December 1

The Christian’s Body

1 Cor. 6:18-20 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19Do 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; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

As we have seen in recent days, we are people who believe in two worlds. The invisible world of God has a direct impact on our sex lives. The natural world detaches the physical act of sex from relationship so the person works on “technique and procedures” but it never touches the heart. French sociologist Jacques Ellul sees our modern fixation with sex as the symptom of a breakdown in intimacy. When a culture loses faith in God, lesser powers arise to take their place. In the end G.K. Chesterton nailed it spot on when he said, “Every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God.” It is interesting that the very word sex comes from a Latin verb that means to cut off or sever. Sexual impulses drive us to try to unite, to restore a union that has been severed. Psychologists tell us that this union is for a parent but the Christ follower sees this longing as the desire to be united with the God who created us. From a Christian point of view, history ends in a wedding in which we are the bride being united with Christ. That is the unseen desire that stirs in our hearts every day. We are all striving to be united with God.
Somehow over the years the church has picked up a reputation of being anti-sexual. But that is absolutely incorrect. We believe that God created sex and that this wonderful gift will be experienced in its full glory when we follow the guidelines given in the instruction manual (the Bible).
What is required for maximum sexuality is the connecting of God’s world with our world. When we realize that God wants to unite two people into a mystery that mirrors the Trinity itself then we will realize the tremendous gift God has in store for us. That is why this passage tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, so that we will not prostitute ourselves with a lesser view of sex.
These are the commitments of God’s world that maximize sexuality.... unconditional love, commitment, purity, romance, sacrifice, sex and marriage.
Don’t follow the foolishness of the Corinthian Christians and prostitute yourself. Believe that sexuality is a sacrament and a picture of our union with Christ.
Believe the instruction manual, it will make all the difference in both worlds.