The Holy Influence of a Sanctified Life JANUARY 14, 2018 1 Corinthians 6:9-20 Pastor Ulmet: As we move towards the special presentations by Dr. Boone and Pastor Ulmet on God's design for Sexuality, interestingly (maybe the Holy Spirit?) must have known where we were going - the Lectionary scheduled this passage for this Sunday! How appropriate. The outline below is where I see the message going as of now. It could change. This will lead well into the Sunday lesson and message on January 21. 1. Pursuing the Sanctified life - Verses 9-11. Those who are pursuing holiness life differently than those that aren't. 2. Pursuing the Moral Life - Verses 12-18. Those whose lives are joined with Christ make different choices than those whose aren't. 3. Pursuing the Spirit-Filled life - Verses 19-20. Those who recognize the sacredness of our "temple bodies" see their lives different than those who don't. 1 Corinthians 6:9-20 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 12 I have the right to do anything, you say but not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anything but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both. The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power, God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, The two will become one flesh. 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
BIBLE INSIGHTS A Sanctified Life (vs. 9-11) If you have boarded a plane since the 911 terrorist attack that took down the twin towers, destroyed a portion of the Pentagon, and left a third plane in a field in Pennsylvania, you know that the procedures have changed. In addition to proper documentation, there are lists of items you cannot bring on a plane including the bottled water you just purchased. The Kingdom of God is not like getting past the TSA guard in order to board a plane. However, there are certain ways of behaving, certain lifestyles, which just won't fit a person who is part of the kingdom of God. It isn't that God or the church is made up a list of rules that are now being applied in a capricious and arbitrary, one size fits all basis. The Greek myth of Procrustes describes the horror of trying to make everyone fit the same mold. Procrustes had an iron bed (or, according to some accounts, two beds) on which he compelled his victims to lie. Here, if a victim was shorter than the bed, he stretched him by hammering or racking the body to fit. Alternatively, if the victim was longer than the bed, he cut off the legs to make the body fit the bed's length. In either event, the victim died. (https://www.britannica.com/topic/procrustes) People think that God acts the same way, trimming off bits of peoples lives in order to make them fit his mold. No! QUESTION: Have you experienced a church, cult, corporation that works on a one size fits all demand? How do we determine what is individual differences and what truly does not fit in the Kingdom of God? God has unveiled the perfect model of humanity in Jesus. There are certain ways of behaving that just won't fit if you want to be fully human as God intends. QUESTION: How does each way of living mentioned in verses 9-10 diminish the true humanity of a person? The list of items mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6:9 12, has been controversial over the years. Every generation has blind spots alternating between great enthusiasm for some of the moral rules while rejecting others with intense anger. Rather than identifying these negative ways of living as harming our humanity, we excuse them by saying, "I'm only human." A key phrase in these verses is "do not be deceived.
QUESTION: We have witnessed deep and pervasive change in our culture in a single generation (think 1998-2018). How does social influence deceive us? The great word of hope in these verses is that some of the Corinthians had lived a life that didn't fit the Kingdom. But God washes them clean and made them holy. Paul knows that this new identity and lifestyle doesn't work out automatically. We need the Holy Spirit within and the holy influence of God's people around us. QUESTION: What does the Holy Spirit do within each person to bring about change? What does the Holy Spirit do within the community of faith to bring about change in each person? A Moral Life (vs. 12-18) I m only human is a catchphrase we used to justify negative behavior and attitudes. Paul would repeat the catchphrase. He would not deny it but put it in its proper context. Yes, God made us as human beings, a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory and honor (Psalm 8:5, Hebrews 2:7). Paul would answer the catchphrase by saying something like, "yes, you are only human, and that makes you better than this negative behavior. So live up to your true calling as God intended. As we have a catchphrase to excuse negative behavior in our society, there were two such phrases in use in the Corinthian church. First, "I have a right to do anything (vs. 12). The second phrase is food is for the stomach and stomach for the food (vs. 13). These phrases can be used to deceive us. Paul is asking a better question what is the human body for? I have a right to do anything (vs. 12). Paul doesn't deny the saying. The law has lost its power, and we have been set free from the law. But it is not freedom to do worse than what the law allows. It is freedom to be better than the law could ever make us. Paul replaces a rule of law with words of wisdom: everything may be lawful, but not everything is beneficial and I will not be mastered by anything (vs. 12). When people break the rules, it is tempting to make stronger rules. Paul combats bad behavior with greater wisdom. QUESTION: Why do we attach rule-breaking with more rules? How can we influence each other to use godly wisdom to guide our life choices? Food is for the stomach and the stomach for the food (vs. 13). The implication is that this saying was used in application to sexual appetite. Prostitution was so common in the ancient world. And, it was just as degrading, demoralizing, and dehumanizing as it is today. Paul combats this deception with a strong statement on the resurrection By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us
