New Creatures New Lifestyle Series

Chico Alliance Church

Pastor David Welch

“New Creatures” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

I. Reproof for fleshly behavior 1-6

A. Reproof for a divided church 1-4

B. Reproof for a defiled church 5

C. Reproof for a defeated church 6

1. Defeated by lawsuits before unbelievers 1-8

2. Defeated by improper behavior 5:12-20

a) Principles of freedom 12

(1) Will it benefit me or others?

(2) Will it dominate me?

b) Bodyguard truths “Don’t you know that” 13-20

(1) The body is for the Lord and the Lord is for the body 13-14

(2) Your bodies are joined with Christ 15-17

(3) Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? 19

(4) You are not your own but have been bought with a price? 19-20

Flee immorality! Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.

God designed the temple as a place where people could encounter the presence of God.

Therefore God prescribed every detail even for the portable temporary tabernacle in the wilderness. Each dimension and piece of furniture illustrated some aspect of God’s glory.

Perhaps God prescribed the temple to reflect His glory after man squandered the honorable privilege at the fall. Yet somehow by the time we enter the era of the New Testament, individual followers of Christ are called temples of God and those individual members are also part of a grand temple continually being built into a holy temple unto the Lord.

Shortly after the apostles time in 72AD, the physical temple was destroyed and has never been rebuilt. The place where God longs to display his glory and character is the body of each believer. God longs to once again use his grand creation, once marred by sin, to reflect his very nature. The soul and spirit find expression though the physical body. We sometimes only know the immaterial parts of a person by the affect on the material part. Our bodies then becomes a reflector of sin, self and Satan or the presence of the God who created it. Paul calls all Christians to glorify God in their bodies. The body is the instrument by which we not only reflect our true nature but it is also the gateway to the soul. No one can get to you without first going through some physical aspect of your body.

Eyes, ears, nose, physical touch, taste buds

These temples will resemble what they have been exposed to most. Garbage in, garbage out. If a dog does his “business” in your house it becomes apparent that a dog has been there. If we allow unclean things to enter God’s temple and deposit their garbage it will soon become evident to others. We are to glorify God in our bodies.

We must continually connect to God in such a way that His becomes evident in every smile, every word, every touch, and every deed, every thought and attitude.

We are to be a fragrant aroma of Christ to those who are perishing. How do we draw people’s attention to God through our bodies? When we function according to the Creator’s design, we bring glory to the Creator. When we live like Jesus.

When we allow Him to direct all that we do. When we allow His character to function through out lifestyle. When people encounter God’s character by what they see in our bodies. Paul reminded the Corinthians that the unrighteous have no place in God’s kingdom because they do not reflect the character of the King.

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor. 6:9-10

Those who fail to repent of their sin reflect the wickedness of the evil one.

For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find…strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances… from those who have sinned in the past and have not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced. 2 Cor. 12:20-21

The one who functions by the demands of the sinful flesh will clearly demonstrate who controls the body.

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21

The one who embraces Christ and invites Him to be Lord of their life will become a beacon of God’s character to all who see.

For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.