Sexual Immorality
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Two words dominate the biblical passage we will study today: sexual sin and body. Our culture is desperately confused and distorted about our bodies and sexuality. We wildly swing from obsession over bodies to neglect of our bodies, from anorexia to obesity. We indulge our bodies and abuse them. Healthy appetites quickly degenerate into destructive addictions. How should we view our bodies? How does God view them? Paul gives us great insight in 1 Corinthians chapter six.
Our bodily confusion leads to sexual distortion. The issues in First Corinthians apply directly to our culture. None of you needs me to explain the degree of sexual immorality in our world today. From pornography to sex trafficking to adultery to romance novels to the Secret Life of American Teenagers, we can’t get away from it. It affects our children at younger and younger ages. Let’s be real: we know about sexual sin because if you are past puberty, you have dealt with it in your own life. This topic always exposes guilt and shame. As you hear the Bible explain why sexual sin is terrible, you cry out in your head, “What if I have already failed?” And you think you’re alone, but nearly every person is thinking the same thing. Thankfully, God’s grace is amazing and we desperately need it. We have sinned and dishonored God with our bodies. After the message I will lead us in a time of confession and receiving all over again the healing grace of God that washes us clean.
Today, rather than giving statistics and stories about sexual sin, I want to share some history so we understand the Corinthians a bit better. Prostitution was legal. The famous Roman author, Plutarch, said no shame was attached to satisfying one’s passion. He (Mor. 140B) argues that a wife should not be angry with her husband if he has sex with a prostitute or maidservant: “She should reason that it is respect for her which leads him to share his debauchery . . . . with another woman.”
There was enormous social pressure to participate in eating and drinking at banquets. These were business, social and civic obligations where there was unbridled gluttony, drinking and sex. Philo of Alexandria recorded that special tables were reserved for ‘the drinking bouts which followed as part of “the after-dinners”, as they called them . Plutarch describes a huge meal followed by raucous music and shameless sex, where the host provided prostitutes. When a young man turned eighteen he received a special toga which gave him the right to accept invitations to these parties as he was considered mature enough to cope with sexual advances. Not surprisingly, ancient writers warned of this persistent danger for young men. Just as Corinth was a sexually immoral place, so is our culture today.
We are studying Paul’s letter to Christians in ancient Corinth in which he addresses hot potato issues to show us how to find spiritual wisdom in a foolish world. Today we consider sexual sin and how to view our bodies. What Paul has to say is not in any public school curriculum on sexuality. It’s interesting to see what Paul does not say. He does not attack sexual immorality because it can cause STDs or unwanted pregnancies. Rather than addressing external behavior, Paul confronts the distorted thinking on which the behaved is excused. He helps us gain a biblical view our bodies and the triune God. We do not just have bodies; we are embodied persons. At a deep level it is an understanding of the gospel in terms of our new identity that shapes our behavior. When you understand your bodily identity in relation to the triune God, then you see sex differently. It’s not simply sexual ethics that are at stake, but the gospel itself. The Bible presents sexual union as much more than simply a biological function. It is an intimate communication and commitment involving whole persons, which can be wonderful in marriage.
As we prepare to read First Corinthians chapter six, let me give you a few handles. In Paul’s day, it was common to pose objections from an imaginary opponent and then answer them. In this chapter Paul counters three Corinthian slogans. Ancient pithy sayings were recorded on inscriptions and displayed publicly like billboards. You find the first one in verse twelve, “I have the right to do anything.” Then in verse thirteen, “Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” Then in verse eighteen, “All sins a person commits are outside the body.” The Bible does not endorse any of these three, but sets them up as distorted thinking to be corrected. As we read the text, look for what I call a Trinitarian theology of the body which should compel us to flee sexual sin in order to honor God with our bodies. Look for the two commands in the passage. Let’s stand for the reading of God’s Word beginning in First Corinthians six, verse twelve.
12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:12–20
Did you see the two commands? One negative and one positive, they are related. We are to flee and to honor. Flee sexual sin to honor God with your body. That is the clear point of this passage.
