Read & explore together
The Temple of the Holy Spirit
Paul gives a direct command about sexual immorality and explains why it matters. In these three verses, he connects the body, the Holy Spirit, God’s claim on his readers, and the call to glorify God.
Understanding the passage
The setting of these words
These verses are teaching from a letter. Paul speaks with a command, then asks a question, then gives a conclusion. He wants his readers to understand what sexual immorality means in relation to their own body, the Holy Spirit in them, and God’s ownership.
1 Corinthians 6:18–20Main takeaway
Because Paul says, “you are not your own” and “you were bought with a price,” he tells his readers to flee sexual immorality and glorify God in body and spirit.
Follow the letter’s teaching
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01Flee sexual immoralityPaul begins with a short, urgent command: “Flee sexual immorality!” He then explains its seriousness by saying that the person who commits it “sins against his own body”.
Explanation
Paul begins with a short, urgent command: “Flee sexual immorality!” He then explains its seriousness by saying that the person who commits it “sins against his own body”. The verse does not list every implication, but it clearly marks this sin as deeply personal and serious.
02Your body is a templePaul asks, “Or don’t you know...?” as a reminder. He says their body is “a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you”.
Explanation
Paul asks, “Or don’t you know...?” as a reminder. He says their body is “a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you”. He also says this Holy Spirit is “from God”. These words give the body special significance in Paul’s argument.
03You are not your ownPaul makes the point even clearer with two linked statements: “You are not your own,” and “you were bought with a price.”
Explanation
Paul makes the point even clearer with two linked statements: “You are not your own,” and “you were bought with a price.” This passage does not explain the price here, but it does state God’s claim on the person addressed in the letter.
04Glorify God in body and spiritPaul ends with “Therefore”, showing that this is his conclusion. Because of what he has just said, he commands, “glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Explanation
Paul ends with “Therefore”, showing that this is his conclusion. Because of what he has just said, he commands, “glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Paul’s teaching joins identity and action, pointing to honouring God with the whole person.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01What reason does Paul give for treating sexual immorality seriously?
Look for the way Paul describes this sin in relation to a person’s own body in 1 Corinthians 6:18.
02How does Paul describe the body, and what does he say about the Holy Spirit’s presence?
Use the exact words in 1 Corinthians 6:19 about the temple and the Holy Spirit being “in you” and “from God”.
03How does Paul move from “you were bought with a price” to a practical command?
Notice the word “Therefore” and the command that follows in 1 Corinthians 6:20.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
1 Corinthians 6:18–20
18Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin that a man does is outside the body,” but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
19Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
20for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.