To Make Disciples is To Transform How We Use Our Bodies

The young woman pronounced that it was her body, and she would use it in any way she wanted.

In our modern Western culture, “It’s my body” is a popular assertion thought to be incontrovertible. The Corinthian equivalent was “all things are permissible for me” (1 Corinthians 6:12), which translates across the full spectrum of modern life as “I can do anything I want.”

God’s assertion is quite different.

What if we had a healthier and more realistic view of who we are? What if we saw ourselves as God sees us? Would it make a difference? 

Where we left off

In the previous posts, we explored some dynamics of the Spirit’s work in our human metamorphosis. The Spirit of God invites us to actively cooperate with him in transforming us more and more into the likeness of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

We asked, “How would the Corinthians have learned to cooperate with the Spirit?” This led us to identify clusters of Spirit-words (pneum* words) in the Corinthian letters.

The first cluster informed us how the Spirit transforms minds, changing how we think.

Another cluster of pneum* words is found in 1 Corinthians 5-7, where we see no fewer than eight occurrences (1 Corinthians 5:3, 4, 5; 6:11, 17, 19; 7:34, 40). As we read these chapters, we discover a focus on our bodies and how we use them.

A brief analysis

Here are some brief observations of chapters 5-7:

• Chapter 5 addresses the case of a man having sexual relationships with his father’s wife.
• 6:1-11 is a condemnation of lawsuits within the community of Christians, which involves their physical/bodily presence in court before unbelievers.
• 6:12-20 is a denunciation of sexual relationships outside the marriage covenant between a man and a woman.
• Chapter 7 instructs about marriage, including sexual relations and divorce.

Again, each section speaks to how Christians use their bodies.

Given the length limitations of this post, we will focus on 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, which I encourage you to read within its context.        

The importance of our bodies

Some believe that the human spirit is all-important and the body is secondary—even irrelevant—to our life in Christ.

Our bodies are a necessary and integral component of our humanity. Emphasizing this point, Paul Stevens says, “We do not simply have a spirit, we are spirit; we do not simply have a body, we are body.” Furthermore, the apostle Paul declares that our physical bodies are part of our humanity into the unending future. As the Lord Jesus was resurrected, so shall we (6:14):

By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.

He then continues with three arguments, each introduced with the phrase,

Do you not know …

Let’s look briefly at each of those arguments.

1. An abhorrent thought

First, Paul writes (6:15):

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 

For a follower of Jesus, this means that using your body in an activity, by extension, engages Christ in that activity. 

David Garland comments on the implications of this text:

… the Christian’s body is an organ of the body of Christ. Every relationship in life is affected by this union with Christ. To have sexual relations with a prostitute is to be guilty of what is unthinkable, to snatch away a member of Christ and join that member to one personifying rebellion against God.[1]

If you engage in sexual immorality as a “member of Christ,” you involve Christ in that sexual immorality.

Paul expresses his abhorrence at this thought.

2. Two becoming one

Next, we read (6:16-18):

Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a [person] commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

This text applies to either a male or a female Christian engaged in sexual immorality.

“All sexual relations create a one-flesh union,”[2] writes Garland. God intends the one-flesh union solely for the relationship of one man and one woman in the life-long covenant of marriage.

In any other relationship, a human engaging in a one-flesh union sins against his or her own body and the purpose for which the body has been designed.

3.  You are naos

Paul concludes with (6:19-20):

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Here is a positive way in which we can cooperate with the Spirit.

In the Greek language, there are two words for “temple.”

One of those words is heiros, which refers to the whole temple grounds, enclosures, and structure.

The other word is naos, which refers to the inner sanctum or the holy of holies, which is the dwelling place of God. In this text, Paul uses naos.

In the Old Testament, God is portrayed as dwelling in the naos of the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-35) and later in Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 8:10-11).

As a follower of Jesus, your body is a temple or naos, where the Spirit of God dwells.

Transforming how you use your body

As a Christian, you are invited to cooperate with the Spirit in His work of making you more and more like Jesus.

Part of that cooperation is intentionally living in the awareness that what you do with your body makes a difference in your metamorphosis—not just in the realm of sex and sexuality, but in every way. Your body is the dwelling place of the Spirit of God, and everything you do with your body involves our God.

What differences does it make when you realize your body is God’s intimate dwelling place? How will you choose to use your body? 

Take time to ponder what Paul has written. How does it equip you to cooperate more with the Spirit’s work of your metamorphosis? 

Here is a suggested prayer:

Lord, make me more aware that what I do with my body is what I do with your holy place—and your presence. Direct me to be more wise, intentional, and godly about my choices so that I will use my body in ways that honor you.

Please use this link to contact me and share some specific practices that encourage you to cooperate with the Spirit in how you use your body.

BACK TO To Make Disciples is to Transform Minds

Notes: 
[1] David E. Garland, I Corinthians (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003), 224.
[2] Garland, 224.

Photo credit: Sketch by Michaelangelo of the “Libyan Sibyl” (ca. 1511).