1 Corinthians 6 is Paul’s sharp call to the church in Corinth to stop suing one another in public courts and to take their bodies, their conduct and their community seriously as belonging to God. People search for this chapter because it touches two very practical questions at once: how Christians should handle conflict with fellow believers, and why sexual ethics carries such weight in the Christian life. Read as a whole, it explains how the holiness of God’s people shapes everyday choices about money, relationships and the body.
1 Corinthians 6 Summary
The chapter opens with a rebuke. Believers who have a dispute are taking it to unbelieving judges instead of settling it among themselves, even though Paul reminds them that God’s people will one day judge the world and even angels. He asks why the church cannot find a wise person within its own fellowship to settle small matters, and he says that lawsuits between brothers already reveal a serious failure, even before the question of who is right.
From there Paul moves to a longer warning about the kind of life that does not fit with inheriting God’s kingdom. He lists several patterns of behavior and then reminds the Corinthians that some of them once lived this way, but have been washed, made holy and declared righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus. The middle section takes up slogans the Corinthians were apparently using to justify their freedom, and Paul answers them by focusing on the body as belonging to the Lord.
The chapter closes with the image of the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. Because believers were bought at a price, Paul urges them to glorify God in both body and spirit.
Background and Setting
First Corinthians is a letter traditionally attributed to the apostle Paul, written to the young congregation he had founded in Corinth, a busy Greek port city known for commerce and a wide range of religious and moral practices. Most scholars date the letter to the mid-50s AD, during Paul’s extended stay in Ephesus. He wrote in response to reports from members of Chloe’s household and to questions the Corinthians had sent him.
Chapter 6 sits in the section of the letter that deals with specific problems in the church. Chapters 5 and 6 together address moral failures and disputes within the community, and chapter 6 links those concerns to the church’s identity as the people of God, whose bodies and communal life are meant to reflect their holy calling.
1 Corinthians 6 Section by Section
Verses 1-6: Settling Disputes Within the Family of God
1 Dare any of you, having a matter against his neighbor, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? 2 Don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1 Corinthians 6:1-2 (WEB)
Paul begins by asking whether believers would dare to bring a complaint against one another before unrighteous judges instead of before the saints. He reminds them that the saints will judge the world, which gives them no reason to be incapable of handling ordinary disputes. The point is not that Christians should never go to court, but that the church should be a place where believers are able to resolve their differences with wisdom and humility.
In verses 4 to 6, he pushes this further with a pointed question: is there not one wise person among you who can decide between brothers? His frustration is clear. A lawsuit between Christians, aired publicly before outsiders, damages the witness of the church and shows that the community is not practicing the peace and mutual care that should mark it.
Verses 7-8: Better to Be Wronged
Therefore it is already altogether a defect in you, that you have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?
1 Corinthians 6:7 (WEB)
Paul calls the existence of these lawsuits a defect in the Corinthians’ life together. His challenge is startling: why not rather accept wrong, or be cheated, than pursue a fight that tears apart the body of Christ? He is not telling believers to ignore injustice, but he is calling them to measure their disputes against the cross, where Jesus absorbed harm rather than returning it.
The sharp turn in verse 8 shows that the Corinthians were not simply victims. They were the ones doing wrong to one another, and doing it to their own brothers and sisters. The problem Paul identifies is not only a matter of who wins in court, but of a community that has lost sight of its shared identity.
Verses 9-11: Washed, Sanctified and Justified
9 Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom. 11 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 in the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (WEB)
Paul asks whether they do not know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom. He lists a range of behaviors that belong to the old way of life, including sexual immorality, idolatry, theft, drunkenness, slander and greed. The list is not meant to single out a few sins as worse than others, but to show that persistent, unrepentant patterns of life are incompatible with belonging to God’s kingdom.
The turning point comes in verse 11. Paul says, “Such were some of you,” and then declares that they have been washed, sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God. Christian holiness is grounded in what God has done, not in a boast of self-improvement. Those who once lived in these ways have been made new, and that new identity is what shapes their present choices.
Verses 12-14: Freedom That Serves and Does Not Enslave
12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are expedient. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power of anything. 13 “Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods,” but God will bring to nothing both it and them. But the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
1 Corinthians 6:12-13 (WEB)
Here Paul quotes a slogan the Corinthians seem to have used: “All things are lawful for me.” He grants that some things are permissible, but he insists that not everything is helpful, and that no one should be mastered by any particular practice. Freedom in Christ is not a license to do whatever one likes, but a call to live in ways that build up rather than enslave.
