WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.160 Grab your Bibles. We're jumping right into it 00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:05.740 this morning, 1 Corinthians chapter 6. And when 00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:07.500 I begin a sermon like this, it usually means 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:10.800 we have a lot to talk about. And we do this morning, 00:00:10.939 --> 00:00:13.919 a lot. Now, as you know, if you're with us the 00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:16.899 last few weeks, we are in a, I'll call it a sensitive 00:00:16.899 --> 00:00:20.100 part of Paul's letter to the Corinthians with 00:00:20.100 --> 00:00:22.480 some mature themes in it. We tried to get most 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:24.980 of that out last Sunday because the kiddos... 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:27.420 are with us here this morning, so I'm going to 00:00:27.420 --> 00:00:30.239 tread a little bit lighter and use language that 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:33.060 hopefully isn't quite as severe. I'll choose 00:00:33.060 --> 00:00:35.759 my words carefully for the sake of our kiddos. 00:00:37.820 --> 00:00:40.000 But hopefully you'll be able to follow along 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:42.740 as we go. All right, we're focusing on verses 00:00:42.740 --> 00:00:44.780 15 to 20 this morning. We're going to start up 00:00:44.780 --> 00:00:47.719 in verse 12, though, the section that we covered 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:50.000 last Sunday in our message. Notice once again 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:54.060 now as you look at verses 12 and 13. Paul is 00:00:54.060 --> 00:00:56.659 referring to ideas that apparently had become 00:00:56.659 --> 00:00:59.579 very common in the city of Corinth in the first 00:00:59.579 --> 00:01:02.979 century, and now he's got to do some work correcting 00:01:02.979 --> 00:01:05.780 them to give them right thinking when it comes 00:01:05.780 --> 00:01:08.900 to what they do with their bodies. So let's read 00:01:08.900 --> 00:01:10.780 beginning in verse 12, and I'll add some of my 00:01:10.780 --> 00:01:13.099 thoughts as we go along. Verse 12 says this, 00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:16.900 all things are lawful for me, say the Corinthians, 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:21.540 but Paul clarifies, not all things are what? 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:26.299 profitable or beneficial for the believer. So 00:01:26.299 --> 00:01:28.560 there are some things in the Christian life that 00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:31.060 are permissible for us, and yet they're still 00:01:31.060 --> 00:01:34.239 not beneficial for us. So you might have that 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:37.560 glass of wine, Scripture permits it, but you 00:01:37.560 --> 00:01:40.680 have to ask the question, is this a good choice 00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:43.920 for me? So decisions like this, permissible, 00:01:44.180 --> 00:01:48.579 profitable, decisions like that require knowledge 00:01:48.579 --> 00:01:53.159 of self and applying wisdom, right? Good, he 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:56.140 goes on, all things are lawful for me, say the 00:01:56.140 --> 00:01:58.859 Corinthians, but then Paul clarifies, I will 00:01:58.859 --> 00:02:02.799 not be mastered or enslaved by anything. Again, 00:02:02.900 --> 00:02:04.480 there are things in the Christian life that you 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:08.479 are free to engage in, but in doing so, beware, 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:11.639 do not open the door to let those things control 00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:16.219 you or to make you its slave. Do not be mastered 00:02:16.219 --> 00:02:19.599 by it. Verse 13, food is for the stomach and 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:21.960 the stomach is for food, say the Corinthians. 00:02:22.020 --> 00:02:25.919 But then Paul adds, God will do away with both 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:28.780 of them. And so food and the stomach designed 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:31.520 to process food, they are part of this present 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:34.099 order that will someday pass away. They are not 00:02:34.099 --> 00:02:37.659 eternal things. Paul goes on, yet the body is 00:02:37.659 --> 00:02:43.199 not for porneia. The body is not for sexual immorality. 00:02:43.950 --> 00:02:46.150 What you do with your body is in a different 00:02:46.150 --> 00:02:49.870 category than how your stomach processes food. 00:02:50.650 --> 00:02:52.729 What you do with your body is more than just 00:02:52.729 --> 00:02:56.969 a response to a natural need. It's not just physical. 00:02:57.210 --> 00:03:00.030 What you do with your body has spiritual and 00:03:00.030 --> 00:03:03.969 emotional consequences. And so Paul says, those 00:03:03.969 --> 00:03:05.650 bodies that you have right now, they weren't 00:03:05.650 --> 00:03:09.449 given to you for porneia. They are, Paul says, 00:03:09.689 --> 00:03:15.659 for the Lord. And the Lord is for the body. Verse 00:03:15.659 --> 00:03:18.300 14, now God has not only raised the Lord, but 00:03:18.300 --> 00:03:21.460 will also raise us up through his power. So unlike 00:03:21.460 --> 00:03:24.180 the processing of food in the stomach, our bodies 00:03:24.180 --> 00:03:28.539 will extend into eternity. They will be reconstituted 00:03:28.539 --> 00:03:31.939 on the day of resurrection and will live on into 00:03:31.939 --> 00:03:34.319 the new heaven and the new earth. That means 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:37.340 our bodies really, really matter. They're highly 00:03:37.340 --> 00:03:40.310 valued by God. And therefore we should take care 00:03:40.310 --> 00:03:43.310 of them as good stewards. The foundational way 00:03:43.310 --> 00:03:45.289 that we steward them properly is to recognize 00:03:45.289 --> 00:03:47.750 first and foremost that what we talked about 00:03:47.750 --> 00:03:50.610 earlier, they belong to God. They belong to Christ 00:03:50.610 --> 00:03:53.750 if we're found in him. Now let's read on verses 00:03:53.750 --> 00:03:57.069 15 to 20. Do you not know that your bodies are 00:03:57.069 --> 00:04:00.509 members of Christ? Shall I then take away the 00:04:00.509 --> 00:04:02.930 members of Christ and make them members of a 00:04:02.930 --> 00:04:06.150 prostitute? May it never be. Or do you not know 00:04:06.150 --> 00:04:08.889 that the one who joins himself to a prostitute 00:04:08.889 --> 00:04:12.449 is one body with her. For he says the two become 00:04:12.449 --> 00:04:15.509 one flesh, but the one who joins himself to the 00:04:15.509 --> 00:04:22.470 Lord is one spirit with him. Verse 18, flee sexual 00:04:22.470 --> 00:04:25.250 immorality. Every other sin that a man commits 00:04:25.250 --> 00:04:28.149 is outside the body, but the immoral man sins 00:04:28.149 --> 00:04:31.149 against his own body. Or do you not know that 00:04:31.149 --> 00:04:33.529 your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who 00:04:33.529 --> 00:04:46.490 is in you, whom you have from God, So in these 00:04:46.490 --> 00:04:49.949 last six verses, guys, there is some of the most 00:04:49.949 --> 00:04:52.649 important Christian doctrine that we hold precious 00:04:52.649 --> 00:04:55.709 and dear to us. Three very important doctrines 00:04:55.709 --> 00:04:57.529 that get brought out here, and we're going to 00:04:57.529 --> 00:04:59.689 touch on all three of them as we walk through 00:04:59.689 --> 00:05:02.230 this passage. The first one, here's what they 00:05:02.230 --> 00:05:05.540 are, is union with Christ. which you may have 00:05:05.540 --> 00:05:07.839 sort of vaguely heard about, but may not fully 00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:11.199 understand why that matters. The second is the 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:13.199 indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which I'm sure 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:15.519 you've definitely heard about, but it's possible 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:17.040 that you haven't really understood what that 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:20.660 means in a metaphysical sense. And then third, 00:05:20.779 --> 00:05:22.920 the doctrine that we're going to look at this 00:05:22.920 --> 00:05:24.600 morning is the doctrine of redemption, which 00:05:24.600 --> 00:05:28.300 is an absolute foundational aspect of the gospel. 