In verse 12 of 1 Corinthians
6, Paul, and in the first part of verse 13 also, he's making
a statement of contrast in order to set up what he wants to say.
And we'll see that. Look at what he says. All things
are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things
are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power
of any. Meats for the belly and the belly for meats, but God
shall destroy both it and them. Now he's making that statement
as a statement of contrast for what he's gonna say next. He's
setting up what he's fixing to say. He's saying this is how
it is with indulgences of the flesh for the most part. Meats
for the belly and the belly for meats is representative of satisfying
the desires of the flesh, the various desires of the flesh. And I say desires because the
Lord has made us in such a way and has made things so that these
bodies, the bodies that we dwell in and that are us, it's us,
we enjoy fulfillment, we enjoy Things like food, which is mentioned
here, but as an example of other things, any satisfying of the
flesh, of a fleshly enjoyment. We love beautiful music. We're
just made that way. We love, some people love certain
activities and others don't. We're a little different in that,
but everybody enjoys things that happen to this body
or that we do with this body. And the Lord made it that way
deliberately. Food, for example, is not just
a function of staying alive. I'm so glad it's not. The Lord
could have made it that way where food was just something that,
you know, you grab a couple of tablets and put them in your
mouth and chew them up and swallow them and they don't taste like
anything, but they keep you alive. He could have done it like that.
I'm thankful he didn't. There's enjoyments for our body
that are deliberate. The Lord has made it that way.
Meats for the belly and the belly for meats. That's what the body
is for. The body is made that way on
purpose. It's something we enjoy very
much. And food is a good example of
that, you see. Because we do. Enjoy good food,
and the body is for that. Other things we enjoy are the
same way, as long as it's expedient. That's the stipulation made on
this part of what Paul's talking about. As long as it's expedient,
and that word means profitable. As long as it's profitable. There
are profitable indulgences that we enjoy with our body. So there's this category of fleshly
fulfillments that's governed only by this one thing, expedience,
profitable, so that it's profitable. Things themselves aren't sinful. Alcohol is not sinful. Tobacco
is not sinful. drugs that affect the body in
different ways. Some extreme and some not so
extreme. They are not in and of themselves sinful. They're
not evil. But look what Paul said about
that. I will not be brought under the power of any. We control
what we enjoy, but when what you enjoy begins to control you,
you've got a problem. We enjoy drinking alcohol, a
little bit of alcohol. Some people do, some people don't,
that's fine. We enjoy the way it makes us
feel, but there's a line in there. There's a danger, there's a warning. Care needs to be taken. I will
not be brought under the power of any, so expedience is the
rule regarding all these types of things that have to do with
indulging the flesh. It's profitable. It's good for
you to be happy, to enjoy things, to be fulfilled in the ways that
the body needs and wants, to a point, to be fulfilled. But it's important to see that
Paul is saying all that deliberately as a contrast to what he's really
talking about here. It's that way with all of these
different things. Meat represents something we
enjoy, something we put in our body, we enjoy it. It's necessary,
but it's also fulfilling. There are quite a few other things
like that that we could mention. But he's setting up this contrast
because people might think that the subject he's dealing with
here is that way. That sex is that way. That it's just something to be
enjoyed as long as it's practiced responsibly and it's consensual. It's just another indulgent of
the flesh that's lawful. Not so. You see the contrast
here? The body is not for that. The
belly is for meats, for things that we enjoy in this life. Some people enjoy smoking tobacco,
okay? Makes you feel a certain way,
mellows you out, whatever. Fine. But the body is not for fornication. You see the contrast that he
was building up to this whole time? And the reason that he points
out that most things are that way is to forcefully make the
point that fornication is not like that. It is not part of
that program. The belly is for meats and meats
for the belly, but the body is not for fornication. God deliberately
made it so that all of the things that are enjoyable are enjoyable. Again, it didn't have to be that
way. He did it so that we would enjoy them in ways that are profitable,
that are profitable to our happiness and our well-being, our mental
well-being, and we thank the Lord for them. But fornication
is in another category. The body is not for that. That
need is fulfilled in marriage and only in marriage for a reason. That is a temptation and a strong
desire of the flesh for fulfillment that must be resisted for a reason,
for a very good reason. The need for expedience in the
one category of things that's lawful, as long as it's profitable,
as long as it's, as the scripture says in other places, done in
a way that's That's, what's the word I'm looking for? Moderate,
in moderation. But the need for that expedience
in that one category and the need to flee the other are for
the same reason. We belong to the Lord. We belong
to, it says Christ, we belong to the Son of God. We belong
to the Lord Jesus Christ, that's why. And verse 14 creates another
contrast, look at it with me. And God hath both raised up the
Lord and will also raise up us by his own power. This is contrasted
with the fact that these bodies, as he mentioned before, and the
things that satisfy them are both temporal and all that will
be destroyed. It's not gonna be like that anymore
when the Lord comes. But when you enter the realm
of making the members of Christ into the members of an harlot,
then there's another consideration that has to be acknowledged.
