1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Redeemed bodies indwelt by the Spirit must glorify God.
18 Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin that a man does is outside the body,” but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
19 Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
20 for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Redeemed bodies indwelt by the Spirit must glorify God.
Paul commands believers to flee sexual immorality by grounding their conduct in the truth that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and belong to God through redemption.
Paul has been correcting a misuse of Christian freedom among the Corinthians. After explaining that the body belongs to the Lord and is united to Christ, he now delivers the pastoral command to flee sexual immorality. This instruction builds upon his earlier argument that believers’ bodies are members of Christ and destined for resurrection. Paul further deepens the theological foundation by reminding them that the Holy Spirit dwells within them. The passage concludes with the redemptive logic of the gospel: believers have been bought with a price. This culminates in the exhortation that the body must therefore be used to glorify God.
Corinthian society tolerated and normalized various forms of sexual immorality. Many in the surrounding culture viewed sexual behavior as separate from spiritual devotion. Paul confronts this assumption by grounding sexual ethics in redemption, union with Christ, and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
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.