00:05:28.910 --> 00:05:30.750 So that's where we're headed this morning. Let's 00:05:30.750 --> 00:05:32.730 start with that first one. Go back up to verse 00:05:32.730 --> 00:05:36.490 15 and let's look at union with Christ. The key 00:05:36.490 --> 00:05:40.089 verses here are 15 and 17. Do you not know that 00:05:40.089 --> 00:05:43.389 your bodies are members of Christ? Drop down 00:05:43.389 --> 00:05:46.089 to verse 17. The one who joins himself to the 00:05:46.089 --> 00:05:49.610 Lord is one spirit with him. If you're one of 00:05:49.610 --> 00:05:51.310 those folks who likes to underline or highlight 00:05:51.310 --> 00:05:54.509 in your Bible, there's some great phrases to 00:05:54.509 --> 00:05:57.740 underline or highlight. This describes our union 00:05:57.740 --> 00:06:02.100 with Christ. Don't you know this, Paul asks? 00:06:02.839 --> 00:06:06.620 Don't you know that your physical being is intimately 00:06:06.620 --> 00:06:11.379 connected to the Savior who died for you? Don't 00:06:11.379 --> 00:06:14.379 you know that, Paul says? It appears that the 00:06:14.379 --> 00:06:16.360 Corinthian believers thought far too little about 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:18.860 this subject matter. And so they acted like, 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:22.060 well, casual use of our bodies is not a big deal. 00:06:23.459 --> 00:06:25.279 apparently many of them held to what we call 00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:28.920 a platonic dualism. This is the view where the 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:32.459 soul is considered to be the real you, right? 00:06:32.500 --> 00:06:35.519 The inner man is the real you, and the body is 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:38.480 just sort of a less important container for the 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:41.360 soul. So it doesn't matter that much. The body 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:43.540 has little importance to them. So that means 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:46.759 I can do what I want with it, and somehow I can 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:50.420 separate what I do with my body with my inner 00:06:50.420 --> 00:06:53.699 man, who's the real me. So if I physically join 00:06:53.699 --> 00:06:57.019 myself to another, that's a completely separate 00:06:57.019 --> 00:07:00.459 thing for my soul. That's just my body. It's 00:07:00.459 --> 00:07:02.899 no more important than the natural function of 00:07:02.899 --> 00:07:05.920 food for the stomach. That's the way the Corinthians 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:08.199 were looking at this. So obviously, Paul has 00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:10.240 to come down very hard in correcting him here. 00:07:10.420 --> 00:07:13.019 God is not going to let you compartmentalize 00:07:13.019 --> 00:07:16.740 your body in that way. Now, it's true that the 00:07:16.740 --> 00:07:18.959 body and the soul are two distinct parts of a 00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:22.069 man. But they can't be separated. They are inseparably 00:07:22.069 --> 00:07:25.310 linked. And together they constitute the whole 00:07:25.310 --> 00:07:28.329 of the person. So no, your body is not just a 00:07:28.329 --> 00:07:32.069 disposable container. And no, your soul is not 00:07:32.069 --> 00:07:36.629 the only thing that is the real you. And so this 00:07:36.629 --> 00:07:38.850 is Paul's big point. Don't you know that as a 00:07:38.850 --> 00:07:42.089 Christian, your bodies not only matter, but they 00:07:42.089 --> 00:07:45.870 are now a part of Christ's body. Think about 00:07:45.870 --> 00:07:49.269 that for a moment. That means... any use of your 00:07:49.269 --> 00:07:52.709 body where you become one flesh in a union outside 00:07:52.709 --> 00:07:55.610 the covenant of marriage, you have betrayed your 00:07:55.610 --> 00:07:59.750 union with Jesus. It's a betrayal of that union 00:07:59.750 --> 00:08:03.629 because you've given a part of yourself to somebody 00:08:03.629 --> 00:08:07.089 who is unauthorized in God's eyes. And that's 00:08:07.089 --> 00:08:09.689 what we do in porneia. We give ourselves, a part 00:08:09.689 --> 00:08:12.930 of ourselves, to another outside of the union 00:08:12.930 --> 00:08:16.089 that we have with our Savior. And if we do succumb 00:08:16.089 --> 00:08:19.199 to that temptation, Tragically, we drag Jesus 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:22.920 into our sin. Can you imagine the horror of that? 00:08:23.899 --> 00:08:26.120 That's the shocking message Paul is trying to 00:08:26.120 --> 00:08:28.959 drive home to the Corinthians in verses 15 and 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:31.399 16, and it should be a warning for each one of 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:35.279 us as well. Do not drag Jesus into your porneia. 00:08:36.379 --> 00:08:38.340 Now, let's look more closely at the language. 00:08:39.250 --> 00:08:41.549 that Paul uses here in these two verses. Starting 00:08:41.549 --> 00:08:44.070 in verse 15, he says, your bodies are members 00:08:44.070 --> 00:08:47.330 of Christ. What does Paul mean by using the term 00:08:47.330 --> 00:08:50.710 member? We think we know that right off the top 00:08:50.710 --> 00:08:52.210 of our heads, but we shouldn't just blow past 00:08:52.210 --> 00:08:54.610 this as if it doesn't matter, because it does. 00:08:55.169 --> 00:08:56.909 This is, you see the word on the screen, this 00:08:56.909 --> 00:08:59.610 is the Greek noun melos, and it's a very common 00:08:59.610 --> 00:09:03.240 word that Paul uses 29 times. In his letter, 00:09:03.299 --> 00:09:06.659 he uses this word, 16 of which are here in 1 00:09:06.659 --> 00:09:10.399 Corinthians. And in its simplest form, it can 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:15.460 refer to a body part or to a limb. It's our eyes, 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:17.899 our ears, our mouths, our hands, our feet. These 00:09:17.899 --> 00:09:21.139 are all members of our physical body that are 00:09:21.139 --> 00:09:24.360 supposed to be used to glorify God. But then 00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:27.399 there's a second use of melos, a relational term 00:09:27.399 --> 00:09:31.960 where Paul uses it to talk about belonging. A 00:09:31.960 --> 00:09:34.460 relational term where he talks about belonging. 00:09:34.700 --> 00:09:37.120 In particular, he talks about Christians belonging 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:40.960 to two things. First of all, we're members of 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:43.220 Christ. That's what we just read in our passage, 00:09:43.419 --> 00:09:46.600 meaning we belong to him, the one who died for 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:49.639 our sins. And then second, Paul talks about Christians 00:09:49.639 --> 00:09:54.259 being members of one another. Members of one 00:09:54.259 --> 00:09:56.320 another. And there he's speaking of the church, 00:09:56.539 --> 00:10:00.879 which is the body of Christ, right? how our lives 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:03.360 belong to each other, and that's especially true 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:06.559 here in a local assembly like the one here at 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:08.899 Oak Hill where we live life together. We are 00:10:08.899 --> 00:10:11.940 members of one another. Now, those are big statements, 00:10:12.100 --> 00:10:15.000 and they shouldn't be brushed off without serious 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:17.799 consideration because I think, my opinion, is 00:10:17.799 --> 00:10:20.340 in the American church today, we don't take those 00:10:20.340 --> 00:10:24.080 concepts as seriously as we should. Too many 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:25.840 professing Christians seem to think that they 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:30.320 can do as they please. Just live as they want. 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:32.580 You know, I've got a little bit of my life in 00:10:32.580 --> 00:10:37.580 church. I'm loosely attached to this local church 00:10:37.580 --> 00:10:41.320 body. But you know what? It's my body. And it's 00:10:41.320 --> 00:10:45.480 my life. So I can do as I please. And that is 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:48.799 sort of uniquely American, isn't it? This individualistic 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:51.440 spirit. But you can't have your cake and eat 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:53.759 it too. You can't say, well, look, I want to 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:56.080 be found in Christ when I die so that I go to 00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:59.100 heaven. But in the meantime, it's my body and 00:10:59.100 --> 00:11:01.620 it's my life and I'll do as I please. You can't 00:11:01.620 --> 00:11:04.960 do both. In the same way, if we're members of 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:07.039 one another in the church, you can't say on one 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:09.820 hand, well, I want to be known as a part of the 00:11:09.820 --> 00:11:12.519 body of Christ, but right now I'm not all that 00:11:12.519 --> 00:11:14.340 interested in living out the one another's with 00:11:14.340 --> 00:11:17.539 real people. Those things don't go together. 