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Sin Against the Body
1Corinthians 6:18
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Q: Could you
please explain 1Corinthians 6:18?
A: 1Corinthians 6:18 - "Flee
fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is
without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth
against his
own body."
Initially, we need to define fornication. It has both a
narrow and a
broad meaning and both are used in the Bible. In its narrow
meaning, it
refers specifically to physical relations between two
unmarried people.
However, in its broader meaning (its most common usage in
scripture), it
refers to any unlawful sexual union. As such, it includes
the narrow
definition of fornication, as well as adultery, sodomy, and
other
perverse unions. It is almost certain that the broader
meaning of the
word is in context here.
1Corinthians 6:18 tells us that fornication is different
from all other
sins in that the one who commits this sin "sinneth against
his own body."
This is a difficult passage for numerous reasons. Some have
said that
this refers to the fact that this sin directly harms the
body whereas
other sins do so only indirectly. That may be true of
stealing or lying,
but it is not true of drunkenness or drug abuse. Surely,
they directly
harm the body as well. Perhaps the ultimate harming of the
body comes
from suicide. Yet, this verse tells us that fornication sins
against the
body in a way that suicide does not. Others had taught that
since
marriage joins two into one body, the man who commits
adultery is sinning
against his wife. But marriage does not seem to be the
emphasis here and
fornication can be committed by those who are not married.
Let us
consider a solution to the problem. But first, this verse
cannot be
understood apart from the passage in which it is found.
1Corinthians 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.
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.
This passage deals with the sacredness of the physical
bodies of
believers. Consider the arguments Paul gives:
1. Our bodies are "the members of Christ" (1Corinthians
6:15). Ephesians
5:30 states, "For we are members of his body, of his flesh,
and of his
bones." 1Corinthians 12:27 declares, "Now ye are the body of
Christ, and
members in particular." We who are saved have a unique and
integral
connection with Jesus Christ. Our own bodies are members of
Him.
2. When we are "joined to the Lord" in salvation, we are
"one spirit"
with Him (1Corinthians 6:17). Although this deals with the
spiritual
aspect of our salvation, it is connected to the physical
nature of the
believer. Our physical body takes on some level of spiritual
significance
because it houses the spirit that is joined with the Lord.
3. Our body becomes "the temple of the Holy Ghost"
(1Corinthians 6:19)
by His indwelling. Whatever building the Spirit of the Lord
inhabits;
that is the temple of the Lord.
4. Our body, as well as our spirit, has been bought with a
price (Christ
on the cross) and truly belongs to the Lord.
Bringing an idol into God's holy temple and worshipping it
there or
sacrificing a pig on the altar of the Lord (as done by
Antiochus
Epiphanes about 200 years before the crucifixion) is about
the most
defiling attack that can be made on the temple. These acts
would be seen
as direct attacks on God's temple, joining God's holy
dwelling place with
false gods. In like manner, our body is the temple of the
Lord and
joining it with an harlot is a direct attack on that holy
temple. It is a
spiritual attack directly against the dwelling place of the
Holy Ghost.
I think the significance is seen in that no other sin
attacks the very
concept of our body being the temple of the Lord as this
sin. They are
outside the body. Some sins, such as drunkenness, may harm
the body, but
they are still not a direct spiritual attack on the sanctity
of the body
as fornication is. Fornication defiles the Christian's own
holy temple.
He attacks himself in a direct and terrible way when he
commits this sin.
This is indeed a difficult verse. However, I hope that this
helps you see
some of its significance. We take our bodies lightly and
count them as
unimportant. Evidently, God does not.
Till He comes,
Pastor David Reagan
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