THE CURE FOR IMMORALITY: Understanding the Human Body as a Temple of the Holy Spirit
By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min.
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Greek men accepted temple prostitution as normal and even sacred. Breaking them away from the demonic power that undergirded this immoral practice was essential for the church to thrive. To explode that stronghold, Paul taught these Greeks that the “body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord” (1 Corinthians 6:13 Mog). God’s Son took on a body in His incarnation, died on a cross and was raised from the dead bodily. We too will be raised bodily, in His likeness (1 Corinthians 6:13-14). Indeed! Our “bodies are a part of Christ’s body” (1 Corinthians 6:15).
In making this explanation, Paul proceeded to ask a very compelling question, “Should I take a part of Christ’s body and make it part of a prostitute?” And he answered his question with a firm, “Absolutely not” (1 Corinthians 6:15, Msg).
“There’s more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, ‘The two become one.’ Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us lonelier than ever – the kind of sex that can never ‘become one.’ There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for becoming one with another. Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So, let people see God in and through your body (1 Corinthians 6:16-20, Msg).
Respect for the Holy Spirit who makes our bodies His home and dwelling place – the temple of the Holy Spirit – will triumph over the rampant sexism of the modern era too.
What sincere follower of Jesus would want to defile with prostitution the temple of the Holy Spirit?
In our modern era, this understanding as expressed in The Message paraphrase will clean up moral impurity in all its forms in men and women, and young people.
It really does deserve being taught from the pulpit, in Bible studies and marriage enrichment seminars, as well as in one-on-one counseling.
February 28, 2022 9:28 am|
Thank you so much for this valuable look at purity. The historical and cultural context certainly help in giving more depth to the issue.