1 Corinthians 6:19,20 - Is Your Temple In Order?

1Cor.6:19, 20; Is Your Temple In Order?

1 Cor 6:19 (KJV)  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? 
1 Cor 6:20 (KJV)  For ye are bought with a price: therefore 
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. 

This is the fifth argument against immorality (cf. on ch. 6:13, 
14, 15, 18). Since the bodies of the believers are sacred shrines of 
the Holy Spirit, they must not be polluted by this vice. Because 
they are the members of Christ (v. 15) and temples of the Holy 
Spirit, which is given to us by God (see John 14:16, 17), every sin that 
is committed against our bodies is a sin against our Maker and 
against the Holy Spirit. [SDA Commentary] 

The fifth argument against this sin is that the bodies of 
Christians are the temples of the Holy Ghost which is in them, and which 
they have of God, v. 19. He that is joined to Christ is one spirit. 
He is yielded up to him, is consecrated thereby, and set apart for 
his use, and is hereupon possessed, and occupied, and inhabited, by 
his Holy Spirit. This is the proper notion of a temple-- a place 
where God dwells, and sacred to his use, by his own claim and his 
creature's surrender. . . The temple of the Holy Ghost must be kept holy. 
Our bodies must be kept as his whose they are, and fit for his use 
and residence. (Matthew Henry's Commentary) 

What an astonishing saying is this! As truly as the living God 
dwelt in the Mosaic tabernacle, and in the temple of Solomon, so truly 
does the Holy Spirit dwell in the souls of genuine Christians; and as 
the temple and all its utensils were holy, separated from all common 
and profane uses, and dedicated alone to the service of God, so the 
bodies of genuine Christians are holy, and all their members should be 
employed in the service of God alone. (Adam Clarke Commentary) 

Sexual immorality is one of the worst of sins, for it violates 
the intimate relationship which a person has with Jesus Himself and 
the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus, who is Lord of the body, requires 
that we honor God in our bodies rather than sin against Him. [Victor 
Teacher's Commentary] 

What did Paul mean when he said that our bodies belong to God? 
Many people say they have the right to do whatever they want with 
their own bodies. Although they think that this is freedom, they are 
really enslaved to their own desires. When we become Christians, the 
Holy Spirit fills and lives in us. Therefore, we no longer own our 
bodies. "Bought at a price" refers to slaves purchased at auction. 
Christ's death freed us from sin, but also obligates us to his service. 
If you live in a building owned by someone else, you try not to 
violate the building's rules. Because your body belongs to God, you must 
not violate his standards for living.  [Life Application SB] 

The great fact of the Christian faith is, not that it makes a 
man free to sin, but that it makes a man free not to sin. It is so 
easy to allow habits to master us; but the Christian strength enables 
us to master them. When a man really experiences the Christian 
power, he becomes, not the slave of his body, but its master. Often a 
man says, "I will do what I like," when he means that he will 
indulge the habit or passion which has him in its grip; it is only when 
a man has the strength of Christ in him that he can really say, "I 
will do what I like," and not, "I will satisfy the things that have 
me in their power." . . .The Christian is a man who thinks not of 
his rights but of his debts. He can never do what he likes, because 
he never belongs to himself; he must always do what Christ likes, 
because Christ bought him at the cost of his life. [Barclay Commentary] 

Paul seemed surprised that the Christians in Corinth didn't 
realize that something major had happened to them at their conversion.  
He rather bluntly told them that the Holy Spirit, the third person 
of the Trinity, had come to live in the body of each one and that 
ownership had been transferred to God!  If we have accepted Jesus Christ 
as Savior and Lord, we are no longer our own.  We should not be 
serving ourselves.  It is our responsibility to discover what God wants 
us to do and then do it with diligence and joy! Would Paul be 
surprised with your understanding of this miraculous occurrence?  The 
Christian's life reflects that transfer of ownership. Check to see if your 
life appears to others to be a special place, a holy dwelling.  If it 
doesn't, realize, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  [In His 
Time; Walk With Wisdom] 

We do not fall into immorality.  We walk into it.  Indeed, 
sometimes we run headlong into it.  We must realize from the beginning 
that immorality is a choice.  It is not something that happens to 
people... 
Sexual sin never comes out of the clear blue sky.  It is often 
the result of a long process in which a mind susceptible to sin is 
granted unguarded exposure to immoral input. 
'"Sow a thought, reap an action.  Sow an action, reap a habit.  
Sow a habit, reap a character.  Sow a character, reap a destiny."  
Our thoughts are the fabric with which we weave our character and 
destiny.  We must actively fight off thoughts of impurity.  But the key 
to doing this is not simply saying "I will not lust, I will not 
Lust" - that often has the same effect as saying, "I will not think of 
purple elephants."  We must cultivate our hearts and minds with what is 
godly and pure.  These better thoughts will displace others (Phi.4:8). 
 [Randy Alcorn; Time with God devotional SB] 

Even Exchange?
A saleswoman passed a particular corner each day on her way to 
work. For more than a week she observed a young girl trying to sell a 
floppy-eared puppy. The saleswoman finally said to the girl, "Honey, if you 
really want to sell this dog, then I suggest you clean him up, brush 
his coat, raise your price, and make people think they're getting 
something big." At noon, the saleswoman noticed the girl had taken her 
advice. The puppy was well-groomed and was sitting under a big sign: 
"Tremendous Puppy for Sale--$5,000." 
The saleswoman smiled and gulped, determined to tell the girl 
later that she may have overpriced the puppy. To her surprise, on the 
way home she saw the puppy was gone! Flabbergasted, the woman sought 
out the girl to ask if she had really sold the dog for $5,000. 
The girl replied, "I sure did, and I want to thank you for all 
your help." The saleswoman stuttered, "How in the world did you do 
it?" The girl said, "It was easy. I just took two $2,500 cats in 
exchange!" 
Two thousand years ago there was another great exchange. On a 
cross outside Jerusalem, Jesus Christ gave His life in exchange for 
ours. What value did He see in us? We were His prized creation, stolen 
for a season by our own will, but now repurchased as His beloved 
possession. [God's Little Devotional Bible] 

"Can I not use my body as I please?" Of course not! To begin 
with, it is no longer your body; it belongs to Christ. He purchased 
you with His own blood. . . .Christians are to glorify God with 
their bodies. This means the way we care for the body, the way we 
dress the body, the places we take the body, the deeds we do in the 
body. [Wiersbe Expository Outlines]