The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body.
– 1 Corinthians 6:13
I love this verse, and especially those the last two phrases.
1 Corinthians 6:13 Is a Call to Flee from Sexual Immorality
So the body is not meant for sexual immorality. That’s the context of this part of 1 Corinthians 6. This is a clear call from God to flee from sexual immorality. That’s 1 Corinthians 6:18. To flee from any and all sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman. And in a culture where sexual immorality is so common, so rampant, so accepted. So even justified by many followers of Jesus. How we almost excuse all kinds of sexual thinking, desiring, acting outside of marriage between a man and a woman.
We can start to think, Well, this is such a hard, even harsh command to flee all of that. And 1 Corinthians 6:13 is a reminder. This is such a good command for us because… So let these two truths soak in that are in the end of 1 Corinthians 6:13.
One, the body is for the Lord. Your body, my body is made by God, for God. That our bodies are created to bring glory to God. And that means what is best for our bodies will be that which brings most glory to God through our bodies. The body is not meant for sexual immorality. The body is for the Lord.
1 Corinthians 6:13 Teaches Us that the Lord Knows What’s Best for Our Body
And then I love the second phrase there at the end of 1 Corinthians 6:13. The Bible says the Lord is for the body. You hear that. Let that soak in. God is for your body. He has made your body, he’s created your body, knitted together in your mother’s womb, fearfully and wonderfully made. This is your body. I love how the Bible, Christianity gives such a dignified picture of the body and God, who loves your body, wants what is best for your body. That makes this command to flee sexual immorality good.
God wants what is best for you. The Lord wants what is best for your body. So trust him and flee all sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman knowing that God is for you. The one who made you is for you. And your body is made for his glory. God, help us in such a sexually confused and rebellious culture, rebelling in so many ways against your good design for our bodies.
This Verse Calls Us to Glorify God with Our Bodies
God, help each of us today to glorify you with our bodies. And to see our bodies with the dignity that you have made them. Help us to realize how much you love our bodies, how much you are invested in our bodies, even as the rest of this chapter goes on. You raised Jesus’ body from the dead and you will raise our bodies from the dead. By your power you’ve eternally invested in our bodies.
So God, we pray that you would help us today to flee all sexual activity, to flee anything in and with our bodies that would not be glorifying to you or would not be using our bodies the way that you’ve designed them to be used for our good.
Jesus, we praise you for giving your body on a cross so that our bodies might be redeemed and one day totally resurrected all of eternity. Oh, God, we pray for people around the world who’ve never heard about how you took on flesh and came to us and gave your body for our salvation, for the redemption of our bodies.
Prayer for the Cham People
God, we pray for the Cham people of Vietnam and Cambodia and Malaysia, hardly any known followers of Jesus in this Muslim people group. God, we pray that the good news of Jesus, God in the flesh, in a body, giving his body on a cross for our salvation, may it be known among the Cham and among all the people of the world. And help us, we pray, to live every single moment of today and all our days to glorify you with our bodies, in Jesus’ name we pray according to 1 Corinthians 6:13, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
