“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you. Whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a prize: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NASB)

Image courtesy of olivetree.com

Corinth was the home of the temple to Aphrodite in which extramarital sexual relations was regarded as holy instead of sinful or wicked. Prostitutes were there who served as priestesses of Aphrodite, to help men worship the goddess by engaging in sexual orgies.

In the same way, one’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is holy and dignified. The Gnostics believe that the body, as matter, can be sinful while the Spirit is holy and therefore can not be contaminated by the sinfulness of the flesh. But Paul here refutes that by saying that the body belongs to God. We have been purchased with the price, that is, by the body, blood and life of our Lord Jesus Christ. We do not have the liberty to disrespect it by engaging in immorality. Rather, we should use our body to glorify God.

We should value our body as a holy place where the Holy Spirit resides. This is a realization that by the presence and power of the Spirit we find help to fight against sinful desires and use our bodies to glorify God.

References:

MySword for Android. Riversoft Ministry.p, 2011-2019.

Olive Tree Bible Software. olivetree.com

Zondervan NASB Study Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1999.

Published by Pastorbluejeans Unplugged

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