“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20 NKJV
Acknowledging that God owns us will help us crucify our sinful desires and live the new life in Christ. When we realize that our body parts were bought with Christ’s blood to glorify God, we will think differently about masturbation and lust.
Masturbation and lust are two examples of how we can allow our bodies to be used as instruments for evil. Each time the body is used for any purpose other than bringing glory to God, it grieves God’s Spirit living in us. Paul told the Corinthians, “he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him,” and “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, who you have from God and you are not your own” in 1 Corinthians 6:17 NKJV. Therefore, everything that we think, do and speak should be done as to the Lord (Romans 14:7-8).
This does not mean that we will no longer be able to enjoy pleasure. God is the author of pleasure and promises blessings on those who follow him. The Psalmist says, “They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures” in Psalm 36:8 NKJV. God will bless us with pleasures that sin can never match.
This process of dedicating ourselves to God in everything we do is part of the sanctification process. To sanctify is to “set apart to a sacred purpose” (Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary). When we do all things as to the Lord, we set ourselves apart for his purposes, and invite him to use us in his work.
Verses to think about:
“and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” 2 Corinthians 5:15 NKJV
“And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” Romans 6:13 NKJV