Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/misc/ocbelief/ocbelief.txt

Text File | 1994-02-11 | 31KB | 477 lines

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This material is copyrighted by Conciliar Press, Ben Lomand, CA and is made
available on electronic Christian BBS systems by special permission of
Conciliar Press. It may not be modified in any way, but can be transmitted
on electronic BBS systems for the edification of those wishing to know more
about the Orthodox Church.
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              What Orthodox Christians Believe
            A Conciliar Press Compendium


     WHAT IS THE ORTHODOX CHURCH? The Orthodox Church is the Church founded
by Jesus Christ and described throughout the New Testament. All other Chris-
tian Churches and sects can be traced back historically to it.

     The word Orthodox literally means "straight teaching" or "straight wor-
ship," being derived from two Greek words: orthos, "straight," and doxa,
"teaching" or "worship." As the encroachments of false teaching and division
multiplied in early Christian times, threatening to obscure the identity and
purity of the Church, the term "Orthodox" quite logically came to be applied
to it. The Orthodox Church carefully guards the truth against all error and
schism both to protect its flock and to glorify Christ whose body the Church
is.

     An astonishing number of religious groups today claim to be the succes-
sors of the early Church. A "yardstick for truth" is  needed by which to
compare what the Church originally believed and practiced with what these
groups proclaim. Certainly we all have the God-given right to believe in
whatever we desire and to participate in whatever religious association we
choose. But it is also just good sense to be acquainted with the options
before we make our final choices.

     It is our hope this material will help introduce readers to the
Christianity espoused by the apostles of Jesus Christ and instituted by
them. This is the yardstick for truth by which our choices in regard to
Christianity need to be evaluated.

                        The Editors


GOD THE FATHER is the fountainhead of the Holy Trinity. The Scriptures
reveal the one God is Three Persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--eternally
sharing the one divine nature.  From the Father the Son is begotten before
all ages and all time (Psalm 2:7; II Corinthians 11:31). It is also from the
Father the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds (John 15:26). Through Jesus Christ,
and in the Holy Spirit, we come to know the Father (Matthew 11:27). God the
Father created all things through the Son, in the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1 and
2;John 1:3; Job 33:4), and we are called to worship Him (John 4:23). The
Father loves us and sent His Son to give us everlasting life (John 3;16).

JESUS CHRIST is the Second Person of the Trinity, eternally born of the
Father. He became a man, and thus He is at once fully God and fully man. His
coming to earth was foretold in the Old Testament by the prophets. Because
Jesus Christ is at the heart of Christianity, the Orthodox Church has given
more attention to knowing Him than to anything or anyone else.

     In reciting the Nicene Creed, Orthodox Christians regularly affirm the
historic faith concerning Jesus as they say, "I believe...in one Lord Jesus
Christ, begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, Very God of
Very God, begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father, by whom all
things were made, who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven,
and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried;
and the third day He rose again from the dead, according to the Scriptures;
and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father, and He
shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom
shall have no end."

THE HOLY SPIRIT is one of the persons of the Trinity and is one in essence
with the Father. Orthodox Christians repeatedly confess, "And I believe in
the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father,
who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified..." He
is called the "promise of the Father" (Acts 1:4), given by Christ as a gift
to the Church, to empower the Church for service to God (Acts 1:8), to place
God's love in our hearts (Romans 5:5), and impart spiritual gifts (I Corin-
thians 12:7-13) and virtues (Galatians 5:22, 23) for Christian life and
witness. Orthodox Christians believe the Biblical promise that the Holy
Spirit is given in chrismation (anointing) at baptism (Acts 2:38). We are
to grow in our experience of the Holy Spirit for the rest of our lives.

