"Everything is lawful for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is lawful for me,” but I will not let myself be dominated by anything. 13 “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will do away with both the one and the other. The body, however, is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body; 14 God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take Christ’s members and make them the members of a prostitute? Of course not! 16 [Or] do you not know that anyone who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For “the two,” it says, “will become one flesh.” 17 But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.
Corinth was a wealthy Roman city known for its commercial activity, diverse population, different religious groups, and culture that tolerated and even celebrated various forms of sexual immorality. Corinth was home to various cults and religious practices, some of which incorporated sexual rituals and temple prostitution.
There was a Corinthian slogan, “All things are lawful to me.” Hence St. Paul’s statement, ‘But not everything is beneficial,’ because not everything builds up the Christian community. Corinthian converts also did not understand that freedom in Christ did not mean that they could engage in behaviors incompatible with Christian morality. He explains that physical needs and desires are temporary and will eventually pass away. The body is not for immorality but to serve the Lord (Rom. 12:1). God resurrected Christ by His power and will resurrect believers who are members of Christ’s body (Rom. 12:4-5). If the bodies of believers are to be raised, the actions performed in and through their bodies must be pleasing to God.
Paul tells the community that just as it would be abhorrent to unite Christ with a prostitute, it is equally unthinkable for believers to engage in immoral sexual behavior which defiles the body that belongs to Christ. He states that there is a physical, spiritual, and emotional bond that occurs during sexual activity, and the two become one flesh (Gen. 2:24). Sexual immorality violates God’s design for human sexuality and the sanctity of the body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit (vv. 19-20; Eph. 2:22). Through faith, believers are spiritually united with Christ becoming one spirit with him. Sin is normally committed against God by transgressing his commandments but sexual sin defiles one’s own body, the very temple of the Holy Spirit. As temples of the Holy Spirit, believers belong to Christ who redeemed them with his sacrificial death on the cross (Mk. 10:45) so the bodies of believers should be used to glorify God.
Almighty God, you gave us freedom in Christ to discern what is beneficial and pleasing to you. Strengthen us so that we may truly be temples of the Holy Spirit and honor you with our bodies. May we glorify you in all we do and offer ourselves as living sacrifices for your service. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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Sources:
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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