Knowing the Desirous will of God - Be Set Apart and Abstain from Fornication
For this is the desirous will of the God, your sanctification, to abstain from the fornication, to intuitively know, each one of you, to possess your own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of desire, just as also the Gentiles, the ones not intuitively knowing God. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
We are to have an intuitive knowledge concerning how we are to possess our bodies. This knowledge comes from learning and understanding what God has done in salvation so that we have a proper reservoir of knowledge to pull from that we can determine what is proper for us in any situation. When we believe the Gospel for salvation (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), in saving us, God washes us from our sins (2 Peter 1:9), places His seed within us (1 John 3:9), and imputes Christ’s death and resurrection to us so that we can walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-5). Although we do not yet have a resurrected body, we possess all things pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Therefore, it is appropriate that we possess our bodies in an honorable way that shows a proper opinion of who God is.
One of these ways is to abstain from fornication. Fornication is sexual activity outside of marriage. It is a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:19) and is a sin against one’s own body (1 Corinthians 6:18). Fornication is not to be named among the saints (Ephesians 5:3) because we are not ones who walk by the desires of the flesh.
Young men, how you possess your bodies is important. The world wants you to be involved in sexual activity outside of marriage and teaches that it is a boastful thing. However, the reality is it is dishonoring the body. When you take a wife, how can you offer her an honorable head if you are disgracing yourself through fornication? And those who boast about their exploits only do it to calm their own conscience for they know that they tarnish themselves by not controlling their desires. It is an honorable thing for a man to know how to manage his cravings and not sin against his own body.
Young women, your virginity is a thing of honor and not to be taken lightly so that it can be given to the man that you will spend the rest of your life with as a help meet. There is nothing more precious or beautiful than a woman who knows how to possess her body in dignity. The world does not want to give the woman the honor and respect she deserves; rather, it seeks to redefine who a woman is and denigrate her value to the whim of the desires of men, all for the purpose of getting her to dishonor her own body. However, God specifically built the woman and Adam recognized her value and honor, placing her in a position beside him that no other can hold, not below him.
For those who have been involved in dishonoring their bodies. Learn to control your desires and live a life that honors God by understanding how to properly possess your body. For fornication is a practice of the past and is to be put aside as an old filthy rag by putting on the new man, who we are in Christ, who is created according to God in righteousness.
We live in a malignantly evil world that seeks to corrupt us in every way through the desires from our flesh the desires of the eyes, and the pride of biological life, especially in sexual practices. Therefore, we are all to know how to properly possess our own bodies, separating them unto God, and controlling our desires by seeking to fulfill the desires of the Spirit while rejecting the lusts from the flesh. This week let us focus on setting our bodies apart to God in honor, knowing that He has washed us from our sin, and we are now to walk in newness of life through Christ Jesus, no longer living a life as the unsaved in the futility of their minds having their understanding darkened and being alienated from God by their ignorance through which they ruin their own bodies.
Knowing the Desirous will of God - Be Set Apart and Abstain from Fornication
For this is the desirous will of the God, your sanctification, to abstain from the fornication, to intuitively know, each one of you, to possess your own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of desire, just as also the Gentiles, the ones not intuitively knowing God. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
We are to have an intuitive knowledge concerning how we are to possess our bodies. This knowledge comes from learning and understanding what God has done in salvation so that we have a proper reservoir of knowledge to pull from that we can determine what is proper for us in any situation. When we believe the Gospel for salvation (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), in saving us, God washes us from our sins (2 Peter 1:9), places His seed within us (1 John 3:9), and imputes Christ’s death and resurrection to us so that we can walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-5). Although we do not yet have a resurrected body, we possess all things pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Therefore, it is appropriate that we possess our bodies in an honorable way that shows a proper opinion of who God is.
One of these ways is to abstain from fornication. Fornication is sexual activity outside of marriage. It is a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:19) and is a sin against one’s own body (1 Corinthians 6:18). Fornication is not to be named among the saints (Ephesians 5:3) because we are not ones who walk by the desires of the flesh.
Young men, how you possess your bodies is important. The world wants you to be involved in sexual activity outside of marriage and teaches that it is a boastful thing. However, the reality is it is dishonoring the body. When you take a wife, how can you offer her an honorable head if you are disgracing yourself through fornication? And those who boast about their exploits only do it to calm their own conscience for they know that they tarnish themselves by not controlling their desires. It is an honorable thing for a man to know how to manage his cravings and not sin against his own body.
Young women, your virginity is a thing of honor and not to be taken lightly so that it can be given to the man that you will spend the rest of your life with as a help meet. There is nothing more precious or beautiful than a woman who knows how to possess her body in dignity. The world does not want to give the woman the honor and respect she deserves; rather, it seeks to redefine who a woman is and denigrate her value to the whim of the desires of men, all for the purpose of getting her to dishonor her own body. However, God specifically built the woman and Adam recognized her value and honor, placing her in a position beside him that no other can hold, not below him.
For those who have been involved in dishonoring their bodies. Learn to control your desires and live a life that honors God by understanding how to properly possess your body. For fornication is a practice of the past and is to be put aside as an old filthy rag by putting on the new man, who we are in Christ, who is created according to God in righteousness.
We live in a malignantly evil world that seeks to corrupt us in every way through the desires from our flesh the desires of the eyes, and the pride of biological life, especially in sexual practices. Therefore, we are all to know how to properly possess our own bodies, separating them unto God, and controlling our desires by seeking to fulfill the desires of the Spirit while rejecting the lusts from the flesh. This week let us focus on setting our bodies apart to God in honor, knowing that He has washed us from our sin, and we are now to walk in newness of life through Christ Jesus, no longer living a life as the unsaved in the futility of their minds having their understanding darkened and being alienated from God by their ignorance through which they ruin their own bodies.