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1 Corinthians 6:12-14
In 1 Corinthians 6:12-14 the Apostle Paul is making a transition from settling disputes with advice from the secular community to why this is so important. The ways of the secular community are not acceptable to the ways of the Lord, and the decisions made by the “unrighteous” (1 Corinthians 6:1, 9, NKJV), along with the “evil person” are to be “put away” from them (1 Corinthians 5:13, as instructed in Deuteronomy 17:7; 19:19; 22:21, 24; 24:7). It is important to note here that the literal interpretation of the Law in the Old Testament and the requirement of physically following it has been transitioned to the spiritual purity of the heart and mind through God’s indwelling of our hearts through salvation in Christ Jesus and the implementation of that to be reflected in our physical lives. Paul is instructing those in the church at Corinth that the decisions they make are to be reflective of Jesus and respectable to Him; this should be a spiritual reflection from the heart, which controls the mind, and these decisions should be reflective in the physical lives of the Christian. This is all very important to understand as the congregation of the church at Corinth seems to have taken on a belief that because they are saved in Christ Jesus that they can now live in the secular sexual immoral ways and not be harmed by them. It is as if the congregation of the church at Corinth has taken on a belief that as the physical body will perish, the physical immoral acts are irrelevant to the spiritual life. But Paul makes them aware of the fact that the physical body is important to the spiritual purity that has been saved. He declares in 1 Corinthians 6:13-14, “13Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.” All things may be lawful for the individual as determined by the “unrighteous” secular community, but all things are not respectful to Jesus in the way that one lives their life in Christ Jesus. The physical body will perish, but in the salvation that God provides through His One and only Son Jesus, the physical body belongs to God and is His temple in the physical life of the Christian. Paul has already declared to the church at Corinth, “16Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
This is an example that our physical actions are a reflection of our spiritual salvation in Christ Jesus.
This is a command to conduct our physical lives as we are led by God’s Holy Spirit living within us.
Our physical bodies are the temple of God in the world today. We no longer have to go to the temple and sacrifice an animal, shedding its blood as was the requirement of the Law in the Old Testament, to be forgiven for our sins. The presence of God dwelt in the temple before Christ came into this world, but the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom at the death/crucifixion of Jesus signifying the opening of the door to God is now through Christ Jesus because He was the sacrifice of all sacrifices when His blood was shed for all on the cross. He now dwells within us through the giving of His Holy Spirit for everyone who will believe in Him and profess it. We are to conduct our lives – our physical actions as well as our spiritual beliefs in respect and reflection of our Savior, the One who opened the door to life for us and to us, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
Dear LORD,
As the church at Corinth was confused by the ways in which one should live in respect to You through their salvation in Christ Jesus, we too are distracted by the secular world today as the ways of this world are constantly trying to convince us that we may live however we desire with no effect on our eternal lives. Please give us the power through Your Holy Spirit dwelling within us to overcome the ways of this world and live respectable and reflective lives to Jesus our Savior. Please help us to be a people that will hear Your words as described in Matthew 25:23, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” In Jesus name I pray, amen.