Flee sexual sin to honor God with your body.
What’s powerful is the radical and compelling rationale why we should flee sexual sin to honor God with our bodies. Did you see the trinity? As a believer in Christ with your new identity, your physical body is directly associated with each member of the divine Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Let’s dive into what God is saying to us, unpacking the text line by line.
In verse 12 Paul quotes the first Corinthian slogan twice, “I have the right to do anything.” This was a common idea particularly popular with people of status, wealth and power who had the means to do whatever they wanted. What kinds of slogans do we have today? What do you see on tee-shirts or bumper stickers? If it feels good, do it. God made me this way. It’s natural. I can’t help it. I have needs. Anything goes. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. What people do in private is their own business. It’s not against the law. Friends with benefits. It’s my life. You can’t tell me what to do with my body.
Paul gives two counters to Corinthian slogans. First he turns the question on its head. The issue is not whether an action is lawful or right, but is it good? Is it beneficial? Simply because a behavior is not illegal, does not make it good. Is this use of my body beneficial to me or another person? This is a much higher standard. It might not be illegal for you to watch that movie, but is it beneficial? Teenagers, you may be old enough to legally see things that are not beneficial to you. What choices will you make?
Secondly, with a twist of irony, Paul uses a word play in Greek that could be approximated in English by translating, “All things are in my power, but I shall not be overpowered by anything.” Be warned, what you think you have the power to do, may take power over you. We call it addiction. You think you are in control of your drinking or sexual activity and then it controls you. Even if it is not illegal or wrong, is it dominating you? If you are being dominated by a sin, I encourage you to check out Celebrate Recovery, CR, which is for dealing with hurts, hang-ups and addictions. Teens, we have CR for you called The Landing.
After this amazing introduction, Paul turns to his first radical rationale why we should flee sexual sin to honor God with our bodies. Our first Trinitarian connection is with God the Father. By the way, this truth in verses thirteen and fourteen is an incredibly radical counter to most of western and eastern philosophy back to Plato in the West and Buddha in the East. It is the truth of bodily resurrection.
Resurrection: God will raise your body
–what you do bodily matters forever
Physical resurrection means your body is eternal. Paul is countering the immortality of the soul. In eternity we will not be disembodied spirits floating around. We will live in bodies whether we are in heaven or hell. They are physical places that we will inhabit in physical bodies. Let’s review his point in verses thirteen and fourteen where he quotes a second Corinthian slogan. Notice the striking parallelism in his counter:
13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 1 Corinthians 6:13-14
Let me highlight the parallelism so you can see that Paul creates a counter slogan to defeat their slogan:
Food Body
Food is for the stomach The body is for the Lord
The stomach is for food The Lord is for the body
God-destroys the stomach God-raised the Lord
God-destroys food God-will raise us (our bodies)
What’s the point of the Corinthian slogan? Since all bodily appetites are pretty much alike, that means that just as we need to eat, so we need to have sex and after all God will destroy the physical so it does not really matter. It’s not a spiritual issue. The word for stomach can mean digestive system. You eat food and it passes through. You have sex and life goes on. No big deal. What you do with your body has nothing to do with your soul. “I feel hungry—I eat. I feel sexual desire—I engage in sex.” One young man protested in a small group, “If I get hungry I drop by McDonald’s for a quarterpounder with cheese, and if I feel the need for sex I get a date with a girl who is willing or go the Internet for cyber sex. Now, what’s wrong with that?”
Paul objects to the dehumanizing of sex that takes place when it is reduced to bodily pleasure parallel to eating food. How does Paul counter? He makes a massive point. The body is for the Lord. And the Lord is for the body, proved by the fact that the body is not destined for destruction, but for resurrection. Who is the Lord? Jesus Christ. So your body is for Jesus and Jesus is for your body. What does this mean? Paul does not just command: don’t sin sexually. He is telling us to live as who we are. We belong to Christ and are destined to live with him forever. But what’s even more radical is that he is specifically speaking of our physical bodies. God created our body and we bear responsibility to use our bodies for the Lord. What we do with our bodies should be for the Lord. Obedience finds visible expression in our bodily obedience. Are you using your hands and feet, your muscles and mind for the Lord?
