 It's just the soul that's immortal. 00:15:54.220 --> 00:15:56.659 But the Christian doctrine is not that 00:15:56.659 --> 00:15:57.899 because the Bible doesn't teach 00:15:57.899 --> 00:15:59.080 that the soul is eternal 00:15:59.080 --> 00:16:00.399 while the body is temporal. 00:16:00.759 --> 00:16:02.100 Instead, it teaches the doctrine 00:16:02.100 --> 00:16:03.759 of the resurrection of the body. 00:16:04.519 --> 00:16:06.259 This was so radical for its time 00:16:06.259 --> 00:16:07.779 when this was first formulated. 00:16:08.220 --> 00:16:09.519 Their bodies will be raised 00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:10.799 and perfected 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:12.460 at the second coming of Christ 00:16:12.460 --> 00:16:14.779 and we will be made whole again, 00:16:14.899 --> 00:16:16.019 soul and body. 00:16:16.139 --> 00:16:16.919 That's the doctrine, 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:18.059 the Christian doctrine. 00:16:18.539 --> 00:16:20.419 And the final consummation of God's salvation 00:16:20.419 --> 00:16:22.219 is not some heaven up there 00:16:22.219 --> 00:16:23.839 that's separate from earth 00:16:23.839 --> 00:16:25.339 where just our souls dwell, 00:16:25.599 --> 00:16:26.879 but it will be the new heavens 00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:27.979 and a new earth. 00:16:28.579 --> 00:16:29.459 Revelation 21. 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:31.779 The heaven up there for our soul 00:16:31.779 --> 00:16:33.019 is merely a layover. 00:16:33.439 --> 00:16:34.360 The final destination 00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:36.120 is the new heaven and new earth here 00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:38.360 where we in our embodied souls, 00:16:38.439 --> 00:16:40.219 with our bodies raised again 00:16:40.219 --> 00:16:41.139 as Christ was, 00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:43.000 will live in eternity with God. 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:45.399 And this Christian teaching 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:46.740 about the resurrection of the body 00:16:46.740 --> 00:16:48.139 imbues our physical bodies 00:16:48.139 --> 00:16:49.740 with unprecedented dignity 00:16:49.740 --> 00:16:51.120 and significance. 00:16:52.019 --> 00:16:53.220 Because our bodies 00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:54.940 are not some burdensome shells, 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:55.220 right, 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:56.220 that we're just going to shed 00:16:56.220 --> 00:16:58.100 or discard for eternal life. 00:16:58.419 --> 00:16:59.360 No, God the Father 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:01.159 will raise our bodies 00:17:01.159 --> 00:17:02.100 by His power 00:17:02.100 --> 00:17:04.339 just as He raised Christ's body 00:17:04.339 --> 00:17:05.160 by His power. 00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:06.599 For that reason, 00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:08.660 our bodies have eternal significance. 00:17:08.660 --> 00:17:10.920 And it's wrong to indulge 00:17:10.920 --> 00:17:12.200 or abuse our bodies 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:13.779 like it's inconsequential 00:17:13.779 --> 00:17:14.779 because what we do 00:17:14.779 --> 00:17:16.060 with our physical bodies 00:17:16.060 --> 00:17:17.880 have spiritual consequences 00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:19.080 according to what Paul 00:17:19.080 --> 00:17:19.720 is writing here. 00:17:20.340 --> 00:17:21.560 Because the body is meant 00:17:21.560 --> 00:17:22.220 for the Lord 00:17:22.220 --> 00:17:25.100 and the Lord for the body, right? 00:17:25.620 --> 00:17:27.140 Christ died and rose again 00:17:27.140 --> 00:17:29.160 to give us spiritual life 00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:30.060 in here and now 00:17:30.060 --> 00:17:32.700 to guarantee our resurrection life 00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:34.340 in the future to come. 00:17:34.700 --> 00:17:35.980 He gave Himself to ensure 00:17:35.980 --> 00:17:37.200 the resurrection of our bodies 00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:38.620 and that's why the Lord 00:17:38.620 --> 00:17:39.799 is for the body. 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:41.779 He gave Himself for our bodies. 00:17:42.420 --> 00:17:42.940 And likewise, 00:17:43.080 --> 00:17:44.240 because Christians are those 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:44.960 who by faith 00:17:44.960 --> 00:17:46.400 have been united with Christ 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:47.940 in His death and resurrection, 00:17:48.420 --> 00:17:49.420 our bodies are meant 00:17:49.420 --> 00:17:50.360 for the Lord, 00:17:50.740 --> 00:17:52.039 not for ourselves 00:17:52.039 --> 00:17:52.700 or for anyone else. 00:17:52.740 --> 00:17:54.380 Our bodies are consecrated to Him, 00:17:54.740 --> 00:17:55.779 set apart for Him. 00:17:56.180 --> 00:17:57.840 And it's not our prerogative 00:17:57.840 --> 00:17:58.860 to do with it 00:17:58.860 --> 00:17:59.840 whatever we wish. 00:18:00.940 --> 00:18:02.460 This is the first theological reason 00:18:02.460 --> 00:18:03.160 that Paul gives 00:18:03.160 --> 00:18:05.180 for why we ought to glorify God 00:18:05.180 --> 00:18:05.740 in our bodies. 00:18:05.740 --> 00:18:07.359 That our bodies 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:08.980 will be raised by God the Father. 00:18:10.299 --> 00:18:12.059 Then in verses 15 to 17, 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:13.500 Paul elaborates 00:18:13.500 --> 00:18:14.940 on the second theological reason 00:18:14.940 --> 00:18:16.220 why we ought to glorify God 00:18:16.220 --> 00:18:16.759 in our bodies 00:18:16.759 --> 00:18:17.660 and that's this, 00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:18.579 because our bodies 00:18:18.579 --> 00:18:20.000 are members of Christ. 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:20.960 That's my second point. 