1 Corinthians 6 Summary — Lawsuits and Glorifying God in Your Body

Companion: Deep Study

A condensed companion to the full study. For each section of the expanded outline: key insights, applications, and the application questions for discussion.

Section 1 — The Scandal of Lawsuits Before Unbelievers (1 Corinthians 6:1–6)

Key Insights

Paul is scandalized that a believer would “dare” take a fellow believer “before the unrighteous instead of the saints” (v. 1) — disputes among Christians belong within the church, not before pagan courts.
“Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” (v. 2) and even “judge angels” (v. 3) — the redeemed share in Christ’s eschatological reign and judgment.
Paul argues a fortiori: those destined to judge the cosmos are surely competent to settle “trivial cases” of this present life.
To prefer pagan judges over the Spirit-filled community is a perverse reversal said “to your shame” (v. 5).
“Brother goes to law against brother… before unbelievers” (v. 6) — the triple “brother” exposes the scandal of family tearing at itself before the watching world.

Applications

Seek resolution of disputes with believers within the household of faith, through godly counsel, not worldly vindication.
Live in light of your future destiny to reign and judge with Christ, holding earthly grievances in proportion.
Handle Christian conflict in a way that adorns rather than dishonors the gospel before the world.

Application Questions

When I have a grievance against a fellow believer, do I seek resolution within the household of faith, or do I instinctively reach for worldly vindication?
Do I live in light of my future destiny to reign and judge with Christ, or am I consumed by petty earthly disputes?

Section 2 — Better to Suffer Wrong: The Defeat of Litigation (1 Corinthians 6:7–8)

Key Insights

“To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat” (v. 7) — the dispute itself, before any verdict, reveals a failure of love and the cross-shaped life.
Paul’s astonishing counsel: “Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?” — better to absorb loss than to disgrace Christ by suing a brother.
This echoes Christ’s own teaching (Matthew 5:39–40) and example (1 Peter 2:23) — the way of the kingdom is the way of the cross.
“But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!” (v. 8) — the Corinthians were not mere victims but perpetrators of deliberate injustice.
True victory lies not in vindicated rights but in love that bears wrong for Christ and His church.

Applications

Hold your rights loosely, willing to suffer wrong rather than dishonor Christ or wound a brother.
Examine whether you are the one wronging or defrauding others, and repent and make restitution.
Entrust your vindication to the righteous Judge rather than seeking it through retaliation.

Application Questions

Am I more willing to suffer wrong for Christ’s sake than to insist on my rights at the expense of love and the gospel’s honor?
Have I examined whether I am the one wronging and defrauding others, even my brothers and sisters in Christ?

Section 3 — The Unrighteous Will Not Inherit, But Such Were Some of You (1 Corinthians 6:9–11)

Key Insights

“Do not be deceived: the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God” (v. 9) — settled, unrepentant patterns of sin mark those outside the kingdom.
The vice catalog (vv. 9–10) spans sexual sin, idolatry, greed, theft, and sins of the tongue, exposing the breadth of human depravity.
“Such were some of you” (v. 11) — Paul reminds them of the pit from which grace dug them, humbling all pride.
The triumphant “But“: “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified” — three finished works of grace decisively reversing their past.
All accomplished “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” — a Trinitarian work of cleansing, consecration, and acquittal, all of grace.

Applications

Examine honestly whether any listed sin reigns unrepentantly in your life, refusing false assurance.
Rest in being washed, sanctified, and justified — neither despairing over your past nor despising other sinners.
Hold the solemn warning and the radiant hope together, letting both humble and assure you.

Application Questions

Is any of the sins Paul lists reigning unrepentantly in my life, deceiving me into a false assurance of salvation?
Do I live in the assurance and humility that flow from being washed, sanctified, and justified, rather than in either pride or despair?

Section 4 — Freedom Misused: All Things Lawful, But Not Helpful (1 Corinthians 6:12–14)

Key Insights

Paul quotes and qualifies a Corinthian slogan: “‘All things are lawful‘… but not all things are helpful” and “I will not be dominated by anything” (v. 12).
True liberty is freedom to glorify God, not license to indulge appetites that enslave.
The “food for the stomach” slogan (v. 13) is conceded for food but denied for sex: “The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord.”
Remarkably, “the Lord [is] for the body” — Christ has a saving interest in the believer’s whole person.
“God raised the Lord and will also raise us up” (v. 14) — the body’s destiny is resurrection, not destruction, so it matters eternally.

Applications

Use Christian freedom to glorify God and build others up, renouncing even lawful things that enslave you.
Reject both the despising and the abuse of the body, honoring it as the Lord’s and destined for resurrection.
Treat your physical life — appetites, purity, service — as belonging to the Lord who will raise it.

Application Questions

Do I use my Christian freedom to glorify God and build others up, or as a license to indulge desires that enslave me?
Do I treat my body as morally insignificant, or do I honor it as belonging to the Lord and destined for resurrection?

Section 5 — Members of Christ, Not of a Prostitute (1 Corinthians 6:15–17)

Key Insights

“Your bodies are members of Christ” (v. 15) — by union with Him, even the believer’s body belongs to and is incorporated into Christ.
To join a member of Christ to a prostitute draws Christ into the act — an unthinkable desecration: “Never!“
Citing Genesis 2:24, every sexual union forges a profound “one flesh” bond (v. 16) — there is no such thing as casual sex.
“He who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him” (v. 17) — the believer’s higher union with Christ is incompatible with immorality.
Sexual purity flows from union with Christ, and immorality is a violation of that most sacred bond.

Applications

In temptation, remember that your body is a member of Christ; would you bring Him into this act?
Reject the cultural lie of casual sex, reckoning with the one-flesh bond every union creates.
Glory in your union with Christ as both the reason and the resource for a holy life.

Application Questions

When tempted to sexual sin, do I remember that my body is a member of Christ, united to Him as one spirit?
Have I believed the lie that sexual intimacy is casual, or do I reckon with the one-flesh bond every such union creates?

Section 6 — Flee Immorality: Your Body Is a Temple, Glorify God (1 Corinthians 6:18–20)

Key Insights

“Flee from sexual immorality” (v. 18) — a present imperative for continual, decisive flight, as Joseph fled (Genesis 39:12), not negotiation at sin’s edge.
The immoral person “sins against his own body” — sexual sin uniquely involves and defiles the body joined to Christ.
“Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit” (v. 19) — the inner sanctuary where God now dwells; immorality profanes God’s temple.
“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price” (vv. 19–20) — redemption by Christ’s blood establishes God’s ownership and overturns all self-indulgence.
The climactic command: “glorify God in your body” — the redeemed body exists to display the glory of the God who purchased it.

Applications

Flee sexual temptation decisively; identify and remove its occasions rather than trusting your own strength.
Keep your body holy as the temple of the Spirit, sacred dwelling of the living God.
Live as one not your own but bought with a price, consecrating your body in all its uses to God’s glory.

Application Questions

Do I flee from sexual temptation decisively, or do I linger near it, trusting my own strength to resist?
Do I live as one who is not my own but bought with a price, glorifying God in my body?

From the courtroom to the bedroom, 1 Corinthians 6 fixes our eyes on the Lord Jesus who washed, sanctified, and justified us, who joins us to Himself as members of His body and one spirit with Him, and who bought us with the priceless cost of His own blood — so that, no longer our own but His, indwelt by His Spirit and destined for resurrection, we might flee all that defiles and glorify God in body and spirit, both now and in the kingdom where the saints shall reign.