Lawsuits among Believers
6 When one of you has a grievance against a brother, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous[a] instead of the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, matters pertaining to this life! 4 If then you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who are least esteemed by the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no man among you wise enough to decide between members of the brotherhood, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers?
7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud, and that even your own brethren.
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral,[b] nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,[c][d] 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
Glorify God in Body and Spirit
12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,”[e] but I will not be enslaved by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for immorality,[f] but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two shall become one.”[g] 17 But he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Shun immorality.[h] Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Footnotes
- 6.1 the unrighteous: i.e., civil courts in which the judges were, of course, pagan.
- 6.9 the immoral: Literally, “fornicators.”
- 1 Corinthians 6:9 Two Greek words are rendered by this expression
- 6.9 homosexuals: Greek has “effeminate nor sodomites.” The apostle condemns, not the inherent tendencies of such, but the indulgence of them.
- 6.12 This saying is possibly an exaggeration of the freedom from the Mosaic law that Christians enjoyed. The saying has been applied to sinful practices, as is clear from the following verses.
- 6.13, 18 immorality: i.e., sexual immorality.
- 1 Corinthians 6:16 Greek one flesh
- 6.13, 18 immorality: i.e., sexual immorality.