00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:23.079 That's really an expansion 00:18:23.079 --> 00:18:23.859 of Paul's point 00:18:23.859 --> 00:18:24.579 that he made earlier 00:18:24.579 --> 00:18:25.640 when he says, 00:18:25.740 --> 00:18:26.480 Do you not know 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:27.259 that your bodies 00:18:27.259 --> 00:18:28.539 are members of Christ? 00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:30.019 He writes this in 15, 17. 00:18:30.359 --> 00:18:31.099 Shall I then take 00:18:31.099 --> 00:18:32.220 the members of Christ 00:18:32.220 --> 00:18:33.079 and make the members 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:34.039 of a prostitute? 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:34.960 Never. 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:36.839 Or do you not know 00:18:36.839 --> 00:18:37.899 that he who is joined 00:18:37.899 --> 00:18:38.439 to a prostitute 00:18:38.439 --> 00:18:40.000 becomes one body with her? 00:18:40.419 --> 00:18:41.439 For as it is written, 00:18:41.539 --> 00:18:43.039 the two will become one flesh, 00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:44.319 but he who is joined 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:44.819 to the Lord 00:18:44.819 --> 00:18:46.659 becomes one spirit with him. 00:18:47.539 --> 00:18:48.819 So verse 15 00:18:48.819 --> 00:18:50.319 is Paul's exhortation 00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:50.839 that Christians 00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:51.799 who are members of Christ 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:52.960 should not become 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:54.059 members of a prostitute. 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:55.919 And then verses 16 to 17 00:18:55.919 --> 00:18:57.139 provide the explanation 00:18:57.139 --> 00:18:59.220 for why sexual intercourse 00:18:59.220 --> 00:19:00.740 with a man, 00:19:00.740 --> 00:19:01.480 for a man becomes 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:02.700 a member of a prostitute. 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:04.700 So this is a really 00:19:04.700 --> 00:19:05.380 important teaching. 00:19:05.700 --> 00:19:07.000 And in Ephesians 5, 00:19:07.099 --> 00:19:08.299 22-33, 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:09.359 Paul teaches 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:10.099 the famous passage 00:19:10.099 --> 00:19:10.740 you guys know of 00:19:10.740 --> 00:19:11.779 that the union 00:19:11.779 --> 00:19:12.740 between a husband 00:19:12.740 --> 00:19:13.339 and a wife 00:19:13.339 --> 00:19:15.880 points to the consummation, 00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:16.960 that it points 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:17.440 to the union 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:18.620 with Christ 00:19:18.620 --> 00:19:19.380 of the believers, 00:19:19.859 --> 00:19:20.500 the union between 00:19:20.500 --> 00:19:21.240 Christ and the church. 00:19:21.859 --> 00:19:22.839 And after saying 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:23.859 that in that passage 00:19:23.859 --> 00:19:24.460 in Ephesians 5 00:19:24.460 --> 00:19:25.359 that we are members 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:26.400 of Christ's body, 00:19:27.339 --> 00:19:29.680 Paul cites Genesis 2-24, 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:31.200 which he also cites here 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:32.440 as proof of the same point. 00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:33.660 And he says this, 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:34.340 Therefore a man 00:19:34.340 --> 00:19:35.320 shall leave his father 00:19:35.320 --> 00:19:35.740 and mother 00:19:35.740 --> 00:19:37.100 and hold fast to his wife 00:19:37.100 --> 00:19:38.240 and the two shall 00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:39.759 become one flesh. 00:19:40.200 --> 00:19:41.299 So Paul's teaching 00:19:41.299 --> 00:19:42.500 that that one flesh union 00:19:42.500 --> 00:19:43.580 between husband and wife 00:19:43.580 --> 00:19:45.840 points to the union, 00:19:45.980 --> 00:19:46.480 spiritual union 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:47.060 between Christ 00:19:47.060 --> 00:19:47.580 and the church. 00:19:48.279 --> 00:19:49.259 And it's significant 00:19:49.259 --> 00:19:51.120 that this is a metaphor, 00:19:51.340 --> 00:19:51.620 of course, 00:19:51.820 --> 00:19:53.019 but this is not just 00:19:53.019 --> 00:19:53.600 an analogy. 00:19:54.279 --> 00:19:55.100 It's actually pointing 00:19:55.100 --> 00:19:56.380 to a spiritual reality, 00:19:56.779 --> 00:19:58.100 that church really is 00:19:58.100 --> 00:19:59.100 the body of Christ. 00:19:59.680 --> 00:19:59.980 Matter of fact, 00:19:59.980 --> 00:20:00.320 we're speaking, 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:01.860 but in a real spiritual way. 00:20:02.279 --> 00:20:02.860 And we know this 00:20:02.860 --> 00:20:03.980 because in Ephesians 5, 00:20:04.120 --> 00:20:05.720 Paul consistently uses 00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:07.380 the language of comparison 00:20:07.380 --> 00:20:08.120 and analogy 00:20:08.120 --> 00:20:09.400 to refer to other things. 00:20:09.980 --> 00:20:10.460 So he says, 00:20:10.560 --> 00:20:10.880 for example, 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:12.019 he uses the comparative 00:20:12.019 --> 00:20:12.900 particle as, 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:13.480 when he says, 00:20:13.860 --> 00:20:14.259 Wives, 00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:15.380 submit to your own husbands 00:20:15.380 --> 00:20:16.860 as to the Lord. 00:20:17.380 --> 00:20:18.400 In other words, 00:20:18.600 --> 00:20:19.480 husbands are not 00:20:19.480 --> 00:20:20.560 the lords of their wives, 00:20:21.060 --> 00:20:21.920 but the wives are called 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:22.500 to submit to them 00:20:22.500 --> 00:20:24.519 as to the Lord. 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:26.400 So that's the comparative language. 00:20:26.860 --> 00:20:27.279 It also says, 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:27.859 for the husband 00:20:27.859 --> 00:20:29.160 is the head of the wife, 00:20:29.379 --> 00:20:30.700 even as Christ 00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:31.379 is the head of the church. 