To Live Is Christ

1 Corinthians 7:20-23. Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. ²¹ Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.)  For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. ²³ You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. 

Paul is trying to show the Corinthian Christians that in Christ they have all that they need. His advice to them to “stay as you are” (v.20) is rooted in contentment and seizing the opportunities you have been given in the moment for the Kingdom of Christ. But this advice takes a little turn when it comes to slavery.

At its core slavery is evil. It was never God’s desire for humans to own each other. God is the God of liberty. But ever since the Fall of mankind, and the introduction of sin into the world, God has condescended to us and operated within many of our fallen human structures (including slavery) to guide us back gradually to his ideal. Consider Israel. Slavery was allowed but in very limited practice. Slaves were to be treated as image bearers and given rights (Sabbath rest) and opportunities for freedom (every 7th year, year of Jubilee, etc.). And if you look at how the Law required people to help the poor you could even argue that there should never be a slave in Israel.

Slavery in ancient Rome was common and complex. The slave may have been captured in conquest, or sold into slavery to avoid crippling debt. Slaves were often well educated. They served in government jobs, households, and marketplaces. Many slaves were treated fairly well. Slaves could also petition to buy their freedom. And in some cases slaves may even be adopted as sons of their master (Paul’s illustration in Galatians 3-4). Probably up to 1/3 of the population of Corinth was enslaved. So it is certain that the Corinthian church had both slave and free believers united together in Christ. Yes, it is true that slaves had no legal rights, and often slaves were abused. But slavery was deeply woven into the fabric of Roman life. And in Paul’s time, no ancient society or kingdom had ever abolished slavery (including Israel). Paul’s objective is not to start a revolution to end slavery. In fact, such advice at this time in history might prove to be very detrimental and unloving. His objective is to show us how “to live is Christ” works, even for slaves.

So what is Paul’s advice to slaves?

Do not be concerned about it – The Christian slave should not be obsessed over their low social status as a slave. You are free in Christ. Therefore, your eternal state does not hinge upon your earthly freedom.

But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity. – But Paul does say that if you have the opportunity for freedom then grab it! 

do not become bondservants of men. – Paul also tells Christians not to sell themselves into slavery. He recognizes that slavery is not God’s ideal. The church should take care of its family so that none feel the need to enslave themselves.

OK, what does all of this have to do with union with Christ?

You were bought with a price.

You are not your own. You belong to the Lord. You are free so that you can be Christ’s bondservant. Christ is your master. You are not free to choose what part of Christ’s law of love you will obey or not obey. And yet this bondage to Christ is true freedom. We are finally alive and human again.

If you are a slave- rejoice, you are free in Christ! If you are free- be humble, you are Christ’s slave. No Christian is truly enslaved and no Christian is free. In Christ, we are all free and bondservant, at the same time.

Galatians 5:13. For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve (bondservant/slave) one another. 

If both slavery and freedom can image Christ, then what does this tell us about our social status today? Our choice of career? Our choice of where we live? Our choice of where our kids go to school? If the highest aim is love, then how does that completely change how we see social status and self-fulfillment?

“To live is Christ” means that we can serve Christ no matter what our social status. Free or slave, married or single, Jew or Gentile. All offer opportunities and challenges. Today we tend to consider all changes in our lives in terms of self-fulfillment. The career you choose is most likely rooted to some degree to your desire for self-fulfillment. But is that what the indwelling Christ would have motivate us? Of course the slave might find freedom to be more satisfying and self-fulfilling. But should he run away or start a revolt in the master’s household to achieve this? Is it possible the the satisfaction of Christ could be enough? Is it possible that even slavery afforded unique opportunities for the gospel?

Could it be that your situation, although it might feel like slavery, might be a unique kingdom opportunity for Christ? Are you constantly trying to find self fulfillment in a change in circumstance? Or are you finding that more and more Christ is satisfying you?

Note: Many have read Paul’s words as a defense of slavery. In American history passages such as these were used to justify the enslavement of Africans in a system of chattel slavery. This slavery in America’s past was far more evil on many levels than the slavery of Paul’s day. In fact, the idea of kidnapping others into slavery was expressly forbidden by God (Exodus 21:16). Paul is not defending or endorsing slavery at all. In fact, he is putting into place a theology rooted in Christ that when truly implemented by the church would seek to abolish slavery in the name of Christ. The theology of union with Christ would equalize the slave and the master and this reality, over time, should end slavery (much like God’s law for Israel, over time, should have ended slavery).