INCARNATION refers to Jesus Christ coming "in the flesh." The eternal Son of
God the Father assumed to Himself a complete human nature from the Virgin
Mary. He was (and is) one divine Person, fully possessing from God the Father
the entirety of the divine nature, and in His coming in the flesh fully
possessing a human nature from Mary. By His Incarnation, the Son forever
possesses two natures in His one Person. The Son of God, limitless in His
divine nature, voluntarily and willingly accepted limitation in His humanity
in which He experienced hunger, thirst, fatigue--and ultimately, death.
The Incarnation is indispensable to Christianity--there is no Christianity
without it. The Scriptures record, "...every spirit that does not confess
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God" (I John 4:3). By His
Incarnation, the Son of God redeemed human nature, a redemption made
accessible to all who are joined to Him in His glorified humanity.

SIN literally means to "miss the mark." As Saint Paul writes, "All have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We sin when we
pervert what God has given us as good, falling short of His purposes for us.
Our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1, 2), leaving us spiritually dead
(Ephesians 2: l). To save us, the Son of God assumed our humanity, and
being without sin "He condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3). In His mercy,
God forgives our sins when we confess them and turn from them, giving us
strength to overcome sin in our lives. "If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteous-
ness" (I John 1:9).

SALVATION is the divine gift through which men and women are delivered from
sin and death, united to Christ, and brought into His eternal kingdom. Those
who heard Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost asked what they must do to
be saved. He answered, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Salvation begins with these three
"steps": 1) repent, 2) be baptized, and 3) receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit. To repent means to change our mind about how we have been, turning
from our sin and committing ourselves to Christ. To be baptized means to be
born again by being joined into union with Christ. And to receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit means to receive the Spirit who empowers us to enter a new
life in Christ, be nurtured in the Church, and be conformed to God's image.

     Salvation demands faith in Jesus Christ. People cannot save themselves
by their own good works. Salvation is "faith working through love." It is an
ongoing, lifelong process. Salvation is past tense in that, through the death
and resurrection of Christ, we have been saved. It is present tense, for we
must also be being saved by our active participation through faith in our
union with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Salvation is also future,
for we must yet be saved at His glorious Second Coming.

BAPTISM is the way in which a person is actually united to Christ. The
experience of salvation is initiated in the waters of baptism.  The Apostle
Paul teaches in Romans 6:1-6 that in baptism we experience Christ's death and
resurrection. In it our sins are truly forgiven and we are energized by our
union in Christ to live a holy life.

     Modernly, some consider baptism to be only an "outward sign" of belief
in Christ. This innovation has no historical or biblical precedent. Others
reduce it to a mere perfunctory obedience to Christ's command (cf. Matthew
28:19-20). Still others, ignoring the Bible completely, reject baptism as a
vital factor of salvation. Orthodoxy maintains that these contemporary
innovations rob sincere people of the important assurance that baptism
provides--namely that they have been united to Christ and are part of His
Church.

NEW BIRTH is receiving new life and is how we gain entrance into God's king-
dom and His Church. Jesus said, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). From the beginning the
Church has taught that the "water" is the baptismal water and the "Spirit"
is the Holy Spirit. The new birth occurs in baptism where we die with Christ,
are buried with Him, and are raised with Him in the newness of His resurrec-
tion, being joined into union with Him in His glorified humanity (Acts 2:38;
Romans 6:3, 4). The historically late idea that being "born again" is a
religious experience disassociated from baptism and has no biblical basis
whatsoever.

JUSTIFICATION is a word used in the Scriptures to mean that in Christ we are
forgiven and actually made righteous in our living. Justification is not a
once-for-all, instantaneous pronouncement guaranteeing eternal salvation, no
matter how wickedly a person may live from that point on. Neither is it
merely a legal declaration that an unrighteous person is righteous. Rather,
justification is a living, dynamic, day-to-day reality for the one who
follows Christ. The Christian actively pursues a righteous life in the grace
and power of God granted to all who are believing Him.

SANCTIFICATION is being set apart for God. It involves us in the process of
being cleansed and made holy by Christ in the Holy Spirit. We are called to
be saints and to grow into the likeness of God. Having been given the gift
of the Holy Spirit, we actively participate in sanctification. We cooperate
with God, we work together with Him, that we may know Him, becoming by grace
what He is by nature.

