1 Corinthians 6:12-20

[Hidden In Him]

The Spiritual Dangers Inherent In Being "Ruled Over By The Flesh"

                 

     The teaching of the early church was that the flesh was essentially at war with the Spirit, for the two led believers to do two opposite things. The flesh would lead one to commit things like fornication and idolatry, whereas the Spirit would lead them to walk in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc. Therefore, those who allowed themselves to be ruled by the flesh would not inherit eternal life, for they were giving themselves to what was essentially the enemy of the Spirit.

     Walk by the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. They oppose each other, such that you cannot simply do whatever you wish.... The works of the flesh are obvious, which are sexual immorality, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, witchcraft... and I warn you, as I said before, that those practicing such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God... But those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. (Galatians 5:16-17, 19-20, 24)

     What then was the method by which the early church "crucified" the flesh with its passions and lusts? Some regard this merely as a theological construct, but Paul spoke frequently of the practical means by which they were doing this: Through fasting. It is what he was talking about in Colossians 2-3, where he exhorted the believers there to "mortify their members" or in other wards "put them to death," which was the same imagery as crucifixion.

     If you died with Christ from the elementary principles of the world, why as though living in the world do you subject yourself to decrees? "Touch not, taste not," neither handle such things as are all coming to decomposition with the using, in accordance with the injunctions and teachings of men; teachings which indeed have an appearance of wisdom in advocating voluntary subservience, self-abasement and neglect of the body, yet do not have any value against gratification of the flesh. If therefore you were raised with Christ... Mortify your members upon the earth: Sexual immorality, uncleanness, physical passion, evil lust, and sexual covetousness, which is idolatry, on account of which things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, amongst whom you also walked when you were once living among them. (Colossians 2:20-23, 3:5-7)

     Judaisers were among the Colossians, and trying to tell them that eating unclean foods was against Jewish Law, but Paul's response was that simply refraining from eating unclean foods yet not actually disciplining the body through a more limited diet would not have any real effect in bringing the body under submission. It had an appearance of advocating neglect of the body, but in reality was not. Christians, however, needed to fully "mortify their members upon the earth," and the Greek word Paul used here was μέλος, which was literally used in Classical and Old Testament Greek of "bodily limbs" or "body parts." Thus he meant mortifying the literal members of the physical body, and while using discretion, was talking about the sexual members, given the specific sins he mentioned to start with in Galatians, and now emphasized even more so in Colossians: sexual immorality, sexual uncleanness, physical passion, evil lust, and sexual covetousness.
     How was this done? It was understood during New Testament times that the means of bringing the sex drive more under control was through fasting. This is why Paul stated in other places that he "engaged in fasting often" (2 Corinthians 11:25-27, 6:4-5), and why he told the Corinthians, "I pummel my body, and bring it under submission, lest when I have preached to others I myself might become disqualified."  (1 Corinthians 9:24, 26-27). He was comparing himself to a boxer here who regularly conditioned himself to take blows by beating himself in the stomach. In doing so he was not simply "shadow-boxing" or beating the air, but training his flesh to be brought under submission, and according to Ambrosiaster, Paul was teaching here that "To 'pommel the body' meant to fast, and avoid any kind of luxury. Paul shows that he disciplines his own body so that he will not miss out on the reward which he preaches to others." (Ambrosiaster, Commentary On Paul's Epistles)..
     Unfortunately, there were now some in Corinth who were teaching the opposite, and it appears they were justifying doing so by citing Peter's vision in the Book of Acts, where he was told to "take and eat" after he saw a curtain lowered from Heaven with all sorts of unclean foods on it, the implication being that it would now be considered lawful or permissible for believers in Christ to eat meats considered unclean under Jewish Law. The heretics, however, were perverting this message into a license to "pig out," if you will, which now led Paul to clarify that while all things were now lawful for Christians to eat, this did not mean they should let bodily urges gain the rule over them.

