First Corinthians 6:14 teaches that God raised Jesus from the dead, and that by the same power he will raise believers too. The verse is a promise about the future resurrection of the body, offered as a reason to treat the body with honor now. The apostle Paul wrote it to the church in Corinth, a busy port city where many believers were tempted by sexual immorality and other compromises.
Now God raised up the Lord, and will also raise us up by his power.
1 Corinthians 6:14 (WEB)
What 1 Corinthians 6:14 Means
Paul begins with a past event: God raised up the Lord Jesus from the grave. That is the anchor of the whole verse. Christians believe the resurrection was a real, bodily event, and Paul treats it as proof of God’s power over death. The word “raised” points to God acting decisively in history, not merely to a spiritual idea.
Then Paul makes a promise about the future: God “will also raise us up by his power.” The same power that raised Jesus will one day raise those who belong to him. The verse says “us,” which includes the Corinthian believers, and by extension all who trust in Christ. The promise rests on God’s power, not on human effort or merit.
What the verse does not do is give a timetable or describe what the resurrected body will be like. Paul addresses those details in the rest of chapter 15. Here, his focus is practical: because God will raise your body, what you do with your body matters now.
The Context of 1 Corinthians 6:14
First Corinthians is a letter Paul wrote to a church he had founded, responding to reports of divisions, lawsuits, and moral problems. In chapter 6 he confronts believers who were going to court against one another and tolerating sexual sin. He reminds them that they were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God (verse 11).
Just before verse 14, Paul quotes a slogan the Corinthians were apparently using: “All things are lawful for me,” along with a saying about food and the belly. He answers that the body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Verse 14 supports that claim: a body destined for resurrection is too valuable to be treated as disposable. The verses that follow, about believers being members of Christ, build on the same idea.
Key Phrases in 1 Corinthians 6:14
1 Corinthians 15:20
But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep.
(WEB)
This verse calls Christ the firstfruits of those who have died, meaning his resurrection is the first of a harvest to come. It expands on the promise in 6:14 by showing that Jesus’s rising is the pledge of the believers’ rising.
Romans 8:11
But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
(WEB)
Paul says the Spirit of God who raised Jesus will also give life to your mortal bodies. It connects the resurrection power of God in 6:14 with the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in believers now.
A Short Prayer From 1 Corinthians 6:14
Father, you raised Jesus from the dead, and you have promised to raise me by your power. Thank you that my hope does not rest on my own strength or record. Help me to honor my body as something that belongs to you, and to make choices today that reflect the life you have promised. When fear of death or weakness rises in me, remind me that the grave does not have the last word. In the name of Jesus, who rose and lives. Amen.
