Thought for August 25th. “DO YOU NOT KNOW … ”

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There are many things we do not know – but most of these “many things” are of no serious consequence. Paul addresses the Corinthians as to the things it is essential they understand – and the most challenging are his comments on their lack of spiritual perception of the reality of their relationship with things Divine. The believers in Corinth were on a steep learning curve – out from their pagan background – in both understanding the ways of God and how it must be reflected in their ways of living. The situations Paul addressed as problems at Corinth provide many lessons appropriate for us today.

He challenges them, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” [1 Cor.6 v.15] They had known this to some degree for he stresses what happened at their conversion, “ … you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” [v.11] He also wrote, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived …” [v.9] But such is human nature that the power of self-deception is ever present – we can see it with so many of the churches teaching a largely ‘humanistic’ message – God’s word is rarely quoted – sometimes never.

The climax of Paul’s challenging words to them is in the last 2 verses, “… do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom (which) you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” – as well as in your mind – how you think and believe must be reflected in the way you behave – as the early part of the chapter tells us.

Our thinking must reflect both our heartfelt appreciation of the inspired word of God but also that we are “a temple of the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit possesses us – does this fact frighten us? Let us be honest and say ‘Yes!” So do we as a result shy away from acknowledging, at least to ourselves, that “in him we live and move and have our being”? [Acts 17 v.28] or as Paul puts it in our chapter today, “he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” [v.17] At the end of Ch. 2 Paul said, at least of himself, “but we have the mind of Christ.” His very last words in his 2nd epistle to them states, “ …and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” May we develop “the mind of Christ” and experience “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” to an ever increasing degree.