1 Corinthians 6
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 6
Avoid Lawsuits against Each Other.[a] 1 If any of you has a dispute with another, how can you seek judgment before those who are unrighteous[b] instead of before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, how can you consider yourselves as incompetent to deal with smaller cases? 3 Do you not realize that we are to judge angels?[c] Why then should we not deal with matters of this life?
4 Therefore, if you have such matters to resolve, how can you seek judgment from those who have no standing in the Church? 5 I write this to make you ashamed. Is it really possible that there is no one among you who is wise enough to mediate a dispute between brethren? 6 Why should a brother go to court against another brother, seeking a decision from unbelievers?
7 In truth, the very fact that you engage in lawsuits with one another is a misfortune for you. Why not prefer to be wronged? Why not prefer to be defrauded? 8 Instead, you yourself are guilty of wronging and defrauding your own brethren.
9 Are you not aware that wrongdoers will never inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites,[d] 10 thieves, extortioners, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once such as these. However, now you have been washed clean, you have been sanctified, you have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
12 All Things Are Lawful for Me![e]“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not allow myself to be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach is meant for food,” but God will destroy them both. However, the body is not meant for immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 God raised up the Lord, and he will raise us up also by his power.
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I then take Christ’s members and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that anyone who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall become one flesh.” 17 But anyone who joins himself to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.[f]
18 Flee from sexual immorality! Every other sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the fornicator sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have received from God, and that you are not your own? 20 You have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 6:1 Paul condemns the litigiousness of some members of the Church.
- 1 Corinthians 6:1 Unrighteous: describes simply those who have not yet been justified by faith, that is, non-Christians, as contrasted with the saints, that is, Christians sanctified by God.
- 1 Corinthians 6:3 Angels: here the fallen angels (see Letter of Jude 6).
- 1 Corinthians 6:9 Sodomites: see note on 1 Tim 1:10.
- 1 Corinthians 6:12 In this city of Corinth, with its reputation for corruption, some Christians claim that they have the right to free love: “All things are lawful for me!” Paul’s response gives us the first intuitions of a Christian reflection concerning what the body is for—a reflection that is totally new in this Greek environment in which the spirit is exalted while the body is denigrated almost to the point of being a slave. The Christian ethic is not locked in on disputes about what is permitted and what is prohibited. Indeed, in its eyes, all the realities of life have a meaning.
A person’s behavior cannot be reduced to a physical way of acting (v. 13). It expresses and sheds light on human and spiritual values. And since in this case one must strive to deregulate established pagan customs, Paul stresses this point especially with regard to sexuality. A new conception of the body and sexual life imposes itself on those who live in union with Christ. It concerns their whole being, which has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and is destined for the resurrection. Freedom does not authorize the corruption of life. - 1 Corinthians 6:17 One spirit with him: the spiritual union of believers with Christ is a higher one than the marriage bond and the model of the union that should exist in the marriage relationship.
1 Corinthians 6
Common English Bible
Confronting lawsuits in the church
6 When someone in your assembly has a legal case against another member, do they dare to take it to court to be judged by people who aren’t just, instead of by God’s people? 2 Or don’t you know that God’s people will judge the world? If the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to judge trivial cases? 3 Don’t you know that we will judge angels? Why not ordinary things? 4 So then if you have ordinary lawsuits, do you appoint people as judges who aren’t respected by the church? 5 I’m saying this because you should be ashamed of yourselves! Isn’t there one person among you who is wise enough to pass judgment between believers? 6 But instead, does a brother or sister have a lawsuit against another brother or sister, and do they do this in front of unbelievers? 7 The fact that you have lawsuits against each other means that you’ve already lost your case. Why not be wronged instead? Why not be cheated? 8 But instead you are doing wrong and cheating—and you’re doing it to your own brothers and sisters.
9 Don’t you know that people who are unjust won’t inherit God’s kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Those who are sexually immoral, those who worship false gods, adulterers, both participants in same-sex intercourse,[a] 10 thieves, the greedy, drunks, abusive people, and swindlers won’t inherit God’s kingdom. 11 That is what some of you used to be! But you were washed clean, you were made holy to God, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
Avoid sexual immorality
12 I have the freedom to do anything, but not everything is helpful. I have the freedom to do anything, but I won’t be controlled by anything. 13 Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, and yet God will do away with both. The body isn’t for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. 14 God has raised the Lord and will raise us through his power. 15 Don’t you know that your bodies are parts of Christ? So then, should I take parts of Christ and make them a part of someone who is sleeping around?[b] No way! 16 Don’t you know that anyone who is joined to someone who is sleeping around is one body with that person? The scripture says, The two will become one flesh.[c] 17 The one who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. 18 Avoid sexual immorality! Every sin that a person can do is committed outside the body, except those who engage in sexual immorality commit sin against their own bodies. 19 Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? Don’t you know that you have the Holy Spirit from God, and you don’t belong to yourselves? 20 You have been bought and paid for, so honor God with your body.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 6:9 Or submissive and dominant male sexual partners
- 1 Corinthians 6:15 Or a prostitute; commonly, women who sell their bodies to multiple sex partners but includes those who are sexually immoral
- 1 Corinthians 6:16 Gen 2:24
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible