Guard Your Union – 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

[Transcript]

There is little agreement on how to title this passage among English translations that include subheadings. On one end of the spectrum, we have the Christian Standard Bible, which titles it “Glorifying God in Body and Spirit,” while on the other end is the Lexham English Bible, with “Avoid Sexual Immorality.” Neither title is incorrect. This passage indeed addresses a specific type of sexual immorality. However, the offense is far deeper.

“’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.” – 1 Corinthians 6:12

First, note that Paul began this passage with the phrase: “All things are lawful for me.” There is debate over whether Paul coined this phrase as part of his argument or if it was a quotation of a popular Corinthian slogan. If your Bible includes it in quotation marks, the translators lean toward the quotation side of the debate. Ultimately, whether Paul coined it or quoted it doesn’t change his point. However, if he was quoting it, that reveals a layer of outside influence that permeated the thinking of the Corinthian believers.

The belief that all things are lawful is revealing. To adapt an old catchphrase, what did Jesus do? Jesus rightly (and perfectly) observed the Law. Jesus didn’t believe that all things are lawful. On the contrary, He believed that there were many unlawful things. That affects our lived-out faith tremendously. If it is not I but Christ who lives in me, then my life will increasingly look the way that Jesus lives.

Not everything is helpful or productive in our transformation journeys. Some Corinthian believers adopted a Gnostic understanding of the body and spirit.^[1] The body is of low importance and will be destroyed therefore, enjoy it. All that matters is the spirit. Satisfying the body’s desires would allow one to pursue matters of the spirit fully. But this is utterly counterproductive to the Holy Spirit’s work of making you more like Jesus.

Believing all things are lawful is a gross misunderstanding of what it means to follow Christ. I’ve seen this same kind of belief manifest in believers who say things like, “Grace covers this” or “I’ll ask for forgiveness later.” While I absolutely affirm that all of my sins are forgiven at the cross, past, present, and future, I must also affirm that all of my belief and loyalty are demonstrated by obeying His commandments. If the Holy Spirit is sanctifying my life to look like Jesus, then there are things that He will be grieved by if I do them because they are contrary to His work! That statement that all things are lawful is a lie. Whatever is contrary to the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work in my life is patently unlawful and grieves and quenches Him.

“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!” – 1 Corinthians 6:15

Regardless of their reasons, Paul condemned their visits to prostitutes due to their union with Christ. As members of Christ, we shouldn’t engage in sexually immoral activities. But there’s more to this than simply prohibiting an activity because it’s immoral. Paul connected our physical bodies to our spiritual membership in Christ, essentially saying that the physical and spiritual are part of the same whole. You cannot separate what you do in the body from your spiritual bond with Jesus. Therefore, when you indulge in sexual sin, you are bringing your union with Christ into the physical union of sex.

You are a member of Christ. Don’t relegate that to an exclusively spiritual concept. Your entire being – body, mind, and spirit – belongs to Christ. Membership in Christ is spiritual, but it reaches beyond the spirit and encompasses your hands and feet. As a member of Christ, sexual purity is singled out as a particularly important physical act that we should keep holy. Sexual intimacy blurs the lines between physical and spiritual because Paul said we unite Christ to our sexual activities.

I’m feel like I’m turning red talking about all of this, but this is an important conversation. Our culture has reduced sex to a physical act for physical feel-good purposes. Radene and I have become documentary junkies of late, and we’ve just been floored at the ones that involve sexual misconduct, child pornography, underage sex with minors by men old enough to be their fathers and things like it. When sex ceases to be seen in a sacred way, all bets are off. Sex is sacred BECAUSE it blurs the line between physical and spiritual. This aspect of sexual intimacy must be reaffirmed within the church. If I am a member of Christ, then Christ is present spiritually in the physical act of sex. Therefore, the importance of keeping sex holy and within the covenant of marriage becomes clear. And by “holy” I only mean that it is set apart, treated with respect, and not thought of in the kind of common way that we would think about other desires like eating and drinking.