00:20:31.460 --> 00:20:31.680 Meaning, 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:33.079 the husband is not 00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:33.899 the head of the wife 00:20:33.899 --> 00:20:35.399 in exactly the same way 00:20:35.399 --> 00:20:36.139 as Christ is the head 00:20:36.139 --> 00:20:36.579 of the church, 00:20:36.700 --> 00:20:37.700 but it's comparable, 00:20:37.879 --> 00:20:38.940 even as, right? 00:20:40.279 --> 00:20:42.139 It's true in an analogous way. 00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:43.139 Similarly, 00:20:43.259 --> 00:20:43.480 it says, 00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:44.779 Now as the church 00:20:44.779 --> 00:20:45.620 submits to Christ, 00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:46.519 so also wives 00:20:46.519 --> 00:20:47.000 should submit 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:47.779 to their husbands. 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:48.539 Husbands, 00:20:48.660 --> 00:20:49.420 love your wives 00:20:49.420 --> 00:20:51.559 as Christ loved the church. 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:52.559 In the same way, 00:20:52.620 --> 00:20:53.299 husbands should love 00:20:53.299 --> 00:20:53.700 their wives 00:20:53.700 --> 00:20:54.960 as their own bodies 00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:56.380 as Christ does the church. 00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:56.980 Meaning, 00:20:57.140 --> 00:20:58.599 the wife is not literally 00:20:58.599 --> 00:20:59.640 the body of the husband, 00:21:00.059 --> 00:21:01.000 but they do form 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:01.880 a one-flesh union, 00:21:02.019 --> 00:21:02.819 but this doesn't mean 00:21:02.819 --> 00:21:03.980 they don't have separate bodies. 00:21:04.539 --> 00:21:04.920 Nevertheless, 00:21:05.240 --> 00:21:06.420 the husband should love her 00:21:06.420 --> 00:21:07.839 as if she were 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:08.940 his own body. 00:21:09.079 --> 00:21:09.200 Right? 00:21:09.220 --> 00:21:09.880 You guys follow me? 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:10.940 It's a comparison. 00:21:11.120 --> 00:21:11.740 It's an analogy. 00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:12.900 So consistently, 00:21:13.059 --> 00:21:13.819 he uses the language 00:21:13.819 --> 00:21:14.240 of analogy 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:15.299 throughout Ephesians 5, 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:16.220 22 to 33. 00:21:17.539 --> 00:21:18.079 But notably, 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:19.960 in verses 30 to 32, 00:21:20.299 --> 00:21:21.140 when he's speaking 00:21:21.140 --> 00:21:22.000 of how the church 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:22.920 is the body of Christ, 00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:24.960 he discards the language 00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:26.259 of analogy and comparison 00:21:26.259 --> 00:21:27.579 and uses the language 00:21:27.579 --> 00:21:29.519 of identity and being. 00:21:29.620 --> 00:21:30.079 He says, 00:21:30.539 --> 00:21:31.940 We are members 00:21:31.940 --> 00:21:33.640 of his body. 00:21:34.099 --> 00:21:34.359 Therefore, 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:35.519 a man shall leave 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:36.319 his father and mother 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:37.319 and hold fast to his wife, 00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:39.160 and the two shall become 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:40.380 one flesh. 00:21:40.380 --> 00:21:42.040 So in the same way, 00:21:42.100 --> 00:21:43.460 the real way husband and wife 00:21:43.460 --> 00:21:44.700 really become one flesh 00:21:44.700 --> 00:21:45.400 in their union, 00:21:45.860 --> 00:21:47.100 the church and Christ 00:21:47.100 --> 00:21:50.020 become one through 00:21:50.020 --> 00:21:50.980 the spiritual union. 00:21:51.320 --> 00:21:52.800 So it's not just an analogy. 00:21:52.920 --> 00:21:53.700 It's a reality, 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:56.400 and that's what kind of 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:57.880 grounds Paul's argument here. 00:21:58.400 --> 00:22:00.200 Unless we think that crudely 00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:01.320 that our union with Christ 00:22:01.320 --> 00:22:02.760 is similar to sexual intercourse 00:22:02.760 --> 00:22:04.040 between a husband and a wife, 00:22:04.380 --> 00:22:06.200 he qualifies it in verse 17. 00:22:06.700 --> 00:22:06.960 He says, 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:08.299 He who is joined to the Lord 00:22:08.299 --> 00:22:10.380 becomes one spirit with him, 00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:10.680 right? 00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:12.120 Which is different from 00:22:12.120 --> 00:22:13.440 the man who sleeps 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:13.900 with the prostitute 00:22:13.900 --> 00:22:15.440 becomes one body with her, 00:22:15.559 --> 00:22:15.779 right? 00:22:15.980 --> 00:22:16.840 So that's different 00:22:16.840 --> 00:22:17.779 because this is speaking 00:22:17.779 --> 00:22:19.340 of a spiritual union, 00:22:19.500 --> 00:22:20.620 but it's not just 00:22:20.620 --> 00:22:22.059 a figure of speech. 00:22:22.120 --> 00:22:22.779 It's real. 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:24.380 It's a real spiritual union 00:22:24.380 --> 00:22:25.180 between Christ 00:22:25.180 --> 00:22:25.779 and the church 00:22:25.779 --> 00:22:26.799 because Christ 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:27.860 didn't just save our souls, 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:28.860 but he saved our bodies. 00:22:29.500 --> 00:22:30.160 And when we 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:31.319 renown our sins then 00:22:31.319 --> 00:22:32.480 and believe in Jesus Christ 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:33.180 for salvation, 00:22:33.640 --> 00:22:34.759 we're united with him, 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:36.980 Christ in his death 00:22:36.980 --> 00:22:37.599 and resurrection. 