From what I can tell, the only place in the bible where fornication is directly referenced is in 1 Corinthians. This book was written by Paul. To be precise, it was a letter to the early Christians of Corin, Greece. He was trying to guide these Christians.
The particular verse that he wrote did not come from God or Jesus. It seems that this is one scholar's opinion.
Why does something in the bible need to be followed if it did not come from God or Jesus? What is the justification for people to not engage in fornication? Is this one verse justification enough?
Greetings jbg , and all ,
The following verse stood out as the one likely referred to in the second paragraph above .
Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. <-----> 1st Corinthians 6:18
Particularly the opening exhortation - " Flee fornication " ; which implies that they / we are already participants or at least vulnerable to being seduced into fornication .
Now The Apostle Paul was no ordinary minister / scholar . One would be extremely hard pressed to find a contemporary preacher whose testimony comes close to that of Paul's . For he demonstrated Christ's Spirit of faith with power and authority . So that people marvelled and even the demons recognized him by name -
And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:
The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.
And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. <-----> Acts 14:8-11
And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? <-----> Acts 19:15
When someone is so full of The Holy Spirit that the Power of Christ to heal and deliver shines clearly through them , they are also in a position to understand and relate God's will .
So , even if we only had this one verse , urging us to " flee fornication, " ( which others have pointed out is not really the case ) - but even if this were the only one ; it carries a lot of weight , because of the testimony Paul has in Christ , as one given power and authority to represent The Kingdom of God on earth , after Jesus' own example .
So let's look for a moment at the range of meaning given to the word " fornication " .
Quick definitions (fornication)
noun: voluntary sexual intercourse between persons not married to each other
noun: extramarital sex that willfully and maliciously interferes with marriage relations
Translated from the Greek -
G4202
πορνεία
porneia
por-ni'-ah
From G4203; harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively idolatry: - fornication.
G4203
πορνεύω
porneuō
porn-yoo'-o
From G4204; to act the harlot, that is, (literally) indulge unlawful lust (of either sex), or (figuratively) practise idolatry: - commit (fornication).
G4204
πόρνη
pornē
por'-nay
Feminine of
G4205; a strumpet; figuratively an idolater: - harlot, harlot.
G4205
πόρνος
pornos
por'-nos
From πέρνημι pernēmi (to sell; akin to the base of
G4097); a (male) prostitute (as venal), that is, (by analogy) a debauchee (libertine): - fornicator, whoremonger.
G4097
πιπράσκω, πράω
pipraskō praō
pip-ras'-ko, prah'-o
The first is a reduplicated and prolonged form of the second (which occurs only as an alternate in certain tenses); contracted from περάω peraō (to traverse; from the base of
G4008); to traffic (by travelling), that is, dispose of as merchandise or into slavery (literally or figuratively): - sell.
G4008
πέραν
peran
per'-an
Apparently the accusative case of an obsolete derivation of πείρω peirō (to “peirce”
; through (as adverb or preposition), that is, across: - beyond, farther (other) side, over.
Form these " root words " and their definitions we can see that " fornication " refers to a " going beyond " , into a kind of " slavery " , akin to being a " prostitute " or " harlot " , and " indulge in unlawful lust " which includes acts such as " harlotry , adultery , incest , idolatry , fornication ".
So basically what The Apostle Paul was conveying was , that we should get / stay away from going beyond God's will regarding our faculties of procreation .
Here's a few verses which relate God's will in this matter .
...
God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. <-----> Genesis 1:27+28
And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. <-----> Genesis 2:21-24
The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. <-----> Matthew 19:3-9
And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. <-----> Malachi 2:15
Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. <-----> Romans 7:1-3
See Also 1st Corinthians Chapter 7
From these passages of Scripture , we can see that God will is for man to multiply under a [ marriage ] bond which allows for a stable / committed environment for children to grow up in . Or that we remain chaste / celebate .
Those are our two " lawful options " , according to God's will as conveyed through Scripture .
If we go beyond God's will , we jeopardize our harmony with His Spirit , and being out of harmony with The Holy Spirit leads to instability and regret .
Hence , the saying - " Flee fornication " .
With our own eternal welfare in God's Mind , this exhortation sounds forth from The Holy Bible .
May The Lord Be Pleased to Bless !
wm