Our Bodies Are Not Our Own

1 Corinthians 10:8

“…Neither let us commit fornication….”

Paul discussed the issue of fornication in depth in chapter of 1st Corinthians.  Since we are diving in the middle of this book lets look at the subject.  Paul tells the church at Corinth, again, to stay away from fornication.  Remember that in each of these cases Paul is point back to Israel.  It’s interesting the timing of both Israel and the New Testament Church.  The time period Paul is referencing in Israel’s life is the time when they were just getting started in the land of Canaan.  These four verses from 7 to 10 highlight four areas where Israel failed in their beginning.  Paul seems to be admonishing the Church to not make the same mistakes.

In pertaining to fornication it seems there is not a consensus on what this word actually covers.  If we look at the greek word for fornication we find the word “porneuo”.  Yep, that is the word, and yes it does form the common word we use today for “pornography”.  

The word means: to prostitute one’s body to the lust of another, to give ones’s self to unlawful sexual intercourse, and to be given to idolatry, to worship idols.

Given this definition we find that fornication covers a wide range of personal, and public sins.  Anything from pornography & masturbation, to adultery, to homosexuality, to beastiality: there is a lot covered in this one word.  Sometimes we try and side step God’s word to justify our own action.  We will question whether what we are doing is actually fornication, and therefore a violation of God’s law.  

Examples: 

 “If we aren’t marry and we just have oral sex is that fornication?”

“If I just look at pornography, is that fornication?”

“If I’m just kissing with someone who’s not my spouse, is that fornication?”

Basically we try to do what we wickedly desire to do, but still want to feel like we’re following after God.

1 Corinthians 6

18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

As we see by Paul’s admonishments our bodies are not our own.  When Christ died on the cross and shed his blood He purchased us, both body and soul.  Since our bodies are not our own we don’t have the choice to choose fornication.  We are to use our bodies for the glory of God.   

That means the answer to the questions listed above is: YES!

We need to quit trying to "prostitute our bodies to the lust of another", and "giving ourselves to unlawful sexual intercourse", and quit trying to justify it.  This is an easy answer, if the act you're trying to justify begins or ends in "sex", and your not married, yes it is fornication.  If you're married, and you're engaging in these actions with anyone or anything beside your wife/husband then you're committing fornication.

In conclusion, we find that in this verse Paul references an occurrence in Numbers when the children of Israel, after being warned of God not to commit whoredom with the surrounding nations, entered in with the daughters of Moab.  After their fornication, and betrayal of God’s commands, they left serving God and began serving Baal-Peor.  Subsequently God slew 23 - 24,000 of them.  Taking that into consideration we would have to assume that God is pretty serious about fornication, and we should be too.

Listen to the Podcast for the series: 1st Corinthians Series - Zion Rest PBC