Browse / Mike Winger / Idea

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 is about sexual immorality in context, not primarily about diet/exercise/tobacco — but the moderation and mastery principles within the passage do apply broadly

20 Questions with Pastor Mike (Episode 6) 00:59:41 – 01:02:17

Question from Grayson Fuller about whether 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 establishes a biblical basis for maintaining bodily health

Mike reads 1 Corinthians 6:12-20. The Corinthians had been saying "all things are lawful for me" (likely a slogan in their letter to Paul). Paul responds: yes, lawful, but (1) not all things are profitable, and (2) "I will not be mastered by anything" — which is NT language for addiction/addictive behavior. Food and stomach are temporary; the body is meant for the Lord. The primary application in context is sexual immorality — the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and members of Christ; joining to a prostitute is one body with her (the two shall become one flesh). The sexual sin is uniquely grave because it is committed against one's own body. The bodily health application (tobacco, diet, exercise) is a secondary inference from the profitable/mastery principles, not Paul's main point.

Your Tags

Personal labels you apply to any item — separate from system topics. Tags are shared across all databases. Visit /tags to browse all your tags.

...more

Ask Claude about this