‘“Everything is lawful for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is lawful for me,” but I will not let myself be dominated by anything. “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will do away with both the one and the other. The body, however, is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body; God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take Christ’s members and make them the members of a prostitute? Of course not! [Or] do you not know that anyone who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For “the two,” it says, “will become one flesh.” But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body (1 Cor. 6:12-20).'
Corinth was a wealthy Roman city with different religious groups. It was rumored to be sexually promiscuous and there was a Corinthian slogan, ‘All things are lawful to me.’ Hence St. Paul’s statement ‘but not everything is beneficial,’ because not everything builds up the Christian community.' Corinthian converts also did not understand that freedom in Christ did not mean that they could do whatever they wanted without consequence. If our bodies are to be raised, the actions performed in and through our bodies must be pleasing to God. Since our bodies are members of Christ (Rom. 12:5), we must not use our bodies or the bodies of others for casual sexual encounters because that goes against our Creator’s intention (Gen. 2:24). A contrast is made between becoming one body with a prostitute and one spirit with Christ. Normally sin is committed against God by transgressing his commandments. The fornicator sins against his own body and the body of Christ as long as his motive is not a commitment to love which is the reason for such an intimate physical act. We were ransomed by the blood of Christ (Mk. 10:45) so let us use our bodies to glorify God.
Almighty God, you gave us free will so that we could choose to follow your will and live a spiritual life. Grant us the grace to ponder things that are beneficial to our spiritual growth and to be careful about what we say and do. Help us to remember that through Christ we share in God’s very nature, and by the dignity of our Baptism we can resist the sinful and embrace the good. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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