Thomas Aquinas Commentary 1 Corinthians 6

After rebuking the Corinthians for failing to judge, the Apostle now rebukes them for other failings in matters of judgment. First, regarding the judges before whom they present their disputes; secondly, regarding the disputes themselves (verse 7). Concerning the first point, he does three things: first, he charges them with unbecoming conduct; secondly, he gives the reason for this charge (verse 2); thirdly, he applies a remedy (verse 4).

First, therefore, he says: You fail to judge yourselves but allow yourselves to be judged by the unrighteous. This is why he says: When one of you has a dispute, that is, a secular matter, against a brother, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous—that is, submit to the decision of an unbeliever—instead of before the saints, that is, before believers, who have been sanctified by the sacraments of faith?

This is unbecoming in several ways. First, because it diminishes the full power of believers. Secondly, it insults the dignity of believers to take their lawsuits to unbelievers. Thirdly, it gives unbelieving judges an occasion for looking down on believers, whom they see at odds among themselves. Fourthly, it gives the same judges an occasion for slandering and oppressing believers, whom they hate on account of their faith and practices which differ from their own. This is why it says in Deuteronomy 1:15: I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and set them as heads over you. And I charged them: ‘Hear the cases between your fellow believers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother.’ Again in Deuteronomy 17:15: You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.

But this seems to contradict what is commanded in 1 Peter 2:13: Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors sent by him. For it is the ruler’s authority to judge his subjects. Therefore, it would be against the divine law to forbid someone from submitting to the judgment of a judge who is an unbeliever. The answer is that the Apostle is not forbidding believers who are under the jurisdiction of unbelieving rulers to accept their judgment if they are summoned, for this would be contrary to the loyalty owed to rulers. Instead, he is forbidding believers from voluntarily choosing to be judged by unbelievers.

Then when he says, Do you not know, he gives a reason against this practice, because it diminishes the full power of the saints. He speaks first regarding the power they have over worldly affairs, and secondly, regarding the power they have over otherworldly things, that is, over angels (verse 3).

First, therefore, he says: It is unbecoming to take your lawsuits to unbelievers, because believers have authority to judge. For do you not know that the saints will judge the world—that is, the worldly people of this world? They do this in three ways:

1. By comparison. This means not only that the good will judge the evil and saints the worldly, but also that the good will be judged by the better and the evil by the worse, according to Matthew 12:41: The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it.
2. By approving the sentence of the judge, that is, Christ. This will be reserved for the just: The just man will rejoice when he sees the vengeance (Psalms 58:10); The saints shall judge nations .
3. By pronouncing judgment. This will be done by the apostles and those like them who despised worldly things and held fast only to spiritual things, as it says above (1 Corinthians 2:15). This is why Matthew 19:28 says: You who have followed me will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, and in Psalm 149:4: Two edged swords in their hands to wreak vengeance on the nations. This pronouncement of judgment will not be vocal but spiritual. It will happen as lesser saints or even sinners are enlightened with a spiritual light by the higher saints to understand what punishments or rewards they are owed, just as even now men are enlightened by angels, or lesser angels by higher ones.

Secondly, from this point he argues to his proposition, saying: If the world, that is, worldly people, is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? This refers to worldly business, for He who is dishonest in a very little, is dishonest also in much (Luke 16:10).

Then when he says, Do you not know that we—that is, the faithful of Christ—will judge angels? This can be understood in reference to evil angels, who will be condemned by the saints, by whose virtue they were overcome. This is why the Lord says in Luke 10:19: I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and all the power of the enemy. And in Psalm 91:3: The young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

It can also be understood in reference to good angels, as most of them will in some way be found inferior to Paul and others like him. It is significant, therefore, that he does not say "they" but "we" shall judge. For it might be said, as a consequence, that if saints will judge good and evil people, there will also be a judgment of good angels, whose accidental reward is increased by the reward of saints enlightened by them, and a judgment of evil angels, whose punishment is increased by the punishment of the people they led astray.

