ESOCS Devotional 14 April 2023
MEMORY VERSE: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:19 & 20
TEXT: 1 CORINTHIANS 6:12–20
12 Everything is permissible (allowable and lawful) for me; but not all things are helpful (good for me to do, expedient and profitable when considered with other things). Everything is lawful for me, but I will not become the slave of anything or be brought under its power.
13 Food [is intended] for the stomach and the stomach for food, but God will finally end [the functions of] both and bring them to nothing. The body is not intended for sexual immorality, but [is intended] for the Lord, and the Lord [is intended] for the body [to save, sanctify, and raise it again].
14 And God both raised the Lord to life and will also raise us up by His power.
15 Do you not see and know that your bodies are members (bodily parts) of Christ (the Messiah)? Am I therefore to take the parts of Christ and make [them] parts of a prostitute? Never! Never!
16 Or do you not know and realize that when a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? The two, it is written, shall become one flesh.
17 But the person who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him.
18 Shun immorality and all sexual looseness [flee from impurity in thought, word, or deed]. Any other sin which a man commits is one outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
19 Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own,
20 You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, [c]made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
If you were asked who owned your life, you most probably will say that God owns your life. This will also be the answer most people will give. But in practice every man holds strongly the ownership of his life and insists in determining how he lives.
The right to control one’s life without undue interferences and subjection to another has always been a major issue to man. That’s what all the talk about human liberty is all about. Who am I answerable to, who dictates what I do, and who determines how I live my life? These are key issues in life; and the real issue in the problem of godliness. Unfortunately, Christians are not exempted from this.
The term, ‘Give your life to Christ”, aptly captures what is expected of a Christian and how he should conduct himself in living as a Christian. In verses 19c-20 of the text, St Paul clarifies this. He said, “…you are not your own; you were bought with a price…” A Christian is saved to live for Christ. His level of sanctification or carnality depends on the extent he yields himself to the Lord. Holding on to your life and reserving the right to determine how you live is a recipe for sin; it is the reason why man is lost to God and many Christians are living carnally and some falling away into sin.
Sexual immorality is a major failure of man. When it is found among Christians it is a pointer to believers who live for themselves, and do as they like. They are ignorant of what has happened to them in their salvation. No one is saved to live to himself or for himself. God saved you for Himself, to belong to Him and to live for Him. Thus when a Christian lives for himself he rebels against God. It was a problem in the Corinthian Church and still is a problem in churches today.
St Paul in dealing with the problem of sexual immorality brings to the fore God’s ownership of the believer and the fact of the Christian being part of the body of Christ. When you become born again, your body now belongs to God and has become part of the body of Christ and therefore has become one with the Holy Spirit. This is awesome and a great privilege bestowed on man. The redeemed are therefore expected to hold their body in all holiness for their body is for God, a dwelling place for Him; and our God is a holy God. Honor God with your body and with your life.
- What in your opinion is the reason why some Christians may not be able to totally live for Christ?
- How do you think this problem could be overcome?
- Father, I remain grateful to you for saving my soul. Keep me, Oh Lord, from those things that draw me far from you and give me the grace to live for you. Amen.
FURTHER READING: 2 Samuel 24:15-end; Jeremiah 42:1-12; Matthew 27:45-end; Hebrews 7:5-9
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ESOCS Devotional 14 April 2023