00:11:18.669 --> 00:11:21.570 So this idea of membership and belonging is stronger 00:11:21.570 --> 00:11:25.429 than just I'm loosely affiliated to Jesus or 00:11:25.429 --> 00:11:29.350 I sometimes attend church services. And that's 00:11:29.350 --> 00:11:31.429 one of several reasons why here at Oak Hill we 00:11:31.429 --> 00:11:33.990 emphasize not just being an attender of a local 00:11:33.990 --> 00:11:36.450 church, but at some point committing to formal 00:11:36.450 --> 00:11:39.269 membership. Because in that membership process, 00:11:39.389 --> 00:11:42.850 we promise to each other, I belong to you, you 00:11:42.850 --> 00:11:45.730 belong to me, we're members of one another, so 00:11:45.730 --> 00:11:49.220 let's go out and live life together love each 00:11:49.220 --> 00:11:52.379 other well, right? So this is at the core of 00:11:52.379 --> 00:11:54.960 what we believe here at Oak Hill. So members 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:57.820 of Christ. Now let's look at the language in 00:11:57.820 --> 00:12:00.740 verse 17, where it says, we've joined ourselves 00:12:00.740 --> 00:12:04.779 to the Lord, and now we are one spirit with him. 00:12:05.700 --> 00:12:09.000 The Greek verb Paul uses here is kalao, and it's 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:11.440 the Greek equivalent of the Old Testament concept 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:14.600 of cleaving. We speak of this idea of leaving 00:12:14.600 --> 00:12:17.299 and cleaving from Genesis 2, right? Or in modern 00:12:17.299 --> 00:12:21.080 terms, leaving and joining. This is the corresponding 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:24.620 word that Paul uses in verse 17. In literal terms, 00:12:24.740 --> 00:12:29.220 this word means to fasten firmly or glue something 00:12:29.220 --> 00:12:33.399 together, right? Think of Gorilla Glue, right? 00:12:33.480 --> 00:12:37.159 Or whatever, you know, some super glue. Firmly 00:12:37.159 --> 00:12:40.299 fastened together. So when he talks about joining 00:12:40.299 --> 00:12:43.250 ourselves to Christ, This is much more than casual 00:12:43.250 --> 00:12:46.789 proximity. You would not use this word if you 00:12:46.789 --> 00:12:49.110 were going to say, look, I'm going to go join 00:12:49.110 --> 00:12:53.730 a gym and I'll occasionally show up there. That 00:12:53.730 --> 00:12:56.409 is not the depth of the word. It's much stronger. 00:12:56.850 --> 00:13:00.629 This is a bonded, consequential connection, much 00:13:00.629 --> 00:13:03.009 like a marriage covenant, where the husband and 00:13:03.009 --> 00:13:07.090 wife are firmly glued together as one flesh for 00:13:07.090 --> 00:13:10.149 life. The same principle is true in our being 00:13:10.149 --> 00:13:14.529 joined to Christ. We are now one spirit with 00:13:14.529 --> 00:13:17.509 him, meaning we've been brought into a genuine, 00:13:17.549 --> 00:13:21.090 intimate, spirit -formed union with our Savior. 00:13:21.190 --> 00:13:24.710 We've been glued together. So this is really 00:13:24.710 --> 00:13:27.370 strong language, guys, to understand our union 00:13:27.370 --> 00:13:29.809 with Christ. And that leads us back to Paul's 00:13:29.809 --> 00:13:32.210 big point, back to the practical exhortation 00:13:32.210 --> 00:13:35.370 that goes with this idea of being united to him. 00:13:35.509 --> 00:13:37.529 And if you look at verse 18, you'll see what 00:13:37.529 --> 00:13:40.909 the practical instruction is. Therefore, what? 00:13:41.389 --> 00:13:45.350 flee immorality. In light of what I just told 00:13:45.350 --> 00:13:48.649 you about you being joined to Christ, to be a 00:13:48.649 --> 00:13:55.309 member of him, therefore flee porneia. And this 00:13:55.309 --> 00:13:57.169 is written, if you look at verse 18, in what 00:13:57.169 --> 00:14:00.450 we call the present active imperative, which 00:14:00.450 --> 00:14:02.610 tells us two important things. First of all, 00:14:02.629 --> 00:14:06.470 it's not a suggestion. It's a command, flee. 00:14:07.409 --> 00:14:12.039 And second, It's to be a continuous action, a 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:15.759 state of persistence. We are fleeing all the 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:19.679 time from immorality. So what that means practically, 00:14:19.820 --> 00:14:23.519 we live in a constant state of alertness. In 00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:25.600 the sports world, we say we keep our head on 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:28.139 a swivel, right? Because we're always looking 00:14:28.139 --> 00:14:31.299 around. We're alert. We're watching for temptations 00:14:31.299 --> 00:14:35.580 that might attempt to lure us in. Are they not 00:14:35.580 --> 00:14:38.690 everywhere around us, guys? Do we walk out the 00:14:38.690 --> 00:14:42.029 door in the morning alert to them? This is what's 00:14:42.029 --> 00:14:44.450 being said here. Being ready to flee in a moment, 00:14:44.509 --> 00:14:47.809 to run from it as fast as you can. The best image 00:14:47.809 --> 00:14:50.570 I can come up with this is just recently in my 00:14:50.570 --> 00:14:52.750 backyard. I went outside, I'm walking down the 00:14:52.750 --> 00:14:57.169 side yard and I get about as close to Julia here 00:14:57.169 --> 00:15:03.250 to a rattlesnake sitting right in my path. What 00:15:03.250 --> 00:15:07.320 do I do with that? What do I, what do I? Don't 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:12.539 mess with it. It could really hurt you, right? 00:15:12.659 --> 00:15:15.440 A rattlesnake shows up in your path. You don't 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:18.460 go, let me see how close I can get to it without 00:15:18.460 --> 00:15:22.639 being bitten. Think of it that way with porneia. 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:27.320 How close can I get? No, no, no, no, no. Paul 00:15:27.320 --> 00:15:30.340 doesn't say, hey, approach that thing, examine 00:15:30.340 --> 00:15:33.980 it, see if you have the strength to resist it. 00:15:34.700 --> 00:15:40.179 Can you imagine? The late 4th century Bible scholar 00:15:40.179 --> 00:15:43.559 Jerome actually comments on this. He says, some 00:15:43.559 --> 00:15:47.700 temptations may be reasoned with, but with this 00:15:47.700 --> 00:15:54.500 one, reason not, just flee. It's powerful. Do 00:15:54.500 --> 00:15:57.720 not underestimate it. And maybe Paul has in the 00:15:57.720 --> 00:15:59.940 back of his mind the Old Testament story of Joseph. 00:16:00.620 --> 00:16:02.899 And Potiphar's wife, right, from Genesis 39, 00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:05.440 do you remember? Where this woman who is married, 00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:08.519 she's a married woman, married to this prominent 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:13.220 member of Pharaoh's cabinet, she quite literally 00:16:13.220 --> 00:16:17.120 throws herself at Joseph. And rather than entertain 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:19.879 the thought or to think, wow, you know what? 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:23.379 Not only does this seem like a good thing, a 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:25.860 pleasurable thing, but I might be able to advance 00:16:25.860 --> 00:16:28.139 based on that. He doesn't entertain any of it. 00:16:28.200 --> 00:16:34.299 What does he do? like the roadrunner. He runs. 00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:38.539 He runs. And so when we talk about this specific 00:16:38.539 --> 00:16:41.480 form of immorality, not only do we have to be 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:44.159 on alert, we have to be intentional about setting 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:47.340 boundaries in our lives. If you never sat down 00:16:47.340 --> 00:16:50.039 with an older person and said, tell me about 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:52.519 some good boundaries to protect myself, you should 00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:54.759 do that. We're talking about boundaries that 00:16:54.759 --> 00:16:56.899 when they get threatened, when they get pushed, 00:16:57.100 --> 00:17:00.039 a red flag goes up in our heart, and we don't 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:03.379 stay there and feed the thought. We don't stay 00:17:03.379 --> 00:17:08.160 there. Like Joseph, we get up and we move. And 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:10.420 sometimes it's as simple as that when it comes 00:17:10.420 --> 00:17:14.500 to porneia. We just get up. We change our environment. 