1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Called to Purity
Theological Proposition/Focus: The Call of a Christian is a call to sexual purity.
Homiletical Proposition/Application: Christians need to be committed to God's standard for sexual purity.
Contents
- 1 Introduction: (Memory Verse - 1 Cor. 1:8)
- 1.1 Image: Talking theology at the dinner table
- 1.2 Need: Christians need to be committed to God's standard for sexual purity.
- 1.3 Preview: God standard must be considered through a theological lens and acted on in a way that is consisted with theology so that purity is a priority.
- 1.4 Text:.
- 1.5 Setting the Stage:
- 1.5.1 In the first four chapters of First Corinthians, the Apostle Paul dealt with the problem of disunity.
- 1.5.1.1 Paul's focus in these chapters seems to be a contrast between the wisdom and ways of the world and the wisdom and ways of God.
- 1.5.1.2 Paul's overall argument seems to be something like "Stop using the world's measures to form your own factions, commit yourself to simply following Christ and doing so in unity."
- 1.5.2 In chapters 5 Paul switches gears slightly and begins addressing some specific problems that are occurring within the church.
- 1.5.2.1 Paul doesn't hold and punches, he deals with incest, lawsuits and now sexual immorality.
- 1.5.2.2 Remember, this is a church that thought itself wise. Paul demonstrates that the wisdom this church thought it possessed was a false wisdom, a wisdom of the world and that wisdom was leading them down a path of worldliness.
- 1.5.3 For us today, we can gain some immediate applications because we to live in a world that thinks itself wise.
- 1.5.1 In the first four chapters of First Corinthians, the Apostle Paul dealt with the problem of disunity.
- 2 Body (Now let's read 1 Corinthians 6:12-20).
- 2.1 The rights of a Christian must always be viewed through a theological lens (12-13).
- 2.1.1 Pithy statements, while powerful, may only tell half the story (12-13a).
- 2.1.1.1 I have the right to do anything - grace is certainly efficacious for salvation and gives us the promise of forgiveness, but ...
- 2.1.1.1.1 For the Christian freedom is not for the self but for others, the question is not can I do something, the question is will it be beneficial?
- 2.1.1.1.2 In the second reciting Paul uses a word play. I have ἔξεστιν (the right) but I will not ἐξουσιασθήσομαι (give the right of control).
- 2.1.1.1.3 Our view of freedom can actually enslave us. Think about it, there are all sorts of terrible practices to which people are actually slaves.
- 2.1.1.1.4 If you cannot go without something for a period of time you are not free but rather enslaved!
- 2.1.1.1.5 Don't be fooled into slavery to something that is masquerading as a freedom!
- 2.1.1.2 You say food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both. - yes, God created with purpose but don't over generalize.
- 2.1.1.2.1 Paul here is telling the people don't be stupid in your generalizations!
- 2.1.1.2.2 I have had someone argue with me "God created all the plants and so they must be good and so God wants me to enjoy them and so I do drugs.
- 2.1.1.2.3 The Corinthian argument here is that God made food for the stomach to digest and the stomach to digest food, therefore it stands to reason that God made sex for the sexual organs and the sexual organs for sex.
- 2.1.1.2.4 Therefore, we should just have a lot of sex however and with whomever we please.
- 2.1.1.2.5 again, don't be stupid, don't over generalize.
- 2.1.1.1 I have the right to do anything - grace is certainly efficacious for salvation and gives us the promise of forgiveness, but ...
- 2.1.2 God, as creator and redeemer, has first right of claim over our bodies (13b).
- 2.1.3 MTR: Never exercise your rights without first looking at them through the lens of theology.
- 2.1.1 Pithy statements, while powerful, may only tell half the story (12-13a).
- 2.2 The actions of a Christian must be considered through a theological lens (15-17).
- 2.2.1 We must recognize the eternality of people (14).
- 2.2.1.1 Your actions matter because we have an eternal future
- 2.2.1.2 We are not merely souls trapped in a physical body waiting for freedom, that is a form of gnosticism or dualism, reject it.
- 2.2.1.3 God created the physical universe and called it good! God raised Christ with a physical body! The physical body is not the problem, our sin nature is.
- 2.2.1.4 The Corinthians seems to have fallen into a trap, since everything is spiritual I can do whatever I want physically God is going to destroy the physical.
