1 Corinthians 6:12-20

The Voice

In the same way that some seek to reduce Christianity to a philosophy or a set of ideas, others seek to reduce it to a set of rules for living. If true faith is only about eating certain foods, abstaining from others, and avoiding certain practices, then willpower must be more important than the Spirit of God. But following stringent rules is not that easy. Actually, living by willpower is hard—some might say impossible. Paul is preaching about an alternative to a life governed by rules and restrictions, and that’s a life of faith that embraces grace. What Paul is about to describe is a life of freedom that surpasses a life of rule keeping.

¹²I can hear some of you saying, “For me, all things are permitted.” But face the facts: all things are not beneficial. So you say, “For me, all things are permitted.” Here’s my response: I will not allow anything to control me. ¹³Another chimes in: “Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food.” I suppose so, but a day will come when God will dispense with both food and the stomach. The body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord; the Lord is over all, and He cares about your body. ¹⁴God has raised the Lord Jesus from death, but He won’t stop there. His dynamic power will raise us up from the grips of death as well. ¹⁵Don’t you realize that your bodies are members of the Anointed One? So should I take the members of the Anointed One and unite them to a prostitute? This illicit union should never take place! ¹⁶Don’t you understand that when your body is joined with a prostitute, the two of you have become one body? For as it says, “The two come together as one flesh.”^[a] ¹⁷But when you are joined with the Lord, you become one spirit with Him. ¹⁸Run from immoral behavior. All other sins are disconnected from the body, but sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. ¹⁹Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who comes from God and dwells inside of you? You do not own yourself. ²⁰You have been purchased at a great price, so use your body to bring glory to God!