Yes, these bodies are to be destroyed as they are now, but the Lord
shall change our vile bodies and shall fashion them like unto
his glorious body. And temporal indulgence is not
the only consideration now, but honoring the Lord, when it comes
to that part of the subject, that we are to honor the Lord
with these bodies, that's an eternal consideration. That's
something that don't go away. He raised up the Lord and he's
gonna raise us up too. And he changes us. And that's
an eternal thing. We will still be us in glory. We're still gonna be us. We shall
be changed, thank the Lord, but we're still gonna be us. We're
gonna recognize one another. That's clear in the scripture.
Our identity and these bodies are integral to our identity. Not like they are now then, but
still integral to who we are. He's gonna raise up and change these bodies. And when we are in glory with
our Lord, it's still gonna be us who we are right now. And we're
gonna glorify him in these bodies and with these bodies, though
changed, though not the same, And though these bodies we have
now will be destroyed as they are, as he said in verse 13,
they are even now. Now, right now, your body is
the temple of the Lord and member, a member of the body of Christ. Look at verse 15. Know ye not
that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take
the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. God forbid. In the garden, it wasn't the
particular kind of fruit that was forbidden. That was the issue. It doesn't matter. It doesn't
say it was an apple. It doesn't matter what it was.
It's not about that. The fruit itself wasn't evil
any more than the other things that they were given to enjoy.
The issue is the question of the Lord's honor, His will, His
authority, His sovereignty. The issue is obedience to Him.
It's submission to Him. And that's the issue with all
sin. Things are not evil. Even when
we're preaching on sin, We're preaching Christ, aren't we?
That's the point of all this. How many times did he mention?
The reason he's saying all this is because we belong to the Lord,
because the Lord paid the unspeakable price and bought
us with his own precious blood on Calvary. That's the point
of all this. That's the motivation. That's
why it's evil. It's everything to do with it. We don't preach about sin so
that people will know what's right and what's wrong. You already
know that. Don't tell me you don't know
when you're doing something wrong. The Lord gave you a conscience.
He gave us that naturally. Everybody has that. This world
knows right from wrong. Not in a godly way. Not when it comes to spiritual
things because the world doesn't understand anything about the
spirit. The natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit
of God. They're foolishness and he has no ability to know them.
But we don't preach on sin for that reason to teach you what's
right and wrong. Did you not know before tonight
that fornication was wrong? Anybody? That's not why we preach. We certainly don't preach on
sin so that people will avoid sin so they can go to heaven
when they die. Either Christ is all of your
righteousness before God, or you don't have any. We preach concerning sin for
one purpose only. And it's simply this, oh, that
we might honor the Lord that bought us, the Lord who sits
on the throne, the Lord that made us and has given us everything
we have. He created a paradise for Adam
and dropped him in the middle of it and said, enjoy everything,
but I'm God. And Adam wanted to be God. Is
that us? Look what the Lord has done for
us. And will we throw it away? Will
we be animals and monsters in spite of it? In spite of what
he's worthy of? In spite of his love toward us?
In spite of him giving us every spiritual blessing there is to
give? and every earthly blessing there is. You think about that.
If everything works for my good, then even when I don't have something,
God blessed me. Everything, all things are yours,
Paul said. Shall we make the members of
the body of Christ into the members of the harlot? Indeed, God forbid. God forbid it because we will
do that We will absolutely do that But God don't let it happen. Don't let it happen We're bought with the precious
blood of God's Son shall I continue in seeing that grace may abound
God forbid Shall I make The members of Christ, the members of an
harlot, God forbid. Look at verse 16. What? That's
an expression of disbelief. And of course, Paul knows he's
as much a sinner as any of them. He's not talking down to them,
but that's a good question. What?
For all of us, isn't it? What? Know ye not that he which
is joined to and heart of is one body? For two, saith he,
shall be one flesh. You see where we are now? This
is not trying to get you to see right from wrong or try to motivate
you, you know, because if you don't quit doing bad stuff, you're
not going to go to heaven. Ephesians 5, 25 through 33. God says we're one flesh. And
as marriage is a picture of that, let's read it. Because we forget,
don't we? We're familiar with this, but
we're not. Ephesians 5.25. Look at how this pertains to
our text as we read through this. 5.25. Husbands, love your wives, even
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. Does
that have anything to do with our text? Love your wives. Fornication is not loving your
wife. It's the opposite of that. And he gave himself. He gave
himself, that's the point of our text. That he might sanctify
and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he
might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle
or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. as their own bodies. He that
loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his
own flesh, but nourisheth it and cherisheth it, even as the
Lord the church. For we are members of his body,
of his flesh and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave
his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife. and
they too shall be one flesh. It's a great mystery, isn't it?
