The Body Is for the Lord

by Bob Hutto
via Biblical Insights, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 2014

It appears that some Christians in Corinth were trying to justify their immoral behavior. Whether their arguments stemmed from former pagan practices, were the result of bad theology, or were simply an excuse to do what they wanted, Paul knew he had to deal with their ungodly conduct. He addresses these matters in the passage before us (I Corinthians 6:12-20). We want to examine Paul's response and make a few applications of the principles he establishes.

Paul first refers to the position of the Corinthians (I Corinthians 6:12-14). When he says, "All things are lawful for me" and, "Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food, but God will do away with both of them," Paul quotes arguments made by the Corinthians as they attempted to justify their conduct. Paul responds to both of these statements. He says Christians must consider more than whether or not a thing is permissible when they decide what to practice. They should ask if this behavior will be profitable or helpful. Will it master or enslave the one who does it?

The second Corinthian argument may have been like this: How could putting food into the stomach be wrong? The stomach was made to receive food. How could it be wrong to use the stomach in the very action for which it was made? Furthermore, both the stomach and the food will decay. Neither has any spiritual value. It is not difficult to see how the Corinthians might apply this argument to other parts of the body as they tried to rationalize their behavior. Paul reveals the weakness of their argument. The body should be used in the Lord's service, not for ungodly purposes (cf. Romans 12:1-2). Furthermore, the physical body may decay, but one day, it will be raised as an immortal, spiritual body (I Corinthians 15:35-54).

Having dispensed with these attempts to defend their bad behavior, Paul raises three questions, each beginning with the phrase, "Do you not know ..." (I Corinthians 6:15-20). This phrase occurs ten times in I Corinthians and may be Paul's way of reminding them that they were not as wise as they thought. The three questions are:

  • Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
  • Do you not know that you are one spirit with the Lord?
  • Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?

The truth raised by these three questions has implications for righteous behavior. Paul's principle in this passage is clear enough: What we do with our bodies matters to God.

Paul uses these principles to combat immoral sexual behavior among the Christians at Corinth. If we can judge from what Paul says, fornication must have been a prevalent problem in the church there. He tells the church not to associate with brethren involved in it (I Corinthians 5:11). He warns against visiting prostitutes (I Corinthians 6:15-16). Later, he affirms the usefulness of marriage in avoiding fornication (I Corinthians 7:2). But the problem of sexual immorality was not limited to ancient Corinth. It is a widespread problem today. The principles used by the apostle in this passage prohibit fornication in the 21st century as authoritatively as they did in the first century.

These principles will help us determine if we should also engage in other behaviors. For example, it is inconceivable that Christians would use the members of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit (their bodies) for drunkenness. These principles would prohibit drinking altogether. The use of alcohol will not help us. Many who use it suffer serious physical harm. It will definitely hurt our reputation and diminish our influence. There is a good possibility it will enslave us. Remember, it matters to God what we do with our bodies. Remember the old proverb, "Wine is a mocker, strong drink a bawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise" (Proverbs 20:1).

Using our eyes to lust after the opposite sex violates the principles of this passage. We are continually exposed to sexual images. Women dress provocatively, sex is used extensively in advertising, network television pushes the limits of decency more each season, and premium channels and movies cast off all restraint long ago. Then, there is the matter of internet pornography. What at one time was available only in seedy "adult book stores" is now accessible in the privacy of one's own home or office with the click of a mouse. Statistics indicate that 72 million internet users view porn every month. That is close to 42% of internet users (toptenreviews.com/internet-pornograpy-statistics.html). It would be naive to think that none of these are Christians. Internet porn is a huge problem. May we make a covenant with our eyes not to look at anything worthless (Job 31:1; Psalms 101:3).

Other applications could be made, but these are enough to make the point. It matters to God what we do with our bodies. Rather than using them for evil purposes, may we offer our bodies to God each day as living and holy sacrifices and as instruments of righteousness (Romans 12:1-2; 6:13). Plan each day to use your body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, to glorify God (I Corinthians 6:20).