Secondly, he argues for his proposition, saying: How much more, matters pertaining to this life will we be fit to judge. For one who is capable of greater things is also capable of lesser things. This is why the Lord later entrusted one talent to the person who had been entrusted with five (Matthew 25:28).

Then when he says, If then you have such cases, he applies the remedy for their fault. First he mentions the remedy; then he explains it (verse 5).

First, therefore, he says: Since the saints will judge this world, if you should have secular trials among you (which, however, you should not have), those least esteemed in the Church should be appointed to judge, rather than you being judged by unbelievers. Let a good man strike or rebuke me in kindness, but let the oil of the wicked never anoint my head (Psalms 141:5); and in Ecclesiastes 9:4 it says: A living dog is better than a dead lion.

Then when he says, I say this, he explains in what sense he meant the previous statement, for someone could believe that the least esteemed were literally to be chosen as judges. But he excludes this, saying: I say this to your shame. It is as if to say: I did not say this as if it should actually be done, but I said it to shame you—with that shame which leads to grace and glory, as it says in Sirach 4:25. For the least esteemed in the Church should be chosen for judging only if no wise men were to be found among you, which would be shameful for you.

That is why he continues: Can it be that there is no man among you wise enough to decide between members of the brotherhood? Rather than do this, you should appoint the least esteemed in the Church to judge and to make up for the lack of wisdom—which, of course, is not lacking in you, as I said above: In every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge (1 Corinthians 1:5).

Alternatively, starting from verse 4: He had said that the saints are worthy to judge worldly matters. Consequently, he wants to show by whom worldly judgments should be passed: namely, by the least esteemed in the Church. By "least esteemed" he means those who are wise in worldly matters, as opposed to those wise in divine matters who are not occupied with temporal things, in order to devote themselves strictly to spiritual things. And this is what is added: I say this to your shame. This is why the apostles said in Acts 6:2, It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. After that, he returns to what he had criticized earlier, namely, that the Corinthians took their lawsuits to unbelieving judges, saying: Can it be that there is no man among you wise—that is, in temporal affairs, which he called contemptible earlier? The rest of the points are not changed from the first explanation, which seems to be more literal.

After rebuking the Corinthians for bringing their lawsuits before unbelieving judges, the Apostle now rebukes them for the lawsuits themselves. In regard to this, he does three things: first, he states how they sinned in regard to lawsuits; secondly, he clarifies what he had said (verse 9). In regard to the first, he does two things: first, he rebukes them for something that is lawful in a lawsuit but not beneficial; secondly, for what is completely unlawful (verse 8). In regard to the first, he does two things: first, he rebukes them; secondly, he rejects an excuse (verse 7b).

First, therefore, he says: It has been stated that brother contends with brother in a lawsuit. It is not only bad that you contend before unbelievers, but after your conversion, it is a defeat for you—that is, it is regarded as a failing—to have lawsuits at all with one another, between whom there should be peace. For as it says in 2 Timothy 2:24, “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone.”

It appears from this, as a Gloss of Augustine says, that it is a sin to have a lawsuit against anyone; but this seems to be false. For if it is a sin to have a lawsuit, it seems to follow that it is also a sin to appoint judges, since this is equivalent to giving an occasion to those having lawsuits, whereas it says in Deuteronomy 1:16, “Hear the cases between your brethren and judge righteously.” A Gloss answers that the weak are permitted to seek their rights in a lawsuit, but not the perfect, who can lawfully seek their rights but not in a lawsuit. But it should be noted that something is lawful for the perfect and something for all others. The perfect, indeed, do not have anything they can call their own, for it says in Matthew 19:21, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess... and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Consequently, it is not lawful for them to seek in a lawsuit anything that can be considered their own, since it is not lawful for them to possess anything as their own, although they may seek common property in a lawsuit. For they do not sin in doing this, but rather they merit. For it is a work of charity to defend or recover the property of the poor, as it says in Psalms 82:4, “Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

But a lawsuit against anyone is unlawful for four reasons.

