Introduction
Earlier in vv.9-18 the apostle Paul warned the saints in Corinth of the distinct danger posed by sexual sin. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, the apostle says, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. This suggests there is a Christian understanding of anthropology. We do not merely adopt the framework of unregenerate sociologists, biologists, and metaphysicians. We must think more carefully and critically about such matters. As it turns out, it makes a difference whether you think that man is a verbal monkey with no higher purpose than survival and reproduction or that man is made in the image of God and exists for him. These two views lead to different conclusions about what it means to be a person.
The final two verses of chapter six are significant in their theological content and its import. Here is a definitive theology of Christian persons: we are embodied souls, bought by the blood of Christ, inhabited by the Holy Spirit, designed and redeemed to glorify God with both our body and our spirit which belong to him. We see here that the thinking of so many believers, sincere though it may be, is wrong. We are not our souls, per se; we are embodied souls. A person is both body and soul, not one without the other. This is part of what makes death so terrible as the separation of body and spirit and why it must be repaired by the resurrection. We cannot remain in that disembodied state. Human beings are not pure spirits; we are both spiritual and material, and both the spiritual and the material aspects of our person are to be employed in the service of God.
Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit (19)
The Lord directed Moses to build the tabernacle in the wilderness, a sanctuary in which the divine glory would reside among the Israelites. Solomon later built the Temple with the Lord’s blessing and instruction, and after that Temple was burned by the Babylonians and the nation taken into exile, a remnant of the captives returned to the land and rebuilt the Temple which still stood in Jerusalem when Paul wrote our passage between AD 53-55. But those physical structures were only signs and types of the true Temple in which God would dwell. As Paul himself said when he preached in Athens: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands (Acts 17:24). The Tabernacle and Temple were built to teach Israel about the concept of holy spaces, but the Scriptures are clear that God sanctifies his people as the holy place in whom and with whom he is pleased to dwell.
The Bible does not say your mind is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I grew up in churches where some, not all, denied that the Holy Spirit actually inhabited the bodies of believers. They believed the indwelling spoken of here (and elsewhere) was only representative and figurative. One proponent of that view told me many years ago: “The Holy Spirit is in me the same way my dead mother is with me. She is still with me as I remember what she said.” That’s an interesting thought, not remotely biblical, probably close to downright heretical, but interesting nonetheless.
The Bible says your body (τὸ σῶμα ὑμῶν) is the Spirit’s temple which he inhabits. If that were not sufficiently clear, the apostle goes on to say: who is in you, whom you have from God. So God the Holy Spirit dwells in you, in your physical body. That means several things. Your body is part of you. You’re not just in your body; you are your body (not solely but inclusively). But it also means the Spirit is with you all the time. You’ve never been alone as a believer. When you viewed a pornographic video, he was there. When you got unjustly angry, he was there. When you were unkind to your wife, he was there. He saw it all. How might you act differently knowing that?
You Were Bought at a Price (20a)
You have been bought and paid for, body and soul, your whole person, your whole life. Paul does not say here what that price was that was paid for us, but we learn what it is elsewhere in Scripture. Conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1Pet. 1:17-19). You were redeemed—liberated by payment of a ransom—with the blood of Christ. That blood is precious. The lifeblood of the Son of God was spilled so that you and I would be delivered from sin and judgment, set free to worship and serve God.
So long as we are thinking about personhood, do you have any idea what you are worth? We are accustomed to resisting pride and our natural tendency to exalt ourselves, and it is good and necessary that we do so. But do you understand what God did to save you, what it cost him? Do you know how vastly more precious and valuable Jesus’ blood is than any currency or commodity in this world? Don’t minimize that payment by imagining that it is somehow insignificant because he rose from the dead on the third day. It’s not as though Jesus got his money back. He bought you and me. He bought the Church. It cost him dearly; it demonstrates his great love and faithfulness.
So many people today, especially young people, are depressed, discouraged, hopeless, and lazy because they imagine they are worthless. The life you may be choosing for yourself right now may be! If you are constantly on social media, looking to the world to tell you what you are worth, allowing unbelievers to define beauty and value, living on Tic-Tac and to play video games, then yes, your manner of life may be worthless. But you are not. You were bought with a price. You are made for more. You are precious in God’s sight, lovely because he loved you. The Bride’s beauty is the love of the Bridegroom. Don’t waste what Jesus bled and died to save. Be captivated and delighted by the love of God, and then live with the security and aloofness such love supplies.