It's a great mystery. Our text is mysterious. We're
a member of the body of Christ. Is that not mysterious to you
and yet wonderful? We're one spirit. Remember that
part we read? Those that are Joined to an harlot
are one body, but those that are joined to the Lord are one
spirit. Imagine that. One with Christ. I speak concerning Christ and
the church. Nevertheless, let every one of
you in particular so love his wife, even as himself. Our text
says you're sinning against your own body when you commit fornication.
You see that in this Ephesians 5 here? And the wife see that she reverence
her husband. So look at verse 17 back in our
text. He that is joined unto the Lord
is one spirit. What a great mystery all of this
is. What marriage pictures. Marriage
itself is a mysterious thing, isn't it? To be one with somebody
else. One. A great mystery. John 17, 22,
in the glory which thou gavest me, our Lord prayed to the Father,
I've given them, that they may be one, even as we are one. Great mystery. I in them and
thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that
the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them
as thou hast loved me. That much one. That's what one
is. The Lord loves us like he loves
his own precious only begotten son. That's a great mystery, but a glorious one. Galatians
2.20, I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me. Is that mysterious to you? What's
he saying? Is it me living or Christ living?
It's confusing, isn't it? But that's a good confusion.
That's a wonderful confusion. Is it me or Christ? Sounds like
both, doesn't it? Kind of sounds like both. Christ liveth in me. and the
life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of
the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. The fruit
of the Spirit is love. Think about this now, this is
mysterious, but we have some light, some scripture that we
can remember and think about regarding this. The fruit of
the Spirit within us is love. The Spirit is in us and Love
is born out as fruit on a tree. But you know, we know that that's
not natural to us in the sense that in our flesh dwelleth no
good thing. And yet, it's not foreign to
us. It's not like some foreign entity
is indwelling our body because the Lord didn't ask Simon Peter,
does the spirit love me? He said, Simon, do you love me?
It's me. One, one spirit. In the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me, here we are again,
and gave himself for me. Did Chris preach on fornication
tonight? Or did we talk about Christ crucified? He loved me and gave himself
for me. But I'm telling you this, if
you don't have any grasp on that, you've got no chance, no chance
to resist the temptations of the flesh, none. Until the Lord
teaches us who he is and what he did for me. I'm jumping ahead
of myself a little bit here, but I want to say this right
here in this place. He loved me and gave himself
for me, Galatians 2.20. If this is a question of me resisting
temptation, me facing evil, and being strong enough to say, well, I want to, but I know it's not
right. And it becomes down to a struggle in my flesh. I lose. When Paul said, flee fornication,
flee it. That means to avoid that which
is repugnant. By the grace of God, we're gonna
have to love the Lord Jesus enough to where this is not even a struggle. It's repugnant. It's absolutely
repugnant. If it's a struggle, I lose. But if God gives me the grace
to see him, not the evil, not my own heart, not anything else,
to see the one who loved me and gave himself for me, I win. I win because Christ is the victory. If I've done it unto you, I've
done it unto him. Good or bad, one. One, one spirit. Verse 18. Flee fornication. Every sin that
a man doeth is without the body, but he that committeth fornication
sinneth against his own body. You see what he's saying here.
Fornication is different in that it's the body itself that that
is the sin, that is the temptation, that is the fulfillment of the
body. Typically, sin involves something outside of the body
that is desirable and our will and our flesh desires that more
than God. That's why if it comes down to,
oh, I don't know if I can resist, you've already lost, you've already
lost. This sin involves the body itself
in a way that other sin does not. So it's particularly self-destructive. You're sinning against your own
body. And we do that in that we sin against our wife or husband. Our own body. One flesh. We sin against our own body in
that we sin against the body of Christ of which we are all
members. If we know Him, You see how this
thing must be understood in the context. And then verse 19. What? Know you not that your
body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which
you have of God and you are not your own? In teaching about sin, And this is what Paul is dealing
with. He's dealing with sin. And yet we're learning so much
about what salvation is. Isn't that beautiful? Members
of his body, we talked about already. Members of his body.
That's what salvation is. It's to become a member of the
body of Christ. He said, I'm the vine and you're
the branches. One tree, one plant. one spirit with Christ we talked
about, which is just, it's too wonderful for me and
you too, I know it is. And here, what is it to be saved? Indwelt by the Holy Ghost. Do you walk around with the conscious
realization that the Holy Spirit of God lives inside of you? Yeah, me neither. I think we
need to, don't you? Seems like we need to from the
exhortation of our text tonight. Indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And again now, let me stress
this again. I wanna go back and get this
from verse 18. Flee fornication. If it comes down to you resisting
the temptation because you feel bad about it, you will fail.