1 Corinthians 7:17-24. Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.¹⁸ Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. ¹⁹ For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. ²⁰ Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. ²¹ Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) ²² For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. ²³ You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. ²⁴ So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.

So here’s one of the most important truths we must grasp concerning our union with Christ: “To live is Christ” does not change your earthly situation. Nor, does it make changing your earthly situation your highest objective. In fact, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. Your situation is an opportunity.

We’ve already seen Paul applying this to widowhood, singleness, and marriage. He will also mention circumcision (religious upbringing) and slavery (social status) above. But to be clear, Paul is not simply saying “always stay as you are.” No. The single Christian can get married. The married Christian can become single (divorce in the case of abandonment, see 7:12-16). The slave should gain their freedom if possible.

What Paul is saying is that the Christian, indwelt by Christ, can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13). You can thrive in whatever earthly circumstance you find yourself. Single or married. Slave or free. Churched or unchurched. It doesn’t matter. Christ can live out his life through you in any reality. So changing your situation is not your primary objective as a Christian. Your primary objective is to image Christ.

There is a trap that many of us fall into every day. We are easily discontented with our current reality so we seek to change it in the name of self improvement. But in the process are we failing to see the opportunity God has given to us in the moment? Is our desire for “greener grass” really just a grasp for power or control? This is what we see happening in Corinth. Much of what Paul is still combating in this letter is really the Corinthian’s desire to prove their “spirituality” or their desire to gain a higher social status. Or just a desire for something “more.”

• A Christian widow getting married? Not if it’s just to gain status.
• Divorcing a non-Christian spouse? Not if it’s just to prove your spirituality. If they will stay, then stay married.
• Gentile believer getting circumcised? Not if only to fit in with the spiritual Jews.
• Jewish believer surgically covering up their circumcision (yes that was a thing)? Not if it’s only a way to gain influence in the Gentile market place.

And then there’s slavery. We will return to that topic tomorrow for there is much to think through together.

“To live is Christ” is contentment. It is knowing that in whatever situation I am in I can serve Christ because Christ is serving me from the inside out. Union with Christ is never the minimizing of a hard circumstance, but it is hope and joy within that circumstance. It is seeing life as opportunity, not biding time until the next big thing appears. The Kingdom is in you. Bring it to the world wherever you may be.

“To live is Christ” also eliminates all envy and contempt. Union with Christ makes the slave and the freedman equal in Christ. Circumcised and uncircumcised. Single and married. All can rejoice because they are both elevated and humbled by Christ.

Do you tend to make the best of things or do you spend most of your time thinking about “what might have been?” Are you able to pursue the important thing in life (imaging Christ) over the “urgent” thing in life (changing a circumstance)? How does your union with Christ empower you to use your current situation for his glory and honor? Do you tend to envy other people’s situations or look down on others because of their situation? Are you finding that you are able to see all Christians as equal in Christ?

1 Corinthians 7:8-9. To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. ⁹ But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

The Corinthian church wasn’t too different from the modern American church. They like spirituality but not all the rules. They wanted freedom but not the boundary of real love.

They also adopted the culture’s view of sexuality, but Paul will challenge their thinking and raise the world’s understanding of sexuality as he connects it to Christ himself. That is what he’s been doing since chapter 6. He is showing us how the indwelling life of Christ by the Spirit changes everything, including sexuality, often with very radical statements. Like this one:

To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am.

It is good to remain single?

No culture on earth at Paul’s time would have given this advice. Eastern cultures idolized family. The Old Covenant was no different. God ordained marriage. God commanded us to be fruitful and multiply. God built his Kingdom (Israel) through a married, procreating, family. So remain single? No way.

But Paul doesn’t uphold singleness and then demean marriage. Notice in verse 9 how he tells those who are single to marry if they cannot control their passion for one another. Wow. Paul has just released us from an obligation to get married, but then tells us to get married if we are in a relationship where we are passionate for the other person. So no more need for arranged marriages? Nope. So marry for love? Yep.

