Sex and the Temple of Your Body (1 Corinthians 6:12-20)

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. [13] “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. [14] And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. [15] Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! [16] Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” [17] But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. [18] Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. [19] Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, [20] for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

I. Borrowing a Classic Car

My uncle loved classic cars. He spent much of the 1960s photographing cars and the racing scene up and down California. But over the decades, he also spent time restoring cars. One of the cars that he and his son (my cousin) worked on for many years was a 1957 Chevy Bel Air. Before his death in 2022, my uncle and his son were able to finish that restoration work, and my cousin still owns that vehicle today.

Now, I want you to imagine that my cousin allowed me to borrow that vehicle... again, a fully restored '57 Chevy that he and his dad worked on together; a precious memento of their relationship as father and son. What advice might you give me about what was appropriate and what was inappropriate in terms of what I did with that car? For example, would it be okay for me to push it, driving that car as fast as it could go, or to drive it across the country without his permission? Would it be okay for me take that vehicle off-roading in the Arizona desert? Would it be appropriate for me and some friends to eat BBQ in the car... with no napkins? Would it be appropriate for me, no questions asked, to subsequently loan that car to others, even to the sketchiest of individuals, individuals who might use the car for any number of illicit purposes?

Answers to those questions seem obvious, don't they. Given the significance of that vehicle, and the fact it didn't even belong to me, wouldn't you agree that to varying degrees, all of those behaviors would be absolutely disrespectful to my cousin... and to the memory of my uncle?

II. The Passage: “You Are Not Your Own” (6:12-20)

That hypothetical is meant to help us with our passage this morning. In our ongoing study of the letter we call 1 Corinthians, we find ourselves confronted with the text we just heard read to us: chapter 6, verses 12-20. Now, think about where we've come from in this letter. In the broader context of exposing the worldliness of many of their values, Paul raised and connected two issues in chapter 5: sexual immorality and right judgment within the church. In chapter 6, the Apostle expands on that discussion of right judgment by addressing the issue of personal conflicts within the church. And in the second part of chapter 6, in our passage this morning, he similarly expands on the issue of sexual immorality. But it's also helpful to think about where we're going in this letter. Our passage this morning sets up a few ideas that Paul will spend even more time exploring in the coming chapters: the issue of food in chapters 8-10, being members of Christ's body in chapter 12, and the resurrection of the body in chapter 15.

But how should we understand the verses God has before us this morning? This is a dense passage, and as we seek to hear from God, each one of us, we want to make sure we under-stand the flow of Paul's thinking in these verses. Let me offer three statements that I believe communicate the flow of Paul's argument here. As we look back at the text, specifically vs 12-14...

I believe, number one, Paul is arguing that bodily appetites must be understood in light of spiritual significance. Though he will go on to talk about food in chapter 8, his mention of food and the stomach here in verse 13 is simply meant to illuminate a couple of key ideas. First, Paul needs to temper their understanding of what we would call Christian freedom. As Paul taught another local church in Galatians 5:1, “For freedom Christ has set us free...”.

What did he mean there? He meant that, through Jesus, God's people have been set free from the Law of Moses as a pathway for establishing righteousness before God. As you probably know, dietary restrictions were a part of that law. But all that had changed. Those restrictions had served their purpose, and now, “all things are lawful” for us when it comes to what were once designated as clean and unclean foods. But that freedom... does not guarantee “all things are helpful” when it comes to my thinking and my actions concerning food. And it doesn't mean that you and I are not still susceptible to slavery; that is, slavery to things like food and... sex.

And that's the second key idea Paul wants to illuminate in verses 12-14. Just as there is a bodily appetite for food, there is also a bodily appetite for sex. Though both appetites were created by God, both have also been distorted by sin. You may have noticed that some of the phrases here are in quotes. Do you see that? That simply means that translators (and scholars) believe these phrases were slogans (or popular sayings) used by the Corinthians to justify their behavior. They seemed to wrongly believe that just as they had freedom to do what was natural in terms of food, they also had freedom to do what was 'natural' in terms of sex.

You see, they wanted to say that just as 'food is meant for the stomach, and the stomach for food', so too is 'sex meant for the body, and the body for sex' (a statement that certainly reflects what many today believe about sex). But Paul confronts this thinking with a powerful, biblical corrective: (v. 13) 'the body is... meant... for the Lord, and the Lord for the body'. Then, in v. 14, he tells them even more about the spiritual significance of their bodies. Even though the 'food function', the eating-to-live aspect, of their earthly existence will come to end one day, their bodies will not. Beyond death, and because of Jesus, they too would be raised... like Jesus.

