American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
1 Corinthians 6
1
Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
Reference
2
Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
Reference
Holy
Daniel 7:18
Zechariah 14:5
Judgment
Daniel 7:22
Revelation 20:4
1 Corinthians 6:4
Parallel theme
Matthew 19:28
Luke 22:30
Revelation 3:21
Psalm 49:14
2 Corinthians 4:18
3
Know you not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
Reference
Judgment
Jude 1:6
1 Corinthians 6:4
Parallel theme
Matthew 25:41
Luke 8:14
Luke 21:34
2 Timothy 2:4
2 Timothy 4:10
4
If then you have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
Reference
Judgment
1 Corinthians 5:12
5
I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brothers?
Reference
6
But brother goes to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
Reference
Faith
2 Corinthians 6:14
7
Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because you go to law one with another. Why do you not rather take wrong? why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
Reference
9
Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
Reference
Kingdom
1 Corinthians 6:10
Parallel theme
Leviticus 20:13
Leviticus 18:22
Revelation 22:15
Revelation 21:8
1 Corinthians 5:10
References God
1 Corinthians 6:19
Hebrews 13:4
Deuteronomy 22:5
Righteousness
Romans 1:18
10
Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionists, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Reference
Evil
1 Peter 4:15
Kingdom
Galatians 5:21
Ephesians 4:28
Parallel theme
1 Corinthians 5:11
Ezekiel 22:29
Matthew 23:33
Ezekiel 22:27
John 12:6
1 Thessalonians 4:6
Ezekiel 22:13
11
And such were some of you: but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Reference
Holy
1 Corinthians 1:2
Acts 26:18
Parallel theme
Ephesians 5:26
Hebrews 10:22
References Lord
Acts 22:16
Ephesians 5:8
Righteousness
1 Corinthians 1:30
Romans 8:30
Romans 5:1
Spirit
1 Peter 1:2
12
All things are lawful to me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Corinthians 9:27
2 Thessalonians 3:9
Jude 1:12
1 Corinthians 8:4
1 Corinthians 9:12
Word
Romans 7:14
13
Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
Reference
Parallel theme
Romans 6:12
Ephesians 5:23
Matthew 15:17
References God
1 Corinthians 6:19
1 Corinthians 3:16
1 Corinthians 6:15
Romans 14:17
Romans 12:1
15
Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ephesians 5:30
References Christ
Romans 12:5
1 Corinthians 12:27
Ephesians 4:12
1 Corinthians 11:3
References God
Colossians 2:19
1 Corinthians 6:19
Luke 20:16
16
What? know you not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, said he, shall be one flesh.
Reference
18
Flee fornication. Every sin that a man does is without the body; but he that commits fornication sins against his own body.
Reference
19
What? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?
Reference
Holy
1 Peter 2:5
Parallel theme
Titus 2:14
2 Corinthians 5:15
1 Kings 20:4
1 Chronicles 29:14
Psalm 12:4
References God
Psalm 100:3
Spirit
1 Corinthians 3:16
Temple
2 Corinthians 6:16
John 2:21
20
For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Corinthians 7:23
1 Peter 2:9
1 Peter 1:18
Philippians 1:20
Galatians 3:13
Hebrews 9:12
References God
Romans 12:1
1 Corinthians 10:31
Revelation 5:9
Spirit
Acts 20:28
Summary of 1 Corinthians 6
1 Corinthians 6 addresses two major problems in the Corinthian church—believers taking one another to public court and believers treating sexual behavior as though it had no spiritual importance—and Paul responds by teaching that Christians should value reconciliation, self-control, holiness, and their identity as people who belong to Christ.
Paul argues that believers should normally be able to settle ordinary disagreements within the Christian community rather than publicly fighting one another before unbelieving judges, because choosing to accept a personal loss can sometimes demonstrate greater Christian maturity than winning a legal battle while damaging the unity and witness of the church.
He then warns that people who continue in serious and unrepentant sinful lifestyles should not assume that their behavior is compatible with God's kingdom, while reminding the Corinthians that many of them had once lived in such ways but had been washed, made holy, and made right with God through Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Paul finishes by challenging the idea that physical desires are unimportant, explaining that the body belongs to Christ and is a temple of the Holy Spirit, so Christians should flee sexual immorality and use their bodies to honor God because they have been redeemed through Christ.
Historical Context
Corinth was a wealthy and busy Roman city where commerce, law, religion, social competition, and personal reputation were important parts of daily life.
Because the city was commercially active, disagreements involving money, property, contracts, and business relationships were common, and the Roman legal system provided established ways for people to bring disputes before judges.
