Purchased For Freedom

One little phrase that occurs twice in the new testament in the same book. It reveals a reality that protects us from letting our own desires consume us and from other people claiming ownership over our bodies.

"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." - 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 ESV

"Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men." - 1 Corinthians 7:20-23 ESV

'You were bought with a price.'

Jesus paid for you and me and each individual with His own precious blood. Our lives were very expensive.

If you were a slave to addictions before now you are a 'freedman' of the Lord. We can speak to the thing or person or desire and say, 'You don't own me. I belong to someone else.'

Maybe you don't desire that kind of coverage but it is the truest of coverings.

When peer pressure comes in we can say, 'I need to ask God first. He owns me.'

When the car salesman of lust lays on the pressure and says, 'You deserve to treat yourself. You have been under a lot of pressure lately.' and the offer looks tempting we can say, 'Sorry, I need to sleep on that and get back to you. There is someone at home I need to discuss this with first.'

'...if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity...'

It is a paradox, isn't it? What other owner says this? God is the only one who owns people to set them free.

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Soul Ownership

"Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine..." - Ezekiel 18:4a ESV

Perhaps we all make the mistake of believing that our soul (mind, emotions, will, conscience and self-consciousness) belong to our self or even to someone else. Children don't belong to their parents... it is a stewardship. Women don't belong to men or vice versa. Slavery is a lie.

All souls belong to God. He owns everything.

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." - Romans 8:14 ESV

Shocking really. God adopts men and women to set them free.

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Property Lines

Justice respects jurisdictions. It respects both sides of a boundary.

Lawlessness ignores boundaries.

Mine. Not mine. It belongs to us. It belongs to them. Who does it belong to?

Who decides? Is it the one who has leverage or brute force on his or her side?

Ultimately it is God's choice. He decides the true boundaries because He is the One who owns everything.

I think that little stretch of land in the middle of the middle east is a perfect example of this principle that goes beyond the boundary of humanistic morality. It resolves the chicken and the egg dilemma with a spiritual trump card. Does the land belong to who came first or occupied longest or does it belong to who God gave it to?

If we respect God's boundaries then we respect God. If we respect God's property then we respect God. Respect then fills the space of the relationship.

God does not have a problem with lust because it feels good. It does feel good. God has a problem with lust because it ignores property lines. The lusting person is a trespasser.

"I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? What would be my portion from God above and my heritage from the Almighty on high?" - Job 31:1-2 ESV

If our inheritance is land and we will not respect territorial rights then we devalue our own inheritance.

Grace is God's beautiful heart that let's others play on his lawn. It does not make the lawn public land where anything goes. The ownership remains firmly in place. The father gives His Son full access. We have become sons and daughters through the life of this same uniquely begotten Son.

So. Do we own the details of the day today? Do we own ourselves?

"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." - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV

"You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men." - 1 Corinthians 7:23 ESV

Our ownership is the ownership of a steward. Good stewards respect true ownership.

A Biblical world view draws a different map then the world does. It always will because each side sees ownership in a different way.

If we see the real property lines in our job then we can function in them. When we see the real territory in our family then we can live a civilized life in our home. When we honor God's boundaries we will live in true freedom. Man's fences will only keep us bottled up.

We stake claims by faith. We say, 'God owns this land and this is where God has drawn a line. Now I will live in agreement with Him.'

That has such power in every area of our life... if we make those claims by faith God will honor them.

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