1 Cor 6:20 “For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify*~ God with your body.”
In a recent movie, a robot refused to follow the order of its master and began to generate its own directives. Chaos resulted. Though we are not robots, we do have a Creator who created us in His image, with many of His attributes, for a purpose.
Just as the Son submits to the will of the Father, so we were created to willingly walk with the Father and submit to His will. When sin entered the human scene, we became like the rogue robot, seeking our own will.
For the sixth time in this chapter, Paul asked, “Do you not know . . . ?” (1 Cor 6:18). He asked the church to recall that when they became believers, the Holy Spirit took up residency within their mortal bodies.
The Spirit becomes a permanent resident in each of us, such that we are called a “temple of the Holy Spirit” (6:19). Paul wrote, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him” (2:9–-10). How should we think about our bodies if the fullness of God dwells within us?
The preceding verse ends with a categorical statement: “You are not your own” (1 Cor 6:19). To treat your body as a personal, private possession, seeking your own gratification without regard to God’s instructions, is simple robbery. He paid for your life so that you would honor Him with your body and your life.
Just as a temple is a place of worship, sacrifice, prayer, and communion with God, so a believer’s body should fulfill these lofty objectives. Just as we would never think of desecrating a sacred temple or church, so we should have respect for our bodies.
If we are to “glorify God in [our] body and in [our] spirit, which are God’s,” then we must make them dignified places of prayer, worship, sacrifice, and obedient service, set apart for God’s purposes (Rom 12:1–-2). Our bodies “were bought with a price”—-that is, the life and blood of our Savior, paid to redeem us to God, with the result that our body and soul belong to God.
Will you tell God that you will relinquish all rights to your body and yield control to His will, whatever it may be? Do you trust Him that much?
“Lord, I am so thankful for Your grace in covering all my sins and accepting me as Your child that I want to show the world what You mean to me. May all my actions and reactions reflect Your principles and commands.”