Paul's criticism is therefore not that courts themselves are always wrong, but that Christians should not allow ordinary disputes between believers to destroy their fellowship and publicly damage the reputation of the church.
In the ancient world, lawsuits could involve much more than simply determining who was legally correct.
They could become contests over honor, reputation, influence, wealth, and social standing, especially when wealthy and powerful people had better access to legal support.
Paul's suggestion that believers should sometimes accept being wronged rather than fight for personal victory represents a radical Christian approach to conflict, because it places peace and the unity of the church above personal advantage.
Paul then moves from legal disputes to moral behavior and gives a serious warning about lifestyles that contradict Christian faith.
The list includes several forms of sexual immorality as well as idolatry, theft, greed, drunkenness, abusive speech, and exploitation, showing that Paul is concerned not only with sexual behavior but with a much wider pattern of selfish and destructive living.
The warning should be understood in the context of the whole letter because Paul is not saying that a person who has ever committed a sin is automatically excluded from salvation.
Instead, he is warning against a continuing lifestyle of serious wrongdoing that a person refuses to repent of, especially when that behavior is defended as though Christian faith places no limits on how someone lives.
Paul immediately balances the warning with a message of hope by reminding the Corinthians that some of them once lived this way but had been changed through Christ.
This is an important part of Paul's message because Christianity is not presented as a community for people who have never sinned, but as a community of people whose lives are being transformed through God's grace.
The second half of the chapter focuses strongly on sexual morality.
The Corinthians appear to have argued that because Christians were free in Christ, certain physical behaviors were therefore acceptable.
Paul responds with the principle that even if something might technically be permitted, that does not mean it is helpful, healthy, or spiritually wise.
His statement that he will not allow anything to control him is especially important because it shows that Christian freedom is not simply the freedom to satisfy every desire.
True freedom includes the ability to control one's desires rather than becoming controlled by them.
Paul's teaching about the body also challenges certain ancient ideas that treated physical existence as less important than spiritual existence.
Some philosophical traditions placed greater value on the soul or mind than on the physical body, while some people could use this distinction to argue that physical actions did not have serious spiritual consequences.
Paul strongly rejects this thinking.
The body matters because God created it, Christ redeemed it, the Holy Spirit lives in believers, and God will ultimately raise believers from the dead.
Paul's teaching about sexual union is therefore connected to his larger teaching about resurrection and Christian identity.
The body is not disposable or spiritually meaningless.
It belongs to Christ.
Paul uses the language of being "bought with a price", which would have been understandable in a Roman society where slavery and the buying and selling of people were part of everyday life.
The image communicates that believers now belong to Christ because He has paid the cost of their redemption.
The statement that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit is also powerful because the Temple in Jerusalem was associated with God's presence among His people.
Paul applies this sacred language to individual Christian believers, emphasizing that God's presence is not limited to a physical building but is experienced through His Spirit living in His people.
The central message of 1 Corinthians 6 is that belonging to Christ should change the way Christians handle conflict, control their desires, treat their bodies, and relate to other people, because Christian freedom is not permission to live selfishly but an opportunity to live in a way that honors God.
Paul teaches that Christians should seek peace and reconciliation rather than allowing personal disputes to become public battles, especially when winning an argument comes at the cost of harming another believer or damaging the unity of the church.
He also reminds believers that God's grace does not simply forgive the past while leaving the present unchanged, because those who belong to Christ are called to leave behind lifestyles that contradict their new identity.
The teaching about sexual morality is especially strong because Paul says that the body belongs to Christ and is a temple of the Holy Spirit, meaning that physical choices have spiritual importance and should not be separated from a person's relationship with God.
The chapter therefore presents Christian freedom as freedom from being controlled by desires rather than freedom to satisfy every desire, while reminding believers that their bodies have lasting value because God raised Jesus from the dead and promises resurrection to His people.
The final message is simple but powerful: Christ has paid the price for believers, the Holy Spirit lives within them, and therefore their entire lives—including their bodies, relationships, decisions, and conflicts—should be used to honor God.
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Paul argues that believers should normally be able to settle ordinary disagreements within the Christian community rather than publicly fighting one another before unbelieving judges, because choosing to accept a personal loss can sometimes demonstrate greater Christian maturity than winning a legal battle while damaging the unity and witness of the church.