1. First, as to its cause, if one brings a lawsuit from covetousness and greed. Hence in Luke 12:13, when someone had said to the Lord, “Bid my brother divide the inheritance with me,” the Lord said, “Who made me judge or divider over you?” Then he added, “Take heed, and beware of all covetousness.”
2. Secondly, in regard to the way a lawsuit is conducted, if it is conducted with strife and harm to peace. For as James 3:16 says, “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” And this is what the Apostle seems to rebuke them for, as is clear from what he had said above (1 Corinthians 6:6): “But brother goes to law against brother.”
3. Thirdly, on account of the perversity of the judgment, for instance, when someone proceeds unjustly and fraudulently in a lawsuit, as it says in Isaiah 10:2, “You turn aside the needy from justice and rob the poor of my people of their right.” This, too, the Apostle rebukes in them, as he shows from what he adds: “But you yourselves wrong and defraud.”
4. Fourthly, on account of the scandal which follows. Hence the Lord commands in Matthew 5:40, “If any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well.” But out of charity, it is lawful to seek what is yours in a lawsuit. Hence Gregory says in his Morals: “When necessity forces us to have charge of things, some are merely to be tolerated when they demand things, but others are to be forestalled—as long as charity is preserved—from snatching what is not theirs and thus destroying themselves.”

Then when he says, “Why not rather suffer wrong?” he takes away their excuse. For they could say that necessity forces them to have lawsuits in order to resist harm and dishonesty from other people. But he rejects this, saying: “Why not rather suffer wrong?” by enduring it with patience, as the Lord says in Matthew 5:39, “If any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” As to the second point, he says, “Why not rather be defrauded?”—that is, suffer the crafty deception—for it says in Matthew 5:41, “If any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” But, as Augustine says in The Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, these precepts of the Lord are not always to be observed in the performance of the action, but we should be prepared in our hearts to obey them, so that we would always be ready to do this or endure that, rather than do anything against fraternal charity.

Then when he says, “But you yourselves,” he rebukes them for something completely unlawful. First, he accuses them of obvious injustice when he says, “But you yourselves wrong,” namely, by speaking openly against the just claims of others either in court or outside of it: “Do not delight in what pleases the unjust” . Secondly, he accuses them of crafty deception when he says, “and defraud”: “The counsels of the wicked are treacherous” (Proverbs 12:5). And you do that even to your own brethren—that is, believers to whom you should do good: “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). Therefore, it is said against some, “Every brother is a supplanter, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer” (Jeremiah 9:4).

Then when he says, “Do you not know,” he clarifies what he had said: first, as to what is completely unlawful; secondly, as to what is lawful but not beneficial (verse 12). In regard to the first, he does two things: first, he presents a question; secondly, he answers it (verse 9b).

First, therefore, he says: I have stated that you do wrong and defraud, which is to commit sin. But “do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” (1 Corinthians 6:9). It is as if to say: You seem not to know this, as long as you do not give up your sin; whereas it says in Psalms 6:8, “Depart from me, all you workers of evil!”

Then when he says, “Do not be deceived,” he determines the truth. First, he shows the impious their danger; secondly, he shows how they were snatched from this peril and should fear falling into it again (verse 11).

First, therefore, he says, “Do not be deceived.” This is said with a purpose, because some have been frequently deceived about sinning with impunity, as it says in Wisdom 2:21, “Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray.” For certain philosophers erred in believing that God does not have charge of human affairs, as it says in Zephaniah 1:12, “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.” Others erred by believing that faith alone is sufficient for salvation, according to John 11:26, “Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” Others believed that they will be saved just by Christ’s sacraments, on account of what is said in Mark 16:16, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved,” and John 6:54, “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” Still others suppose that they can sin with impunity on account of the works of mercy they perform, since it says in Luke 11:41, “But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you.” But they do not understand that all these things are of no benefit without charity, for it says in 1 Corinthians 13:2 and following, “If I have all faith... if I give away all I have to the poor... and have not charity, I gain nothing.” Therefore, he continues: sins contrary to charity exclude one from the kingdom of God, which charity alone permits one to enter, saying, “neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,” concerning whom Hebrews 13:4 says, “God will judge the immoral and adulterous,” “nor homosexuals,” of which it says in Genesis 13:13, “The men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord,” “nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.” For it says in Isaiah 35:8, “And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not pass over it,” and in Revelation 21:27, “But nothing unclean shall enter it, nor any one who practices abomination.” It should be noted that the vices mentioned here are the same as those mentioned in the previous chapter. But he added some in the category of lust, namely, adultery and sins against nature, and thievery in the category of injustice.