00:22:38.359 --> 00:22:39.039 And through that, 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:39.539 we are given 00:22:39.539 --> 00:22:40.779 spiritual resurrection life 00:22:40.779 --> 00:22:41.279 in the present 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:42.299 and we'll be given 00:22:42.299 --> 00:22:43.500 physical resurrection life 00:22:43.500 --> 00:22:44.279 in the future. 00:22:44.879 --> 00:22:46.440 And Christ's bodily resurrection 00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:47.640 is the guarantee of that. 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:48.500 He's the first fruits 00:22:48.500 --> 00:22:49.200 of the resurrection. 00:22:50.379 --> 00:22:50.740 So then, 00:22:51.379 --> 00:22:52.460 to take the bodies 00:22:52.460 --> 00:22:53.440 that we have been given 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:54.240 to unite it 00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:55.599 with a prostitute 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:56.740 in sexual immorality, 00:22:57.200 --> 00:22:58.559 to do so is tantamount 00:22:58.559 --> 00:22:59.980 to joining Christ, 00:23:00.700 --> 00:23:01.720 the Holy One, 00:23:01.940 --> 00:23:03.259 the righteous Son of God, 00:23:03.259 --> 00:23:04.759 with a prostitute. 00:23:07.160 --> 00:23:08.579 And just the thought of it 00:23:08.579 --> 00:23:10.119 is so revolting to Paul. 00:23:10.879 --> 00:23:11.839 He exclaims, 00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:12.299 never. 00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:14.740 Absolutely not. 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:16.400 May never be so. 00:23:17.420 --> 00:23:18.240 The two options 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:19.299 are mutually exclusive. 00:23:20.579 --> 00:23:21.099 Of course, 00:23:21.220 --> 00:23:22.079 Paul's not arguing 00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:23.019 that sex in general 00:23:23.019 --> 00:23:24.099 is forbidden, right? 00:23:24.500 --> 00:23:25.500 In the next chapter 00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:26.559 in 1 Corinthians 7, 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:27.680 Paul writes that 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:28.440 in order to avoid 00:23:28.440 --> 00:23:29.099 temptations 00:23:29.099 --> 00:23:30.339 for sexual immorality, 00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:30.980 that the husband 00:23:30.980 --> 00:23:32.160 should give to his wife 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:33.300 her conjugal rights, 00:23:33.660 --> 00:23:34.220 and likewise 00:23:34.220 --> 00:23:35.380 the wife to her husband. 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:36.259 For the wife 00:23:36.259 --> 00:23:37.259 does not have authority 00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:38.140 over her own body, 00:23:38.180 --> 00:23:39.080 but the husband does. 00:23:39.420 --> 00:23:39.840 Likewise, 00:23:40.040 --> 00:23:40.960 the husband does not 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:41.460 have authority 00:23:41.460 --> 00:23:42.380 over his own body, 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:43.320 but the wife does. 00:23:43.660 --> 00:23:44.759 So sexual union 00:23:44.759 --> 00:23:46.279 between husband and wife 00:23:46.279 --> 00:23:47.180 is a good thing 00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:48.600 because that picture 00:23:48.600 --> 00:23:50.019 that is a one-fleshed union 00:23:50.019 --> 00:23:51.700 is a divinely appointed picture 00:23:51.700 --> 00:23:52.519 of Christ's union 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:53.100 with the church. 00:23:53.940 --> 00:23:54.420 However, 00:23:55.380 --> 00:23:56.540 sexual immorality, 00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:57.540 sexual union 00:23:57.540 --> 00:23:58.900 with the prostitute, 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:00.740 profanes the sanctity 00:24:00.740 --> 00:24:01.220 of marriage, 00:24:01.220 --> 00:24:02.120 and it's a flagrant 00:24:02.120 --> 00:24:02.900 contradiction 00:24:02.900 --> 00:24:04.220 and violation 00:24:04.220 --> 00:24:05.140 of our membership 00:24:05.140 --> 00:24:06.620 in the body of Christ. 00:24:07.339 --> 00:24:08.200 For this reason, 00:24:08.299 --> 00:24:09.420 Paul writes in verse 18, 00:24:09.579 --> 00:24:11.720 flee from sexual immorality. 00:24:12.460 --> 00:24:13.440 Every other sin 00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:14.160 a person commits 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:15.500 is outside the body, 00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:17.620 but the sexually immoral person 00:24:17.620 --> 00:24:19.559 sins against his own body. 00:24:20.339 --> 00:24:21.960 And what does Paul mean by that? 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:23.059 Every other sin 00:24:23.059 --> 00:24:23.740 a person commits 00:24:23.740 --> 00:24:24.660 is outside the body. 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:25.960 What about sins like 00:24:25.960 --> 00:24:27.279 gluttony, 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:29.120 drunkenness, 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:30.479 drug abuse? 00:24:31.639 --> 00:24:32.559 Aren't these also sins 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:33.639 against our own bodies? 00:24:36.479 --> 00:24:37.239 By this, 00:24:37.299 --> 00:24:38.319 I don't think Paul means 00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:40.119 that only sexual immorality 00:24:40.119 --> 00:24:41.119 affects the body. 00:24:41.339 --> 00:24:42.059 Other sins affect 00:24:42.059 --> 00:24:43.000 our bodies as well. 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:45.159 But in a particular way, 00:24:45.479 --> 00:24:46.239 sexual immorality 00:24:46.239 --> 00:24:47.419 is against one's body 00:24:47.419 --> 00:24:48.659 because it brings about 00:24:48.659 --> 00:24:49.459 a profane, 00:24:49.659 --> 00:24:50.679 one-fleshed union 00:24:50.679 --> 00:24:52.959 and makes one's body 00:24:52.959 --> 00:24:53.979 an illicit member 00:24:53.979 --> 00:24:55.299 of another person's body. 00:24:55.699 --> 00:24:56.759 And in that way, 00:24:56.899 --> 00:24:57.719 it's unique, 00:24:57.720 --> 00:24:58.460 it's singular, 00:24:58.600 --> 00:24:59.380 and it violates 00:24:59.380 --> 00:25:00.079 the spiritual union 00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:01.299 of the believer with Christ. 