Paul now returns to the subject of sexual immorality in the church. He has already dealt with the matter of the man involved in an incestuous affair; he has told the church how to handle the situation. Now he moves on to warning the entire church not to engage in forms of sexual immorality that are legal in Roman society, and he reminds them that now that they are in Christ their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.
He begins with a list of behaviors that were rampant in cities like Corinth. Some who were in the church were still caught up in their old behaviors. "Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
In Roman culture prostitution was legal, and there were both male and female prostitutes. It was even common for a Roman soldier to have a wife and children at home and to also have a male servant who traveled with him on army business---a male servant who was also his lover. Romans took a casual attitude toward adultery and divorce, so much so that divorce was a quick and easy process without either party having to prove any wrongdoing by the other. The word of God says what it says about sex and marriage, and the fact is that God has only put His stamp of approval on sex when it occurs between a husband and wife.
"'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." (1 Corinthians 6:12) The apostle is evidently quoting directly from things the Corinthians are saying. They are abusing the gift of grace by believing that now that they are in Christ they can still participate in anything the legal system says is permitted. So Paul says, "It may be legal in your culture to visit houses of prostitution, but that doesn't mean it's right in the eyes of God. You are playing with fire. You think you can engage in such activities without being soiled by them, but that isn't true. You will soon be so caught up in sin that your relationship with the Lord suffers. You will become hardened against the voice of the Holy Spirit who is telling you to repent. And if you do not repent, remember that God the Father disciplines His children."
Our society is making more and more things legal, but that doesn't mean those things are best for Christians. Alcohol has been legal for a long time, but many a person's life has been ruined by it. Marijuana for recreational use will probably soon be legal in all fifty states, but that doesn't mean a person who is in Christ ought to use it to get high. (I am not speaking of cases where medical marijuana or CBD oils may be the only substance that controls a person's seizures or a person's severe pain or a person's terminal illness symptoms. As someone who has recently suffered such severe pain that I was rushed to the emergency room, I have a great deal of sympathy for anyone who is in constant pain. And now that the laws about opiods and narcotics are becoming so strict, legal medical marijuana may be the only alternative that some people have to control their pain so that they can have any quality of life.)
But the point Paul is making is that just because our legal system says something is okay doesn't mean the word of God says it's okay. Paul is going to remind us that, now that the Holy Spirit indwells us, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Would we go into a church and get drunk or smoke marijuana or have sexual relations with a prostitute? Of course not! Paul wants us to regard our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit because that is what they are.
"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." (1 Corinthians 6:13-17) The Corinthians had the attitude that anything they did with their bodies was immaterial since the body was going to die. They viewed all their bodily urges in the same way and felt that satisfying their sexual urges was no more sinful than satisfying the rumbling of an empty stomach. But this is not so. We were created with a variety of bodily needs and desires, but sexual desire was intended only to be satisfied within the bonds of marriage. We all have to eat and drink in order to keep our bodies alive, but we won't die without sex. And we especially won't die without illicit sex.
"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body." (1 Corinthians 6:18) Pretty much any sin we commit affects someone else. If we cheat somebody in business, we have sinned against that person. If we lie to someone, we have deceived that person. If we commit adultery, we have sinned against our marriage partner but we have also sinned against our own body. We have betrayed not only our spouse but ourselves. If we are not married and are engaging in sex we are sinning against our own body. The Corinthian believers needed to understand that they could not live this way now that they belong to Christ. They were brought up in a culture where most forms of sex were acceptable, but they belong to a new culture now: the culture of those who have been saved by Christ. They must live in ways that honor Christ.
"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." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) We who are in Christ were bought with a price, a very high price. Whenever we are tempted to sin it would benefit us to stop and consider all that Christ suffered in order to redeem us from slavery to sin.
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