     "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are beneficial. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be brought under the rule of any. Foods for the belly and the belly for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. And the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it not be! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “the two shall become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one Spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin which a man may practice is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. (1 Corinthians 6:12-20)

     It was not a long jump from saying , "foods for the belly, and the belly for foods" to saying "sex for the body, and the body for sex," and Paul understood it, which is why he immediately added, "but the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord." This is the direction their thinking was heading in, and Paul's answer was that while it was true that the flesh had needs, Christians were not simply to give themselves over to bodily urges. Foods were for the belly and the belly for foods, but God would destroy both it and them because the mode of this life was passing
     But as we shall see, there were more dangers inherent in being ruled over by the flesh than simply falling into sexual sin. The spiritual danger existed of potentially allowing demonic spirits into your body by engaging in sex with those who had demons in them, for as the scripture stated, those who engaged in sex with the demon-infested became "one flesh" with them, and thereby gave legal ground for any demons their sexual partner had to transfer into them as well. This is why Paul said that those who committed such sins were sinning against their own body.


Were The Heretics In Corinth Gnostics?

     Later in this letter, Paul will bring up how the Israelites fell into sin because they did not bring their flesh under submission but let it gain the rule over them as well:

     1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things just as they also lusted. 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell. 9 Neither should we put the Lord to the test, as some of them tested Him, and were being destroyed by serpents. 10 Neither let us murmur as some of them also murmured, and perished by the destroyer. 11 And these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:1-12)

     All these examples from Israel's history involved lusting after food in some way, and the first two also dealt with falling into idolatry, sexual immorality or the early stages of it, and the worship of other gods. Paul was using these examples to drive home that "we should not lust after evil things as some of them lusted," or more specifically that believers needed to "flee from sexual immorality" (1 Corinthians 6:18), and "flee from idolatry" (1 Corinthians 10:14). What must be noticed here is that it is likely not coincidental that these are the exact same two sins which the early Gnostics were notorious for. Eating meats sacrificed to idols and engaging in sexual immorality were their calling cards, if you will, as is clear from the letters to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation.

     And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, "‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword... I have a few things against you, because you have those there who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality." (Revelation 2:12-14)

     And to the angel of the church at Thyatira write, "These things saith the Son of God… I know your works, and love, and service, and faith, and your endurance, and that your last works are more than your first. But I have against you that you suffer the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and teaches and misleads My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed unto idols." (Revelation 2:18-20)

     There was also another ancient document circulating during the first century which states that Simon the Magician - the founder of early Gnosticism - actually visited Corinth himself at one point, and was spreading Gnostic doctrines among them openly. It is purported to have been a letter sent from the Corinthians to the apostle Paul, in which they informed him that Simon and one of his disciples Cleobius had come to Corinth and were misleading the uninformed, and they wanted Paul to refute them. This letter and Paul's response to them bear marks of authenticity which I won't go into here, but suffice it to say the letter gives credence to the notion that Gnostics were attempting to pervert the church in Corinth:

     Stephanus and the presbyters who are with him, Daphnus, Eubulus, Theophilus, and Xenon, to Paul their brother in the Lord, greetings. Two men have come to Corinth, Simon and Cleobius, who pervert the faith of many through corrupt words we want you to respond to. We have never heard such words from you or the other apostles...
     What they teach is as follows: "We must not study the Old Testament prophets. God is not Almighty. There is no resurrection of the flesh but only of the spirit. Creation is not God's work. The Lord did not come in the flesh. The Lord was not born of Mary. The world was created by angels and not God. Jesus Christ was not crucified, but someone who looked like Him took His place. Jesus was not of the lineage of King David."
     So brother, hurry and come here, that the church here in Corinth may reman pure, and the foolishness of these men may be made known to all. Farewell in the Lord. (3rd Corinthians 1:1-13)

     Some might object that no specific reference is actually made to the Gnostics in 1st or 2nd Corinthians, but what must be considered is that this was still very early in the New Testament era, before many even knew what Gnosticism was yet, and scripture records that the Gnostics were deliberately deceptive in their methods, and "crept into the churches unawares" as the later epistles would state. They hid behind the name of "Christ" and used Christian language but were ruled by their flesh, so the sure way of identifying them was by their conduct, which became increasingly apparent the longer they were present among Christian congregations. By the time Second Peter and Jude were being written, it had become blatantly obvious what was going on.

