<1 Co 6> 12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

1. Entitled mindset – “I have the right to do anything” <v12>

• <1 Co 6:12> “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.
• “Right” – “permitted, lawful, possible”.
• BUT:
  • not everything is beneficial
  • we should not be mastered by anything
• Can anything be lawful (permissible) yet not beneficial?
• “Love God and do whatever you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.” – St Augustine
• Christian freedom is confined by love.
• Not just “freedom to do anything”, how about freedom to stop doing anything?
• Have we become a slave to anything?
  

2. “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food” <v13a>

• Nothing wrong with satisfying physical needs (food or sex).
• “Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.” <Php 3:19>
• Christians’ actions should not be needs-driven but God-driven.
• “The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” <v13>
• “God will destroy them both” (food and stomach) <v13>
• Gnosticism: Matter (including physical body) is inherently evil while spirit is good.

3. Why is our body important?

1. <v13> The body is for the Lord.
2. <v13> And God is for the body.
3. <v14> God will raise our bodies.
4. <v15> Your bodies are members of Christ Himself.
5. <v19> Your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.
6.  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
   1. We are costly, yet we must also be lowly.
   1. I could not do much on my own, but if I belong to God, then I can look forward to God doing great things for me and through me.
   1. Belonging to God gives more assurance than if I am my own:
      1. “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” <Jn 6:39>
      1. “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” <Jn 10:28>
   1. If we were not our own, we must be careful, faithful stewards.
      1. <Ro 6:12-13> Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
         

4. Flee sexual immorality!

• <v18> Whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
  • <v16> Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”
  • Sex becomes wrong when it is intimacy without commitment.
  • We are already joined together with Christ.
  • Sex is meant by God to establish an intimate and lasting union between one man and one woman.
  • Something precious shouldn’t be made common and casual.
  • <v18> Flee from sexual immorality – not just physically, but also mentally.
  • Also walk by the Spirit, centre life on church and God.
  • Don’t despair if u have committed sexual immorality before:
  • “Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men…will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” <1 Cor 6:9-11>
  • <Jn 8:11, NKJV> “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
    

Reflection

1. What are some areas of your life where you feel you have the “right” to do anything? Do those things “master” over you? How can you practice freedom to benefit others and yourself, without being mastered by anything?
2. Do you have a looser and more casual idea of sex now since the society is relatively more liberal now? How can you flee physically and mentally from sexual immorality?
3. What are some practical steps you can take this week to honor God with your body?