Belonging 1 Corinthians 12:18-27
In The Beginning Man and woman (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5; Mk. 10:7: Eph. 5:31) Cleave = joined {KOINE, “to join fast together, to glue, cement} Joint participation, something mutual, partnership, togetherness, etc. God is the architect behind this (Matt. 19:6; Mk. 10:9)
The Church And Belonging A belonging one to another (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:18-27) A sense of submission (Eph. 5:21; re. 1 Cor. 1:10; Eph. 4:16)
Belonging To God/Lord/Christ When did Paul first (and after) belong to God? When the old man was put to death/crucified and the new man raised (Rom. 6:1-6; Gal. 2:20) This was an entrance into a relationship (Gal. 3:27) Raised a new creature {implied new relationship} (2 Cor. 5:17)
Conduct as a citizen “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20) “Only conduct yourself {as a citizen} in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil. 1:27) A duty/requirement (1 Cor. 6:19-20)