Therefore, Glorify God in Your Body and Spirit Which Belong to Him (20b)
You and I are not to denigrate what Christ bled and died to redeem, and that means you. Of course, it includes more than you, personally. It speaks of the Church as a whole, Christ’s Bride. We are not supposed to denigrate the visible Church either. In chapter 3 Paul made a point of the corporate indwelling of the Spirit—Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are (3:16-7). But here, although the pronouns are plural because he is speaking to the whole congregation, the temple to which he refers has an individual aspect. Your body, your spirit. This is not the body of the congregation or the spirit of the local church; it is a reference to the body and spirit of each member of the congregation there. Every one of them were bought by Christ and so were indwelt by the Spirit and consecrated to his service.
You are not only a temple, you are an instrument of priestly service to the Lord. Your body, as well as your spirit or mind, is to be employed in God’s work: worship, meditation on heavenly things, service to others, and a moral life. Worship and service is not merely done on Sunday. It is everything, every part of our existence. It is an aspect of everything we do. This is who we are and what we are made for, so whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (10:31). You are not only a steward of your Sundays and of your money. You are a steward of your body, of your whole life. Many Christians think about spiritual obligation as a matter of doing devotions, giving time to God in the morning so that you are free to do whatever else you need or want to do. But serving God is not an item on our to-do list. It is the paper the list is written on.
You are not your own. You were bought with a price. The Spirit of God inhabits your body and your body and spirit have been redeemed and consecrated for something more. Live like it. Live as an instrument of worship. Do everything—eating, drinking, studying, working, training, resting, loving, and dying—to the glory of God by doing it all by faith in Christ, with gratitude in your heart, in obedience to his Word, for his glory and not your own.
Application: Glorifying God with Your Body & Biblical Sexuality
One of the challenges in preaching is determining what applications to focus upon in each given text, week after week. It’s not as if there are an unlimited number of options. We are to preach the Word, not merely the gospel, not merely what is true, but the Word, i.e. the Scriptures. That is a mandate for exegetical and expository preaching, and that is what we are committed to providing as the mainstay of the church’s teaching here at ROPC. But in any given passage, there are multiple ways in which the text might be faithfully applied. What do we focus upon? We cannot be exhaustive, because that would be exhausting. Today would be only the first sermon in a ten year series on these two verses, and even then, we would not be able to exhaust their truth. So how do we decide what aspect and implications of a text the church needs to hear on Sunday?
Some preachers avoid this by subscribing to a sort of hyper-redemptive-historical model of preaching. We believe preaching should unpack Scripture passages in the context of redemptive history, but there is a school of thought that goes by this name that can be reluctant to make—one might even say aggressively opposed—specific and extensive moral applications in the preaching. The thinking goes that it is the Holy Spirit’s job to apply the truth to the hearts of believers, and we don’t want preaching to become moralizing. Fair enough, so far as that goes, but this view of preaching simply cannot be reconciled with either the examples of faithful preaching or commands about it in Scripture. The prophets, Jesus, and the apostles all made specific, extensive, and highly personal application of God’s word to the Church, and we don’t get to dodge the responsibility by pointing out that they were inspired and we were not. The command is to preach the Word, and that involves not only telling people what the text says but also what it means.
Fortunately, we have a long and rich history of application of the present passage so that very little work has to be done today. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is why you should not smoke, drink, or chew, or hang out with girls who do. I was assured as a teenager that this passage forbids tattooing—evidently we are not called to decorate the temple of God—and by that same logic and principle we might go ahead and forbid our ladies to wear make-up, our daughters to paint their toenails, and our sons to wear their baseball caps backwards. (It won’t keep the sun out of your eyes if it is turned around that way, so we have to assume you all do it because you think it looks cool to not know how to wear a hat.) So long as we are listing things we ought not to do as temples of the Spirit, we might mention your intake of trans and saturated fats which is really out of control, your appalling lack of exercise, and the silly phenomenon of selfies.
With applications like these, it’s not surprising that some Reformed preachers have decided we ought not to bother. I hope you see what is wrong with this use—we ought to say misuse—of the passage. But the fact some people have mishandled these verses rather badly does not mean they do not mean anything. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, and you are to make use of your body in a way that brings glory and honor to God, to make an holy use of it, not desecrate it by foolish and faithless behavior.
