Chapter 6
Themes, discussion questions, Christ connections, and denomination lenses.
Just read this chapter →Scripture
KJV1Dare 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.
“What? 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?”
Overview
Paul rebukes the Corinthians for taking their disputes before unbelieving judges rather than settling them within the church. He reminds them that the saints will judge the world and even angels. He then addresses sexual immorality, declaring that the body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, purchased at a price, and must be used to glorify God.
Key Themes
Settling Disputes Within the Church
Believers should resolve their conflicts among themselves rather than exposing the church to shame before unbelieving courts, since they will one day judge the world.
Washed, Sanctified, Justified
Though some Corinthians formerly lived in grave sin, they have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God.
The Body as God's Temple
The believer's body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, bought with a price; therefore sexual immorality is uniquely destructive because it sins against one's own body where the Spirit dwells.
Study Questions
Why does Paul consider it a defeat for Christians to take legal disputes before unbelievers (v. 7)?
How does the reminder that believers were 'washed, sanctified, and justified' (v. 11) provide both comfort and motivation for holy living?
What does Paul mean by 'all things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient' (v. 12), and how does this apply to Christian freedom?
How does the truth that our bodies are 'the temple of the Holy Ghost' (v. 19) transform our view of physical choices?
Why does Paul say that sexual sin is uniquely a sin 'against his own body' (v. 18)?
Connection to Christ
Believers are joined to the Lord as one spirit, and their bodies are temples of the Holy Ghost because they have been bought with a price — the precious blood of Christ. This union with Christ makes sexual immorality not merely a personal failure but a violation of the believer's sacred bond with the Lord.
Personal Reflection
Take time to journal or meditate on what God is teaching you through 1 Corinthians 6. How can these truths transform your thinking and actions today?