16. ALL LAWFUL, NOT ALL EXPEDIENT - 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

 

In the passage under consideration today, Paul returns to the subject of sexual immorality. Having dealt in chapter 5 with a particular form of sexual immorality that was occurring in the church at Corinth, Paul now seeks to answer an abuse of Christian liberty in Corinth that was finding expression in sexual immorality. The believers here were using the claim of Christian liberty to cover their sin of sexual immorality, maintaining that their liberty allowed them to indulge the lusts of the flesh. Paul therefore presents governing principles for the Christian in the area of Christian liberty, especially as regards sexual purity.

 

Please read 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

 

NOTE: INDIVIDUAL DISCOVERY QUESTION HERE: What does Paul mean when he says that all things are lawful to him?

 

Verse 12: It would appear as though Paul is using a saying in this verse that was widespread in the Corinthian church (10:23) in order to correct it. Though a correct statement to a degree in itself, it was more than likely being used to justify immoral behaviour and other sinful practices. In short the statement had become an excuse for all manner of sinful behaviour, claiming that whatever it was that was being done was OK for the Christian, for it was a matter of Christian liberty.

Paul’s corrective to the abuse of this saying that all things were lawful (and of Christian liberty), was that not all things are expedient or helpful (Rom 14:15-23; 1 Cor 8:7-13; 10:23-33). We are to use our Christian common sense in assessing everything that we do, a common sense that is governed by the revealed will of God and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. What we do may not be helpful for our own Christian walk, the Christian walk of others or for the church. Our Christian liberty is not freedom to do just anything at all, it is in fact governed by a concern for everyone.

Though the correct use of many things may be lawful in and of themselves, these things may in fact become a problem for us if they begin to exercise control over us, rather than we over them. When we serve a master other than the Lord, we have become enslaved (Rom 6:16). We no longer serve the Lord but our new master. An example of this can be television watching. Though good and proper in its right place, to be fully enjoyed as a gift from God within the parameters that God has laid down for it (principles derived from Scripture), when television becomes our master it is wrong and sinful to continue in it.

QUESTIONS: How can something that God has given as a gift become sinful for a believer?

 

Should a Christian be able to do anything that is not prescribed against in the Bible? Explain your answer.

 

How can something master us and thereby become sinful?

 

Verse 13: In the beginning of this verse Paul states a proverb that was seemingly in common usage in and around Corinth. Food is indeed provided for the stomach and the stomach is indeed provided in order to digest food. The thought being, ‘well, let’s just get in and eat, for this is a matter of indifference.’ Why does Paul quote this proverb? It would seem that Paul’s purpose for quoting the proverb is caught up with the end of the proverb. The Corinthians had developed a poor understanding of the place of the physical body in the Christian life. Because these things will one day be destroyed, they assumed that these things seemingly don’t count for anything in the afterlife or in the spiritual life of believers. With this being the case it doesn’t matter how much we eat, how we eat, etc.

QUESTION: What is the relevance of the proverb to the Corinthian situation? Explain.

 

It would appear that the Corinthians had adopted this attitude in a number of areas of their lives, perhaps imbibing the Greek philosophy of the physical body. They had perhaps begun to say something like ‘sex for the sexual body and the sexual body for sex.’ Because sex is a natural thing that our body was created to enjoy, it is good and right to satisfy the God given sexual desire that he has given us. It is our liberty to do so. The Corinthians seem to have adopted a couldn’t care less sort of approach to sexual immorality, because the body would one day be destroyed, just like food and the stomach. Therefore it didn’t matter what was done with the physical body, for it would one day be discarded anyway. It had no relevance to true spiritual life. These things were externals; spirituality has to do with internals.

However the Corinthian approach was wrong. As both food and the stomach have a purpose, so the body also has a purpose. That purpose is not sexual immorality, but to bring glory to God. In all things the body is to be used to bring glory to the Lord (Rom 12:1; 1 Cor 6:20), for bringing glory to God is the primary thing for our lives (Mt 6:33). Whether it is eating or sexual matters, the chief thing is to bring glory to God. In all matters sexual, as with every other area of our lives, we are to glorify God, not serve and glorify sex (or other lusts of the flesh). Besides, sexual immorality is not a matter of Christian liberty as claimed by the Corinthians, but a clear matter of sinful indulgence contrary to the clear directions of God.