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:17.579 We move away from it. We change our thinking. 00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:20.819 We renew our thoughts and set them above where 00:17:20.819 --> 00:17:24.400 Christ is seated, and we flee from it. Amen? 00:17:25.259 --> 00:17:27.779 And again, the theological and relational reason 00:17:27.779 --> 00:17:30.519 we have to flee is because our bodies matter 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:33.720 to God, because we are members of Christ, because 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:37.299 we are one spirit with him, and we dare not drag 00:17:37.299 --> 00:17:43.289 him into our sin. Amen? Paul goes on here in 00:17:43.289 --> 00:17:45.730 verse 18. Every other sin that a man commits 00:17:45.730 --> 00:17:48.430 is outside the body, but the immoral man sins 00:17:48.430 --> 00:17:51.049 against his own body. And this is such an insightful 00:17:51.049 --> 00:17:54.289 statement. We all know that all kinds of sin, 00:17:54.369 --> 00:17:58.950 all sin stains us in some way. It all harms us. 00:17:59.029 --> 00:18:02.930 But this particular sin of porneia has a unique 00:18:02.930 --> 00:18:06.039 effect upon a person. It's because of how we're 00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:08.259 designed and because our bodies are not just 00:18:08.259 --> 00:18:11.319 physical things, but this type of sin, it scars 00:18:11.319 --> 00:18:14.940 the soul within us. It scars us emotionally and 00:18:14.940 --> 00:18:18.880 spiritually. And of course, porneia has the capability 00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:22.599 of capturing us or enslaving us. And so we not 00:18:22.599 --> 00:18:24.980 only flee away from the temptation, this is key, 00:18:25.180 --> 00:18:29.859 we flee toward the Lord, right? We flee away 00:18:29.859 --> 00:18:33.619 from the temptation. We flee toward safety. towards 00:18:33.619 --> 00:18:38.339 the Lord who functions as our shelter. Both have 00:18:38.339 --> 00:18:40.380 to happen. We flee away from the temptation. 00:18:40.619 --> 00:18:43.539 We flee to the Lord. This is what Paul brings 00:18:43.539 --> 00:18:45.359 out in Romans chapter six. We'll walk through 00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:48.759 this briefly. He says, do not let sin reign. 00:18:50.019 --> 00:18:52.900 That word's important. Reign in your mortal body 00:18:52.900 --> 00:18:55.980 that you should obey its lusts. Don't let it 00:18:55.980 --> 00:18:58.640 sit there within you ruling your affections and 00:18:58.640 --> 00:19:03.329 your desires, okay? And do not go on presenting 00:19:03.329 --> 00:19:06.170 the members of your body to sin as instruments 00:19:06.170 --> 00:19:09.329 of unrighteousness. Did you catch that? Don't 00:19:09.329 --> 00:19:12.890 keep presenting your bodies to sin. Stop putting 00:19:12.890 --> 00:19:16.230 yourself in places and situations where you know 00:19:16.230 --> 00:19:19.210 sin is crouching at the door and that it desires 00:19:19.210 --> 00:19:24.240 to master you. Stop doing that. That is a choice 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:26.460 that we make. That is a series of choices that 00:19:26.460 --> 00:19:29.200 we make each and every day. Do we put ourselves 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:32.519 in the path of what we know will lure us in? 00:19:34.339 --> 00:19:37.119 Instead, he says, do this. Present yourselves 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:40.220 to God as those alive from the dead and your 00:19:40.220 --> 00:19:44.650 members as instruments of righteousness. So I'm 00:19:44.650 --> 00:19:46.609 not going to put myself on the path of sin. I'm 00:19:46.609 --> 00:19:48.869 going to do the opposite. I'm going to intentionally 00:19:48.869 --> 00:19:52.710 flee to the one who shelters me and strengthens 00:19:52.710 --> 00:19:57.470 me to turn and repent. These are choices we make, 00:19:57.529 --> 00:20:00.369 guys. And you've got to ask the question, well, 00:20:00.410 --> 00:20:01.950 what is it I really want? Well, I want to be 00:20:01.950 --> 00:20:05.630 pure. Okay. Amen and amen. Then make the choice 00:20:05.630 --> 00:20:09.589 to stop presenting the members of your body to 00:20:09.589 --> 00:20:13.440 sin and present them to the Lord. Make sense? 00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:18.839 Okay, that's union with Christ. It matters. It 00:20:18.839 --> 00:20:20.880 matters. Now, let's move on to doctrine number 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:27.000 two, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In case 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:29.380 you weren't convinced that your body being a 00:20:29.380 --> 00:20:31.420 member of Christ is enough to turn away from 00:20:31.420 --> 00:20:35.420 sin, Paul now piles this truth onto it. In case 00:20:35.420 --> 00:20:37.849 you weren't convinced, check this out. Do you 00:20:37.849 --> 00:20:40.230 not know that your body is a temple of the Holy 00:20:40.230 --> 00:20:42.750 Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? 00:20:43.950 --> 00:20:47.690 This is the sixth time in this chapter that Paul 00:20:47.690 --> 00:20:50.869 starts with, don't you know this? Haven't you 00:20:50.869 --> 00:20:54.089 already been taught this? And what that tells 00:20:54.089 --> 00:20:56.690 me is that as he's writing, and you picture Paul 00:20:56.690 --> 00:21:00.490 writing, he's righteously angry and probably 00:21:00.490 --> 00:21:03.690 quite frustrated at what he hears is happening 00:21:03.690 --> 00:21:06.109 in Corinth. It's like, you've been taught this. 00:21:06.650 --> 00:21:08.809 This is not brand new material. Don't you know 00:21:08.809 --> 00:21:11.529 that this is true? Don't you know that when you 00:21:11.529 --> 00:21:14.309 trusted in Christ for salvation, that the Spirit 00:21:14.309 --> 00:21:17.769 of God was given to you as a gift? That's what 00:21:17.769 --> 00:21:19.690 he says at the end of the verse. He says, the 00:21:19.690 --> 00:21:24.710 Spirit whom you have from God. He's a gift to 00:21:24.710 --> 00:21:27.250 you. And not only is he a gift, he is now in 00:21:27.250 --> 00:21:30.190 you, he says, as a believer. He is working to 00:21:30.190 --> 00:21:32.990 conform you to the image of Christ on the inside 00:21:32.990 --> 00:21:36.220 of you. in your heart, in your mind, in your 00:21:36.220 --> 00:21:39.420 soul, in your conscience. And if you still don't 00:21:39.420 --> 00:21:42.299 understand how much God values your body, consider 00:21:42.299 --> 00:21:45.339 this. God says, I have made your body a temple. 00:21:48.099 --> 00:21:50.519 It's a temple. Now, Paul could have chosen another 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:53.319 word. He could have said your home. You know, 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:55.740 it's the Spirit's home or the Spirit's house 00:21:55.740 --> 00:21:58.640 or the Spirit's residence, but he chooses the 00:21:58.640 --> 00:22:02.880 term temple. Consider what a mind -blowing privilege 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:05.779 that is, that the creator of the universe not 00:22:05.779 --> 00:22:08.420 only knows you, is that not enough? The creator 00:22:08.420 --> 00:22:12.500 knows you, but now desires to abide in you and 00:22:12.500 --> 00:22:16.119 to make your inner man a sacred place, to make 00:22:16.119 --> 00:22:20.440 it a holy place where he is working. The creator, 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:24.940 the creator does that. The God of this expansive 00:22:24.940 --> 00:22:27.799 universe knows you, wants to abide in you, and 00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:33.859 says, your body is now my sacred space. Wow, 00:22:34.059 --> 00:22:38.000 right? Is that not a source of worship? A couple 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:39.960 weeks ago, I posted on social media this very 00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:43.000 simple but profound quote from John Calvin, which 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:45.680 says it beautifully. Calvin says, there's an 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:50.039 emphasis applied in the term temple. It is a 00:22:50.039 --> 00:22:59.130 great honor. Think of it that way. What a great 00:22:59.130 --> 00:23:00.950 honor that God has given us, that he wants to 00:23:00.950 --> 00:23:05.009 dwell within you, to make your body his temple. 