1 Corinthians 6:19,20 - Is Your Temple In Order?

1Cor.6:19, 20; Is Your Temple In Order?

1 Cor 6:19 (KJV)  What? know ye not that your body is the temple
of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are
not your own?

1 Cor 6:20 (KJV)  For ye are bought with a price: therefore
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.


This is the fifth argument against immorality (cf. on ch. 6:13,
14, 15, 18). Since the bodies of the believers are sacred shrines of
the Holy Spirit, they must not be polluted by this vice. Because
they are the members of Christ (v. 15) and temples of the Holy
Spirit, which is given to us by God (see John 14:16, 17), every sin that
is committed against our bodies is a sin against our Maker and
against the Holy Spirit. [SDA Commentary]


The fifth argument against this sin is that the bodies of
Christians are the temples of the Holy Ghost which is in them, and which
they have of God, v. 19. He that is joined to Christ is one spirit.
He is yielded up to him, is consecrated thereby, and set apart for
his use, and is hereupon possessed, and occupied, and inhabited, by
his Holy Spirit. This is the proper notion of a temple-- a place
where God dwells, and sacred to his use, by his own claim and his
creature's surrender. . . The temple of the Holy Ghost must be kept holy.
Our bodies must be kept as his whose they are, and fit for his use
and residence. (Matthew Henry's Commentary)


What an astonishing saying is this! As truly as the living God
dwelt in the Mosaic tabernacle, and in the temple of Solomon, so truly
does the Holy Spirit dwell in the souls of genuine Christians; and as
the temple and all its utensils were holy, separated from all common
and profane uses, and dedicated alone to the service of God, so the
bodies of genuine Christians are holy, and all their members should be
employed in the service of God alone. (Adam Clarke Commentary)


Sexual immorality is one of the worst of sins, for it violates
the intimate relationship which a person has with Jesus Himself and
the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus, who is Lord of the body, requires
that we honor God in our bodies rather than sin against Him. [Victor
Teacher?s Commentary]


What did Paul mean when he said that our bodies belong to God?
Many people say they have the right to do whatever they want with
their own bodies. Although they think that this is freedom, they are
really enslaved to their own desires. When we become Christians, the
Holy Spirit fills and lives in us. Therefore, we no longer own our
bodies. "Bought at a price" refers to slaves purchased at auction.
Christ's death freed us from sin, but also obligates us to his service.
If you live in a building owned by someone else, you try not to
violate the building's rules. Because your body belongs to God, you must
not violate his standards for living.  [Life Application SB]


The great fact of the Christian faith is, not that it makes a
man free to sin, but that it makes a man free not to sin. It is so
easy to allow habits to master us; but the Christian strength enables
us to master them. When a man really experiences the Christian
power, he becomes, not the slave of his body, but its master. Often a
man says, "I will do what I like," when he means that he will
indulge the habit or passion which has him in its grip; it is only when
a man has the strength of Christ in him that he can really say, "I
will do what I like," and not, "I will satisfy the things that have
me in their power." . . .The Christian is a man who thinks not of
his rights but of his debts. He can never do what he likes, because
he never belongs to himself; he must always do what Christ likes,
because Christ bought him at the cost of his life. [Barclay Commentary]


Paul seemed surprised that the Christians in Corinth didn't
realize that something major had happened to them at their conversion.
He rather bluntly told them that the Holy Spirit, the third person
of the Trinity, had come to live in the body of each one and that
ownership had been transferred to God!  If we have accepted Jesus Christ
as Savior and Lord, we are no longer our own.  We should not be
serving ourselves.  It is our responsibility to discover what God wants
us to do and then do it with diligence and joy! Would Paul be
surprised with your understanding of this miraculous occurrence?  The
Christian's life reflects that transfer of ownership. Check to see if your
life appears to others to be a special place, a holy dwelling.  If it
doesn't, realize, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  [In His
Time; Walk With Wisdom]


We do not fall into immorality.  We walk into it.  Indeed,
sometimes we run headlong into it.  We must realize from the beginning
that immorality is a choice.  It is not something that happens to
people...

Sexual sin never comes out of the clear blue sky.  It is often
the result of a long process in which a mind susceptible to sin is
granted unguarded exposure to immoral input.

'"Sow a thought, reap an action.  Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.  Sow a character, reap a destiny."
Our thoughts are the fabric with which we weave our character and
destiny.  We must actively fight off thoughts of impurity.  But the key
to doing this is not simply saying "I will not lust, I will not
Lust" - that often has the same effect as saying, "I will not think of
purple elephants."  We must cultivate our hearts and minds with what is
godly and pure.  These better thoughts will displace others (Phi.4:8).
 [Randy Alcorn; Time with God devotional SB]


Even Exchange?
A saleswoman passed a particular corner each day on her way to
work. For more than a week she observed a young girl trying to sell a
floppy-eared puppy. The saleswoman finally said to the girl, "Honey, if you
really want to sell this dog, then I suggest you clean him up, brush
his coat, raise your price, and make people think they're getting
something big." At noon, the saleswoman noticed the girl had taken her
advice. The puppy was well-groomed and was sitting under a big sign:
"Tremendous Puppy for Sale?$5,000."

The saleswoman smiled and gulped, determined to tell the girl
later that she may have overpriced the puppy. To her surprise, on the
way home she saw the puppy was gone! Flabbergasted, the woman sought
out the girl to ask if she had really sold the dog for $5,000.

The girl replied, "I sure did, and I want to thank you for all
your help." The saleswoman stuttered, "How in the world did you do
it?" The girl said, "It was easy. I just took two $2,500 cats in
exchange!"

Two thousand years ago there was another great exchange. On a
cross outside Jerusalem, Jesus Christ gave His life in exchange for
ours. What value did He see in us? We were His prized creation, stolen
for a season by our own will, but now repurchased as His beloved
possession. [God's Little Devotional Bible]


?Can I not use my body as I please?? Of course not! To begin
with, it is no longer your body; it belongs to Christ. He purchased
you with His own blood. . . .Christians are to glorify God with
their bodies. This means the way we care for the body, the way we
dress the body, the places we take the body, the deeds we do in the
body. [Wiersbe Expository Outlines]