1st Corinthians 6:12-20
This morning, Paul concludes his confrontation of the sexual sin that had crept into the Corinthian church. As a reminder, the culture that the church was planted in was known for disgusting sexual immorality, and many of the believers had been redeemed out of that culture. After Paul lists a variety of sins that we addressed last week, he focuses in on the one that had become the most insidious, and at times even blatant, sexual immorality. As we continue to work our way through this letter, and have in view the health of our church, ensuring that we remain a gospel-shaped church, I want to address the specific sin, but also zoom out and apply it to the greater body of sin.
Big Idea: We should honor God with our bodies (lives) because we belong to Him.
Read 1st Corinthians 6:12-20
Christian Liberty can be defined as the freedoms that we have been afforded because of our relationship with Jesus. Taken to the extreme, because we have been forgiven our sins once and for all, we are free to live as we want. There is some truth to the idea of Christian Liberty, and usually it revolves around those things which are not explicitly prohibited in Scripture. Things like tattoos, piercings, drinking, smoking, movies, music, and when I was growing up, dancing. If we aren’t careful, what can happen is we can stretch our liberties to an unhealthy place, one that becomes damaging to ourselves or to others. So what I want to do this morning, by way of the text we just read, is talk about our understanding of Christian Liberty. So what does Paul say is the unhealthy understanding?
Unhealthy Understanding of our Christian Liberty (vs. 13)
In verses 12 and 13 we have a few different comments in quotes. “All things are lawful for me,” and “Food is meant for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” We don’t know this for sure, but the belief is that these were common sayings amongst the Corinthian believers, as well as the unbelieving Corinthians. The believers would justify their behavior by saying, “everything is lawful for me…Jesus covered my sins, I have freedom in Christ! Therefore, I can live my life as I see fit because I’m good!”
This is such a dangerous way to think. In fact, it demands an answer to the question, “have I really been transformed?” If I take advantage of the blood of Jesus, and use it as an excuse to stretch the freedom I have been given, then do I really understand the transformative power of the gospel? But we see why this had become the attitude of the believers, because the culture in which they lived had their own saying, “food is meant for the stomach, and the stomach for food.”
What they were saying was that, just like our bodies had natural cravings for food, and it was good to satisfy those cravings, it is wired into us to desire sex, therefore we need to satisfy those cravings. This is one of the ideas that drove the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s. According to Carl Trueman, “The sexual revolution rests on the idea that fulfillment is a matter of personal, psychological happiness…” A central tenet of the revolution was the idea that sexual pleasure was a “natural and positive experience, and individuals should have the freedom to explore and enjoy their sexuality.” And it hasn’t really gotten much better. In fact studies have shown a dramatic increase in pregnancies outside of marriage, from 28% in 1990 to 40% in 2022. I don’t think we need to go much further here, but I want to jump down to verse 18 and see how Paul addresses the danger in this mindset.
Danger of an unhealthy understanding (vs. 18) (re-read vs. 18)
This is a profound statement by Paul. Every other sin affects someone else, but sexual sin commits a deep, soul level atrocity on ourselves. I believe there are a few reasons Paul can claim this. If you remember back in Genesis 2, we see one of the purposes of sexual intimacy between a husband and wife is to become one flesh. This has deep, soul level implications. We are somehow fused together into one being. This happens, to put it bluntly, when we have sex. This is why God designed it to be in the context of marriage. Sex outside of marriage has damaging effects on a deep level unlike anything else. We can’t just leave that there though. The beauty of the gospel is that forgiveness, redemption and healing is all found in Jesus, no matter what mistakes we made in our pasts. But Paul’s point is that sexual sin does damage to our lives.
There’s another way in which sexual sin does damage, and it’s in the context of a 15-97 billion dollar industry. The gap is wide because many companies are privately owned, and revenue isn’t easily accessible. Of course I’m talking about the porn industry. The reason I bring this up is because there are real neurological effects that pornography has on the human brain. Pornography literally rewires our brains. Research has proven this. According to research, “it leads to unnaturally high levels of dopamine secretion…which damages the dopamine reward system and leaves it unresponsive to natural sources of pleasure.” Because of this, studies show a higher level of depression and anxiety in consumers. One final thought from the same researcher: “Porn use has been correlated with erosion of the prefrontal cortex — the region of the brain that houses executive functions like morality, willpower and impulse control.”
Quite literally, sexual immorality results in devastation; spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally. In other words, it affects every part of our being.
But, there is hope, because the Holy Spirit, through Paul, has laid out a perspective that when grasped, allows for a healthy understanding of our Christian Liberty.