- 2.2.2 As a Christian, you bring Christ with you in everything you do (15)!
- 2.2.2.1 The New Testament notion of the body of Christ is important. In fact, 11 different times Paul writes about the Body of Christ as a the community of believers!
- 2.2.2.2 Paul is working on a syllogism, a logical argument, his first proposition is that we have been united with Christ
- 2.2.2.2.1 What exactly does it mean that we are members of Christ? We could spend hours on this, for now what we must recognize is that it means that in the case of sex, sexual promiscuity is at odds with our very status.
- 2.2.2.2.2 I am going to just come right out and say it, the terms "gay Christian," "lesbian Christian," "adulterous Christian" have no place, they are oxymorons.
- 2.2.2.2.3 One's identity is as a Christian, don't cheapen that identity by putting any modifiers in front of it. Especially modifiers that are at odds with the Christian identity.
- 2.2.3 Sex is more than just a physical act (16)!
- 2.2.4 As a Christian, your foundation is your union with Christ (17)!
- 2.2.4.1 Many of the minor prophets used marriage as a picture of God's love for His people.
- 2.2.4.2 Ephesians 5:30-32, after speaking of the marriage relationship, states that marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church.
- 2.2.4.3 As Christians we cannot forget that at our foundation is a union with Christ and so it is very much as if we are bringing Christ along as a party to our sin.
- 2.2.5 Image: WWJD only scratches the surface.
- 2.2.6 MTR: Develop a habit of asking not just "What would Jesus do?" but "How does Jesus feel?"
- 2.2.1 We must recognize the eternality of people (14).
- 2.3 The purity of a Christian must be made a priority (18-20).
- 2.3.1 Sexual sin is particularly destructive and the appropriate response is to flee (18).
- 2.3.1.1 We see this model in Joseph's handling the situation with Potipher's wife in Genesis 39.
- 2.3.1.2 Sexual sin literally takes the body that belongs to God and says I am going to give this body over to sin in an act that violates my covenant and your picture of your covenant.
- 2.3.1.3 Sexual immorality is a sin against the created purpose of the body's sexual organs which were created to picture the union representative of God's covenant love.
- 2.3.2 The body of a Christian has been set-apart for a special purpose as the temple (19).
- 2.3.3 The Christian does not have rights of their own (20).
- 2.3.4 MTR: Pray and ask God to help you pursue sexual purity!
- 2.3.5 MTR: Place yourself in relationships that will encourage you to pursue Christ-likeness.
- 2.3.1 Sexual sin is particularly destructive and the appropriate response is to flee (18).
- 2.1 The rights of a Christian must always be viewed through a theological lens (12-13).
Introduction: (Memory Verse - 1 Cor. 1:8)
Image: Talking theology at the dinner table
Growing up one of my favorite aspects of Sunday Lunch was our theological conversations at the dinner table. My brother's and I used to love either a deeply theological real conversation after an interesting sermon or at times we used it as an opportunity to push my dad's buttons by asking bad questions to just see what kind of reaction we could get from him. We especially enjoyed asking these questions when my dad had invited someone to join us for lunch. Why do I tell you the today? Because I want to give you a warning. Parents, today you are likely to have some interesting conversations at the dinner table!
Need: Christians need to be committed to God's standard for sexual purity.
Preview: God standard must be considered through a theological lens and acted on in a way that is consisted with theology so that purity is a priority.
Text:.
Setting the Stage:
In the first four chapters of First Corinthians, the Apostle Paul dealt with the problem of disunity.
Paul's focus in these chapters seems to be a contrast between the wisdom and ways of the world and the wisdom and ways of God.
Paul's overall argument seems to be something like "Stop using the world's measures to form your own factions, commit yourself to simply following Christ and doing so in unity."
In chapters 5 Paul switches gears slightly and begins addressing some specific problems that are occurring within the church.
Paul doesn't hold and punches, he deals with incest, lawsuits and now sexual immorality.
Remember, this is a church that thought itself wise. Paul demonstrates that the wisdom this church thought it possessed was a false wisdom, a wisdom of the world and that wisdom was leading them down a path of worldliness.
For us today, we can gain some immediate applications because we to live in a world that thinks itself wise.
