1 Corinthians 6:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

NIV: Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.

NASB: Flee sexual immorality. Every other sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

CSB: Flee sexual immorality! Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body.

NLT: Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.

KJV: Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

NKJV: Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.

In the Greco-Roman, idol-worshiping culture of Paul's day, sex of all kinds had been normalized for nearly everyone. That included prostitution, adultery, pedophilia, homosexuality, and so forth. Growing up in this environment, it's not surprising to think some of the Christians in Corinth had trouble seeing sex outside of marriage as a big deal. Paul has spent this chapter showing why avoiding sexual immorality is so essential for believers.

Now he gives them a strategy for dealing with it: run. He tells them to flee from sexual immorality. Run away like you are escaping from something that might harm you, because it will. Even if the culture despises you for it, it's better to escape from sexual sin than to be conquered by it (Genesis 39:7–12).

Paul shows that sexual immorality is different from other kinds of sin because it's a form of self-harm. We might commit other sins with our bodies, but sexual immorality unites us sinfully with another person. This happens on a deeply physical and spiritual level. We will experience the natural consequences of that sin at that deep level, as well.

It's important to note that Paul did not write that sexual immorality is the worst of all sins, as we sometimes conclude. Instead, he is combatting the casual attitude toward sexual sin carried by some Christians in hyper-sexualized cultures. In addition to hurting others, sexual immorality contributes to our own deep pain. It's no more or less a sin than any other, but human cultures tend to treat it more casually than other errors.

First Corinthians 6:12–20 describes Paul's objections to those in the Corinthian church who had a casual attitude about sexual immorality. Beyond formal, literal laws, Paul insists the standard for Christian behavior must be whether a practice is helpful or enslaving. Sex is more than a mere bodily function; God designed it to unite two people into one body in marriage. That union with another person drags Christ, to whom we are also united, into the union with us. Our bodies will be resurrected and are meant even now to bring glory to God.

First Corinthians 6 continues Paul's confrontations of the Corinthian Christians over issues in the church. Earlier passages discussed problems of division into factions, and tolerance of heinous sexual sin. Paul is also outraged that they would take one another to court in a lawsuit over minor issues. Instead of suing each other before unbelievers, they should settle trivial issues in the church. Second, Paul urges them to live up to their new identities in Christ instead of living down to the sexually immoral standards of the culture. This sets up discussions of marriage in chapter 7.

Paul confronts two major issues happening in the church at Corinth. First, he is outraged that one of them has brought a lawsuit against a brother in Christ over a minor dispute. It is absurd to think that Christians—those who will judge the world and angels—cannot even judge a small matter between themselves. Second, Paul warns his readers to run from sexual immorality. Sex creates a powerful bond intended only for marriage. Since our bodies belong to and are part of Christ, we have no right to bring Him into a one-body union with someone to whom we're not married.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.