Your Body is Sacred, Part 2

What would we do every day with out some reminders on our calendar or phone, right?  Sometimes reminders are exciting, and sometimes reminders …. Well, they are a little bit of burden and have a way of making us feel inadequate because we need to change some habits or don’t have time, capacity or resources.  Well, our hope today is that this message will fall into the former category for you and be a fresh gospel reminder: Our bodies are sacred.  We are in a close relationship with Christ, and we need to be reminded to flee sexual immorality. 

Have you looked into John’s new book that goes along with this series.  It’s available now and entitled: Hope and Holiness: How the Gospel Enables and Empowers Sexual Purity.  I put all the information in the show notes, so please check it out soon.  Again it’s called Hope and Holiness: How the Gospel Enables and Empowers Sexual Purity.  A great new resource for your personal spiritual growth library.  

Hope and Holiness: How the Gospel Enables and Empowers Sexual Purity

https://www.moodypublishers.com/hope-and-holiness?fbclid=IwAR2rE5lUjJWQtmgi0xbQRL9cyt5KlRHunSBL8xBOCCJj3ckfRvzu9lSTZWU

About John

John Fonville is Pastor of Paramount Church in Jacksonville, Florida. Paramount Church is part of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). 

The Him We Proclaim Podcast features the preaching and teaching ministry of Dr. John Fonville at Paramount Church. This resource aims to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to all people. The gospel cannot be assumed. An assumed gospel will, in time, become a denied gospel. Thus, each generation must rediscover the paramount truths of the gospel and apply the gospel's implications to their own day and age. Him we proclaim (Col. 1:28)!

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Original sermons from this series by Dr. John Fonville

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Transcript

John Fonville

Okay, go ahead and take your Bibles. Turn to First Corinthians chapter six. First Corinthians chapter six.

We're gonna start looking at verses 18 to 20. We'll finish verses 18 and 20. Next week.

And let me just set the context for you so that you know what the Apostle Paul is teaching us here.

And first Corinthians chapter six, verses nine through 20. Paul is asking the Corinthians For questions.

And the each of these four questions begins with this phrase, he says to them, Do you not know?

Now, each of those questions Do you not know is actually functioning as a rebuke.

And what you're seeing is the exasperation of the apostle Paul, with the immoral behavior of the Corinthian church.

He's utterly exasperated, and literally, you can hear Paul going. It's like my son says all the time I tell him to do something, not have to punish him for it, because it's very disrespectful. But he's learning all kids learn. Go take out the trash when it's raining, seriously.

Yes, and then go to your room, and I'll deal with that later.

You can almost hear the Apostle Paul looking at these immoral Corinthians going seriously?

Don't you know? Do you not know?

What is it that they don't know?

And what is it that the apostle Paul is utterly exasperated about trying to get them to come to know?

This is what it is. The problem with the Corinthians in regard to their sexually immoral behavior with temple prostitution

was that they didn't listen, they did not know the gospel.

And they did not know the implications of the Gospel for their lives in regard to sexual immorality.

Keeping the Seventh Commandment following and fulfilling the sexual ethic of the kingdom of God, which Jesus lays out clearly, and the Sermon on the Mount, not the five through seven, which Paul Hynde said back in chapter six, verses nine through 11.

And so what Paul is doing is he is responding to the Corinthians unrestrained license.

And he's seeking to reintroduce these Corinthians to the gospel and to the implication of the gospel, which alone has the power to motivate a believer. Look at verse 18, to flee sexual immorality in verse 22, glorify God with their body.

Very quickly in verses nine through 11, what Paul does first, as what we've seen as he takes up the theme of the kingdom of God, and he applies the kingdom of God, to the problem of sexual immorality in the church. And he says to the Corinthians, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? And then he says, But you are righteous and will inherit it? And here's why.

Because you have been regenerated, washed. That's how you enter the kingdom of God. He says, you have for you have been sanctified, that's definitive sanctification, the doctrine of election God has chosen you and set you apart for himself to belong to him, which is the essence of the covenant relationship with God is to belong to him, which Paul is now teaching us in verses 12 to 20.

