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§15 The Character of Christian Freedom (1 Cor. 6:12–20)

These nine verses form a complex segment of the letter. One finds here quotations from the Corinthians and a citation of the LXX. The verses are largely cast in the diatribe style of popular Hellenistic philosophy. One also encounters traditional elements of early Christian doctrine. All of this material is woven together in service to Paul’s deliberate line of argumentation.

Paul builds and argues a case in verses 12–17 in response to the thinking and declarations of the Corinthians. As the NIV and other translations recognize by placing the statement “Everything is permissible for me” in quotations, Paul employs a pattern of rhetoric wherein he quotes the position of those with whom he is in imaginary dialogue in order to respond to their thinking. The hypothetical conversation goes back and forth. In verses 18–20 Paul’s rhetoric takes the form of a clear frontal attack. He directs the Corinthians to flee from sexual immorality. Then, he informs the Corinthians that their body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within [them]. He speaks to the entire congregation, bluntly telling them, You are not your own. Paul reminds them that they were bought with a price. The language is a metaphorical reference to redemption as ransom, and it alludes in an undeveloped way to the death of Jesus. That the Corinthians belong to God is the ultimate qualification of their freedom.

One should see that throughout this section Paul jabs his readers with the rhetorical refrain, Do you not know …? The implication is that the Corinthians do not know what they ought to know. Paul writes to factor into the Corinthians’ thinking new information that should correct their ignorance.

6:12–13 / At a glance Paul seems to launch into a new topic or in a new direction, but as careful examination reveals, he is merely developing his current lines of thought and discussion at new levels as he takes up still further, specific elements of the situation he faced among the Corinthians. Initially, the level of reflection is general, referring to everything. Today we would describe this discussion as being concerned with the lifestyle of believers. At issue in this deliberation is what the Corinthian Christians are free to do as a result of having been “saved” in Christ and freed from “perishing” (see 1:18). Perhaps the best way to follow Paul’s imaginary conversation with the Corinthians in these diatribe-style verses is to set out the lines of verses 12–13a in the form of a drama:

Corinthians:	“Everything is permissible for me”;
Paul:	but not everything is beneficial.
Corinthians:	“Everything is permissible for me”;
Paul:	but I will not be mastered by anything.
Corinthians:	“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”;
Paul:	but God will destroy them both.

The Corinthians’ slogan literally says, “All things to me permissible.” This is a remarkable claim, and they may have learned this statement from Paul himself, for he never denies its validity; rather, he qualifies the idea with his arguments. Beyond the generic notion of everything, Paul initially mentions food, which will become the subject of detailed discussion in later chapters of the letter. For now, one should know that in antiquity many meals were served in pagan temples, and often the food itself was from the sacrifice(s) offered to a pagan god or goddess. In this connection, some Corinthians must have maintained that it made no difference what or where they ate.

The Corinthians’ claim was controversial, and Paul recognizes the problematic nature of this assertion briefly before moving to the issue of sexual relations (sexual promiscuity or sexual immorality, as Paul terms it). In this regard, it may also be pertinent that at times sacred prostitution was practiced as part of pagan worship, especially in fertility cults, although nonreligious prostitution was often commonplace in the ancient world. Regardless of the specific circumstances in Corinth, Paul focuses the discussion in terms of eating/food and sexual relations. The earlier observations in chapter 5 introduced the matter of sexual behavior, which now is treated in conjunction with comestibles—a remarkable coupling that shows the deeper issues are not copulation and consumption but the nature of Christian freedom and the theological significance of believers’ behavior. In this way, Paul’s critique moves forward to call the Corinthians into a responsible relationship to the Lord. By articulating the paradox that the body is … meant … for the Lord, and the Lord for the body, Paul tells the Corinthians that freedom is for the Lord, not merely for personal pleasure.

In developing the argument in this manner Paul thinks corporately about the “body” of the Corinthian believers who are the church, as is clear in the plural “you” forms of the subsequent verses. This form contrasts sharply with the Corinthians’ individualism, “all things for me permissible.” Paul’s concern is with more than personal or individual morality, although his words to the church have clear and unmistakable implications for each and every believer. Few statements in Scripture articulate the profoundly relational nature of Christian existence and identity as well as the words “the body … for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” Moreover, in this insight one finds the basis of the missional nature of Christian life—believers live in all aspects of life for the Lord who himself lives for, in, and through the words and deeds of his people.