00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:03.120 So in that sense, 00:25:03.160 --> 00:25:04.220 it is a unique sin. 00:25:04.620 --> 00:25:05.579 And this exposes 00:25:05.579 --> 00:25:08.000 really the foolishness, 00:25:08.019 --> 00:25:08.220 right, 00:25:08.259 --> 00:25:09.079 of the hookup culture 00:25:09.079 --> 00:25:09.759 that we live in. 00:25:11.779 --> 00:25:13.299 Not only is sexual immorality 00:25:13.299 --> 00:25:14.360 a sin against God, 00:25:15.460 --> 00:25:15.940 you're sinning 00:25:15.940 --> 00:25:16.900 against your own bodies. 00:25:18.120 --> 00:25:18.980 This is the second 00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:19.740 theological reason 00:25:19.740 --> 00:25:20.420 that Paul gives 00:25:20.420 --> 00:25:21.200 for why we ought 00:25:21.200 --> 00:25:22.120 to glorify God 00:25:22.120 --> 00:25:22.600 in our bodies. 00:25:22.680 --> 00:25:23.839 Our bodies are members 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:24.440 of Christ. 00:25:24.440 --> 00:25:27.279 And then in verses 19 to 20, 00:25:27.360 --> 00:25:28.299 Paul gives his third 00:25:28.299 --> 00:25:29.120 and final reason 00:25:29.120 --> 00:25:30.539 why we ought to glorify God 00:25:30.539 --> 00:25:31.100 in our bodies. 00:25:31.580 --> 00:25:32.740 And that's that our bodies 00:25:32.740 --> 00:25:33.539 are temples 00:25:33.539 --> 00:25:34.880 of the Holy Spirit. 00:25:35.799 --> 00:25:36.080 He writes, 00:25:36.200 --> 00:25:37.100 Or do you not know 00:25:37.100 --> 00:25:37.779 that your body 00:25:37.779 --> 00:25:38.500 is a temple 00:25:38.500 --> 00:25:39.440 of the Holy Spirit 00:25:39.440 --> 00:25:40.059 within you, 00:25:40.340 --> 00:25:41.700 whom you have from God? 00:25:42.259 --> 00:25:43.580 You are not your own, 00:25:43.700 --> 00:25:44.380 for you are bought 00:25:44.380 --> 00:25:45.160 with a price. 00:25:45.380 --> 00:25:46.700 So glorify God 00:25:46.700 --> 00:25:48.200 in your body. 00:25:48.620 --> 00:25:48.759 Right, 00:25:48.820 --> 00:25:49.860 earlier in chapter 3, 00:25:49.980 --> 00:25:51.160 Paul spoke of the fact 00:25:51.160 --> 00:25:52.200 that the whole church, 00:25:52.460 --> 00:25:52.660 right, 00:25:52.720 --> 00:25:53.440 is the temple 00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:54.380 of the Holy Spirit, 00:25:54.519 --> 00:25:54.700 right? 00:25:55.220 --> 00:25:56.360 But now Paul tells us 00:25:56.360 --> 00:25:56.940 that what is true 00:25:56.940 --> 00:25:58.140 of the church corporately 00:25:58.140 --> 00:25:59.279 is also true 00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:00.580 of believers individually. 00:26:02.080 --> 00:26:02.900 And so we could say 00:26:02.900 --> 00:26:03.680 it's appropriate to say 00:26:03.680 --> 00:26:04.519 if we are together 00:26:04.519 --> 00:26:05.180 as the church, 00:26:05.299 --> 00:26:06.080 the temple 00:26:06.080 --> 00:26:06.900 of the Holy Spirit, 00:26:07.140 --> 00:26:07.880 it's appropriate to say 00:26:07.880 --> 00:26:09.080 that each of us individually 00:26:09.080 --> 00:26:10.340 is a temple 00:26:10.340 --> 00:26:11.620 of the Holy Spirit. 00:26:12.580 --> 00:26:14.100 And this is also pointing 00:26:14.100 --> 00:26:15.519 to a spiritual reality, 00:26:15.700 --> 00:26:15.840 right? 00:26:15.860 --> 00:26:17.000 And it runs counter 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:17.740 to the Corinthians' 00:26:18.180 --> 00:26:18.779 misunderstanding 00:26:18.779 --> 00:26:20.840 that whatever they do 00:26:20.840 --> 00:26:21.580 to their bodies, 00:26:21.700 --> 00:26:22.360 it doesn't matter, 00:26:22.440 --> 00:26:23.380 that it's inconsequential, 00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:24.039 because the body 00:26:24.039 --> 00:26:25.240 is destined for destruction 00:26:25.240 --> 00:26:26.140 and therefore has 00:26:26.140 --> 00:26:27.400 no eternal significance. 00:26:27.860 --> 00:26:28.980 Because they believe 00:26:28.980 --> 00:26:29.500 themselves to be 00:26:29.500 --> 00:26:30.299 so spiritual 00:26:30.299 --> 00:26:31.160 that they were above 00:26:31.160 --> 00:26:32.600 such encumbrances, 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:33.360 that they can do 00:26:33.360 --> 00:26:33.920 whatever they want 00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:34.500 to their bodies. 00:26:34.900 --> 00:26:35.940 But Paul corrects them 00:26:35.940 --> 00:26:36.180 saying, 00:26:36.360 --> 00:26:38.360 if you are indeed spiritual, 00:26:38.820 --> 00:26:39.900 if you really have 00:26:39.900 --> 00:26:40.640 the Spirit of God 00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:41.840 like you claim to have, 00:26:42.059 --> 00:26:42.720 then you should be 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:43.799 all the more careful 00:26:43.799 --> 00:26:44.279 what you do 00:26:44.279 --> 00:26:44.940 with your bodies 00:26:44.940 --> 00:26:45.900 because your bodies 00:26:45.900 --> 00:26:46.640 are the temple 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:48.480 of the Holy Spirit. 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:50.920 And the consequence 00:26:50.920 --> 00:26:51.720 of that reality 00:26:51.720 --> 00:26:53.339 is you are not 00:26:53.339 --> 00:26:54.779 your own, right? 00:26:55.380 --> 00:26:56.360 When the Bible speaks 00:26:56.360 --> 00:26:57.339 of being filled 00:26:57.339 --> 00:26:58.180 or being indwelled 00:26:58.180 --> 00:26:59.000 by the Holy Spirit, 00:26:59.120 --> 00:26:59.819 it's speaking of our 00:26:59.819 --> 00:27:01.420 possession by the Holy Spirit, 00:27:01.640 --> 00:27:02.500 that we are owned 00:27:02.500 --> 00:27:03.099 by Him. 00:27:03.900 --> 00:27:04.860 Remember what we learned 00:27:04.860 --> 00:27:06.000 from Ephesians 1, right? 00:27:06.039 --> 00:27:07.120 That when we believe 00:27:07.120 --> 00:27:07.779 in Jesus Christ 00:27:07.779 --> 00:27:09.000 for salvation, 00:27:09.120 --> 00:27:09.880 we are sealed 00:27:09.880 --> 00:27:11.120 with the promised 00:27:11.120 --> 00:27:11.720 Holy Spirit 00:27:11.720 --> 00:27:12.720 who is a guarantee 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:14.420 of our inheritance, right? 