1 Cor. 6:12-20 (NRSV)
Read 1 Cor. 6:12-20 on biblegateway.com
Verse 12"All things are lawful for me," but not all things are beneficial. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be dominated by anything. Verse 13"Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food," and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Verse 14And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Verse 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Verse 16Do you not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, "The two shall be one flesh." Verse 17But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Verse 18Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. Verse 19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? Verse 20For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.
Devotion
These are fighting words!
I don’t like it when the Bible tells me I am not in charge of my body. My old nature hates any kind of word that demands something of me. I want my rights. I fight to prove I am right and the Word is wrong.
Who is the loser in this battle? Jesus said it, “Whoever tries to save their life will lose it.”
St. Paul is one of the first losers on this battlefield. But he was raised up for a better fight. He now fights the good fight. His body now lives for Christ. That set him free. His word to your body and mine is a call to freedom.
In this 2000th year celebration of Paul’s life, he calls us to join him…as freedom fighters. You'll need to get free of your need to be right! That’s your death sentence. But when you do, it will be life for you.
Prayer
Lord God, you are trying me and you are searching me this week. Put to death all my rights especially over my body. Raise me to new life in you. Amen