“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Paul wraps up his case against sexual immorality, which we might define as “participating in any sexual experience with anyone you’re not married to.” His last two points have to do with occupation and ownership.
Occupation: If you’re a Christian, God’s Spirit lives in your body. So when we sin sexually, we take him along for the experience. In one sense, we are actively defiling his residence.
Ownership: Even harder to take for some of us is the idea that God owns us. He bought us, paid for us with the blood of Jesus. We belong to him. Thus, he has the right to tell us what to do with our bodies. The question we must ask ourselves, then, is: How can I use my body to honor God? Or, reversed, what use of my body will dishonor God?
Think: How often do you think about the ideas that God’s Spirit lives in your body and that you are owned by God? How does being aware of those ideas change the way you think about sex and your body?
Pray: Ask God to help you to honor him with you body. Thank him for giving you the Spirit to live in you and for paying the debt you could not pay to purchase you for himself.
Do: Read 1 Corinthians 7 to find out what Paul says next about marriage and sex and being single.