00:27:14.420 --> 00:27:15.539 The Spirit of God 00:27:15.539 --> 00:27:16.820 seals us, right? 00:27:16.940 --> 00:27:18.600 He is, we might say, 00:27:19.360 --> 00:27:20.860 He is Himself 00:27:20.860 --> 00:27:21.600 the seal as well 00:27:21.600 --> 00:27:22.320 as He seals us. 00:27:22.660 --> 00:27:23.539 So He's the one 00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:24.680 that declares over us 00:27:24.680 --> 00:27:25.560 that we are His, 00:27:25.800 --> 00:27:26.279 that we are His, 00:27:26.420 --> 00:27:27.400 God's treasured possession. 00:27:27.840 --> 00:27:28.500 So we could think 00:27:28.500 --> 00:27:29.039 of the Spirit 00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:30.660 as God's inscription, 00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:31.519 His signature. 00:27:32.220 --> 00:27:33.380 The Spirit is God's mark 00:27:33.380 --> 00:27:35.019 of ownership over us. 00:27:36.019 --> 00:27:36.539 And indeed, 00:27:36.860 --> 00:27:37.580 sexual immorality 00:27:37.580 --> 00:27:38.340 is a sin 00:27:38.340 --> 00:27:39.580 against one's own body, 00:27:39.700 --> 00:27:40.480 but this offense 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:41.220 is made worse 00:27:41.220 --> 00:27:42.100 by the fact that, 00:27:42.340 --> 00:27:43.120 properly speaking, 00:27:43.120 --> 00:27:43.940 the Christian's body 00:27:43.940 --> 00:27:44.980 is not even our own. 00:27:45.360 --> 00:27:46.580 It belongs to God. 00:27:48.460 --> 00:27:49.840 So do you live then 00:27:49.840 --> 00:27:51.100 as if your body's, 00:27:51.180 --> 00:27:52.240 indeed your whole life, 00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:53.820 your every decision, 00:27:54.900 --> 00:27:56.360 rightly belongs to God? 00:27:57.559 --> 00:27:57.759 Or, 00:27:58.180 --> 00:28:01.140 life is not about 00:28:01.140 --> 00:28:03.500 eating what I want, 00:28:04.220 --> 00:28:05.500 buying what I want, 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:07.620 doing what I want. 00:28:08.420 --> 00:28:10.120 The true Christian posture 00:28:10.120 --> 00:28:11.340 is to ask always, 00:28:11.340 --> 00:28:12.660 Lord, what would you 00:28:12.660 --> 00:28:13.380 have me do? 00:28:13.940 --> 00:28:16.019 And to labor every day 00:28:16.019 --> 00:28:17.160 to try to keep in step 00:28:17.160 --> 00:28:18.000 with the Holy Spirit. 00:28:19.700 --> 00:28:21.380 And why do we belong to God? 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:23.400 Why does God own us, 00:28:23.480 --> 00:28:24.360 as Paul's talking about? 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:25.960 Paul's reason is given 00:28:25.960 --> 00:28:26.720 in verse 20. 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:28.960 For you were bought 00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:30.220 with a price. 00:28:31.340 --> 00:28:32.840 This is the language 00:28:32.840 --> 00:28:34.059 of the slave market. 00:28:35.220 --> 00:28:36.080 And this, of course, 00:28:36.140 --> 00:28:36.640 makes us feel 00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:37.320 a little bit uncomfortable, 00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:37.820 right? 00:28:37.819 --> 00:28:38.259 Because, 00:28:38.500 --> 00:28:41.079 for one, 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:42.679 our nation's history 00:28:42.679 --> 00:28:43.460 is stained with 00:28:43.460 --> 00:28:44.240 the heinous evil 00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:45.480 of race-based 00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:46.899 and kidnap-sourced, 00:28:47.159 --> 00:28:47.720 greed-driven, 00:28:47.960 --> 00:28:48.819 lifelong slavery. 00:28:49.359 --> 00:28:50.399 So when we think of slavery, 00:28:50.460 --> 00:28:51.139 that's what we think of. 00:28:51.159 --> 00:28:52.000 But the Bible knows 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:52.980 of no such slavery. 00:28:54.039 --> 00:28:55.419 That's not what's in view here. 00:28:55.960 --> 00:28:56.419 And then secondly, 00:28:56.539 --> 00:28:57.119 here in the U.S., 00:28:57.119 --> 00:28:58.759 we're also all about independence 00:28:58.759 --> 00:28:59.400 and the right 00:28:59.400 --> 00:29:00.480 to self-determination, 00:29:00.740 --> 00:29:00.960 right? 00:29:01.200 --> 00:29:02.879 So we have a natural aversion 00:29:02.879 --> 00:29:03.819 to any language 00:29:03.819 --> 00:29:04.980 of being owned. 00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:05.920 In fact, 00:29:06.019 --> 00:29:07.519 that's like a, 00:29:07.740 --> 00:29:08.859 it's not like a punchline, 00:29:08.960 --> 00:29:09.960 like you got owned 00:29:09.960 --> 00:29:10.579 or something, right? 00:29:10.660 --> 00:29:11.099 So it's like, 00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:12.339 so it's like, 00:29:12.420 --> 00:29:13.440 so we don't want that. 00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:14.339 We dislike that. 00:29:14.420 --> 00:29:15.519 Just have a natural aversion 00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:15.859 to it. 00:29:16.039 --> 00:29:17.599 But being the slaves of God 00:29:17.599 --> 00:29:18.680 is not oppressive 00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:19.480 or restrictive. 00:29:19.619 --> 00:29:19.819 Rather, 00:29:19.940 --> 00:29:21.759 it's when we are truly free. 00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:23.980 God is our creator. 00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:25.119 He designed us, 00:29:25.160 --> 00:29:25.339 right? 00:29:25.400 --> 00:29:26.079 And His will 00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:27.220 is perfect and good. 00:29:27.460 --> 00:29:28.359 And it's within 00:29:28.359 --> 00:29:29.240 His will 00:29:29.240 --> 00:29:30.899 and not outside of it 00:29:30.899 --> 00:29:31.839 that we experience 00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:32.819 true freedom 00:29:32.819 --> 00:29:33.879 and joy. 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:35.979 In his book, 00:29:36.199 --> 00:29:36.899 Orthodoxy, 00:29:37.019 --> 00:29:37.819 G.K. Chesterton 00:29:37.819 --> 00:29:39.759 writes about this paradoxical 00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:40.719 aspect of Christianity. 