Question 1

In verse 18, what is the main action Paul calls for, and how does he immediately support it?

Accepted Answer

Paul’s main action is brief and urgent: “Flee sexual immorality.” He supports it with a quick contrast between a saying and his own conclusion. First he cites a line about sin being “outside the body,” then he sets sexual immorality apart: the one committing it “sins against his own body.” Whatever the exact meaning of the slogan, Paul’s reasoning makes the body central to the issue. The point is not only that sexual wrongdoing is wrong, but that it directly involves and violates the person in a bodily way.

Question 2

How does the quoted line “Every sin…is outside the body” function in the argument of verse 18?

Accepted Answer

The quoted line functions as a claim Paul engages, but he uses it to pivot to his key point. At minimum, it sets up a contrast: if some people treat wrongdoing as something that doesn’t touch the self (“outside the body”), Paul argues sexual immorality cannot be treated that way. Interpreters debate whether Paul agrees with the line in a limited sense or quotes it to rebut it. Either way, he does not let the saying control the conclusion. He centers attention on what sexual wrongdoing does to “his own body.”

Question 3

What does Paul say is unique about sexual immorality compared to other sins, according to verse 18?

Accepted Answer

Paul singles out sexual immorality as a sin that is “against his own body.” The wording suggests a direct, self-involving violation rather than a merely external act. In the surrounding context (6:12–17), Paul has already linked sexual behavior with bodily union and belonging, so verse 18 closes that reasoning with a strong summary. Paul’s emphasis is not just on rules but on what sexual wrongdoing does: it implicates the person’s body in a way he treats as especially serious.

Question 4

In verse 19, what three identity statements does Paul make about the believer’s body and the Holy Spirit?

Accepted Answer

Paul states (1) “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit,” which treats the body as sacred space rather than disposable matter. He adds (2) the Spirit is “in you,” describing real indwelling presence, not merely external influence. He further says (3) the Spirit is “from God,” grounding this identity in God’s gift and authority. These statements set up Paul’s next line—“You are not your own”—because if God’s Spirit dwells in and comes from God, then the body is not neutral personal property.

Question 5

How does verse 20 explain the statement “You are not your own”?

Accepted Answer

Verse 20 gives the reason: “for you were bought with a price.” Paul uses ownership-and-purchase language to explain belonging. He does not specify the details of the “price” in this paragraph, but he treats it as a decisive fact that changes who has claim over the believer’s life. The logic is: purchase implies new ownership; therefore the believer does not ultimately belong to self. This then supports his concluding aim that God should be honored in embodied life.

Question 6

What is the relationship between “temple of the Holy Spirit” (v. 19) and “glorify God in your body and in your spirit” (v. 20)?

Accepted Answer

The “temple” statement supplies the reason the conclusion makes sense. If the body is where God’s Spirit dwells, then bodily life becomes a place where God’s honor can be displayed or dishonored. Paul’s final line connects identity and purpose: because the Spirit is in believers and because they belong to God, honoring God is not only a matter of inner belief but is meant to be expressed in “body and spirit.” The conclusion follows Paul’s earlier insistence that bodily actions have spiritual significance.

Question 7

In verse 20, what does the phrase “in your body and in your spirit” add to Paul’s conclusion?

Accepted Answer

The phrase broadens the scope of what it means to honor God. It prevents a split where someone might claim to honor God “spiritually” while treating the body as irrelevant. Some readers take “body and spirit” as naming two distinguishable aspects of a person; others understand it as a full-person way of speaking (“all of you”). In either case, Paul’s emphasis is clear: belonging to God is meant to be shown in embodied existence, not only in internal attitudes.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20

Scripture