If you go around proclaiming God's standard for sexual purity you are going to be labeled at best unenlightened probably a lot worse.
Just remember, this is not my knowledge it is not your knowledge, this is God's knowledge.
Body (Now let's read 1 Corinthians 6:12-20).
What I want you to see in verses 12-14 is that
The rights of a Christian must always be viewed through a theological lens (12-13).
In verses 12 through the first half of verse 13 we have several pithy statements.
Formally a pithy statement is defined as a brief statement that is full of substance and meaning. You can think of these as short proverbs. Statements that taken at face value seem short, memorable, and generally true. The problem is that
Pithy statements, while powerful, may only tell half the story (12-13a).
In the real world, there is almost always some nuance which makes a pithy statement generally true but specifically problematic. That is exactly what is going on here. Let's look at the first statement.
I have the right to do anything - grace is certainly efficacious for salvation and gives us the promise of forgiveness, but ...
For the Christian freedom is not for the self but for others, the question is not can I do something, the question is will it be beneficial?
Beyond the question of is it beneficial is the question, "does my freedom actually result in my enslavement?"
In the second reciting Paul uses a word play. I have ἔξεστιν (the right) but I will not ἐξουσιασθήσομαι (give the right of control).
Our view of freedom can actually enslave us. Think about it, there are all sorts of terrible practices to which people are actually slaves.
If you cannot go without something for a period of time you are not free but rather enslaved!
Alcohol
Tabacco
Drugs
Food
Social Media
Don't be fooled into slavery to something that is masquerading as a freedom!
If I asked you to clear all the alcohol out of your house for a month could you do it? If I asked you to take a month off from Social Media could you do it? If I asked you to eliminate nudity or sexual content from your viewing could you do it? Maybe it is worth testing yourself and seeing if you are enslaved to something that is not beneficial!
You say food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both. - yes, God created with purpose but don't over generalize.
Paul here is telling the people don't be stupid in your generalizations!
I have had someone argue with me "God created all the plants and so they must be good and so God wants me to enjoy them and so I do drugs.
Don't be stupid, you are over generalizing.
The Corinthian argument here is that God made food for the stomach to digest and the stomach to digest food, therefore it stands to reason that God made sex for the sexual organs and the sexual organs for sex.
Therefore, we should just have a lot of sex however and with whomever we please.
again, don't be stupid, don't over generalize.
Let me make it applicable to us, "since God made me to feel this way it must be okay right? Wrong! don't be stupid, don't over generalize.
What we need to realize is that
God, as creator and redeemer, has first right of claim over our bodies (13b).
The generalization that the Corinthians were making was that in eternity the body is irrelevant. However, this is not the case!
Paul argues that in eternity the body is relevant, it will be God's. Now you are going to get a resurrected body, but I think it is naive to think that this resurrected body has nothing to do with your current body. Your resurrected body will be redeemed, but remember, the nail prints were still present in Christ's resurrected body. What you do on earth does matter!
Moreover, stop thinking of your body as your body, you were created and redeemed
It is not your body it is the property of the Lord. In fact,
MTR: Never exercise your rights without first looking at them through the lens of theology.
The problem Paul is dealing with in this section is sexual immorality but the over-all principles can be stated as
The actions of a Christian must be considered through a theological lens (15-17).
We must recognize the eternality of people (14).
Your actions matter because we have an eternal future
2 Corinthians 5:10 states "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."
Our eternal security is secure but at the same time what we do here matters.
We are not merely souls trapped in a physical body waiting for freedom, that is a form of gnosticism or dualism, reject it.
God created the physical universe and called it good! God raised Christ with a physical body! The physical body is not the problem, our sin nature is.
This is really important for us theologically. We need to be careful that as we look forward to eternity we never make it sound as if our problem is the physical world! We were created to inhabit the physical world. God is going to give us a new body.
The Corinthians seems to have fallen into a trap, since everything is spiritual I can do whatever I want physically God is going to destroy the physical.
This is a trap, God is going to give you a resurrected body but that doesn't mean that the here and now is irrelevant.
The second theological principle that Paul addresses is the fact that when an individual accepts Christ as their personal Savior they become part of the Body. This means that
As a Christian, you bring Christ with you in everything you do (15)!
