I please God to bless us together
this evening as we consider his word. Let's turn to the first
epistle of Paul to the Corinthians and chapter 6 and we'll read
the last two verses. Verses 19 and 20 in the sixth
chapter of the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. Know ye not that your body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have
of God, and ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit which are God's. We observe that the Apostle Paul
was concerned about the Corinthian church, so that he came to the
end of this section by asking them questions. And how relevant
it is in our lives today that The Word of God speaks to us
in this way and asks us questions. Sometimes we are very apt to
just carry on in our little lives and seem to be unconcerned and
with no real desire to fully appreciate the great truths that
the Word of God contains. And that perhaps especially refers
to those of us who have been brought up to come and gather
together for worship, and perhaps indeed still to worship in our
own homes, and the things of God can become very familiar. and almost, we could say, familiarity
breeds contempt and sadly we often seem to pass over the great
truths of God. And even when very relevant parts
are read, They don't seem to have an effect upon us. Now, Paul was concerned about
the state of the Corinthian church, and as we know, there were those
things that he had to address, and he had to point out where
they were erring, and to direct them and to bring them back to
the right way. But here we have, in these verses
here really, a fundamental and perhaps the most important consideration
that you and I might realise. And he tells us this. It's a
statement which he makes to the Church of God, he says, for ye
are bought with a price. This is real cause for meditation. First of all to realise that
we need to be purchased because we have no power or no currency
ourselves to deliver our soul and then to realise what the
price of our redemption is. And of course the price of our
redemption is none less than the blood of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. and how important such a thought
is, and how wonderful this consideration is, and how we should desire
to hear such truths set before us. We might read the truths,
and there are a number of instances in the Word of God that direct
us very clearly to such statements, so that we may be reminded of
the tremendous importance of them and the enormous value of
our salvation, the wonder of it, the blessing of it, as we
recognise and realise that we were born in sin, shaped in iniquity,
helpless, dead, sinners on the earth, and with nothing to merit
any esteem of our God. and yet to be a partaker of this
wonderful blessing of eternal life. And so the apostle directs
us to this question, and he says, what? It's as though saying,
do you not understand? Have you not really considered?
Are you just carrying on in your portable life without realising
the vital importance of these things, what do you not realise? I wonder tonight whether we realise
that the question, what, might come to us, maybe apply to us,
indeed how we need the Spirit of God to apply his word to our
hearts, so that there is a movement within, We're not just left as
a dead person, a dead person who knows nothing, no feelings,
no hearing, no sight. Well, are we like that? The question here is what? Know
ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which
is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own." It's a very important statement,
isn't it? Because often, especially when
we're younger, we anticipate things in our life. We plan it out. You young people,
perhaps, are looking to your life and planning it out, what
you'll take in A-levels, where you'll go after that, and perhaps
to college, perhaps to university, perhaps out to work, and then
afterwards you go to work, and then perhaps you think of your
life beyond that, perhaps a time when you hope to get married
and hope to have children and so on, and you planned it out
and you worked it out in your mind, well, just remember. And what a blessing it is, if
you possess the work of the Spirit in your heart, you are no longer
your own. I told you, I think, before, of
a man I knew who told me when he was 14 years of age, and that's not very old is it?
He was 14 years of age and the Lord met him and the Lord called
him. The Lord called him by his grace
and he was a changed person. And he told me this, and he said,
ever since that moment, I realised that I was not my own. No, I was bought with a price.