And then he says in you've been justified, no man can enter the kingdom of God unless they are perfectly righteous. And their justification we are declare

Not only listen as is forgiven and no longer not guilty, but also through the imputed righteousness of Christ reckoned by God the Father because of Christ as a perfect law keeper as justification. And then he says, You're at this inheritance in the kingdom of God. And then inheritance, guess what that implies, Paul is referring and directing the church to the doctrine of adoption, the highest privilege of the gospel to be a son and daughter, the living God adopted in his kingdom.

He says, You belong to the kingdom. But your problem is you don't know this, you don't know who you are. And you don't know the implications of all of that gospel truth. Therefore, let me warn you.

The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God and the consummation of God's kingdom, when Jesus returns in the resurrection, they will be their

second, he says in verses 12 to 14, do you not know that your bodies belong to Christ because they are destined for resurrection, the Corinthian church is more influenced by Greek dualism, than there were the gospel and its implications for their life. And so that we're saying with the body doesn't matter, foods for the stomach, stomach for the food, sexual organs, or for sex, sex for sexual organs, doesn't matter. God's going to destroy both one day because the body doesn't matter. What matters is immaterial part of man can do whatever we want unrestrained license. And Paul says, No, you don't know the gospel. If you understood the crowning good news of the gospel, which is in First Corinthians 15, which he directs them to later in this letter, devotes a whole chapter to the doctrine of resurrection. He says, If you understood the crowning good news of the gospel, which isn't the hinge by which the whole gospel turns resurrection, you would never say the body is not important.

Because Christ's resurrection and your resurrection, because you're united to Christ validates the moral importance of the body.

And by implication, the body definitely matters.

And so he teaches a whole doctrine of resurrection to motivate the pursuit of sexual purity.

And then in verses 15 to 17, he comes in he says this, he says, Do you not know that your bodies belong to Christ, because they are in union with Jesus, He appeals to the doctrine of union with Christ, which is the core doctrine of the Christian faith.

union with Christ verses 15 to 17, Paul says that there's this sacred bond between Jesus and the believer. And he says, this bond in verses 15 to 17, is so close. So, so closely, are you united to Jesus himself by the power of the Holy Spirit, that every act you do as a Christian involves Jesus in that act?

And when you apply that to sexual immorality, Paul saying, Would you join Christ and his body to that which is in pure undefiled and unholy? And in the context, Paul, say unto the Corinthian men, and some of them in the church, would you join Christ to a prostitutes body in a temple?

And Paul says, Every time I believe are committed to any type of act of sexual immorality, you are dishonouring the body of Jesus himself because you're so united to him.

That's just incredibly powerful, isn't it? I mean, in the Paul's point is going to come if you're living, listen, if you are living in a self conscious reality, that you are so united to Jesus in a sacred bond, that whatever you do in your body, you make Jesus Do you would never commit any form of sexual immorality.

You will never do that to Jesus.

And this brings us to the fourth question in verses 18 to 20, which is really in Paul's third rebuttal, or his third argument against the Corinthians slogans. We're going to come back to that in a minute. But in verses 15 and 17, Paul shows that we're not only legally united to Jesus, but we're also vitally united to Jesus, and this vital union he talks about and verses 18 to 20. And here's the point I'm gonna give you the point, read that read the text, and we're just gonna jump into it and go as far as we can today.

Paul says basically, in verses 18 to 20, saying to the Corinthians, do you not know that your bodies belong to God because they are God's rightful possession?

Your bodies belong to God because they're destined for resurrection. Your bodies belong to God because they are united to Christ and now your bodies belong to God because they are God's rightful possession.

And so look what Paul says he says this He had Look at Verse 18. Flee sexual immorality.

That's the imperative. That's the law.

Every sin a person commits is outside of the body.

But

the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. And here's why.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you whom you have from God? You are not your own.

Why for you are bought redeemed from the slave market? It's just a redemption term with a price.

So what is their conclusion? So glorify God in your body.

