Joined To The Lord-2

JOINED To The LORD-II—1Corinthians 6:12-20

Those Uncontrollable Christians

Attention:

You’re In The Army Now!

A young man joined the Army & soon after was expected to attend a wedding.

He asked an officer for a pass & was told he had to be back by 7 p.m. Sunday.

The new recruit responded, "You don't understand, sir, I'm in the wedding.” “And besides that sir, the wedding is an evening wedding on Sunday. It will be impossible for me to make it back to the base by 7:00pm.”

The officer replied, “No, son, I believe it’s YOU doesn’t understand.”...“You see, You’re in the Army!”

Being in the Army made every difference when it came to the young man’s obligations!

Likewise, when we are Joined to the Lord, our obligations are refocused.

Need:

1Sam. 15:22-23—“So Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings & sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity & idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.””

*The apostle Paul warned the church at Corinth of the inherent danger of sexual immorality.

‘Inherent’= “existing in something as a permanent, essential, or characteristic attribute”

God must be allowed to control our bodies, so...

God’s people must be joined to the Lord.

Why must God’s people be joined to the Lord?

4 distinctions emerge from our being joined to the Lord.

We found earlier that, When you/we are Joined to the Lord...

1. His MASTERY Emerges(:12)

We will find today that...

2—When we are Joined to the Lord...

His USE/PURPOSE Emerges(:13-14)

Explanation:(:13-14)

:13—“Foods for the stomach & the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it & them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, & the Lord for the body.”

“Foods for the stomach & the stomach for foods” is probably another(as :12 appears to be) example of an adage, slogan, or saying accepted among the church body. Paul follows it immediately with his explanation.

They had been taught a ‘God made it let’s use it any way we want to’ mentality.

This saying “had apparently been used by some in Corinth to justify sexual license(fornication & adultery).”—RWP Such a saying was ‘probably’ used to justify a dualistic nature—where it is assumed that the things done in the body have no effect on one’s spiritual nature.

Christianity(Paul) maintains no such dualistic nature!(2Cor. 5:9-10). To be a Christian & maintain such a dualism is either hypocritical or incredibly shortsighted.

2Cor. 5:9-10—“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

“Foods” are indeed specifically intended for the purposes of satisfying the “stomach’s” need, but not necessarily its wants.

Likewise the “stomach” exists specifically for the purposes of attaining nutrition for the body thru its breakdown of various “foods.” The two(“food” & “stomach”) exist for each other so that neither has meaning apart from the other. Each is interdependent upon the other or their purpose & meaning is lost. That body, in harmony with itself & God, is useful to God!

One day both food & the stomach will be done away with(“destroy”). But it is God Who will do away with them. That the above is true does not mean that either foods or the stomach or their interrelation are inconsequential, or that they are untouchable by sin, or that either one or both is inherently ‘bad.’

The human body is not intended to function either physically or spiritually apart from its commitment to the Lord & for His purposes.

“The human body has a higher mission than the mere gratification of sensual appetite.”—RWP

“Sexual immorality” was an open issue of conflict in the Corinthian church. There were obviously those in their midst who were teaching things which touched on “sexual” issues & the morality &/or “immorality” of such. Those (false)teachers must have pushed their heretical leanings, which caused the entire church to reconsider their theological trusts. We must remember that they did not have the New Testament as we do today! It was unfolding before their very eyes!

?What are your reasons for maintaining your immorality?

Though the body will eventually be done away with(at least in its present form—cf. 1Jn. 3:2-3)—“God will destroy both it & them”— this does not mean that the body is inconsequential in relations to God. The body does not exist for the purpose of “sexual immorality/fornication.” Rather, the body exists for the express purposes of the Lord.