Transcript

1 Corinthians chapter 6, let’s finish this chapter up and what a strong and straightforward word the apostle Paul has as he wrote this letter to the church at Corinth, and we have it recorded as 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, let’s begin in verse 12, we’ll go through the end of the chapter, verse 20.

Paul writing in response probably to another question says this. “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food; but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body. Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? May it never be. Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a harlot is one body with her? For he says, the two will become one flesh. But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body”.

Now here in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, we get a biblical perspective on sexual morality. And this letter again is written to the church at Corinth and we have to remember that Corinth was a very evil, pagan city. It was a city of illicit sex. As a matter of fact, in that day to Corinthianize meant to get into drunken debauchery and engage in sexual immorality. They were just synonymous, to Corinthianize meant to be sexually impure.

And a lot of the Corinthians Christians being young and immature in the faith and coming out of a pagan background assumed that since they were free in Christ and salvation was not through the works of the law and the law certainly addressed morality, that therefore, the, we were free to just satisfy the appetites of the flesh and there was no real sin consequence to that at all. In other words, they would just say, now, now sex is a biological function, just like eating is a biological function, it has real no, no real consequence on the soul of man or our spirituality or our relationship with God. But Paul here completely crumbles their excuses and their rationalizations for thinking that sexual immorality is acceptable to a Christian.

Now remember the apostles Paul, as he writes this letter, he’s writing to a very immature church, that is polluted with a lot of unbiblical unchristian thinking. For example, that he had to respond to one problem of divisions in the church, and we spent a lot of time about the fact that some were followers of Paul, some were ap, followers of Apollos, others were followers of Cephas, and they all had their little divisions, and Paul had to deal with that problem. Then there was the problem of not having any church discipline in the church, somebody could get involved in open and gross sin and they were doing nothing about it. Paul dealt with that problem. Then they had the problem of suing one another, the brother was suing another Christian brother and doing that before unbelieving judges. And Paul had to deal with that problem.

Now he comes to this issue of sexual immorality and probably like the other problems, he deals with it because they had asked a question about it, because some in the ranks were involve din immorality. Now the two chief points that I believe Paul points out here, the first chief thing is, Paul says sexual immorality or sexual sin enslaves the body. Sexual sin enslaves the body. Look at verse 12 there of 1 Corinthians chapter 6. He says, “all things are lawful for me”. I believe Paul is making the general statement that I, that he is not going to give up the liberty we have in Christ, just because some are misusing that liberty.

Now there are a lot of religions today that when they see people professing to be followers of Christ, or followers of any God in general, and they also see those people fall into immorality, the first thing they do in their humanity is try to impose laws and legalism on the people. They think well, we’d better get some laws on them and tell them that if they don’t keep these laws they will go to hell. That’s the only way we can keep them living right. Paul said, absolutely not. He deals with the sexual immorality in the church at Corinth and the first thing he says is, “all things are lawful”.

What he means by that is this. No law gets you into heaven and no violation of law keeps you from going to heaven. Or sends you to hell. In other words, we come to God through Christ, not through the law. The law shows us that we need Christ, the law can never save. So Paul says, I’m not going back on our freedom in Christ, just because some of you in the church at Corinth are perverting that freedom and involving yourselves in sexual licentiousness and immorality.

So he says, “all things are lawful for me”, but notice the second phrase, “but not all things are profitable”. He says, now, I as a Christian, in the bond slave of Jesus Christ. The goal and the purpose of my life is to live for him and honor him, so Paul says even though these things that we may do, or not things that could send us to hell, they are not profitable for me to be what I’m called to be, that is a true follower of Jesus Christ.

Now, we’re going to see this more clearly in just a moment, but he’s going to deal with food, because that’s the Corinthians were using, as a justification and a rationalization for their sexual immorality. They’d say, well, you know it just says as the body has a desire and a craving for food, and food’s indifferent, there’s no longer food that’s under Jewish law and then there’s food that Gentiles only eat, no, its all clean now, and that’s true. They said, well, just like food is a, is a natural need, so sexuality is a natural need, and it doesn’t matter either. And Paul’s going to show that that is simply not the case. That is corrupt and, and self centered and fleshly thinking, now spiritual thinking at all.

