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1 Corinthians 6:12-14

Because the body belongs to the Lord and will be raised, it must not be ruled by sin.

Open in Study
Scripture Text

6:12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are expedient. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power of anything.

6:13 “Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods,” but God will bring to nothing both it and them. But the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.

6:14 Now God raised up the Lord, and will also raise us up by His power.

Anchor

Because the body belongs to the Lord and will be raised, it must not be ruled by sin.

Christian freedom must be governed by Christ's lordship because the believer's body belongs to the Lord and will be raised by God's power.

Rhythm
  1. 6:1-8 Paul rebukes believers for taking one another before unbelieving courts. He argues that the saints will judge the world and angels, so they should be able to handle ordinary disputes within the church. Their lawsuits already reveal defeat, and they should rather suffer wrong than defraud one another.
  2. 6:9-11 Paul warns that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God and lists representative sins that characterize such unrighteousness. He then reminds the Corinthians that some of them once lived this way, but they were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God.
  3. 6:12-14 Paul addresses Corinthian slogans about freedom and bodily appetite. He counters by teaching that not everything permissible is beneficial, that believers must not be mastered by anything, and that the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, who will also raise the body.
  4. 6:15-20 Paul argues from union with Christ, Genesis covenant language, and temple theology. Believers’ bodies are members of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit. Therefore they must flee sexual immorality and glorify God in their bodies, because they have been bought with a price.
Watch Out
  • Paul does not deny Christian freedom but corrects its misuse when liberty becomes justification for sinful behavior.
  • The statement that food and the stomach are temporary does not imply the body itself is insignificant.
  • Christian freedom should not be interpreted as permission to indulge sinful desires.
  • The resurrection of the body demonstrates that God values the physical body and intends its redemption.
  • Do not interpret Christian freedom as moral autonomy.
  • Do not assume that something permissible is necessarily beneficial.
  • Do not detach bodily conduct from spiritual life.
  • Do not reduce Paul's teaching to ascetic rejection of bodily needs.
  • Do not ignore the resurrection theology that undergirds the passage.
Invitation Arc
  • Christian freedom must be guided by wisdom and spiritual benefit.
  • Believers must resist behaviors that lead to spiritual bondage.
  • The body belongs to Christ and must be honored in conduct.
  • The hope of bodily resurrection shapes present ethics.
  • Christian liberty is exercised in submission to Christ’s lordship.
Canonical Thread
Gospel Clarity

The gospel redeems the whole person, including the body. Because Christ was raised from the dead and believers share in His resurrection, their bodies now belong to the Lord and must be lived in submission to Him.