Title:
Motive to Glorify God
Text: 1
Corinthians 6: 12-20
Date:
August 12, 2012
Place:
SGBC, New Jersey
1 Corinthians 6: 12:…Now the body is not for
fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. 14: And God hath both
raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. 15: Know ye not
that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of
Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. 16: What? know ye
not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall
be one flesh. 17: But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 18: Flee
fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that
committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 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? 20: For ye are bought with a price: therefore
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Believer,
we profess that we were crucified with Christ, our old man was buried with him
and we are risen with him to newness of life.
That is what is pictured in believer’s baptism. This morning our subject
has to do with walking in newness of life.
Brothers
and sisters, it is the most blessed privilege above all others to be God’s holy
people. We are saved through faith in
Christ by grace, not by the works of the law, therefore, we do not say, “(as we
be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that
good may come?” The believer’s chief desire is to “adorn the doctrine of God
our Saviour in all things.”
Where
faith abides in the heart there is also a love for that which is pure. Our motive is given here in verse 20, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Title: Motive
for Glorifying God
Proposition: The redemption whereby Christ purchased us is our motive
for glorifying God in our body and our spirit.
I. The
first aspect of this motive for glorifying God in our body and our spirit is
because THE BODY WAS MADE FOR THE LORD—v12:
Now the body is not for fornication, the
body is for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
Have
you ever wondered why God made the human body?
Remember: Christ is first. He gets all preeminence in all things. The body is for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. Let’s go back to eternity to see what
this means first and foremost.
In
eternity, God the Father chose and purposed for his Son to come forth in a
human body, to make God known to his people, by his redemptive work, by perfecting
righteousness and justifying his children from our sins.
When
God chose his Son for that work, right then, in the mind and purpose of God,
the human body which God the Son would inhabit was fashioned in God’s mind, as
it would literally be fashioned in time.
Hebrews 10: 5: Wherefore when he cometh into the world,
he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:…
So the
pattern from which God made Adam’s human body was after the pattern of that
body God had already determined to make for his Son. Christ is first!
Colossians 1: 16: For by him were all
things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all
things were created by him, and for him: 17: And he is before all things, and by
him all things consist. 18: And he is the head of the body, the church: who is
the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might
have the preeminence.
Our
bodies were not made for sin. The body
is for the Lord, for the glory of Christ, to be a member of his, to be redeemed
by him, and to serve him—13: the body is for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. 14: And God hath both raised
up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.15: Know ye not that
your bodies are the members of Christ?
Christ
has entered into glory in his body. And he shall raise our bodies to be with
him.
Illustration: Hands, feet, toes, members of body—believer, your whole
body, is a member of Christ’s body. And
shall be raised incorruptible to be with him.
So
seeing as he is already raised and knowing our bodies are members of his body
and shall be raised to be with him—shall we desecrate his body? God forbid.
Romans 6:4: Therefore we are buried with him by baptism
into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
II. Here is
the second aspect of this motive…the
oneness the believer has with Christ is compared to the bodily union between a
husband and wife. But our union with Christ is even more than that. He has been
speaking of the body, V16:…for two,
saith he, shall be one flesh. 17: BUT he that is joined unto the Lord is one
spirit.
Believer, we are joined unto the Lord--He that is joined unto the Lord is one
spirit. The whole person of a child
of GOD is united to CHRIST--body, soul, and spirit. Right now, our spirit has been quickened, our
bodies shall be made alive in the resurrection, yet even now, our whole man is
united to CHRIST. We are members of
CHRIST’S body of his flesh, and of his bones—he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. So as soon as we die our spirit shall join
the spirits of just men made perfect around his throne of grace. And because of
this union with Christ, our bodies shall be raised from the grave as well. So the whole person of a child of GOD is united
to the LORD JESUS CHRIST. v19:…your body is the temple of the Holy
Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God.
Believer, all that we are right now, is by the
creation of God’s grace. Everything we
have we received freely by his grace.
·
Of God the Father who chose us in Christ
·
Of God the Son who purchased us with his own
blood from Satan, sin and the curse of the law
·
Of God the Holy Spirit who has made us
eternally alive and given us his gifts, among which are: faith, hope, and love
in Christ our Righteousness.
Think
of it for a moment believer:
·
INSPERABLE UNION!
·
ETERNAL REDEMPTION!
·
EVERLASTING LIFE!
WHICH
YE HAVE OF GOD!
III. THE THIRD ASPECT OF THIS MOTIVE IS THE
STRONGEST—V19:…and ye are not your own? 20: For ye are bought with a price:
Believer,
we were slaves under sins. Bound under
the just curse of the law. The Son of
God—Christ our Kinsmen Redeemer—took our place—as our substitute—to pay all
that we owed to divine justice.
You are
bought with a price—purchased with a price. Purchased with a price too precious
to truly comprehend as we ought. “Ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold; but with the
precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
Brethren,
our holy, sinless Savior who did no sin and hated sin with righteous indignation,
the Lamb without blemish and without spot, opened not his mouth but was
willingly made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him.
