1 Corinthians 6 (5)

Pray Psalm 38.9-12.
Lord, all my desire is before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.
My heart pants, my strength fails me;
As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.
My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague,
And my relatives stand afar off.
Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;
Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,
And plan deception all the day long.

Sing Psalm 38.9-12.
(Leoni: The God of Abraham Praise)
You know all my desire, my sighs You know full well.
My strength fails and light’s holy fire my eyes dispel.
My friends and loved ones fail; the wicked do me wrong.
My life they seek, my soul assail the whole day long.

Read 1 Corinthians 6.1-17; meditate on verses 12-17.

Preparation
1. What seems to be the focus of these verses?

2. Of what are believers members?

Meditation
Moving on, Paul took up a claim that was being asserted by certain of the Corinthians: I’m saved, I can do what I want (v. 12). Paul responded in two ways. First, we don’t want to do anything that isn’t helpful for God’s ongoing work of sanctification in us (v. 11). And second, we don’t want anything—like a bad habit—to exercise controlling power over us (vv. 12, 13). Our bodies, Paul insisted, are “for the Lord”, to do His work in His way for His glory.

We are especially to guard against sexual immorality (vv. 13, 15, 16). It sounds as if some of the Corinthians were visiting prostitutes, as they had in their “old leaven” days, no doubt. Would Jesus do that? Obviously, not. Yet here they were, members of the Body of Christ, giving themselves to sinful practices and considering that it was “lawful” for them to do so! Even to lust sexually for another person is a sin, Jesus explained (Matt. 5.27-29). How much more to engage in unlawful sinful practices? Paul had just explained that adulterers will not inherit the Kingdom of God (v. 10). The Corinthians should stop deceiving themselves about such things (v. 9).

As members of Christ’s Body we should go only where He would go and do only what He would do. Jesus fulfilled all the Law of God; we must devote ourselves, body and soul, to the same. For as much as we might wish our sinful desires to be lawful and edifying, that’s not ever going to be the case. We are one with Jesus by His indwelling Spirit (v. 17). Jesus will show us what is lawful and what is not, what sanctifies and what destroys, what glorifies Him and what merely gratifies the flesh. The more we look to Him and follow in His way (1 Jn. 2.1-6), the more we will find true life and edification unto His praise and glory.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
This is a good news/good news proposition:
“The body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord.”
“He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Cor. 6.13, 17).

You don’t have to betray or be betrayed.
You don’t have to be one with anyone other than your spouse.
You don’t have to get any number of transmissible diseases.
You don’t have to feel guilt.
You don’t have to be blackmailed.
You don’t have to be put out of your church.
And most of all, you don’t have to disappoint your Savior.

But, you do get to be joined to the Lord Jesus and be one with Him.
You are free to live His abundant life with Him.
And you do inherit the kingdom of God.
Win/win/win.

“So shall I keep Your law continually, forever and ever.
And I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts” (Ps. 119.44, 45).
“But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it,
and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work,
this one will be blessed in what he does” (Jms. 1.25).

Jesus said of Himself, that He came to earth to bring liberty and freedom:
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD” (Lk. 4.18, 19).

Liberated and fully free to join and follow Him.
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Lk. 9.23).

For reflection
1. Where does the idea come from that sinful practices might be OK or even edifying?

2. What should you do whenever that thought begins to play in your mind?

3. Whom will you encourage today to resist temptation and stay the course with Jesus?

Some among the Corinthians seem to have been ready to say, All things are lawful for me. This dangerous conceit St. Paul opposes. There is a liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, in which we must stand fast. But surely a Christian would never put himself into the power of any bodily appetite. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6.12-20

Pray Psalm 38.17-22.
Meditate on today’s text as you wait on the Lord in prayer. Ask Him to show you any place in your life—thoughts, desires, practices—where you have gone beyond or are failing to live up to His Word. Confess and rejoice to move on in His love.

Sing Psalm 38.17-22.
(Leoni: The God of Abraham Praise)
My sins I now confess; my anxious soul relieve!
Though foes are strong, LORD, heal and bless all who believe!
Forsake me not, O LORD! Repay my foes with wrath.
Stand by me with Your saving Word and guard my path!

T. M. and Susie Moore

The Church in Corinth was in need of revival. But there was much to be done before that would happen. The Church today is in need of revival, and the same is true for us. Our book, Revived!, can help us to discern our need for revival and lead us in getting there. Order your copy by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter, available by clicking here.