6:14 / The seemingly abrupt introduction of the subject of the resurrection is an early anticipation of the extensive discussion of this topic, which was apparently a source of controversy among the Corinthians, that will eventually follow in chapter 15. While Paul here introduces that crucial topic, his main concern is to register the awe-inspiring truth of the power of God. God’s power, demonstrated in its ultimate form in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is a power that lays claim on the life of the believers, both in the future through resurrection per se and already as the believers live in this world. God’s claim means that the body of the believer—or better, the body of the believers—and the bodies of the believers—do not belong to the believer(s). They belong to the power of God, which raises them from the dead and which already works to transform them in the present. God has a clear claim on the believers; they do not merely have the freedom to make claims because of God. Indeed, God’s own mission manifests itself powerfully in resurrection and transformation of human life.

The Corinthians contended that what they knew or thought they knew had given them an abstract principle, freedom, that could and had produced less than desirable results. But Paul does not deal in abstractions. Freedom, according to Paul, is characterized by pursuing what it best; freedom does not lead to a new form of slavery. The Corinthians mistakenly claim an inner freedom that places them above the mundane realities of the world, and they are eager to demonstrate their liberation. Yet Paul reminds them that God’s power is over their lives now through the resurrection of the Lord and in the future in their own anticipated resurrection.

6:15 / If Paul’s remarks about the Corinthians’ attitude toward food and sexual activity is accurate, the will to display freedom had gotten out of hand, although one should not forget that Paul creates deliberate distortions in his arguments in order to score his points. The Corinthians seem to assume that freedom means they are at liberty to gratify their every appetite. Paul expresses mild shock that some Corinthians, aware of their freedom, work from the notion that all foods are fit for consumption to conclude that engaging in casual sex with a prostitute is a celebration of their freedom.

Paul challenges and corrects such thinking with the rhetorical question, Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Again, he anticipates the major discussion of the body of Christ that will follow in chapter 12, although for now he is content to make the point that belonging to Christ or being a part of Christ’s body should mean that the believers give priority to Christ and his concerns rather than to their own questionable desires. Paul’s rhetoric is both ironic and sarcastic as he continues his query, Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! The form of this question and answer would register immediately with the Corinthians as a diatribe, setting up an assumed false position and then knocking it down. The tone is strong and colloquial, and the readers in Corinth would recognize Paul’s intention to expose the shamefully absurd character of their behavior.

6:16 / Again Paul queries the Corinthians in rhetorical fashion to show their error and ignorance, Do you not know …? His description becomes graphic: he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body. The reference to body emphasizes the relational nature of life and hints in the context of this religious discussion at much more than a mere physical union. To make his point with all possible force, Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 in the second portion of this verse. On the one hand, he uses Scripture to denounce involvement with prostitutes; on the other hand, the citation sets up the following verse (6:17), a crucial statement of the nature of the spiritual union of Christians with the Lord.

6:17 / This statement shows clearly that Paul is thinking of the relational nature of interpersonal involvements as he writes concerning the unacceptable behavior of some in Corinth. Yet note that Paul does not say that when the believer unites with the Lord, they are one body. Rather, when the believer unites with the Lord, the two become one in spirit. Paul labors to say that the relationship between believers and the risen Lord is as real as that which exists between two persons in a sexual union, although the different character of the union of the Christian and the Lord is registered in Paul’s reference to the spirit. Such a relationship precludes the believer from asserting his or her own will independently of the will of the Lord, for as they are united the believer comes into a relationship to the Lord who is himself the Lord of the one spirit that unites them.

6:18 / Paul’s command to the Corinthians is both brief and clear, “Flee fornication!” The sense of the words that follow are not, however, so easily discernible: All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Part of the problem for understanding this statement is that in Greek the word “other” does not occur in the sentence. Quite literally Paul writes, “Every sinful act that a person does is outside the body, but the one fornicating sins in/into one’s very own body.” While few translations suggest such an understanding, perhaps Paul is trying to say that fornicating is like all sin and is something more, not merely that fornicating is different from other sins. Since Paul clearly disapproves of fornication, he would understand fornicating to be joining into an inappropriate relationship. How exactly Paul understands this particular illegitimate alliance to be different from other unacceptable unions is not clear from his comments. His sweeping rhetoric is not detailed, but there can be no doubt about the apostle’s basic point—fornicating or sexual involvement with a prostitute is not appropriate conduct for the believer, who is united with Christ in spirit and so defiles the body (perhaps the body of Christ) with such sinful behavior. In chapter 7, Paul insists that marriage is the only relationship in which sexual union is appropriate and permissible.