The New Testament notion of the body of Christ is important. In fact, 11 different times Paul writes about the Body of Christ as a the community of believers!
Romans 12:4-5 states "For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."
Paul is working on a syllogism, a logical argument, his first proposition is that we have been united with Christ
What exactly does it mean that we are members of Christ? We could spend hours on this, for now what we must recognize is that it means that in the case of sex, sexual promiscuity is at odds with our very status.
I am going to just come right out and say it, the terms "gay Christian," "lesbian Christian," "adulterous Christian" have no place, they are oxymorons.
One's identity is as a Christian, don't cheapen that identity by putting any modifiers in front of it. Especially modifiers that are at odds with the Christian identity.
Going further in Paul's argument we need to dive into the theology of sex. Theology of sex you might ask what does sex have to do with theology. Again, we could spend a lot of time on this but for now it is sufficient to simply say that
Sex is more than just a physical act (16)!
In Genesis 2:24 God stated "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh."
The implication of 1 Cor. 6:16 is that a key step in the becoming one is the act of sexual intercourse.
There is no such thing as casual sex! God design of sex was an act of complete commitment whereby what was one flesh (Eve came from Adam's rib) is made one flesh again in an act of complete commitment.
God's model for sex is self-sacrifice mutual submission.
As a Christian, your foundation is your union with Christ (17)!
Many of the minor prophets used marriage as a picture of God's love for His people.
Ephesians 5:30-32, after speaking of the marriage relationship, states that marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church.
for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.
As Christians we cannot forget that at our foundation is a union with Christ and so it is very much as if we are bringing Christ along as a party to our sin.
Image: WWJD only scratches the surface.
There was a trend a while back of asking the question What Would Jesus Do? The question is a good question but it only scratches the surface because for the Christian it is more than just WWJD but how does my action make Jesus feel? What does my action do to my relationship with Jesus given that he and I are united in Spirit?
MTR: Develop a habit of asking not just "What would Jesus do?" but "How does Jesus feel?"
Ultimately, what Paul wants to show the Corinthians is that
The purity of a Christian must be made a priority (18-20).
Let me first say that we can apply this idea generally. We need to be set apart, we need to be holy. Here, in context there is no question, Paul is talking about sexual purity! And Paul's command is pretty simple. Flee! You see
Sexual sin is particularly destructive and the appropriate response is to flee (18).
We see this model in Joseph's handling the situation with Potipher's wife in Genesis 39.
Recall that Joseph is approached by Potipher's wife in an attempt to seduce him. Joseph resits but when he realizes that the temptation will not end he simply flees. There are times when we are told to resist the Devil
James 4:7 states Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
But in the case of sexual temptation the answer is to flee. Get out of there, remove apps from your phone. Give you phone to your spouse, parent, someone you trust. The key here, in my opinion is that when it comes to sexual temptation resisting temptation is not an act of defiantly holding your ground, you turn tail and run. Why? Because the sin is so destructive.
Sexual sin literally takes the body that belongs to God and says I am going to give this body over to sin in an act that violates my covenant and your picture of your covenant.
Sexual immorality is a sin against the created purpose of the body's sexual organs which were created to picture the union representative of God's covenant love.
In fact
The body of a Christian has been set-apart for a special purpose as the temple (19).
Recall that Paul had spoken of the church as the temple in 1 Cor. 3:16 now he goes down a level, not jus the church, but your individual bodies.
In 1 Cor. 3:16 you (plural) were the temple and the spirit dwells in you (plural). In 1 Cor. 6:19 your (plural) body (singular) [is] the temple (singular).
Note: This is what is knows as a distributive singular where something is singular because it belongs to each person in a group: "Your body."
In context 3:16 seems to talk of the church while 6:19 seems to talk to individuals.
The point is that your body is not your own, it belongs to God and has a purpose. Hence nothing you do should violate that purpose.
The Christian does not have rights of their own (20).
Image: Rental Car, My Car, Friends Car.
You can buy a used rental car, some of you may have done this, but I am afraid to why? Because I know how I have driven some rental cars. Now on the spectrum of cars, I might drive (or fly) a rental hard. I drive my own more conservatively, but I drive a friends very carefully. I don't want to mess up what is my friends property. I think if we would realize that we are no our own but God's property we would have a better view of sin!
