Morning Devotional May 21, 2016

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”



In this day and time we live in we commonly think of these verses as pertaining to the latest fad of tatoos and body pierceings. And though it is true these acts are to be considered here, but what about the topic Paul was discussing with the Corinthian church in the verses before this? In verses 12-18 Paul is expressly warning the church about fornication. From what Paul writes here there must have been a problem with fornication in the church at Corinth.
Fornication and adultery are talked about many times in the New Testiment. Jesus spoke of it while in His earthly ministry. Paul spoke of it often in his letters to the different churches. And some of the other writers spoke of such. Everytime it is spoken of in God's Word it is considered an abomination unto the God. Why? Why is God so hard on those who fornicate? Look at the question and the answer to the question Paul writes in verse 19. “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
Why is God so hard on those who fornicate? Because His Holy Spirit lives within us. Our bodies are the temple in which the Holy Spirit of God dwells while we live on this earth. We no longer belong to ourselves. In verse 20 Paul tells us we are bought with a price. What price? Who paid the price? How can we forget so easily the price our Lord and Savior paid for His own?
O dear child of God, if you are living in fornication and adultery, come out of that sin. Remember who you belong to. Remember whose you are and who you are. Remember your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit of God. It is not your own. You were bought with a price. The price was paid by the shedding of Christ's blood on the tree. He paid the price for you with His own life so that so can live. Show Him the respect of staying true to His Word and to His commandments.
O what a price He paid for us!!! O what a shame it is for us to so easily forget we belong to Him and not ourselves.
This morning we have looked at physical fornication and adultery. But these verses cover way more than that. We as God's people have so many things in our lives that can be applied to this. Yes, I know the topic Paul was writing of here. But if we are to look at this as our bodies being the temple of the Holy Spirit then we must look at all things we do that affects our bodies. Many of us are glutens. Some may be smokers or drinkers. Many eat and drink things that, even though Paul says they are lawful for us to eat and drink, they are not good for our bodies, even when in moderation. Some may abuse their bodies in other ways. Also, what about our eyes and ears? How many of us see and hear things that are not pleasing to our Lord? How many movies and television shows do we watch that are ungodly? The list goes on and on.
So, as children of God, we must be diligent in our actions, in our what we watch, in what we listen to, in what we eat and drink. Be good stewards of the temple of the Lord that He has entrusted us with.



Praise ye the Lord!!!

Stephen McCool