¹³ You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.

¹⁹ Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,

³ God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. ⁴ Then each of you will control his own body^[a] and live in holiness and honor— ⁵ not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. ⁶ Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife,^[b] for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. ⁷ God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.

²³ For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.

¹⁵ Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never!

¹⁶ Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in^[a] you?

¹² Do not let sin control the way you live;^[a] do not give in to sinful desires.

¹⁷ “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.

²² Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. ²³ These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

² For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride^[a] to one husband—Christ.