1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Your Body Is a Temple
12“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.
13“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will destroy them both. The body is not intended for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
14By His power God raised the Lord from the dead, and He will raise us also.
15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!
16Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”
17But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.
18Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
20you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
Berean Standard Bible
The Corinthians are repeating slogans about freedom: everything is permissible, and food is for the stomach and the stomach for food. Paul answers that not everything is beneficial, and he refuses to be mastered by anything. Christian freedom is not the right to let every appetite become a ruler.
Paul then addresses sexual immorality directly. The body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Christian faith does not treat the body as disposable packaging for a spiritual self. Jesus was raised bodily, and God will raise believers by His power.
Paul asks whether a Christian should unite the body that belongs to Christ with a prostitute. His language about becoming one flesh echoes Genesis and insists that sexual union carries personal and moral weight. The command to flee sexual immorality is not shame about the body; it is protection of a gift that can be damaged by using another person as an object.
Paul says other sins are outside the body, while the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. The point is not to rank sexual sin as the only serious sin—this same letter condemns greed, lawsuits, pride, and exploitation. Paul is emphasizing the uniquely embodied nature of sexual union and the way it can entangle a person's identity and relationships.
The body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, received from God. Believers are not their own; they were bought at a price. The conclusion is not fear-driven control but worship: glorify God in your body. That includes consent, fidelity, boundaries, care, and refusing to treat yourself or anyone else as merchandise.
Questions
1 What limits does Paul place on Christian freedom?
AnswerNot everything permissible is beneficial, and believers must not let any desire or practice become their master.
2 Why does the body matter to Paul?
AnswerThe body is for the Lord, Jesus was raised bodily, and God will raise believers by His power.
3 Why does Paul tell believers to flee sexual immorality?
AnswerHe tells them to flee because sexual union joins bodies and persons, so using another person sexually damages what belongs to the Lord.
4 What should believers do with their bodies?
AnswerThey should glorify God in their bodies because the Holy Spirit dwells in them and Christ has bought them at a price.
What This Means for Us
Treat bodies as belonging to God, never as property for another person's appetite. Talk about sexuality with truth, consent, fidelity, dignity, and protection rather than secrecy or shame.
Identify any appetite that is becoming a master. Freedom may require a boundary, confession, professional help, or a trusted friend who can interrupt the pattern.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, dwell richly in us. Teach us to honor our bodies and other people's bodies, flee what destroys, and glorify God through truthful, faithful, and responsible choices. Amen.