Verse 14: In this verse Paul seeks to give the Corinthians a correct understanding of the physical body and its place in the Christian’s life by giving sound theological teaching. As the Father raised Christ from the dead, so He will also raise us from the dead (15:15,20; Rom 8:11; 2 Cor 4:14; 13:4). The point of this verse would therefore seem to be that with our physical bodies we should seek to glorify God, especially given that these will one day be raised from the dead. Our bodies do have an eternal destiny and are not going to be completely discarded, therefore the body cannot be misused now without consequences. The body is an integral part of our Christian experience, life and witness. Its purpose is to bring glory to God (Rom 6:13,19) and is not to be misused.

Verse 15: In this verse Paul once again stirs the Corinthians minds to remember what he had previously taught them (6:2,3,9). What Paul is now seeking to impress upon the church is something they should already know and recognize, that their physical bodies are in fact members of the body of Christ. Such is the union that believers have with Christ, that even our physical bodies are united to the Lord. In some manner there is a physical/spiritual union. This brings into focus more clearly the point of verse 14. Our physical bodies are in fact part of our union with Christ and should therefore be used in order to glorify God.

With this being the case it is incongruous to involve our bodily members in anything that is sexually immoral and sinful. This is something that should never take place. By doing so we are taking Christ and involving Him in sexual immorality. It’s something that just doesn’t fit with a true Christian profession of faith. Something is desperately wrong if believers are involved in sexual immorality.

Verse 16: Paul continues to reinforce his previous teaching on sexual immorality in this verse. To be involved sexually with a prostitute or any other sexually immoral person is to be joined with that person in a very intimate manner. Such behaviour constitutes a breaking of the sacred bond (or at the very least a perversion of it) between the believer and the Lord, becoming joined to another party as the passage from the Old Testament institution of marriage makes clear (Gen 2:24; Mt 19:5; Eph 5:31). There is no longer an exclusive relationship with God, for a sinful relationship has also been brought into it, thus destroying it (or at least perverting it).

This verse makes clear that even outside of marriage a certain intimate bond is formed between sexual partners. Because of the union between a believer and Christ, when a believer unites in this way with an unbeliever a bond develops that should never be developed. There is a bond formed that is a terrible perversion of what should be.

QUESTION: Discuss the significance of a sexual bond between a believer and an unbeliever outside of marriage, to a Christian profession of faith.

 

Verse 17: The person who is united to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith is bonded together with Him. There is a bond, a spiritual unity between Christ and the believer that is exclusive of all others. By bringing in another through a sinful relationship this bond is wedged apart. A wedge is driven in, causing all manner of relational problems.

QUESTION: How does a legitimate sexual partner not constitute a relationship that will threaten the bond between a believer and Christ?

 

Verse 18: What should be the Christian response to sexual immorality. Paul under inspiration of the Spirit tells us to flee from it (Gen 39:12; 2 Tim 2:22). We should react to such sinful behaviour by refusing to have anything to do with it and by physically removing ourselves from its presence.

To sin in such a way is to sin against one’s own body. To be sure all sin causes problems for a person, often affected the physical body, as well as having spiritual consequences. This sin however is an offence against who a person is in Christ to a more extreme sense.

QUESTIONS: How should the believer react to a sexually compromising situation? Explain.

 

What does Paul mean when he says that this sin is a sin against one’s own body?

 

Verse 19: Again, Paul in this verse brings to the Corinthians minds what he has previously taught them about sexual immorality and purity. He also brings to mind the believer’s relationship with God and how the Holy Spirit actually dwells within the believer (Jn 14:17; Rom 8:9-11). Because God’s presence (Spirit) resides in the believer, he is in fact a temple of God. With this being the case, how can a believer joined to Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit be also joined to a sexually immoral person?

Having the Spirit within us indicates that we are not our own, but that we belong to God. We therefore have a responsibility to live as God would have us to live. With this being the case, we are to have nothing more to do with sexual immorality or other sinful practices. In a real sense we are the stewards of a physical body given to us by God.

Verse 20: We belong to God because we were bought by Him for a price (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor 7:23). The price was the Lord Jesus Christ and the redemption he bought for us at the cost of His own blood. The implication of this purchase through the blood of Christ and of the Spirit dwelling within the believer is that we should be careful how we live, for we belong to God. All that is out of place for God is out of place for us.

QUESTION: How should we then use our bodies? Give examples to explain your answer.

 

Individual Discovery

Is Paul advocating celibacy as a superior way of life in 1 Corinthians 7:1? Why do you answer the way you have?

 

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17/10/2006

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