THE BIBLE is the divinely inspired Word of God (II Timothy 3:16), and is a
crucial part of God's self-revelation to the human race. The Old Testament
tells the history of that revelation from Creation through the Age of the
Prophets. The New Testament records the birth and life of Jesus as well as
the writings of His Apostles. It also includes some of the history of the
early Church and especially sets forth the Church's apostolic doctrine.
Though these writings were read in the Churches from the time they first
appeared, the earliest listing of all the New Testament books exactly as we
know them today is found in the 33rd Canon of a local council held at
Carthage in 318 and in a fragment of Saint Athanasius of Alexandria's Festal
Letter for 367. Both sources list all of the books of the New Testament
without exception. A local council, probably held at Rome under Saint
Damascus in 382, set forth a complete list of the canonical books of both
the Old and New Testaments. The Scriptures are at the very heart of Orthodox
worship and devotion.

WORSHIP is to ascribe praise, glory, and thanksgiving to God: the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit. All humanity is called to worship God. Worship is
more than being in the "great-out-of-doors" or listening to a sermon or
singing a hymn. God can be known in His creation, but that doesn't constitute
worship. And as helpful as sermons may be, they can never offer a proper
substitute for worship. Most prominent in Orthodox worship is the corporate
praise, thanksgiving, and glory given to God by the Church. This worship
consummates in intimate communion with God at His Holy Table.

     As is said in the Liturgy, "To You is due all glory, honor and worship,
to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto
ages of ages. Amen." In that worship we touch and experience His eternal
kingdom, the age to come, and join in adoration with the heavenly hosts.
We experience the glory of the fulfillment of all things in Christ as truly
all in all.

EUCHARIST means "thanksgiving" and early became a synonym for Holy Communion.
The Eucharist is the center of worship in the Orthodox Church. Because Jesus
said of the bread and wine at the Last Supper, "This is my body," "This is
my blood," and "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19-20), His followers
believe--and do--nothing less. In the Eucharist, we partake mystically of
Christ's body and blood, which impart His life and strength to us. The
celebration of the Eucharist was a regular part of the Church's life from
its beginning.  Early Christians began calling the Eucharist "the medicine
of immortality" because they recognized the great grace of God that was
received in it.

LITURGY is a term used to describe the shape or form of the Church's
cooperate worship of God. The word "liturgy" derives from a Greek word
which means "the common work." All the biblical references to worship in
heaven involve liturgy.

     In the Old Testament, God ordered a liturgy, or specific pattern of
worship. We find it described in detail in the books of Exodus and Leviticus.
In the New Testament we find the Church carrying over the worship of Old
Testament Israel as expressed in both the synagogue and the temple, adjusting
them in keeping with their fulfillment in Christ. The Orthodox Liturgy, which
developed over many centuries, still maintains that ancient shape of worship.
The main elements in the Liturgy include hymns, the reading and proclamation
of the Gospel, prayers, and the Eucharist itself. For Orthodox Christians,
the expressions "The Liturgy" or "The Divine Liturgy" refer to the
eucharistic rite instituted by Christ Himself at the Last Supper.

COMMUNION OF SAINTS. When Christians depart this life, they remain a vital
part of the Church, the body of Christ. They are alive in the Lord and
"registered in heaven" (Hebrews 12:23). They worship God (Revelation 4:10)
and inhabit His heavenly dwelling places (John 14:2). In the Eucharist we
come "to the city of the living God" and join in communion with the saints
in our worship of God (Hebrews 12:22). They are that "great cloud of
witnesses" which surrounds us, and we seek to imitate them in running
"the race set before us" (Hebrews 12:1).  Rejecting or ignoring the communion
of saints is a denial that those who have died in Christ are still part of
his holy Church.

CONFESSION is the open admission of known sins before God and man. It means
literally "to agree with" God concerning our sins.  Saint James admonishes
us to confess our sins to God before the elders, or priests, as they are
called today (James 5:16). We are also exhorted to confess our sins directly
to God (I John 1;9). The Orthodox Church has always followed the New
Testament practices of confession before a priest, as well as private
confession to the Lord. Confession is one of the most significant means of
repenting and of receiving assurance that even our worst sins are truly
forgiven. It is also one of our most powerful aids for forsaking and
overcoming those sins.

