Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
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?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and
in your spirit, which are God's. 1 Corinthians 6:15-20
I recently came across a new New Age Christian teaching (at one time this would have been an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms, but no longer) that attempts to prove that "the body" spoken of here, as in "your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit," is not, in fact, your body, but the collective: The Body of Christ.
WHY teach something like this, something that can be plainly discerned and determined without magical or mysterious interpretation? Why indeed. If you can destroy this doctrine, that God wishes you to be clean and healthy and living at a higher standard, then you are free to participate in ANY
pagan practice you wish.
Your Physical Body is a Member of the Entire Body of Christ.
The Apostle Paul is again addressing that backsliding, contradictory and confusion-ladled church, that controversial church in Corinth, the folk that participated in idol worship and sexual immorality, contentions and arguments, the people that competed with one another in who was more spiritual; and here the apostle reminds the church that their individual bodies are the pieces that make up the entire collective Body of Christ, that you -- your whole self, your entirety, your soul, your physical body, your spirit, your strength, your love -- that you, singularly, equate to a part and parcel of Christ, perhaps an ear, or a toe, possibly a thumb (maybe just half a cuticle, or the very end of the ear lobe). Of course, this is speaking symbolically, no one person is designated as a fingernail, or navel, Adam's apple, tongue or knee. Paul is using an established metaphor (much the same as he used the concept of "house" in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10) to aid the hearer, or reader, in understanding the bigger picture of the church, all the cells in the body, none more important than the other, coming together in unity, working for a greater good than that individual cell (to employ another metaphor, a single thread in a tapestry is one small part in weaving the grand design) -- in short, solitary cells joining together in comprising an entire body. In this case, the Body of Christ (all believers in Christ make up His followers, His church, figuratively speaking: His body).
Have I been redundant enough for you, in order to be clear? In other words, your earthly, human body composed of individual cells, joins together with other earthly, human bodies composed of individual cells, to symbolically create Christ's body, here on earth. That should be redundant enough for anybody. It is figurative, symbolic, a metaphor, a parable . . . it is a story to help you understand. Word pictures, similes and metaphors and analogies.
The question is, is the "temple of the Holy Spirit" a phrase that means YOUR BODY (your earthly, human body composed of individual cells) or the "Body of Christ" (the collective group of those that believe in Jesus?)? Read in context, it is obvious. You should not connect your "temple" with that of a prostitute, because in Biblical terms this makes "one body," or "one flesh" (or in the words of Shakespeare, the "beast with two backs"). This verse tells us that it is grossly inappropriate to become one flesh with a prostitute.
Fornication is accomplished outside the "Body of Christ," but it is a sin for your solitary body, of your solitary body. This verse is obviously and definitely speaking about your human, body of flesh -- this is what IS the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
When you become a believer, the Holy Spirit becomes a part of you -- is IN you. In short, your body becomes a container, or a "house," in this case, a "temple." So read in context, this verse is saying that your actual, physical body IS the Temple of the Holy Spirit. If this is not clear enough for anybody and everybody, please read this next verse:
Be ye not unequally yoked together with
unbelievers: for what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness? and
what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial?
or what part hath he that believeth with an
infidel? And what agreement hath the
temple of God with idols? for ye are the
temple of the living God; as God hath said,
I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and
I will be their God, and they shall be my
people. Wherefore come out from among
them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,
and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you, And will be a Father unto you,
and ye shall be my sons and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
With Paul's logic expressed here, we could also ask: "What agreement has Christian doctrine with New Age teaching?" The answer should be abundantly clear, touch NOT the unclean thing (this applies to physical uncleanness, such as joining your body with a prostitute, or eating things God has declared unclean, and it also applies to the spiritual standing, don't partake of the doctrines of demons). The sad truth is, the false teachers that claim that God just doesn't care about your weak, fragile human body, are in grave error, because they do not know the scriptures. In a manner, they DO know the scriptures, but only as it was taught to them. They harbor the traditions of the elders in their hearts, setting aside the commandments of God for the "best thoughts" of men. They rip God's commandments out of the Bible, and paste in their own Post-It notes containing their own inarticulate scribbles.
God Himself determines what was and is and will be unclean, and what is best for you. Trust Him. But God says and then man says well I think He REALLY meant...