Now throughout verses 12 to 20, Paul has been confronting and correcting the Corinthians that erroneous theological slogans that they were throwing around in the church to justify engaging in rather than fleeing from sexual immorality.

Those slogans we've looked at are in verses 1213, and the last slogan is here in verse 18.

And Paul is confronting this last slogan that the Corinthians were using to justify sexual immorality, which in this context was visiting temple prostitutes.

And let me just help you understand how his dialogue with the Corinthians is unfolding in verses 18 to 20. And this will help you understand what the argument is that he's making. So here's how it goes.

Paul's command is this Flee sexual immorality.

The Corinthian slogan, which was used as a theological objection to Paul, to engage in rather than Flee sexual immorality comes after his command. And then we're saying, But why, Paul, why Flee sexual immorality, the body doesn't matter, because every sin a person commits is outside of the body.

So Paul replies, but

the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

And then Paul gives proof of this by directing the Corinthians to the gospel, and to the fruit of the gospel, which is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

And he says, Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, that's the vital union. That is the fruit of the gospel. And just what happens because of the work of Christ for us, the work of Christ is now in us by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit vital Union.

He says you don't know this. You've received this from God is a gift. It is not earned, merited. It is a precious gift.

He says, but you don't know that you're not your own why? And then he refers to the Gospel itself to the doctrine of redemption, substitutionary atonement, which accomplishes redemption, which was the buying out of slaves in his day from the slave market. And Paul says, you were a slave under sin and bondage to sin, under the law of God, guilty. And Jesus through the cross has redeemed you out of that. You're not your own. You've been purchased at a high price.

And so he says, so here's the conclusion, Corinthians, your body matters and what you do with your body matters. So glorify God in your body.

And that's the argument that Paul is giving here. So we're just going to take the next two weeks and just unpack this whole argument because it is utterly breathtaking.

I've sat there this week and looked at this first point about the Holy Spirit as a habitation making us into temples. And it's utterly astounding, and I can't wait to share it with you this morning. So here we go.

Paul says in verses 15 to 17 that when the believer commit sexual immorality, he sins against Christ body he dishonor and defiles Christ's body and verses 18 to 20. Paul says that when the believer commits sexual sin, he sins against his or her own body.

Great damage is done not only against Christ's body, but also the believers body individually and the body of Christ corporately. That's first Corinthians chapter five.

And so Paul gives proof of how tragic such damage is in verses 19 and 20. By showing that the believers body belongs to God as God's rightful possession listen

by a double right, first, by habitation, the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and second by redemption, the work of Christ on the cross to redeem centers to belong to himself.

And so Paul issues this moral imperative that believers must follow. You have no choice in this this is not a suggestion. This is what is a divine apostolic imperative you have to do this

question is how

the command Flee sexual immorality it means to avoid something that has potential danger. And Paul's already shown in verse 12, that there is great damage and danger from this type of sin.

And it's also in the present tense, which means keep on daily day after day after day in your life. Staying away. shunning avoiding is how you could translate it keep away from all forms of sexual immorality. The question is, how do you do that? And a sex obsessed culture where daily you are bombarded with continuous sexual temptations, just like an ancient Corinth?

How is that possible? It is possible.

And Paul is going to show us how it's possible. For Paul the law, Flee sexual immorality is not the final word.

God's final word in Scripture is not just doo doo doo doo doo.

He gives the gospel which then enables you to do what the law requires.

And so what does Paul do to motivate the believer to obey Flee from sexual immorality, which is simply when he says Flee sexual immorality, you know what he's doing? He's teaching you how to keep the Seventh Commandment, he's referring to the seventh commandment.

He's referring to Jesus, His exposition of the seventh commandment and the sermon on the mount the sexual ethic of the kingdom of God, because he's already told you, and verses nine through 11, to all of his arguments is all about Kingdom living.

How do you motivate a believer to keep the law to obey to pursue sexual purity? This is not rocket science. He says forth one more gospel centered argument, are you surprised?

There's nothing else is going to motivate you to keep the law. Nothing.