But they would say, well, it doesn’t matter then, the body’s just sort of a temporary abode we’re in, and its corrupt anyway, you might as well just satisfy those appetites until we get out of this old body. Wrong thinking again. So here they are, saying that they want to participate in immorality, it probably doesn’t matter any, anyway, and Paul says listen, the goal of the Christian is not to be mastered by anything. There’s some times that were never forbidden by the law, but still they would be sin if they master you. If they master you. The many, many, many so called good things in life, if they become the controlling element of your life, if they start dictating to you, they keep you from being controlled by the Lord and they become sin.

So Paul’s just making a general principle, some things have always been against the law of God, some things have not been, but as a Christian, I’m not going to be mastered by anything. Whether its something one man calls good or another man calls bad. If it masters me, then the Lord can’t master me, and it is bad. So he says, all, verse 12, “all things are lawful for me”, nothing is going to send me to hell as far as keeping or breaking the law is concerned. “But not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything”.

Now that’s the key phrase, “I will not be mastered by anything”. Now we’re talking about the enslavement of sexual sin, now the word master there means to come under dominion. To have power over, to enslave, in other words, people that get involved in sexual immorality bind themselves to sexual sin. There is an unbelievable overwhelming bondage in sexual immorality, that masters a person. That controls them, and enslaves them. And they are constantly on a quest for more and more fulfillment sexually and they never ever find it. You see, once you start down that funnel, its incredibly difficult to return and come back out.

So Paul lays down that principle I will not be mastered by anything. So these Corinthian Christians, immature in their faith, corrupted in their thinking by pagan teachings, are finding themselves becoming the slaves of sin, under the guise of Christian liberty. Oh, I’m free in Christ, why we have liberty in Christ, we’re not under the law any more, so hey, we’re free. So in the name of Christian freedom, they’re becoming slaves to sexual sin. Probably the most enslaving sin of all. And Paul said, that’s all wrong.

Now, keep your finger in 1 Corinthians 6 and turn over to the right, to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, would you do that. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, and look at verses 3 and 4. The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the church at Thessalonica and he’s picking upon this same principle of the enslaving power of sexual sin, and that’s why he say sin 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, these words. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that is that you abstain from sexual immorality”. Why. It will enslave you. It will control you. It will exercise dominion over you, it will master you and you will not be able to be under the Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. You’ll be listening to the, to the enslaving drive of your old sin nature, instead of the leadership of your precious Lord who loves you.

Verse 4, he continues, “that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor”. Now some people say that your own vessel there means your wife or your body, I believe particularly it means body, but nonetheless it, the principle behind it is there needs to be real control in the area of sexuality, because sexual sin is a powerful enslavement.

Now, now, look over if you will, turn back to 1 Corinthians and look at I Corinthians chapter 9. Still Paul referring to the enslaving power of immoralities and this is how he approached it personally. 1 Corinthians 9:26-27. Paul says “therefore, I run in such a way as not without aim, I boxed in such a way as not beating the air”. Verse 27. “But I buffet my body”, I bruise my body “and make it my slave, lest [possibly after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified”. Now he says, I bruise my body, that means to, to give your body a black eye. It means to beat your face black and blue. Now its a figure of speech, he’s not talking about a literal beating of the body, but he’s saying, I will not let the passions of my natural body lead me into an enslavement and therefore ruin my testimony and ruin my qualification in the office of Apostle and preacher. You see what, what satan wants to do is that, to use your bodily sex drive, to drive you into disqualification as a Christian.

And here in Corinth these Christians were indulging in sexual sin, in the name of Christian freedom. They turned liberty into license to sin. And that is wrong. Even though they were forgiven and they were, that couldn’t be changed, they were becoming a slave to sin, and therefore they were voiding all that they were saved to do and to enjoy. Because of the total dominion and enslavement of sexual immorality.

Young people, God forbid that you start experimenting with immoralities at your age. You cannot control it, it will dominate and control you. It will control you. Paul said I’ll not be mastered by anything, whether its food, which is good. All foods are good now. Or sexual immorality, which is wrong, it doesn’t’ matter, I’m not going to let any of it get in my life, that’s going to master me.

Now remember, he’s responding to their perspective here, and that’s why he words it the way he’s wording it. Now that’s my first main point, I’m going to spend most of the time on the second point. Not only was sin sexual sin enslave you, Paul secondly says, sexual sin corrupts or perverts the body. Sexual sin corrupts or perverts the body.

Now look at verses 13-20, and notice first of all that he says there that “the body is for the Lord”. Look at verse 13. The body’s for the Lord. Now we’re back in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 13. “Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body”.