Though
he despised the shame—our Savior willingly submitted that he might pay the
price we owed. I wish we really knew
what a despised thing sin is, that we really knew how Christ despised the shame
which he bore for us. It would fill our
hearts with love and fill our hearts with sorrow at the lightness with which we
look upon sin.
This
price included the suffering he endured—the crushing blow which fell upon him was
the blow which we deserved. This purchasing included bodily pain unimaginable.
When
was the last time you experience severe bodily pain. Each time we experience bodily pain we ought
to immediately think of the bodily pain Christ suffered to purchase us.
But
this purchase included soul-agony too great to comprehend. Described to us as his soul being exceeding sorrowful, his heart
melted like wax within him, his heart broken with reproach. It was the soul-pain of fiery wrath which
divine justice demanded of those for whom he suffered. “My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me?”
But the
price paid was more than pain, more than soul agony, it was death. The presence
of God was taken from him, separation from the God he loved. Now, that is the death which the elect of God
will never suffer. For Christ’s death is
the death of death for his people.
Romans 8:3 For what
the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his
own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in
the flesh.
1 Corinthians 15: 55: O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? 56: The sting of death is sin; and
the strength of sin is the law. 57: But thanks be to God, which
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
So then
you who he has quickened and called see you “are not your own, you are bought
with a price.” Believer, we belong to him who bought us.
Illustration: John you felt horrible when you wrecked your father’s
car?
It
caused you bodily pain—believer our sins cause us bodily pain. It caused the one with you pain—believer our
sin causes pain to those around us. But
the greatest sorrow was because that car was your father’s purchased
possession. That is what causes the
believer sorrow over sin--our spirit and our body—is God’s purchased
possession.
Nothing
else in life is as important as this fact—we
are not our own, we are God’s own purchased possession. This is the great mortifier by which the
Spirit of God mortifies the deeds of our sinful flesh—“you are not your own,
you were bought with a price.” Keep this
as the foremost thought in everything we say and do, the preeminent influence
and motivator. No matter what you become
in this life, first and foremost, above all else, you are God’s. Never forget
that.
CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER--20: Therefore
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
The gospel applies to every aspect of our lives. Before
God called us by his grace, we had no responsibilities to live according to
God’s word—then we were servants of sin.
But now, as children of God chosen by the Father, bought with Christ’s
blood, and born of the Spirit of God, we are responsible to live in this world as the children of God for the glory of Christ.
This is true: What the believer does in this world in no way changes
the fact that we are complete in Christ.
But what Christ has done for us, and in us, changes everything that we
do in this world.
Glorify God in your spirit—in the heart. Unfeigned
faith and sincere love is in the heart.
Proverbs 4: 23: Keep thy heart with all diligence; for
out of it are the issues of life.
Keep
your eyes fixed on Christ that the fleshly mind be not fed and the spirit be
not defiled. Keep your ear tuned to the gospel and don’t even give an ear to
falsehood
Glorify God in your body. Brethren,
with every sinful thought run to Gethsemane and see him sweating great drops of
blood for you. In every hour of
temptation, behold him nailed to the cross in your place. When you imagine sin is a light thing,
remember his solemn cry, “My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me.” Never forget whose you are.
Illustration: Elvis’ airplane--old, but it was his, so folks were interested in seeing
it.
Remember,
that when folks hear you belong to the King of kings worldly men will look to
find faults in you. A city set on a hill
cannot be hid. Abstain from the appearance of evil.
Titus 2: 7 In all
things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing
uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, 8
Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary
part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
We have
no good works in which to glory, but may everything we do be for the glory of
our Lord. Those saints in Hebrews 11 are still speaking because they lived and
died in faith. Let it be so of us.
Illustration: As you have opportunity to teach someone the
gospel, if they are convicted, they will point out your sin to justify their
own. So try your best not to give them
any ammunition. If our hope is that our friends and loved ones will
believe the gospel then we must live by the gospel.
He has
bought us entirely from head to foot, every power, every passion, and every
faculty, all our time, all our goods, all that we call our own, all that makes
up ourselves is altogether God’s.
Ephesians 4: 17: This I say therefore, and testify in the
Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of
their mind, 18: Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the
life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of
their heart: 19: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto
lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20: But ye have not so
learned Christ; 21: If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by
him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22: That ye put off concerning the former
conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23: And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24: And that ye put on the new
man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25:
Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we
are members one of another. 26: Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go
down upon your wrath: 27: Neither give place to the devil. 28: Let him that
stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands
the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. 29: Let
no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to
the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30: And
grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of
redemption. 31: Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil
speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32: And be ye kind one to
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake
hath forgiven you. 5: 1: Be ye therefore
followers of God, as dear children; 2: And walk in love, as Christ also hath
loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for
a sweetsmelling savour.
The
gospel of the grace of God has taught us Christ the Way of salvation —
We are
saved by Christ through faith in him—not by works, not by our will, by God’s
grace, made alive by the Spirit. “Whether
therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God”
(1 Corinthians 10:31)
Philippians 1: 9: And this I
pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all
judgment; 10: That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be
sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; 11: Being filled with the
fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise
of God.
Amen!