Now notice what he doesn’t say. He doesn’t tell them to engage in all kinds of premarital sex to satisfy their passions because those desires are just an appetite. Nope again. He already covered all that back in 1 Corinthians 6.

1 Corinthians 6:16-17. Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

“One flesh” must mean much more than just a physical union, in fact it signifies a whole life union. Sex is supposed to reflect a covenant unity, and ultimately our union with Christ. When we say “sex with a prostitute is wrong because it is not for love, but premarital sex in a loving relationship is not wrong,” we are thinking from a worldview that equates love with self fulfillment. But the Bible sees sex as the complete giving of the self (psychological, emotional, spiritual, and physical).

Just as our union with Christ is his giving of his entire self to us, so our sexuality should reflect this same level of self giving. Therefore any premarital sex fails to be loving because it fails to give of the whole self through the covenant. Premarital sex, co-habitation, hooking up, these all leave the door cracked open. No matter how much we call it love, it fails to be love if the door of escape is left open. In the end, this thing that looks like love is actually destructive to our very souls. It creates a gaping wound that thankfully Christ can still heal, although not without much pain.

In traditional cultures you abstained from premarital sex because it hurt the family legacy. In modern western culture, abstaining from premarital sex is seen as an assault against personal fulfillment and identity. In Christ, abstaining from premarital and extra-marital sex reflects our satisfaction with our union with Christ and it strengthens the Church and community as an act of selfless love.

OK, so premarital sex dishonors our union with Christ, it fails to create a whole life commitment, it doesn’t reflect our marriage to Christ, it hurts the community, and the church, and demeans marriage itself. But what is “premarital sex?” How far can I go and still be OK?

That’s the wrong question.

Most people, including Christians, see relational commitment and sexual intimacy existing on a sliding scale. “The more committed we are the further we can go, as long as it’s not too far.” Unmarried Christian couples experience increased sexual intimacy and say “This is great because at least its not sex.” Married people experience increased sexual intimacy and call it “foreplay.” They say, “This is great because it is part of sex.” But we must see sexual intimacy, not as a reward for increased commitment, but as a sign of the marriage covenant.

So the question isn’t “how far can I go?” The question is what is the meaning and purpose of sex? And more importantly how does it relate to Christ? We aren’t trying to tip toe up to a line without getting caught or dance on a cliff’s edge without falling off. We are trying to let Christ satisfy and sanctify us.

“To live is Christ” makes you a whole being. Body, soul, spirit. This means that sexuality is part of who you are, and at the same time it is not all that you are. Christ is. And he alone can satisfy you. Not sex. And definitely not premarital sex.

What has been your view of premarital sex? Is it in line with God’s view? How can union with Christ help you resist sexual temptation? How is sexual purity an act of true love?

1 Corinthians 7:6-7. Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. ⁷ I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.

The implications of our union with Christ are not just for the married. Every Christian is equally united to Christ, and every Christian has all of Christ. Therefore both marriage and singleness are a gift (charisma or grace) from God (v.7).

Singleness is a freely bestowed gift from Christ? Yes. Therefore it is to be honored as much as marriage. I wish that all the married Christians could embrace this truth. Singleness is good and honorable. Is it stressful and strained? Yes. But so is marriage. And Christ sustains every believer. The idolatry of marriage must be cast down by the church. We must stop seeing marriage as a higher good than singleness. Stop setting up your single friends. Stop praying for them to get married. Stop looking down on them as “out of God’s will” or having some sort of social disease.

Gifts from God are special means of grace that allow us to serve the church body. Gifts are always for the building up of the church. If you are single then you have the gift of singleness at least for this season of your life. The question you must ask is “how can I uniquely serve Christ’s church during this season?”

If you are thinking, “I’m lonely so I don’t have the gift.” No. If you are single you have the gift. It is a grace from God that sustains you in singleness. If you feel like a failure because you are not married, then you have given in to the idolatry of marriage. If you are having sex without marriage, you are giving in to the idolatry of self. God’s grace can overcome both of these idols.

Any relationship can become an idol, but in marriage it is far easier for the spouse to become an idol. Marriage is meant to be both possession and service, but it easily becomes predominately possessive and the spouse can quickly replace Jesus. Or if the marriage is bad we tend to think “my life would be better if my marriage was better.” The single person is able to have a greater number of relationships and thus avoid some of the pitfalls of relational idolatry that come with marriage.