Paul doesn't say here, overcome the temptation. Though that's not necessarily
a bad way to say it because we are told to resist the devil
and the scriptures. But the way Paul does say it
here tells us something. Flee it. Flee it. We must, by the grace
of God, understand who we are. Members, one spirit, the temple
of the Holy Ghost, what we are and why. Because he loved us
and gave himself for us. We've got to love the Lord Jesus
Christ, and I know the flesh ain't gonna do this, it's gonna
be the spirit of God in us. That's why Paul said, yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me. We've got to love the Lord Jesus
Christ in such a way that it's not a question of willpower. Our will doesn't have any of
that. We don't look at this sin in
such a way that there's a battle inside about whether to give
in or not. We have to see it as something
so repulsive that we want nothing to do with it. And God's got
to do that for us. Flee from it like a snake. It
means to shun that which is support. I told you I was getting ahead
of myself. I know I'm saying this twice, but I'm glad I am. Flee and shun it as something
abhorrent. That's not the way we normally
deal with things like this is it? That's why we fail And then look at verse 20 Here we are Here we are For you were bought with a price Therefore, because of that, not,
do you want to go to heaven when you die? Not, well, my good's
gotta outweigh my bad. Because the Son of God loved
you and gave himself for you, therefore, glorify him. That's the only reason you're
ever gonna glorify him. You're not gonna do it for any
other reason. You're not gonna do it because he gave you a new
job that pays more. No, you're gonna glorify yourself
if that's your motivation. Glorify him. Glorify him for that reason. The Lord Jesus gave himself for
me. What do we need to hear in order
to be saved? Christ crucified. What do we
need to hear in order to have assurance? You wanna look to
your works or the strength of your faith for assurance? Don't
recommend that. What do we need to hear in order
to have rest and peace? What do we need to hear in order
to persevere in the faith? What do we need to hear in order
to avoid sin and live for the glory of God? Christ and Him crucified. Glorify God with your body We
sang that song, Lord, take my hands, take my feet, take my
voice, take what we call our money, though it's his, but we
call it that, so I don't mind singing it that way to you. That's
what we say, it's my money. Lord, take it. May you be glorified in all of it. First Corinthians
9, 24, know you not that they which run in a race run all,
but one receiveth the prize, so run that you may obtain. And every man that striveth for
mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown, but we an incorruptible. And I therefore so run, not as
uncertainly. You see what he's saying here?
I run, not as uncertainly. I'm not just running just for
the sake of running. Let's go do something for the Lord. You
have any idea what the Lord's doing? What business He's in?
Let's feed the world for the Lord. The Lord's the one that
feeds us. How are we gonna feed anybody
without Him? I don't run uncertainly. We know
where Paul was running. There wasn't anything uncertain
about it. I pressed for the mark for the prize of the high calling
of God. And I know where that is. It's
in his son. So fight I, not as one that beateth
the air, not just to be doing something. It's not impotent,
it's not ineffectual. I fight for a reason, I fight
for a purpose. I keep, verse 27, but I keep
under my body and bring it into subjection. How important is that? That we live for his glory, that
we, by his grace, not resist temptation by the strength of
our will or the strength of our faith, for that matter. but by
his strength. How important is that? Lest by
any means, what I have preached to others, I myself should be
a castaway. You're bought with the precious
blood of Christ as of a lamb, without blemish and without spot.
Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit. which are God's. The title of
this message tonight is God's, apostrophe S, God's. Not to be saved, but because
you are. You're already bought. Do you
see that in the text? Because you're bought. as a result
of his precious blood being shed for you. And by the way, when
he shed his blood, he bought you. He didn't buy you a chance. He bought you. He redeemed you. He paid the
price of your sin where he is. When Hosea bought Gomer, remember
what he said? you're not gonna be for anybody
else anymore. And I'm not either. Has the Lord bought us? Are we gonna be for anybody else?
God forbid, God forbid. Well, preacher, if you tell people
that they're actually bought with Christ's blood and that
they're saved and nothing of it is up to them, they're gonna
sin without restraint. Anybody that would say that or
believe that knows nothing of the love of Christ. For the love
of Christ constraineth us, not the law. The love of Christ And the definition
of love is that he bought us with his precious blood, here
in his love. God give us grace to live in
that love. And don't think of this as something
that you need to do for God. This is something he needs to
do for you. Everything acceptable to him
he provides May we never forget that And
so we pray we cry unto him Lord keep us Keep us for Christ's
sake Amen let's pray