also (vs. 14). This is Paul's answer for the use of the body body belongs to the Lord. It is a surprising answer. Paul believed that we not only share a spiritual relationship with Jesus, but we enjoy a physical relationship with him also. Jesus intends to work through our physical bodies to advance his kingdom. QUESTION: what are the implications for the way we live if we truly believe that God wants to use our physical bodies to advance his purpose? A Spirit-filled Life (vs. 19-20) Paul concludes his discussion on the use of the body with a word that is very practical and another thought that is very profound. The practical word is "flee (vs. 18). I lived in the Northwest at the time when Mount Saint Helens erupted. I remember the government issuing this advice, "in the event of a volcanic eruption, you should go in the opposite direction from the mountain. In other words, flee. Paul's profound thought takes him back to one of his favorite themes, the temple. Through his Hebrew heritage, we learn to respect and honor the temple as a place where the Spirit of God would touch the earth. No longer is the temple, God's dwelling place, in Jerusalem. The temple is not made of stone and mortar. Each human being is a temple of God's Spirit (vs. 19-20). Paul has already said that the community of believers is also the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Picturing the family of faithful followers as a temple filled with the Holy Spirit reminds us of the holy influence that surrounds us. Picturing a physical body as the temple of the Holy Spirit reminds us of the holy influence within us. QUESTION: if we believe that, together, we form the Temple of the Holy Spirit, what does this mean for the way we treat one another? If we really believe that our individual bodies are Temples of the Holy Spirit, how should we be treating our bodies? TRADITIONAL BIBLE STUDY TEACHERS: I suggest that you open your class by sharing the insights from Jonah Berger s book, INVISIBLE INSIGHTS (page attached). Then ask: Who or what is influencing us? Who or what are we influencing? How can we be people of holy influence? 1-Read 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and 6:19-20. Point out that, together, we are a Temple and individually we are Temples. What are the implications for how and why we influence each other?
2-Read 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. How are we deceived into accepting behavior that simply does not fit in with the Kingdom of God? 3-What has God done to help us change (vs. 11-12)? What can we do to help each other change? 4-The body is meant for the Lord and the Lord for the body (vs. 13-15). What is the purpose of our physical bodies according to this passage? What instruction does this passage give us concerning the way we use our bodies? 5-The church in Corinth had two phrases that they used to excuse bad behavior (vs. 13-14). Today, the common phrase we use is I m only human. How do you think Paul would answer this excuse? 6-What are practical actions we can take to implement vs. 20?
SOCIAL INFLUENCE Jonah Berger is a writer and marketing professor at the Wharton School. In his book INVISIBLE INFLUENCE (published June 2016), he details the findings of social science on how opinions and behavior are shaped by social influence. He writes, Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of all decisions we make are shaped by others. It s hard to find a decision or behavior that isn t affected by other people. This book is about the simple, subtle, and often surprising ways that others affect our behavior. There are thousands of books, movies, and songs vying for everyone s attention, but no one has the time to read every book jacket or listen to every sample clip. Most people don t have the bandwidth to check out even a small percentage of the options. So we use others as a helpful shortcut. A filter. If a book is on the bestseller list, we re more likely to skim the description; if a song is already popular, we re more likely to give it a listen. Following others saves us time and effort and (hopefully) leads us to something we re more likely to enjoy. Social influence is effective because people mimic other people s choices and actions. Without our realizing it, other people s behavior has a huge influence on everything we do at every moment of our lives, from the mundane to the momentous occasion. Even strangers have a startling impact on our judgments and decisions: our attitudes toward a welfare policy shift if we re told it is supported by Democrats versus Republicans (even though the policy is the same in both cases). Professor Berger s insight begs us to ask two questions: who is influencing me, and who am I influencing? As a follower of Jesus Christ, I must ask a third and even more significant question: Is the influence holy?