1 Corinthians 6:15-17
Because believers are united to Christ, their bodies must not be joined to sin.
15 Don’t you know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!
16 Or don’t you know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body? For, “The two”, he says, “will become one flesh.”
17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.
Because believers are united to Christ, their bodies must not be joined to sin.
Paul teaches that believers must not unite their bodies with sexual immorality because their bodies are members of Christ and are spiritually joined to Him.
Paul continues addressing the misuse of Christian freedom introduced in 6:12–14. After affirming that the body belongs to the Lord and will be raised in resurrection, he presses the argument further by describing the believer’s union with Christ. Sexual immorality is uniquely destructive because it involves the body, which is already united to Christ. Paul appeals to the creation account in Genesis to emphasize the profound unity formed through sexual union. This theological reasoning prepares for his concluding exhortation in the following verses to flee sexual immorality and honor God with the body.
Corinthian culture widely accepted various forms of sexual immorality. Some believers rationalized these practices by separating bodily behavior from spiritual identity. Paul counters this worldview by emphasizing that the believer’s body is inseparably connected to Christ.
Judge Righteously, Flee Sexual Immorality, and Glorify God in Your Body
Because believers belong to Christ, are destined for the kingdom, and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, they must reject unrighteousness, resolve disputes in a holy manner, flee sexual immorality, and glorify God in their bodies.