Now, the, the perspective is, again, the Corinthians influenced by pagan thoughts said now listen, the body you know, needs food, and its okay to indulge there, so the body also needs sexual fulfillment, so its okay to indulge there, and Paul says, let me tell you something. Even though God made food for the stomach and that’s good, you’ve got to realize that, what did he say verse 13, God will do away with both of those. In other words, when you are glorified one day, you’ll not have the same kind of stomach you have in you now, and you will not need food the way you need food now. That whole thing is going to be changed. But you wills till have your physical body in general. He, that’s why he mentions the resurrection a little bit later.

So he says, you’ve got to realize the body is special and unique. It is different when you take your body and there’s something intrinsic in the taking of one body in sexual union with another body, you contaminate the very core nature of the body that God has made, when you involve yourself in sexual immorality. And you do not contaminate the very nature of yourself just when you take food into the stomach. They are totally and absolutely different.

So the body is not for sexual sin in the same way that the, the stomach needs food and food is for the stomach. Those are not good analogies, Paul is saying, because the body is for who. Your body is for the Lord. Not for your lust and enjoyment.

Now he’s going to talk also not only just about the biological function of the body, but also there is a spiritual union. And you know you, we, we need to understand in this day and age that we have been lied to. This present world and the so called leaders and educators of this world will tell us that sexuality is merely a physical union, there are no real consequences about it, you can just have your, your little thing with somebody and go right along and there’s no lasting consequences. But that’s not true. There is a physical function to the body, but there is a more important sexual function in the body when its involve in sexuality.

Now the body is special and unique in that its going to be transformed and glorified. The body, you know that’s why we have these funeral services, and we buy these coffins and we lay the bodies very gently in those coffins, and we with respect and dignity, we lay those bodies in the grave, because bodies are special, God made them, and all Christian bodies will be resurrected and glorified. So you see, there’s something unique and special about the human body. There’s a spiritual union that happens, young people listen, moms and dads, listen. There’s a spiritual union, that we don’t understand that God has designed to happen when two people come together sexually.

C. S. Lewis worded it this way. “Wherever a man lies with a woman, there whether they like it or not, a transcendental relationship is set up between them, which must be eternally enjoyed or eternally endured”. You leave a part of you, with that person. There is a part of you that comes to that person, which God meant to only be shared with that one person you’re going to spend your whole earthly life with. There’s something that is done there, in that physical and also spiritual union of sexuality.

So first of all he says, you’ve got to realize, the, the body is for the Lord. Now secondly, the body is a member of Christ. The body is a member of Christ. And under that notice, the extent of sexual sin. Look at verse 15 there, in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ. Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot may it never be”.

In other words, you’re right now a member of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you go to a place and you talk to some man or some woman and you proposition them to have sexual relations with you, and you’re a born again child of God, really what you’re saying is Lord, will you go with me and will you participate with me as I have immoral relations with this person. He said, you take the Lord Jesus Christ with you into that bedroom, you take the Lord Jesus Christ into that hotel room, you take the Lord Jesus Christ with you to that back seat of the car, and you, you bring him to participation in that, because you cannot separate the reality that he lives in you and you are in him. He is involve in what you are involved in. That is the extent of sexual sin. That’s why I’m saying, sexual sin corrupts the body, it re, corrupts to the very core of the person involved.

Notice continuing here, the evil of sexual sin. Look at verse 16 here. He says, or “do you not know that the one who joins himself to a harlot is one body with her, for he says the two will become one flesh”. I like what one scholar said here, I don’t necessarily like it, but I thought it was a tremendous insight on this passage when he says, well, let me read the whole thing again. “Or do you not know that one who joins himself to a harlot is one body with her. For he says, the two will become one flesh”. And that’s what Genesis 2;24 says, it means that when two come together, God joins them as one flesh together, as an interchanging of the innermost parts of their being, there is a communion of the innermost parts of their being, when you come together. That’s why he says the two shall cling together, they shall become one flesh. And what he’s saying is, you Corinthians understand this, why are you still participating in this.

As a matter of fact, in the Old Testament if two unmarried people were found to commit sexual immorality, they were required to marry. And the reason they were required to marry is because they have already shared the intimacy of the inner core of their very beings, with one another. And it was safer and better for that couple to marry then to separate and participate with somebody else sexually again.