Then when he says, “And such were some of you,” he shows how they escaped from the danger mentioned above. First, he reminds them of their past state, saying, “And such were some of you”—namely, fornicators and idolaters, and so on. He makes particular mention of these vices because they were common among them, as it says in Ephesians 5:8, “For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”

Secondly, he shows how they were freed from them inwardly, saying, “But you were washed,” by the power of Christ’s blood in baptism, as it says in Revelation 1:5, “He freed us from our sins by his blood.” “You were sanctified,” by the power of Christ’s blood and consecrated in grace, as it says in Hebrews 13:12, “So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.” “You were justified,” that is, raised to the state of justice, according to Romans 8:30, “Those whom he called he also justified.”

Then he mentions the cause of these blessings: first, on the part of the humanity of Christ when he says, “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,” that is, in believing and calling on that name, as it says in Acts 4:12, “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Secondly, on the part of the divinity when he adds, “and in the Spirit of our God,” as it says in Ezekiel 37:5, “Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.” Therefore, since you have been freed by such great power, you should not return to your former ways.

Then when he says, “All things are lawful,” he clarifies what he had said about forbidding lawsuits and shows in what sense he rejects them: namely, he does not reject them as completely unlawful, but as not beneficial and as harmful. In regard to this, he does two things: first, he states his proposition; secondly, he assigns a reason (verse 13).

First, he states that what he rejects is lawful but not beneficial, saying, “All things are lawful for me.” Now those things are lawful which a person is not forbidden to do. But prohibitions are of two kinds: one is by force and the other by precept. According to this, some have understood that something is lawful if they are not prohibited from it by any necessitating force. Because a person’s decision is naturally free from force, they understand the Apostle to mean it in that sense when he said, “All things are lawful for me”—namely, that all things are subject to a person’s free choice, be they good or evil, according to what is said in Sirach 15:17, “Before a man are life and death; and whichever he chooses will be given to him.”

But this way of speaking is foreign to Sacred Scripture, in which it says that things forbidden by the divine law are not lawful, as in Matthew 14:4, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Consequently, what the Apostle says here, that “all things are lawful for me,” must not be understood absolutely but in this sense: all things are lawful for me which are not forbidden by the divine law.

This can be referred to three things:

1. First, to what he had said about lawsuits, namely, that it is lawful for anyone to obtain his property through lawsuits, since it is not forbidden by divine law.
2. Secondly, it can be referred to what he will say below (1 Corinthians 8:8) about the indiscriminate use of food, so that the sense would be: it is lawful for me to eat all foods, according to Titus 1:15, “To the pure all things are pure.”
3. Thirdly, it can be referred to what he will say below (1 Corinthians 9:4) about taking food and drink, so that the sense is this: “all things are lawful for me,” namely, to take what is necessary for life, just as it is for my co-apostles.

But he adds, “but not all things are helpful.” That is said to be helpful which is without a hindrance to attaining an end. Now it happens that something does not entirely exclude the end, but it offers some hindrance. For example, marriage does not exclude a person from the kingdom of God, but it offers a hindrance, namely, because as it says below (1 Corinthians 7:34), “The married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband.” So fornication is neither lawful nor helpful, because it totally excludes one from the end, which is eternal life; but marriage is lawful but not helpful. Therefore, according to this way of thinking, to get back one’s own in a lawsuit, or to use all foods without distinction, or to take one’s food from those to whom he preaches are all lawful, because they are not against justice or forbidden by any law; yet they are not helpful, either because peace toward one’s neighbor is endangered, or the scandal of the weak is produced, or an occasion for reviling is offered: “Not everything is good for every one” .

