The WILL of God Is Be SEXUALLY PURE;
“this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;”-{1 Thess 4:3-5}.
”Sanctification” refers to been set a part, holy and in this case it is sexual purity and knowing how to control one’s own body. Sanctification hagiasmos [word study] from hagiazo = sanctify from hagios = holy, set apart, consecrated) literally means sanctification and includes the ideas of consecration, purification, dedication and holiness. The dominant idea of sanctification is separation from the secular and sinful and setting apart for a sacred purpose, for God’s special use, all made possible by the atoning work of Christ.
Hagiasmos does not denote the state of holiness but rather the process of being made holy, of becoming more and more in character and conduct that which God desires us to be. A sanctified person puts himself or herself at the complete disposal of God….
The idea of sanctification is that something or someone is set aside for the use intended by the designer. For example, a fountain pen is “set aside” or “sanctified” for the purpose of writing. A pair of glasses is “sanctified” and set aside for use in improving one’s sight.
In short, as used in the Bible, things are sanctified when they are used for the purpose God intended.
A human being is sanctified, therefore, when he or she lives according to God’s design and purpose, walking in a manner which is pleasing to His and worthy of His great Name. That is the practical meaning of hagiasmos.”-{preceptaustin commentaries}
“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits a immorality are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.”-{1 Cor 6:18} “Flee (present imperative = This is neither optional,nor a suggestion but a command to make it our habit to flee – continually flee and keep fleeing until the danger is past. It can be as simple yet spiritually benefiting if watching something and some immorality comes on the tv to remove yourself from the situation as it will not foster pure thoughts but a temptation to impure!
A great illustration of Fleeing is found regarding Joseph’s response to Potiphar’s wife when she sought to seduce him, his response, “There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil, and sin against God? And it came about as she spoke to Joseph day after day, that he did not listen to her to lie beside her, or be with her. Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. And she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside. – (Genesis 39:9, 10, 11, 12). And it cost Joseph his freedom as she made false accusations and Joseph ended in prison, for Honoring God!
“Immorality (porneia) originally referred to any excessive behavior or lack of restraint, but eventually became associated with sexual excess and indulgence, of every kind of extramarital, unlawful, or unnatural sexual intercourse. Porneia is used 25 times in the NAS translated as: fornication, 4; fornications, 2; immoralities, 1; immorality, 16; sexual immorality, 1; unchastity, 1…
Our English word pornography is derived from porneia + graph = a writing and thus pornography (or colloquially “porn”) is thus a writing (or picture) about sexual sin.
Christianity brought chastity, a virtue that was foreign to the Greco-Roman world. Into this world of pagan idolatry where sexual immorality was not only condoned, but regarded as normal, the Christian faith came as a purifying fire. Remember the context of the society Paul was addressing. In the Greek culture of that day, prostitution and fornication were considered permissible activities. A married man in Greece cold engage in extramarital sexual intercourse as much as he wished, but this practice was forbidden for the wife! Athenaeus, a writer in the second century AD, quotes from a speech of Demosthenes, We keep mistresses for pleasure, concubines for daily concubinage, but wives we have in order to produce children legitimately and to have a trustworthy guardian of our domestic property.”-{preceptaustin}
NOTE– Sexual immorality begins with a thought before the act! Guard your Thought life. Guard what you look at!
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”-{Matthew 5:19}
“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,..and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”-{Gal 5;19,21} The warning of the persons who ‘practice such’ will not inherit the kingdom of God. They are spiritually lost!
” Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. “-{1 Cor 6:9-10}
Idolatry and immorality often go side by side in Scripture. In Romans 1 Paul clearly links idolatry with immorality writing…
“Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures (idolatry). Therefore God gave them over (a judicial term in Gr., used for handing over a prisoner to his sentence. When men consistently abandon God, He will abandon them) in the lusts of their hearts to impurity (a general term describing decaying matter, like the contents of a grave and in context speaks of sexual immorality), that their bodies might be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie (an idol is a lie, a false representation of God), and worshiped and served the creature (idolatry) rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over (God’s judicial sentence because of their idolatry was to deliverer them over to the power of) to degrading (dishonoring, disgracing, shameful) passions (which resulted in erotic activity with members of their own sex); for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent”
Like the days of old, “sexual immorality” is once again, the norm, common and celebrated in a world in opposition to God trapped in their sin.
” But do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you,as is proper among saints; “- {Ephesians 5:3}
Sin may have you in it’s grip, there is hope, for there is a “BUT GOD…” and He changes as the verse says…
“…Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.“-{1 Cor 6:11}
Samson never tamed or mastered his lust and in the end it mastered him and led to destruction! David committed adultery and had the woman’s husband set up to be killed, but the root of the problem when he was confronted was “Why have you despised the Word of The Lord…” His root problem was to have a light attitude towards the Word of God and it goes on to say that He despised the LORD as he despised the Word of God! When we have a light attitude towards the Lord, His Word, it makes it easier for us to sin and justify ourselves in doing so. Would the LORD have me or you live sexually pure. the answer is clear as he says “THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD…that you abstain from sexual immorality… not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles WHO DO NOT KNOW GOD!”
It’s the will of God we don’t behave as the people “who do not know God!” Paul goes on to give his reasons why, “…Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor / GLORIFY God with your bodies.”-{1 Cor 6:19-20}.
Sexual Purity is the will of God and it Glorifies God!