00:23:05.130 --> 00:23:07.349 Now, can we talk about the metaphysical aspect 00:23:07.349 --> 00:23:09.869 of what it means to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit? 00:23:11.390 --> 00:23:13.349 True confession, when I was a young believer, 00:23:13.549 --> 00:23:18.029 I wondered about this all the time. I actually... 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:22.380 I kept thinking, well, how does this work? The 00:23:22.380 --> 00:23:24.240 Holy Spirit's within me and I couldn't picture 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:26.579 it and I couldn't piece it together. And then 00:23:26.579 --> 00:23:28.240 the more I learned about the attributes of God, 00:23:28.279 --> 00:23:30.339 the more that kind of language kind of stumped 00:23:30.339 --> 00:23:33.960 me because God is spirit, right? He's spirit. 00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:36.180 So obviously he doesn't indwell my body in a 00:23:36.180 --> 00:23:40.339 physical or spatial sense, correct? So I started 00:23:40.339 --> 00:23:42.240 thinking, wait, is he located somewhere between 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:46.920 my lung and my spleen? And I know sometimes children, 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:49.519 it's hard for them, but even as adults, we're 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:51.200 like, wait, what does that mean? I know that's 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:55.200 not true. So I understand the language that the 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:57.599 New Testament writers use. You have to start 00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:00.079 here. You have to think about how does the Holy 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:02.559 Spirit work in our world? And he works in two 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:04.799 very distinct ways. Let me walk you through this. 00:24:05.539 --> 00:24:09.619 First of all, he operates externally in a common, 00:24:09.700 --> 00:24:13.269 non -saving way. And he does this among all of 00:24:13.269 --> 00:24:17.349 humanity. Everyone who's found in Adam, there's 00:24:17.349 --> 00:24:20.670 a common function of the Holy Spirit. The result 00:24:20.670 --> 00:24:23.089 of his work in the world is what we call common 00:24:23.089 --> 00:24:26.230 grace. And that's poured out upon all of humanity. 00:24:27.349 --> 00:24:29.809 But the Holy Spirit has a very unique way of 00:24:29.809 --> 00:24:34.549 working within God's elect. An internal, effectual, 00:24:34.569 --> 00:24:37.150 which just means it always brings to pass what 00:24:37.150 --> 00:24:41.059 it's designed to do. internal effectual saving 00:24:41.059 --> 00:24:44.519 way among the elect. Those who are no longer 00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:48.819 found in Adam, but are now found in Christ, right? 00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:51.440 Those are the two kingdoms, right? Adam and Christ, 00:24:51.640 --> 00:24:56.039 you know, light and darkness. So that's how he 00:24:56.039 --> 00:24:58.180 works within us. In us, the Holy Spirit works 00:24:58.180 --> 00:25:02.140 internally, taking a man who is dead in his sins 00:25:02.140 --> 00:25:05.880 and bringing his heart to life. We call that 00:25:05.880 --> 00:25:09.059 regeneration of the heart. then effectually drawing 00:25:09.059 --> 00:25:12.180 that man to the beauty of Christ and the gospel, 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:16.099 and then giving him or her the gift of repentance 00:25:16.099 --> 00:25:18.380 and faith so that they can turn to God and be 00:25:18.380 --> 00:25:21.960 saved. We then come to him freely and willingly, 00:25:22.200 --> 00:25:25.000 turning away from our sin, inclining ourselves 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:28.319 towards him because of God's grace, changing 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:31.720 our affections, and now we genuinely desire to 00:25:31.720 --> 00:25:34.619 worship him, love him, and serve him with all 00:25:34.619 --> 00:25:37.359 of our heart. That's the work the Spirit does 00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:40.500 within us. And when we put our trust in Him at 00:25:40.500 --> 00:25:42.759 the point of salvation, we are then justified 00:25:42.759 --> 00:25:45.740 in God's sight, the blood of the Lamb now cleansing 00:25:45.740 --> 00:25:48.579 us from all sin, and this is where the Holy Spirit 00:25:48.579 --> 00:25:51.539 joins us to Christ. This is where we come into 00:25:51.539 --> 00:25:55.079 union with Him. It is Christ Himself who now 00:25:55.079 --> 00:26:01.140 lives in us by His Spirit. Make sense? And now 00:26:01.140 --> 00:26:05.200 everything that belongs to Him is ours. His righteousness 00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:08.140 is credited to our account. We become participants 00:26:08.140 --> 00:26:11.599 in his death and his resurrection. We're adopted 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:14.160 as sons and daughters of God. We're made heirs 00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:17.119 of God and fellow heirs with Christ. We are destined 00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:20.119 to reign with him in glory, and now we have access 00:26:20.119 --> 00:26:22.759 to the Father through him, our great high priest 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:25.720 and mediator. All of those things become ours 00:26:25.720 --> 00:26:28.359 because we're united with Christ through the 00:26:28.359 --> 00:26:31.079 Holy Spirit and the work that he has done within 00:26:31.079 --> 00:26:35.569 us. to affectionately call us to himself. Wow. 00:26:36.630 --> 00:26:39.210 That's all true. That is straight from scripture. 00:26:39.430 --> 00:26:41.950 So when we talk about the indwelling today, him 00:26:41.950 --> 00:26:45.049 making our body his temple, what we mean is this. 00:26:45.170 --> 00:26:47.970 With us, his elect, the ones who he's called 00:26:47.970 --> 00:26:50.890 into salvation, he's not just working externally 00:26:50.890 --> 00:26:54.369 around us, he is now spiritually present within 00:26:54.369 --> 00:26:57.289 us internally. Get this, he is now operating 00:26:57.289 --> 00:27:01.720 directly on our hearts and minds. That's what 00:27:01.720 --> 00:27:04.980 the indwelling is. He's directly operating on 00:27:04.980 --> 00:27:06.680 our hearts and minds. Now, we have a part to 00:27:06.680 --> 00:27:09.519 play in this, right? Because while salvation 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:13.000 is monergistic, a work of God alone, sanctification, 00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:15.900 the maturing of the faith, is cooperative. That's 00:27:15.900 --> 00:27:17.900 why Paul's saying you've got to focus on what 00:27:17.900 --> 00:27:20.799 you do with your body. It matters because we 00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:22.839 cooperate with the work the Spirit wants to do 00:27:22.839 --> 00:27:27.059 in growing us once we're saved. So now the Spirit 00:27:27.059 --> 00:27:30.410 is illuminating our minds. So that even right 00:27:30.410 --> 00:27:32.470 now, we're understanding God's word. That's a 00:27:32.470 --> 00:27:35.049 work of the spirit within you. Right now, he's 00:27:35.049 --> 00:27:37.970 convicting us of ongoing sin and our need to 00:27:37.970 --> 00:27:39.930 repent. Maybe that's already happened this morning, 00:27:39.970 --> 00:27:43.789 as you've heard from his word. He's now reordering 00:27:43.789 --> 00:27:47.089 our affections to love God more, to love one 00:27:47.089 --> 00:27:49.450 another more. Maybe you've already felt that 00:27:49.450 --> 00:27:52.029 this morning as you've sung songs to him, that 00:27:52.029 --> 00:27:54.829 I love him more. The spirit is now gifting us 00:27:54.829 --> 00:27:57.089 for the work of ministry. Look at all the hands 00:27:57.089 --> 00:27:59.460 that have already served this morning. gifted 00:27:59.460 --> 00:28:02.200 us by the Spirit in the work of ministry. He's 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:05.359 now producing in us the fruit that he desires 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:07.960 in our lives, conforming us to the image of Christ. 00:28:08.099 --> 00:28:11.559 He is now producing new dispositions in us. He's 00:28:11.559 --> 00:28:15.440 causing us to want to worship, to desire to pray, 00:28:15.539 --> 00:28:18.359 to seek truth in God's word, to put sin to death, 00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:21.609 to obey his commands, and so much more. That's 00:28:21.609 --> 00:28:24.349 how God is indwelling us and operating directly 00:28:24.349 --> 00:28:27.150 on our hearts. And we do these things freely 00:28:27.150 --> 00:28:30.569 in greater measure as we grow in the faith. And 00:28:30.569 --> 00:28:33.009 yet, are you ready for this? We do all those 00:28:33.009 --> 00:28:34.990 things freely as we cooperate with the Spirit. 