1 Corinthians 6
CHAPTER 6
Don’t take believers to law
Dare any of you, having a matter against his neighbour, go to law before the unrighteous and not rather take it before the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? 4 If then you have to judge things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are of no account in the church. 5 I say this to move you to shame. What! Is there not among you even one wise man who shall be able to decide between his brothers? 6 But as it is with you at the moment, brother goes to law with brother- and that before unbelievers! 7 No, already there is totally a defect in you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather take wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 No, but you yourselves do wrong and defraud- and that your brothers. 9 Or do you not know 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, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such 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 any. 13 Food for the belly and the belly for food, but God shall bring to nothing both it and them. But the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God both raised up the Lord and will raise us up also through His power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? God forbid. 16 Or do you not know that he that is joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For the scripture says: The two shall become one flesh. 17 But he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. 18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he that commits fornication sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God? And you are not your own; 20 for you were bought with a price. Glorify God therefore in your body and spirit, for they are God’s.
Commentary
6:1 We should therefore not take other believers to court; instead we should try to resolve the issues through the mediation of wise, humble people within the church- even those who may be counted as nothing amongst us.
6:7 We should suffer ourselves to be defrauded rather than take people to court; we live in an age of litigation and legal threatening as never before, and we mustn't be caught up in it.
6:8 To take a brother to court for defrauding you is in fact [in God's eyes] to defraud them; so you show yourself no better than them, and thus condemn yourself.
6:9 If we believe that the wicked will not be allowed into the Kingdom of God when Jesus returns, this should be comfort enough for us. This is the only judgment that matters, and so we shouldn't take them to human judgment in this life. By refraining from doing so, we show our faith in God's judgment which is to come (see 4:3,4).
6:11 Washed... in the name- A reference to baptism. We also have committed [in essence] the sins which we are tempted to take others to court over. But we were graciously forgiven through our baptism. Therefore we should be forgiving to them.
6:12 Christ hasn't given us a long list of things which we must do and those we must not do. The question isn't 'What can I get away with?' but rather 'What is the expedient / wise thing?'.
6:16 The sexual act is designed to be used by God in an ongoing sense in order to make two people "one". To use it any other way is seriously sinful.