This text has a lot to teach us, and I think we would profit from reflecting on what it means for some of the issues that are hitting very close to home, issues that are tearing western civilization apart right now, dividing and destroying social unity and norms, and contaminating the Church in profound and profoundly troubling ways. I want you to think about what it means to say that the Holy Spirit inhabits your body, not just your soul, but your body. What does it mean to glorify God with/in your body, not just in your life but in your body? Human bodies have certain features which are designed by God. Some want to disregard these features or change them, but what God’s Word says here suggests a different path. This text speaks to the embodied service of God, the physical aspect of glorifying our Maker. So what do these verses teach us about gender and sexuality?
The Created Order, Beauty, and Goodness of Gender Distinctions
Human beings are beautiful creatures. If you accept the world’s definition of beauty, then that statement is not actually true. Some human beings would then be beautiful, and many would not be. It is true, even in a biblical model, that many people have uglified themselves, and that trend is becoming more common, not less so. But strictly in terms of creation, human beings are beautiful. They are one part of the work God performed and then described as very good.
I want to be respectful and tactful, but I also want to be clear. Human beings come in two types: male and female, and these two models come from the factory with different hardware and software. I ought to be cautious in my remarks. After all, I am not a biologist. But that kind of gives away the game, doesn’t it? Women are not men, men are not women, and they differ in more ways than just their relative strength or sex organs. We are not denying there are differences in individual men and women. Not every personality fits a rigid stereotype. But there are certain characteristics associated with men and others associated with women, and despite the fury of Christian feminists on unsocial media, we learn this from both natural law and the Bible.
God made men and women very good as men and women. The Fall did not change that. The curse did not make maleness and femaleness inherently evil. Men are not naturally oppressors; they are protectors. Women are not naturally gossips and nags; they are interpersonal, emotional communicators. The Fall may have twisted these tendencies in various ways, but maleness and femaleness are still good and part of God’s created design.
What is beauty? Let me give you one (of many) examples of how Scripture speaks to this. Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God (1Pet. 3:3-4). Ladies, did you hear that? A gentle and quiet spirit is beautiful and precious in God’s sight. There are masculine virtues that are pleasing to God as well, such as being responsible, providing for your family, and working hard. Some of these virtues are for both men and women in the Body of Christ. Paul was gentle like a nursing mother in caring for the Thessalonian saints, and the sisters in Christ in Corinth were commanded to “play the man” (ἀνδρίζομαι, i.e. be brave, 16:14). But don’t let this confuse you—and don’t let goats and wolves use this point to deceive you. God’s vision for the Church is not an androgynous one. It is creationally, ontologically, and eschatologically gendered.
The Implications for Gendered Piety
Reformed churches are wrestling with evangelical feminism. The ideology made inroads long ago, but more lately it has become mainstream and is being platformed and promoted by elders and pastors who are eager to prove how sensitive they are to their sisters in Christ. This kind of feminism is being accepted in churches that stand against female ordination, for now, but that insist “a woman can do anything an unordained man in the church may do.” This argument is widely accepted within our own denomination, the OPC—which I consider unfortunate since I think it is demonstrably untrue. We should value our wives and daughters more than that and not denigrate their contribution to the Body of Christ by comparing their competencies and opportunities to an unordained man. Adequately addressing that issue would take us far beyond our text today. But our passage does speak about embodied, and therefore gendered, piety.
There certainly have been men who abused power, acted tyrannically, and interpreted submission in ways that are broader and more restrictive than Scripture allows. We should be willing to acknowledge these errors and correct them. But the fact that there may be some truth mixed with the error does not change the fact that evangelical feminism is an error that will prove deadly to churches that embrace it.
There are many ways in which what Christ commands men and women to do is the same. We are both image-bearers of God. We are called to faith, repentance, and obedience. We are to exercise dominion in our respective spheres of activity and influence. But when we start trying to identify what those spheres of activity and influence are, we are immediately confronted with a simple fact that many are trying to evade or deny: the Bible teaches a form of gendered piety. What do we mean by that? We mean there are important differences in what Christ commands men and women to do and to be. He tells a woman to cultivate a gentle and quiet spirit and to submit to her husband. He also tells women not to put on clothing that pertains to a man (Deut. 22:5), a reference to armor and the implements of warfare, which should settle the question of women in combat and that business about unordained men. Men are to be godly men, not just androgynous Christians. Women are to be godly women, not just unisex disciples. There is a beauty in that, a propriety to it. It is part of God’s design and command.
