1 Thes 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; 1 Cor 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin which a man may do is outside the body, but he who commits fornication sins against his own body.
[Part 1 of 4] God's will is that His redeemed people, the believers in Christ, should live a life of holiness according to His holy nature, a life wholly separated unto Him from anything other than Him. For this He is sanctifying us thoroughly. At Paul's time, both in Corinth and Thessalonica sensuality and immorality were rife in the pagan religions and even fostered by their pagan worship. Man was made for expressing God (Gen. 1:26). Nothing ruins man for this purpose more than fornication. This prevents man from being holy, separated unto God, and contaminates man to the uttermost in the fulfilling of God's holy purpose. Hence, the apostle strongly charges the newly converted Gentile believers, by sanctification unto God, to abstain from the damage and contamination of fornication, the most gross sin in the eyes of God. According to Paul's word in 1 Corinthians 6, fornication ruins a person's body. Other sins may not damage us subjectively, but fornication damages our body, contaminates our entire being, and makes us utterly unholy. Moreover, fornication is used by God's enemy to spoil the man God created for the fulfillment of His purpose. Therefore, fornication must be altogether abandoned. This is the reason Paul says in 4:3, "Abstain from fornication." The word "abstain" is strong, and it indicates that we should run away from fornication. God's will is to have us fully separated unto Himself, wholly sanctified for the fulfillment of His purpose. This requires that we abstain from fornication. [continued tomorrow]
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Thessalonians, pp.130-132. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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