Our culture honors “expressive individualism.” That is, determining who you are and then learning to actualize that version of your “best self.” For some this means staying single in order to achieve complete independence and self actualization. For others marriage is the path to this self actualization, but only as long as your spouse doesn’t get in the way of your self expression. Both of these are actually self destructive and not what “to live is Christ” is all about.

The indwelling life of Christ allows the single person to see spiritual formation and growing into the likeness of Christ as the greatest personal good. Rather than self expression we desire the expression of Christ through the self. And singleness uniquely expresses Christ (as does marriage of course). But how?

Singleness expresses the open love of Christ. The Christian single is free to form all kinds of relationships with all kinds of people. In so doing they can spread the love of Christ in a broader way.

Singleness expresses the beauty and glory of Christ. Christian singleness and sexual purity is only possible when Christ becomes the most glorious and beautiful thing in a persons’s life. The faithful and celibate Christian single has declared that Christ is their greatest love. Without this belief they may be single and celibate, but they will also be miserable.

Singleness expresses faith in a future with Christ. The faithful and joyful Christian single must believe that their greatest pleasure lies in the future in the presence of Christ himself.

Singleness expresses the necessity and commitment of the body of Christ. In fact, I would go so far as to say without the church faithful and joyful Christian singleness would be an impossible fantasy. But through the church the single believer can find love, acceptance, honor, dependency and interdependency. They can find a family.

“To live is Christ” makes singleness not just bearable but purposeful. Christ in you means that you are on a mission of love, and singleness opens up the possibilities to truly love others through the giving of the self, not in sexual intimacy, but in spiritual intimacy. Beyond this, Christ in you, empowers this self giving love as a single Christian by making Christ your lover, family, and savior. Take heart, for this is what he truly is, and he will be faithful to you ’til the end.

Do you see your singleness as a curse or a gift? How can union with Christ change your perspective on singleness? How can you begin to use your singleness to bless and grow the church? Have you unwittingly embraced the idolatry of marriage? Do you see your single friends as lacking? Do you uphold singleness as being as honorable as marriage? What attitudes about singleness and marriage do you need to confess and change?

1 Corinthians 7:1-5. Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” ² But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. ³ The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴ For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. ⁵ Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul turns to answering specific questions he received from the Corinthian believers. The first one concerns marriage and sexual relations within marriage. Remember, the Corinthians are operating from the Greek logic of a body/spirit divide. To them only the spirit matters, the body is non-eternal, base, or even bad. In chapter 6 this led to an attitude of sexual license. But here in chapter 7 it produces and attitude of “spiritual” asceticism. “All sex is bad, even in marriage. Right?”

But as we have already seen in 1 Corinthians 6, our union with Christ elevates the purpose of our bodies (they are Christ’s “members”), and it proves the connection of our spirit to our body (joining bodily/sexually is joining spiritually). So now, once again, we see that union with Christ has a profound impact on all of life, including how we view sex within marriage, and the equality of men and women.

Paul’s answer to the question is light years ahead of its time. Marriage is about faithfulness. Husband’s and wive’s bodies belong to each other. Sexual pleasure can and should be mutual. Sex is the equal right of both the husband and the wife. Sexual celibacy (even for men) should be the standard. Love is the guiding force in married sex- serving each other. And no where does he connect the purpose of married sex to procreation. Biological fruitfulness is replaced with spiritual fruitfulness (that you may devote yourselves to prayer).

The amazing truth that we see in Paul’s response to their question is that union with Christ applies equally to both men and women. Both are the new creation and worthy of mutual love and respect. Both have a body which will be resurrected one day and therefore should be honored today. Neither, in marriage, has exclusive rights over their own body. Therefore, no more using sex as a power grab.

Also we see that union with Christ demands that sexual intimacy be limited to heterosexual, covenant (marriage) relationships. Can heterosexual married sex go bad? Can it be used to control and manipulate? Can it even be hurtful and demeaning? Of course. And it often is. But it is still the only kind of sex that has the power and ability to reflect the image of the Trinity. It is the only redeemable sex. It is the only sex that has the glimmer of potential to strengthen the other person’s whole self, rather than bring harm. It is the only sex that can be completely about giving rather than getting.

