B, The Second Sunday after the Epiphany - 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 "Pleasure"

1 Corinthians 6:12–20 (ESV) “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.  “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other.  The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.  And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.  Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?  Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute?  Never!  Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her?  For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.”  But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.  Flee from sexual immorality.  Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.  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,  for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body.

Saint Paul tells his congregation in Corinth, “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.” (1 Corinthians 6:12 ESV) 

Paul will not be dominated by anything.  He speaks about food, sexuality, then paints a picture of one joined with a prostitute, breaking the union held with Christ, turning the body from a temple of the Holy Spirit into a temple of sin against oneself.

Corinth was a place of pleasure, and Paul goes to the heart of the believer’s struggle in Corinth by confronting the common practise of those inside and outside the church.

The philosophy of the Greeks at that time, was a false dichotomy, dividing the flesh from the spirit of a person.  The flesh was evil and must be escaped, and the spirit of a person was good if only it could discharge the evils of the flesh. 

From this came two extremes in thought, stoicism, and epicureanism.  Stoicism was a strict practice that sought to live a good life to achieve a good spirit.  Epicureanism, on the other hand, pursued pleasure in all its perverseness.  They believed one could follow whatever aroused the desires of the flesh, knowing that at death the good spirit would depart the evil flesh.

Put simply, these two extremes seek to please the self.  But Paul does not separate flesh and spirit and he points us to what pleases God. 

Paul reintroduces the oneness of a person as flesh and spirit.  When one seeks pleasure and experiences pain, the human spirit and one’s flesh are both affected by the pursuit of pleasure as well as the experience of pain.    Therefore, all people need the holiness of the Holy Spirit in their spirit, and the perfecting of their flesh in Jesus Christ’s perfect flesh, crucified and raised for the atonement of our whole person.

By Paul stating he will not be dominated, or be empowered by anything, he asked the Corinthians, “what are you empowered by?”  God asks the same question of you in this text!

Paul goes straight to the Corinthians being dominated by prostitution.  Why?  Well, Corinth was rife with hedonistic, pleasure-seeking prostitution.  The general practise was a man had his wife to bear children and manage his household, and at the same time had other sexual partners for pleasure.  Either, a mistress or a catamite, a soft young homosexual partner.  This was occurring in the congregation at Corinth since he called them not to practice this in his letter to them.

But he points to prostitution for other reasons too!  He says, “all things are lawful for me”.   Literally in the Greek, all things are from me, for me, but not all things are helpful.  Even though all things come out of him he will not be powered by anything, from within himself or from outside of himself.  That is except God, “who raised the Lord (Jesus Christ) and will also raise us up by his power.” (1 Corinthians 6:14 ESV)

Paul appeals to the power of the Holy Spirit, over against the power of one’s human spirit.  Paul shuts down the pleasure seekers by calling those “bought with a price”, to glorify God in one’s body. 

It might seem Paul is siding with the stoics, by pushing a strict moralistic code, to do good.  But no, stoicism seeks to rid the spiritual self of flesh.  Paul, on the other hand, proclaims the oneness of the spirit and flesh, in the resurrection, and the Holy Spirit dwelling within and sanctifying our human flesh, despite its corruption.

But what does this have to do with us? 

Some of us appear to live good moral lives and some of us know that our morals are far from good or have been good spirited.  Some of us have had relationships with prostitutes, and some of us have not.  But this text delves deeper into us, than just a moralistic check on, who has, or who hasn’t, been with a prostitute.

Although Paul appeals to the Corinthians to stop the practice of pleasing oneself with prostitutes, he calls into question the greater reality of what pleases God.  Prostitution is a relative part of his question to the Corinthians.  But it’s also the overarching extreme of prostitution’s damaging pleasure that demonstrates the full gamut of corrupted pleasure, from the least to the greatest, within the family, the community, and the kingdom of God.

Paul will not be dominated by anything but that which glorifies God in his body, be it food, his stomach, or his sexuality.

When we understand prostitution as the negative complete extreme of pleasure, all degrees of our pleasure seeking are called into question.  Does it glorify God or not?  Here again we can use the glory test on ourselves to test our appetites of pleasure.  Knowing that God will destroy both stomach and food, what is fruitful for your eternal life and what is not?  What is perishable and what is imperishable?

Are the things your senses seek, benefiting you eternally or not? 

You may, or may not, struggle with prostitution.  But many of us struggle with other pleasures that do not please God or benefit us in the long run.  These failed pleasures fall short in the glory test, examined in the light of truth, God’s written Word. 

It’s God’s good pleasure to make you a temple of the Holy Spirit.  It’s God’s good pleasure to lead you from the lies of this world and the father of lies, the devil, into the unhidden truth of his good impartial pleasure.  It’s God’s good pleasure to forgive all sin, from the least to the greatest!

Prostitution is one of the oldest professions in the world.  Adam and Eve prostituted themselves for their own pleasure at Eden.  There they exposed their nakedness and sold themselves into the slavery of sin before God, for a corrupted knowledge of good and evil.

