If you'd like to follow along
I'm gonna be in 1st Corinthians chapter 6 1st Corinthians chapter
6 And I want to read the last two verses
verses 19 and 20 What Know ye not that your body is the temple
of the Holy Ghost which is in you and which ye have of God,
and ye are not your own. For, for, ye are bought with
a price. Therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which are God's. This letter is written by Paul. Now this is kind of a strange
one in this. It says in verse two of chapter
one of Corinthians, Paul called an apostle to Jesus Christ through
the will of God and Sosthenes, our brother. So this was from
Paul and Sosthenes. Who was Sosthenes? I have no
idea. Gil says, Probably he's the chief
ruler of the synagogue in Corinth. There is another mention of this
word, the guy's name Sosthenes in Acts. And he was pulled up
in front of some of the Jews because evidently he agreed with
Paul. The only thing that's really
important here is here it is, it says, this is sent from Paul
Ansosthenes, here's the word, our brother. That's the important
part. And Paul didn't say my brother.
He said our brother. So, but here's where it was sent
to. It was sent to the church of
God at Corinth. Verse two says this. Under the
church of God, which is at Corinth, Here's the other one. To them
that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints. And I like, this is my favorite
part. With all that in every place, call upon the name of
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Both theirs and ours. I like this, this epistle. Paul
says is written to all that in every place call
upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ. I'm gonna
tell you something, that includes us. That includes us. This letter is written to the
assembly at the Sovereign Grace Chapel. And I'm gonna tell you something,
it doesn't matter wherever the child of God is, this letter
is written to them. Whenever and wherever they are,
this gospel, this epistle, this letter about the Lord Jesus Christ
is written to them. Because here's the thing, there
is no new message. Not one. There's one message,
and it's the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul was writing it in
a form of a letter to these people at Corinth, but he wrote it to
us also. Oh, I like that. The gospel we
preach here is good news, but it's not new. It's not new. It's the same gospel that was
proclaimed in the Old Testament, proclaimed in the New Testament,
and proclaimed in the epistles of the New Testament. Because this, preaching Christ,
is the same message that was preached in Genesis 3 to Adam
and Eve. The seed of the woman shall bruise
the head of the serpent. And he did. He did. Oh, that's good news. Oh. Now, what I wanna talk about
today, My title is called You Are Not Your Own. You Are Not
Your Own. But I wanna begin reading, begin
in verse 19. Mainly because if I started before
that, we'd probably be here all day, and I can't do that. But
here, I wanna point out a few things. Starts off what? Know ye not that your body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost? And here's a glorious thing,
which is in you. Or if you want it in better English,
who is in you? The Holy Ghost. Which ye have
of God, and ye are not your own. The Holy Ghost, which is in you. Folks, that is the definition
of a believer. That is the definition of a saint.
If you have not the Holy Spirit in you, you're none of his. You've
got no claim. There's no claim to it. A believer
has the Holy Ghost in him or her, and here it is in what it
says, in their body. That's grace, that's grace. What
a miracle. Christ be praised. This was the promise of Jesus
Christ to his disciples while he was here on earth. The promised
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. John 14 and verse 17 put it this
way. These are the words of Christ.