He was able therefore to then live his life as unto the Lord. He died an old man of 85. And
for those 71 years, he had served the Lord. in a very inconspicuous
way, but a way that brought great honour and glory to God. And
he was wonderfully and mightily used. He was a very wealthy man,
but he was a very humble man. What an example we have sometimes,
which God gives us to observe, and therefore we realise that
these things are true. These are not just fables. They're
not just phrases that some man has put together and written
down. It is the infallible, powerful
Word of God. And such words are indeed true. And so may all of us, young and
old, come to this knowledge and bless God for it, that we are
not our own. You know it will make a tremendous
influence in your and my life, if we desire to live our life
unto the Lord. And you know that will involve
praying over many things. I mean praying over your A-levels,
praying over your college or university, praying over your
jobs. Praying over husbands and wives. Praying over purchasing flats
and houses. Praying over buying a car. Praying
over buying a bicycle. All these things and the desire
will be that in all those things you may do these things for the
honour and glory of God. Realising that no longer are
you your own. These things are recorded for
our instruction and for our blessing. And it's wonderful that we have
such a record to influence our lives, so that we do not just
carry on in a vain and mad way, pleasing ourselves. You know,
so many people today You hear it regularly. I want to spend
time for me. Me is the all-important person. I want to do this. I want me
to enjoy this and that. What a wonderful thing it is
when grace comes in our hearts and makes that change so that
we desire to be found serving the Lord and doing His will,
using our time using our talents for the Lord and not for ourselves. Well, the Apostle was concerned
that the Corinthians might come to that knowledge. And as we
know, the word of God is written for all his church down through
the ages and it is as appropriate for you and me today as it was
the day that Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians. And
his great question is, know ye not that your body is the temple
of the Holy Ghost? That means that the Spirit of
God, just try and imagine that, the Spirit of God dwelling within
us, in our new nature, dwelling within us. And you see, surely
then, The Spirit of God is dwelling within us, and every single thought
and motive is known to God. There is absolutely no secret
that you can have to yourself. God knows every single thought,
every single thought, and therefore you cannot think things and consider,
well God will not find that out, God will not know that. If the
Spirit of God is dwelling within, and He dwells within all His
people, it is an amazing blessing to think that Almighty God should
condescend to dwell within our mortal body. What know ye not
that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost? Well, it is
indeed the temple of the Holy Ghost and how important it is
that we have an understanding of that. You know, the Apostle
doesn't mention this just once, there's a number of occasions
in the Word of God where he tells us this, and he says this, If
any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall
receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned,
He shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so
as by fire. And by that I believe we should
understand that there may be those things in our life which
we have allowed to come in and perhaps dominate our life. The
Lord has seen fit to destroy it. And it may be so as by fire. And he goes on to say, Know ye
not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple
of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy,
which temple ye are. Let no man deceive himself." Our religion is between ourself
and God. And how necessary it is then
that we don't deceive ourself. You know, the devil is the greatest
deceiver. He is always endeavouring to
deceive us. Perhaps to deceive us and say,
well, if you are like that, then without any doubt, the spirit
does not dwell within. It may be the very opposite.
It may be the conflict. It may be the spirit of God is
dwelling within. And therefore the devil is doing
all he can to try and gain entrance into our hearts and to destroy
that which God has given. Well, bless God, the devil will
never succeed. But it may be a battle. Yes,
and it may be hard for the old flesh. The battle is always hard for
the old flesh. But the victory is not through
the flesh. The victory is through the Lord
Jesus Christ. So we have that evidence then
of the work of God directing us. And you may remember that
we read this morning something of the truth of these things
in that 6th chapter of the 2nd epistle of Paul to the Corinthians,
where he said this. He said in verse 16, And what
agreement hath the temple of God with idols? The temple of God with idols.
Again this separates really, it shows us that there may be
idols in our life. And it's so easy for idols to
rise up in our life. The devil knows your weakness
and my weakness. He may be very different. Nonetheless,
he knows that which we are weak. And we may be making an idol
of some certain thing. So, we read, And what agreement
hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the
living God, The living God, again, ponders such a statement. As
God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will
be their God and they shall be my people. Wherefore, come out
from among them and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not
the unclean thing and I will receive you. Mostly, we can conclude
that Idols are unclean things. Many things are unclean things.