Some may ask, can’t homosexual sex demonstrate a level of caring and whole life intimacy? Can’t it be connected to commitment? Of course it can. But in its denial of the natural purpose of the body, it denies the glory of the body and in so doing also denies the connection of body and spirit. In denying that male and female differences serve a purpose, it forfeits the ability to reflect the unity and diversity of the Trinity. And in making sexuality an identity it naturally tends towards self fulfillment rather than self sacrifice. This is why Paul lists its practice in 6:9 as one which denies the identity of the new creation.

“To live is Christ” is a your new identity. Christ is your life. Not your sexuality, or your spouse or your good or spiritual marriage. When Christ is our life, sex can take its proper place. Now Christ’s life in us produces the cruciform life of self sacrifice. In marriage this includes mutual love and respect in all areas including our sex lives. Yes, this can be a difficult teaching, especially in our busy lives or where there is hurt and the need for healing in a marriage. But two Christians united to Christ and joined in the covenant of marriage to one another must seek to maintain whole life union- body, soul, spirit. Marriage (like singleness) images the Trinity and our union with Christ in unique ways. And sex within marriage strengthens that union and thus that image. Sex in marriage is meant to be a glorious and joyful expression of that union (Song of Songs). For those of you who are married Christians reading this I pray that you can realize the higher purpose of your sexual relationship. If it is joyless, I pray that you will take courage and forsake pride and get help. Today won’t you start by doing what Paul said you should do when not having sex: pray.

If you are married, how can your marriage reflect union with Christ even in your sexuality? Does your sex life reflect mutual love, respect, caring, and giving? How can you (not your spouse) change this? How does your union with Christ allow sex to be a way to give rather than a way to get?

1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰ for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Here again we are being told to “be what you are.” What are you? The dwelling place of the Trinity. Christ lives in you by the Spirit. The Spirit lives in you by God the Father. This is your full and forever holiness. This is the greatest of intimacy and impact. Your body is now where you and God meet. You are literally the Holy of Holies. The inner sanctum. What once was only accessible by a High Priest one day a year is now constantly and forever made open by the blood of Christ. You are not only connected to the Spirit when you are praying, or meditating on scripture, or at church, or having some other “religious” experience. You are always connected. Everything is spiritual now (even sex, remember).

Verse 20 tells us something else that we are. God’s possession. You were bought with a price. Paul moves from the marriage metaphor to the metaphor of a purchased slave. You were transferred from one owner to another. From the slave master of Sin, to Christ the master. This happened by way of the cross. It happened by way of Christ’s own physical and spiritual life being given as payment for your release. Jesus paid it all.

You now belong to Christ. But let’s not forget what we learned in the letter to the Galatians, we are slaves, yes, but slaves that have been adopted as sons by God. This places us in the greatest position available to man. Our dependence upon Christ as our master will bring us into a relationship to Christ as our brother. This movement from dependency to interdependency is the pathway to joy. How? Because it is real and true acceptance. Christ accepts us even when we have no status (we were the slaves of his enemy), and then he accepts us into his kingdom, family, and mission.

Independence, or freedom from the control of another, may seem like the way to happiness, but it never is. Independence only leads us deeper into the bondage of the self. Christ purchased us to marry us. He is our Boaz. Our rescuer. Our patron. Our very life. There is no greater joy.

What is our response to this great love of God? So glorify God in your body.

What we do with our body is important because God redeemed it at infinite price. We are priceless to God. As N.T. Wright says, you don’t buy an expensive book and then tear the pages out to make grocery lists. You don’t buy an expensive house and then paint graffiti all over it. 

So let’s be what we are. And let’s treat each other this way. We are “to live is Christ.” We are the dwelling place of God. We are the priceless possessions of God.

What would your life look like if you really believed that you were God’s dwelling and God’s priceless possession? How does this truth remove all need to grasp for power?  How does the idea that you have been purchased at great price impact you? What does this tell you about our Father? About Christ? About your own worth? What does it tell you about love? 

 

1 Corinthians 6:18. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

A recent Gallup poll of over 1000 Americans revealed the following viewpoints on sex:

• 69% consider premarital sex to be morally acceptable.
• 67% consider homosexual relationships to be morally acceptable.
• 42% consider teenage sex to be morally acceptable.

