1 Corinthians 6:12-14
Part One – Part Two next lesson
Who said, “I am allowed to do anything”?
Paul is addressing sexual immorality. The Corinthians wanted to argue that sexual immorality was o.k.
Are you surprised?
(Next lesson will deal more with the sexual immorality.)
The Biblical principle applies to sin in general.
1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (NLT)
I Am Allowed To Do Anything.
12 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. 13 You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. 14 And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.
Examine the scriptures:
Who said, “I am allowed to do anything”?
1 Corinthians 6:12-14 (NLT)
12 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”
You say
A quote used by the Corinthians.
We can use scripture to support this quote.
Ephesians 1:7 (NLT)
He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
Romans 8:1 (NLT)
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
John 8:36 (NLT)
So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
- If the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
Consider the truth in the following statements:
Our freedom in Christ means that we do not have to keep the law in order to be saved nor are we obligated to be morally perfect before people.
“Jesus died for you—He has done everything.”
“You have forgiveness, no matter how much you sin.”
“Once saved, always saved.”
God forgives but …
Our freedom can be used properly or it can be abused.
Is grace a license to sin?
Romans 6:1-2 (NLT)
Sin’s Power Is Broken
1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?
Galatians 5:13 (NLT)
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
You have a choice.
Use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature or use your freedom to serve one another in love.
- Don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
—but not everything is good for you.
1 Corinthians 10:23 (NLT)
You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial.
Sin has consequences
Rubber band illustration.
- Sin has consequences.
And even though (you say) “I am allowed to do anything,”
I must not become a slave to anything.
Romans 6:16-22 (NLT)
16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death (separation from God), or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
- You become the slave of whatever you choose to obey.
My paraphrase: You become a slave of the lifestyle you choose to live.
Romans 6:12 (NLT)
Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.
Romans 7:6 (NLT)
But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.
- Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.
Corinthian argument:
13 You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.)
Biological examples used by the Corinthians:
Food was both pleasurable and necessary. When the stomach signaled hunger, food was eaten to satisfy that hunger.
Sex is both pleasurable and necessary.
When their bodies signaled sexual desires, they needed to be satisfied.
But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality.
The specific sin that Paul is addressing is sexual immorality.
They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.
Paul argues that the argument supporting sexual immorality cannot be compared to the hunger experienced by the stomach.
The body in this context meant more than the physical frame. It referred to the whole person, composed of flesh and spirit. The body was not perishable, but eternal and was not meant for sexual immorality, but for union with the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:35-54 (NLT)
The Resurrection Body
35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” 36 What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. 37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. 38 Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. 39 Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
40 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. 41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.
42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
45 The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit.46 What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. 47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. 48 Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. 49 Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.
50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
Philippians 3:20-21 (NLT)
20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
- Our bodies were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.
14 And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.
