1 Corinthians — Chapter 6
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1If any of you has a grievance against another, how dare he go to law before the unrighteous instead of before the saints!
2Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?
3Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!
4So if you need to settle everyday matters, do you appoint as judges those of no standing in the church?
5I say this to your shame. Is there really no one among you wise enough to arbitrate between his brothers?
6Instead, one brother goes to law against another, and this in front of unbelievers!
7The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means that you are thoroughly defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?
8Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, even against your own brothers!
9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,
10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
12“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.
13“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will destroy them both. The body is not intended for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
14By His power God raised the Lord from the dead, and He will raise us also.
15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!
16Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”
17But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.
18Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
20you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
1Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
2Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
4If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
5I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
6But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
7Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
8Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
9Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
12All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
13Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
14And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
15Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
16What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
17But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
18Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
19What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1Dare any of you, having a matter against his neighbor, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?
2Or know ye not that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world is judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more, things that pertain to this life?
4If then ye have to judge things pertaining to this life, do ye set them to judge who are of no account in the church?
5I say [this] to move you to shame. What, cannot there be [found] among you one wise man who shall be able to decide between his brethren,
6but brother goeth to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?
7Nay, already it is altogether a defect in you, that ye have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather take wrong? why not rather be defrauded?
8Nay, but ye yourselves do wrong, and defraud, and that [your] brethren.
9Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men,
10nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11And such were some of you: but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.
12All things are lawful for me; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful for me; but I will not be brought under the power of any.
13Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall bring to nought both it and them. But the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body:
14and God both raised the Lord, and will raise up as through his power.
15Know ye not that your bodies are members of Christ? shall I then take away the members of Christ, and make them members of a harlot? God forbid.
16Or know ye not that he that is joined to a harlot is one body? for, The twain, saith he, shall become one flesh.
17But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
18Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
19Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own;
20for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body.
1When any of you has a legal dispute with another, does he dare go to court before the unrighteous rather than before the saints?
2Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you not competent to settle trivial suits?
3Do you not know that we will judge angels? Why not ordinary matters!
4So if you have ordinary lawsuits, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church?
5I say this to your shame! Is there no one among you wise enough to settle disputes between fellow Christians?
6Instead, does a Christian sue a Christian, and do this before unbelievers?
7The fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves demonstrates that you have already been defeated. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?
8But you yourselves wrong and cheat, and you do this to your brothers and sisters!
9Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals,
10thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God.
11Some of you once lived this way. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
12“All things are lawful for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “All things are lawful for me”—but I will not be controlled by anything.
13“Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both.” The body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
14Now God indeed raised the Lord and he will raise us by his power.
15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!
16Or do you not know that anyone who is united with a prostitute is one body with her? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”
17But the one united with the Lord is one spirit with him.
18Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin a person commits is outside of the body”—but the immoral person sins against his own body.
19Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
1Dare any of you, having a matter against his neighbor, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?
2Don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3Don’t you know that we will judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?
4If then, you have to judge things pertaining to this life, do you set them to judge who are of no account in the assembly?
5I say this to move you to shame. Isn’t there even one wise man among you who would be able to decide between his brothers?
6But brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers!
7Therefore it is already altogether a defect in you, that you have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?
8No, but you yourselves do wrong, and defraud, and that against your brothers.
9Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals,
10nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom.
11Such were some of you, but you were washed. But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God.
12“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are expedient. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power of anything.
13“Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods,” but God will bring to nothing both it and them. But the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
14Now God raised up the Lord, and will also raise us up by his power.
15Don’t you 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 never be!
16Or don’t you know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body? For, “The two”, he says, “will become one flesh.”
17But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.
18Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin that a man does is outside the body,” but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
19Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
20for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Summary
Paul rebukes believers for taking their disputes before pagan judges instead of settling them within the church, reminding them that they will one day judge the world and even angels, so surely they can handle everyday disagreements (vv. 1-6). He says it would be better to simply accept being wronged than to sue a fellow believer, and warns that the wrongdoing itself grieves God (vv. 7-8). He then lists behaviors — including sexual immorality, idolatry, theft, drunkenness, and greed — that will keep people from inheriting God's kingdom, reminding the Corinthians that some of them once lived this way but have been washed, sanctified, and justified in Jesus' name and by the Spirit (vv. 9-11). Paul explains that while many things may be technically permissible, not everything is beneficial, and believers should not be mastered by anything, since the body is meant for the Lord, not for immorality (vv. 12-17). He commands them to flee sexual sin because it uniquely sins against one's own body, which is a temple of the Holy Spirit given by God — so, having been bought at a price, they are to honor God with their bodies (vv. 18-20).
Authorship & Background
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik examines the lawsuits, the vice list, "such were some of you," the body as temple, and the command to flee fornication.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of 1 Corinthians -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- A Future Role Worth Living Up To (vv.2-3) — Paul reminds believers that they will one day judge the world and even angels, so surely they can settle small disputes among themselves now. How does remembering your future role in Christ change the way you handle present-day conflicts?
- Better to Be Wronged Than to Wrong a Brother (v.7) — Paul says it would be better to simply accept being cheated than to drag a fellow believer into a lawsuit and damage the church's witness. Where might you need to absorb a wrong rather than fight for your rights, for the sake of the gospel?
- Washed, Sanctified, and Made New (vv.9-11) — After listing sins that once defined some of the Corinthians, Paul says they were washed, sanctified, and justified — past tense. Are you living out of your new identity in Christ, or still identifying with who you used to be?
- Refusing to Be Mastered (v.12) — Paul says that even though many things are permissible, he refuses to be mastered by anything. What currently has power over you — a habit, a substance, a screen — that reveals you aren't as free as you think?
- Fleeing Rather Than Resisting Temptation (v.18) — Paul's command isn't to resist sexual immorality but to flee from it entirely. What situations or habits do you need to physically remove yourself from rather than trying to white-knuckle through?
- Your Body as God's Temple (vv.19-20) — Paul says believers' bodies are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, bought at a price, and therefore not their own. How does knowing your body belongs to God shape what you do with it and where you take it?