I Corinthians 6: Resolving Disputes and Honoring God with Our Bodies
Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
Do 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?
Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
I 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?
But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
Now 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?
Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
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 mankind,
Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
And 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.
All 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.
Meats 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.
And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
Know 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.
What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
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?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
In I Corinthians 6, Paul addresses two critical issues plaguing the Corinthian church: believers suing one another and the pervasive problem of sexual immorality. His words serve as a powerful call to live out our faith in practical ways, both in our relationships with fellow Christians and in how we steward our physical bodies. Understanding these principles is crucial for building a healthy church and living a life that honors God. This chapter offers timeless wisdom applicable to believers today, helping us navigate conflict and uphold the sanctity of our bodies.
Settling Disputes Within the Church (6:1-11)
Paul begins by expressing his profound disappointment that believers in Corinth are taking each other to court over minor disputes. He finds it utterly incongruous that those who will one day judge the world and even angels (I Corinthians 6:2-3, Revelation 20:4-6) are incapable of resolving petty squabbles among themselves.
His argument isn't a blanket condemnation of all legal proceedings. Paul isn't suggesting Christians should be above the law or that heinous crimes shouldn't be reported to the authorities. Rather, he's addressing the specific situation in Corinth: brothers and sisters in Christ voluntarily seeking judgment from secular courts over trivial matters. This reflects a deeper issue: a failure to live out the principles of reconciliation and forgiveness within the church community.
Paul's challenge is stark: "If you have lawsuits about such matters, do you appoint as judges even men of little account in the church?" (I Corinthians 6:4). He urges them to establish some form of "church court," where wise, spiritual leaders can arbitrate disputes and bring God's perspective to bear on the situation (I Corinthians 6:5). Instead of airing their dirty laundry before unbelievers who have no spiritual standing within the church (I Corinthians 6:6), the Corinthians should prioritize reconciliation and uphold the reputation of the gospel.
Paul goes so far as to suggest that it would be better to suffer wrong or be defrauded than to engage in such shameful behavior (I Corinthians 6:7). He sees these lawsuits as a spiritual loss, hindering the church's witness and bringing division among believers. Their actions bring shame on God's people and hinder the proclamation of the gospel before the world. He reminds them that they are wronging and cheating their own brothers and sisters (I Corinthians 6:8).
He reminds them of their transformed identities. He reminds the Corinthians that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom, listing various sinful lifestyles (I Corinthians 6:9-10). To inherit God’s kingdom is more than entering it, the latter being by faith alone in Christ alone. Inheritance has to do with the kingdom rewards and blessings to be received or lost by believers at the judgment seat of Christ based on our obedience and faithfulness. Paul further reminds the Corinthians that some of them once practiced these things (some of you used to be like this). But, by the grace of God, they had been washed (cleansed of guilt by the blood of Jesus), sanctified (spiritually set apart to God), and justified (declared righteous before God) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God (I Corinthians 6:11). Thus, they were called to live in a way reflecting the reality of what God had done for them. They were washed, sanctified, and justified. Clearly, some of those sinful activities continued to be an issue in the church, but they now carried the identity of Christ and shared a destiny with Him. Paul is urging them to live up to that new identity and not down to the standards of their culture. Any and all sins are forgiven for those who trust in the Savior. This is what has happened for the believers in Corinth: the label was removed because it was not who they were any more.
Fleeing Sexual Immorality and Honoring God with Our Bodies (6:12-20)
Paul then shifts his focus to the issue of sexual immorality, a pervasive problem in the Corinthian culture. It seems some believers were rationalizing their behavior, perhaps using slogans like "Everything is permissible for me" (I Corinthians 6:12). Paul counters this with a crucial principle: just because something is permissible doesn't mean it's beneficial or that it won't enslave you. Christian freedom should never be used to sin or harm fellow believers. Liberty becomes detrimental when it negates the law of love—whether to another person or to yourself by bringing you into bondage.
He addresses another potential slogan: "Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food" (I Corinthians 6:13). The Corinthians were extending this argument beyond just eating. Some were arguing that sexual cravings also needed to be satisfied—even by visiting pagan temple prostitutes. He emphasizes that sexual desire is not merely a physical appetite like hunger. Sexual activity of all kinds was common in the Greek and Roman culture of Corinth. It's not surprising to think that even believers in Jesus had a difficult time seeing sexual immorality as a serious issue.
Paul argues that our bodies are not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord (I Corinthians 6:13). He reminds them that God raised Jesus from the dead and will also raise our bodies by His power (I Corinthians 6:14). Our bodies are not our own to do with as we please but are for the Lord. What we do with them, then, is not irrelevant and is to be determined by the Lord.
He uses a powerful analogy to illustrate the gravity of sexual sin: "Do you not 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'" (I Corinthians 6:16). God designed sex for procreation and intimacy between a husband and wife within the covenant bond of marriage. Therefore, engaging in sexual immorality creates an illegitimate union, defiling the sacredness of the marital bond.
He further emphasizes that our bodies are members of Christ (I Corinthians 6:15). To join our bodies in sex with, say, a prostitute, is to join Jesus with that prostitute. We should never make our Savior part of such an unrighteous union! Instead of practicing sexual immorality, Christians must run from it and run towards opportunities to glorify God with their bodies (I Corinthians 6:20).
Paul’s exhortation is brief and to the point: Flee sexual immorality! (I Corinthians 6:18). Sexual sin is unique because by joining sexually to someone other than one’s spouse, a person enters into an illegitimate one-flesh union (see I Corinthians 6:16) and sins against his own body. This, in fact, is why people experience emotional, psychological, and spiritual scars as a result of sexual sin.
The cornerstone of Paul's argument comes in I Corinthians 6:19-20: "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body." A Christian’s body is a house of worship; therefore, sexual immorality brings such sin directly into God’s presence! When you have sex, you are going to church. The Lord is present when a husband and wife experience physical intimacy too (see commentary on Songs 5:1), but sexual pleasure within marriage brings God glory because it honors his design for sex. Sexual immorality, in whatever form it takes (adultery, fornication, homosexuality, pornography, etc.), makes a mockery of God’s design.
We are not owners but stewards of our bodies. God will call everyone to account for how they manage their sexuality. We are not our own; we have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are called to glorify God with our bodies, presenting them as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to Him (Romans 12:1). This means making conscious choices to honor God in our thoughts, actions, and desires, and fleeing from anything that would defile the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Application
I Corinthians 6 provides a clear and compelling call to action for believers today. We are to prioritize reconciliation and forgiveness within the church, seeking to resolve disputes in a godly manner. We are also to flee sexual immorality and honor God with our bodies, recognizing that they are temples of the Holy Spirit. By embracing these principles, we can build stronger, healthier churches and live lives that are pleasing to God.
Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
Do 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?
Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
I 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?
But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
Now 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?
Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
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 mankind,
Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
And 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.
All 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.
Meats 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.
And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
Know 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.
What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
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?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
In I Corinthians 6, Paul addresses two critical issues plaguing the Corinthian church: believers suing one another and the pervasive problem of sexual immorality. His words serve as a powerful call to live out our faith in practical ways, both in our relationships with fellow Christians and in how we steward our physical bodies. Understanding these principles is crucial for building a healthy church and living a life that honors God. This chapter offers timeless wisdom applicable to believers today, helping us navigate conflict and uphold the sanctity of our bodies.
Settling Disputes Within the Church (6:1-11)
Paul begins by expressing his profound disappointment that believers in Corinth are taking each other to court over minor disputes. He finds it utterly incongruous that those who will one day judge the world and even angels (I Corinthians 6:2-3, Revelation 20:4-6) are incapable of resolving petty squabbles among themselves.
His argument isn't a blanket condemnation of all legal proceedings. Paul isn't suggesting Christians should be above the law or that heinous crimes shouldn't be reported to the authorities. Rather, he's addressing the specific situation in Corinth: brothers and sisters in Christ voluntarily seeking judgment from secular courts over trivial matters. This reflects a deeper issue: a failure to live out the principles of reconciliation and forgiveness within the church community.
Paul's challenge is stark: "If you have lawsuits about such matters, do you appoint as judges even men of little account in the church?" (I Corinthians 6:4). He urges them to establish some form of "church court," where wise, spiritual leaders can arbitrate disputes and bring God's perspective to bear on the situation (I Corinthians 6:5). Instead of airing their dirty laundry before unbelievers who have no spiritual standing within the church (I Corinthians 6:6), the Corinthians should prioritize reconciliation and uphold the reputation of the gospel.
Paul goes so far as to suggest that it would be better to suffer wrong or be defrauded than to engage in such shameful behavior (I Corinthians 6:7). He sees these lawsuits as a spiritual loss, hindering the church's witness and bringing division among believers. Their actions bring shame on God's people and hinder the proclamation of the gospel before the world. He reminds them that they are wronging and cheating their own brothers and sisters (I Corinthians 6:8).
