1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (NIV)
“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. 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. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 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! 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.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 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; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Paul continues to address the rising tide of tolerance of sin and antinomianism that has risen in the church in Corinth. His repeated phrase, “I have the right to do anything”, is not his teaching, but is the teaching of those who were saying that with the coming of Jesus, the law was abolished (in direct contradiction to Jesus’ own statement in Matthew 5:17-20), so the Christian, because all his or her sins have been forgiven, even future sins, is free to live as he or she pleases.
Paul answers this erroneous statement from the standpoint of: “even if that is true…”. In the first instance, even if everything is permissible, not everything is beneficial. A person has every right to drink poison, but it will kill them – it is not beneficial, so should be avoided anyway. Even if a person is free to sin, sin is destructive to their spiritual life and health, it is not beneficial so should be avoided anyway. Even if everything is permissible, Paul will not allow himself to be mastered by anything. And, in the words of Jesus, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34)
The statement “food for the stomach and the stomach for food” is a saying based on Epicureanism that had come to mean that all physical desires were normal and natural, and should be fully indulged, as long as they did no harm to others. But Paul pushes back against this worldly and carnal philosophy by pointing out that God will destroy both the physical body and the pleasures that feed it. Therefore, since God is the actual Lord of each person, their body, as well as their spirit, are too be used in ways that honor and glorify God, not in ways that dishonor him.
Sexual immorality is a key way in which this twisted philosophy manifested itself. This included Christians having sex with prostitutes, many of whom were associated with the pagan temples in the city. But Paul’s point was not about the quality or background of the prostitutes, but purely about two spiritual truths. The first is that each and every Christian is a member of the body of Christ. The second is that sexuality has a spiritual component built into it by God. In the act of intercourse, the two bodies become one flesh; not a physical reality, but a spiritual one. Therefore, if any Christian man has sex with a prostitute, he is making the body of Christ one flesh with that of a prostitute!
Paul’s solution is simple and direct. Flee from sexual immorality of all types. Sexual immorality is a sin against one’s own body. And the body of a Christian is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Each Christian is a person in whom the Holy Spirit dwells and in whom the presence and power of God is made manifest. And, as a fully owned slave of God, that body in which and through which He lives and works must only be used in ways that honor Him.
Father, it is easy to get caught up in words and theories, but Paul’s picture is very simple. As members of the body of Christ, as temples of the Holy Spirit, we are to honor You with every action and with every desire we entertain. It is very black and white. Unfortunately, we live in a society these days that is constantly trying to find the fine gradations of grey instead of taking Your word as it is: simple, direct, black and white, not to be debated and studied, but simply obeyed. Help us, Lord, to just read, hear, and obey at once all that You show us. Amen.