00:28:35.069 --> 00:28:37.809 And yet, every spiritual good we produce in our 00:28:37.809 --> 00:28:40.609 walk with Him is born out of His gracious work 00:28:40.609 --> 00:28:45.009 in our lives. Now, you might have to listen to 00:28:45.009 --> 00:28:48.880 this online or rewind all of that. But that's 00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:51.019 fundamental aspects of the gospel right there. 00:28:51.619 --> 00:28:54.579 What a gift we've been given in the Holy Spirit 00:28:54.579 --> 00:28:59.960 within us, right? Amen? We didn't earn it. We 00:28:59.960 --> 00:29:02.140 don't deserve it. The Spirit was a gift of grace 00:29:02.140 --> 00:29:05.660 from the Father and the Son to us. And here's 00:29:05.660 --> 00:29:07.700 the thing. Not only is it a great privilege that 00:29:07.700 --> 00:29:12.420 the Spirit has come and made us His home, it 00:29:12.420 --> 00:29:15.769 comes with a great responsibility. It comes with 00:29:15.769 --> 00:29:17.950 a great responsibility. That's coming back to 00:29:17.950 --> 00:29:20.250 Paul's big point. If the spirit of God has made 00:29:20.250 --> 00:29:22.789 my inner being his sacred space, then what I 00:29:22.789 --> 00:29:26.730 do with my body really matters. It really matters. 00:29:27.089 --> 00:29:29.690 And we should be striving by the power that he 00:29:29.690 --> 00:29:32.910 supplies us to make the state of our inner man 00:29:32.910 --> 00:29:36.309 match the holy nature of the spirit who lives 00:29:36.309 --> 00:29:43.509 within us. Amen? Okay, I know that's a lot. Aren't 00:29:43.509 --> 00:29:47.480 you glad for this? Aren't you glad? Okay. Now, 00:29:47.539 --> 00:29:51.220 before we go to our third doctrine, I want to 00:29:51.220 --> 00:29:54.279 take just a quick rabbit trail and talk about 00:29:54.279 --> 00:29:57.819 a sensitive subject, if you'll permit me. Just 00:29:57.819 --> 00:30:00.700 a few thoughts. This is an issue that it's not 00:30:00.700 --> 00:30:03.279 necessarily the main point of what Paul's saying, 00:30:03.319 --> 00:30:05.359 but it's adjacent to it. So it's something I 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:07.519 want to talk about. We're about to read in verse 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:11.579 19 that our bodies are not our own. Have you 00:30:11.579 --> 00:30:13.740 thought about the implications of that? Our bodies 00:30:13.740 --> 00:30:16.140 are not our own. As Christians, we now belong 00:30:16.140 --> 00:30:19.380 to the one who purchased us. As one of the responsibilities 00:30:19.380 --> 00:30:22.519 that comes with that truth is the responsibility 00:30:22.519 --> 00:30:28.240 we have to steward our bodies well. Okay? Remember, 00:30:28.299 --> 00:30:31.220 a steward is one who is entrusted to care for 00:30:31.220 --> 00:30:34.099 the property of his master. Adam talked about 00:30:34.099 --> 00:30:37.119 it in the first catechism. So we're to treat 00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:39.279 our bodies in a way that will make them as effective 00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:42.299 as possible in the service of God and others. 00:30:43.660 --> 00:30:45.720 Let me say that again. We're to treat our bodies 00:30:45.720 --> 00:30:48.180 in a way that will make them as effective as 00:30:48.180 --> 00:30:52.559 possible in the service of God and others. And 00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:54.940 it's very difficult to do that if we are entangled 00:30:54.940 --> 00:31:00.180 in habitual sin. And if we're mired in things 00:31:00.180 --> 00:31:03.160 like pride and selfishness and envy and bitterness 00:31:03.160 --> 00:31:06.039 and things of that nature. That's going to be 00:31:06.039 --> 00:31:09.039 an obstacle to us doing effective ministry. But 00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:11.400 the other thing I'd like to mention here If we 00:31:11.400 --> 00:31:14.180 want to be available to serve God and other people 00:31:14.180 --> 00:31:17.559 consistently, we need to steward the health of 00:31:17.559 --> 00:31:22.339 our bodies. The health of our bodies. Now, this 00:31:22.339 --> 00:31:25.079 is not a message about your diet. It's not a 00:31:25.079 --> 00:31:27.940 message about how much you exercise or your weight 00:31:27.940 --> 00:31:30.240 or whatever, because I realize that's complex 00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:31.980 and there's a whole bunch of factors involved 00:31:31.980 --> 00:31:35.259 in that, age and genetics and hormones and all 00:31:35.259 --> 00:31:37.500 that. I only want to challenge you with this 00:31:37.500 --> 00:31:39.839 thought. I want you to think about this issue 00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:42.819 of stewarding the health of your body. If your 00:31:42.819 --> 00:31:46.599 body is not your own, if it belongs to Christ 00:31:46.599 --> 00:31:48.579 and we're to be good stewards, are there any 00:31:48.579 --> 00:31:51.539 aspects of your lifestyle that you might consider 00:31:51.539 --> 00:31:56.299 changing with the right purpose in mind? And 00:31:56.299 --> 00:31:58.740 that matters, right? The motivation for why we 00:31:58.740 --> 00:32:02.279 do what we do matters to God. So not changing 00:32:02.279 --> 00:32:05.680 your lifestyle just to look better. That's not 00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:08.539 the point, or to impress other people, or to 00:32:08.539 --> 00:32:12.160 draw attention to yourself, but considering some 00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:15.220 of your habits and lifestyle to increase your 00:32:15.220 --> 00:32:18.380 joy and effectiveness in serving God and serving 00:32:18.380 --> 00:32:21.859 others, both in your family and your church family. 00:32:22.539 --> 00:32:26.059 And so ask the question, if I'm going to grow 00:32:26.059 --> 00:32:28.420 in that, become more effective in that way, would 00:32:28.420 --> 00:32:32.109 it help if I improve my diet? Would it help if 00:32:32.109 --> 00:32:34.750 I was exercising more, if I wasn't just sitting 00:32:34.750 --> 00:32:38.210 in front of a screen all day? Could you serve 00:32:38.210 --> 00:32:40.750 God and others more effectively if you were feeling 00:32:40.750 --> 00:32:43.109 stronger, both mentally and physically, if your 00:32:43.109 --> 00:32:46.789 sleep were more consistent? And if so, should 00:32:46.789 --> 00:32:49.829 you pray over making some changes? Perhaps ask 00:32:49.829 --> 00:32:51.950 the Lord for clarity on this. Ask him for more 00:32:51.950 --> 00:32:55.990 discipline, more self -control. I think when 00:32:55.990 --> 00:32:57.910 we talk about this issue, there are two extremes 00:32:57.910 --> 00:33:01.039 that are both sinful. On the one side, obsessing 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:03.700 over our bodies for all the wrong reasons, but 00:33:03.700 --> 00:33:06.339 on the other side, ignoring it altogether, just 00:33:06.339 --> 00:33:09.440 not caring about stewarding the gift of our bodies. 00:33:09.539 --> 00:33:11.319 I think both of those things are problematic. 00:33:12.440 --> 00:33:14.319 And by the way, just to ground this deeper in 00:33:14.319 --> 00:33:17.779 Scripture, Paul does address this issue in several 00:33:17.779 --> 00:33:20.180 places in 1 Corinthians 9. We'll get to it someday. 00:33:20.980 --> 00:33:23.440 He'll talk about the bodily discipline of a runner 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:27.839 and how everyone who competes needs to grow in 00:33:27.839 --> 00:33:31.359 self -control. In 1 Timothy 4, he talks about 00:33:31.359 --> 00:33:34.180 godliness being profitable in every way, but 00:33:34.180 --> 00:33:39.079 also bodily training being of some value. So 00:33:39.079 --> 00:33:40.680 think of it this way. Think of the word fitness. 00:33:41.359 --> 00:33:43.440 What do you want to be fit for in this life? 00:33:44.799 --> 00:33:46.839 What's the purpose of it? For me personally, 00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:51.339 I don't have a future as a fitness model. That's 00:33:51.339 --> 00:33:53.299 not going to happen. And I'm not trying to impress 00:33:53.299 --> 00:33:56.420 anybody but Tanny related to my body, how it 00:33:56.420 --> 00:34:00.099 looks, right? That's all that matters. The rest 00:34:00.099 --> 00:34:02.220 of you, whatever you think about my body, I don't 00:34:02.220 --> 00:34:05.400 care. I'm sorry. But God and Tanny, I care about. 00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:10.519 I just want to be fit enough to keep serving 00:34:10.519 --> 00:34:14.079 God and fit enough to keep serving his people 00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:16.159 at Oak Hill for as long as he allows me to do 00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:18.869 that. And so I have to think about these things. 