...these verses couldn't be clearer. YOU ARE the "temple of God," when you abide in Christ, when Jesus lives in you. Is it YOU, or YOU joined to everyone else?
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
If any man defile the temple of God, him
shall God destroy; for the temple of God is
holy, which temple ye are.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
When the false teachers come to you and whisper that God really couldn't care about what you have done or are doing with the physical body He has given you, BEWARE. God DOES care. Could God make it any clearer in His Word? "If any man defiles God's temple, God will destroy him." Please don't hate me for telling you this, because it is not actually me telling you, but God. I am merely indicating in His Word what He wants you to know. He cares.
When the false teachers come to you and whisper that you are a god that can speak health (as opposed to LIVING health), BEWARE. God wants you to live healthily, as healthily as possible in a sinful, degraded world. But you are NOT God, not "god" with a little "g." You are not the Creator, but a creation. You are a vessel, made for God's will, for God's Spirit. You can speak until you are blue in the face, and you will only have wasted your time.
More and more of the best-intentioned of the false teachers are finally waking up to the fact that they have falsely taught what it means when God says "this is unclean." More and more people are beginning to realize that when the Bible says "God does not change," it actually means that "God does not change." That if God says "this is an abomination" He doesn't magically wave His hand and stutter: "This is not an abomination."
The false teaching has always been around, and is growing stronger now fueled by last-days demonic doctrine, that God, Yahweh, really made a mess out of creation, that He was mean and evil, and ultimately insane, that His laws were bad and given in the spirit of tripping us up, of condemning us, that God purposefully and purposely created people, instituted laws to ensure that these creations of His would fail, and then was angered when these fallible creations tripped over the laws which were instituted to harm them. THEN, Jesus came along, the "Son of God," and fixed everything, He cleaned up the mess that His Father had made, that Jesus is smarter than God, and so when God said "this is thing is rotten, don't eat it," Jesus corrected: "Aw, go ahead, it's really clean!"
The actuality is, it was Jesus that gave the Law. It was Jesus that wrote the Ten Commandments with His own finger. It was Jesus Who spoke the Ten Commandments so that the people could hear.
Think about it. The Bible says that the Gospel is NOT about food. And yet, that is EXACTLY what the false teachers turn the Gospel into, that you can eat anything you want! That you are free from God's declared will, His declared law, the apple of His eye. They teach you a religion of confusion, that God says THIS, but He doesn't really mean this, in fact, He means THAT, just the opposite of what He said. God calls THIS an abomination, but the false teacher "teaches" that you are free from all that, just do what you want. They "teach" that you need THEM, the self-proclaimed "Anointed," so that they can interpret the Bible for you, so that the "Holy Ghost doesn't mess you up!"
God has invested in you. Talents, thoughts, abilities, Gifts (both naturally born God-given and power from on high in the Holy Spirit), financial help, time, energy, opportunities, and just as the parable says, we will be held accountable for how we have invested these "securities." Many of these gifts from God are carried by your physical body -- after all, it IS your means of conveyance, how you communicate, how you are seen, how you do and think and feel.
Go to God's Word. He tells you how to please Him, what is appropriate for your body, and for your mind, and what is definitely NOT appropriate. Read the Bible. Don't go to false teachers that say it is fine to be a "carnal Christian," a drunkard or defiler or reprobate or delinquent or criminal or glutton or lascivious -- it matters what you DO with your body, including being very, very careful with dangerous foodstuffs, narcotics, alcohol and activities, and even thoughts.
Seek Truth with Your Whole Heart, with Your Whole Mind,
with all Your Soul, Spirit, and Strength. Seek Truth!
Ways to aid this ministry include praying for these sites:
www.TruthSeek.net, www.DeceivingtheElect.net, and www.DramaticParables.com, donations and provision may be gifted using the TruthSeekGift page (and please only use this if you feel you are inspired by God to do so), and also feel free to use the Prayer Request page to submit prayer requests, and praying for the prayer requests of others, as well as exploring the various advertisements and links on these pages (regrettably, the advertising is necessary to recompense the many costs of keeping a website running, so exploration of the advertisers, which are not connected to any of these studies, is greatly appreciated). Any aid is joyously accepted, even if that means a smile and a well-wish, or a simple prayer. Thank you so much!
Art et Amour Toujours
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace?
God forbid.
Romans 6:9-15
