text
stringlengths
7
443
[398.84 --> 403.78] many of us are tempted to do all the time fuse these things together and like i am free in jesus
[403.78 --> 412.14] to do whatever i want added one layer deeper this is how most people in the greek and roman world
[412.14 --> 419.16] thought about bodies their view was that inside of us is a thing called the soul and that soul is
[419.16 --> 425.36] imperishable it's eternal it's very important and at one point in life when you die that soul goes to
[425.36 --> 430.42] sort of be with the divine the body though according to the first century way of thinking is just a
[430.42 --> 437.12] shell for the soul right it's decaying it gets sick it eventually you shed your body and so the body
[437.12 --> 442.54] doesn't matter and why this matters for us is for people in corinth and many surrounding cities it
[442.54 --> 448.22] didn't matter how you lived in your bodies you can kind of do what you want eat what you want go where
[448.22 --> 454.20] you want and sleep with who you want it's just a body and interestingly i won't have time to say this
[454.20 --> 458.84] today there are several writers who are saying there's actually a very similar view of the body
[458.84 --> 463.64] that people in our society are adopting it's just a body i'm something inside my body that's separate
[463.64 --> 470.40] from it and therefore the body's not all that important and so interestingly paul has to address
[470.40 --> 474.94] some pretty serious stuff in this passage and not just this passage but ones around it specifically
[474.94 --> 480.62] the sleeping with prostitutes that's happening in the church but the way he does it is fascinating to
[480.62 --> 485.98] me because you know what paul focuses on in most of this passage the body in fact the most repeated
[485.98 --> 492.08] word is soma in greek which is english the body and how does paul finish this passage by saying to them
[492.08 --> 498.36] as strongly as he can therefore in light of everything i've said honor god with your bodies
[498.36 --> 506.16] and then he works out how that works out sexually so let's take a look first at what paul says about the
[506.16 --> 513.78] beauty and the goodness of the body let's start in verse 13 to 15 he writes the body however is not
[513.78 --> 518.58] meant for sexual immorality we're going to get to that in just a minute but for the lord and the lord
[518.58 --> 526.20] for the body by his power god raised the lord from the dead and he will raise us also do you not know
[526.20 --> 533.86] that your bodies are members of christ himself and what paul is saying is discipleship to jesus is taking
[533.86 --> 539.76] on a whole new story of how we understand our bodies as christians and i really believe that i can't
[539.76 --> 544.90] talk about this passage without going right back to genesis which paul himself does because for anyone
[544.90 --> 551.44] who follows jesus and reads his word we have to come to terms with the fact that our bodies are good
[551.44 --> 559.26] that god delights in our bodies you read genesis 1 every part of creation as god finishes that the land
[559.26 --> 564.66] the water the air all that he created it says it is good and god did not save half-hearted work
[564.66 --> 571.20] for the end where he creates humanity he was delighted to form and fashion and breathe life
[571.20 --> 578.38] into humanity men and women who reflect his image and he thinks it is good to have a body
[578.38 --> 585.18] and i like what run writer says in the bible we don't just have bodies we are bodies bodies are part
[585.18 --> 590.68] of what it means for us to be human we are bodies and god delights in them so that's the first piece
[590.68 --> 596.62] that's built into this passage and just so you know it's really important to point this out when we
[596.62 --> 601.88] rebel against god and we reject his authority in genesis 3 what's fascinating is god doesn't destroy
[601.88 --> 607.52] humans if you read other creation accounts from other religions in ancient near east the gods actually
[607.52 --> 612.50] do destroy humans in their stories but our god in the true story sets out on this long road of
[612.50 --> 619.38] redemption this long road of making things right that involves get this god taking on a body
[619.38 --> 624.94] the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us and you should know that against over and against
[624.94 --> 630.74] many religions specifically eastern religions christianity is crazy because they could not fathom
[630.74 --> 636.22] why in the world an eternal god would take on this perishable shell of a body but in christianity
[636.22 --> 644.86] that's at the center of it god becoming flesh taking on a body because god believes the body is good and
[644.86 --> 650.88] so must we but that's just the beginning of what paul is saying then he goes on to say by faith you and i
[650.88 --> 656.78] are united to christ we are his body and andre actually mentioned that with the hands and the feet of jesus
[656.78 --> 662.28] paul says that in first corinthians 12 we are the limbs and the organs of jesus that we are intimately
[662.28 --> 667.90] connected to him that we are in him and jesus dwells in us and did you notice what paul says
[667.90 --> 676.08] later in this passage do you not know that you are temples of the holy spirit now if you grew up in
[676.08 --> 680.36] the church that language is probably just normal to you but can i just invite you to let it blow your
[680.36 --> 689.94] mind that you and i are inhabited and indwelt by the living god by his holy spirit right now god lives
[689.94 --> 696.44] in you such that when you move god moves when you act god is with you god dwells in you and i actually
[696.44 --> 702.40] think a big step in us living differently is recognizing that the living god is alive in us
[702.40 --> 708.62] and through us that is powerful stuff and if that weren't enough paul just throws in the middle of this
