1 Corinthians 6:13-20
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
13 Meat for the belly, and the belly for the meats; but God shall destroy both it and them: but the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
14 Now God hath both raised up the Lord, and will raise us up also by his power.
15 Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
16 Or know you not, that he who is joined to a harlot, is made one body? For they shall be, saith he, two in one flesh.
17 But he who is joined to the Lord, is one spirit.
18 Fly fornication. Every sin that a man doth, is without the body; but he that committeth fornication, sinneth against his own body.
19 Or know you not, that your members are the temple of the Holy Ghost, who is in you, whom you have from God; and you are not your own?
20 For you are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear God in your body.
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1 Corinthians 6:13-20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
13 “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will do away with both the one and the other. The body, however, is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body; 14 God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.(A)
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take Christ’s members and make them the members of a prostitute?[a] Of course not!(B) 16 [Or] do you not know that anyone who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For “the two,” it says, “will become one flesh.”(C) 17 But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.(D) 18 Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body.[b] 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple[c] of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?(E) 20 For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.(F)
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- 6:15b–16 A prostitute: the reference may be specifically to religious prostitution, an accepted part of pagan culture at Corinth and elsewhere; but the prostitute also serves as a symbol for any sexual relationship that conflicts with Christ’s claim over us individually. The two…will become one flesh: the text of Gn 2:24 is applied positively to human marriage in Matthew and Mark, and in Eph 5:29–32: love of husband and wife reflect the love of Christ for his church. The application of the text to union with a prostitute is jarring, for such a union is a parody, an antitype of marriage, which does conflict with Christ’s claim over us. This explains the horror expressed in 1 Cor 6:15b.
- 6:18 Against his own body: expresses the intimacy and depth of sexual disorder, which violates the very orientation of our bodies.
- 6:19–20 Paul’s vision becomes trinitarian. A temple: sacred by reason of God’s gift, his indwelling Spirit. Not your own: but “for the Lord,” who acquires ownership by the act of redemption. Glorify God in your body: the argument concludes with a positive imperative to supplement the negative “avoid immorality” of 1 Cor 6:18. Far from being a terrain that is morally indifferent, the area of sexuality is one in which our relationship with God (and his Christ and his Spirit) is very intimately expressed: he is either highly glorified or deeply offended.
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