Your Identity In Christ: Day 4 - Pastor Jordan Alpha
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“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? … 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.”
1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19 (NIV)
One of the most liberating truths of our identity in Christ is found in these two passages from 1 Corinthians. The Bible says, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? … 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.” 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19 (NIV)
What makes these two passages so liberating? Paul was writing to a church steeped in an immoral, perverted, highly sexualized culture, much like ours today. Warren Wiersbe writes, “It was a permissive society with a philosophy similar to that which the world has today: Sex is a normal physical function, so why not use it as you please? Paul pointed out that God created sex when He made the first man and woman, and therefore He has the right to tell us how to use it. The Bible is the ‘owner's manual’ and it must be obeyed. God condemns sexual sins; Paul named some of them in 1 Corinthians 6:9. … But God can also cleanse sexual sins and make sinners into new creatures in Christ.” Verse 11 says, “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.” This is our new identity in Jesus as well! “The tenses of these verbs indicate a completed transaction. Now, because of all that God had done for us, we have an obligation to God to use our bodies for His service and His glory. God the Father created our bodies; God the Son redeemed them and made them part of His body; and God the Spirit indwells our bodies and makes them the very temple of God. How can we defile God's temple by using our bodies for immorality?”
These promises are liberating because we release ownership of our bodies to God when we come to faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit comes to take up residence in our bodies and makes of them His temple! With new ownership, we no longer have the right to use our bodies for anything apart from His service. When the enemy temps you to use your body in a way that would be dishonoring to God or bring self-harm, you can simply respond, “It’s not my body. I gave it to God! It’s His temple.” This truth was behind Paul’s command in Romans 12:1-2 (NIV), where he said, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Have you offered your body to God? Do you wrestle with temptations of the flesh that seem beyond your ability to resist? Would you like to be free? Take a moment right now and offer your body to God. Transfer your ownership to Him. Thank Him for sending His Holy Spirit to transform your body into His temple. Honor Him with the use of your body as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. You’ll be amazed what God will do through you! You now belong to Him! Your identity is in Christ and there is now no condemnation! You’ve been set free!
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.