[708.62 --> 715.16] passage oh by the way the body that jesus took on god rose from the grave and yours also by faith in
[715.16 --> 719.74] jesus will rise from the grave and if you're new to christianity or you're new to our church and how
[719.74 --> 726.72] we teach about christianity you have a resurrected future awaiting you if you believe in christ we're
[726.72 --> 730.88] not going to be ghosts forever that float around without bodies jesus rose from the dead and those
[730.88 --> 737.30] who believe in him will rise with him with perfect bodies purified and made whole to live in a purified
[737.30 --> 743.86] and whole creation forever and all the stuff that you love about life in your body you get to enjoy
[743.86 --> 750.08] forever amen indeed i actually said the 9 a.m this is the point where you say amen so someone must
[750.08 --> 755.46] maybe you're in the 9 a.m you still love the sermon on sex that you came back for another one
[755.46 --> 762.70] you know last week uh on friday i was reading about the goodness of the body and the difference
[762.70 --> 766.94] between a christian view of the body and other religions and we took a break as staff and we went
[766.94 --> 770.60] to go visit mike and hillary aviani i don't know if they're in this service because they just had a baby
[770.60 --> 775.32] and i got the whole little baby mila and i had a very moving experience thinking like wow god
[775.32 --> 782.08] babies are miracles bodies are miracles and i can only speak for myself you know i've had a few kids
[782.08 --> 786.24] and i've held all my children it's been always an emotional experience but there's something i can
[786.24 --> 790.58] only speak for dads you know when you hold that child that you were part of the process right that
[790.58 --> 795.22] brought them into the world but you also know you got more than you bargained for and more than you
[795.22 --> 800.42] could take credit for am i wrong tell me i'm wrong you hold this child and you just praise the lord
[800.42 --> 806.38] there's nothing short of a miracle in your arms this living breathing body that god and his love
[806.38 --> 812.60] and his power brought into your life every child is a miracle there is no scientific explanation for
[812.60 --> 818.72] how it all comes to be and why it comes to be other than that god is the giver of life and bodies
[818.72 --> 826.30] are beautiful and in his image praise the lord it's out of this now you're i hope you're tracking
[826.30 --> 831.44] with me it's out of paul's high view of the body over and against a greek view that is just a shell
[831.44 --> 838.00] for the soul paul's saying god dwells in your bodies by the spirits you're united to jesus and if that's
[838.00 --> 844.72] true how you live out your sexuality is of great importance in the life you have and now he gets down
[844.72 --> 852.86] to business on sexual immorality now in scriptures um sexuality sexual immorality is mentioned a lot
[852.86 --> 856.78] and if you're aware of current church debates around sexuality you need to know that the phrase
[856.78 --> 862.98] sexual immorality has a lot of conversation around it but let me summarize it this way i believe sexual
[862.98 --> 869.72] immorality all the times it's used in the new testament is shorthand for describing all sexual activity
[869.72 --> 875.56] outside of the covenant of marriage okay it's all the different forms of sexual activity outside the
[875.56 --> 881.16] covenant of marriage paul uses it in many different places in fact uh you should read today or if this
[881.16 --> 885.44] week if you're really interested in doing a deeper dive on this read just first corinthians 6 and 7
[885.44 --> 891.60] because paul addresses a lot of different stuff he addresses adultery he addresses fornication
[891.60 --> 897.66] same-sex sex he addresses um incest within the families he goes after all these different things
[897.66 --> 902.36] and he brings the gospel to bear on them read it for yourself but paul is very interested in allowing
[902.36 --> 908.92] people to work out how to follow jesus with their bodies and their sexuality so let's read the specific
[908.92 --> 913.46] thing he addresses in this passage which is temple prostitution and before i read the passage
[913.46 --> 917.84] helpful to frame what's going on in the cities then this is very different than today
[917.84 --> 923.62] um prostitution was linked with temples uh there's places where you'd worship a god there would be food
[923.62 --> 928.32] idols uh food and feasts as part of that that's why food is mentioned in our passage as well because
[928.32 --> 933.72] food temple prostitution they go together in these places of worship and uh the christians were clearly
[933.72 --> 937.82] going to the temples they used to worship at because they were free and then enjoy the prostitutes that
[937.82 --> 943.02] were available there and paul's got something to say about it and this is what he says verse 15
[943.02 --> 950.20] i think you'll have the context for it in on the screen too he writes do you not know that he who
[950.20 --> 958.66] unites himself with the prostitute is one with her in body for it has said the two will become one
[958.66 --> 964.62] flesh and just to remind us of the movement because we are united to jesus by faith in our bodies paul's
[964.62 --> 970.40] now saying if it's jesus you're following his design established by the father in the scriptures is now how
[970.40 --> 977.62] you are to live and what does he quote anyone know the passage he quotes genesis 224 which is widely
[977.62 --> 984.18] accepted as the foundational marriage passage on sexuality and i'll read it for us in genesis 224
[984.18 --> 991.48] with jesus himself quotes in matthew 19 we read that is why a man leaves his father and mother and is
[991.48 --> 999.50] united to his wife and they become one flesh now i've done a lot of weddings in the last few years