Nothing to motivate nothing less than to empower you to keep what God requires. Now listen, he points you to that habitation of the spirit and the redemption of Christ. So let's look at the habitation of the Holy Spirit, your temples of the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 19. He says Corinthians, do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and you have from God?

It is clear from the Corinthians and moral behavior, that they have not only forgotten the work of Christ for us, which is his redemption, which he'll come to at the end of verse 20. They have not only forgotten the gospel of Christ have worked for us, but they had forgotten the implication of the Gospel, the fruit of the gospel, which is because of regeneration. They have now been made by virtue of regeneration, temples of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit in the US, working what Christ did for us now in the US.

This is Paul's point. If the Corinthians were self consciously aware, listen,

of the cardinal implication of the gospel, which is this, the believers body belongs to the Lord because it is now a sacred temple of the Holy Spirit.

Paul says, If you had that self consciously, plastered on the front of your mind if it was listened, and I mean this paramount. If it was paramount in your mind, you would not give into sexual immorality.

It would move you and motivate you to flee sexual immorality, to keep God's law.

Now, the temple imagery would have been immediately meaningful to the Corinthians who were Gentiles who lived in a city that was full of shrines and temples.

ancient Corinth had temples everywhere, they had shrines everywhere the surrounding area was just filled with these temples and shrines. Let me give you an example.

There was a temple of Aphrodite which is Paul probably in the back of Paul's mind in this context, we'll come back to that there was a temple of Poseidon the Temple of Poseidon was the ruler of this

See in which corns, entire commercial life depended.

Praying to Poseidon to keep up their economy.

There was the Temple of Apollo there is a temple of Hermes there is a Temple of Venus Fortuna there was a Temple of Isis. And if they missed any god, there was the Pantheon, which was a temple dedicated to all the gods.

And there's many more we can mention. I just wanted to give you a flavor because the Corinthians would immediately understand what Paul was talking about in their context.

Listen to what William Barclay writes about the temple of Aphrodite.

He says above the isthmus tower, the hill of the Acropolis, and uninstalled the great temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

To that temple, there are attached priestesses who are sacred prostitutes, temple prostitutes.

And in the evenings, these temple prostitutes descended from the Acropolis, and they plied their trade upon the streets of Corinth until it became a Greek proverb. It is not every man who can afford a journey to corn.

Prior to their conversion, many of the Corinthian men in the Corinthian church that Paul's addressing were accustomed to frequently in these temple prostitutes.

And in Paul's day to frequent a temple prostituted the temple of Aphrodite was considered an act of consecration with the gods.

And Paul saying, That's not who you are.

That's not who you are. You're not consecration, you're not committing an act of consecration, you're committing an act of desecration.

The problem that Paul's addressing is that these men some of the Corinthian men in the church are continuing to argue for their right unrestrained sexual license verses 12 and 13. Food for the stomach stomach for the food God's gonna destroy the body. Every commit every sound, the believer commences outside the body always Corinthians slogans to justify their moral behavior.

He is addressing, they were arguing their right to continue participating, and what was just a widespread, socially acceptable, immoral practice.

It's perfectly socially acceptable to do this in Paul's day in Corinth.

And you see, the gospel had not become paramount, and some of these believers hearts and pill away the layers of their cultural sense and proclivities. And because of that, Paul says, Do you not know? Don't you know the gospel? Do you not understand the implications and the fruit of the gospel and your sacred holy temple of the Lord?

You can see it and I wrote down a conversation that you might be able to think about in Paulus, possibly speaking in the Corinthian church, and he's pointing to the direction of the temple of Aphrodite, and maybe his sermon sounded like this to them. Do you not know that the temple of Aphrodite right over here is not where the presence of the living God dwells?

Temple prostitution would never dwell in the presence of the living God who is holy, do you not know this Korath?

Corinth, do you not know that there are not many gods as a pantheon suggests it's right over here.

You don't understand that? Do you not understand that there is only one God and he by His Holy Spirit dwells in you, as the gift that you've received from the Father because of the work of the son?

Do you not know this?

Do you not understand that the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit marks you off as God's people and current you are the only temple in Corinth?

God has one temple in Corinth and Corinthians you're it.