DISCIPLINE may become necessary to maintain purity and holiness in the Church
and to encourage repentance in those who have not responded to the admonition
of brothers and sisters in Christ, and of the Church, to forsake their sins.
Church discipline often centers around exclusion from receiving communion
(excommunication). The New Testament records how Saint Paul ordered the
discipline of excommunication for an unrepentant man involved in sexual
relations with his father's wife (I Corinthians 5:1-5).  The Apostle John
warned that we are not to receive into our homes those who willfully reject
the truth of Christ (II John 9,10).  Throughout her history, the Orthodox
Church has exercised discipline with compassion when it is needed, always to
help bring a needed change of heart and to aid God's people to live pure and
holy lives, never as a punishment.

MARY is called Theotokos, meaning "God-bearer" or the "Mother of God,"
because she bore the Son of God in her womb and from her He took His humanity.
Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, recognized this reality when she
called Mary, "the Mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:43). Mary said of herself, "All
generations shall call me blessed" (Luke 1:48). So we, in our generation,
call her blessed. Mary lived a chaste and holy life, and we honor her highly
as the model of holiness, the first of the redeemed, the Mother of the new
humanity in her Son. It is bewildering to Orthodox that many professing
Christians who claim to believe the Bible never call Mary blessed her honor
nor who bore and raised God the Son in His human flesh.

PRAYER TO THE SAINTS is encouraged by the Orthodox Church. Why?  Because
physical death is not a defeat for a Christian. It is a glorious passage
into heaven. The Christian does not cease to be a part of the Church at
death. God forbid! Nor is he set aside, idle until the day of judgment.

     The True Church is composed of all who are in Christ--in heaven and on
earth. It is not limited in membership to those presently alive. Those in
heaven with Christ are alive, in communion with God, worshipping God, doing
their part in the body of Christ. They actively pray to God for all those in
the Church--and perhaps, indeed, for the whole world (Ephesians 6:18;
Revelation 8:3). So we pray to the saints who have departed this life,
seeking their prayers, even as we ask Christian friends on earth to pray
for us.

APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION has been a watershed issue since the second century, not
as a mere dogma, but as crucial to the preservation of the faith. Certain
false teachers came on the scene insisting they were authoritative
representatives of the Christian Church. Claiming authority from God by
appealing to special revelations, some were even inventing lineages of
teachers supposedly going back to Christ or the Apostles. In response, the
early Church insisted there was an authoritative apostolic deposit passed
down from generation to generation. They detailed that actual lineage,
showing how its clergy were ordained by those chosen by the successors of
the Apostles chosen by Christ Himself.

     Apostolic succession is an indispensable factor in preserving unity in
the Church. Those in that succession are accountable to it, and are
responsible to ensure all teaching and practice in the Church is in keeping
with her apostolic foundations. Mere personal conviction that one's teaching
is correct can never be considered adequate proof of accuracy. Today, critics
of apostolic succession are those who stand outside that historic succession
and seek a self-identity with the early Church only. The burgeoning number of
denominations in the world can be accounted for in large measure because of a
rejection of apostolic succession.

COUNCILS OF THE CHURCH. A monumental conflict (recorded in Acts 15) arose in
the early Church over legalism, the keeping of Jewish laws by the Christians,
as means of salvation. "So the apostles and elders came together [in council]
to consider the matter" (Acts 15:6). This council, held in Jerusalem, set the
pattern for the subsequent calling of councils to settle problems. There have
been hundreds of such councils--local and regional--over the centuries of the
history of the Church, and seven councils specifically designated
"Ecumenical," that is, considered to apply to the whole Church.  The Orthodox
Church looks particularly at these Ecumenical Councils for authoritative
teaching in regard to the faith and practice of the Church, aware that God
has spoken through them.