What does that have to do with our text? Obviously Pastor Joel has left the reservation and introduced an application to this passage that is in no way related to it. I hope not. Look closer. Paul says to glorify God in your body. My wife’s body is not like mine. My body is not like hers. We not only think differently, we have different physical organs. Maleness is part of my created structure; femaleness is part of hers. That maleness and femaleness have been redeemed, bought by Christ’s blood, and are consecrated for divine service. I am to use my male body in service to Christ; my wife is to use her female body. We serve him with more than just our bodies, but Paul identifies the body here in particular. That means created hardware is part of the new creation. I am regenerate, and regeneration does not mean losing my physicality or sexuality. It means having it crucified, resurrected, and glorified. Our bodies are not what they one day will be, but what they are today belongs to Christ and is to be used, just as they are, for his glory.
The Implications for Same Sex Attraction
How does this help us think about homosexuality and same sex attraction? Men and women are sexually complementary; they are made for each other. Homosexuality is rebellion against nature as well as against revealed law. Every part of your body was made for a purpose. Homosexuality denies and defies that purpose. It is not only disobedience; it is embodied stupidity.
Just as Reformed churches are wrestling with evangelical feminism, so too are they battling Side-B Christianity. Side-B Christians, who also refer to themselves as gay Christians, affirm that homosexual behavior is unlawful, but they affirm that homosexual desires, while disordered in some ways, are morally neutral. God gave them these desires, and so these desires are not sinful; they simply must be suppressed. How long do you think that will last? Understand the logic: “God made me this way, and the desires that I feel are morally neutral and not wrong in themselves, but I must never act upon them because to do so would be wrong.” What other God-given desires do we view like this?
What does this have to do with our passage? Again, look at what Paul says. Your body is redeemed and consecrated by Christ, an instrument of divine glory. But homosexual desire views that body in a way contrary to creation and biblical law. Both your body and your spirit are to be used for God’s glory. Do homosexual desires in man’s spirit glorify his Creator? Does the desire to use the body contrary to nature glorify the One who designed that body and governs its existence?
You are not your own. This is the fundamental principle. You say, “But this is how I feel, it is how I’ve always felt!” Maybe so. All of us have sinful desires that we battle every day. But what should we do in those cases? Is a desire to cheat on my wife with another woman morally neutral? What about a desire to kill someone unjustly? Is it only the behavior I must suppress, or should I also repent of the desire? Glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
The Implications for Transgender Madness
Our government is funding, approving, and promoting the practice of vivisection on our children. What used to be an element of science fiction and a reason for abhorring Nazi Germany is now charcterized as the moral choice for children who identify as something other than their biological sex. The incidence of gender dysphoria has skyrocketed in the last decade, and some courageous social scientists have noted this is because of social pressure and a desire to conform, which young women are especially prone to.
God made us, including our bodies, according to his purpose, for his glory. We need to tell our children: it is good to be who and what God made you. Young men, it is good to be a man, so be strong, brave, hard working, godly men. Young ladies, it is good to be a woman, so be godly women. That will take strength and courage, because it will mean rejecting social pressure in order to pursue a life of obedience to God. Do not conform and cave into the madness of this moment in human history. Your body is beautiful, because God made it. Young ladies, don’t let social media influencers make you think otherwise. You don’t need to conform to their image of a beautiful body. Young men, there may be helpful role models of masculinity in society, but be sure you are pursuing a godly image and not a worldly version of manhood that fails to take into account the law of God, the Lordship of Christ, and your responsibility to cherish, provide for, protect, and die for your family, just as Christ has done for his Church.
Conclusion
You are not your own. Your life may not have turned out the way you hoped it would. Your body and your health may not be what you wished for them to be. But you are not your own. Your life was bought by Christ. Your body is inhabited by the Holy Spirit. You belong to Jesus, body and soul, and you exist to worship, obey, and enjoy him. Every other definition of personhood or personal worth fails. Let Scripture be our teacher. Let us learn to think clearly and courageously about ourselves, even if it means standing against the whole world and segments of the Church. Let God be true and every man a liar. Glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. –JME