The big rationale is the resurrection. Just as God raised Jesus from the dead bodily, so he will raise you. Salvation includes our bodies, which are an intrinsic aspect of who we are. We are not saved from our bodies; our bodies are saved. We do not just have bodies; we are bodies. The body is not an outer shell or an earth-suit we will discard. We will be embodied forever. Frankly the immortality of the soul is a pagan idea that has invaded too much Christian thought. We must reject it. God did not design our bodies simply for this earth, but for eternity. They have an eternal purpose. We are not simply animals with biological functions. So that means the resurrection of our bodies is determinative for how we behave sexually in this life. We must handle our bodies today in keeping with our resurrection life. Our first Trinitarian connection is God the Father’s resurrection of our eternal body to be with him forever. Sexual sin violates your eternal body. Since God will raise your body, flee sexual sin to honor God. The second Trinitarian rationale comes in the connection of our bodies to Jesus Christ in union with him.
Union: Christ is united to your body
- what you do bodily you do to Christ
Once again Paul takes us to a deep place to transform our fundamental thinking because he knows if our minds are transformed, then our behavior will be as well. Let’s review his second main point in verses fifteen to seventeen:
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:15–17
What does it mean to be a member of Christ? It has nothing to do with membership in an organization. Paul is using physical language. Your legs and lungs are members of your body. Paul is talking about physical limbs and organs. So metaphorically my hands are the hands of Jesus offering fresh water to the thirsty. My ears are Jesus’ ears listening to the cries of the hurting. Paul speaks somewhat graphically when he says, "Shall I take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute. Never!" Since your body is united with Christ, what you do with your body, you do with Christ.
Notice the word “union” is used twice, in a sexual way and in a spiritual way. It is a bit shocking to see Paul parallel union with a prostitute through sex and union with Christ in spirit. The Greek word means to join, to bond, to glue, to bind indissolubly, so in our context it means to unite in intimacy. (Thiselton). The Corinthians have totally misunderstood and minimized the nature of sexual intercourse and of their new identity in Christ. Being “united” with the Lord” reflects Old Testament imagery of God’s “marriage” to Israel. More than a physical coupling happens when a person has sex. Boldly Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 applying the one-flesh union created in a marriage to the seemingly casual sexual union with a prostitute (Countryman 1988: 204). The assumption is that every sexual act between a man and woman, whether married or not, fuses the partners together into one flesh. There is no such thing as casual sex that has no enduring consequences, even when the partners have no intention of forming a mutual attachment. They may regard their sexual union as only a temporary encounter—but it is more entangling than that; neither is free from the other when they part company. Sexual intimacy cannot be separated from emotional intimacy that involves the whole person. Years later a person often seeks out a counselor to heal the scars of causal sex. Memories, emotions and attachments stay with us for life. What happens to our souls is much more damaging that any disease we might get.
Paul’s’ main point is that these two unions are mutually exclusive. To unite with a person who is not your spouse is to contaminate your union with Christ. Your body is united with Christ so you are one with him, thus if you sexually unite with a prostitute, you are taking Christ into that encounter. Never! Teenagers, you do not want to take Christ into the proverbial back seat of the car. Our culture’s slogan: “Friends with benefits” horribly misunderstands sexuality. Singles, there is no such thing. In that club, at that party, remember what you do with your body, you do with Jesus.
We are to represent Christ with our bodies. In Christ we are new creations. Christ literally lives through our bodies that are the limbs and organs of Christ. Sexual sin violates Christ. Flee sexual sin to honor God with your body because Christ is united to your body. The third Trinitarian rationale comes from our body’s connection to the Holy Spirit. He is present in our body.
