1 Corinthians 6:13 kjv
Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
1 Corinthians 6:13 nkjv
Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
1 Corinthians 6:13 niv
You say, "Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both." The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
1 Corinthians 6:13 esv
"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.
1 Corinthians 6:13 nlt
You say, "Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food." (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can't say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.
1 Corinthians 6 13 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Cor 6:19-20 | Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit...? You were bought with a price... | Body is temple, owned by God. |
| 1 Cor 3:16-17 | Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? | Believers as God's temple. |
| Rom 12:1-2 | Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God... | Body offered to God, transformed mind. |
| Rom 6:12-14 | Do not let sin reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions... | Present members to righteousness. |
| 1 Thess 4:3-5 | This is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body... | God's will: sanctification and self-control. |
| Eph 5:3-5 | But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you... | Immorality incompatible with saints. |
| Col 3:5-6 | Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire... | Mortify earthly members. |
| Heb 13:4 | Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. | Marriage is sacred; God judges immorality. |
| Gal 5:19-21 | Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality... | Immorality listed as work of flesh. |
| Rev 21:8 | But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns... | Judgment for sexually immoral. |
| Matt 15:19 | For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality... | Immorality stems from the heart. |
| Mk 7:18-19 | Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach... Thus he declared all foods clean. | Food does not defile, goes to stomach. |
| Rom 14:17 | For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. | Kingdom not about food, but righteousness. |
| Col 2:20-23 | Why, as if you were still of the world, do you submit to regulations— "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" ... These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism... | Don't be bound by human regulations on food. |
| 1 Cor 15:42-44 | So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory... | Resurrection body is imperishable/glorious. |
| Php 3:21 | ...who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. | Body will be transformed like Christ's. |
| 1 Cor 6:15-17 | Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?...But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. | Union of believer's body with Christ. |
| Gen 1:27 | So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. | Human body created in God's image. |
| Gen 2:7 | Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. | God formed the physical body. |
| 2 Cor 5:1-5 | For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God... | Earthly body is temporary, future is eternal. |
| 1 Tim 4:3-4 | who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving... | Against asceticism that forbids food/marriage. |
| Titus 2:11-12 | For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age... | Grace teaches self-control over passions. |
1 Corinthians 6 verses
1 Corinthians 6 13 Meaning
The Apostle Paul addresses a prevalent Corinthian saying that likely sought to justify various behaviors, including sexual immorality, by asserting that bodily desires, like hunger, are natural and transient. Paul concedes the first part concerning food and the stomach, recognizing their temporary nature and eventual abolition by God. However, he sharply contrasts this with the human body's deeper spiritual purpose, declaring that the body is not for sexual immorality but exclusively for the Lord, and the Lord, in turn, for the body, emphasizing their sacred, lasting union and intended purpose.
1 Corinthians 6 13 Context
1 Corinthians chapter 6 addresses various issues within the Corinthian church that reflect pagan influences and a misunderstanding of Christian liberty. Prior to verse 13, Paul criticizes believers for taking each other to court before unbelievers and for engaging in prostitution. This verse immediately follows Paul's affirmation in verse 12, "All things are lawful for me," a slogan possibly used by some Corinthians to justify their permissive behavior. Paul's nuanced response here acknowledges that while some things (like food choices) are morally neutral and transient, others (like sexual purity) have profound and eternal implications because they concern the body's ultimate purpose and relationship with Christ. It serves as a pivotal transition, leading directly into Paul's further explanation of the body's sacredness as a member of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:15-20). The Corinthian context included prevalent temple prostitution, a sophisticated but often relativistic philosophical environment, and general societal laxity regarding sexual ethics, all of which Paul directly confronts.
1 Corinthians 6 13 Word analysis
- Foods (βρώματα - brōmata): Refers to edible things, provisions. It emphasizes the material and temporary nature of food, satisfying immediate, biological hunger. The word implies a focus on what perishes and is consumed.
- Stomach (κοιλία - koilia): Literally the belly or internal cavity, here referring to the digestive system. It highlights the purely biological, physical organ involved in sustenance. Its pairing with "foods" underscores the temporary, physiological aspect of hunger and eating.