In another way, it can be understood not absolutely but conditionally, so that the sense is this: I have said that neither idolaters nor fornicators, etc., shall possess the kingdom of God. Therefore they are not lawful, because they exclude the end. But even if all things were lawful for me, not all are helpful, because they pose a hindrance to eternal life. Hence, speaking from the perspective of the wicked, it says in Wisdom 5:7, “We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction, and we journeyed through trackless deserts.”

Secondly, he shows that what he rejected above is harmful, saying, “All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything.” For one who uses something that is not helpful, whether it be lawful or unlawful, is somehow put under the power of that person or thing. Of a thing, indeed, because one who loves a thing too much is made its slave, as it says in Romans 16:18, “Such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.” But of a person, because as long as one does something not helpful, he is subject to the judgment of others; and particularly one who tries to get back his own in a lawsuit is under the power of the judge: “Why should my liberty be determined by another man’s conscience?” (1 Corinthians 10:29).

Then when he says, “Food is meant for the stomach,” he assigns a reason for what he has said. First, why all things are lawful, saying, “Food is meant for the stomach,” in order that after the stomach has done its work, it may nourish the entire body; “and the stomach for food,” that is, it serves to receive food and work on it. Therefore, since by God’s ordinance the stomach desires to receive food, and food was made to be put in the stomach—“Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed... and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food” (Genesis 1:29)—it is not unlawful for a person to get property back, or for a preacher to get support for necessary food, or even for a person to eat all foods without distinction.

Secondly, when he says, “and God will destroy both,” he gives the reason why all things are not helpful. For it is not helpful that a person suffer a loss in that which is never corrupted—namely, the heavenly kingdom—for the sake of something that is corrupted; and this happens in regard to food and the stomach. After this life, the use of food and of the stomach will cease, because the bodies of those who rise will be sustained without food by God’s power. And that is what he says: God will destroy—that is, will make cease—“this,” namely, the stomach, not as to its essence but as to its effect which it has now; and “that,” namely, foods, so far as they pertain to human use. For in the resurrection, “men will be like angels in heaven,” as it says in Matthew 22:30.

After rebuking the Corinthians about lawsuits, the Apostle now returns to condemn the sin of sexual immorality, which he mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5:11 and in judging which the Corinthians had been negligent. He condemns sexual immorality for four reasons: first, based on God’s design; secondly, from our union with Christ (verse 16); thirdly, from the defilement of the body (verse 18); and fourthly, from the dignity of grace (verse 19). Regarding the first reason, he does two things: first, he presents God’s design; secondly, the purpose of that design (verse 14).

Regarding the first point, it should be noted that some people justify their immoral conduct by appealing to God’s design. They argue that those who engage in sexual immorality are using their bodies for a purpose established by God. But the Apostle refutes this, saying that while food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food, the human body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord. That is, it was designed to belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Lord, in turn, for the body. This means Jesus Christ was given to humanity so that our bodies might be conformed to His glory, as it says in Philippians 3:21: He will change our lowly body to be like His glorious body.

An objection might be raised against this: just as the stomach is designed for the use of food, so also are certain parts of the human body designed by God for procreation—namely, the very parts used in sexual immorality. However, we must pay attention to the difference between these two cases. First, the Apostle was speaking about a single part of the body, the stomach, but here he speaks of the entire body. The whole body is not designed for sexual immorality any more than it is designed for merely eating food. Rather, food is used for the body’s benefit, and the body exists for the sake of the soul, from which it receives life according to its state. And since all things are ordered toward God as their ultimate purpose, the body should be subject to the Lord and dedicated to Him.

Furthermore, when the Apostle spoke of eating, he referred to it in general terms, not in a disordered way. Sexual immorality, however, is a disordered use of the members involved. Therefore, these members exist not for sexual immorality but for procreation as ordered by reason, which the body’s members should serve. In the same way, the stomach is not for gluttony and drunkenness, but for the proper use of food.

