1 Corinthians 6
Bought with Love, Called to Live Differently
Paul shows how belonging to Jesus changes both our disputes and our use of our bodies. God's grace does more than forgive our past. It gives us a new life that should shape how we treat others and ourselves.
Walking Through 1 Corinthians 6
A Family That Needs Wisdom (1 Corinthians 6:1-6)
1 When any of you has a legal dispute with another, does he dare go to court before the unrighteous rather than before the saints? 2 Or 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? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? Why not ordinary matters! 4 So if you have ordinary lawsuits, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame! Is there no one among you wise enough to settle disputes between fellow Christians? 6 Instead, does a Christian sue a Christian, and do this before unbelievers?1 Corinthians 6:1-6 · NET Bible
Some believers were taking other believers to court before people who did not share their faith. Paul is shocked that the church cannot find a wise person to help settle these disputes. He reminds them that God's people will share in his future judgment, even concerning angels. Paul does not explain all the details of that future role. His point is that people with such a future should be able to handle ordinary disagreements now.
Paul is not saying that every judge outside the church is dishonest. He is exposing the shame of a church that boasts about wisdom but cannot settle its own conflicts. I hear a call here to grow up together. Faith should shape our judgment, not just our words. This passage concerns disputes between believers; it does not tell churches to hide crimes or keep victims from seeking protection.
Winning Can Still Be Losing (1 Corinthians 6:7-8)
7 The fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves demonstrates that you have already been defeated. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 But you yourselves wrong and cheat, and you do this to your brothers and sisters!1 Corinthians 6:7-8 · NET Bible
Paul moves from the courtroom to the heart. The lawsuits already show that something has gone badly wrong among them. Even a legal victory cannot repair the damage caused by greed, pride, and broken trust. Paul asks why they would not rather suffer a loss than treat one another this way. Instead, some are doing wrong and cheating members of their own church family.
That is a hard word, but it is not permission for powerful people to silence those they hurt. Paul directly confronts the people causing harm. He also challenges the belief that getting our own way is always the highest good. Sometimes faithfulness costs us something. I want us to notice the difference between protecting what is right and protecting our pride. A believer can win a case while losing sight of love.
Your Past Is Not Your Master (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
9 Do 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, 10 thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Some 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.1 Corinthians 6:9-11 · NET Bible
Paul warns that people whose lives remain ruled by wrongdoing will not inherit God's kingdom. His list includes sexual sin, worshiping false gods, adultery, sex between men, stealing, greed, drunkenness, harmful speech, and cheating. We must not use one part of this list to excuse another. Respectable-looking greed is still sin.
Then Paul reminds the Corinthians that these sins no longer define who they are. Through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, they have been cleansed, set apart for God, and put right with him. These are gifts of grace, not prizes for good behavior.
Paul is not saying that Christians never struggle or fall. He is warning against making peace with sin while claiming to belong to Christ. I find hope in the order here: God has acted for them, and now they are called to live in keeping with his mercy.
Freedom Is Not Being Ruled by Desire (1 Corinthians 6:12-17)
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. 14 Now God indeed raised the Lord and he will raise us by his power. 15 Do 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! 16 Or 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 .” 17 But the one united with the Lord is one spirit with him.1 Corinthians 6:12-17 · NET Bible
Paul appears to answer sayings the Corinthians used to defend their choices. They claimed broad freedom, but Paul asks whether a choice helps them and whether it becomes their master. They also treated sexual desire as though it were simply another appetite, like hunger. Paul rejects that comparison. The body belongs to the Lord, and God will raise believers just as he raised Jesus.
Their bodies already belong to Christ. Joining with a prostitute therefore joins what belongs to Christ to an immoral union. Paul points to Genesis 2:24 to show that sex is a bodily union, not a meaningless act. In contrast, the person joined to the Lord shares a deep spiritual bond with him.
Our bodies are not throwaway shells around our souls. God's promise to raise us gives our physical lives lasting worth. Christian freedom means we need not be ruled by every desire.
God Makes His Home in His People (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)
18 Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin a person commits is outside of the body”—but the immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or 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? 20 For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.1 Corinthians 6:18-20 · NET Bible
Paul tells believers to run from sexual sin rather than stay close and test their strength. He describes it as sin against one's own body. This does not mean other sins cannot harm us physically. In this setting, Paul stresses how sexual sin involves the very body that belongs to Christ.
He then calls the believer's body a temple, a place where God's Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is God's gift, not something we earn. Believers are no longer their own because Christ has bought them at the cost of his life.
Notice how Paul gives reasons rooted in grace. He does not say the body is dirty or worthless. He says it is precious, claimed by Christ, and made a dwelling place for God's Spirit. Honoring God with our bodies grows from knowing whose we are.
- Freedom — Being free in Christ does not mean letting desire become our master.
- Temple — A place where God dwells; Paul uses this picture for the believer's body because the Holy Spirit lives there.
Where is belonging to Christ changing the way you handle a conflict or a desire?
Father, thank you for cleansing us and making us your own through Jesus. Give us wisdom to treat others fairly and strength to turn from sin. Help us honor you with our bodies and trust the worth your grace has given us.