00:34:18.989 --> 00:34:21.269 And boy, when you hit 60, you really got to start 00:34:21.269 --> 00:34:23.130 thinking about these things. Like how long can 00:34:23.130 --> 00:34:25.650 I keep working at this pace if I don't address 00:34:25.650 --> 00:34:28.789 the health of my body, being a good steward of 00:34:28.789 --> 00:34:31.610 it? So I can't ignore it. And I can't ignore 00:34:31.610 --> 00:34:35.949 my habits that aren't leading to more effective 00:34:35.949 --> 00:34:38.610 ministry. So I've got to look at all of those 00:34:38.610 --> 00:34:41.030 things and keep asking the hard questions. I 00:34:41.030 --> 00:34:44.099 just lay that before you. That's between you 00:34:44.099 --> 00:34:45.840 and the Lord, but just to challenge you to consider 00:34:45.840 --> 00:34:48.059 those things because don't we all wanna be more 00:34:48.059 --> 00:34:50.820 effective in our ministry? Steward your bodies 00:34:50.820 --> 00:34:53.880 well. Okay, let's examine our third essential 00:34:53.880 --> 00:34:57.119 doctrine that we find here, the doctrine of redemption. 00:34:58.099 --> 00:35:00.679 Go back to verse 19. We didn't finish that verse. 00:35:01.119 --> 00:35:04.519 And let me just extend Paul's question. I'm gonna 00:35:04.519 --> 00:35:06.679 hop over the truth about our bodies being a temple 00:35:06.679 --> 00:35:08.880 of the Holy Spirit and finish his thought in 00:35:08.880 --> 00:35:11.159 verse 19. He says, do you not know that you're 00:35:11.159 --> 00:35:14.920 not your own? Verse 20, why? Because you've been 00:35:14.920 --> 00:35:19.000 bought with a price. Do you not know that you 00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:22.260 are not your own? That you were bought, if you're 00:35:22.260 --> 00:35:24.440 found in Christ, you were bought with a price. 00:35:24.579 --> 00:35:26.719 So three things flow out of this. I'm gonna give 00:35:26.719 --> 00:35:29.019 you a list of them. Number one, that a ransom 00:35:29.019 --> 00:35:33.139 price was paid in order to buy us out of the 00:35:33.139 --> 00:35:35.960 marketplace. And I'll explain that in just a 00:35:35.960 --> 00:35:38.650 moment. That's number one. Number two. The fact 00:35:38.650 --> 00:35:41.449 that a price had to be paid implies that there 00:35:41.449 --> 00:35:44.869 was some outstanding cost or debt that was once 00:35:44.869 --> 00:35:48.869 attached to our lives. And number three, that 00:35:48.869 --> 00:35:51.289 our new master, the one who bought us, has now 00:35:51.289 --> 00:35:54.170 set us free from that debt that once held us 00:35:54.170 --> 00:35:57.809 in bondage. Those are important principles. Now, 00:35:57.809 --> 00:36:00.250 the Greek word for ransom, loutron, is found 00:36:00.250 --> 00:36:02.829 three times in the New Testament, twice on the 00:36:02.829 --> 00:36:07.380 lips of Jesus himself. In Matthew 20, 28 and 00:36:07.380 --> 00:36:10.559 Mark 10, 45, Jesus says this about the purpose 00:36:10.559 --> 00:36:13.000 of his incarnation. We know this verse, right? 00:36:13.179 --> 00:36:16.019 The Son of Man did not come to be served, but 00:36:16.019 --> 00:36:21.039 to serve and to give his life as a ransom for 00:36:21.039 --> 00:36:24.340 many. Paul uses an extended form of the same 00:36:24.340 --> 00:36:27.219 word in 1 Timothy 2, saying there is one God 00:36:27.219 --> 00:36:30.460 and one mediator between God and men, the man 00:36:30.460 --> 00:36:35.980 Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom. Paul 00:36:35.980 --> 00:36:39.179 uses it again in Titus 2, identifying Jesus as 00:36:39.179 --> 00:36:54.639 God. He says, That word redeem is the same root 00:36:54.639 --> 00:36:58.659 that we talked about earlier of Lutron. Peter 00:36:58.659 --> 00:37:01.300 also uses a form of the word in 1 Peter 1 saying, 00:37:04.909 --> 00:37:08.030 like silver or gold from your futile way of life 00:37:08.030 --> 00:37:10.769 inherited from your forefathers. Listen, but 00:37:10.769 --> 00:37:13.250 you were redeemed with what? Precious blood, 00:37:13.530 --> 00:37:17.610 a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of 00:37:17.610 --> 00:37:20.809 Christ. And so in that verse, you see exactly 00:37:20.809 --> 00:37:24.750 what ransom price was required to purchase you, 00:37:24.829 --> 00:37:27.630 right? It couldn't have just been, well, somebody 00:37:27.630 --> 00:37:30.550 wrote a really big check. There's not enough 00:37:30.550 --> 00:37:33.050 material or perishable things in the world that 00:37:33.050 --> 00:37:35.349 could purchase you, your soul, and your body. 00:37:36.010 --> 00:37:40.010 It had to be something of infinite value. Have 00:37:40.010 --> 00:37:42.269 you thought about the logic of this? How is it 00:37:42.269 --> 00:37:45.489 possible that Christ purchased me? Well, he had 00:37:45.489 --> 00:37:49.889 to pay a ransom that was of infinite value. The 00:37:49.889 --> 00:37:51.889 precious blood of Christ. The precious blood 00:37:51.889 --> 00:37:54.710 of the Son of God. That's all. That's the only 00:37:54.710 --> 00:37:57.699 thing that could pay that ransom price. In Ephesians 00:37:57.699 --> 00:38:00.460 1, 7, we read that in him, we have redemption 00:38:00.460 --> 00:38:04.420 through his blood. We've been purchased by his 00:38:04.420 --> 00:38:07.139 blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses. Revelation 00:38:07.139 --> 00:38:10.579 5, we get this glimpse of a heavenly realms where 00:38:10.579 --> 00:38:13.159 there's this lamb who's being worshiped in song. 00:38:13.420 --> 00:38:15.760 And it says, worthy are you to take the book 00:38:15.760 --> 00:38:18.659 and to break its seals for you were slain and 00:38:18.659 --> 00:38:23.860 purchased for God with your blood, men from every 00:38:23.860 --> 00:38:27.239 tribe and tongue and people and nation. The ransom 00:38:27.239 --> 00:38:29.719 was paid. The redemption price. The purchase 00:38:29.719 --> 00:38:32.880 price for your body and soul has been paid by 00:38:32.880 --> 00:38:36.300 Christ. He bought us out of the marketplace of 00:38:36.300 --> 00:38:39.280 slavery. How many of you guys have heard that 00:38:39.280 --> 00:38:42.099 said before? We were purchased out of the marketplace 00:38:42.099 --> 00:38:45.880 of slavery. The reason we talk about that is 00:38:45.880 --> 00:38:48.860 because of the context and the language in the 00:38:48.860 --> 00:38:51.059 original Greek. Let me explain this to you. The 00:38:51.059 --> 00:38:54.940 word bought in our passage for today is agorazo. 00:38:56.650 --> 00:39:01.050 And the root of that word is agora, which in 00:39:01.050 --> 00:39:04.869 any ancient Greco -Roman town, the agora was 00:39:04.869 --> 00:39:07.570 the central marketplace. It was that place in 00:39:07.570 --> 00:39:09.650 the middle of the town where everybody sold their 00:39:09.650 --> 00:39:12.230 wares, where the shops were set up. You could 00:39:12.230 --> 00:39:14.710 go to the agora, to the marketplace, and you 00:39:14.710 --> 00:39:18.389 could purchase anything, including a slave. Including 00:39:18.389 --> 00:39:21.449 a slave. So the picture is that we were bought. 00:39:22.110 --> 00:39:24.869 in the marketplace. We were in chains as a slave, 00:39:24.889 --> 00:39:27.929 and Christ, our Savior, came and purchased us 00:39:27.929 --> 00:39:31.449 out of that marketplace. Beautiful, beautiful 00:39:31.449 --> 00:39:34.590 imagery. So that's probably what Paul has in 00:39:34.590 --> 00:39:37.670 mind as he writes about this idea of being bought. 00:39:38.010 --> 00:39:40.070 Now, in terms of the debt that's owed for sin, 00:39:40.210 --> 00:39:42.550 we start, if you're going to talk about the debt 00:39:42.550 --> 00:39:44.650 that's owed for our sin, we have to start with 00:39:44.650 --> 00:39:47.909 God's judicial statement in Romans 6 .3. The 00:39:47.909 --> 00:39:50.329 wages of sin is death. That's what we've earned 00:39:50.329 --> 00:39:53.920 as sinners, right? Right? That's what we've earned. 00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:56.079 We're guilty before the divine judge. We are 00:39:56.079 --> 00:39:58.579 under the law's condemnation. And that means 00:39:58.579 --> 00:40:01.280 there is a legal demand for payment that has 00:40:01.280 --> 00:40:04.780 to be rendered in order for our record of debt 00:40:04.780 --> 00:40:08.579 to be expunged, to be cleansed, to be washed 00:40:08.579 --> 00:40:12.599 away. This is the judicial statement. Guys, the 00:40:12.599 --> 00:40:17.920 wages of your sin is death. It's one of my favorite 00:40:17.920 --> 00:40:19.920 questions. When I talk to unbelievers, it's one 00:40:19.920 --> 00:40:21.780 of my favorite questions to ask them. Once you 00:40:21.780 --> 00:40:23.300 get them to admit that they sin, you're like, 00:40:23.420 --> 00:40:25.280 okay, well, how's that going to get dealt with? 00:40:27.639 --> 00:40:30.019 You've earned something. You've earned death. 