So he shows here the great evil, when he continues there in verse 16. Because, read it again, “one who joins himself to a harlot is one body with her”. Now what, what this scholar that I mentioned earlier said is this. Here, the picture here is the Lord and sexual immorality, both in competition for your body. One needs to be ruling in your body, one needs to be master in your body. And when you participate in immorality, you’re letting sexual immorality become the Lord and Master instead of the true Lord and Master, the Lord Jesus Christ.

No sin has more pitfalls, then sexual sin. Its broken more marriages, its shattered more homes, its caused more disease, and its destroyed more lives than drugs or alcohol combined. God shows you the evil of sexual immorality, you know how he’s shown us very clearly. Not only because the explicit teachings of his word, but when he sent AIDS as his response to the sexual revolution of the 60s and the 70s. God said, I’ll show you how I’ll respond to it. And he gave us AIDS. To show the evil of sexual sin.

Look at verse 17. “The one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with him”. He says, when you participate in immorality, sexual immoralities, you are one with the person you participate with, a part of your very core being comes into them, and a part of their very core being becomes a part of you. He said, that’s not what your body is for, just scattering yourself all over creation in immoralities you’re suppose to be intimate and in Christ and Christ intimate and in you. That’s why he uses the parallel there verse 16 he says, you become one with the harlot but in 7 he says, you belong with the Lord, you ought to be one with the Lord. Not one, with a harlot.

Now I’m, let’s talk about erasing sexual sin. We talked about the extent of it and the evil of it, what about erasing it, that’s what he wants to them to do. Well, he gets to that in verse 18. He says, “flee immorality”. Flee it. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Now flee immorality means just that. It means to run form it. One man said that some sins are conquered by fight, this sin is conquered by flight. You don’t hang around and deal with it and see if you might win the victory, you stay away from it.

And girls I’d say to you, if you go out with a boy and he’s got roaming hands and he’s involved sexually, the word of God commands you, don’t go out with him again. You are a fool and asking for trouble. And I’m going to tell you, in this day and age, you have to say young men if you go out with a girl and she’s involve in physical immoralities and is encouraging that way, the command of the Bible is, stay away from her, flee it. Its a dangerous cancer that destroys where it touches.

Now, we have the example of Joseph in Genesis 39:12 where Joseph has been given rule of Potiphar’s household. And Joseph has authority over everything and everyone in the household except Potiphar’s wife. Potiphar’s wife was a very wicked woman and she tried to seduce Joseph into immoralities, even so much so she grabbed ahold of him one day trying to force him and to succumb to her temptation. And Joseph rather than dealing with her left his garment in her hands and fled outside the Bible says. Fleeing immorality.

In 2 Timothy 2:22 Paul speaking to young Timothy says, teach people to flee youthful lust. Flee it, don’t argue with it, don’t try to explain it, don’t debate it with the other person, don’t try to rationalize it, don’t try to stay around and win the victory, flee it, stay away from it. Don’t let it contaminate you.

Well, let’s next talk about the examination of sexual sin that we see here. And we see that in the last part of verse 18. In the first part he just says flee immorality. Now this last part is incredible in the dynamic aspect that is suggested wrong, very bad word, that is revealed in this text. Notice what he says. “Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body. But, the immoral man”, when you participate in sexual immorality, “sins against his own body”.

Now when that phrase there, when he says he “sins against his own body”, one scholar put it this way. He says, you defile and degrade and cast vile reproach on the Lord’s temple. You sin against your own body. Now when he says all other sins, notice the comparison. All other sins are outside the body, but sexual immorality is a sin against the body. What does he mean by that.

Wilson in his commentary I think has a tremendous statement I would beg you to listen soberly as I try to read his comment, and I’ll try to elaborate on it also. Wilson says “although sins like drunkenness and gluttony are an abuse of the body, whose harmful effects it is every a man’s duty to for see and avoid, they are still introduced from without”. And that’s what Paul says when he says all the others are from without the body. “But fornication or sexual immorality is the alienating of that body which is the Lord’s and making it the harlot’s body. It is sin against a man’s very own body and in its very nature, against the verity and nature of his body. Its not an effect on the body for participation of things without, but a contradiction of the truth of the body. Wrought within itself”.

So he says, its, you’re, you’re, what you’re doing you’re corrupting and defiling the very nature of who you are as God made you when you participate in sexual immorality. You’re degrading the very core nature and being of what God made you to be as a person. I mean, other sins from without abuse the body, this sin corrupts from the core. What a strong, strong statement Paul makes here.

