RSV ~ 1 Corinthians 6 Notes

1 Cor 6:1-8 | ISB Notes

Paul is distressed by reports of litigation in Corinth. Instead of solving economic and property disputes like brothers, the Corinthians were hauling each other into the Roman courts. Paul rebukes them for this, judging that pagans should not arbitrate the internal affairs of God’s covenant family. History suggests that most lawsuits in the Roman world involved cases of the rich and powerful suing the poor and helpless—a problem that may have characterized the situation in Corinth (11:17-22).

1 Cor 6:1 | ISB Notes

the unrighteous: I.e., pagan judges. For Paul, unbelievers are entirely unfit to judge God’s covenant people. He would rather the Church conduct herself like Israel, which regulated its internal disputes by appointing judges from the twelve tribes (Deut 1:9-17; 16:18-20).

1 Cor 6:3 | ISB Notes

to judge angels?: Only here in the Bible do we learn that Christians will condemn both unbelievers (6:2) and fallen spirits at the final Judgment (2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6). Related to this, however, is the notion that believers will share in the heavenly reign of Christ (2 Tim 2:12).

1 Cor 6:5 | ISB Notes

no man among you wise: A sarcastic rebuke. For all their boasting about wisdom, the Corinthians proved themselves incompetent in resolving everyday personal differences.

1 Cor 6:7 | ISB Notes

Why not rather be defrauded?: It is better, Paul reasons, to suffer wrongdoing than to cause scandal for unbelievers by taking each other to court (1 Pet 3:17).

1 Cor 6:9-10 | ISB Notes

A catalogue of ten vices radically inconsistent with Christian morality. Paul lists them to remind the Corinthians of their former habits and to dissuade them from slipping back into their old pagan ways. These sins destroy all hope of sharing in God’s kingdom (Gal 5:19-21; Rev 21:8; CCC 1852).

1 Cor 6:9 | ISB Notes

nor homosexuals: The RSV condenses two Greek terms into the single English word “homosexuals”. The first term could be rendered “male prostitutes”, and the second “male homosexuals”. The context makes it clear that Paul is thinking, not of persons merely attracted to others of the same sex, but of those who engage in perverse sexual acts with them. Both Testaments agree that homosexual conduct is gravely disordered and poses a serious threat to eternal salvation (Lev 18:22; 20:13; Rom 1:26-27; 1 Tim 1:10; CCC 2357-59).

1 Cor 6:11 | ISB Notes

such were some of you: Once prisoners in sin (6:910), the Corinthians have been redeemed and renewed by the washing of Baptism. The point is that God’s grace and forgiveness can rescue even the worst sinners from their deadly habits. washed . . . sanctified . . .

justified: Three effects of Baptism, through which sinners are cleansed of guilt (Acts 22:16), made holy (Rom 6:22), and adopted as heirs of eternal life (Tit 3:57). The added mention of Christ’s name and the work of the Spirit makes it certain that Paul is alluding to Baptism as the sacramental context for the Corinthians’ conversion (Acts 2:38; CCC 1227, 2813).

See word study: Justified at Rom 2.

1 Cor 6:12 | ISB Notes

All things are lawful for me: Probably a slogan coined by certain Corinthians to justify their promiscuous life-style. Like many Greeks, they attached little importance to the body and held that sexual activity was as morally neutral as eating and drinking. This theoretical separation between body and spirit led them to believe that physical urges could be indiscriminately satisfied without harm to the spiritual life. Another view is that these words originated with Paul, but that members of the congregation have distorted his meaning to justify their sin. On this view, Paul is clarifying the expression to exclude a permissive interpretation of his teaching. Either way, participation in cultic prostitution was the disturbing result (6:15).

1 Cor 6:13 | ISB Notes

The body . . . for the Lord: Paul hints that just as the body of a bride belongs to her husband through the covenant of marriage (7:4), so the body of the believer is consecrated to Christ through Baptism (6:11). Christ’s spousal right over the body is thus violated when believers are involved in sexual impurity—a fact that makes promiscuity equivalent to adultery (2 Cor 11:2-3).

The general resurrection puts this moral crisis in perspective: because our bodies belong to the Lord and are destined for eternity, they should not be desecrated by evildoing (1 Cor 6:14; CCC 796, 989, 1004).

1 Cor 6:15 | ISB Notes

members of Christ: A theology developed at length in 12:12-31.

prostitute: Prostitution was a regular part of Roman society and often took place in a cultic context within pagan temples (CCC 2355).

See essay: Shun Immorality, Shun Idolatry at 1 Cor 6.

1 Cor 6:16 | ISB Notes

The two shall become one: A reference to Gen 2:24. • According to Genesis, sexual union cements a bond between a man and a woman that makes them one flesh. The proper context of this unifying act is the covenant of marriage, where the bond is meant to be permanent, fruitful, and exclusive.

1 Cor 6:17 | ISB Notes

one spirit with him: The point is, not that sexual union (6:16) is a mere reflection of our spiritual union with Christ, but that even our bodies become united with Christ through the Spirit (15:45). This union with Christ’s humanity—which is sacramental, not sexual—has its beginning in Baptism (12:13) and is strengthened by the Eucharist (10:16-17).

1 Cor 6:19 | ISB Notes

your body is a temple: Baptism makes every believer a spouse of God the Son and a sanctuary of God the Spirit (CCC 1265, 1695). See note on 1 Cor 3:16. If prostitution is a sin of adultery against the former, it is a sin of profanation against the latter.

1 Cor 6:20 | ISB Notes

bought with a price: The background of this statement, as in 7:23, is the ownership that a master has over a slave once the purchase has been finalized. It is possible too, given the marital theme that runs through the preceding discussion, that Paul considers the price of Jesus’ death a dowry paid in advance of our spousal union with him through grace (1 Pet 1:1819).

glorify God in your body: There is probably an implied contrast in these words: whereas the Gentiles in Corinth dishonor God in their temples through idolatrous worship and sacred prostitution, believers must glorify God in their bodily temples by offering them to God through chastity (Rom 12:1).