00:40:31.320 --> 00:40:35.320 What's your remedy for that? Do you expect to 00:40:35.320 --> 00:40:37.840 die, stand before God, and what, talk him into 00:40:37.840 --> 00:40:43.599 just wiping that away? You owe a debt. So whatever 00:40:43.599 --> 00:40:46.900 pays it, it's got to be infinite in value. in 00:40:46.900 --> 00:40:53.619 order to secure your eternal soul. So, we see 00:40:53.619 --> 00:40:56.699 the forensic or legal demand. Now get this, you 00:40:56.699 --> 00:41:00.940 ready? Colossians chapter two. Paul says, when 00:41:00.940 --> 00:41:03.619 you were dead in your transgressions and the 00:41:03.619 --> 00:41:06.940 uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive 00:41:06.940 --> 00:41:10.579 together with him. Wait, he did that. He made 00:41:10.579 --> 00:41:14.420 you alive. having forgiven us all our transgressions, 00:41:14.420 --> 00:41:18.119 here it is, having canceled out the certificate 00:41:18.119 --> 00:41:23.699 of debt consisting of decrees against us that 00:41:23.699 --> 00:41:26.420 were hostile to us, and he has taken it out of 00:41:26.420 --> 00:41:31.699 the way, having nailed it to the cross. Ransom 00:41:31.699 --> 00:41:35.219 paid, redemptive price paid, debt canceled out. 00:41:36.079 --> 00:41:38.139 Do you see the beauty of this language? It's 00:41:38.139 --> 00:41:40.719 found all over the New Testament. This is the 00:41:40.719 --> 00:41:43.780 doctrine of redemption. What a powerful passage 00:41:43.780 --> 00:41:46.760 Colossians 2. Prior to being covered by the blood 00:41:46.760 --> 00:41:49.500 of Christ, there was this decree that stood against 00:41:49.500 --> 00:41:52.739 us, a binding ordinance that had to be canceled 00:41:52.739 --> 00:41:57.940 out if we were ever gonna be free. It's important 00:41:57.940 --> 00:42:00.039 to recognize that God hasn't canceled out our 00:42:00.039 --> 00:42:02.980 debt and justified us just by some arbitrary 00:42:02.980 --> 00:42:06.659 declaration. This is one of the accusations that's 00:42:06.659 --> 00:42:09.710 often made towards Protestants. You're telling 00:42:09.710 --> 00:42:11.929 us God just, even though you're still a sinner, 00:42:11.989 --> 00:42:14.090 he just looks at you and arbitrarily says, oh, 00:42:14.170 --> 00:42:17.630 I don't see you as a sinner anymore. No, it's 00:42:17.630 --> 00:42:21.730 not arbitrary. Christ bore the judgment on the 00:42:21.730 --> 00:42:26.250 cross. He fulfilled the law's demands for us. 00:42:26.750 --> 00:42:29.929 He gave his life as the ransom, the purchase 00:42:29.929 --> 00:42:34.010 price for us. It was his blood. It's not an arbitrary 00:42:34.010 --> 00:42:37.010 thing that God has done. It's rooted in Christ's 00:42:37.010 --> 00:42:42.679 sacrifice. Amen moment? Right? And now believers 00:42:42.679 --> 00:42:46.139 are set free. The chains of slavery fall off. 00:42:46.179 --> 00:42:49.039 We now belong to God and our bodies are under 00:42:49.039 --> 00:42:54.159 his lordship. Friends, this is a revelation that 00:42:54.159 --> 00:42:58.039 should put your jaw on the floor and cause you 00:42:58.039 --> 00:43:01.480 to worship like never before. The things that 00:43:01.480 --> 00:43:04.019 God has done for us in Christ and in the spirit 00:43:04.019 --> 00:43:08.380 is jaw -dropping. Motivated by love, God the 00:43:08.380 --> 00:43:11.579 Son, voluntarily condescended to take on flesh 00:43:11.579 --> 00:43:13.980 and live as a man in the midst of this fallen 00:43:13.980 --> 00:43:18.619 world, to live and to willingly suffer through 00:43:18.619 --> 00:43:21.579 life as we do in order to sympathize with our 00:43:21.579 --> 00:43:24.940 weaknesses. Then he gave his body over to execution 00:43:24.940 --> 00:43:29.480 at the hands of the very beings he created. And 00:43:29.480 --> 00:43:31.519 through his brutal death, he purchased your body 00:43:31.519 --> 00:43:34.539 for his own possession. You talk about value 00:43:34.539 --> 00:43:37.079 of your body. Could it get higher than that? 00:43:39.369 --> 00:43:41.710 What a costly price God paid to make you his 00:43:41.710 --> 00:43:45.070 own. What a costly price. And now by a sovereign 00:43:45.070 --> 00:43:49.389 choice and lavish grace, you belong to him. You 00:43:49.389 --> 00:43:52.730 are not your own, Paul says. Let that sink in. 00:43:53.889 --> 00:43:56.130 Again, you can't say, well, you know what? I 00:43:56.130 --> 00:43:57.929 want to be found in Christ, but I still want 00:43:57.929 --> 00:44:01.030 to do my own thing. You are not your own anymore. 00:44:02.610 --> 00:44:04.630 And again, revealing this mind -blowing truth 00:44:04.630 --> 00:44:08.059 has a purpose. Now that you know that your body 00:44:08.059 --> 00:44:10.219 belongs to Christ and that his spirit is in you, 00:44:10.340 --> 00:44:13.079 you can no longer live as you please. That is 00:44:13.079 --> 00:44:16.380 the big point here in this chapter. You can no 00:44:16.380 --> 00:44:18.500 longer live as you please. The Lord is for your 00:44:18.500 --> 00:44:20.880 body and your body is for the Lord. Therefore, 00:44:20.960 --> 00:44:25.559 do not pollute what belongs to him. You with 00:44:25.559 --> 00:44:29.099 me? And then Paul finishes the chapter with this 00:44:29.099 --> 00:44:31.860 very short, very simple summary statement. Verse 00:44:31.860 --> 00:44:36.730 20, therefore glorify God. In your body. Is that 00:44:36.730 --> 00:44:39.630 not the only logical and proper response to the 00:44:39.630 --> 00:44:42.750 beauty of what he said? Is that not logical and 00:44:42.750 --> 00:44:45.269 proper in all of your thoughts, choices, decisions, 00:44:45.489 --> 00:44:48.329 and actions that involve your body? Glorify God. 00:44:48.769 --> 00:44:52.550 Seek his honor above all else. Seek his honor. 00:44:53.289 --> 00:44:55.329 As one author put it, and I love this statement, 00:44:55.650 --> 00:44:59.869 let your body be a doxology in response to so 00:44:59.869 --> 00:45:05.800 great a salvation. I wanna close out this morning 00:45:05.800 --> 00:45:08.780 by returning to our call to worship passage from 00:45:08.780 --> 00:45:12.460 earlier, from Colossians 3. Maybe just consider 00:45:12.460 --> 00:45:15.179 bowing your head and maybe closing your eyes 00:45:15.179 --> 00:45:17.820 and focus your attention on the beauty of what 00:45:17.820 --> 00:45:20.440 God has said in this passage. Let it be a challenge 00:45:20.440 --> 00:45:24.480 to you, but also a great encouragement. Let's 00:45:24.480 --> 00:45:26.340 bow our heads. I'm just gonna read it to you. 00:45:30.719 --> 00:45:35.159 If then you've been raised with Christ, Seek 00:45:35.159 --> 00:45:39.119 the things that are above, where Christ is, seated 00:45:39.119 --> 00:45:41.679 at the right hand of God. Can you picture that? 00:45:43.000 --> 00:45:45.239 If you've been raised with Christ, seek the things 00:45:45.239 --> 00:45:47.719 that are above, where Christ is, seated at the 00:45:47.719 --> 00:45:52.099 right hand of God. Set your minds on things that 00:45:52.099 --> 00:45:54.340 are above, not on things that are on the earth, 00:45:54.519 --> 00:45:59.480 for you have died, and your life is hidden with 00:45:59.480 --> 00:46:04.079 Christ in God. Do you believe that? And when 00:46:04.079 --> 00:46:07.420 Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also 00:46:07.420 --> 00:46:11.760 will appear with him in glory. Can you imagine 00:46:11.760 --> 00:46:15.699 how amazing that will be? And so then how should 00:46:15.699 --> 00:46:20.159 we respond? Put to death, therefore, what is 00:46:20.159 --> 00:46:24.539 earthly in you. Sexual immorality, impurity, 00:46:24.760 --> 00:46:29.019 passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is 00:46:29.019 --> 00:46:32.239 idolatry. On account of these things, the wrath 00:46:32.239 --> 00:46:36.460 of God is coming. In these, you too once walked 00:46:36.460 --> 00:46:42.059 when you were living in them. Praise God that 00:46:42.059 --> 00:46:45.539 we've been transformed by his grace. Amen? Let's 00:46:45.539 --> 00:46:48.820 now use our bodies in a way that honors him. 00:46:48.900 --> 00:46:51.610 Father, thank you for... our time in the word 00:46:51.610 --> 00:46:54.489 this morning. Lord, thank you for the power of 00:46:54.489 --> 00:46:57.610 these three doctrines that we are united with 00:46:57.610 --> 00:47:00.449 you, that your spirit indwells us, and that you 00:47:00.449 --> 00:47:04.349 have paid a great redemptive price to purchase 00:47:04.349 --> 00:47:07.269 our bodies and souls. Thank you, Lord. Thank 00:47:07.269 --> 00:47:09.349 you, Lord Jesus. Thank you for all that you have 00:47:09.349 --> 00:47:11.530 done for us. Thank you, Holy Spirit, that you 00:47:11.530 --> 00:47:14.130 are within us, that you are working on us, on 00:47:14.130 --> 00:47:17.559 the inner man. We just pray. Pray, Lord, that 00:47:17.559 --> 00:47:20.679 we would continue to yield to the work that you 00:47:20.679 --> 00:47:23.139 want to do in us and that you would conform us 00:47:23.139 --> 00:47:26.219 more and more to the image of Christ as the days 00:47:26.219 --> 00:47:28.119 go on. Thank you again for our time together. 00:47:28.360 --> 00:47:31.219 We love you. We praise you in the name of Christ. 00:47:31.880 --> 00:47:32.320 Amen.