01. Sexual Sins (1 Corinthians 6:15-20)
o Paul continues discussing sexual sin, which begins in 1 Corinthians 5.
o 1 Corinthians 6:15 members is μέλος (ĕlŏs) used figuratively of each member in the local assembly where Christ is the head (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:27; Romans 12:5; Ephesians 5:30).
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o harlot** is πόρνη (ŏrnē) *a harlot or prostitute*.
o God forbid or literally may it never be! let it not ever happen! An expression that Paul uses 14x (Romans 3:4; 3:6; 3:31; 6:2; 6:15; 7:7; 7:13; 9:14; 11:1; 11:11; Galatians 2:17; 3:21; 6:14).
o 1 Corinthians 6:16 joined is κολλάω (ŏllaō) meaning to glue together (Luke 15:15; 1 Corinthians 6:13). Why is this a big deal? Paul answers this in his next statement.
o for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. Jesus is quoting from Genesis 2:24 (cf. Matthew 19:5--6; Mark 10:8; Eph 5:31). Jesus quoting Genesis 2:24 affirms that the Creation account is true.
o 1 Corinthians 6:17 Paul contrasts being joined with a harlot, which is not how we should live.
o 1 Corinthians 6:12; Romans 6:1--10
o 1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee is φεύγω ĕugō, *one who flees, take flight, to run away quickly* (cf. Genesis 39:1--23; cf. 2 Timothy 2:22).
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o Romans 6:11--15 Paul writes that even though we belong to the Lord, that does not mean we will not struggle with sin. But because we belong to the Lord, the reality is that we do not become slaves to sin. It is a dangerous position for the church to assume that one who is a professing believer must not really be saved because of their existing actions of sin. Rather, we ought to recognize that we a free from the clutches of sin.
o fornication** is πορνεία (ŏrnĕia) meaning all types of sexual sins (1 Corinthians 5:1 (2x); 1 Cor 6:13; 1 Cor 6:18; 1 Cor 7:2). It can be defined as any type of activity that is not within the bounds of marriage between a man and wife (Romans 6:13; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 1 Thess 4:7; Hebrews 12:16; Heb 13:4; Revelation 21:8; Rev 22:15).
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o Genesis 1:26-28 The body was created in the image of God and for procreation. This does not mean we know all God knows, or that we are righteous and holy like Him. It means that we can understand and share His knowledge, righteousness, and holiness in a relationship of trust and love unlike any other creature under the angels.
o The Hebrew noun for image (צֶלֶם, tselem) in the Hebrew Scriptures is usually used about idols, which is a physical creation or model of something else (Numbers 33:52; 1 Samuel 6:5; 1 Sam 6:11; 2 Kings 11:18; 2 Chronicles 23:17; Ezekiel 7:20; Ezk 16:17; Ezk 23:14; Amos 5:26).
o We were created with a morality, unlike the rest of creation (instinct), and with a physical likeness of God (1 Samuel 6:4-5; Genesis 5:3; Numbers 33:52; Exodus 20:4).
o Paul is writing that sexual sins are specifically harmful because they are sins that one commits **against his own body, because the body is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28). The body is also created to Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth (Genesis 1:26-28).
o Any other sin (i.e. coveting, gluttony) and liberties (i.e. smoking) can and may be destructive to the body, but fornication is a sin against his own body because it is directly in conflict with the purpose of the creation of the body, which is procreation. Our bodies are designed to procreate in a life-long monogamous marriage.
o The subject in 1 Corinthians 6:16-18 is on a specific individual, and now here in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul changes the pronouns from the singular to the plural here.
o 1 Corinthians 3:16 The Greek noun for the temple is ναός (ŏs) and in the singular tense.
o When ye is paired with a singular noun or verb, it is speaking to the group as a whole, not to each person individually (1 Corinthians 3:9; 1 Cor 3:16; 1 Cor 3:23; 1 Cor 12:27; 2 Cor 3:2). When ye is paired with a plural noun or verb, it is speaking to each person individually in the group (1 Corinthians 4:8; 1 Cor 4:10; 1 Cor 5:2; 1 Cor 5:4; 1 Cor 5:7; 1 Cor 6:11; 1 Cor 15:2).
o So, what we have here is a plural pronoun with a singular noun in Greek. When this happens, we are to understand it as *“you all together as a local assembly are the temple of God"*, and not as the common refrain of *“each of you separately are the temple of God"*.
o The Grammar in Greek, and the KJV strongly implies that the proper understanding of this passage is that the people of the local assembly collectively are the temple of God, instead of what is commonly thought and taught that each individual person is the temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 Corinthians 12:27; 2 Corinthians 6:16).
o The common teaching that each of us as individuals are the temple of God falls apart by looking at 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Cor 6:19**; 1 Cor 12:27 and Ephesians 2:21-22. Thus, the local church as a collective is the temple (singular) of God and the body (singular) of Christ.
o Most likely, what Paul is doing here is summarizing what he has been writing about since 1 Corinthians 5:1, where he urges the local assembly to handle the issue of fornication on the church.
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o 1 Corinthians 6:20 bought** ἀγοράζω (ŏrazō) from agora, meaning market place.