6:19 / Paul turns more directly to religious imagery in the following lines. In this verse he reiterates the point he made earlier in 3:16, your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul’s pronouns are plural, addressing the entire body of believers in Corinth. He does not single out only those who have been fornicating, for while those particular persons have acted inappropriately, they have acted in a manner that ultimately touches and shapes the life of the Christian community. Thus, the community is in need of instruction, for in different but complementary ways all have been involved in the degradation of the body of believers.

Moreover, Paul qualifies his reference to the Holy Spirit by adding the phrases who is in you, whom you have received from God. All the pronouns are plural, indicating that Paul directs his remarks to all the believers at once. With these brief lines Paul registers at least four crucial theological truths. First, the Spirit is present and active among the Corinthians, empowering them to live the life to which they have been called. Second, the Spirit comes to them from God, whose will is to be manifest in the life of the Spirit-filled community of the Corinthian believers. God’s authority, will, presence, and power form and should inform the shape of the temple of believers in Corinth. Third, the Holy Spirit was received by the Corinthians. They did not earn or produce the Spirit’s presence among them; God acted graciously in bestowing the Spirit on the Christian community in Corinth. Fourth, the Spirit dwells in the temple so that the Corinthians are bound into an intimate relationship to God through the presence of God’s Spirit. They are not independently blessed, but they live in relation to the life that God lives among them.

Paul’s final words in this verse, you are not your own, may form the final part of the question that began at the outset of the verse: Do you not know that … you are not your own? The sense is self-evident: the Corinthians are neither autonomous individuals nor an autonomous community of human beings. God founded, forms, and holds a claim on the lives of these and all other believers. No greater truth can be brought home to the church and its members in every generation. How often do discussions of personal and community affairs (freedoms? rights? responsibilities?) take their start and find their course from the reality that every aspect of the life of believers belongs to God? Nothing we have is ours to have and to do with as we please. All of life belongs to God, and it is ultimately God’s will and work that is to be accomplished in our lives and in our life together. The believer and the believers find identity, purpose, direction, and meaning from the foundational nature of the relationship that God has established in creating us and in reclaiming us in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

6:20 / In concluding his deliberation as it extends through chapter 6, Paul expounds the foundation of the relationship that forms each element of life in relationship to God. Stated bluntly, believers have been bought by God! In 7:23 Paul will reiterate this same idea, you were bought at a price, which he makes here as the crescendo of his argument. In 6:11 Paul used the metaphors of washing, sanctification, and justification to elaborate the meaning of Christian existence. Now, he reaches back to and through those images of the ongoing nature of Christian life to give a glimpse of the creation and nature of Christian existence. God did something, humans did not. God paid a price, humans did not. God bought, and so God owns or has a claim on the lives of the believers.

The language Paul uses is vivid and would have been familiar to the Corinthians, who were accustomed to the purchasing of slaves in the marketplaces. Today we are unfamiliar with this practice, but the idea is simple. Slaves were bought and sold, and in the purchase they came under the absolute authority of the one who paid the price for them. Paul’s statement can be literally rendered, “You were bought for cash!” He does not state, and he may not care, to whom the purchase price was paid; his concern is to underscore the initiative and the rightful authority of God in the relationship between the believers and God.

Therefore, Paul utters his final words of instruction, Therefore honor God with your body. The address is a command in the plural form, saying more literally, “Therefore you all glorify God in your body.” The NIV attempts to make sense of Paul’s command by translating “honor” rather than “glorify” and by using “with” instead of “in,” but the result is questionable. Paul may intend to say more than “Act honorably,” which is the simplest understanding of the NIV. “Your body” includes all the individual bodies of the Corinthians, but it literally names the corporate body of all the believers, so that the life manifested by the Christian community in both moral and mission-related dimensions of existence brings praise and honor to God’s work in the world.