This sets us up for the next aspect of Paul's argument here: number two, spiritual significance must be understood in light of our bodily relationship to God. As we've just seen, when it comes to your physical body, believer, there is spiritual significance in the glorious truth that your body will one day be raised from the dead, and...transformed to become like Christ's resurrected body. Can you imagine what that will be like? Almost inconceivable, right?! But Paul goes on to add even more to the picture he's painting. And he does this through two, “do you not know” statements, one in 1 Cor. 6:15, the other in v. 19. That phrase (used ten times in this letter) simply means, “Were you not previously taught?” What were they previously taught? That, (v. 15) “your bodies are members (appendages) of Christ”, and... “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit”.

Though distinct, these two ideas both describe our bodily relationship to God. Like parts of a human body, we are connected to Christ and one another as Christ's physical presence on earth. Similarly, while true of us as a community (we saw this in 3:16), each of us individually is also a spatially-located dwelling place for God's Spirit. But as we see here, these incredible statements about God and our bodies are not simply offered as abstract ideas. No. Continuing his argument in this passage, what is here spiritually significant... is also sexually significant.

In v. 16 we find a quote from Genesis 2:24. But Paul is not speaking about marriage in this context. He's speaking about the physical oneness that serves as just one aspect of the marriage bond. Our culture would have us believe that sexual intercourse is just a physical act designed to provide us with physical pleasure and physical release. But since it was created for oneness in marriage, God designed sex to achieve a far deeper connection. Sex is not simply about what we do with our bodies. It's also about who we are inwardly. Therefore, Christian, if you are (v. 17) “one spirit” with the Lord Jesus, if that's who you are inwardly, do you understand what you're doing when you misuse sex? You are involving Jesus in a defiling act. You are desecrating a sacred space; a temple of the Holy Spirit of God. Because of what sex is, sexual immorality is (v. 18) a unique kind of sin against your own body, a body that is spiritually connected to Christ.

So... if Paul wants them to grasp that bodily appetites must be understood in light of spiritual significance, and (in this context) that spiritual significance must understood in light of our bodily relationship to God, then the capstone of his argument brings us right back to the glorious message of 1 Corinthians 1; the message of “Christ crucified”. You see, ultimately, your bodily relationship to God must be understood in light of the cross. Yes, your body is destined for an eternity with God. Yes, we are connected to Christ as parts of his body. Yes, you are now, right where you sit, a sacred space; a temple of the Holy Spirit. But none of that is true, none of that is possible apart from the closing truth in verses 19b and 20: “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” Another apostle described this purchase so beautifully in 1 Peter 1:18–19, “...you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

III. Consecrated for the True Owner

Like the Greek mindset (colored by something called dualism) which so heavily influenced the original readers of this letter, our culture is also prone to drive a wedge between what is spiritual and what is physical. For example, a person who considers himself or herself to be spiritual, often makes no personal connection between the spiritual and sexual aspects of their life. But even in the Church, a good and healthy and right emphasis on the heart, on a person's spirit, can inadvertently minimize what we do with our bodies. Brothers and sisters, as has been communicated to us this morning, in many different ways (profound ways that each deserve their own sermon!), your physical body is spiritually significant. As one translation of Romans 6:13 expresses the implications of this fact, “Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.”

All of this, of course, applies to any physical appetite we experience; to food, to sex, to temptations related to physical comfort and safety. And so, if it is our desire to honor God, to glorify God (i.e., to show that God is great) in how we use our bodies, then we need to confess and embrace the point Paul concludes with here: as strange as it may sound, your body does not belong to you. Like that '57 Chevy I mentioned at the outset, this vehicle (or vessel, as Paul refers to the body in several verses... this vehicle), because of its significance, and the fact that it does not belong to me, must be treated... must be stewarded with complete care and godly discernment. Friend, if you would not misuse or abuse something valuable, something lovingly entrusted to your care, then why would we ever do that with a body that belongs to God, purchased with Christ's blood?

And so... flee sexual immorality, with both your body and your mind! And so... do not be enslaved to food. Such slavery only lies to our heart and hurts our body. And so... consecrate your hands, your feet, your ears, your eyes, your mouth (all your senses), consecrate them for their true owner. Finally, in both our failures and successes in this area, brothers and sisters, please hold on to this beautiful truth: that not only is your body for the Lord, but... the Lord is for your body. Whether you like your body or not (i.e., how it feels, how it looks, its limitations, etc.), it is not only God's gift to you, but God wants to use it, and will use it, to accomplish wonderful things in and through you; eternal things (even doing so through how it feels, how it looks, its limitations, etc.). Will you trust him for that this morning? Praise be to God that even though we do defile this temple, and we do misuse our members, and we do act like our body ultimately belongs to us, none of it changes the spiritual realities that Christ paid the ultimate price to secure. So again, believer, be what you are. Or, for the very first time, entrust your spirit, soul, and body to God through faith in Jesus. Let's pray and confess in light of what God has revealed to us.