Then, when he says, and God raised the Lord, he points to the purpose of the design mentioned above. First, he indicates what God has done for the Lord, saying, And God raised the Lord—that is, the Lord Jesus Christ—from the dead, for which Christ Himself petitions in Psalm 41:10: Do thou, O Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up. Now, God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; therefore, Christ Himself, who is the Son of God, also raised Himself and rose by His own power, as it says in Psalm 3:5: I will lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the Lord sustains me, and in 2 Corinthians 13:4: He was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. Secondly, he indicates what God will do for us, saying, God will also raise us up by his power, the same power by which He raised Christ, as it says in Romans 8:11: He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies.

It should be noted that when speaking earlier about food and the stomach, which relate to our physical life, the Apostle said that God would destroy them. But now, speaking of the body and the Lord, he mentions the resurrection, because when this physical life ends, the nature of the body will be transformed into something better. Therefore, it is clear that the body should not be used for sexual immorality, which hinders future incorruptibility, according to Galatians 6:8: He who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption.

Then, when he says, Do you not know, he presents a second reason, which is based on the human body’s union with Christ. Specifically, the members of a man who engages in sexual immorality become the members of a prostitute, but a man’s members are Christ’s members. Therefore, through sexual immorality, Christ’s members become the members of a prostitute, which is improper. Regarding this point, he does four things. First, he presents the major premise, saying, Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? It is as if he is saying: You should not be ignorant of this, because all of you who have been reborn in Christ have become members of Christ, as it says later in 1 Corinthians 12:27: Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. This is true not only of your souls, which are justified by Him, but also of your bodies, which will be raised up by Him, as was stated earlier.

Secondly, he presents the conclusion, saying, Shall I take the members of Christ—that is, remove them from the service of Christ to whom they should be dedicated, as it says in Romans 6:13, Yield your members to God as instruments of righteousness—and make them be members of a prostitute by fornicating? Never! For this is a horrible sacrilege. Thus it says in Malachi 2:11: Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord which he loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god.

Thirdly, he presents the minor premise, saying, Do you not know that he who joins his body to a prostitute... becomes one body with her?—that is, through an unclean union. To prove this, he appeals to the authority of Genesis, saying, For it is written, namely in Genesis 2:24, the two... become one flesh. This means that through physical union they are made one flesh, and so the members of one become the members of the other. These are Adam’s words about a husband and wife, which the Apostle here applies to sexual immorality because there is no specific difference between the physical acts themselves. It should be noted that, as the Philosopher says in the book, On the Generation of Animals, the active principle of generation is in the male, and the passive principle is in the female. And just as in a plant, whose life is ordered chiefly toward generation, there is always one body in which both principles are united, so it is in animals, which are ordered toward higher acts of life. In them, there is not always one body containing both principles; instead, one is made from two in the act of generation. In the case of humans, it is not only the man’s body that is involved, because as it says later in 1 Corinthians 7:4: The husband does not have rule over his own body, but the wife has.

He then proves the minor premise in another way, saying, But he who is united to the Lord... is one spirit with him. This union is by faith and love, and it is a spiritual, not a physical, unity. Thus it says in Romans 8:9: Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him, and in John 17:21: that they may be one in us, as we are one—that is, by a connection of the Spirit. And because the body serves the spirit, it follows that our bodies are also members of Him to whom we are united by the Spirit—not, of course, through a physical union, but a spiritual one. From the two points given above, a single reason can be formed: because our body is not destined for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and because our members are Christ’s members (as he explains later), we must not make them the members of a prostitute by engaging in sexual immorality.

Then, when he says, Flee fornication, he presents a third reason, which is based on the body’s defilement. First, he presents the command: Flee fornication. Here it should be noted that other vices are overcome by resisting them. This is because the more a person considers the details of those sins, the less he will find in them to enjoy and the more he will find to be cautious about. But the vice of sexual immorality is not overcome by resisting it in the same way, because the more a person considers the specific situation, the more he is inflamed with passion. Instead, it is overcome by fleeing—that is, by completely avoiding all impure thoughts and all occasions for sin, for it says in Zechariah 2:6: Flee from the land of the north.