Presence: The Holy Spirit lives in your body
–bodily sins are against the Spirit
Since the Holy Spirit lives in your body, bodily sins are against the Spirit. In these verses we find a third Corinthian quotation, but the NIV translation does not point it out. Let’s look at Paul’s third main point in verses eighteen and nineteen where we find our first command.
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? 1 Corinthians 6:18–19
Paul’s command is pretty clear: flee! Notice that he does not say to endure temptation to sexual sin. We endure trials and we flee from temptation. In other words, if someone is flirting with you, you do not sit there and try to endure; you walk away. If you are watching a show and its turns nasty, you do not try to keep looking without lusting; you change the channel. You run away. If you know the story of Joseph with Potipher’s wife; picture that image of him running. She seduces Joseph to the point of grabbing his jacket and begging him to go to bed with her. But he runs away, leaving the jacket in her hands. I had a Joseph moment. Once in my life as a teenager, a girl moved in next door for the summer. Yes, there was pathetic summer love. Late one summer night, she offered herself to saying, “Take me.” Paul’s advice is not to endure, but to flee. Thankfully I fled. I ran out of their house back to my house. If I had not run, I could have regretted that night for the rest of my life. Run. Leave the party. Flee. On a business trip, if the group is going to a club where you don’t want to go, flee. Sometimes you need to flee an entire place. If you keep seeing him or her there, don’t go back to that restaurant. Change gyms, even change jobs.
In our digital world there are two tools you can use to flee: the mouse and the remote control. When the image pops on your screen, don’t stare, click the mouse. When the movie turns nasty, change the channel or fast-forward at rapid speed. When something bad comes on your computer, click the mouse to exit. Flee sexual sin. Parents, help your kids in this area. Put on software. Allow no computers in bedrooms, whatever fits your family. And when you catch your kids seeing something nasty, don’t freak out. Talk about it openly.
Paul now quotes a third Corinthian slogan: “all sins a person commits are outside the body.” If you noticed, I dropped out the word “other” which the NIV adds because they do not see this line as a Corinthian slogan. I believe it is a Corinthian slogan arguing that sin is spiritual so it does not matter what you do with your body. Paul counters strongly by arguing that sexual sin is against your own body, which is a temple of the Holy Spirit. The word for against can also mean into. Sexual sin invades the body in the most intimate way. No other sin is so bodily intimate.
The big point is not just that you sin against your own body, but that you sin against the Spirit who lives in your body, another amazing truth. Many people think that the Spirit indwells your soul or your spirit, but Paul explicitly says that your body is the temple of the Spirit. A temple is a holy place. As a redeemed person your body is a holy place where the Holy Spirit lives. He is in you as a gift you have received from God. So, if you sin sexually, you are not only violating Christ, but you are also violating the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to argue that you could do something with your body that does not involve the Spirit. What are you doing with the temple? Flee sexual sin to honor God with your body because the Holy Spirit lives in your body.
Paul wraps up his argument with one more powerful closing exclamation to top off his Trinitarian rationale. Not only will God raise your body eternally and Christ is united to your body and the Spirit lives in your body, but also you are not your own. You were bought with a price, a high price. Sexual sin is against your own body which ironically is not your own, but God’s. In verse twenty the concept of being bought with a price draws on the imagery of a slavery auction familiar to the Corinthians. Interestingly Paul does not use the Greek word most common in legal contracts for buying a slave’s freedom. Instead he uses a word that refers to the sale of a slave by one owner to another owner. We belong to a new owner who has bought us at a price to serve him. The price has not bought our freedom, but changed owners. Thus our bodies are not their own to do with as we please, but God’s to do with as God pleases.
Now all of this is true only if you have trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior. You are not united to Christ nor does the Spirit live in you, if you have not trusted in Jesus Christ to be your new owner. Jesus paid the high price on the cross, but it does not apply to you until you receive the gift that God offers in his grace to be your Master, your Father. Trust in him.