- destroy (καταργήσει - katargēsei): A crucial Greek verb, meaning "to make ineffective," "abolish," "bring to an end," "render useless," or "do away with." Paul uses this powerful word to signify ultimate termination. For food and stomach, this means their purpose is transient and will cease, especially in the eschatological future (after the resurrection, bodily hunger and digestive organs in their current form will be superseded).
- The body (τὸ σῶμα - to sōma): Unlike "stomach," "body" in Paul's theology is not merely flesh or a temporary vessel. It represents the whole person, intrinsically linked to identity, spirituality, and eternal destiny. Paul contrasts its enduring significance with the fleeting nature of food/stomach. It points to a redeemed, future, resurrection body, making its present use morally consequential.
- sexual immorality (πορνεία - porneia): A comprehensive term for all illicit sexual activity, including fornication, prostitution, and sometimes idolatrous cultic sex. It is a grave moral failing. Paul specifically highlights porneia because it is a unique sin against one's own body and relationship with Christ.
- Lord (Κύριος - Kyrios): Referring to Jesus Christ. This signifies ultimate authority, ownership, and destiny. The body's belonging to the Lord means it is under His dominion, bought by His blood, and dedicated to His service, not to carnal indulgence.
- "Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them.": This likely reflects a Corinthian adage or Epicurean philosophical viewpoint used to argue for hedonistic freedom regarding physical appetites. Paul initially accepts the premise regarding food, agreeing on its transient nature, signifying that dietary regulations are no longer ultimate (Mk 7:19; Rom 14:17). The phrase "God will destroy both it and them" indicates their ultimate cessation and irrelevance in the eschatological state, when bodies will no longer require physical sustenance in the same way.
- "The body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.": This is Paul's strong counter-assertion and theological correction. He fundamentally differentiates sexual activity from food consumption. While food satisfies temporary needs and is destined for "destruction" (in terms of ceasing its purpose), the body itself has a sacred and lasting purpose. It is consecrated to Christ, implying ownership, purpose, and intimate union. The reciprocal phrase "and the Lord for the body" highlights Christ's intimate concern for, and redemptive plan for, the physical body, including its resurrection and transformation (1 Cor 15; Php 3:21). This connection underscores the body's dignity and its participation in Christ's spiritual life.
1 Corinthians 6 13 Bonus section
The strong emphasis on the body's destiny with the Lord, and the Lord's intimate connection to the body, foreshadows Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 15 about the resurrection of the body. Unlike the stomach and food, which will be "destroyed," the physical body will be raised in an imperishable, glorious, and spiritual form. This eschatological hope reinforces the present ethical demand for purity and dedication of the body to Christ. Furthermore, Paul's specific focus on porneia (sexual immorality) in this chapter highlights its unique seriousness. Unlike other sins which may involve the body, sexual immorality is "a sin against one's own body" (1 Cor 6:18), deeply violating the unity with Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This verse initiates a profound theological discussion about the sacredness and Christ-ownership of the believer's body, serving as a basis for understanding the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, purchased by Christ (1 Cor 6:19-20).
1 Corinthians 6 13 Commentary
In 1 Corinthians 6:13, Paul masterfully distinguishes between physical appetites that are temporary and the body's intrinsic purpose which is eternal. He first addresses a popular Corinthian saying, possibly born from a loose interpretation of Christian liberty or Epicurean philosophy, suggesting that bodily desires like hunger (for food) and sexual urges are morally indifferent and should be freely indulged, much like "all things are lawful" (1 Cor 6:12). Paul acknowledges the transient nature of food and the stomach, affirming their eventual dissolution in the coming age. However, he sharply pivots from food to the body itself, fundamentally refuting any notion that the body's function in sexual acts is similarly neutral or ephemeral. He proclaims that the human body holds profound spiritual significance: it is not intended for the destructive sin of sexual immorality (porneia), but for intimate union and service to the Lord. This divine purpose implies ownership and a sacred destiny, rooted in the Lord's redemptive work, ensuring the body's future resurrection and glorification. This truth lays the theological foundation for ethical conduct regarding the body, rejecting both extreme asceticism that despises the body and libertinism that abuses it, by emphasizing its divine purpose and ultimate destiny with Christ.