Sex in our culture (as it most likely was in the Corinthian culture) has been attached to our identity ("You must engage in this if you are to be a thriving human") while simultaneously disconnecting it from value or meaning ("its just sex"). We are called to a clear command in terms of sex outside of marriage: FLEE. Get away. Run. Don't look back.
But the reason for sexual purity comes out of our identity in Christ: we are inherently no longer our own because we have been bought with a price. That means that Christ now owns us, since He has given us His righteousness and we are now slaves of Him. This leads to a very clear understanding of what our lives inherently are, and what they are for.
- God's desires trump ours - What do I do with my desires for good things? Yield them to Christ. What do I do with my desires for evil? Repent and yield them to Christ. We must understand that Christ owns us. Too often we flip this script and think that somehow God is there to facilitate and carry out my desires, instead of the other way around.
- We are to seek to glorify Him, not ourselves - My body, my life, my time, my money, all of me is now given to glorifying God. This means I will fight my selfishness (the killer of all relationships) and die to myself daily. It means we begin to ask the right questions. Instead of "why does God not give me what I desire," it changes to "how do I glorify God where I am at today.
Here is why this is refreshing, life giving, and freeing news. God commands us to glorify Him wherever He has placed us, and we can do it ONLY because of Christ. That mean if we are relegated to a bed fighting cancer or an autoimmune disease, or if we are in a lonely and unequally yoked marriage, or are taking care of a loved one, we can glorify God in that place and condition!
