There seems to have arisen, in the Corinthian church, the view that sex was inherently impure or unspiritual. Abstinence from physical pleasure (asceticism) was a mode of life adopted by some in the Graeco-Roman world and was admired as a highly spiritual way of life. The Corinthians, who were prone to hyper-spirituality, naturally fell into this view. While periods of asceticism may be valid for the sake of prayer, this way of thinking nevertheless runs entirely counter to the biblical worldview. So, Paul corrects this here. Counter to strands of Greek philosophical thought flowing from Plato, the Bible has a favourable view of physical life including physical pleasures. The physical world was made inherently good, and the human enjoyment of this goodness is seen as a great blessing from God. The climax of the creation week was the creation of human beings who would reflect the image of God in their self-giving togetherness. This casts the sexual union of a man and a woman in a sacred light. Sex is not just a physical act. It is an act that has immense spiritual significance, which is why it was often used with pagan cults as a rite of devotion. When it expresses what it was made to express in the marriage union, sex is a wonderful blessing that glorifies God. But when it is abused and misused it desecrates something sacred and harms those involved.
Thank God for the pleasures of life that you enjoy.
Read 1 Corinthians 7:1-9
