The Lord is For Our Bodies

1 Corinthians 6:12–14 AV

All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.

Living in Corinth in the first century was like living in a sewer. The slave trade was thriving. Drunkenness and prostitution were everywhere. Idolatry was widely practiced. But Corinth was also a city that desperately needed a church. Sinners need to hear the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Mark 2:17). Those who think they are righteous cannot see their need of a Savior, but those whose lives are a mess often hunger for something better. Sometimes, by the grace of God, they find what they’re looking for in the gospel.

The Corinthians had found what they needed. Thanks to Paul’s preaching they had learned that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of sinners. But like the rest of us, they continued to struggle with their sins for a long time. A party spirit prevailed in the church. Some followed Paul and others Apollos. They boasted in their own ability to figure things out, instead of trusting the revelation God had given them. There was a man in the church who was openly living in immorality, and the church had done nothing about him. And members were suing each another in civil court, when they would have been better off bearing the wrongs as those who had been washed, sanctified and justified by the mercy of God.

These are some of the sins that Paul had unmasked in the early chapters of 1 Corinthians. And then we come to today’s text. What Paul wrote here seems to come out of nowhere. What does Paul’s liberty have to do with any of this? And why did he mention food and stomachs? Yes, he mentioned one previously mentioned sin (immorality) at the end of verse 13, but then he went on to talk about the resurrection. Not only do Paul’s comments in these three verses seem to have little to do with the problems he addressed, but there also seems to be very little connection between the verses themselves. So, what exactly was his point?

One of our hymns compares the Bible to a deep mine in which are hidden precious treasures. Sometimes we have to dig a little, and other times we have to dig a lot. But it’s always worth it. The seeming disconnectedness of our text is only on the surface.

All Things Are Permissible

The first thing Paul wrote for us today is this: all things are lawful [or permissible] unto me. Some commentators believe that this was a motto that the Corinthians had adopted. Perhaps Paul himself had given it to them during the eighteen months he was among them. Maybe so. It’s interesting that he used this phrase four times in 1 Corinthians — twice in our text, and twice again in chapter 10.

Wherever the saying came from, the Corinthians, along with many other professing Christians down through the ages, apparently interpreted it to mean that believers are completely free from obedience to God’s law. Anything and everything is permissible. Perhaps this is why they had not disciplined the incestuous man. Maybe it explains why they thought it was okay to sue each other in court. But we need to be absolutely clear about one thing: if this is what the Corinthians thought, it was not what Paul meant. Had he not told the Corinthians in the previous chapter that he had turned the incestuous man over to Satan because of his sin? And in the verses immediately before our text, did he not declare that those who practice certain sins are outside the kingdom of God? The idea that Paul was an apostle of licentiousness is outrageous.

The problem here is the word all. Christians often fail to ask, “All of what?” This is an even greater issue with other passages. In 1 Timothy 2:4 Paul wrote that God wants all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. Does he mean that God desired to save every man, woman and child who ever lived? Not really. The context mentions ordinary citizens, kings and men in other positions of authority. In other words Paul meant all kinds of people. God wants all kinds of people to be saved. Likewise 2 Peter 3:9 says that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Here the context makes it clear that the words any and all refer to believers. That is, God is longsuffering to us, not willing that any of us should perish. He will not initiate the final judgment until all of us have been brought into the kingdom of his dear Son.

In the same way, when Paul wrote that all things are lawful he meant that all kinds of behavior are acceptable. The Lord will certainly judge whoremongers, adulterers, thieves and drunks. But physical intimacy, the acquisition of property and drinking alcohol are not evil in and of themselves. Sex is not only acceptable but even necessary in the context of marriage. Acquiring property is a way of exercising dominion. And God gave us alcohol so that we might enjoy the fruit of our labors.

One of my teachers used to say that there is nothing wrong with flexing the muscles in your index finger, but it’s a different story if you bend your index finger when it’s on the trigger of a pistol and your pistol’s aimed at your mother-in-law.

But note this: Paul not only repeated the phrase, all things are lawful unto me, four times, but each time he also corrected it. Verse 12 says, All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient [or beneficial]: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Likewise in chapter 10: All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not (v. 23).

How true this is! You can ride Philadelphia’s subways at two in the morning if you want, but it’s probably not the smartest thing to do. It might be okay for you to marry a contentious woman or a man who’s not particularly ambitious, but it’ll most likely do you more harm than good. Not everything that we are allowed to do is equally as helpful.

I think it’s important that Paul did not limit expediency in the first part of verse 12. He said all things are lawful for me, but he didn’t say that all things are not beneficial for me. He just said that all things are not beneficial. Why is that? It’s because the consequences of our behavior usually affect others. Take the man who marries a contentious woman. He has to put up with his wife with her argumentative spirit every day of his life. That’s why Proverbs 21:9 warns, It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house. But he’s not the only one who has to put up with her. So does his family and friends, their church, their neighbors, and so forth.

So, although all kinds of behavior are permissible, we should also be concerned with the effects of our decisions on others. We are not permitted to press our formal rights when it causes injury to those around us.

Furthermore, Paul added a second correction to the notion that “all things are lawful” at the end of verse 12. Some things tend to bring us under their power. Paul refused to let this happen to him. He said, I will not be brought under the power of any.