And instead of consecrating the temple and card you are desecrating it, what are you doing? Do you not know? Are you beginning to see the apostles exasperation with Corinthians immoral behavior?

This is his argument. He's already said back in chapter three, verses 26 and 27. That the whole church corporately, is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And you know what he's saying there. He's saying that when the whole church is gathered corporately like us this morning

when we gather in Jesus's name corporately as a body of believers, Paul says in chapter three verses 26 and 27, that Jesus by the Holy Spirit is in the midst of his people. This is the dwelling temple. This is the dwelling place of God, the living God corporately

and he issues a stern warning

He says any person who had destroyed God's temple, God would destroy him.

You don't think the living God takes His holy presence seriously among his people, you try to attack God's Church and it will cost you your life.

And chapter five, Paul says the exact same thing when he confronts the sending man in Corinth, who was guilty of sexual incest. And he says, Jesus in chapter five is among you in power witnessing this. And he gives confirmation and validation to the church to remove this any member who is unrepentant from his mess because God's temple is holy, and he will not admit desecration to His temple.

He says the same thing in Matthew chapter eight, Matthew chapter 18, where two or three are gathered in my name there, aren't you in the midst of them. And that whole context is church discipline. It is not a prayer meeting.

It is Jesus standing as the judge of the universe, giving an affirmation to his body. If you are unrepentant in my church, I affirm what my church does by disciplining, unrepentant sending members of the church and Jesus puts his stamp of approval on that

the Corinthians became God's temple in Corinth, when it regeneration, chapter six, verse 11, they were washed.

But they had not self consciously contemplated the implications of this truth. And instead, Paul says in chapter five, they were arrogantly tolerating and living an unrestrained sexual license, you don't know the gospel court and you do not understand its implications, or else you would not be arrogant, and you would not tolerate such immoral behavior amongst yourselves.

Now, the temple imagery was not just familiar to the Corinthians as a Jew, Paul,

the temple imagery for Paul was exceedingly rich.

It was rooted in the Old Testament scriptures and had deep profound meaning and significance and this is what I'm going to take you through for the rest of our time.

In a Jewish context, in Paul's mind, when you talked about temple imagery,

a Jew would have immediately thought God in our midst,

the dwelling place of God amongst his people.

So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna go I'm gonna go with you all the way back from Genesis chapter two and take you on a Jed tour through the whole Bible all the way back to First Corinthians Chapter Six

is I want to show you what the Apostle Paul was thinking when he said you are the temple of the Holy Spirit in corn, or listen you Paramount church or the temple of the Holy Spirit in Jacksonville, Florida.

Why? Let me show you why. And you're gonna see it right here.

In Genesis chapter two, the Garden of Eden was the first dwelling place of God with his people.

The Garden of Eden was adorned with the beauty as the temple of God was the first true Holy Land and anticipated Israel's tabernacle, and later its temple is the place where God would dwell with His people.

But having broken God's covenant, Adam and Eve are banished from God's presence and sent out into bondage East of Eden.

But God who is a promise keeping and performing God immediately promises makes a covenant, the covenant keeping and promising God, he speaks our word of grace and gospel in Genesis 315. And he's promises to once again dwell in the midst of his people through sending a savior.

Later in partial fulfillment in the history of Israel, this initial promise that God makes in Genesis 315 is partially fulfilled when God redeems his people from slavery in Egypt.

And after redeeming his people from Egypt, He reveals His instructions to Moses and Exodus 25 through chapter 31, verse 11, to build a tabernacle, and then here leads Moses to write an inspired account of its detailed construction from Exodus 35, all the way to Exodus 40 Verse 38.

Why, here's why, because the tabernacle was to serve as the Lord's temporary listen temporary dwelling place as a copy and shadow of greater things to come.

It was a temporary door

Well in place for for God during Israel's 40 year wilderness journey and their first 300 plus years in the land of Canaan.

But after the tabernacle error, the temple replaces the tabernacle. And incidentally, the tabernacle was referred to by several different names, it was called the sanctuary. And the sanctuary simply meant this, the place of the holy presence of God is Exodus 25, verse eight.