He then warns that people who continue in serious and unrepentant sinful lifestyles should not assume that their behavior is compatible with God's kingdom, while reminding the Corinthians that many of them had once lived in such ways but had been washed, made holy, and made right with God through Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Paul finishes by challenging the idea that physical desires are unimportant, explaining that the body belongs to Christ and is a temple of the Holy Spirit, so Christians should flee sexual immorality and use their bodies to honor God because they have been redeemed through Christ.
Historical Context
Corinth was a wealthy and busy Roman city where commerce, law, religion, social competition, and personal reputation were important parts of daily life.
Because the city was commercially active, disagreements involving money, property, contracts, and business relationships were common, and the Roman legal system provided established ways for people to bring disputes before judges.
Paul's criticism is therefore not that courts themselves are always wrong, but that Christians should not allow ordinary disputes between believers to destroy their fellowship and publicly damage the reputation of the church.
In the ancient world, lawsuits could involve much more than simply determining who was legally correct.
They could become contests over honor, reputation, influence, wealth, and social standing, especially when wealthy and powerful people had better access to legal support.
Paul's suggestion that believers should sometimes accept being wronged rather than fight for personal victory represents a radical Christian approach to conflict, because it places peace and the unity of the church above personal advantage.
Paul then moves from legal disputes to moral behavior and gives a serious warning about lifestyles that contradict Christian faith.
The list includes several forms of sexual immorality as well as idolatry, theft, greed, drunkenness, abusive speech, and exploitation, showing that Paul is concerned not only with sexual behavior but with a much wider pattern of selfish and destructive living.
The warning should be understood in the context of the whole letter because Paul is not saying that a person who has ever committed a sin is automatically excluded from salvation.
Instead, he is warning against a continuing lifestyle of serious wrongdoing that a person refuses to repent of, especially when that behavior is defended as though Christian faith places no limits on how someone lives.
Paul immediately balances the warning with a message of hope by reminding the Corinthians that some of them once lived this way but had been changed through Christ.
This is an important part of Paul's message because Christianity is not presented as a community for people who have never sinned, but as a community of people whose lives are being transformed through God's grace.
The second half of the chapter focuses strongly on sexual morality.
The Corinthians appear to have argued that because Christians were free in Christ, certain physical behaviors were therefore acceptable.
Paul responds with the principle that even if something might technically be permitted, that does not mean it is helpful, healthy, or spiritually wise.
His statement that he will not allow anything to control him is especially important because it shows that Christian freedom is not simply the freedom to satisfy every desire.
True freedom includes the ability to control one's desires rather than becoming controlled by them.
Paul's teaching about the body also challenges certain ancient ideas that treated physical existence as less important than spiritual existence.
Some philosophical traditions placed greater value on the soul or mind than on the physical body, while some people could use this distinction to argue that physical actions did not have serious spiritual consequences.
Paul strongly rejects this thinking.
The body matters because God created it, Christ redeemed it, the Holy Spirit lives in believers, and God will ultimately raise believers from the dead.
Paul's teaching about sexual union is therefore connected to his larger teaching about resurrection and Christian identity.
The body is not disposable or spiritually meaningless.
It belongs to Christ.
Paul uses the language of being "bought with a price", which would have been understandable in a Roman society where slavery and the buying and selling of people were part of everyday life.
The image communicates that believers now belong to Christ because He has paid the cost of their redemption.
The statement that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit is also powerful because the Temple in Jerusalem was associated with God's presence among His people.
Paul applies this sacred language to individual Christian believers, emphasizing that God's presence is not limited to a physical building but is experienced through His Spirit living in His people.
The central message of 1 Corinthians 6 is that belonging to Christ should change the way Christians handle conflict, control their desires, treat their bodies, and relate to other people, because Christian freedom is not permission to live selfishly but an opportunity to live in a way that honors God.
Paul teaches that Christians should seek peace and reconciliation rather than allowing personal disputes to become public battles, especially when winning an argument comes at the cost of harming another believer or damaging the unity of the church.
He also reminds believers that God's grace does not simply forgive the past while leaving the present unchanged, because those who belong to Christ are called to leave behind lifestyles that contradict their new identity.
The teaching about sexual morality is especially strong because Paul says that the body belongs to Christ and is a temple of the Holy Spirit, meaning that physical choices have spiritual importance and should not be separated from a person's relationship with God.
The chapter therefore presents Christian freedom as freedom from being controlled by desires rather than freedom to satisfy every desire, while reminding believers that their bodies have lasting value because God raised Jesus from the dead and promises resurrection to His people.
The final message is simple but powerful: Christ has paid the price for believers, the Holy Spirit lives within them, and therefore their entire lives—including their bodies, relationships, decisions, and conflicts—should be used to honor God.
VidIQ