Then the last line of the chapter makes sense, the second command in the text: honor God with your bodies. The word honor can also be translated glorify. This is the only conclusion if you have gasped the Trinitarian rationale. If God the Father will raise your body and Christ is united to your body and the Spirit lives in your body, how could you not do everything possible to honor God with your body? In the book of Romans Paul talks about offering the members of your body as instruments of righteousness and offering your body as a living sacrifice of worship to God. How can you use your body to honor God? Use your body to bless others. Serve them. Love your spouse with your body. Keep your body pure and holy.
At Christ Fellowship we are all Bible, people guided by the Word, so what do we learn from First Corinthians chapter six? Let’s embrace God’s high view of our bodies. They are imminently spiritual in the sense of being crucial to spiritual maturity. Our bodies are part of our core identity. They are eternal. As the people of Christ Fellowship what we do with our body matters to God. Since our bodies are eternal and members of Christ and temples of the Spirit, that means that sexual sin is an eternal body-violation, a violation of Christ and a violation of the Holy Spirit. So flee sexual sin to honor God with our amazing bodies.
Sexuality is so much more than merely a biological function like eating. Sexual union is a rich and deep act that unites you to another person. A biblical understanding of sexuality is profoundly humanizing, because it treats people with the care and dignity we deserve as people made in God’s image. Realize that the divine trinity is involved in your sexuality. The point of God’s Word today is plain: You should flee sexual sin to honor God with your body because the Father will raise your body, Christ is united to your body and the Spirit lives in your body.
This truth helps in looking forward to avoid sexual sin, but what if you are currently in sexual sin? If you are currently involved in sexual sin, I have one word for you: flee. Run away. Whatever it takes, whatever that means for you, flee.
What if in the past you have been involved in tremendous sexual sin? We are about to enter a time of confession and restoration. God’s grace is amazing. He covers all our sin with the blood of Jesus that washes us white as snow. In a moment a song will begin: Search me and know me. It’s a prayer using words from the Psalms asking God to cleanse me; to wash away my guilty stains. Use this as a time of confession of sexual sin or any sin. You can stay where you are or come to the front and use the kneelers. The gospel is a message of liberation. We are not here as perfect people, but as very imperfect people forgiven by the power of the cross in the grace of God. Receive again the amazing grace of God that he pours out on you. Receive his forgiveness for all your sin.
Endnotes:
Keener, Craig S. 1-2 Corinthians. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, 2005. Pp 59
David E. Garland, 1 Corinthians, Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2003), 227.
Winter, Bruce W. After Paul Left Corinth: The influence of Secular Ethics and Social Change. Eerdmans. Grand Rapids, 2001, Pp 83
Winter, Bruce W. After Paul Left Corinth: The influence of Secular Ethics and Social Change. Eerdmans. Grand Rapids, 2001, Pp 83
Winter, Bruce W. After Paul Left Corinth: The influence of Secular Ethics and Social Change. Eerdmans. Grand Rapids, 2001, Pp 76
Blomberg, Craig L. The NIV Application Commentary from biblical text…..to contemporary life: 1 Corinthians Grand Rapids. Zondervan, 1995. Pp 126
Bailey, Kenneth E. Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians. Inter-Varsity Press. Downers Grove, 2011. Pp 185
Chafin, Kenneth L. Mastering the New Testament: 1, 2 Corinthians. Word. 1985. Pp 83
Bailey, Kenneth E. Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians. Inter-Varsity Press. Downers Grove, 2011. Pp 185
Keener, Craig S. 1-2 Corinthians. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, 2005. Pp 58
David E. Garland, 1 Corinthians, Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2003), 234.
David E. Garland, 1 Corinthians, Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2003), 234.
Anthony C. Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians : A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 475.
Witherington, Ben III. Conflict & Community in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians. Eerdmans. Grand Rapids, 1995.
Blomberg, Craig L. The NIV Application Commentary from biblical text…..to contemporary life: 1 Corinthians. Grand Rapids. Zondervan, 1995. Pp 128
