1 Corinthians: Part 9

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Read reverently the passage together and pray. 

Main Passage:  1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Big Idea: A maturing church is full of people who stop using their bodies to sexual sin and start using them to worship God. 

Work through the chapter.

Pastor Jason began his message by stating the presenting problem in the passage; namely, sexual immorality (see v.18). How did he define up front this Greek word rendered “sexual immorality (Greek word is porneia)? 

In 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Jason identifies 4 reasons we need to talk about “porneia” in the church.  

Vv. 12

Reason #1:  The church can excuse this sin by saying that there is no specific prohibition against it.    

  1. How does the Corinthian slogan “all things are lawful for me” distort our God-pleasing Christian freedom? 

  2. How can Paul’s comeback (“not all things are helpful. I will not be dominated by anything”) help us make God-honoring choices with our bodies specifically and our lives generally? 

  3. Look up Hebrews 12:1-2 and discuss the disciplines found in these verses that will help us walk faithfully in a sex-obsessed culture.  

Vv. 13-14

Reason #2: Our bodies are designed not for sexual immorality but for the Lord.

  1. How was the Corinthian slogan “food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food” used to justify their sins?  How can the spirit of this slogan be used in the church to justify our sins? 

  2. In what ways does Paul’s answer reach our hearts and produce repentance and a faithful lifestyle? (Paul’s answer: “The body is... for the Lord.”  How can this idea motivate true worship (see Rom. 12:1)?    

Vv. 15-18

Reason #3: Union with Christ is the reality that drives our sexuality.

  1. Think about how the doctrine of oneness with Christ is to shape and stimulate motivation for faithfulness to the Lord. What thoughts are coming to mind as you ponder the reality of being united in Christ, joining together with Him in oneness? 

  2. What are some ways you have practically obeyed verse 18 – “flee from sexual immorality”?  

Vv. 19-20

Reason #4: We are bought with a price, so glorify God in your bodies. 

  1. How can the phrase “do you not know” help us remember the importance of the Gospel? 

  2. Paul used the term “prostitute” only in this passage in 1 Corinthians. He uses it literally for cultic prostitution. And yet,  how can we apply the term to us when we are involved in idolatry – the giving of our hearts over to an activity, object, or substance that functions as a substitute for Jesus? (see Hosea 3:1 and James 4:4 calling us “Gomer-like people”). 

  3. What’s the price we pay when we are caught up in idol worship? What is the price that Jesus paid to rescue us out of this hideous idol worship? 

  4. What did Pastor Jason mean when he said, “This passage is not addressing merely a sex problem. It tells us mainly of a worship problem?”   

  5. How shocking it was when Jason said, “We worship ourselves into sin, and we worship ourselves out of sin.” What does he mean by this statement? How can understanding sexual sin or any other sin as “spiritual adultery" awaken us into white-hot repentance and worship of Jesus Christ, our lover and Lord?  PONDER the Cross of Christ – what Jesus did for you as a sinner and why he did it.  

Applicational Questions

  1. Have you come to Jesus for forgiveness of your sexual sin?  

  2. Are you finding ways to excuse your sexual sin?

  3. Will you choose today to worship God with your body?

  4. Will you remember that the price has been paid?

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