Bought With A Price
Scripture: 1
Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)
19 Or do you not know
that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from
God? You are not your own, 20 for
you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body.
Devotion:
In these two short verses, Paul tries
to bring the Corinthians to some awareness of the state of their souls in Jesus
Christ. If we have truly given our lives to the Lordship of Jesus, things will
have to be different. Our 21st-century culture, even, or perhaps especially,
our Christian subculture, misses the mark badly in this regard.
The chant “My body, my choice” rings
loudly in the streets. Our culture has lost its way, and the church has done
little, if anything, to correct its delusion. The church in many congregations
congratulates herself on how much like the culture she has become. What used to
be considered sinful is now celebrated. Those who do not tow the party line are
cast out as hopeless deplorables unworthy of the name of Christ.
Pay attention to what Paul is
telling us through these two short verses. All humans carry in their bodies the
mark of their maker. The image of the all-powerful God is emblazoned on our
bodies whether we pay homage to it or not. Our bodies are indeed temples. They
are made to worship their maker, redeemer, and sustainer God. These precious
bodies (no matter what state of disrepair they may presently be in) matter so
much to God that He has promised to raise them from the dust of death and decay.
Yet a majority of Westerners would
balk at the idea that God has any claim on their bodies. It simply never occurs
to the modern mind that someone besides their mother and father might be
responsible for their bodies—someone who gives life to their bodies but can
just as easily revoke their permission to live.
Our culture believes it is radically
independent of any outside entity. The church has done a great job of aiding
and abetting this illusion of independence. A vast multitude believes
themselves to be believers in God who say things like, “you do you” and “Be
your own person.” The church has failed to uphold Jesus as the standard for
life, speech, and practice. Imitating Christ has fallen out of favor, and
hardly anybody asks, “What would Jesus do?” anymore.
As the title of this post suggests,
we owe our very existence to a being in whose image we are made. Yet we, as
rebellious subjects, try to alter that image. Making ourselves and God in our image
and then seeking affirmation and celebration of our new selves. But the story
of our lives does not work that way, does it? The reality of misfortune,
sickness, and death crashes our planned celebration.
God became one of us in the person
of Jesus. In doing so, He entered fully into the fullness of life as a human
while retaining full deity. Although He tried to live a somewhat ‘normal’ existence,
he could not even enjoy Himself at a wedding party without being asked to use His
supernatural abilities to fix a problem. Nevertheless, Jesus was on a special
mission. His task was to pay the ultimate price to reunite God and humanity. On
the cross, Jesus died. His death purchased for God the human race that had been
in rebellion against Him. (And still is!)
That death and subsequent
resurrection must reanimate the minds and imaginations of the church. We need
to say no to culture when it wants to go its own way and worship and obey its
own idols. The battle is far gone, and were it not for our hope and trust in
Jesus, we would despair of ever turning the tide. We have been bought at a very
steep price indeed. Shouldn’t we start acting like it?
Prayer:
Lord, you paid the
price at Calvary. Please help us to follow your example and pay the price of following
you no matter what it costs us. Amen
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