It was also called the Tent of Meeting Exodus 2721, because this was the place for the Lord and met with this people.

But following the tabernacle, the temple replace the tabernacle. And in Second Samuel chapter seven, David expresses a desire to build a house for God.

But listen, God responds by telling David, you're not going to build a house for me, I'm going to build a house for you.

And this is the Davidic Covenant. This is the grace this is the gospel in the Old Testament.

Why would God do this? Why would God build a house for David? Why would David not build a house for the Lord but listen, rather receive a house from the Lord? Why? Because in Deuteronomy, chapter 12, God says six times, he would choose the place where his name would dwell.

And so God chose both the place in the builder now David, and God makes this promise the Davidic Covenant, he says in Second Samuel seven over and over and over, I will, I will, I will, not you will, but I will.

And he says, you will have a son which is Solomon, Solomon will build a temple and on His throne, it will be established forever and ever.

Now,

here we see this lesson of grace driven home in a powerful way about God's dwelling amongst his people. What is that? Listen very carefully. God's dwelling place amongst his people, his presence in the midst of his people is a gift that God gives. It is not a method by which you work to build

God's dwelling place, it will be a gift granted by grace that you receive.

And this is what he's teaching David and the Davidic Covenant and promises for the future people of God to come.

And so the temple is to reside as the centerpiece within the promised land. And among other things, and first gate First Kings chapter eight, verses 41 to 43.

The temple was to serve as a witness to Israel and all the nations that God dwells in the midst of his people.

So when the Ark of the Covenant, which symbolizes the presence of the Lord's, the presence of the Lord with his people was brought into Jerusalem and into the temple, as soon as it was brought into the temple, First Kings chapter eight says the whole glory of the Lord filled the temple, confirming God is in this place.

But following the high point of Israel's history with the Davidic and the Solomonic temple era, the first temple, the nation plummets to destruction, and they go into exile, just as God had warned in the Mosaic Covenant and Deuteronomy 2836 and following.

And so if you look in Ezekiel chapter 10, verse 18, Ezekiel, the prophet tells us that God executes the worst of all the covenant curses promised in the Mosaic covenant, which was this listen carefully, Ezekiel 10, verse 18, that the glory and presence of the Lord will go out of the temple.

There's nothing worse than losing the presence of the Lord.

And so zekiel says that God's presence in Ezekiel 10 goes, Listen goes out the eastern gate of the temple. And you know why it says that? Because it's tipa. Logically recalling back how Adam and Eve were banished out of the garden, East of Eden

away from the presence of the Lord. And so First Samuel chapter four, which refers to zekiel it says that the temple was left to Nicobar without glory.

Now when God's people returned from captivity, they once again rebuild the temple. You can see this and Ezra and Nehemiah Haggai all the post exhilarate prophets just read it in the Old Testament.

And yet, when they rebuild this second temple, we see in these prophetic writings of the Old Testament that the Second Temple pales in resemblance to the former glory of the First Temple.

And not only that,

but along with the tabernacle and the first temple, the Old Testament is pointing

In us forward, to show us that all of this was simply a faint copy and Shadow of the true temple that is to come.

So, after a 400 years of silence, God's presence totally gone.

A remarkable thing happens, which nobody saw coming, and nobody would have ever said, look, there's power is really happening. God's presence is here.

Jesus became a man and was born. And in John chapter one, verse 14, Jesus breaks through his incarnation for 100 years of silence. And John says, listen carefully, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father full of grace and truth. Do you know what the word dwelt in the Greek means that John uses here? Because John uses a very intentional word here.

Do you know what it means? It means that he literally means to pitch a tent. Jesus in the Incarnation pitched his tent.

Well, where does that come from?

Jewish mindset Old Testament scriptures, Jesus tabernacled among us.

John is unequivocally stating that Jesus is the fulfillment of the of the tabernacle and the temple, he will be God's presence and glory amongst the midst of his people.