We are to pray that they may be left behind, left behind,
because of the law dwelling within us. What a solemn consideration
it is to think that we possess the Holy Spirit of God within
us. What an influence that should
make in our lives. when the Apostle wrote to the
Ephesians he speaks about this body of Christ because the Church
of God is made up of parts and they form the body of Christ
and he says in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth
unto an holy temple in the Lord in whom you also are built together
for inhabitation of God through the Spirit. Again, it's a wonderful
thought, isn't it, to think that we form part of this great building,
this Church of God. And yet it's very solemn to think
that we are such, and yet so poor, so sinful, so evil. So what know ye not that your
body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which
ye have of God, and ye are not your own? No, we're not our own. And that is an important consideration
which we so often again tend to forget. We carry on in our
own little sinful way. forgetting that we are bought
with this price. And as we are bought with this
price to realise that we are favoured to be indwelt by the
Holy Spirit of God and that Holy Spirit of God instructs us and
directs us and teaches us. When the Apostle wrote to the
Romans wrote to the church at Rome, like he wrote to the church
at Corinth, he said, He that regardeth the day, regardeth
it unto the Lord. He that regardeth not the day,
to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to
the Lord, for he giveth God thanks. And he that eateth not, to the
Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. For none of us liveth
to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live,
we live unto the Lord. And whether we die, we die unto
the Lord. Whether we live therefore or
die, we are the Lord's. Well, are we living unto the
Lord? Again, it's a tremendous question,
isn't it? Are we living unto the Lord? The Apostle wrote these
things for our instruction, that we might desire to truly walk
in this godly way, and not be so involved in all the carnal
things of life, all the things that crowd into our hearts and
minds day by day, Yes, which is in you, which ye have of God,
and ye are not your own. Well, there are many statements,
many truths which direct us to this great truth, but I want
to just move on. For ye are bought with a price. How we must be blessed with a
personal knowledge of the truth of this Word. And I believe as
the Spirit of God may apply this Word to our hearts, well, it
will move us. We must be a different person.
We cannot remain unmoved when we think of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the ever-living God, the Lord God Almighty condescending to
come into this world and to pay the price for our sins. Oh, my friends, what a price,
what a price to pay. The next chapter, the apostle
comes and speaks in the same way. He says, for he that is
called in the Lord being a servant is the Lord's free man. Likewise
also, he that is called being free is Christ's servant. Ye
are bought with a price. Be not ye the servants of men.
We are to serve the Lord. It's a big difference, isn't
it? Sometimes the fear of man brings a snare. We find we're
serving men rather than serving the Lord. But here we have this
A very clear statement, ye are bought for the price, be ye the
servants of men. Brethren, let every man when
he is called therein abide with God, for ye are bought for the
price. How do we appreciate that? Do
we understand it? Do we know the value of it? It
is of Tremendous value. It's a value beyond what you
and I can really ever fully understand this style of glory. It is so
great to think that the Lord Jesus Christ died upon Calvary's
cross in order to save our soul. Again, the Apostle wrote in the
Galatians, he tells us, Christ hath redeemed us from what? from the curse of the law. What
is the curse of the law? The soul that sinneth it shall
die. Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law being made a curse for us. For it is written, cursed
is everyone that hangeth on a tree. The Lord Jesus Christ, he it
is, and he alone has redeemed us, we are bought with a price. Oh my friends, Christ's redemption
price, His blood. Can we say, do we desire to say,
invaluable blood? How few appreciate the value
of Christ's blood. How many indeed trample it underfoot,
have no real desire to value it. Do we value this tonight? This price that was paid. For
ye are bought with a price. Oh, the Apostle, he knew the
value of it. He knew what he deserved. He knew how the Lord had been
gracious and favourable to him. He tells us He says, having, in Ephesians
chapter 1, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ, to himself, according to the good pleasure
of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace. So it's a free, unmerited favour,
and it deserves boundless praise, wherein he hath made us accepted
in the Beloved. We are only accepted through
the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other place, no other
way of acceptance to God in whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of His grace. Now surely it's clear we've sinned. We are sinners, we are deep-dyed
sinners, and we need our sins to be taken away. We need our
sins to be forgiven. How are they to be taken away?