He reminds them of their transformed identities. He reminds the Corinthians that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom, listing various sinful lifestyles (I Corinthians 6:9-10). To inherit God’s kingdom is more than entering it, the latter being by faith alone in Christ alone. Inheritance has to do with the kingdom rewards and blessings to be received or lost by believers at the judgment seat of Christ based on our obedience and faithfulness. Paul further reminds the Corinthians that some of them once practiced these things (some of you used to be like this). But, by the grace of God, they had been washed (cleansed of guilt by the blood of Jesus), sanctified (spiritually set apart to God), and justified (declared righteous before God) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God (I Corinthians 6:11). Thus, they were called to live in a way reflecting the reality of what God had done for them. They were washed, sanctified, and justified. Clearly, some of those sinful activities continued to be an issue in the church, but they now carried the identity of Christ and shared a destiny with Him. Paul is urging them to live up to that new identity and not down to the standards of their culture. Any and all sins are forgiven for those who trust in the Savior. This is what has happened for the believers in Corinth: the label was removed because it was not who they were any more.
Fleeing Sexual Immorality and Honoring God with Our Bodies (6:12-20)
Paul then shifts his focus to the issue of sexual immorality, a pervasive problem in the Corinthian culture. It seems some believers were rationalizing their behavior, perhaps using slogans like "Everything is permissible for me" (I Corinthians 6:12). Paul counters this with a crucial principle: just because something is permissible doesn't mean it's beneficial or that it won't enslave you. Christian freedom should never be used to sin or harm fellow believers. Liberty becomes detrimental when it negates the law of love—whether to another person or to yourself by bringing you into bondage.
He addresses another potential slogan: "Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food" (I Corinthians 6:13). The Corinthians were extending this argument beyond just eating. Some were arguing that sexual cravings also needed to be satisfied—even by visiting pagan temple prostitutes. He emphasizes that sexual desire is not merely a physical appetite like hunger. Sexual activity of all kinds was common in the Greek and Roman culture of Corinth. It's not surprising to think that even believers in Jesus had a difficult time seeing sexual immorality as a serious issue.
Paul argues that our bodies are not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord (I Corinthians 6:13). He reminds them that God raised Jesus from the dead and will also raise our bodies by His power (I Corinthians 6:14). Our bodies are not our own to do with as we please but are for the Lord. What we do with them, then, is not irrelevant and is to be determined by the Lord.
He uses a powerful analogy to illustrate the gravity of sexual sin: "Do you not 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'" (I Corinthians 6:16). God designed sex for procreation and intimacy between a husband and wife within the covenant bond of marriage. Therefore, engaging in sexual immorality creates an illegitimate union, defiling the sacredness of the marital bond.
He further emphasizes that our bodies are members of Christ (I Corinthians 6:15). To join our bodies in sex with, say, a prostitute, is to join Jesus with that prostitute. We should never make our Savior part of such an unrighteous union! Instead of practicing sexual immorality, Christians must run from it and run towards opportunities to glorify God with their bodies (I Corinthians 6:20).
Paul’s exhortation is brief and to the point: Flee sexual immorality! (I Corinthians 6:18). Sexual sin is unique because by joining sexually to someone other than one’s spouse, a person enters into an illegitimate one-flesh union (see I Corinthians 6:16) and sins against his own body. This, in fact, is why people experience emotional, psychological, and spiritual scars as a result of sexual sin.
The cornerstone of Paul's argument comes in I Corinthians 6:19-20: "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body." A Christian’s body is a house of worship; therefore, sexual immorality brings such sin directly into God’s presence! When you have sex, you are going to church. The Lord is present when a husband and wife experience physical intimacy too (see commentary on Songs 5:1), but sexual pleasure within marriage brings God glory because it honors his design for sex. Sexual immorality, in whatever form it takes (adultery, fornication, homosexuality, pornography, etc.), makes a mockery of God’s design.
We are not owners but stewards of our bodies. God will call everyone to account for how they manage their sexuality. We are not our own; we have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are called to glorify God with our bodies, presenting them as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to Him (Romans 12:1). This means making conscious choices to honor God in our thoughts, actions, and desires, and fleeing from anything that would defile the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Application
I Corinthians 6 provides a clear and compelling call to action for believers today. We are to prioritize reconciliation and forgiveness within the church, seeking to resolve disputes in a godly manner. We are also to flee sexual immorality and honor God with our bodies, recognizing that they are temples of the Holy Spirit. By embracing these principles, we can build stronger, healthier churches and live lives that are pleasing to God.