You Are Not Your Own

Daily Devotional – Tuesday, February 7, 2023
You are not your own. For you were bought at a price…
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJV)

In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul makes this startling declaration, “You are not your own?” How possible is it not to belong to yourself? If you do not own yourself, who owns you, and what does it imply for your life?

Your Body is not Yours

First, let us understand the context to this passage. In the final part of Paul’s first letter to the Church at Corinth, Paul condemns sexual immorality and urges the Corinthians to flee from it (verse 18), an apparent allusion to Joseph, when he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife in Egypt.

The apostle reminds warns the Corinthians, “All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” It is easier to deal with pain caused by another person but dealing with self-inflicted hurt is not easy. In essence, the sexually immoral person hates himself or herself.

Your are the Temple of the Holy Spirit

Then comes a paradigm shift. Paul states, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (Verse 19). If they thought they were only sinning against themselves, the Corinthians are in for a shock. The bodies they claim to own are actually the property of the Holy Spirit.

Now it makes sense for Paul to assert, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.” (Verses 19-20). Your body belongs to God. You do not own it. Elsewhere in the same epistle, Paul warns, “If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” (1 Corinthians 3:17).

You Are Not Your Own

How does knowing you are not your own change the way you relate to yourself? Now that you know your body belongs to God, how will you treat it differently in terms of food clothing, adornment, morality and other aspects?

Prayer
Dear Lord. I am not my own. I belong to You fully. Teach me how to treat my body – Your temple – with dignity and in a godly manner.