Healthy Understanding of our Christian Liberty
I want to shift a bit now to a more broad idea of Christian Liberty. While Paul is specifically talking about sexual immorality in our passage, I do think these principles apply generally to our understanding.
2 Questions to Ask (vs. 12)
** When the Bible may be “grey” on the issue **
1. Is it helpful/beneficial?
Is what I’m about to do going to be helpful to my life? Will it be beneficial to myself or others? Or, could it result in potential damage in some way? Paul addresses this more fully in Romans chapter 14, where he tells us not to do anything that would cause our brother to stumble. For instance, if you are with someone who struggles with alcohol, you shouldn’t drink when they are present. It wouldn’t be helpful or beneficial in that situation.
2. Could it potentially master me?
Is it something that I struggled with before? Do I have an addictive personality, and could this potentially lead to addictive behavior? Do I have enough self-control to know when to stop? Do I have enough integrity to say no? If the answer to any of those questions is uncertain, then the best thing to do is to abstain.
If we don’t have clarity there, then we need only remind ourselves of the powerful effect of the Trinity in our lives.
We belong to the Lord (vs. 13)
Again, Paul in Romans 12:1, “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” The way in which our bodies are holy and acceptable is by abstaining from that which would bring damage upon them. And “bodies” here is not just the physical, it’s every part of our being. A better translation from Paul is that our LIVES are the living sacrifice. Everything we do with our lives should be pleasing to the Lord.
We have union with Christ (vs. 15-17)
We talk about this often, but at the point of salvation, we are fused together with Christ. Paul mentions this again in Romans 12:5, that we believers are “one body in Christ.” Jesus talks about this Himself in John 15: “I am the Vine, you are the branches.” A branch is not taped to a vine, it is connected to the point of drawing life from it. It gets even more profound on a spiritual level. Romans 6 says we were “baptized into the death of Jesus…that we are united with Him in His death and resurrection.” (Maybe we should go through Romans next!)
Like the bond that forms in sexual intimacy, at the point of salvation we become one with Christ. Not only that, but we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit!
Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (vs. 19)
In the Old Testament, the Lord met with the High Priest in the Holy of Holies, the most inner room of the temple. The Lord was present there. But, there was always a barrier that separated God from the people. Then, the moment that Jesus breathed His last, the curtain that divided the holy of holies from the people was torn in 2, top to bottom, symbolizing the access that humanity would now have to God. Much like God was present at times in the temple, the Holy Spirit has taken residence in our lives, making our bodies a temple in which He dwells.
We belong to the Lord. We are fused together with Christ. We have the Holy Spirit supernaturally present in our bodies. And if all of that doesn’t convince us to set healthy boundaries and limits for our Christian Liberties, then let us be reminded that all of this came at a great price.
Our belonging came at a price (vs. 20)
The price of belonging was the life of Jesus. The cost of redemption was the blood of Christ. God paid for our freedom with His Son. Let that sink in. God looked upon humanity, and loved us so much that He would send His only Son to die. He wanted relationship and fellowship with His creation.
And if all of this truth doesn’t sink into the depths of our souls, then we have one final option. RUN! Paul says to “Flee.” Like Joseph did when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him, leaving his coat in her hand, RUN. And fleeing may look different in different situations. Maybe it means deleting certain apps on your phone. Maybe it means getting rid of the alcohol in your home. Maybe it means putting protective programs on your computer, or site blockers on your phone. Maybe it means getting up and walking out of a movie theater. Fleeing implies turning your back on whatever it is that is tempting you and moving the other direction.
One final thought from Paul. Because of all of this. Even going back into last week’s passage. Because you are forgiven, sanctified and justified. Because you belong to the Lord. Because you are fused together into Christ. Because you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you. Because you were bought with a price…
THEREFORE! Glorify God in your body…
To glorify God means to honor Him in an act of worship. Think back again on what Paul said in Romans 12:1-2. Our spiritual worship is to present our lives as a living sacrifice to the Lord. To sacrifice in context means to give up those desires that do NOT honor the Lord. This then begs the question, what is it in your life that is not honoring the Lord. Is there anything that is not helpful? Is there anything that is not beneficial? Is there anything that is holding mastery over me?
Application
As we move into a time of prayer now, I want us all to consider these things. If there is anything in your life that needs to be uprooted or cut out, then come to the Lord with open hands. Ask Him to remove those things in your life that are harming you. Now listen, sometimes more help is needed to completely remove certain things from our lives. If there is an addiction to something, whether alcohol, drugs, pornography, or anything else that is destructive, it may require professional help, and that’s ok. If that’s you this morning, please come see me after the service and we’ll make sure to give you some guidance and resources to help.
Big Idea: We should honor God with our bodies (lives) because we belong to Him.
