Marriage And The Body Of Christ

In my previous post I promised to speak more about the "one flesh" relationship in marriage. In fact, I already have—several times. You may want to review these posts. What remains to be said? A deeper look at what the Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians is also helpful.

¹² "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be enslaved by anything. ¹³ "Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food"—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. ¹⁵Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶Or 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." ¹⁷But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 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. ¹⁹Or 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.           (1 Corinthians 6:12-20)  

 Paul speaks about a man joining sexually with a prostitute. He calls this not only immoral, but enslavement, a strange way to talk. In our day such sex is rather called freedom and broadly endorsed. Many refuse to be bound by such rules and morals. Consenting adults are free to make their own rules. Note, however, another thing the Apostle says: "The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." What is he saying? Whose body does he speak about, that of the man who joins his to a prostitute or some other body? Both. He writes about the man, but not only about that man's body.


In the very next verse Paul changes to the plural. He writes, "the Lord . . . will also raise us up by his power. Do you (plural) not know that your bodies are members of Christ (body)? And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you (again plural) not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I (singular) then take the members (plural) of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? (1 Corinthians 6:13-15).


What is all this moving back and forth between singular and plural? Obviously the sexual act is between but one man and one woman. And yet, strangely, that singular act is the joining of all the members of Christ to the members of a prostitute (v.15). This is not merely the act of one person involved in consensual sex. It involves all the members of Christ, all the members of his body. Every other sin other than sexual immorality, Paul writes, is a sin outside the body. Again whose body? The sinner's or Christ's? Obviously Christ's, because in the very next verse he writes, "Or do you not know that your (plural) body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you (plural), whom you (plural) have from God? You (plural) are not your (plural) own, for you (plural) were bought with a price. So glorify God in your (plural) body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).


Paul is here revealing more of the mystery of Christ and Christ's body, his bride, the church. In his letter to the Ephesians he writes, ". . . we are members of his (Christ's) body. 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:30-32).


A mystery is hidden until revealed. In the coming of Christ into the world we see the great, wondrous, amazing, profound wisdom of God manifested indeed. Great is this mystery of God! Born of a virgin, God has become a man. And as a man he has reconciled the world to himself upon the cross. The Holy Spirit at work in God's Word has revealed this wondrous news to us. And throughout the world millions of all races and both sexes also believe in this same Christ as Savior and Lord. Together we are the members of His body (1 Timothy 3:16).


Follow the Apostle's reasoning then. When a believing man joins his body to a woman selling hers, a prostitute, he joins Christ and Christ's body to that prostitute. The same holds true for a believing woman. This act is a sin against all the members of Christ's body. It is a betrayal of the trust between the believer and his or her Savior. It is also a betrayal of the responsibility each believer has to model and encourage other members of Christ's body to trust and obey their Lord, for we are members one of the other (Romans 12:5). 


Our Lord's plan and will is that one man and one woman be bound to one another for life in marriage. His blessing rests upon this union. This is His creation. He has instituted and established this union as a blessing to us all. The rejection of this plan is a sin against all the members of Christ's body and, of course, against the other member of the marital couple. This is why the Christian must flee from all sexual intercourse outside of marriage, including that committed in his heart (Matthew 5:28). We are not free to make our own rules of morality. For us Christians there is no such thing as "consenting adults" having sex outside the boundaries of marriage.


Thus the Christian whose spouse has broken the marital bond by adultery or prostitution knows also that the bond between that spouse and the Lord's body has also been broken. The one flesh union is gone. The divorce has already happened. A reunion can only happen through confession and forgiveness in Christ.