1 Corinthians 6:16-18
Ps Paul Cheng
~6 min read
Dear Bethelites,
In dealing with the sin of sexual immorality, the Apostle Paul had stressed that one had to understand his union with Christ (c.f. 1 Corinthians 6:15). Then, he moved on to speak about understanding what a sexual union involves - what it meant and what it could do to the person.
I. Understand what a Sexual Union Is
What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. (1 Corinthians 6:16)
The question, “What”, was very revealing. The Corinthians were expected to know, but sadly, they did not understand. They saw the sexual relationship as no big deal; it was no different from meats for the belly, and the belly for meats (v.13). In other words, just as one may have physical desires for food and may seek to satisfy those desires, likewise he would have sexual desires and would seek to satisfy those desires too. It is natural and physical, and thus permissible. Is a sexual relationship just something physical, like eating a meal? Most certainly not! Tragically, that is how the world thinks of a sexual relationship!
In Singapore, where I came from, there is a suburb called Geylang. It is infamous for being a red-light district. But at the same time, it is also famous as an eatery location with many restaurants. On one side, there are the brothels, and on the other side, there are rows and rows of restaurants. To the world, when one has a physical desire for food, he hops into the restaurant, and when he has a sexual desire, he hops into the brothel.
You have physical desires for food, so you satisfy those desires, you have sexual desires, so you satisfy those desires, in their thinking, it is all the same. If it is natural, and it is just physical, it is permissible. Is sexual relationship just something physical, like eating a meal? That is certainly how the world thinks about sexual relationships. It is the same thing, just a desire!
The Bible teaches us that the sexual relationship is a union, know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body. In a sexual relationship, there is a union that has taken place. This union when it is done in the proper context, as in a marriage, is blessed. But when it is done in a sinful way, it is a curse. Within marriage, the sexual relationship is a blessed union, while outside of marriage (whether pre-marital or extra-marital sex), it is a cursed union.
It is common for some husbands who have committed adultery to say to their wives, “Yes, I may have committed the act of a sexua l relationship, but I do not have any feelings or emotions for her. It is a ‘nothing’ relationship.” It is not a ‘nothing’ relationship because he has just taken something that has been designed for marriage (the two shall be one flesh, one body), and perverted it (by joining himself to someone else).
If one thinks of fornication only as a physical relationship, consider 1 Corinthians 6:17, But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Salvation has united the believer to Christ not just in the physical realm but in the spiritual realm (both body and spirit/soul, he is one with Christ). When he engages himself with a harlot in fornication (which is a physical act), he is behaving as if there is no relationship with the Lord spiritually. When a man commits adultery, he is not only unfaithful to his wife, but most vitally also to the Lord.
Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18)
Sexual sin is unique (in a bad sense); there is something different and unique about sexual sin, unlike other sins. Paul was not trying to play down on the other sins. Sin is sin; it is a transgression of God’s law. But there is something unique about sexual sin.
- Sexual sin is unique because one is sinning against his own body. If one is guilty of gluttony, he is taking some food from outside the body and hurting himself with it. If one is guilty of drunkenness, he is taking the alcohol from outside the body and hurting himself with it. If one is guilty of stealing, he is taking something that belongs to someone else. But when it comes to sexual immorality, he is using his own body in a way to destroy himself; that is what it means sinneth against his own body.
- Sexual sin is unique because it is a sin that affects the person internally. It has the psychological, emotional, physical and spiritual effect upon a person unlike any other sins. On top of that, it destroys relationships, and there are the sexually transmitted diseases that come with fornication. One feels the effects of this sin in a very deep and personal way.
In most marriages, the couple would be able to forgive each other, most of the time, like if one of them told a lie, or said something hurtful, or gambled away some of their savings in bad investments. After some mediation and counselling, reconciliation would take place. But it is different with fornication or adultery because the effect of this sin is very deep, and hurts like no other sins. It is a sin that involves a union, and within one body, one flesh, which involves a forbidden union with a third party. Therefore, it affects deeply and internally! When a third party is involved, there will always be a sense of betrayal, mistrust, bitterness, jealousy, anger and so forth.
But it does not mean that sexual immorality cannot be forgiven. When the sinful party genuinely repents, the offended party must forgive. But one must never underestimate the destructive nature of this sin.
It is so destructive that the Bible exhorts us to flee (run) fornication. Do not entertain it, or allow the mind to think about it, but rather, run from it. Someone gave an apt illustration of what it means to flee. There was a king who lived at the top of a mountain. Every day, he had to travel down the mountain. The path would take him along the curves of the mountain, and one wrong turn would mean the car would plunge about a thousand feet down the cliff and cause his fatal death. One day, he wanted to employ a driver to ferry him down and up the mountain. He asked the first driver, “How close to the edge can you get without falling over the cliff?” The first driver replied, “I could get as close as one foot.” He asked the second driver, “How close to the edge can you get without falling over the cliff?” The second driver replied, “I could get as close as one inch.” Everyone was impressed with the skills of the first two drivers! Then the king asked the third driver the same question. Of which the third driver replied, “I would get as far as I could, away from the edge.” Which of the three drivers do you think the k ing would employ?
- Maybe, while you are surfing on the internet you accidentally click on the wrong address and something obscene and immoral pops up. What would you do? Would you linger and behold? No! The command to you is, Flee! Run! Get as far as you could from it!
- Or let’s say you are a frequent traveller because of work commitments. When you are overseas, you may be approached by people who offer immoral services. What would you do? The command to you is, Flee! Run! Get as far as you could from it!
- Or you may be a young girl or boy being pressured by your peers to be engaged in immoral activities. What would you do? The command to you is, Flee! Run! Get as far as you could from it!
But you do not just flee to nowhere. You run from fornication, and you run to the Word of God! Psalm 119:9 says, Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. How can a young man live a holy and sanctified life? By obeying what the Word of God says!
Dear friend, the only way to flee fornication, and keep our ways pure in the world that is desperately wicked, is to obey the Word of God.
With love in Christ,
Pastor Paul Cheng
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