In times past, God dwelled in temporary copies and shadows in the tabernacle and Temple, which were only mere copies. It was never the reality, never to be brought back. Because Jesus comes God comes to dwell among us in the Incarnate Word, Jesus, and just as God's glory filled the temple when the ark was brought in, now, when Jesus comes, John says, We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father full of grace and truth.

And if you're wondering, Well, where did I get this hermeneutic from? You're just making this up. Hebrews chapter eight, verse five, and Hebrews chapter 10, verse one says, that the coming of Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament chateaus for God's dwelling with his people, both in the tabernacle, and later in the temple.

This is how you read Scripture,

Jesus on every page

and so all of this Listen, 1000s of years of redemptive history, finds his fulfillment and combination in the person and work of Jesus. And Paul now brings us to First Corinthians six and he says, Corinthians,

do you not know?

Do you not know Jesus, Jesus is the temple,

and that He promised to send the Holy Spirit after he departs and after His ascension, where he was coronated as King and Lord of the universe, sitting at the right hand of the Father as both Lord and servant over his people.

He just he disseminates the spoils of his victory through the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and he dwells with his people again, and he's in their midst. And now Paul says in first Corinthians chapter six, because you are vitally and legally united to the temple, all that he is, and all that he has done, you now are,

you are the temple of God, and He dwells in your midst, in your body, and you belong to Him. And so you cannot give yourself to temple prostitutes. You can't give yourself to pornography on the computer. You can't give yourself to just banal conversation at work about women who you work with, because you are the living dwelling presence of God amongst the world. God inhabits you, you are His temple. Do you see this argument?

Paul is just driving home this powerful, powerful point, Paramount church, Corinthian church, you are God's temple. You are the holy dwelling place of God. You cannot give yourself to this. So Flint, China

It avoided Do you see how you obey the law now?

dwell on it. Listen as we close listen, here's the point.

As we reflect on Paul's teaching that every believer is now a temple of the Holy Spirit, by virtue of their union with Jesus and by virtue of the habitation of the gift of the Holy Spirit, what is the path to sexual purity? The path to sexual purity is paved. Listen, by self consciously contemplating the implications of being the dwelling place of a holy God.

I promise you, you go home. And if self consciously aware you are that you are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, you will never look at pornography ever again.

Never.

You will never, ever entertain or maybe that adulterous affair what helped me? Never will you cheat on your spouse again.

Robert Murray machine says that the gift of the Holy Spirit is the greatest of all the privileges of a Christian.

The Holy Spirit, God's empowering and purifying presence among his people, is the source of gospel holiness.

dwell on it, too on it. Let it be paramount in your mind. Let the Holy Spirit lead you to this reality, that the Holy Spirit because you're enthralled by him, you are a holy habitation of the eternal living God. And when sexual and moral passion burns in your heart,

the Holy Spirit through a river of gospel love will come flooding into your soul and quench every burning fire that you want to give into.

Your body is a sacred shrine in dealt in, dwell by the Holy Spirit.

So what is our response is very simple.

Sake, you want a practical tip, here it is so simple. Live with a self conscious awareness that I am a sacred shrine of a living God.

And when you do that, your life will clean up so quick.

Your life will be a shining example of avoiding sexual immorality and glorifying God with your body. You don't need anything else.

And you say, Well, I'm not like that, then constantly pray for the grace of the Holy Spirit as we pray every week in this church for the grace of the Holy Spirit to increase the fruit of righteousness within me so that I can live a life pleasing to God.

And finally, I would just say this. I know there's some of you here this morning that probably for the first time, this is the first time you've ever heard about a gospel driven message that applies to sexual purity. And some of you are living in guilt for your failure. I mean, you know what's going to motivate you?

love,

not fear.

Let me just tell you this.

If you want to live a holy life, pray that the Holy Spirit from Romans chapter five, verse five, will flood your heart with the love of God in Jesus Christ, and that you can meditate on His empowering presence in your life, and that will lead you to the greatest period you could have ever imagined.

Thanks again for listening to the Him We Proclaim podcast. Please subscribe if you haven't already for all our new episodes. And if this message was just what you needed to hear, please let us know in the comments and share it with a friend.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai