1 Corinthians 6:19-20
This week’s passages have been maybe a bit heavy. In this passage, we see the driving force that drives us to wrestle with these issues. As Paul describes our bodies as a temple, he probably has the temple in Jerusalem in the back of his thoughts. Herod’s Temple, named because he built it, was a massive 306 yards by 530 yards. Herod employed gorgeous sculpturing, although no images of people. It undoubtedly had beautiful inlaid floors because he employed them in everything else he built. Massive blocks of stone were precisely shaped to fit perfectly even though they weighed tons. Walls soared into the air drawing eyes towards heaven and God. It was a magnificent piece of architecture.
We, as God’s children, are no less magnificent. Not because we are wonderful ourselves, we were previously slaves. The New Testament picture is that Jesus Christ comes into the slave market, chooses us, purchases us, removes us from the slave market, and then sets us free. The beauty of the picture is that we do not simply go from one slave master to another, but from our old slave master, sin, to freedom in Christ.
The Old Testament says that a person who sells themselves into slavery for a period of time has a choice at the end of the indentured period. They look at their situation and believe that their situation with their master is about as good a situation as they will find. They can choose to remain a slave for life. They were not required to choose slavery, but many would. I believe, as a Christian, we make this choice to come back to our redeemer. We choose to serve our new master for the rest of our life because He is kind and provides for us better than we could ever provide for ourselves.
We are not our own. We are God’s. So we should bring glory to Him with everything we do. Even with things that are lawful.