Secondly, he gives the reason, saying, Every other sin a man commits is outside the body. To understand this, it should be noted that some sins do not culminate in physical pleasure but only in a spiritual one; these are called spiritual sins, such as pride, greed, and spiritual apathy. Sexual immorality, however, is entirely completed in physical pleasure. According to this interpretation, the phrase Every other sin a man commits is outside the body means that it is completed outside the pleasure of the body. But the sexually immoral person sins against his own body because the sin is completed in the flesh.

However, the fact that the sin of gluttony also culminates in bodily pleasure seems to contradict the explanation above. One possible answer is that gluttony is considered a form of lust, insofar as it leads to it, as it says in Ephesians 5:18: And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery. But a better explanation is that the Apostle is not saying that the sexually immoral person sins with his own body (which would fit the first explanation), but that he sins against his own body by corrupting and defiling it beyond the bounds of reason. Thus it says in Revelation 3:4: You still have a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and in Revelation 14:14: It is these who have not defiled themselves with women.

Alternatively, according to Augustine, a person who engages in sexual immorality sins against his own body because his soul is so completely subjected to the flesh in that act that it cannot think of anything else at that time. As it says in Psalm 32:9: Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding.

Another interpretation is that he sins against his own body—that is, against his wife, who is called the husband’s body. Other sins are not as directly opposed to her as the husband’s sexual immorality is. Thus it says in 1 Thessalonians 4:4: That each one of you know how to take a wife for himself in holiness and honor.

Yet another interpretation from Augustine understands this as spiritual immorality, through which the soul clings to the world in love and turns away from God, as it says in Psalm 73:27: Those who are far from you shall perish. The meaning, therefore, would be that whoever commits this spiritual immorality and turns away from God for love of the world sins against his own body—that is, through bodily desire. But every other sin—for example, one committed from forgetfulness, ignorance, or negligence—is outside the body, meaning it is outside of bodily desire.

Then, when he says, Do you not know, he presents the fourth reason, which is based on the dignity of grace. This dignity comes from two sources: the grace of the Holy Spirit and the redemption of Christ’s blood. Regarding this, he does three things. First, he declares the dignity of our body, which it has from the grace of the Holy Spirit, saying, Do you not know—as if to say, you should not be ignorant of this—that your body... is a temple of the Holy Spirit, just as he said earlier in 1 Corinthians 3:16: Do you not know that you are God’s temple? He then gives the reason for this, saying, who is within you. A house of God is called a temple. Therefore, because the Holy Spirit is God, it is correct to say that anyone in whom the Holy Spirit dwells is a temple of God. The Holy Spirit dwells primarily in the hearts of believers, in whom the love of God is poured out by the Holy Spirit, as it says in Romans 5:5. But secondarily, He is also in the members of the body, insofar as they perform acts of love. Thus it says in Psalm 84:2: My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. But so that they would not attribute this dignity to themselves, he adds, which you have from God and not from yourselves. Thus it says in Joel 2:28: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.

Secondly, he mentions the dignity our bodies have from the redemption of Christ, saying, You are not your own, but belong to Jesus Christ, as it says in Romans 14:8: Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. And in 2 Corinthians 5:15: Those who live no longer live for themselves. He gives the reason for this when he says, You were bought with a great price. Therefore, you are slaves of Him who has redeemed you from the slavery of sin; thus it says later in 1 Corinthians 7:22: For he who was called in the Lord as a freedman is a slave of the Lord; and in Psalm 31:5: You have redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth. The price of redemption is called great because it is not perishable but has everlasting power, since it is the blood of the everlasting God. Thus it says in 1 Peter 1:18: You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things, such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.

Thirdly, he draws the intended conclusion, saying, So glorify and carry God in you body. For since your members are a temple of God, nothing should appear in your body except what pertains to God’s glory. This is what it means to glorify God in your body, as it says in Psalm 29:9: In his temple all cry, ‘Glory’; and again, in Exodus 40:34: Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Furthermore, because you are not your own but are slaves of God, you should carry God as a horse or another animal carries its master. Thus it says in Psalm 73:23: I was like a beast towards you. Our body carries the Lord insofar as it is assigned to a divine ministry. Therefore, a person should avoid sinning against his own body through sexual immorality, which is contrary to the glory of God and to the service our body owes to God.