The lie of your corrupted pleasure continues today.  The reality of this lie is your suffering.  People do not willingly seek pain, but everyone experiences pain as a result of seeking pleasure.  The pursuit of pleasure is the parent of all addictions, lawful and unlawful.  All suffering occurs as a result of one seeking pleasure within the temple of the self. 

So, to what is it you prostitute yourself?  What is your god and what diet do you need to feed its addiction?

It might well be sexuality, prostitution, or pornography! 

It might be gluttony of the stomach, food, chocolate, sugar, or the gluttony of amassing wealth! 

Perhaps its alcohol or another substance to stimulate the temple tastes of your human desire. 

Is it excitement in gaming, sport, shopping, or risking chance in the gambling arena that produces the feel-good hormones you need to live? 

Then again you might need to be popular, needing glory, the pleasure of being prevalent in public, or the pleasure of being turned in on oneself in private!   

Maybe it’s an addiction of control,  a perverse pleasure in taking control of the biological God-given self, control of others, an addiction of acquiring assets, controlling other people’s stuff, or controlling the opinions of others by spreading gossip!  To have control by knowing good, knowing evil, or knowing someone else’s business!

By far the worst addiction that’s flooding the world with mental anguish and suffering is addiction to oneself in the reflection of a mobile phone.  It’s a device that serves all of the hedonistic addictions listed above, promising pleasure but causing lifelong pain.

The mobile device together with all these other things allows one to practice spiritual prostitution!  All expose us, showing we have sold ourselves into the slavery of our sin’s lie.  The lie that promises pleasure and life but produces suffering and death.  We are caught in the lie, naked, without the truth before God!

The truth is Jesus Christ!  To know and want the truth one needs to turn from oneself to Jesus Christ.  He is the only truth that glorifies God the Father.  The Holy Spirit is the only true spirit builder, that builds us into the temple of God.

At the start of John’s Gospel, when Andrew and John followed Jesus, Jesus turned and said to them, “What are you seeking?” Jesus was asking, “what do you want, what are you coming to worship?”  And they replied, “Where are you staying!”  Jesus said, “Come and your will see.” (John 1:38-39) 

Like Peter, at the end of John’s Gospel, Jesus askes you, “Do you love me?  Do you want me more than anything else?”  Do you want to come and see Jesus?  Is your greatest pleasure to please God?

God askes of you, “What do you want, what do you seek to worship in your life?”  Is it the pleasure of God, the joy of Jesus Christ, and the holiness of the Holy Spirit?  God wants us to come and see we can only love God by letting him forgive our sin!  This is God’s good pleasure!

The truth is, God the Son totally assumed our humanity, spirit, and flesh.  In his being, both as, the eternal Son of God, and, the resurrected suffering servant and Saviour of humanity, it’s God the Father’s good pleasure to forgive those who are repentant and are being united as one in his heavenly glory by the Holy Spirit.  

“Therefore, …let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1b–2 ESV)

Now is time to “come out” as confessional Christians, personally and publicly, one with Jesus Christ! 

May God grant us strength in the Holy Spirit, to not resist his power when he raises up, you, and me, to do so!  Amen.   

C, Post-Pentecost 23 Proper 28 - Luke 21:5-19 "Endurance and Opportunity"

Luke 21:5–19 (ESV)  And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said,  “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”  And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”  And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.  And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”  Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.  But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.  This will be your opportunity to bear witness.  Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer,  for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.  You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.  You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.  But not a hair of your head will perish.  By your endurance you will gain your lives.

People spoke with great pleasure about the appearance of the temple,  in the presence of Jesus.  Yet Jesus taught that all would be thrown down.  Jesus said the temple would not endure, and in seventy AD it was destroyed by the Romans. 

In the first century, after Jesus’ ascension, many believed he would return.  Still today we wait for his triumphant return.  And as those who gushed over the temple, still today we are tempted to glorify the goodness of the church’s buildings, denominations, and organisations.

In recent years denominations have become hated for the abuse that’s been revealed in its ranks.  Sexual misconduct and its coverup to protect the “good name” of the denomination has led to a royal commission and safe place policy being enforced in a bit to stop sexual misconduct within the denominations of Christendom.

Pleasure seeking in denominations has been a temptation and led denominations away from the centrality of enduring in Christ. 

It’s no different in the LCANZ either.  Our misguided pleasure is also having an impact on us too. 

However, unlike some denominations that have hidden their clergy to protect the good name of the denomination and its institution, we have gone to the other extreme to protect the “good name” of the LCANZ when allegations of sexual misconduct occur.

The temptation to which we’ve succumb is to throw clergy and parishioners out of Christ’s presence as soon as an allegation is made.  Pastors and parishioners are being delivered up guilty, hated, and considered as dead. 

In doing so we, the LCANZ, stand in contradiction to Jesus Christ, unable to give the forgiveness of sins to those who have sinned in this way, or be forgiven by those restored for wrongly being accused and thrown out into the darkness.