CREED comes from the Latin credo, "I believe." From the earliest days of the
Church, creeds have been living confessions of what Christians believe and
not simply formal. academic Church pronouncements. Such confessions of faith
appear as early as the New Testament, where, for example, Saint Paul quotes
a creed to remind Timothy, "God...was revealed in the flesh..." (I Timothy
3:l6). The creeds were approved by Church councils, usually to give a concise
statement of the truth in the face of the invasion of heresy.

     The most important creed in Christendom is the Nicene Creed, the product
of two Ecumenical Councils in the fourth century. Honed out in the midst of a
life-and-death controversy, it contains the essence of New Testament teaching
about the Holy Trinity, guarding that life-giving truth against those who
would change the very nature of God and reduce Jesus Christ to a created
being rather than God in the flesh. The creeds give us a sure interpretation
of the Scriptures against those who would distort them to support their own
religious schemes. Called the "symbol of faith" and confessed in many of the
services of the Church, the Nicene Creed constantly reminds the Orthodox
Christian of what he personally believes, keeping his faith on track.

ICONS are images of Christ, of His angels, of His saints, and of events such
as the birth of Christ, His Transfiguration, His death on the Cross, and His
Resurrection. Icons actually participate in and thus reveal the reality they
express. In the image we see and experience the Prototype. An icon of Christ,
for example, reveals something of Christ Himself to us. Icons are windows to
heaven, not only revealing the glory of God, but becoming to the worshiper a
passage into the kingdom of God. The history of the use of icons goes back to
the early Church, perhaps as far back as Luke the Evangelist. Orthodox
Christians do not worship icons, but they honor them greatly because of their
participation in heaven's reality.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS. When the young Church was getting under way, God poured out
His Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and their followers, giving them spiritual
gifts to build up the Church and serve each other. Among the specific gifts
of the Spirit mentioned in the New Testament are: apostleship, prophecy,
evangelism, pastoring, teaching, healing, helps, administrations, knowledge,
wisdom, tongues, interpretation of tongues. These and other spiritual gifts
are recognized in the Orthodox Church. The need for them varies with the
times. The gifts of the Spirit are most in evidence in the liturgical and
sacramental life of the Church.

SECOND COMING. With the current speculation in some corners of Christendom
surrounding the Second Coming of Christ and how it may come to pass, it is
comforting to know the beliefs of the Orthodox Church are basic. Orthodox
Christians confess with conviction that Jesus Christ "will come again to
judge the living and the dead," and that His "kingdom will have no end."
Orthodox preaching does not attempt to predict God's prophetic schedule,
but to encourage Christian people to have their lives in order that they
might have confidence before Him when He comes (I John 2:28).

HEAVEN is the place of God's throne beyond time and space. It is the abode
of God's angels, as well as of the saints who have passed from this life. We
pray, "Our Father who art in heaven..." Though Christians live in this world,
they belong to the kingdom of heaven, and that kingdom is their true home.
But heaven is not only for the future. Neither is it some distant place
billions of light years away in a nebulous "great beyond." For the Orthodox,
heaven is part of Christian life and worship. The very architecture of an
Orthodox Church building is designed so that the building itself participates
in the reality of heaven. The Eucharist is heavenly worship, heaven on earth.
Saint Paul teaches we are raised up with Christ in heavenly places
(Ephesians 2:6), "fellow citizens with the saints and members of the
household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). At the end of the age, a new heaven and
a new earth will be revealed (Revelation 21:1).

HELL, unpopular as it is to modern people, is real. The Orthodox Church
understands hell as a place of eternal torment for those who willfully reject
the grace of God. Our Lord once said, "If your hand makes you sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two hands, to go
to hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched--where their worm does
not die and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44-45). He challenged the
religious hypocrites with the question: "How can you escape the condemnation
of hell?" (Matthew 23:33). His answer is, "God did not send His Son into the
world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
(John 3:17). There is a day of judgment coming, and there is a place of
punishment for those who have hardened their hearts against God. It does make
a difference how we live this life. Those who of their own free will reject
the grace and mercy of God must forever bear the consequences of that choice.