His answer to the claim that food and the body are morally neutral is that the body is “for the Lord,” and the Lord is “for the body.” God intends the body for holy purposes, and God will one day raise believers bodily, as he raised Jesus. The body is not a disposable container for appetite, but a part of the person that belongs to God.
Verses 15-17: Members of Christ
15 Don’t you know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! 16 Or don’t you know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body? For, “The two”, he says, “will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:15-17 (WEB)
Paul asks the Corinthians whether they realize that their bodies are members of Christ. Joining oneself to a prostitute, he argues, joins the believer to something that contradicts their union with the Lord. The union of a believer with Christ is spiritual and real, and Paul uses the language of bodily union to show how serious it is to break that bond through sexual sin.
His contrast in verse 17 is simple and clear: whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. That relationship is the foundation for how believers are to live with their bodies, since their bodies now belong to someone else.
Verses 18-20: The Body as a Temple
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. 19 Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 (WEB)
Paul closes with a command to flee sexual immorality and a reminder that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Believers are not their own, because they were bought with a price. The image of purchase points to the costly redemption that Christ accomplished, and it gives a clear reason for living in a way that honors God.
The chapter ends with an invitation: glorify God in your body and in your spirit. The aim is not anxious self-monitoring, but a whole-life offering in which every part of the person is given back to the God who made and redeemed them.
Key Themes in 1 Corinthians 6
- Christian unity: Paul expects believers to resolve disputes within the church because they belong to one family under Christ.
- Holiness and new identity: The Corinthians have been washed, sanctified and justified, and that new identity shapes how they live.
- Responsible freedom: Paul accepts that many things are permissible, but insists that freedom must serve love and the good of others.
- The sanctity of the body: Because the body is for the Lord and will be raised, it is not to be treated as a tool for sin.
- Belonging to God: Believers were bought at a price and are called to glorify God in body and spirit.
Lessons From 1 Corinthians 6 for Today
Consider a small business owner who is in a dispute with a fellow church member over an unpaid invoice. Paul’s words invite the two of them to sit down together, perhaps with a trusted older believer, before either one files a complaint with a court. The goal is not to avoid justice, but to pursue it in a way that protects the relationship and reflects the peace of Christ.
The chapter also speaks into the pressures of modern life. Many people hear that they are free to do anything that feels good, and the conversation about the body is often shaped by appetite and self-expression. Paul offers a different framing: your body belongs to the Lord, and your choices about sexuality, food, money and speech are part of how you honor the God who bought you.
Finally, the chapter encourages those who feel their past defines them. Paul reminds the Corinthians that some of them were once thieves, drunkards or slanderers, and yet they have been washed and made new. That news is good for anyone who has failed, because it means the story of who you are is shaped by God’s grace rather than by your worst moments.
Questions for Reflection
- When a disagreement arises in your church or small group, what would it look like to seek a wise reconciler before turning to outside authorities?
- Which slogans or cultural claims about freedom do you find yourself repeating, and how does Paul’s answer in verse 12 challenge them?
- How does remembering that you were washed, sanctified and justified affect the way you respond to your own past mistakes?
- In what specific ways could you glorify God in your body this week, in your work, your rest, or your relationships?
A Prayer From 1 Corinthians 6
Lord, you have washed me and made me new through the name of Jesus and the work of your Spirit. Help me to remember that I am not my own, because you bought me at a great price. Where I have been quick to fight with my brothers and sisters, slow down my heart and give me the wisdom to seek peace. Where I have treated my body as a place to satisfy every appetite, teach me to honor you in what I do with my hands, my eyes, my money and my time. Let my life glorify you in body and in spirit. Amen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Paul say Christians will judge the world and angels?
Paul is pointing to the future role God gives to his people as they share in Christ’s authority. He uses this to argue that believers should be able to settle ordinary disputes among themselves. The point is about their calling and capacity, not a detailed description of the final judgment.
Is 1 Corinthians 6 saying Christians should never go to court?
The chapter is focused on disputes between believers, and Paul strongly prefers that they be resolved within the church. It does not give a full legal policy for every situation. It does call Christians to pursue peace, humility and integrity in all conflicts.
What does it mean that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?
Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit dwells within believers, so their bodies belong to God in a special way. This gives a reason for treating the body with honor, since it is the place where God’s presence lives. It also grounds the call to glorify God in everyday choices.
