Thursday, January 31, 2019

Bodies are Members of Christ 1 Corinthians 6:15


According to the apostle Paul, “God shall destroy” both “meats” and “the body”.“The body” was not to be used “for fornication” by the church members in Corinth, but were rather to be used “for the Lord”. He also declared how “God has both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power”, and in chapter six and verse fifteen of First Corinthians, Paul asked the church members in Corinth if they knew their, “bodies are members of Christ where we read:

Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ,
and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

The verse begins, Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ?” Paul began with the words, “Know you not” which means “do the church members not perceive with the eyes or senses, notice, discern, discover, pay attention to or observe” “that your bodies” which refers to “that the church members' living corpses” “are the members” which means “limbs or parts of the body” “of Christ” or “belonging to the anointed one, the Messiah and the Son of God”. Paul desired to know if the Corinthian church members perceived they were “the body of Christ” as a church.

The verse goes on to say, shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.” Paul continued with the words, “shall I then” which means “should Paul at that moment” “take the members” or “raise up, elevate, bear up or move from their place limbs or parts of the body”“of Christ” or “belonging to the anointed one, the Messiah and the Son of God”, “and make” which means “cause, make ready, prepare, produce, render and provide” “them the members”or “limbs or parts of the body” “of an harlot” which means “a prostitute or woman who sells her body for sexual uses or indulges in unlawful sexual intercourse for gain or lust”? “God forbid” or “perish the thought, let God never allow it to come into existence, begin to be or receive being”. Since the church members made up “the body of Christ”, how could they ever allow themselves to be connected to or hooked up with a “prostitute”?

When we think through these words from Paul, we understand the sacredness of “the body of Christ”. Although some of the Christians within the Corinthian church may have been involved in sinful sexual behavior in the past, they were not to be indulging in those practices now. When a person receives Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, they become a part of “the body of Christ”, and any involvement in “sinful practices” is like taking His body and joining it to that activity. Paul said, “God forbid!” or “Perish the thought!” As “members” of “the body of Christ”, we are to keep ourselves from sin, and through the power of the Holy Spirit and yielding to His will, we shall be able to obey. May the Lord Jesus help us to know not only our position in Him, but also the importance of keeping ourselves “pure” before Him as His body.

Next time Paul asks the Corinthians if they knew, “he which is joined to an harlot is one body?”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites,
http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.





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