Notes on Sex, Law, and the Spirit

1 Corinthians 6:12 - 20

1 Corinthians 6:12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

  • All things are lawful for me, but not all things are good for me: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
    • We are bought with a price and belong to the Lord. If we become enslaved by something else then we are not slaves of Christ and no man can serve two masters. For instance there is nothing inherently wrong with a shot of heroin. It is an opiate and nearly identical opiates are used to alleviate pain. However the problem with heroin is that use leads to addiction. The addict is a slave to the drug and a slave of a drug can not be a slave of Jesus. So it is the effect of distancing oneself from God that is the objection and not the action itself.

1 Corinthians 6:13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.

  • Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, but God shall destroy them both. The body is not to be used for fornication, the body for the Lord and the Lord for the body.
    • When one speaks of "Food for the stomach" it is a reference to the dropping of the dietary restrictions in the New Covenant. In Matthew 15:17 it tells us that it is not what we eat but what we say that makes us unclean so one may extrapolate that if it does not matter what we eat then it stands to reason that it is not what we do sexually that makes us unclean. Paul is making it clear that this line of reason is fallacious. The body is not for sexually immoral behavior it is for God.

1 Corinthians 6:14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.

  • By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us up as well.
    • Jesus defeated death by being buried and rising again on the third day. 1 Corinthians 15:4 So just as sure as Elisha revived the woman's son fron death 2 Kings 4:35 so will be be rauised from the dead.

1 Corinthians 6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

  • Your body is that of Jesus, will you join the body of Jesus with that of a prostitute? God forbid.
    • (There is a mystical union of a man and a woman when they have intercourse. Genesis 2:24 and Ephesians 5:30 - 31 . If one has intercourse with a prostitute then you are joining God within you with a prostitute.

1 Corinthians 6:16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an whore is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

  • When you have intercourse with a whore, you become one body with her. For God said "two become one flesh".
    • (In Genesis 1:26 - 27 God made man in his own image and then seperated woman from man in Genesis 2:21 so when man and woman join together in one fleh they together mirror thoes attributes of the creator. )

1 Corinthians 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

  • He that is joined to the Lord is of one spirit with the Lord.

1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

  • Flee from illicit sex. Every sin that a man does is outside of his body. But he that commits fornication sins against his own body.

1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

  • Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. What you have is of God, you are no longer your own.
    • (In the baptism of the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit comes into us. A temple is that which holds God so our bodies become temples when God as the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit comes into us we become "of God" and not of the world. We are his.Contrast how Jesus described bis body as a temple to the main temple in Corinth which was a temple to the goddess Aphrodite where the priestesses were prostitutes. John 2: 21 )

1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

  • You are bought with a price so glorify God in your body and in your spirit.
    • (When we come into the family of God as one of his chosen people God pays for our life here with salvation i.e. eternal life. So we should seek to Glorify the Lord in what we do. See Doulos Christos.)

     

References in Scripture

Genesis 2:24

Matthew 15:17

Acts 2:4

1 Corinthians 6:12 - 20


Genesis 1:26

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis Chapter 1 - Full Text


Genesis 2:21

21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

Genesis Chapter 2 - Full Text


Genesis 2:24

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Genesis Chapter 2 - Full Text


2 Kings 4:35

35 Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.


Matthew 15:17

17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

Mathew Chapter 15 - Full Text


John 2: 21

21 But he spake of the temple of his body.

John Chapter 2


Acts 2:4

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts Chapter 2 - Full Text


1 Corinthians 5:1

1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you,
and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.

1 Corinthians Chapter 5


1 Corinthians 6:12 - 20

12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.

14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.

15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.


1 Corinthians 10:17

17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

1 Corinthians Chapter 10 - Full Text


1 Corinthians 15:4

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

1 Corinthians Chapter 15 - Full Text


Galatians 5:19 - 26

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Galatians Chapter 5 - Full Text


Ephesians 5:30 - 31

30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.


Ephesians 5:30

30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Ephesians Chapter 5 - Full Text


A Study Bible - Main Index
Alphabetical Index to the Bible Notes
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
To Understand my faith better I have decided to construct these pages. They are strictly educational, non-commercial and to foster scholarly discussion. All Bible quotes are from the King James Version unless otherwise stated. I use the KJV because while not a perfect translation it is literal and out of Copyright. All mistakes are my own and if you differ from my thoughts I welcome your comments. J. Barry O'Connell Jr.