1 Corinthians 6:1-20 Lesson 320

1 Corinthians 6:1-20
Lesson 320

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

Lawsuits (6:1-8).
Immorality (6:9-18).
Our bodies belong to God (6:19-20).

Notice that Paul asks, "don't you know," six times in this passage.

This lesson ends the segment on immorality, fornication, infighting and
lawsuits within the church of Corinth that began with verse 5:1 (lesson 319).

Study Tip:

Put difficult verses in your own words.
The extra time it takes will help you understand the verse and retain it longer.

The First Epistle of Paul The Apostle To The Corinthians

The King James Bible

1 Corinthians 6:1-20
Lawsuits and immorality

1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?

2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.

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 brethren?

6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.

7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?

8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.

9 Know ye 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,

10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

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.

14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.

15 Know ye 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.

16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Margin notes:

"Matter." (6:1) - "Legal matter." In Paul's day, criminal cases were tried in Roman courts. But Jews and Christians were allowed to settle their disputes in minor civil cases.

"The unjust." (6:1) - A court made up of non-believers.

"The saints shall judge the world." (6:2) - Christians will judge the world (Daniel 7:22), including the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30).

"We shall judge angels." (6:3) - On the day of our Lord.

"Set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church." (6:4) - Paul is asking why church members choose unbelievers to judge their legal matters.

"A fault among you." (6:7) - "A failure among you."

"Why do ye not rather take wrong?" (6:7) - Means, why not accept the wrong done you out of love and forgiveness. As Christians, we are asked to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39), show charity (Luke 6:27-36) and let God handle it (Proverbs 20:22).

"The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God." (6:9) - This means that those who have not made themselves right with God will not inherit paradise. See Romans 8:17.

"Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind." (6:9) - Similar lists of sinful behavior can be found in 1 Corinthians 5:11, Romans 1:28-32, Romans 13:13, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:5, Colossians 3:5, 1 Timothy 1:10 and 2 Timothy 3:2.

"Washed." (6:11) - Means washed clean of sins by the blood of Jesus. Washing away our sins is proof that God loves us.

"All things are lawful unto me." (6:12) - This was the motto of the Corinthian Christians. They believed that freedom (from guilt) in Christ meant they were above the laws of morality. Since Jesus had washed away their sins, they thought they could live any way they wanted. Paul will reinforce this teaching in verse 10:23.

"But all things are not expedient." (6:12) - "But not all things are right."

"Meats for the belly." (6:13) - "Food is for the stomach."

"God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us." (6:14) - This is an excellent verse to memorize and recite when feeling dejected or put upon.

"One spirit." (6:17) - Those who have faith in Jesus Christ enjoy a spiritual union with Him (John 15:4; Ephesians 4:4; 5:30).

"Flee fornication." (6:18) - Sexual sin has a more ruinous effect on our lives, relationships, and marriages than the sins of greed, lying, stealing, revenge, slander, etc. It is one of Satan's most powerful weapons.

"Without the body." (6:18) - "Outside the body."

"Know ye not that...ye are not your own." (6:19) - Believers have the Holy Ghost inside them. They belong to Jesus Christ and should strive to live in fellowship with God.

New Living Translation

1 Corinthians 6:1-20
Avoiding Lawsuits with Christians

1 When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers!

2 Don't you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can't you decide even these little things among yourselves?

3 Don't you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life.

4 If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church?

5 I am saying this to shame you. Isn't there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues?

6 But instead, one believer sues another-right in front of unbelievers!

7 Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated?

8 Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers.

9 Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality,

10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people-none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Avoiding Sexual Sin

12 You say, "I am allowed to do anything"-but not everything is good for you. And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything.

13 You say, "Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food." (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can't say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.

14 And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.

15 Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never!

16 And don't you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, "The two are united into one."

17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.

19 Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,

20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's Question:

1. Who bought you? (6:20)

"To live for Christ, we must learn to die to self." (unknown)

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. God bought you with "the precious blood of Christ" on the day Jesus was sacrificed on the cross (1 Peter 1:18-19). When Christ died, you were washed, sanctified, and justified in His holy name. Jesus died to save us. As thanks, we should glorify God (6:20).

Application thought for the day:

When you give yourself to Jesus, you are justified (not guilty) in the eyes of God.
Have faith in your Messiah; He alone can lead you to heaven.

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
© 2022 evolke

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