How are they to be forgiven? Well, this is the only way. Here we have it through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, wherein
He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom, and patience, having
made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his
pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself." And so we could
read on. You can read on in the first
chapter of the Ephesians. We started at verse 7. You can
read on from there and you will see the glory of this wonderful
transaction in the Lord Jesus Christ dying upon Calvary's cross
in order to shed his blood, to atone for the sins of his people,
for the sins of his church. No other way of forgiveness.
And so tonight, do we come, do we say, well, I understand, it
is indeed invaluable blood. I come and I bow down and I worship
as I realise what the Lord has done. Now ponder this. There are billions of people
in the world who have never been blessed with His favour. Why? Why should God look upon you
and me? The writer says, what was there
in me to merit esteem or give my Creator delight? What was there? Can we see any
good in ourselves? If you're looking to your own
goodness, you're on the wrong track. You need to realise, in
and of ourselves, as the Apostle said, in my flesh there dwelleth
no good thing. By nature there dwelleth no good
thing. It is only as the Holy Spirit
of God awakens us And as he wakens us, it's in the words of the
Apostle, and you hath he quickened, made alive who were dead in trespasses
and in sins. And he goes on to speak, wherein
in time past, well, has there been a time past? Bless God if
there has. Wherein in time past, ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation,
in time past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others. But God, oh my friends, but God,
have we got a but God in our lives? But God, who is rich in
mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ by grace,
ye are saved. Oh, isn't it wonderful, isn't
it glorious to think that we undeserving sinners have been
saved, have been called by the grace of God So that our hope
tonight is in what Christ has done. You are bought with a price. Now do we say, oh that price
was so high, my sins are so great. True believers are not small
sinners. True believers are great sinners. And they bless God for the truth
which says, He came to seek and to say that which is lost. The
worst of sinners. No one is too bad for the glorious
salvation of the Saviour. The prophet says, come now and
let us reason together. Your sins be as scarlet as shall
be as wool. They be as crimson as shall be
as white as snow. See, it matters not how bad our
sins are, how great they are. No, the word of God says, come
now, and let us reason together. Oh, to come then to the Lord,
for ye are bought with a price. We may desire indeed to know
this in and of ourselves. We may be concerned about it.
And therefore there is a gracious invitation to come now and let
us reason together. It will be a blessed reasoning
when you come to your God and you pour out your heart and you
explain how bad you are, how wrong you are, how evil you are.
And then the Lord displays to you his love, shows to you that
you are one, one of those for whom he gave his life, one of
those for whom he shared his precious blood. And the apostle goes on to say,
therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which
are God's." Now, as the Spirit of God applies these truths to
our hearts, there will be a real desire to glorify God in our
body. That will mean to honour Him
in all that we do and say. You see, the Apostle sets before
us this situation here, and it's very clear and very beautiful,
isn't it? And then he says, therefore, therefore, it's something that applies to
you and me. It's not something that we will want to skirt around. When the heart is touched, when
the heart is moved by the gracious love of the Spirit of God, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, to realise the wonderful love of God, the
water our souls. And if we think of the rebellion
and hardness and opposition to our God, yet he hasn't cast us
off. As it were, he's drawn us to
himself. It may be that little by little,
there we were, in the wasteland and wilderness, far off from
God. My friends, God knew where we
were. Remember that? parable of what
we term the prodigal son. He was far off, as far as he
could get, but you see the Lord dealt with him. He dealt with
him in this way. He began to be in want. That is the work of the Spirit
of God. And you and I begin a little
breath of life. We begin to be in want. Want
of what? Want of the knowledge that we
are one of the Lords. We want the evidence that we
are those who have received the gift of eternal life. We want
the favour of knowing that we are indeed bought with a price,