Even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because
it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know it. ye know him, ye know him. For,
now this is at the time of Christ, he dwelleth with you, with you. But then he says these five words,
and shall be in you, in you. Oh, I like that. Because before
Christ died, arose, and ascended, the Holy Spirit was with the
believers. But afterwards, he sent the Holy
Spirit to dwell in them. And he dwells in us if we believe
Christ. You are sealed with the Holy
Spirit promise. You are sealed. Now I'm gonna
tell you something. You go to Romans 7, Walter covered
it very well. You go to Romans 7 and you see
the spirit lusteth against the flesh. Why? Because the spirit's
in your body. That's why there's a battle in
every believer, in every Christian. And if anybody thinks that they
can live a great victorious life like most preachers try to preach
on TV, it's a lie. There's always a battle in the
believer because the spirit lusts against the flesh and the flesh
fights against the spirit. And here's the point though,
it's my flesh that fights against the spirit. It's your flesh that
fights against the spirit because it is the Holy Spirit in you,
Christ in you, the hope of glory. But that's what this says. Your
body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you. The Holy Ghost dwells in the
believer. Now don't brag or get puffed
up or boast about it. Paul very clearly tells us we
have no reason to boast. Not of ourselves. You can boast
in God. You can boast of Christ. Oh my,
because here's the thing, what did Paul write? Which you have
of God, of God, of God. It's not because of your decision,
your decision that you have the Holy Spirit in you. It's not because of your works,
your thoughts, your attitude, or here it is, folks, it's not
even because of your prayers that the Holy Ghost dwells in
you. It's of God. It's of God. Oh my. Matter of fact, Paul's actually
said a variation of this back in 1 Corinthians chapter one
and verse 30. Those great eight words. But,
Him and that's of God. Are ye in Christ Jesus? I'm gonna tell you something
it's but of Him that the Holy Spirit dwells in you. It's of
God. It's of God. and who of God is
made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
That according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory
in the Lord. In the Lord. Excuse me. It is of God and only of God
that anyone is in Christ Jesus And it is of God and only of
God that you have the Holy Spirit the Holy Ghost Indwelling you
oh my Here's the point being in Christ Jesus is not up to
you Having the Holy Spirit is not up to you. Oh I'm tell you But here's the thing,
being in Christ means you have his Holy Spirit dwelling within
you, inside, inside. Oh my. And, let me get back. Know ye not that your body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have
of God? Ye are not your own. You're not your own. Paul states this clearly. What
does this mean? Well, this is the deeper meaning,
okay? If you really want the deep theological
meaning of this, it means you are not your own. You're not
your own. Oh, but you believer, saint,
part of Christ's church, a member of his body, are not your own. You're not your own master. You're
not your own teacher. You certainly aren't the reason
you were saved. I know, I've heard all kinds
of things. The believer is not his own master. As a believer,
you have been given the faith of God's elect, the faith of
Christ Jesus who made faith, created faith. He's the author
of it and the perfecter of it, the finisher of it. Understand,
we don't add anything to his faith. His faith is perfect. His faith is perfect and he gives
it to as many as he does. Oh, the faith given by the Holy
Spirit within you, and you are not your own. That's what he
says. You're not your own. Can I be
any clearer? Well, let's say this. Yes, you
will call upon the name of the Lord. You will call upon the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You will believe on him and in
him, the Lord Jesus Christ. And I will tell you this, you'll
walk in him. You'll walk in him. Understand,
when he digs us out of the pit, he sets our feet on a rock. But
that's not it. He doesn't leave you there just
to wander off. He orders our steps. How? We have the Holy
Spirit within. His Holy Spirit and His guiding
hand. Oh my. You'll walk. You'll believe. You'll call upon
the name of the Lord. Of God. Because of God. That comes from God. It's the
gift of Jesus Christ to His people, to every one of His people. The
Holy Spirit is in you because God gave him to you. And you are
not your own. It is that simple and that profound
at the same time. I think I just quoted this the
other day. I know I did a couple of weeks ago. John 17, 10. And
all mine are thine. And thine are mine. Who's this conversation between?
This is a conversation between the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
and the Father. He's telling the Father, all
mine are thine, all thine are mine. And I am glorified in them. Oh my. Oh. Matter of fact, Christ just said
before that, I pray for them. I pray for them. Who? All of mine that are all of thine,
and all of thine that are all of mine. I pray for them. But
then he says these other words that nobody wants to say, not
on TV. I pray not for the world, but
for those that you gave me out of the world. You understand, people don't
wanna have a Jesus that doesn't, Jesus gotta pray for everybody,
because it wouldn't be fair if he didn't. I pray not for the world. Those
are his words, folks, not mine. And he meant every word he said.
He meant every word he said. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me. What? Well, they're thine. That's
what he told God. They're thine. And all thine
are mine. And I prayed for him. I prayed
for him. Oh my. What's that mean? Well, if you're Christ and you're
God's, here's the thing. You are not your own. You are not your own. He continues
on. For, you're not your own. For, you are bought with a price. Bought with a price. Understand,
the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. Purpose before the world began,
prophesied in the Old Testament, performed in the New Testament. This price was paid. You are
bought with a price. And the price is, was, the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Without spot, without blemish. And yet the sins, our sins, the
sins of his people, the sins of all thine that are mine and
all mine that are thine, those sins were laid upon him. and his blood was shed for them. I keep running into that in songs
and even these old songs where they talk about it being spilt
and I remember how much Earl hated that. Christ's blood wasn't
spilt, it was shed and there's a certain truth to that. It was willingly shed. He was
there by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Now
these wicked men did take him with wicked hands and crucified
him, but he willingly gave up his body. He told them, know
you not that I can call 12 legions of angels? I'm gonna tell you
something, folks. Back in those days, one legion
of angels would have been plenty. 12 would have been what we call
overkill. But that's what he said. I came,
the good shepherd, what? Lays down his life for his sheep,
for the sheep. And I'm gonna tell you something,
that good shepherd is not gonna lose one sheep. Not gonna lose
one sheep. Not one sheep will be lost. You
know why? Because he is the good shepherd. He said it twice. I am the good
shepherd. And the good shepherd laid down
his life for the sheep. That, my friends, that was the
price. You are bought with a price.