“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,” – 1 Corinthians 6:19

Our union with Christ signifies one important truth for our bodies: they become temples of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. What are the implications of this? If the body is indeed a temple of the Lord, then what responsibilities do we have toward our bodies?

First, we must understand that we no longer own them. Christ’s blood has purchased our bodies (6:20). From the moment of our new birth, we assume the role of stewards of the temple that Christ has redeemed. This concept shouldn’t be difficult to grasp. If you owned a struggling business and a larger company bought it to save you from bankruptcy, you may still work there, but you would no longer be the owner. You transition from CEO to branch manager. In this case, you become the branch manager of the local temple that the Lordhas acquired. What occurs at the branch is your responsibility, and you will be held accountable for its activities when the Owner assesses things.

Second, unlike the branch comparison, the CEO resides at the local branch. The Lord didn’t merely purchase a temple to own from a distant headquarters; He actually lives there. That’s the advantage of being an omnipresent Owner. He takes up residence in every branch He acquires. Therefore, wherever we go, the Lordaccompanies us. In this context, when we engage in sexual activity, the Lord is present in it. In fact, Paul’s main point here is that sexual immorality is the only sin that is against our bodies (6:18) because we unite ourselves with others outside of a covenant (6:16) and bring the Lord into that illicit union.

Finally, while Paul focused on sexual immorality, just as Adam was tasked with working and keeping the Garden (Gen 2:15), and similarly to the Old Covenant priests who had daily duties for maintaining the Tabernacle, we have our own priestly responsibilities toward our temple. We are the primary sentinels at the door. What comes in and goes out is within our purview.

I like to describe our bodies as sacred space. By that I mean that when the Lord moved in, my body became a walking, talking intersection of heaven and earth. If my body is sacred space, then in a sense, everything that I use my body for SHOULD be for holy purposes. Of course, that’s not always the case. But the Holy Spirit’s transforming mission in my life is working toward a complete transformation of this body of mine. Until then, I discipline my body as it is toward honoring the Lord with whatever I commit my hands and feet to do. I have some serious problems with self-control in a few areas, and they all affect my temple.

“So glorify God in your body.” – 1 Corinthians 6:20b

This principle doesn’t stop with sex. It extends to all aspects of life. Given the physical-spiritual reality in which we exist, our union with Christ impacts every activity we undertake with our bodies. If it affects the body, then it touches our union with Christ. Later, Paul states that whether we eat or drink, we should do it for God’s glory (10:31). The applications can be numerous, but let’s focus on one particular aspect of glorifying God both in and through our bodies.

To accomplish this effectively, numerous factors must be considered. What could undermine us? A common tactic of temptation is to strike when we are vulnerable. Weakness manifests in both physical and mental forms, and temptation capitalizes on both. How can we fortify ourselves to better protect our union with Jesus?

First, we must rest. Rest is so important that God programmed it into the created order. On the seventh day, He rested. The cycles of day and night reflect work and rest rhythms. It’s fair to say that sometimes the rest needed is a leisurely pace and an afternoon nap. However, there are times when the rest you require is found in life-giving activities to your soul.

Secondly, we must go to war. It’s not sufficient to merely work. Work is just an expenditure of energy. War is purposeful; it is strategic effort directed towards a specific aim. Some suggest that work brings order to chaos, but that assumes chaos is mindless and disorganized. War is about imposing order on chaos that intentionally works against you. Rest isn’t just for reenergizing us for work; it’s for recharging us for war. War demands strategy and weapons. Equip yourself, study the playbook, and engage in war each day.

Healthy rhythms of rest and war sharpen us, make us wise, and keep us prepared to protect our union with Christ. There is much to discuss regarding this topic, but this study cannot cover all of it. If you want to learn more about the healthy rhythms of rest and war, consider reading Ben Stuart’s book, Rest and War: Rhythms of a Well-Fought Life.