1 Corinthians 6

This chapter addresses issues of legal disputes among believers and moral misconduct within the Corinthian church. Paul criticizes the community for resorting to secular courts rather than resolving conflicts internally and emphasizes the importance of upholding Christian ethics, especially in matters of sexual purity, as the body of believers is a temple of the Holy 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!

This passage addresses conflicts among believers and Paul strongly rebukes the Corinthian church for taking their disputes before secular courts instead of resolving them within the community of faith. He reminds them that the saints are destined to share in God’s future judgment over the world and even over angels (cf. Matthew 19:28; Revelation 20:4), so they should certainly be capable of handling ordinary disputes in this life. By bringing their cases before unbelieving judges, they were displaying spiritual immaturity and damaging the witness of the church. Paul urges them to appoint wise believers to settle such matters, emphasizing that the presence of the Spirit within the church should enable them to resolve conflicts with justice and humility. He goes further by saying that the very existence of lawsuits among believers is already a defeat, because the spirit of Christ calls them to peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation—even to the point of being willing to suffer wrong rather than harm the unity of the body. Instead, the Corinthians were wronging and defrauding one another, revealing that they had not yet fully embraced the transforming character of the gospel in their relationships.

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.

This passage warns believers not to be deceived about the nature of God’s kingdom and the transforming power of the gospel. Paul asks, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” and immediately adds, “Do not be deceived,” indicating that some were in danger of thinking that faith in Christ allowed them to continue living in sinful patterns without consequence. He then lists behaviors that characterized the former life of many—sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, homosexual practices, theft, greed, drunkenness, reviling, and extortion—showing the kinds of lifestyles that are incompatible with God’s kingdom when they are persistently practiced. The deception Paul warns against is the belief that outward association with the church or a profession of faith can coexist with a life still ruled by sin. Yet the passage does not end with condemnation. In verse 11 Paul reminds the Corinthians, “And such were some of you,” emphasizing that these sins belonged to their past. Through Christ they had been washed (cleansed from their former life), sanctified (set apart for a new way of living), and justified (declared righteous before God) in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God. The point is that the gospel not only forgives but transforms: those who belong to Christ are no longer defined by their former sins but are called to live in a new life shaped by the Spirit rather than the patterns that once deceived and enslaved them.

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.

In this passage Paul explains the nature of Christian liberty under the New Covenant. Believers are no longer under the condemnation and external government of the law written in letters as the basis of righteousness (Romans 6:14; 2 Corinthians 3:6). The written law revealed sin but could not change the heart. Through Christ, however, believers receive the Spirit of Christ, and the law is written within the heart (Jeremiah 31:33; Romans 8:2–4). Because of this freedom Paul can say, “all things are lawful,” meaning the Christian life is no longer governed by a rigid external code regulating every action. Yet Christian liberty is not license. Paul immediately adds two guiding principles: not everything is beneficial, and he refuses to be brought under the power of anything. The believer is therefore guided not merely by rules but by the Spirit of Christ within, sometimes called the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). The Spirit leads believers to choose what is wholesome, edifying, and consistent with Christ’s character, while avoiding anything that enslaves the heart or weakens spiritual freedom. In this way the righteousness that the law pointed to is fulfilled in those who walk according to the Spirit (Romans 8:4).

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 a mistaken idea that bodily actions do not matter spiritually. Some Corinthians were saying, “Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods,” suggesting that bodily appetites are natural and therefore morally insignificant. Paul acknowledges that food and digestion belong to the temporary functions of the present life, but he firmly rejects applying the same reasoning to sexual behavior. The body was not created for sexual immorality but for the Lord, meaning it belongs to Christ and is intended to serve Him. Paul then appeals to the resurrection: just as God raised Jesus physically, He will also raise believers by His power. This shows that the body is not disposable or irrelevant. Even though the future resurrection body will be glorified and perfected (1 Corinthians 15:42–44), the present body is not meaningless or expendable. It already belongs to the Lord and has been included in His redemptive work through Christ. The body is therefore not merely a temporary shell but part of the life God intends to restore and transform. What we do with our bodies now matters, for they are already part of God’s redemptive work and are meant to honor Him in the present life. Believers are therefore called to honor God with their bodies, recognizing that the body is part of God’s creation, His redemption, and His future restoration.

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 independent but belongs to Christ, because those who follow Him are spiritually united with Him and are described as members of His body. Paul therefore asks a rhetorical question to show the seriousness of sexual immorality: if a believer’s body is already connected to Christ, it should not be joined to sexual sin. He then refers to Genesis 2:24, reminding readers that sexual union creates a real “one flesh” bond between two people. This shows that sexual intimacy is not merely a physical act but a profound union designed by God to be expressed within the sacred covenant of marriage. Within marriage it reflects God’s design and purpose for the body, but outside of that covenant it becomes a misuse of what God made holy. Paul’s point is that misusing the body in sexual immorality contradicts the believer’s existing relationship with Christ and violates the purpose for which the body was created. Since the body already belongs to the Lord and is part of His life and purpose, it should not be joined to relationships that dishonor that union but should be used in a way that honors God’s design.

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.

This passage contrasts the believer’s union with Christ with the danger of sexual immorality. Paul explains that 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 relationship, the body already belongs to the Lord and should reflect that union. Paul therefore urges believers to “flee sexual immorality,” emphasizing that it is not merely another moral failure but something uniquely harmful. While many sins affect a person outwardly, sexual immorality directly involves and misuses one’s own body—the very body that belongs to Christ and is meant to serve Him. In this way, such sin violates the sacred purpose of the body and damages the integrity of the believer’s relationship with the Lord, which is why Paul calls for immediate separation from it rather than treating it casually.

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.

This passage teaches that a believer’s body belongs to God because the Holy Spirit dwells within them, making their body a temple of the Spirit rather than something they own independently. Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are “not their own” because they were “bought at a price,” referring to the redemption accomplished through the sacrifice of Christ. Since believers now belong to God, their entire life—including both body and spirit—should reflect that reality. In the context of the chapter, Paul is warning against sexual immorality, emphasizing that the body, which belongs to Christ and is indwelt by the Spirit, must not be misused for sin but should instead be used to glorify God, honoring Him with both the physical body and the inner life that now belong to Him.