When the Apostle Paul arrived in Corinth, the Lord Jesus appeared to him in a night vision and said:
Acts 18:9-10. Do not be afraid any longer but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.
Encouraged by these words, Paul remained in Corinth for a year and a half, preaching the gospel, making disciples, and teaching the believers the truths of God’s Word. Yet only a few years later, while ministering in Ephesus, Paul received disturbing reports about the church and was compelled to write what we know as 1 Corinthians.
The letter contains strong reproof and correction. Paul was deeply troubled by how far the Corinthians had drifted from the teachings he delivered to them. Divisions, idolizing men, sexual immorality, lawsuits, pride, doctrinal confusion and more, had taken root among them. How could the Corinthians have drifted so far in such a short period of time?
Two essential ingredients for living a faithful and righteous life are sound biblical instruction and godly fellowship (education and socialization). Paul had provided them with a solid foundation of biblical truth during his 18 months in Corinth, yet it appears they failed to hold firmly to what they had been taught.
Perhaps an even greater problem was their social environment—both within and outside the church. The people with whom we associate have a powerful influence on our beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. Paul’s epistle reveals a congregation plagued by divisions, pride, immorality, and conflict. Instead of enjoying a healthy fellowship that encouraged spiritual growth and mutual edification, the church itself had become a source of turmoil.
At the same time, the issues Paul addresses make it clear that the culture of Corinth continued to exert a strong influence on the believers. Rather than transforming their society, many of the saints were being shaped by it. The values, practices, and attitudes of the surrounding pagan culture, had begun to infiltrate the church, producing the very problems that Paul was compelled to confront in his letter.
The worldly views regarding sexual immorality in chapter six is a good example of their problem and also the problem of many churches today.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11. (ESV) Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you.
But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Five times in this chapter Paul asks the rhetorical question – “do you not know.” He knew that they knew because he taught them. Basically he was asking if they forgot what they were taught. He makes the powerful statement twice that those who practice unrighteousness will not inherit the kingdom of God. And he reminds them this is not who we are as Christians. We were washed, sanctified, justified and no longer live like the unrighteous. Yet, some were regressing back to their old ways.
I Corinthians 6:12. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.
Many scholars think that “All things are lawful for me” was a Corinthian slogan or something Corinthians were saying repeatedly. Notice he repeats the phrase twice and qualifies it both times. Something can be permissible and still not be wise. Christian decision-making asks more than: Can I do this? It also asks: Is this beneficial? What we permit can become our master if we fail to have wisdom and discipline.
Under the New Covenant, believers are no longer bound by the dietary restrictions of the Old Covenant. However, as Paul teaches in Romans 14, not every believer has the same level of understanding or freedom regarding certain foods. Therefore, we are called to respect the conscience and faith of others. Eating what is lawful in front of someone who does not think so may cause them to stumble, so it would not be beneficial. Christian liberty is not merely the freedom to do as we please; it is the freedom to walk in love. Mature believers willingly limit their own freedoms when necessary for the spiritual well-being of others.
Some apparently took the phrase “all things are lawful” to the extreme of living like the pagan Corinthians and practicing sexual immorality. This was a gross misunderstanding of what Paul just explained. By no means is this saying sinning is alright in moderation. The verses before cover the range of sins making clear that the consequences are very serious and therefore prohibited – shall not enter the kingdom of God. The context is correcting a misuse of freedom, not approving sinful behavior.
I Corinthians 6:13. Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.
Paul addresses another false way of thinking connected to the phrase about the stomach and food. It goes like this – hunger is a natural bodily desire. Food satisfies that appetite. Therefore, sexual desires is also a natural bodily desire and should be satisfied with sex. Sex is like food designed to fulfill the natural desire. However, this logic is corrupt and evil.
The body is not meant for immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. The body matters deeply in God’s redemptive plan—it’s not a mere vessel to be ignored and disregarded. So, Paul grounds ethics in the reality that the body belongs to Christ.
Chapter 6 continues to explain God’s view about our bodies: Your body belongs to Christ; your body is a member of Christ’s; your body is a temple of the holy spirit and your body will be resurrected. Therefore, what you do with your body matters deeply.
I Corinthians 6:14. Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.
The resurrection of Jesus is the pattern: just as God raised Christ bodily, so He will raise believers. Our future resurrection ensures that the body matters—it’s not meaningless, but part of God’s redemptive plan. So, Christian ethics are grounded in the future hope that God will fully redeem and resurrect our bodies.
I Corinthians 6:15-17. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.”
But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
In Corinth, one of the most prominent pagan influences was the worship of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, sex and fertility. Corinth was famous for its temple dedicated to Aphrodite, and ritual prostitution was part of the religious practices tied to that worship. So, for the Corinthians, sexual acts weren’t just personal or private; they were often linked to these religious rituals. That’s why Paul’s teaching is so sharp—he’s calling them out of a worldview where the body was just a tool for worship or pleasure, and he’s grounding their bodily behavior in their new identity in Christ.
The misunderstanding about sexual immorality that Paul addressed in Corinthians is still found in some Christian circles today. It comes from a wrong interpretation of Scripture. The thinking goes something like this: Christians are made up of body, soul, and spirit. The body and soul are associated with the old man, while the spirit is associated with the new man in Christ. The spirit is viewed as perfect, incorruptible, and eternally secure. The body, however, is seen as corrupt, temporary, and ultimately destined to die.
From this, some conclude that what a person does in the body cannot affect their spiritual standing before God. As a result, they reason that sinful behavior in the flesh is of little consequence because their spirit remains pure and untouched. Since they believe their salvation is permanently secured the moment they accept Christ, they conclude that their conduct no longer has any bearing on their relationship with God.
This way of thinking opens the door to all kinds of sin because it separates spiritual life from moral behavior. It is precisely this kind of reasoning that Paul challenges in 1 Corinthians 6 when he teaches that our bodies belong to Christ, are temples of the holy spirit, and are to be used for God’s glory.
Today, many churches and entire denominations have embraced cultural views regarding premarital sex, homosexuality, and transgender identity that differ from the biblical standard. Scripture identifies sexual immorality as sin and repeatedly warns that those who persist in such practices will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Modern culture often pressures Christians to affirm these beliefs and behaviors, labeling those who hold to biblical convictions as bigoted, unloving, intolerant, or narrow-minded. As a result, many believers feel intimidated into remaining silent or compromising their convictions.
God, however, views these matters differently. His standards are not determined by changing cultural opinions but by His unchanging Word. Genuine love does not ignore sin or redefine righteousness; it speaks the truth with compassion and calls people to repentance, forgiveness, and transformation through Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body.
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