     These are blemishes in the midst of your Agapes, fearlessly shepherding themselves while feasting together among you; waterless clouds, being carried away by winds; unfruitful autumn trees that have died twice over, having been uprooted; wild waves of the sea, frothing up their shames; wayward stars, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever. (Jude 1:12-13)

     Jude was here using symbolism to say that although they showed up at Christian feasts posing as believers, it was becoming apparent that they were not true Christians because they never brought forth any true spiritual fruit or spiritual "water," but instead only manifested their "shame" by their conduct, and likewise never gave forth any true spiritual Light but only spoke falsehoods. The apostle Peter was more direct in his language, spelling out plainly what they were usually up to whenever they showed up:   

     These are spots and blemishes, lounging about with deceitful intentions while feasting together among you, having eyes preoccupied with an adulteress, and incessant sin, alluring unstable souls, having a heart trained upon sexual covetousness… [and] through the lusts of the flesh they allure into sexually licentiousness those nearly escaping from among the ones living in error, promising them "freedom" yet themselves being slaves of moral corruption. For by whatsoever a man has been overcome, by this he is also kept enslaved. For if having once escaped the corruption that is in the world through the recognition of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but again getting entangled in these things they are subdued, their last state has become worse than the first. For it was better for them not to have recognized the way of righteousness than having recognized it to have turned from the holy commandant given unto them. But a realization of the true proverb has happened unto them: "The dog has returned to his own vomit, and the sow once washed to rolling in the mud." (2 Peter 2:13-14, 18-22)


Becoming "One" With The Demon-Infested

     It was this latter sin - potentially committing fornication with unbelievers - that actually poses the greatest threat to Christians if they allow themselves to increasingly be ruled over by the flesh, the reason being that it gives legal ground for the transference of demonic spirits from one partner to another if the two are not married. Paul alluded to this principle in Chapter 7, where he told the Corinthians the following:

     12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. (1 Corinthians 7:12-14)

     "Uncleanness" was a consistent reference to the presence of unclean spirits in the New Testament. Paul understood the principle that those who engaged in sexual intercourse became "one flesh" with one another, yet so long as they were legally married in keeping with the commandments of God, even should one spouse be unsaved and plagued by evil spirits, the Holy Spirit would sanctify the marriage for the sake of the believer, because it was lawful intercourse in the sight of God.
     For the rest of this study, I will quote from Rebecca Brown, who helped deliver a former High Priestess out of Satanism back in the 1970s, and frequently had to field questions from others on issues related to saving Satanists out of darkness into Light. The following excerpts are what she had to say on the topic of sexual intercourse between married and unmarried couples:

      I have frequently been asked about problems arising from sexual intercourse between a man and wife when one of the spouses is unsaved and participating in blatant sin. In these cases, I firmly believe that the believing spouse can stand on the promises given in 1 Corinthians 7:12-16... In such cases, the Christian spouse only need ask the Lord to sanctify their marriage bed and their unbelieving spouse and close that doorway with the blood of Jesus so that the believing spouse will not become infested with demons through their sexual intercourse. (Brown, Prepare For War, P.138-139)

     But what if the person one was having sexual intercourse with was NOT his or her spouse? This is where the danger comes in for a believer in Christ, for as she also went on to add:

     Sexual intercourse is another big doorway [through which demons enter]. Demons are passed from one person to another through sexual intercourse. This is because the two people involved become "one flesh." As scripture says, "Know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? For two, saith He, shall be one flesh... Flee fornication. Every sin that a man does is without the body, but he who commits fornication sins against his own body." The word fornication means sexual intercourse between a man and a woman who are not married to each other (Definition from Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, P.465).
     This is why God has given His people so many commands not to have sexual intercourse between anyone who is not man and wife. It is for our protection from this source of demonic infestation. Rape and violent sexual assault, particularly in children, is a doorway that I have come across repeatedly in my medical practice. This results in the demonic entrance of some of the strongest demons I have ever met. Incest within a family and any participation in homosexuality always leads to demonic infestation. (Brown, He Came To Set The Captives Free, P.138-139)   

     The particular danger, however, was if a believer managed to get seduced into engaging in sexual sin with a practicing Satanist, a witch, or someone deeply involved in the occult. As she also stated, this is where the same spirits that seduced the Satanist into his religion could then be transferred, and used to lead the unsuspecting Christian away from the faith and into occultism:
     