00:29:40.899 --> 00:29:41.219 He says, 00:29:41.679 --> 00:29:43.479 the more I considered Christianity, 00:29:43.799 --> 00:29:44.899 the more I found 00:29:44.899 --> 00:29:46.519 that while it had established 00:29:46.519 --> 00:29:48.000 a role and order, 00:29:48.639 --> 00:29:50.319 the chief aim of that order 00:29:50.319 --> 00:29:51.659 was to give room 00:29:51.659 --> 00:29:53.039 for good things 00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:54.319 to run wild. 00:29:56.319 --> 00:29:58.319 The freedom to sin 00:29:58.319 --> 00:29:59.619 to freedom 00:29:59.619 --> 00:30:00.700 to disobey God 00:30:00.700 --> 00:30:01.960 is no freedom at all. 00:30:02.339 --> 00:30:03.460 It's what derails 00:30:03.460 --> 00:30:04.480 the good things 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:04.980 in this world 00:30:04.980 --> 00:30:06.039 to run headlong 00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:06.759 into cliffs. 00:30:07.980 --> 00:30:09.379 So it makes us fearful 00:30:09.379 --> 00:30:10.559 and then it forces us 00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:12.379 to put artificial, 00:30:12.639 --> 00:30:13.559 man-made boundaries 00:30:13.559 --> 00:30:14.679 that's even more restrictive 00:30:14.679 --> 00:30:16.099 than what God had for us. 00:30:18.059 --> 00:30:19.000 Perhaps you're not yet 00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:19.859 a follower of Jesus, 00:30:20.480 --> 00:30:20.700 right? 00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:23.279 And you've always felt 00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:23.779 that Christianity 00:30:23.779 --> 00:30:25.039 is like a straitjacket 00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:26.379 that just restricts you 00:30:26.379 --> 00:30:27.920 and tells you what to do. 00:30:30.819 --> 00:30:32.000 This is the paradox 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:32.659 of Christianity. 00:30:32.899 --> 00:30:33.859 It's that Jesus Christ, 00:30:33.960 --> 00:30:34.839 the only person 00:30:34.839 --> 00:30:35.879 in the history of humanity 00:30:35.879 --> 00:30:37.220 who did not deserve 00:30:37.220 --> 00:30:38.460 to be punished by God, 00:30:39.119 --> 00:30:40.019 his whole life, 00:30:40.079 --> 00:30:41.200 he had perfectly obeyed 00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:42.079 God the Father. 00:30:42.619 --> 00:30:44.539 Yet he willingly died 00:30:44.539 --> 00:30:45.899 for our sin, 00:30:46.399 --> 00:30:47.460 for our rebellion. 00:30:47.980 --> 00:30:48.899 He died on the cross 00:30:48.899 --> 00:30:50.159 so that we can be saved 00:30:50.159 --> 00:30:51.000 and forgiven 00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:52.099 and freed. 00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:54.359 And that righteous one, 00:30:54.440 --> 00:30:55.099 he died so that 00:30:55.099 --> 00:30:56.180 the guilty ones can live 00:30:56.180 --> 00:30:57.180 and because Jesus 00:30:57.180 --> 00:30:58.140 humbled himself 00:30:58.140 --> 00:30:59.119 by becoming obedient 00:30:59.119 --> 00:30:59.940 even to death, 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:01.440 to death on the cross, 00:31:01.859 --> 00:31:03.880 therefore God exalted him 00:31:03.880 --> 00:31:05.119 to the highest place, 00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:06.240 gave him the name 00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:07.619 that is above every name, 00:31:08.039 --> 00:31:08.200 right? 00:31:08.279 --> 00:31:09.259 Jesus rose again 00:31:09.259 --> 00:31:09.900 from the dead, 00:31:10.220 --> 00:31:11.619 ascended to his Father's right hand 00:31:11.619 --> 00:31:12.640 and now reigns with him. 00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:15.000 His death brought about our life 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:16.339 and his humiliation 00:31:16.339 --> 00:31:18.480 led to his exaltation. 00:31:18.759 --> 00:31:20.220 That's the ultimate paradox 00:31:20.220 --> 00:31:20.859 of Christianity. 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:22.559 It's what we call the gospel, 00:31:22.700 --> 00:31:24.099 the good news of Jesus Christ. 00:31:24.339 --> 00:31:25.839 And that same principle 00:31:25.839 --> 00:31:27.119 now applies to us. 00:31:27.779 --> 00:31:29.059 Those who submit themselves 00:31:29.059 --> 00:31:29.960 to Christ 00:31:29.960 --> 00:31:31.299 will find that they are 00:31:31.299 --> 00:31:32.079 truly free 00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:34.640 as they never were before. 00:31:35.619 --> 00:31:37.700 And those who die to themselves 00:31:37.700 --> 00:31:39.339 and to their selfish desires 00:31:39.339 --> 00:31:40.099 and pursuits 00:31:40.099 --> 00:31:41.640 find that they are now 00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:42.819 truly alive 00:31:42.819 --> 00:31:44.599 as they never were before. 00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:47.140 So stop living for yourself. 00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:49.920 Start living for God today. 00:31:51.900 --> 00:31:54.119 So we can run wild together 00:31:54.119 --> 00:31:54.660 in the goodness 00:31:54.660 --> 00:31:55.799 of God's will for us. 00:31:57.380 --> 00:31:58.579 And if you are already 00:31:58.579 --> 00:31:59.000 a Christian, 00:31:59.099 --> 00:31:59.759 then let this 00:31:59.759 --> 00:32:01.000 remind you 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:02.259 at what cost 00:32:02.259 --> 00:32:03.460 you were purchased 00:32:03.460 --> 00:32:04.539 by Christ for God. 00:32:05.539 --> 00:32:07.339 1 Peter 1, 14-18 00:32:07.339 --> 00:32:07.559 says, 00:32:07.559 --> 00:32:32.179 When Christ ransomed us 00:32:32.179 --> 00:32:34.019 for God with His own blood, 00:32:34.019 --> 00:32:35.619 He purchased our bodies 00:32:35.619 --> 00:32:36.139 as well. 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:37.759 That's why Paul says 00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:38.400 in verse 20, 00:32:38.539 --> 00:32:39.900 You are bought with the price, 00:32:40.059 --> 00:32:41.299 so glorify God 00:32:41.299 --> 00:32:42.059 in your body. 00:32:42.279 --> 00:32:43.599 We were all once slaves 00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:44.119 to sin, 00:32:44.400 --> 00:32:45.639 but as Romans 6-18 says, 00:32:45.720 --> 00:32:46.819 we are now slaves 00:32:46.819 --> 00:32:47.619 of righteousness. 