Wilson goes on and says this. “When a man and wife are one in the Lord, united by his ordinance”, that means united in holy matrimony, marriage as God gave marriage, “then no such alienation of the body takes place, and consequently that is not a sin”. So he gives us an examination of all that sexual sin does here in the body.

Well, first of all, under this, the corruption that sexual sin does to the body, we saw that the body is the Lord’s, we saw that the body is a member of Christ, now thirdly notice the body is a temple of the holy spirit. Look at verses 19 and 20. The body’s a temple of the holy spirit. He says, “or do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own. For you have been bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body”. You’re not to be taking your body and doing with it as you please, your body is not your own.

Now there’s an abundance of biblical text that tells us about the glory, the exhilaration, even the intoxicating nature of sexual fulfillment within marriage. And in, on in perfect balance, the Bible gives us vivid clarity of the awful destruction, degradation and corrugation that happens when a person involves themself, themselves, in sexual immoralities. And he says, you’re body is not your’s, its not your’s for you to say I have this desire, therefore I need to fulfil that desire, I need to do what I want to do, he said, its not your’s to say that about it. Doesn’t belong to you. You are to do with your body what the Lord says to do with it.

And then that last phrase, what a powerful statement that is. Verse 20, “for you have been bought with a price”. God owns you twice, he owns you in creation and then he owns you in recreation. He owns you in creation and he owns you in redemption, he’s bought you twice already. He said, you belong to him. And what a terrible price he paid by sending his Son to die for you on the cross so that he might take your body and set it apart for him and his glory.

As a matter of fact, keep your finger there, let’s, let’s circle the field by looking at 1 Peter chapter 1, would you do that. 1 Peter 1:18-19. “Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold, from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood. As of a lamb, unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ”. He’s saying your body is not your own to corrupt it, and pervert it with immoralities. And sexual sin affects and involves the body that is bought and owned by God. Don’t’ draw the Holy Spirit into sexual sin. Your body is his temple. And a temple is for worship and glorification of God.

Look at Ephesians chapter 5 verse 3. Ephesians 5:3. He says, “but do not let immorality”, that means any kind of sexual immorality. “Or any impurity or greed, even be named among you”. That means not even a hint of it in your life, “as is proper among saints”.

Now let me ask you a couple of questions, summarizing thoughts, and then a couple of questions. First of all, God will forgive the believer’s sin. But you pay a great, great price. You commit the sin of sexual immorality. Its a high price. David lost his family and brought corrugation in, into his kingdom that endured until he died. He was forgiven, but it came at a high price.

Secondly, you need to remember that sexual sin is unique from all other sins, it harms and corrupts the body like no other sin can. That’s the way God’s designed the body. Sexual sin enslaves the person involved. Now first of all it lies about its enslavement. Then it enslaves. I bet if we knew the truth today the overwhelming majority of people that are in unhappy marriages, particularly those who married people who are either not saved, or not committed to the Lord will tell you we got involved and we’ve got, we got bonded together in sexual immorality first, and it clouded us to the need for spiritual oneness, because we let physical oneness come first. It will enslave you, and destroy you.

And also, the Lord says, it is the Christians responsibility to eliminate all sexual immorality from their lives. I think we as parents need to work on some radical changes in what we call courtship and dating. You know its really incredible what we do to our kids in today’s world. We take a boy and a girl at the height of their, their sexual temptation, we throw them in a car for five hours without chaperons, and expect them to remain pure. No rules, no guidelines, no accountability. I think God would say to Christians today, how can you do that knowing my truths. I’m not telling you I have all the answers, but I think there needs to be a moving back in that direction.

You know courtship used to be, you went over to her house and you sat in the front parlor or the dining room, or the den and daddy was one door away. Listening very intently over the television program that was on or whatever he was doing. And that was called courting. Its not that way any more.

Now let me ask you something, are you like the church at Corinth, have you young person, dad or somebody else, have you been rationalizing sexual immorality. With thinking out of this world and not biblical thinking. Are you in the process of defiling God’s temple. Are you running when tempted, are you fleeing and asking God to help you flee.

One final verse, look there and we’re through. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4. I would, I would command, I would encourage rather and exhort anyone in this room, who is having any trouble whatsoever, and I think that would include almost all of us. We have sexual temptation to memorize this passage of scripture and ask God to bring it to your mind, especially young people who are dating. 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “for this is the will of God, your sanctification, that is that you abstain from sexual immorality. That each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and in honor”. Paul very, very clearly and very strongly gives church at Corinth a warning about sexual immorality.