Paul, however, tells us to flee sexual immorality (porneia). But if we don’t see sexual immorality as dangerous, than why would we flee from it?

We live in a culture that has separated facts and values. Facts are scientific and objective. Values are relative and subjective. Today we define ourselves by our values. One’s sexuality is a way to define and find identity in this life, it is a value. However, one’s biological sex, or the act of sexual intercourse, is purely a physical act and has no bearing on my value or identity. This “facts/values divide” has created a fractured self. My sexuality is everything, but sex is nothing. This fails to see that the physical body is good and has a purpose. It also fails to connect the physical and the spiritual. This is close to how the Corinthian Christians viewed sex. It was purely an appetite. Just a bodily function. Not connected at all to the true self, the spiritual self.

Our modern sexual narrative which divides the “value” of my sexuality, or my sexual orientation, from the “fact” of my biological sex, has left us valuing a very selfish and independent way of life. We are told we must self identify and learn to express this identity, and that this is the greatest good. Authenticity, consumerism, and freedom are now our way of life. We should be and do whatever we want to be and do. We should have whatever we want to have. All in order to realize who our true self is.

But Paul challenges all of that. Your true self is “in Christ.” Your body has a purpose and it is not separate from your spirit. Sex is far from just an appetite to be satisfied. Freedom is not for self expression, it is for giving to another person. Sex is an expression of covenant love and in such it is a picture of our union with Christ.

As we think back to the Garden we see that sex is, of course, good. It was created by a good God and made to reflect his own passion and faithfulness toward his people. Sex allows us to image God’s love and his creation power. The biological differences between men and women, and the sexual union that occurs in the marriage of a man and woman, serve to image the unity and yet diversity of the Trinity. In the Garden we also see that humans are embodied souls. We are body, soul, and spirit. We are whole beings, not divided beings.

This truth (we are embodied souls) leads Paul to say this:

1 Corinthians 6:16-17. Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” ¹⁷ But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

To give your body to another sexually is to give your whole self to them. The “two become one flesh.” Sex creates a new reality– the union of two people. That is not the problem though. The problem is when we abandon these unions by leaving or by never being fully committed (married) to them. To go around creating these unions over and over and then abandoning them is degrading to humanity. It is clearly not the vision God had in mind when he re-created us into the new humanity in Christ.

Therefore Paul tells us to flee sexual immorality. Why? Because it is destructive to humanity and to you. It’s addictive. Like any behavior that only serves the self, it will never really satisfy. Like an addiction to a drug, it will satisfy less and less the more you do it. Only when attached to the covenant of marriage can sex begin to be redeemed and brought into a place where it is primarily for giving and not for getting. Only then will it not become an idol. Only then will it not be a sin against your own body (v18).

But how is sexual sin a sin against your own body? Granted this last part of verse 18 is very tricky to understand. But what Paul may mean is that every other addiction involves introducing an outside substance or reality into your body. But sexual sin is an addiction from the inside out. It is an addiction to the self that through the bodily and spiritual union it creates, radically alters the self. Sexual sin alters the way you relate to others, God, and yourself, much more than any other sin. Or, Paul may even mean that it is a sin against the body of Christ, the Church. How many Christians do we know, ourselves included, that have left church or gone silent at church because of the shame and guilt of sexual sin. This “personal” sin is not just personal. It hurts everyone.

So flee sexual immorality! But how? Well, maybe like Joseph you need to literally run away from it. But the longer term solution is that we must flee it by replacing its power in our hearts. Our spiritual union with Christ (he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him) must be ever more satisfying to us than sexual unions with “prostitutes” (or girlfriends, boyfriends, porn stars online, fantasy novels, casual sex partners….you get my point). Only when Christ is the most satisfying thing in your life, will the addiction to the self subside.

“To live is Christ” is not just a mystical union with no practical applications. No, it affects every part of our lives, especially our sexuality. Union with Christ puts sex in its proper place. It is not a god to be worshipped, it is not your identity. Nor is it “no big deal.” It is a glorious mystery that, in a covenantal relationship, pictures and connects us to Christ, the Trinity, and the gospel.

Are there sexual sins in your life that you need to flee? How can you begin to let the supremacy of Christ replace the supremacy of sex in your life? What truths do you need to believe for this to begin?