The precious blood of Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless Son of God,
shed his blood and died for his people. And the price was paid. Now, here it is. The price was
not paid to you or to you. The price was paid to the Father,
the offended party. and the Father accepted, accepted
wholeheartedly with complete satisfaction the sacrifice and
offering of our Lord Jesus Christ. He entered in to the holy place,
not made with hands, with his blood, and God accepted that
price. And here's the thing. What's
it say about you and me in this? You're bought. You're bought
with a price. You know what that means? You
are not your own. That's what it means. You are
bought with a price. You are not your own. He owned
you. As the old saying goes, lock,
stock, and barrel. He owned you. Oh, he's gonna
say that here in a minute. Excuse me. Therefore you are
bought, redeemed, purchased, and you're not your own. And
you know the wonderful thing about that? Gracious Bonar wrote
this. It is to the dead that life comes. It is to the unlovable that love
comes. I like that. but it is to the
lost that salvation comes. Why? They're bought with a price. You are bought with a price.
Oh, I mean, we were told his name in Isaiah 44, 47, and 54,
and one time in Jeremiah, but here in Isaiah 54, verse five,
he says this, for thy maker is thine husband, the Lord of hosts,
is his name. Now, is there any question about
who Isaiah's writing about? Thy maker, what? The Lord of
hosts is his name? And what else? And thy Redeemer. Thy Redeemer. And I love this
part. It's not the Redeemer, although he is the Redeemer,
the only Redeemer. It's thy Redeemer. Thy Redeemer. Oh, I'm gonna tell you. His blood,
that price, was for a certain specific people. He is thy redeemer. Oh my, what the holy one of Israel. And he wasn't even done there.
The God of the whole earth shall he be called. Who is the God
of the whole earth? Thy redeemer, thy redeemer. The Lord of hosts, the God of
the whole earth be called. Thy Redeemer. And you know what that means?
The Redeemer talks about the near kinsman. Who does what? He buys back that which belongs
to his family. This is a familiar thing, that
word Redeemer. Thy Redeemer. He doesn't just
buy anybody. He buys his people, he buys his
family. Oh, and that's the way it worked
in the Old Testament. Read the Book of Ruth. He was
a near kinsman, boas. And he told that other one there
was another near kinsman, he says, you redeem it, redeem it,
but if you don't do it, I will. And that fun fella told him,
he said, I can't do it. I can't do it. Boaz said, and
I'm gonna tell you something, that's the type of Christ. Boaz
said, I can do it, ooh, and I will do it. And he did do it. Oh, he bought it with a price.
