In 6:13 and 14 Paul says, “Foods are for the belly, and the belly for foods; but God will bring to nothing both it and them. But the body is not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God has raised up the Lord and will raise up us through His power.” Our body was created for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. God has raised up the Lord bodily, and our body will participate in the Lord’s glorious body in resurrection (Phil. 3:21) and be raised incorruptible. This will be the redemption of our body.
Speaking of the resurrected Christ, Acts 2:24 says, “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.” According to Romans 6:9, “Christ having been raised from among the dead dies no more; death lords it over Him no more.” In 2 Corinthians 4:14 Paul says clearly that the One who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up: “Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.” Furthermore, in John 6:39 and 40 the Lord Jesus promises that He will raise us up in the last day. But even today the Spirit of the resurrected Christ gives life to our body, thereby making it a member of Christ and a temple of God indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
If we would understand how the Lord today is for our body and how in the future God will resurrect our body, we need to understand Romans 8:11. This verse says, “But if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from among the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Christ Jesus from among the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who indwells you.” In this verse, one of the greatest verses in the Bible, we see that through the indwelling Spirit of the very God who raised up Jesus from among the dead, life is imparted into our mortal body. This may be the present experience of all who seek the Lord. If you truly seek the Lord, something marvelous is taking place within you: the Spirit of the resurrecting God is imparting life into your body.
This imparting of life may be illustrated by the transmission of electricity. The current of electricity is actually electricity in motion. If you look at the electric meter in the meeting hall, you will realize that electricity is being transmitted into the building. As we meet in the hall to pray and fellowship, electricity is flowing into the building. In the same principle, the heavenly electricity of Christ’s resurrection life is flowing into our mortal bodies. As we seek the Lord day by day, we can have the full assurance that the divine current is flowing within us. This current is the resurrection life imparted into us through the indwelling Spirit.
I often experience this transmission when I am physically tired. Many times I must speak even when my body is very tired. But while I am speaking, the Spirit is infused into me, and the resurrected Christ becomes my life supply. As a result, my spirit is strengthened and my weak, tired body is enlivened.
In verse 15 Paul says, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” Notice that here Paul does not say merely that we are members of Christ; he declares that our bodies are members of Christ. The subject of these verses is the abuse of freedom in foods and in the body. Thus, Paul’s concern is the believers’ body.
Because we are organically united with Christ and because Christ dwells in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22) and makes His home in our heart (Eph. 3:17), our entire being, including our purified body, becomes a member of Him. Verse 17 indicates that we are organically united with Christ. To be one spirit with the Lord is to enter into an organic union with Him, to be united with Him organically. This organic union makes it possible for our bodies to be the members of Christ. Christ indwells our spirit, and from our spirit spreads throughout our inner being, thereby making His home in our hearts. Furthermore, according to Romans 8:11, from our inner being He seeks to impart Himself as life into our physical body. Therefore, Christ spreads from the spirit to the soul and from the soul to the body. In this way our bodies become His members.
This matter is deep, mysterious, and abstract. But praise the Lord for the solid word in 1 Corinthians 6 revealing such a mysterious matter! It is crucial that we dig into this word.
In 6:17 Paul says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” I wish to emphasize once again that this refers to the believers’ organic union with the Lord through believing into Him (John 3:15-16). Such a union with the resurrected Christ can only be in our spirit, for Christ today is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) and is now with our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22).