{"id":83321,"date":"2025-01-18T12:58:29","date_gmt":"2025-01-18T18:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=83321"},"modified":"2025-01-18T12:58:29","modified_gmt":"2025-01-18T18:58:29","slug":"the-body-is-for-the-lord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-body-is-for-the-lord\/","title":{"rendered":"The Body Is for the Lord"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Bob Hutto<br \/>\nvia Biblical Insights, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 2014\n<p>It appears that some Christians in Corinth were trying to justify their immoral behavior. Whether their arguments stemmed from former pagan practices, were the result of bad theology, or were simply an excuse to do what they wanted,\u00a0Paul knew he had to deal with their ungodly conduct. He addresses these matters in the passage before us (I Corinthians 6:12-20). We want to examine Paul&#8217;s response and make a few applications of the principles he establishes.<\/p>\n<p>Paul first refers to the position of the Corinthians (I Corinthians 6:12-14). When he says, &#8220;<em>All things are lawful for me&#8221; and, &#8220;Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food, but God will do away with both of them<\/em>,&#8221; Paul quotes arguments made by the Corinthians as they attempted to justify their conduct. Paul responds to both of these statements. He says Christians must consider more than whether or not a thing is permissible when they decide what to practice. They should ask if this behavior will be profitable or helpful. Will it master or enslave the one who does it?<\/p>\n<p>The second Corinthian argument may have been like this: How could putting food into the stomach be wrong? The stomach was made to receive food. How could it be wrong to use the stomach in the very action for which it was made? Furthermore, both the stomach and the food will decay. Neither has any spiritual value. It is not difficult to\u00a0see how the Corinthians might apply this argument to other parts of the body as they tried to rationalize their behavior. Paul reveals the weakness of their argument. The body should be used in the Lord&#8217;s service, not for ungodly purposes (cf. Romans 12:1-2). Furthermore, the physical body may decay, but one day, it will be raised as an immortal, spiritual body (I Corinthians 15:35-54).<\/p>\n<p>Having dispensed with these attempts to defend their bad behavior, Paul raises three questions, each beginning with the phrase, &#8220;<em>Do you not know<\/em> &#8230;&#8221; (I Corinthians 6:15-20). This phrase occurs ten times in I Corinthians and may be Paul&#8217;s way of reminding them that they were not as wise as they thought. The three questions are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?<\/li>\n<li>Do you not know that you are one spirit with the Lord?<\/li>\n<li>Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The truth raised by these three questions has implications for righteous behavior. Paul&#8217;s principle in this passage is clear enough: What we do with our bodies matters to God.<\/p>\n<p>Paul uses these principles to combat immoral sexual behavior among the Christians at Corinth. If we can judge from what Paul says, fornication must have been a prevalent problem in the church there. He tells the church not to associate with brethren involved in it (I Corinthians 5:11). He warns against visiting prostitutes (I Corinthians 6:15-16). Later,\u00a0he affirms the usefulness of marriage in avoiding fornication (I Corinthians 7:2). But the problem of sexual immorality was\u00a0not limited to ancient Corinth. It is\u00a0a widespread problem today. The principles used by the apostle in this passage prohibit fornication in the 21st century as authoritatively as they did in the first century.<\/p>\n<p>These principles will help us\u00a0determine if we should also engage in other behaviors. For example, it is inconceivable that Christians would use the members of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit (their bodies) for drunkenness. These principles would prohibit drinking altogether. The use of alcohol will not help us. Many who use it suffer serious physical harm. It will definitely hurt our reputation and diminish our influence. There is a good possibility it will enslave us. Remember, it matters to God what we do with our bodies. Remember the old proverb, &#8220;<em>Wine is a mocker, strong drink a bawler, and whoever\u00a0is led astray by it is not wise<\/em>&#8221; (Proverbs 20:1).<\/p>\n<p>Using our eyes to lust after the opposite sex violates the principles of this passage. We are continually exposed to sexual images. Women dress provocatively, sex is used extensively in advertising, network television pushes the limits of decency more each season, and premium channels and movies cast off all restraint long ago. Then, there is the matter of internet pornography. What at one time was available only in seedy &#8220;adult book stores&#8221; is now accessible in the privacy of one&#8217;s\u00a0own home or office with the click\u00a0of a mouse. Statistics indicate that\u00a072 million internet users view porn every month. That is close to 42% of internet users (toptenreviews.com\/internet-pornograpy-statistics.html). It would be naive to think that none of these are Christians. Internet porn is a huge problem. May we make a covenant with our eyes not to look at anything worthless (Job 31:1; Psalms 101:3).<\/p>\n<p>Other applications could be made, but these are enough to make the point.\u00a0It matters to God what we do with\u00a0our bodies. Rather than using them for evil purposes, may we offer our bodies to God each day as living and holy sacrifices and as instruments of righteousness (Romans 12:1-2; 6:13). Plan each day to use your body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, to glorify God (I Corinthians 6:20).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Bob Hutto via Biblical Insights, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 2014 It appears that some Christians in Corinth were trying to justify their immoral behavior. Whether their arguments stemmed from former pagan practices, were the result of bad theology, or were simply an excuse to do what they wanted,\u00a0Paul knew he had to deal&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1572,728,179],"class_list":["post-83321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-fornication","tag-i-corinthians","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45257,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-i-corinthians-613-prove-that-masturbation-is-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":83321,"position":0},"title":"Doesn&#8217;t I Corinthians 6:13 prove that masturbation is wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How can you teach that masturbation is good for controlling the body when it clearly says in I Corinthians 6:13, \"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16697,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/since-i-corinthians-147-mentions-instruments-doesnt-that-justify-instrumental-music-in-the-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":83321,"position":1},"title":"Since I Corinthians 14:7 mentions instruments, doesn&#8217;t that justify instrumental music in the worship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In I Corinthians 14:7 Paul states \"And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?\" Is this referring to having instruments in the church? Answer: \"Follow after love, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34976,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-tattoos-defacing-the-temple-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":83321,"position":2},"title":"Are tattoos defacing the temple of God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Recently I heard a denominational preacher talk in favor of tattoos stating that those who opposed them used Old Testament scripture from Leviticus which has to do with the priests keeping themselves pure and unspotted (Leviticus 17:21-23). He went on to say that tattoos should define who you are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34016,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-the-prayers-in-i-corinthians-11-referring-to-praying-in-an-unknown-tongue\/","url_meta":{"origin":83321,"position":3},"title":"Were the prayers in I Corinthians 11 referring to praying in an unknown tongue?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, Regarding I Corinthians 11:3-16, where women commanded to cover their heads while praying and prophesying. Some argue that the prayer mentioned in that verse was a miraculous activity connected with prophecy. God talked to man through the Spirit. In I Corinthians 14:14, Paul mentioned praying with an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35267,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-made-paul-an-apostle\/","url_meta":{"origin":83321,"position":4},"title":"What Made Paul an Apostle?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Galatians 1:11-24 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul was different from the other apostles \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He wasn\u2019t with Jesus when he was on earth \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He was not among the original twelve apostles - Luke 6:12-16 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He started out as a zealous persecutor of the church \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0D.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How is it that Paul\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Audio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4091,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/let-women-keep-silent-in-the-churches\/","url_meta":{"origin":83321,"position":5},"title":"Let Women Keep Silent in the Churches","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 18, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by W. Frank Walton \"The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says\"\u00a0(I\u00a0Corinthians 14:34). What is the silence Paul enjoins upon women? Is it absolute in every situation or is it qualified\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83321\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}