And we are bought with a price. And he gives eternal life to
those that he owns. That's what it says, folks. Jesus
Christ has power over all flesh to give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given me. Now who has the father given
to the son? All thine are mine. And he said all mine are thine. And he gives us eternal life,
eternal life. Oh, I like that. You and I, we are not our own. And here it is. For ye are bought
with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your
spirit. Here's three words, which are God's. What's that mean? You are God's purchase. You are God, you're not your
own. You're not your own. Oh. In your body and in your
spirit, you are God's. And I gotta say this, I'm gonna
say it this way, you're God's property. Well, there's a lot
of people who run around saying they're little gods. I mean,
I've heard them on TV. You are, you're God. I've looked
up, I tried to look up something on the internet, see if I could
find a quote, okay, for this particular scripture, and I typed
in, you are gods with an apostrophe. Well, what come back was a bunch
of nonsense about you are gods without the apostrophe. No, no,
no, no. You're not a little god. I'm
not a little god. You belong to God. You are God
apostrophe S. belong to him. You are not your
own. You are his. Oh my. In body and in spirit. Which are gods. They're gods. Understand, Jesus Christ calls
us his brethren and the father calls us his children. What's
that make us? That makes us family. That makes
us family, the family of God, oh my. We call Jesus Lord and
we call the Father, at Jesus' command, our Father, our Father. Oh my. Of God are ye in Christ
Jesus. You are God's personal property. and he put you in his son, in
Christ Jesus. Oh, I like that. That's good
stuff. What all that means is you are
not your own. You're bought with a price. Redeemed,
oh my, with the precious blood of the son of God. And you understand,
the father has only one well-begotten, or only begotten well-beloved
son. That's Jesus Christ. You see,
God pays very close attention to his son. He's a good father. The father pays attention to
the son in everything that the son deals with. And when the
son tells the father, he says, all mine are thine. The father
says, yes. And when Christ said, all thine
are mine, the father says, yes. Because I'm gonna tell you something,
everything in Jesus Christ is yea and amen. I like that and
these three father the son and the spirit are one together oh Believers have the Holy Spirit
in them dwelling in them of God from God and you are God's person You're not your own That's what
it means, you're not your own. Oh my, listen to this. Don't get too puffed up, okay? We're gonna go back to where
Paul was before he started this at the end. This is the conclusion
down here that I've been reading from. Well, how did he get there?
Well, in verse nine of chapter six of 1 Corinthians, It says,
know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom
of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of
God. Folks, that's what's called a
litany. That's a plethora of things. These are not going to,
what? Enter the kingdom of God. Or
inherit the kingdom of God. But that next verse, right after
that, verse 11, this is what it is. And such were, were, past
tense, Some of you, some of you. Who's he writing to? He's writing
to believers, he's writing to saints, he's writing to those
who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You were what? Idolaters, fornicators, adulterers,
effeminate, northease, nor covetous, drunkards, or revilers. Such
were some of you. Now you may not have been all
of those things, but you certainly were something. That's just the
way it is. But such were some of you, but
ye are washed. But ye are sanctified. But ye are justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Such were some of you. That's
where we were. Verse 19 and 20 tells us where
we are. The reason we're where we are
is, ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God. You were washed, you were justified,
you're sanctified. What's Paul saying here? Remember
the pit. from whence you were digged.
And he put you on the rock, and he ordered your step, but remember
where you came from. We are all sinners. We're still
all sinners. But praise God, the Son of God
came to seek and to save that which was lost. And we were lost. Such were some of you. Oh my. Remember what you were, don't
glory in it, don't boast in it, don't long for the good old days. Oh my. Because Jesus Christ paid
the price for your sins. What? For being an idolater,
for being an adulterer, for being a thief, covetous, drunkard,
reviler, extortioner, and many more. many more. Because I'm going to tell you
something folks, what you think, and even if you don't do it,
that's a sin. Not saying to do it, but even
if you're thinking it, that's a sin. You can think covetous
thoughts and not be a thief, not steal, but that still doesn't
make you not covetous. Oh my. Remember, you are bought with
a price, the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and it is of God
that you have the Holy Spirit in you, in you, because it's
of God that you are in Christ Jesus. We're called his brethren, his
children, his body, and his bride, and you wanna know why? because
we are his brethren, his children, his body, and his bride. Oh my. You are gods. You are not your
own. You belong to God. Oh my. Charles Haddon Spurgeon
says one thing, and I thought about this when I was looking
at this litany of things we were. He says, though you have changed
a thousand times, God has not changed once. And thank God for
that. Oh my. What'd he say? I am the Lord, I change not.
Therefore, therefore, you sons of Jacob are not consumed. We deserve to be consumed. You're not your own. You're bought
with a price. And I'm gonna tell you something. He takes care of his own. Always. Always. We don't. We forget, we stumble, we fall. We're miserable when we should
be joyful. Sometimes we're joyful when we
should be miserable, I guess. But this is the thing. He takes
care of his own, and you are not your own. You're bought with
a price. Our Heavenly Father, we are thankful,
Lord, for your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. He has given everything to us. He gave us his life. He shed
his blood for us. He ascended into heaven and made
a sacrifice and offering to you, which you accepted. He has obtained
eternal redemption for us. He has sanctified us. He has
perfected us in himself before you and gives us the intercession we need. We
may not understand it sometimes, but he ever liveth to intercede
for his people. Help us, Lord, to walk in your
way, and we'll give you the honor and the praise and the glory,
because it is yours. Amen.