1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (NRSV)
Read 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 on biblegateway.com
Verse 12"All things are lawful for me," but not all things are beneficial. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be dominated by anything. Verse 13"Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food," and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Verse 14And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Verse 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Verse 16Do you not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, "The two shall be one flesh." Verse 17But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Verse 18Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. Verse 19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? Verse 20For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.
Devotion
When God invades, God takes over. In this reading we learn that our bodies, our lives, our whole beings are not our own. Conversely, that doesn't mean that we are puppets for Jesus. We are called instead to live lives that are counter-cultural—exercising discipline in all things, and in so doing, giving honor to the one who created us.
This call is also true for the communities of which we are a part of, for we are all members of the body of Christ. We are called with one another to give witness to the light that invades and lives in us. So when God invades our hearts, is there room? Are we prepared to welcome holiness into the very bones of our being? In the question of this welcome there is a lot at stake—but by the grace of God, light has overcome the darkness and we have been bought with a high price. To God be the glory!
Prayer
Our prayer through the week continues:… Let us encourage one another to live lives that glorify you, united with you as members of one body, and temples of your Holy Spirit. ….