Together in Christ: 'Not Dishonoring God by How We Use Our Bodies' — 1 Corinthians 6:15-18

Some have mistakenly taught that all sin is the same. While all sin separates us from God, different sins impact our lives and others differently and potentially more severely. Sometimes our sin can lead others to sin or involves them in our sin. Sexual immorality is different from some other sins and significant because it violates our bodies and the bodies of those with whom we share sexual sin. Paul made this clear in our verses for today:

Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. Sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. ^[1]

In the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit has revealed several reasons why sexual sin is so significant to God and harmful to us and others. Paul wrote today's verses to Corinthian Christians living in a sexually-supercharged culture similar to ours. He based his teachings on these principles:

• Our bodies are created specifically and beautifully by God:
  God created us as human beings in His image, ^[2] and our bodies do reflect the holiness of God, even from conception. ^[3]
   
  
• A sexual relationship with another means we become one with the other person:
  In sexual intimacy, two bodies and two people become one, knowing each other in an intimate way intended only for those united in marriage. ^[4] If two people's union is a sinful one, they bring their sin into their one-body relationship. ^[5]
   
  
• We are an essential and connected part of Christ Jesus' body, the church:
  When we are reborn as believers into the family of God, ^[6] Jesus makes us an integral part of the His body, the church. ^[7] What we do impacts the holiness and influence of Jesus' church in the world.
   
  
• Our sexual sin can involve and lead others to sin:
  When we sin sexually with another brother or sister in Christ, we can lead them away from God and cause them to stumble, something Jesus warns us very strongly against doing because of the consequences of such sin. ^[8]
   
  
• How we use our bodies is an integral part of our worship:
  When we were reborn, God saved us from sin and made us holy because of the redeeming work of Christ and the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, ^[9] so we should glorify God in how we use our bodies. ^[10]
   
  

As followers of Jesus, we pledge to offer our bodies to God to honor, please, and worship Him. ^[11] We want everything we do to praise and honor Jesus Christ. ^[12] Most of all, we want Jesus to be able to present us to the Father as His "holy and blameless" children "without a single fault. ^[13]