     Fornication is a hedge-breaking sin. Demons are a "venereal disease" much more devastating than herpes or AIDS. They are passed from one person to another through sexual intercourse. That is why the most effective tool for recruitment into Satanism is through sexual encounters. This is why all the pagan temples today and down through history have had temple prostitutes. The demons placed in the unsuspecting person through intercourse with a Satanist then influence that person into Satanism (Brown, Prepare For War, P.108)

     This becomes a tremendous problem for born again Christians in whom the Spirit of God dwells, for God will not inhabit the same temple with demons and will eventually depart, thereafter leaving a believer wide open to deception from evil spirits. Thus, the ultimate danger was in being led astray by demons to depart from the faith and turn aside into darkness instead, which applied directly to New Testament times. It is why many were being led astray into Gnosticism in the late first century and throughout the second century, as Irenaeus would record.
     Speaking of some of the Gnostics who were operating during his time:

     Wherefore it also comes to pass that the "most perfect" among them addict themselves without fear to all those kinds of forbidden deeds of which the scripture assures us that "they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." They make no scruple about eating meats offered in sacrifice to idols, imagining that in this way they can contract no defilement. Then, again, at every heathen festival celebrated in honor of the idols, these men are the first to assemble... Others of them yield themselves up to the lusts of the flesh with the utmost greediness, maintaining that carnal things should be allowed to the carnal nature, while spiritual things are provided for the spiritual. Some of them, moreover, are in the habit of defiling those women to whom they have taught the above doctrine, as has been frequently confessed by those women who have been led astray by certain of them, on their returning to the church of God, and acknowledging this along with the rest of their errors. Others of them, too, openly and without a blush, having become passionately attached to certain woman, seduce them away from their husbands, and contract marriages of their own with them. Others of them, again, who pretend at first to live in modesty with them as with sisters, have in course of time been revealed in their true colors, when the sister has been found with child by her [pretended] brother. (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 1, VI, 3)

     There is another of these heretics, Marcus by name... He is a perfect adept in magical impostures, and by this means drawing away a great number of men, and not a few women, has induced them to join themselves to him, as to one who is possessed of the greatest "knowledge" and perfection... this Marcus compounds philters and love-potions to insult the persons of some of these women, if not of all, of those of them who have returned to the church of God - a thing which frequently occurs - who have acknowledged, confessing too, that they have been defiled by him, and were filled with a burning passion for him... but such [evil] spirits as are commanded by these men are sent forth by Satan for the seduction and perdition of those who do not hold fast that well-compacted faith which they received at first through the church.
     A sad example of this occurred in the case of a certain Asiatic, one of our deacons, who had received him [Marcus] into his house. His wife, a woman of remarkable beauty, fell victim both in mind and body to this magician, and for a long time traveled about with him. At last, when with no small difficulty the brethren had converted her, she spent her whole time in the exercise of public confession, weeping over and lamenting the defilement she received from this magician. Some of his disciples too, addicting themselves to the same practices, have deceived many silly women and defiled them. They proclaim themselves as being "perfect," so that no one can be compared to them with respect to the immensity of their "knowledge," nor were you even to mention Paul or Peter or any of the other apostles.
     Such are the words and deeds by which, in our own district of Rhone, they have deluded many women, who have their consciences seared as with a hot iron. Some of them, indeed, make a public confession of their sins. But others of them are ashamed to do this, and in a tacit kind of way, despairing of attaining to the Life of God, have apostatized altogether, while others hesitate between the two courses, and incur that which is implied in the proverb, "Neither without, nor within," possessing this as the fruit from the seed of the children of "knowledge." (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 1, XIII, 4-7)

     As will be shown in later studies, when Paul alluded to "taking one's members and making them the members of a prostitute," he was actually referring to temple prostitution in Corinth, since it was the center of Aphrodite worship in the ancient world. This posed essentially the same dangers, for as Paul would say in another place, "the gods which the Gentiles worship are demons," which meant that becoming "one flesh" with temple prostitutes was paramount to getting seduced into apostasy just as much as becoming one flesh with a Gnostic magician was.