1 Corinthians 6

1 Corinthians 6 deals with two serious problems in the Corinthian church: believers taking one another to secular courts, and sexual immorality. Paul teaches that Christians should not handle conflicts in a worldly way, especially when the church should have wise and spiritual people able to help settle disputes. He also reminds them that their bodies belong to Christ and are temples of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, believers are not free to use their bodies however they want, but are called to glorify God in both body and spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:1-8 (NKJV)
1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?
2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will 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 judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge?
5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?
6 But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!
7 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?
8 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren!

Paul rebukes the Corinthians because believers were taking one another to secular courts instead of resolving their disputes within the church. He reminds them that the saints will one day share in judging the world, and even angels, so they should be able to handle ordinary matters in this life with wisdom and fairness (Matthew 19:28; Revelation 20:4). By taking their conflicts before unbelievers, they showed spiritual immaturity and damaged the witness of the church. Paul says this is already a defeat, because the spirit of Christ calls believers to humility, peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. It would be better to suffer wrong or be cheated than to harm the unity of the body. But instead of showing Christ’s character, some of them were wronging and cheating their own brethren.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NKJV)
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will 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 by the Spirit of our God.

Paul warns them not to be deceived into thinking that a person can continue living in sin and still inherit the kingdom of God. He lists sins such as sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, homosexual practices, theft, greed, drunkenness, abusive speech, and extortion, showing that these lifestyles are not compatible with God’s kingdom when they are practiced without repentance. But Paul does not leave them in condemnation. He says, “And such were some of you,” meaning these things belonged to their past. Through Christ, they had been washed, sanctified, and justified. They were cleansed from the old life, set apart for God, and made right with Him in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God. The gospel does not only forgive; it transforms. Those who belong to Christ are no longer defined by their former sins, but are called to live a new life by the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:12 (NKJV)
12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful; all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

Paul explains Christian liberty under the New Covenant. Believers are no longer under the law as an external system of condemnation or as the basis for righteousness (Romans 6:14; 7:6; 2 Corinthians 3:6). The written law could reveal sin, but it could not change the heart. Through Christ, believers receive the Spirit of Christ, and God’s law is written in the heart (Jeremiah 31:33; Romans 8:2–4). So when Paul says, “All things are lawful for me,” he is not saying Christians are free to sin or live carelessly. In context, he may be responding to a saying some Corinthians were using to justify wrong behavior, as if Christian freedom meant, “I am allowed to do anything.” But Paul corrects this abuse of liberty. Christian freedom does not include what God clearly calls sin, and it must always be governed by the Spirit, love, holiness, and what is truly good. The Christian life is not governed merely by an outward code regulating every action, but liberty is not license. Paul gives two important principles: not everything is helpful, and nothing should be allowed to bring the believer into bondage. Some things may appear permissible in themselves, yet still weaken the spiritual life, harm the body, hurt others, or draw the heart away from Christ. Also, anything that controls us—whether appetite, pleasure, habit, addiction, pride, or sinful desire—is not true freedom. The Spirit of Christ leads believers to choose what is good, pure, helpful, and consistent with Christ’s character, while avoiding anything that masters the heart or weakens spiritual freedom. This is how the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in those who walk according to the Spirit (Romans 8:4; Galatians 6:2).

1 Corinthians 6:13-14 (NKJV)
13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.

Paul corrects the wrong idea that bodily actions do not matter spiritually. Some Corinthians seemed to think that just as food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, sexual desires could also be treated as natural bodily appetites with no moral importance. Paul agrees that food and the stomach belong to this temporary life, but he strongly rejects applying that idea to sexual immorality. The body is not for sexual sin; it is for the Lord. The believer’s body belongs to Christ and is meant to serve Him. Paul also points to the resurrection: God raised the Lord Jesus and will also raise believers by His power. This means the body is not useless or unimportant. Even though the future resurrection body will be glorified and changed (1 Corinthians 15:42–44), the present body already belongs to God and is part of His redemptive purpose. Therefore, what we do with our bodies now matters, because they are to honor the Lord.

1 Corinthians 6:15-16 (NKJV)
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 harlot? Certainly not!
16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”

Paul teaches that a believer’s body is not separate from Christ, because believers are members of Christ. Therefore, the body must not be joined to sexual sin. Paul uses a strong question: should someone take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? His answer is, “Certainly not!” He then quotes Genesis 2:24, showing that sexual union creates a real “one flesh” bond. This means sexual intimacy is not merely a physical act; it is a deep union designed by God for marriage. Within marriage, this union is holy and according to God’s design. Outside of marriage, it becomes a misuse of the body and a violation of the believer’s relationship with Christ. Since the body belongs to the Lord, it should be used in a way that honors God’s purpose.

1 Corinthians 6:17-18 (NKJV)
17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.

Paul contrasts sexual immorality with the believer’s union with Christ. The one who is joined to the Lord is “one spirit with Him,” meaning believers share a deep spiritual union and fellowship with Christ through His Spirit. Because of this, the body should reflect that union and not be used for sin. Paul does not tell believers to reason with sexual immorality, stay near it, or treat it lightly; he says to flee from it. Sexual immorality is especially dangerous because it directly involves and misuses the body—the very body that belongs to Christ. It sins against one’s own body by using it in a way that contradicts its holy purpose. For this reason, believers must separate from sexual sin quickly and decisively.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJV)
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 in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Paul reminds believers that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God dwells in them, so their bodies are not their own to use however they want. They belong to God because they were bought at a price, referring to the sacrifice of Christ. Since Christ has redeemed them, their whole life—body and spirit—belongs to God. In the context of this chapter, Paul is especially warning against sexual immorality, but the principle is broader: believers are to glorify God in everything they are. Their body should not be used for sin, but for the Lord; and their spirit should not be ruled by selfishness, but by the Spirit of God. The Christian life is therefore a life of belonging to God and honoring Him in both the outward body and the inner life.