and that price, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then you
see that the Lord has graciously heard our cry, which no doubt
it would have been. A cry, a plea for mercy. A plea that the Lord will be
gracious to us. And to come to this wonderful
knowledge that the blessed Lord has paid that debt which we could
not pay. There we were, standing before
the bar of God, in that bar of justice, with the law condemning
us. We realised that we had sinned
against the law, perhaps against light and knowledge. Guilty and
helpless. And then to be blessed with this
knowledge that we've been purchased. that Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed
our soul. Oh, my friends, ponder that. Redemption, you know, is a most
glorious word. If you are a guilty sinner, you
will bless God for the plan of salvation. You will bless God
for redemption. You will bless God for the Lord
Jesus Christ. You won't haggle about the things,
the truth of God's word. You will fall down and your worship. You know, true religion is worshipping
and true worshipping is falling down before God. Indeed, just
like the Apostle Paul at Damascus Road, what did he say? Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do? An open heart to do the will
of God. And his concern from then forth
was to glorify God in his body. My friends, may it be our concern,
may it be our desire, indeed, to follow such a pattern as this. You see, the Apostle brings his
word, therefore. It's there for a purpose. It's
there to instruct us. It's there to encourage us. It's
there to direct us with a great plan of God. This is God's word. For ye are bought with a price,
therefore." If you are bought with a price, this word applies
to you and it applies to me. If we are bought with a price,
and we hope we are bought with a price, and with the evidence that the
Lord has had mercy upon us, and therefore we are bought with
a price, and therefore The Word says, glorify God in
your body and in your spirit, which are God's. Because we come
back to that truth, we are no longer our own. You are not your own, no longer. Our desire should be then, under
the blessed influence of the Holy Spirit of God, Because when
the heart is touched, you know, when our heart is soft, then
we don't bring up excuses. We just desire to do the will
of God. Just what the Apostle did. Lord,
what will they have me to do? What a change in his life. There
he was a few minutes ago, rushing along in opposition to God. Well,
the Lord came. The appointed time had come,
in Paul's case, not to propose, but to call by grace. And there
was the evidence, and there was the favour, and there was the
blessing of it. Well, we have one of the most
glorious statements, I always think, in the Word of God, with
regard to this redemption, made by none less than the Apostle
Peter. The Apostle Peter knew what it
was so painfully, to fall painfully to deny his Lord and Master. And don't forget, when he did
turn his back upon Jesus, those three times, and then, as the
Lord has said, he heard the cock crow, and the Lord turned and looked
upon Peter, and that look penetrated into his hard heart. My friends,
if the Lord turns and looks upon you, perhaps in your hard heart,
it will have an effect. What effect was it? In the life
of Peter, he turned, he went out and he wept bitterly. Yes,
he was really sorry for his sin, really sorry for that which he'd
done. He wept bitterly. And as such,
you see, the Apostle knew the value of the redeeming blood
of the Saviour. It wasn't his life, just a head
knowledge, it was an experience that he passed through. And therefore,
he tells us in the first epistle, the first chapter, verse 18,
for as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible
things as silver and gold from your vain conversation, received
by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, the
spotless Son of God, who verily was foreordained before the foundation
of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
who by Him do believe in God. It's by Him that we believe in
God, we haven't the ability ourselves. He gives us the grace to believe. Who by Him do believe in God,
that raised Him up from the dead, and gave him glory, that your
faith and hope might be in God." What a consolation. You see,
our faith and hope is not in ourselves. That would be a poor
thing, wouldn't it? Our faith and hope might be in
God. Well, my friends this evening,
where is our faith? Where is our hope? Is it in God? Oh, I hope it may be. If it is,
bless God, rejoice in it, and praise Him for His great goodness
towards you. And hear the word of God speaking
to your heart tonight. What? Know ye not that your body
is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have
of God, and ye are not your own, for ye are
bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which are God's. Amen.