“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ‘The two will become one flesh.’ But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality.” 1 Corinthians 6:15-18
Your body matters. Your body belongs to Christ. Not to you, to follow your impulses, but to Christ, to exalt His glory. Not just your soul, but also your body. It is the humblest part of you, but Christ says it matters to Him.
Epictetus taught that the mind and soul of man had divinity, but man’s body was something in common with the animals below. Paul taught that both soul and body belong to Christ above. He is present as our Lord and Savior in the whole of what we are, including our sexuality.
For the King’s bride to offer up her body to another is an outrageous betrayal. We belong to Him now, and at a profound level: “He who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” “One spirit” is more profound than “one body,” and claims the body. Moreover, “joined to the Lord” as one is a marital union. It is the ultimate Marriage. And it is not only the Church as a whole who is married to Christ but also every individual believer. Notice the singular “he” there: “He who is joined to the Lord . . . .” This applies to every one of us in Christ.
The gospel’s answer to the radical sin of sexual betrayal is the more radical grace of union with Christ our Husband. A Christian getting involved in any sexual sin needs to see himself or herself in a new way. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” Yes, even our bodies.
In this sexually crazed world, as we slog through the mud of degraded sexuality every day, we need a massive cleansing only God can give. Let’s lovingly preach and boldly pray according to 1 Corinthians 6, looking to the Lord to send down an outpouring of refreshment from above. Then we will flee from sexual immorality. Then we will glorify God in our bodies.
