1 Corinthians 6:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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!

NIV: Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!

NASB: Do you not know that your bodies are parts of Christ? Shall I then take away the parts of Christ and make them parts of a prostitute? Far from it!

CSB: Don't you know that your bodies are a part of Christ's body? So should I take a part of Christ's body and make it part of a prostitute? Absolutely not!

NLT: Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never!

KJV: Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

NKJV: 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 harlot? Certainly not!

It is difficult to overstate how normalized sexual immorality was in the Greek and Roman culture of Paul's day. We know from historical records that adultery, homosexual sex, pedophilia, and prostitution were as normal in everyday life as the worship of false gods. In fact, idolatry and sexuality often came together. Those loyal to one god or another would often worship by visiting that god's temple prostitutes.

It's not surprising, then, that those who came to Christ in such a culture would find it difficult to break away from a lifestyle of sexual immorality. Apparently, some believers held to the idea that sexual appetites were no different than hunger for food (1 Corinthians 6:13). In a warped approach to grace and forgiveness, they assumed that since their physical bodies will die, it does not matter what we do with them on this side of eternity.

Paul has firmly rejected both of those false ideas. First, he has declared that our bodies serve a purpose. Death will not, in fact, even be the end of them. As Christ was, our bodies will be resurrected and transformed. They will go on.

In fact, Paul insists, these bodies are meant, right now, for the Lord. And the Lord is meant for our bodies. Paul makes that connection even stronger in this verse: The Christian's body is a member of Christ. Put another way, our physical body is part of Christ's eternal, spiritual body in some mysterious way. Our bodies are each, somehow, an appendage, an organ, a meaningful part of Him.

Now Paul asks a question meant to shock his readers: Should we take these bodies, members of Christ, and make them also members of a prostitute? His obvious answer is quick and emphatic: never!

He explains this more fully in the following verses.

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.