PARAPHRASE. 'How is it that when you quarrel with one another you go before heathen judges and do not let some of the brethren decide your matter? (2) You spoke of the saints judging the world, why not allow them to settle these trifles? (3) You spoke of Christians as looking to sit in judgment on a... [ Continue Reading ]
_(C) 6:1-11. CHRISTIANS AND LITIGATION_ St. Paul reproves the Corinthians for referring their disputes about ordinary affairs to heathen judges. The subject was suggested by rumours he had heard; and the mention of 'judgment' in 1 Corinthians 6:13 of the previous chapter prompted its treatment at t... [ Continue Reading ]
DARE ANY OF YOU] Such action was antagonistic to the Christian spirit. THE UNJUST] RV 'the unrighteous,' i.e. the heathen. The name is used in irony for 'unbelievers' (1 Corinthians 6:6). 'Do you call the heathen unjust, and yet dare to go to them alone for justice?' SAINTS] i.e. Christians.... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT THE SAINTS SHALL JUDGE THE WORLD] This v. and the two following vv. are written sarcastically. They appeal to the 'knowledge' of the Corinthians, and it is probable that they were suggested by expressions in the letter sent by the Corinthians to St. Paul. They were puffed up with spiritual prid... [ Continue Reading ]
BEFORE THE UNBELIEVERS] The Corinthian converts referred their disputes about matters of daily life, such as 'prices and ownership' (Ramsay), to heathen judges or arbitrators. St. Paul urges them, if quarrel they must, to choose arbitrators from among the brethren.... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE IS UTTERLY A FAULT] RV 'Already it is altogether a defect in you.' St. Paul here ceases to employ raillery, the weapon he has used so effectively in the previous vv., and remonstrates with them in the most serious fashion. The real fault was not in going to heathen judges to get their disputes... [ Continue Reading ]
PARAPHRASE. 'But the fault lies deeper than this, for you should have no such disputes at all. Far better be wronged and defrauded (8) than wrong and defraud your brethren. (9, 10) After all, in the end the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. And who are the unrighteous but the unchast... [ Continue Reading ]
SHALL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM] i.e. have no share in its present privileges and future blessings. The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom (John 18:36); its blessings and privileges are spiritual; how then could such unspiritual men as those enumerated, whose conduct tended to harden the heart and... [ Continue Reading ]
YE ARE WASHED] RM 'ye washed yourselves,' i.e. submitted to baptism as the sign of the washing away of your sin. SANCTIFIED] set apart, dedicated to God's service. JUSTIFIED] accepted as righteous. IN THE NAME OF THE LORD] i.e. through spiritual union with Him and continual submission to His influ... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THINGS ARE LAWFUL] cp. 1 Corinthians 10:23. St. Paul seems to have stated this as a principle in regard to the use of certain kinds of food (e.g. meats offered to idols, 1 Corinthians 10:25; 1 Corinthians 10:27), and the Corinthians had applied it generally to sensual indulgences. The Apostles,... [ Continue Reading ]
PARAPHRASE. 'It is true as you suggest that “all things are lawful” but this is not an absolute but a relative principle. You must not argue that the existence of appetites proves the lawfulness of their gratification: you must take care that what is lawful is also wise, and that appetite does not m... [ Continue Reading ]
MEATS] An instance of things indifferent: cp. 1 Corinthians 8-10, where this matter is treated at length. St. Paul grants liberty in respect of meats; but the liberty does not excuse violating another man's conscience or becoming a slave to gluttony. NOW THE BODY _is_ NOT, etc.] The Corinthians rega... [ Continue Reading ]
WILL ALSO RAISE UP US] St. Paul's argument in the whole passage is based on his view of the Resurrection which he explained in 1 Corinthians 15 : see esp. 1 Corinthians 15:35. Man's body is eternal; death and the grave do not destroy but purify and change it, as the earth removes the husk and glorif... [ Continue Reading ]
SAITH HE] i.e. God in Scripture (Genesis 2:24). ONE FLESH] The words spoken first of marriage are applied here to an unholy union. St. Paul does not place the two on the same plane, but only points out that in this one respect they are similar.... [ Continue Reading ]
ONE SPIRIT] i.e. he shares in the life of the Lord: cp. John 15:4; John 15:5.... [ Continue Reading ]
WITHOUT THE BODY] i.e. outside it; do not affect its spiritual nature and destiny in the same way as this sin. SINNETH AGAINST HIS OWN BODY] see on 1 Corinthians 6:14.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TEMPLE] i.e. the shrine wherein He dwells: cp. 1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16. YE ARE NOT YOUR OWN] The best of all reasons for not defiling the body.... [ Continue Reading ]
BOUGHT WITH A PRICE] Christ has given Himself for you, and you are His; yea, God has given Christ for you, and you belong to God through Him. GLORIFY GOD IN YOUR BODY] RV omits the rest. St. Paul is dwelling on the necessity of bodily purity, and appropriately concludes with this appeal.... [ Continue Reading ]