^1 Corinthians 6:19,20 - Glorify God in Your Body

1 Corinthians 6:19 - Or don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God? You are not your own,

1 Corinthians 6:20 - for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. -- World English. 

What lesson could be more crucial to us at the start of a new year than this one: that we are not our own, but rather belong to someone else; that we should therefore seek to please Him rather than ourselves; that we should serve Him rather than ourselves; and that we should seek to obey His will rather than our own? This refers to holiness in the broadest and most absolute sense of the word (separate from self to God's will in Christ, as well as separation from sin to righteousness).

The Body as a Sacred Temple, Redeemed for Righteousness

Paul emphasizes that a believer's body should be revered and respected because within that body dwells God's Holy Spirit. Paul likens the body to a temple, a dwelling place. A temple in the Bible is usually considered sacred, holy, and thus, for the believer in Christ, his physical body should also be considered as Holy, being where God's Holy Spirit dwells. Thus, God's Holy Spirit is integrated, not just with the spirit of the child of God, but with his physical being.

Paul further shows that this means that the believer has been purchased by God by the sacrifice of his Son, and thus even his body of flesh belongs to God. In effect, the purchase price of Jesus' body makes the believer's body reckoned before God as no longer a servant of sin, but a servant of righteousness. Thus, the believer should submit his body into obedience to God's righteousness, seeking to do God's will rather than the will of the flesh.

Therefore, because of Christ's redemption, the new creature should demonstrate in his flesh a manner of living that is in harmony with God's spirit with him. The flesh will no longer be demonstrating the works of the flesh, but rather the fruit of the spirit.

Purchased by Christ:
The New Creature’s Heart and Flesh Under God’s Ownership

In a general sense, all life in God's creation belongs to God. The apostle, however, is speaking of the new creature in Christ, and of how the new creature was purchased with a price, the price of the suffering of the man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself as ransom for all. It is a reference to the heart's ambitions of the new creature as belonging to God through Christ. The world has not yet been regenerated and has not yet received God's spirit, and thus does not appreciate Jesus' sacrifice for them. But the new creature in Christ can appreciate such and thus realizes that they are not their own as the rest of the world, and that they need to submit to the spirit of God through Christ. Doing so does not mean that we no longer make any mistakes in the flesh, but it does mean that our flesh will reflect the will of God as led by His Spirit. Submission to God's Spirit dwelling in our body of flesh enables the flesh to no longer be dominated by sin.

Victory in the Spirit, Not Perfection of the Flesh

Sadly, many of God's children may feel that the influence of sin and evil is so great in their bodies that there is no way that such can be overcome. However, we should realize that we have been purchased through the grace of God through the blood of Jesus. We are no longer our own, but our life belongs to Christ, and, although we may fail in the flesh, as long as we maintain our faith in Jesus, he gives us victory in the spirit. (Galatians 3:3) We should not expect to be perfected in the flesh in this present age, but in the spirit, we are being brought to perfection in faith and love, as well as all the fruits of the spirit. Fruit, however, has to be cultivated; the fruitage is not generally realized in a single moment, but is developed over a lifetime in this age. The fruitage will certainly be greatly demonstrated in our flesh. "It is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure." But if we seek perfection of the flesh in this age, we will fail. Indeed, while in this age, we are sinless in the spirit, we do not expect that we will be totally without sin until the resurrection day. -- RRD

Related:

Daily Heavenly Manna for January 2

Related Scriptures:

Psalm 100:3

Matthew 5: 16

Matthew 20:28

John 15: 8

Acts 20: 28

Romans 14:7

Romans 14:8

Romans 14:9

1 Corinthians 7: 23

1 Corinthians 10: 31

2 Corinthians 5:14

2 Corinthians 5:15

Galatians 3: 13 

Philippians 1: 9-11

1 Timothy 2: 5, 6

Hebrews 9: 12

1 Peter 1: 18 

1 Peter 2: 9

Revelation 5:9

Revelation 14:4,5