1 Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?… Note — 1. That sinners of every class are excluded from heaven (ver. 9). 2. That sinners of every class have been changed (ver. 11). 3. That those who have been changed are under immense obligations to cultivate a holy life. The text teaches us — I. THAT THE CHRISTIAN'S BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF GOD. The body is frequently called so (1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:22). Three ideas are suggested — 1. Special connection with God. God is everywhere, but He had a special connection with the Temple of old. God is with all men, but "Thus saith the high and lofty One who inhabiteth eternity," &c. 2. Special consecration to God. 3. Special manifestation of God. Though the universe reveals God, yet, in the Temple was the Shekinah. There is more of God seen in a good man's life than elsewhere throughout the world. II. THAT THE CHRISTIAN'S BEING IS THE PROPERTY OF GOD. "Ye are not your own." 1. This does not mean — (1) That your personality is net your own. You will never be absorbed in God. (2) That your character is not your own. Character is the creation of a moral being — an untransferable thing. 2. It means that our existence is absolutely at His command; that He has a sovereign right to do with us whatever is pleasing in His sight. The reason of this is assigned. "We are bought with a price." Christ has redeemed us, and has laid on us the strongest conceivable obligation to live a godly life (Revelation 14:5). III. THAT THE CHRISTIAN'S DUTY IS TO GLORIFY GOD. Not to make Him more glorious than He is — this is impossible. A holy mind is glorified in the realisation of its ideals. St. Paul's Cathedral glorifies architecturally Sir Christopher Wren, inasmuch as it is the realisation of his idea. Man glorifies God when he realises in his life God's ideal of a man. All beings glorify God as far as they realise His idea of their existence. This includes two things — 1. That the human body be under the absolute government of the soul. The crime and curse of humanity are that matter governs mind; the body rules the soul. 2. That the human soul be under the government of supreme love to God. Love always — (1) Seeks to please the object. (2) Reflects the object. (3) Lives in the object. (D. Thomas, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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? |
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