00:32:48.879 --> 00:32:49.920 Think about it this way. 00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:50.900 So Hannah and I, 00:32:50.900 --> 00:32:52.660 we often buy things 00:32:52.660 --> 00:32:54.660 cheaply off Craigslist 00:32:54.660 --> 00:32:57.300 or we get it for free 00:32:57.300 --> 00:32:58.140 off websites 00:32:58.140 --> 00:32:59.380 like Buy Nothing Cambridge 00:32:59.380 --> 00:32:59.940 in Cambridge. 00:33:00.180 --> 00:33:01.000 You guys know about that. 00:33:02.180 --> 00:33:03.759 And so one of the things 00:33:03.759 --> 00:33:04.340 we got off of 00:33:04.340 --> 00:33:05.000 Buy Nothing Cambridge 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:05.460 for free 00:33:05.460 --> 00:33:06.680 was a rocking chair 00:33:06.680 --> 00:33:07.540 that Hannah used 00:33:07.540 --> 00:33:07.980 really well 00:33:07.980 --> 00:33:08.440 for nursing 00:33:08.440 --> 00:33:09.780 our second daughter. 00:33:10.640 --> 00:33:11.840 It was a serviceable chair, 00:33:12.280 --> 00:33:13.519 but the fabric on it 00:33:13.519 --> 00:33:14.280 was wearing off, 00:33:14.900 --> 00:33:16.980 and the rocking mechanism 00:33:16.980 --> 00:33:17.820 had gotten rusty. 00:33:18.180 --> 00:33:18.840 It was really old, 00:33:18.839 --> 00:33:20.079 so it would creak 00:33:20.079 --> 00:33:20.740 really loudly, 00:33:20.899 --> 00:33:21.500 and sometimes it would 00:33:21.500 --> 00:33:22.500 wake up the baby 00:33:22.500 --> 00:33:23.240 and just put to sleep 00:33:23.240 --> 00:33:23.879 by rocking her. 00:33:24.319 --> 00:33:26.480 So it worked most times, 00:33:26.500 --> 00:33:27.159 but it didn't work 00:33:27.159 --> 00:33:27.720 all the time. 00:33:28.099 --> 00:33:28.740 But we weren't 00:33:28.740 --> 00:33:29.839 dissatisfied with it. 00:33:30.839 --> 00:33:31.519 And why? 00:33:31.619 --> 00:33:32.379 Because we got it 00:33:32.379 --> 00:33:32.779 for free. 00:33:33.639 --> 00:33:34.220 I mean, 00:33:34.419 --> 00:33:35.539 it was worth the price 00:33:35.539 --> 00:33:36.379 we paid for it. 00:33:37.240 --> 00:33:38.039 But imagine 00:33:38.039 --> 00:33:39.139 if we had paid $200 00:33:39.139 --> 00:33:40.639 for a new rocking chair 00:33:40.639 --> 00:33:41.839 at Babies R Us, 00:33:42.279 --> 00:33:44.099 that thing better glide 00:33:44.099 --> 00:33:44.879 like it's on ice. 00:33:44.879 --> 00:33:45.159 Right? 00:33:45.679 --> 00:33:45.879 I mean... 00:33:45.880 --> 00:33:50.380 It better be worth 00:33:50.380 --> 00:33:51.100 the price 00:33:51.100 --> 00:33:52.120 we paid for it. 00:33:54.600 --> 00:33:55.720 Do you know 00:33:55.720 --> 00:33:56.700 your worth 00:33:56.700 --> 00:33:58.140 as a Christian? 00:33:59.980 --> 00:34:01.580 That you were bought 00:34:01.580 --> 00:34:03.300 not with perishable things 00:34:03.300 --> 00:34:04.620 like silver or gold? 00:34:04.920 --> 00:34:05.900 That's rubbish 00:34:05.900 --> 00:34:06.800 compared to what 00:34:06.800 --> 00:34:07.940 he paid for us. 00:34:08.980 --> 00:34:09.940 He bought us 00:34:09.940 --> 00:34:10.940 with the precious blood 00:34:10.940 --> 00:34:11.880 of Jesus Christ. 00:34:12.619 --> 00:34:13.460 Do you know 00:34:13.460 --> 00:34:14.240 your worth? 00:34:14.239 --> 00:34:17.879 If he gave 00:34:17.879 --> 00:34:18.679 his very life 00:34:18.679 --> 00:34:19.559 up for you 00:34:19.559 --> 00:34:20.559 and we have been 00:34:20.559 --> 00:34:21.459 united with Jesus 00:34:21.459 --> 00:34:22.059 in his death 00:34:22.059 --> 00:34:22.500 and resurrection, 00:34:22.699 --> 00:34:23.500 we better live 00:34:23.500 --> 00:34:24.379 up to our worth. 00:34:25.099 --> 00:34:26.059 Would you squander 00:34:26.059 --> 00:34:27.739 a life that Christ 00:34:27.739 --> 00:34:28.319 purchased with 00:34:28.319 --> 00:34:29.579 his very own life? 00:34:31.939 --> 00:34:32.959 So let's remind 00:34:32.959 --> 00:34:33.659 ourselves of this 00:34:33.659 --> 00:34:34.259 truth daily 00:34:34.259 --> 00:34:35.119 so we can live 00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:35.939 up to our billing. 00:34:37.639 --> 00:34:39.019 We ought to glorify 00:34:39.019 --> 00:34:40.099 God in our bodies 00:34:40.099 --> 00:34:41.019 because our bodies 00:34:41.019 --> 00:34:41.659 have been united 00:34:41.659 --> 00:34:42.339 with Christ 00:34:42.340 --> 00:34:43.400 in his death 00:34:43.400 --> 00:34:44.460 and resurrection. 00:34:44.960 --> 00:34:45.720 Let's pray together. 00:34:54.200 --> 00:34:54.680 God, 00:34:54.800 --> 00:34:55.780 you love 00:34:55.780 --> 00:34:57.460 us so dearly 00:34:57.460 --> 00:34:59.780 and we cannot 00:34:59.780 --> 00:35:00.860 fathom how precious 00:35:00.860 --> 00:35:04.440 you treat us, 00:35:04.539 --> 00:35:05.180 how precious 00:35:05.180 --> 00:35:06.019 we are to you 00:35:06.019 --> 00:35:09.259 that you would 00:35:09.259 --> 00:35:10.599 pay for it 00:35:10.599 --> 00:35:11.079 with the blood 00:35:11.079 --> 00:35:11.539 of your own 00:35:11.539 --> 00:35:11.780 son, 00:35:11.880 --> 00:35:12.559 Jesus Christ. 00:35:17.820 --> 00:35:18.420 We pray 00:35:18.420 --> 00:35:19.179 that that truth 00:35:19.179 --> 00:35:20.059 would motivate us 00:35:20.059 --> 00:35:20.980 into holy living 00:35:20.980 --> 00:35:24.300 and we pray 00:35:24.300 --> 00:35:24.960 that that truth 00:35:24.960 --> 00:35:25.860 would motivate us 00:35:25.860 --> 00:35:27.039 into evangelism. 00:35:27.039 --> 00:35:33.259 we pray that you 00:35:33.259 --> 00:35:34.219 would conform us 00:35:34.219 --> 00:35:35.759 to this truth 00:35:35.759 --> 00:35:38.460 with which you 00:35:38.460 --> 00:35:39.279 have addressed us 00:35:39.279 --> 00:35:39.699 this morning 00:35:39.699 --> 00:35:40.400 from your word. 00:35:44.239 --> 00:35:45.159 In Jesus' name 00:35:45.159 --> 00:35:45.519 we pray. 00:35:45.880 --> 00:35:46.119 Amen. 00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:46.219 Amen. 00:35:46.219 --> 00:35:46.599 Amen. 00:35:46.599 --> 00:35:46.639 Amen. 00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:46.719 Amen. 00:35:46.719 --> 00:35:47.059 Amen. 00:35:47.059 --> 00:35:48.079 Amen. 00:35:48.079 --> 00:35:48.539 Amen. 00:35:48.539 --> 00:35:48.599 Amen. 00:35:48.599 --> 00:35:49.159 Amen. 00:35:49.159 --> 00:35:49.300 Amen. 00:35:49.300 --> 00:35:49.320 Amen.