Honor God With Your Body: Freedom, Purity, and the Holy Spirit

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Scripture • World English Bible

1 Corinthians 6:12–20

WEB

¹²“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are expedient. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power of anything.

¹³“Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods,” but God will bring to nothing both it and them. But the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

¹⁴Now God raised up the Lord, and will also raise us up by his power.

¹⁵Don’t you know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!

¹⁶Or don’t you know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body? For, “The two”, he says, “will become one flesh.”

¹⁷But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.

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

¹⁹Or 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,

²⁰for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

World English Bible (WEB) • Public Domain

Reflection

Paul faces a familiar temptation: the claim that Christian freedom means I can do anything. He doesn't deny that Christ has set us free from the law's condemnation, but he refuses to let freedom become an excuse for slavery to desires. True freedom in Christ is never neutral; it is ordered toward what is good, and it protects us from being enslaved by habits, appetites, or people.

What makes Paul's argument radical and tender is his reminder that our bodies are not isolated objects; they are joined to Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Sexual sin is not merely a moral misstep or a private mistake; it damages the very unity and dignity that belong to a person who is part of Christ's body. When Paul says to flee sexual immorality, he is giving urgent pastoral counsel: turn away, don’t linger, because such sin wounds you in the place where God's presence now dwells.

Paul also points us to the gospel foundation of holiness. We were bought with a price—Christ's life given for us—and because of that purchase we are now the Lord's. That reality transforms how we treat our bodies: they are temples of the Holy Spirit, instruments for worship and service, not objects for exploitation. The hope of resurrection—God raised the Lord and will raise us—means our bodies matter now and forever. They are not expendable or merely biological; they are part of God's redeeming work.

This passage brings needed balance. It rejects both legalism that treats the body as only a problem to be punished and libertinism that treats freedom as license. Instead it calls us to stewardship: careful, grateful, Spirit-empowered living that honors God with the way we use our bodies and shape our desires.

If you struggle with temptation, take heart: the same Spirit who indwells you gives power to resist, courage to confess, and grace to change. Practical holiness begins with turning away from what would enslave you, filling your life with what nourishes Christlikeness, and walking in accountable fellowship with others who can pray for and encourage you. Because you belong to Jesus, your body and spirit are God’s—so live in ways that reflect His ownership and His love.

Putting Faith Into Action

Flee temptation with concrete boundaries: remove or block sources of sexual temptation on devices, avoid situations that lead to compromise, and establish immediate exit plans when you feel tempted.
Practice bodily stewardship as worship: sleep well, eat and move in ways that honor God, and use your time and energy to serve others so your body participates in worship and ministry.
Invite accountability and the Spirit’s help: choose one trusted brother or sister to confess struggles to and to pray with weekly; memorize Scripture that speaks to purity and pray for the Holy Spirit’s power in moments of weakness.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you that my life and body belong to you. Forgive me for the times I’ve treated my body as my own or used my freedom selfishly. Fill me with your Spirit, give me the courage to flee temptation, and help me steward my body for your glory. Renew my desires so they lead me toward holiness and service. In your name, amen.

Memory Verse

1 Corinthians 6:20 — for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. (WEB)

“for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Keep Going Continue to Part 18 Faithfulness and Mutual Care: Marriage, Singleness, and God's Gifts 1 Corinthians · 1 Corinthians 7:1–7 Read the next devotional →

Bible Context

Read all of 1 Corinthians 6

1 Corinthians 6

World English Bible • WEB

¹Dare any of you, having a matter against his neighbor, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?

²Don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

³Don’t you know that we will judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

⁴If then you have to judge things pertaining to this life, do you set them to judge who are of no account in the assembly?

⁵I say this to move you to shame. Isn’t there even one wise man among you who would be able to decide between his brothers?

⁶But brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers!

⁷Therefore it is already altogether a defect in you that you have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?

⁸No, but you yourselves do wrong and defraud, and that against your brothers.

⁹Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals,

¹⁰nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom.

¹¹Some of you were such, but you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God.