CREATION. Orthodox Christians confess God as Creator of heaven and earth
(Genesis 1:1, the Nicene Creed). Creation did not just happen into existence.
God made it all. "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the
word of God..." (Hebrews 11:3). Orthodox Christians do not believe the Bible
to be a science textbook on creation as some mistakenly maintain, but rather
God's revelation of Himself and His salvation. Also, helpful as they may be,
we do not view science textbooks as God's revelation. They may contain both
known facts and speculative theory, but they are not infallible. Orthodox
Christians refuse to build an unnecessary and artificial wall between science
and the Christian faith. Rather, they understand honest scientific
investigation as a potential encouragement to faith, for all truth is from
God.

ABORTION is the termination of a pregnancy by taking the life of the baby
before it comes to full term. The Scriptures teach, "For You have formed my
inward parts; You have covered me in my mother's womb" (Jeremiah 1:5).  When
an unborn child is aborted, a human being is killed. There are at least two
effective alternatives to abortion: 1) prevention of conception by abstinence
or contraceptives, or 2) adoption of an unwanted baby. For the Christian, all
children, born or unborn, are precious in God's sight and a gift from Him.
Even in the rare case in which a choice must be made between the life of the
child and the life of the mother, decision-making must be based upon the
recognition that the lives of two human persons are at stake.

CULTS. The word "cult" has several meanings. The usage to which we refer
designates a group of people who focus on a religious doctrine which deviates
from the tradition of the historic Church as revealed by Jesus Christ,
established by His Apostles, and guarded by the seven Ecumenical Councils of
the Church. A cult usually originates around a particular personality who
proclaims a heresy as truth. The error itself assures the separation of the
group from historic Christianity.  Many cults claim the Bible as their basis,
but they alter the historic interpretation of Scripture to persist in their
own idea. Cults may do some things that are good (e.g. care for the poor,
emphasize the family) and thus at least initially appear to be part of true
Christianity to casual observers.  Saint Paul's counsel on cults is, "From
such withdraw yourself" (l Timothy 6:5). The danger of the cult is that it
removes those in it from the life of Christ and the Church where the
blessings and grace of God are found. All cults die; the Church lives on.

MARRIAGE in the Orthodox Church is forever. It is not reduced to an exchange
of vows or the establishment of a legal contract between the bride and groom.
On the contrary, it is God joining a man and a woman into "one flesh' in a
sense similar to the Church being joined to Christ (Ephesians 5:31,32). The
success of marriage cannot depend on mutual human promises, but on the
promises and blessing of God.  In the Orthodox marriage ceremony, the bride
and groom offer their lives to Christ and to each other--literally as crowned
martyrs.

DIVORCE. While extending love and mercy to divorcees, the Orthodox Church is
grieved by the tragedy and the pain divorce causes.  Though marriage is
understood as a sacrament, and thus accomplished by the grace of God and is
permanent, the Church does not deal with divorce legalistically, but with
compassion. After appropriate pastoral counsel, divorce may be allowed when
avenues for reconciliation have been exhausted. If there is a remarriage,
the service for a second marriage includes prayers of repentance over the
earlier divorce. asking God's forgiveness and protection for the new union.
A third marriage is generally not granted. Clergy who are divorced may be
removed, at least for a time, from active ministry, and are not permitted
to remarry if they are to remain in the ministry.

PRE-MARITAL SEX. The Orthodox Christian faith firmly holds to the biblical
teaching that sexual intercourse is reserved for marriage. Sex is a gift of
God to be fully enjoyed and experienced only within marriage. The marriage
bed is to be kept "pure and undefiled" (Hebrews 13:4), and men and women are
called to remain celibate outside of marriage. Our sexuality, like many other
things about us human beings, affects our relationship with God, ourselves
and others. It may be employed as a means of glorifying God and fulfilling
His image in us, or it may be perverted and abused as an instrument of sin,
causing great damage to us and others. Saint Paul writes, "Do you not know
that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have
from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore
glorify God in your body..." (I Corinthians 6:19,20).