The verb translated brought under the power (ἐξουσιασθήσομαι) occurs only a few times in the New Testament. Jesus used it in Luke 22:25 to describe Gentile kings, who lord it over their subjects. We see it also in the next chapter of 1 Corinthians, where the apostle insisted that neither partner in a marriage has absolute authority over his or her own body (7:4). Husbands and wives have a duty before God to satisfy each other’s needs. Based on these passages, Paul’s meaning in our text is clear: Paul refused to be controlled by any kind of behavior. He would enjoy what God had given him within the limits of Scripture, but he would not allow anything, even something that would otherwise be harmless, to become his master or interfere with his duty to God and others.

Let me give you an example. I once knew a minister who was an accomplished pianist. There’s nothing wrong, of course, with playing the piano or any other musical instrument. For that matter, there’s nothing evil about most hobbies. But this man spent more time practicing the piano than preparing sermons. His sermons were horrible — more like Johnny Carson monologues than a vital preaching of God’s truth. His family suffered. The church nearly died. All of this happened because he had allowed something permissible to become his master.

This is unacceptable. A Christian can have only one master, and that master should not be a wooden box with eighty-eight keys and two hundred and thirty strings. Our master is the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Purpose of the Body

The Lordship of Jesus Christ is also the subject of verse 13. Paul wrote, Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.

The first part of this verse hardly needs any explanation. God created food to fill the stomach, and he created the stomach to process food. Even most unbelievers will admit this. But the next phrase is a lot harder to deal with. What did Paul mean when he said that God will destroy both food and the stomach? Since verse 14 assures us of the bodily resurrection, I believe that Paul meant that we will not have stomachs or food in heaven. Matthew Henry explains it this way:

There is a time coming when the human body will need no further recruits of food. Some of the ancients [i.e., the early church fathers] suppose that this is to be understood of abolishing the belly as well as the food; and that though the same body will be raised at the great day, yet not with all the same members, some being utterly unnecessary in a future state, as the belly for instance, when the man is never to hunger, nor thirst, nor eat, nor drink more. But, whether this be true or no, there is a time coming when the need and use of food shall be abolished (in loc.).

Henry could also have mentioned another bodily function that will have no further use in glory, and this is procreation. Jesus said, For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven (Mark 12:25).

Although this seems to be what Paul meant, I hesitate to say anything more. Why? Because I can’t think of any other passage of the Bible that would support the abolition of the stomach. It’s very dangerous to base any teaching on a single verse because it’s too easy to misinterpret something that God says only once.

But I can tell you confidently why Paul mentioned God's and stomachs. It teaches the proper use of the body. Whether stomachs will eventually be destroyed or not, the relationship between them and food is only temporary. Our highest goal in life should not be to fill our bellies. No matter how well we eat now, what we do with food and stomach will not survive death.

Sexual immorality offers even less. It’s not only a temporary pleasure, but it also puts the sinner in a much worse situation than before because it increases God’s wrath and displeasure.

What is the purpose of our bodies then? Our text says that our bodies are for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. God created our bodies to serve him. When Jesus died on the cross, he died to redeem our bodies as well as our souls. Look at the very last verse of the chapter we’re studying. Paul wrote, For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s (v. 20). And likewise, the Lord promises to care for our bodies. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus told us not to worry about food and drink and clothing. He said, Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matt. 6:31–33).

And if God takes such good care of us now, we can trust him to do even more for us when Jesus returns. Verse 14 says, And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. This is God’s promise: just as he raised his Son from the dead as the firstfruits of the harvest, so he will also raise us. You see, Christ’s resurrection and ours are not two parallel events but one. Because we belong to Jesus Christ, we share in his resurrection. His resurrection and ours cannot be separated.

We look forward to that day when God will raise us up by his own power. To be even more precise, the Lord Jesus, who is the true and eternal God, will raise us up. He said, Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood [i.e., everyone who receives the benefits of his person and work by a true and lively faith], hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:54). In fact, the power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that works in us today. That’s what Paul wrote in the first chapter of Ephesians. The power of resurrection and the power of sanctification is nothing less than divine omnipotence.

Therefore, God’s people should never say, “I cannot obey. I cannot put off my pet sins. I do not have the power.” You have the sovereign power of Christ working in you now and pledging itself to undo all the effects of sin completely when our Lord returns to take us to be with him forever. You need to serve the Lord with that confidence.

So, how does all of this fit with the rest of 1 Corinthians? It does two things.

First, it reminds us of the proper use of the body. We have tremendous liberty in Jesus Christ to use and enjoy all of his gifts and treasures. But our liberty is not absolute. We cannot use our liberty to indulge our sinful lusts, to harm our brothers and sisters in the Lord, or to disobey God’s commands. To do any of these things is not liberty at all; it’s licentiousness. It’s putting ourselves in place of God. Instead, we should live in subjection to the Lord. Our bodies belong to him. He made them to serve his purposes, not ours.

And second, today’s text reminds that God cares for our bodies. He made them, so they’re his by creation. He also redeemed them, so they’re his by blood atonement. And he promises to raise them from the dead and take them into heavenly joy and glory. He gives us everything we need to serve him. We lack absolutely nothing.

The Corinthians did not have to live in a sewer. They’re lives should have been changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as they preached the gospel to others, by the grace of God it would change their lives too.

We don’t have to live in a sewer either. The gospel restores to believers the right use of all of God’s gifts — liberty, food, intimacy and everything else. It teaches us, having been saved through the blood of Christ, to glorify and enjoy him forever. Our only comfort in life and in death is that we belong solely to our great God and Savior! Amen.