1 Corinthians 6:18

King James Version (KJV)

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

Flee fornication - Abominate, detest, and escape from every kind of uncleanness. Some sins, or solicitations to sin, may be reasoned with; in the above cases, if you parley you are undone; reason not, but Fly!

Sinneth against his own body - Though sin of every species has a tendency to destroy life, yet none are so mortal as those to which the apostle refers; they strike immediately at the basis of the constitution. By the just judgment of God, all these irregular and sinful connections are married to death. Neither prostitutes, whoremongers, nor unclean persons of any description, can live out half their days. It would be easy to show, and prove also, how the end of these things, even with respect to the body, is death; but I forbear, and shall finish the subject with the words of the prophet: The show of their countenance doth witness against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not; wo unto their soul, for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

Flee fornication - A solemn command of God - as explicit as any that thundered from Mount Sinai. None can disregard it with impunity - none can violate it without being exposed to the awful vengeance of the Almighty. There is force and emphasis in the word “flee” φεύγατε pheugateMan should escape from it; he should not stay to reason about it; to debate the matter; or even to contend with his propensities, and to try the strength of his virtue. There are some sins which a man can resist; some about which he can reason without danger of pollution. But this is a sin where a man is safe only when he flies; free from pollution only when he refuses to entertain a thought of it; secure when he seeks a victory by flight, and a conquest by retreat. Let a man turn away from it without reflection on it and he is safe. Let him think, and reason, and he may be ruined. “The very passage of an impure thought through the mind leaves pollution behind it.” An argument on the subject often leaves pollution; a description ruins; and even the presentation of motives against it may often fix the mind with dangerous inclination on the crime. There is no way of avoiding the pollution but in the manner prescribed by Paul; there is no man safe who will not follow his direction. How many a young man would be saved from poverty, want, disease, curses, tears, and hell, could these two words be made to blaze before him like the writing before the astonished eyes of Belshazzar Daniel 5, and could they terrify him from even the momentary contemplation of the crime.

Every sin … - This is to be taken comparatively. Sins in general; the common sins which people commit do not immediately and directly affect the body, or waste its energies, and destroy life. Such is the case with falsehood, theft, malice, dishonesty, pride, ambition, etc. They do not immediately and directly impair the constitution amid waste its energies.

Is without the body - Does not immediately and directly affect the body. The more immediate effect is on the mind; but the sin under consideration produces an immediate and direct effect on the body itself.

Sinneth against his own body - This is the FourTH argument against indulgence in this vice; and it is more striking and forcible. The sense is, “It wastes the bodily energies; produces feebleness, weakness, and disease; it impairs the strength, enervates the man, and shortens life.” Were it proper, this might be proveD to the satisfaction of every man by an examination of the effects of licentious indulgence. Those who wish to see the effects stated may find them in Dr. Rush on the Diseases of the Mind. Perhaps no single sin has done so much to produce the most painful and dreadful diseases, to weaken the constitution, and to shorten life as this. Other vices, as gluttony and drunkenness, do this also, and all sin has some effect in destroying the body, but it is true of this sin in an eminent degree.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

Some among the Corinthians seem to have been ready to say, All things are lawful for me. This dangerous conceit St. Paul opposes. There is a liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, in which we must stand fast. But surely a Christian would never put himself into the power of any bodily appetite. The body is for the Lord; is to be an instrument of righteousness to holiness, therefore is never to be made an instrument of sin. It is an honour to the body, that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead; and it will be an honour to our bodies, that they will be raised. The hope of a resurrection to glory, should keep Christians from dishonouring their bodies by fleshly lusts. And if the soul be united to Christ by faith, the whole man is become a member of his spiritual body. Other vices may be conquered in fight; that here cautioned against, only by flight. And vast multitudes are cut off by this vice in its various forms and consequences. Its effects fall not only directly upon the body, but often upon the mind. Our bodies have been redeemed from deserved condemnation and hopeless slavery by the atoning sacrifice of Christ. We are to be clean, as vessels fitted for our Master's use. Being united to Christ as one spirit, and bought with a price of unspeakable value, the believer should consider himself as wholly the Lord's, by the strongest ties. May we make it our business, to the latest day and hour of our lives, to glorify God with our bodies, and with our spirits which are his.

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

18. Flee. The Greek indicates a habitual, continuous attitude and action. That is, make it a habit to flee. Do not stop to parley with the temper when he confronts you with any kind of invitation to indulge in immorality. It is dangerous to hesitate and argue with conscience; determined, immediate flight from the temptation is the only safe course to take (see CH 587). This injunction to make no attempt to stand and argue with the temptation to impurity but to turn and flee from it cannot be disregarded with impunity. The temptation to fornication may often prove so subtle that a person is safe only by fleeing from it. He is free from pollution only when he refuses to harbor an immoral thought; secure only when he turns his eyes away from any object that might suggest an impure thought (see 2 Sam. 11:2-4; Job 31:1; Prov. 6:23-26; Matt. 5:27-29). There is no other way to avoid the pollution of fornication than that stated by Paul, and no one is safe who refuses to follow this instruction. Joseph demonstrated the importance of flight from this evil thing (see Gen. 39:7-12; 5T 596). Many individuals would be saved from tears, remorse, poverty, want, disease, and lifelong misery if only they would give heed to the words, “Flee fornication.”

Fornication. Gr. porneia, a general term for all forms of illicit sexual intercourse.

Without the body. The exact meaning of the contrast here set forth is not clear, but the general meaning is apparent. No sin defiles the body as does fornication. No sin has its origin in, and is within, the body in the same dreadful way that fornication is. Paul here presents the fourth argument against licentiousness (cf. on vs. 13, 14, 15). The more immediate effect of sins such as theft, falsehood, covetousness, is on the mind, but impurity directly affects the body itself. Although things like drunkenness and gluttony are sins done in and by the body, they are introduced from without the body. But in committing fornication the body is used as the direct agent of the crime. This abominable sin is peculiarly hateful because it interferes with the beautiful and symbolic unity of marriage. God intends that marriage shall be a lifelong union of one man with one woman that nothing shall break (see Gen. 2:23, 24; Rom. 7:2, 3), which union represents the one between Christ and His church (see Eph. 5:25-32). See on Matt. 5:28-32; 19:5-9.

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Ellen G. White
Counsels on Health, 587

It is the lack of harmonious action in the human organism that brings disease. The imagination may control the other parts of the body to their injury. All parts of the system must work harmoniously. The different parts of the body, especially those remote from the heart, should receive a free circulation of blood. The limbs act an important part and should receive proper attention. CH 587.1

God is the great caretaker of the human machinery. In the care of our bodies we must co-operate with Him. Love for God is essential for life and health. In order to have perfect health our hearts must be filled with hope and love and joy. CH 587.2

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Ellen G. White
Reflecting Christ, 150.1

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 1 Corinthians 6:18. RC 150.1

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Cross References

Flee