Where Jesus’ love should be coming to light in the forgiveness of sin as we walk with sinners in their accountability under the Law of the land, the love that comes to life is self-interested and cold; governed by the pleasure to preserve insurance policy law, the protection of the polity of the LCANZ, and uphold the popularity of the institution in the world.

The pleasure of the LCANZ in presenting itself to the world as one with the world, continues to reveal a terrifying truth amongst us that our church is no better than any other, and like the temple in Jerusalem, must die with all other denominations, must crumble with all of creation, for Jesus Christ to endure with us to eternity.

In recent years we have seen the world become increasingly polarised — morally, politically, and socially.  Fear has increased and so too has suffering.  The more we humans run after our pleasures the more we suffer from the pain of doing so!

Those of us who remain in Jesus Christ and endure in his love, don’t go searching for pain or pleasure.  Both find us as they did for our Lord Jesus Christ when he walked in the reality of his death and destruction, pain and suffering, and the reality of resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father.

Jesus did not need to go looking for suffering.  In his incarnation, he was born into a suffering world.  Nor did he need to seek pleasure.  He came to please his Father, to do his will, to forgive and bear the sin of the world.

In the midst of death and destruction, pain and suffering, righteousness and resurrection, Jesus had opportunity to bring peace between us and God the Father.  This peace surpasses our understanding, and it sustains us throughout the ages as worldly chaos continues to grow.  This peace, and the opportunity Jesus took to secure our peace, pleases God the Father who freely sustains all who endure in Jesus Christ.

In the LCANZ, things are becoming progressively worse, regardless of the best light one attempts to shine on the situation.  It is no surprise as we seek to progress with the world.  Practically progression with the world means living more by sight than faith. 

When we look for beauty in the superficial structures of the church rather than our One True Eternal Structure of the church, our Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we will find an increase in our suffering, as God withdraws and hands us over to our desires.

Theologically this progression is not progressive but deteriorating regression.   Faith in the institution of our denomination, its numbers, its finances, its pastors, its buildings, or its history, are all idolatries and a regression of faith.  Nevertheless, God tells us it will be this way as creation continues to crumble into chaos.

How do you respond to this increased chaos? 

There is temptation to panic, worry, and doubt God.  However, Jesus tells us of the reality to prepare us, so we are not surprised as it occurs.  He gives us future truths, not so we plan protection for ourselves, but so we remain in him for our eternal protection and endurance.

We will not need to seek pain and suffering as Christians, but we can expect it!  It’s promised by Jesus here in his word. 

Nor do we need to seek to make the church a place of pleasure.  This will only bring suffering on us as a result of being sinfully disobedient.

However, God has already made the church a place of pleasure through the forgiveness of sins.  The many deaths and resurrections the Holy Spirit leads us through, to the final resurrection to eternal life, is also God’s pleasure in which we joyfully live in faith, hope, and love.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Hebrews 12:1–2 ESV)

Even as we enter deeper and deeper into the last days of deception and disarray, may the Holy Spirit polarise you in Christ’s love.  Just as Jesus shone his light in the midst of darkness and his death,  may you let the Holy Spirit reflect the brightness of Christ’s forgiveness, more and more, despite the darkness of our days. 

In the future, greater things will occur, despite worse and worse things happening.  Jesus promises greater opportunity to let God’s light shine bright as the darkness of corruption and chaos gets worse inside and outside the church.  For you who endure in Jesus Christ, he will endure within you, despite confusion and deception.

The prophet Malachi says of those under God, “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.”  (Malachi 4: 2a ESV) 

Just as Jesus endured and died to bring us peace in the face of death and destruction, we too are called to see and allow God to work in us as agents of peace and proclamation, even as things seem to become progressively more impossible in the LCANZ.  Don’t be surprised the greatest tribulations any Christian will face in the future, will be from within denominations seeking fulfilment in their own pleasure.

Jesus promises, “…they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.”  (Luke 21:12 ESV)

But in the centre of the confusion and trouble we will face as Christians, just as Jesus endured trial and tribulation, he will be with us, and just as he bore witness to the truth, “This will be your opportunity to bear witness.”  (Luke 21:12–13 ESV)

Our endurance and opportunity won’t come from our meditation on our own sufferings or pleasures, but from Jesus himself who promises, “for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.”  (Luke 21:15 ESV)

Your great pleasure is Jesus’ faithfulness and love toward you!  Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father joyfully send the Holy Spirit to bring you to him and the Father, to endure, despite the greater descent of creation into depravity and coming destruction.

However, your destination is sealed by Jesus’ death and resurrection.  When you are tempted to join in with the hatred of those who oppose Jesus Christ, inside and outside the church, in the name of what pleases, cast yourself on Christ’s pleasure to forgive.

When you endure in Jesus, the Holy Spirit gives you the words of Christ to testify to your sin, confess his forgiveness of your sin, and give your accusers and haters opportunity to confess their sin and Jesus to work his pleasure of forgiving their sin too.  Amen.