All Things Lawful

"All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything" (1 Cor. 6.12). According to nature every demand of the body - such as eating, drinking and sex - is natural, reasonable and lawful (v.13). But as one who belongs to God he is additionally not able to do these things for the glory of God.

"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 immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body" (v.13).

The first half of this verse corresponds to the first half of the preceeding verse. Food is lawful, but since food and stomach will eventually be destroyed, none is eternally useful. The latter half of this verse also follows the latter half of the proceeding verse too. The Christian is capable of rising completely above the urges of sex and yielding his body wholly to the Lord (1 Cor. 7.34).

"And his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman or girl is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband" (v.34).