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1 Corinthians 6:18-20

Redeemed bodies indwelt by the Spirit must glorify God.

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Scripture Text

6:18 Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin that a man does is outside the body,” but He who commits sexual immorality sins against His own body.

6:19 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,

6:20 For You were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in Your body and in Your spirit, which are God’s.

Anchor

Redeemed bodies indwelt by the Spirit must glorify God.

Because believers were purchased by Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, their bodies must be used to glorify God rather than serve sin.

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
  • The command to flee sexual immorality does not imply that other sins are insignificant but emphasizes the unique misuse of the body involved in sexual sin.
  • The temple imagery should not be interpreted as elevating personal spirituality above the corporate body of Christ; both individual and corporate temple imagery appear in Scripture.
  • Belonging to God does not erase personal dignity but establishes the believer's identity within God's redemptive purpose.
  • Glorifying God with the body includes the whole life of obedience, not merely avoiding specific sins.
  • Do not interpret Paul’s teaching as suggesting that the body itself is sinful.
  • Do not treat sexual sin as the only serious moral failure addressed in Scripture.
  • Do not disconnect the command to flee immorality from the gospel logic of redemption.
  • Do not interpret 'temple of the Holy Spirit' as an individualistic concept detached from belonging to God.
  • Do not reduce this passage to behavioral rules without acknowledging the redemption purchased by Christ.
Invitation Arc
  • Believers must actively flee sexual immorality rather than merely resist it.
  • The body is a sacred space because the Holy Spirit dwells within the believer.
  • Christian ethics are grounded in redemption accomplished by Christ.
  • Holiness involves honoring God with the whole person, including the body.
  • The gospel transforms how believers view both identity and conduct.
Canonical Thread
Gospel Clarity

Through the cross of Jesus Christ believers have been redeemed and brought into a new relationship with God. The Holy Spirit now dwells within them, making their lives sacred spaces of God's presence and calling them to live in ways that reflect Christ's saving work.