1 Corinthians 6:12-20 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 6:12-20. Let’s go!
1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (NIV)
12 “Everything is permissible for me”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”–but I will not be mastered by anything.
13 “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”–but God will destroy them both. The body 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 he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
19 Do you not know that your body is a temple 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 body.
In 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Paul addresses another form of sexual immorality that was going on in the church: apparently some Christians in his church were sleeping with prostitutes. In response Paul reminds his church that:
1. We must be careful how we use the freedom that God has given us. Since we have such easy access to so many activities, we need to ask ourselves, “Is it beneficial to engage in this activity, or does it do more harm than good? Does engaging in this activity really set me free or does it enslave me? Is this activity honoring or dishonoring to God? Does it help me to accomplish God’s purposes for my life or is it distracting me from God’s purposes?” (v12)
2. We must be careful how we use the bodies God has given us. Remember that the Holy Spirit lives inside every Christian, so our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (v19). We are to honour God with our bodies (v20). When we use our bodies in ways that dishonour God and that go against His Word (such as engaging in sex outside of marriage), we not only sin against God, but we sin against our bodies too (v18), not to mention our spouse (or if you’re single, your future spouse).
3. Sex is not simply a physical act. It’s a spiritual act, joining two people in the most intimate way, not just physically but spiritually too. So never fall into the trap of thinking, “It’s just sex. It’s no big deal.” Don’t give your body and heart away to just anyone.
Remember that whatever you watch or engage in, Holy Spirit is right there with you. So let’s not grieve the Holy Spirit. Since Jesus Christ died on the cross to buy us our freedom, and since our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, let’s honour God with the freedom and the bodies He has given us.
Lord Jesus, thank You for the freedom that You bought for us with Your precious blood. I pray I would never take the price You paid for granted and live a life worthy of Your glory and power. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
