By Shane Carrington
Synopsis: The Holy Spirit cleanses us of our sins and sets us apart unto God’s service through the life-giving word that He revealed.
Last month’s column was entitled: “Your Body Is a Temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). “Body” in this passage references the life lived, not the outer shell divorced from a godly manner of life. Rather than using the physical body as a tool of sexual immorality (1 Cor. 6:13), it should be used to serve the Lord by glorifying “God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19). The Holy Spirit indwells us in the sense that we are carrying out His purposes as we submit to His teaching (1 Cor. 2:11-16). The Corinthian disciples struggled with this! So do many today.
Paul described their sad, sordid past:
. . .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. Such were some of you. . . (1 Cor. 6:9-11a).
He also depicted their redemption in Jesus:
. . .but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God (1 Cor. 6:11).
While they had a long way to go, through Jesus and the Spirit, the Father gave them a new start. Specific sins may vary, but such a list delineates man’s need for forgiveness and reconciliation.
By compartmentalization, we mean distinguishing our relationship with God from our manner of living. Paul addressed this grievous error in 1 Corinthians 6. Ancient Corinth’s libertine attitude toward sexuality was well-known and had apparently influenced these recent converts. They struggled because of their licentious upbringing (read 1 Cor. 5-6). A member was fornicating with “his father’s wife” (1 Cor. 5:1). Their struggles in this area showed that the fruits of repentance had not reached maturity (1 Cor. 6:15-20).
What hindered them? They were influenced by Plato’s dualism, whose home of Athens was only sixty-five miles from Corinth. While Plato died four hundred years before Paul wrote, his philosophy continued to have many adherents. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
In dualism, “mind” is contrasted with “body”. . . Plato believed that the true substances are not physical bodies. . . but the eternal forms of which bodies are imperfect copies.
The Scripture shows that they thought physical actions were less important than spiritual understanding. While this preceded full-blown Gnosticism, it sounds like a precursor to it.
Compartmentalizing physical actions from spiritual principles continues to be a problem today. Rather than repenting, some rationalize their actions, saying, “I know I did wrong, but God knows my heart.” God makes no such distinction! The “works of the flesh” prevent people from reaching heaven (Gal. 5:19-21). The Lord expects us to have “faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6).
Calvinists struggle with a similar mentality. “My body sins,” they claim, “but my spirit does not. God only sees the perfect righteousness of Christ imputed to me, covering my sinfulness.” This could not be further from the truth. Rather than God merely ignoring sin, “. . .the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). How? Jesus offered Himself as the perfect propitiation (i.e., sin offering) that is sufficient to remove sin (1 John 2:2)! For disciples His blood is applied again “If we confess our sins. . .” (1 John 1:9a). Like Peter told Simon, “repent of this wickedness. . .and pray the Lord. . .” (Acts 8:22). Rather than a mere cover-up, when we ask in prayer, “He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9b).
Divorcing our relationship with God from the rest of our lives is grossly inconsistent with Scripture. God wants our all.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:23).
How? God calls us (1 Thess. 5:24) through the Holy Spirit-inspired word (1 Thess. 5:19-22)! As Paul also wrote:
. . .when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe (1 Thess. 2:13).
. . .God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 2:13-14).
The Holy Spirit sanctifies us through His word-gospel-calling (cf. Rom. 10:17). Paul taught this everywhere.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
What does glorifying “God in your body” look like? It results in a sanctified manner of life!
While “the body is not for sexual immorality. . .” (1 Cor. 6:13a), the question remains, “How do we overcome sin?”
Remember who you are and Whom you serve. “Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body” (1 Cor. 6:13b). This perspective gives us wisdom and strength to battle temptation and sin successfully. “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).
Focus on God’s purpose for our lives. “. . .your bodies are members of Christ” (1 Cor. 6:15a). Because we are connected to Him, we do not have to wonder about our purpose. The Lord revealed His will in the pages of His word. By laboring in His work, we have fellowship with Him in His purposes (1 Cor. 6:17).
Allow the Holy Spirit to convict and strengthen you. “. . .your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. . . you are not your own. . . therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). He indwells our bodies (that is, our lives) as we recognize His ownership over us and respond to the command to “glorify God in your body.” He does this through the word (1 Cor. 2:10-13; cf. John 16:7-15 and Eph. 6:17 with Heb. 4:11-13; etc.)!
Listen to the Spirit’s word to be sanctified. In other words, devote time to reading, studying, meditating, and participating in the word by avoiding sin (1 Cor. 6:9-11) and obeying Him (1 Cor. 6:19-20). That is a sanctified life, as Paul further explained:
For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God. . . For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you (1 Thess. 4:3-8).
Re-read that profoundly important statement which highlights the role of the Spirit-revealed word in our sanctification.
God has provided tools to help us overcome sin—and be more like the Lord Jesus. Through His grace, God has provided, not just cleansing from our past sins, but also a path for continuing sanctification and transformation. The Holy Spirit revealed the correction, commands, and commendation we need (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Delve into His word, allowing the inspired message to direct your steps, and you will grow to be more like Jesus (Eph. 4:11-16).
Robinson, Howard. “Dualism.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/dualism/.
