Objection: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Is About Avoiding Fornication and Should Not Be Used as a Healing Proof-Text

I agree that the main theme of the latter part of 1 Corinthians 6 is avoiding fornication.  At least 4 verses specifically mention this.  But there are also at least 4 verses dealing with God’s ownership and redemption of your physical body.  The main reason to avoid fornication is this truth that our bodies have been bought with a price (verse 20) and are members of Christ (verse 15).  We must avoid fornication because Christ himself assumed legal ownership of our bodies when we were born again.  We also see that the Lord is for the body (verse 13), not neutral or uncaring about it or against it.

If the Lord is for the body (which He is), how can we conclude that He might want the body that He is “for” to be sick?  God is for your body, not against it.  Why would God want a member of Christ to be sick?  Why would He want “the temple of the Holy Ghost” (verse 19) to be falling apart?  He was very particular about His Old Testament temple being in order.  He surely wants His New Testament temple (your body) to be in order, too.

Consider the fact in verse 13 that the body is for the Lord.  If your body is wasting away with a debilitating illness, you can’t use it for the Lord.  You cannot go on mission trips.  You cannot go preach the gospel or even serve at your local church to build up the Body of Christ.  Given that our bodies are to be used for the Lord, what use would it be to God if that body could not be used in His service?  What a waste.

In verse 20, Paul tells us to glorify God with our bodies.  How much glory does God, who calls Himself The Lord Who Heals You (Exodus 15:26), get, if you get sick and stay that way, or even die?  Is that any way to glorify God with your body?  Apply this test: Will anyone look at your sick or dying (or dead) body and begin to give glory to God because of it?  No one but a nut or an unbelief-book author would do that.  How much glory does God get when He says that He heals you if you aren’t up and about?  That just makes it appear to the world that He ISN’T The Lord Who Heals You.

The Gospels plainly state that Christ’s glory was manifested when he did miracles, not by people staying sick and dying.  The glory of God was manifested when Lazarus was raised from the dead, not through his sickness and death.

Read Healing and God’s Glory for more discussion about exactly how God is glorified in people’s bodies.  You will see that healing and health glorify Him, not sickness.