1 Corinthians 6:12
This was a watershed scripture for me so to speak. When I began to be shown the revelation of God’s grace and mercy, this verse was one of the first verses to jump off of the page at me and force me to reevaluate my beliefs about the usage of the law in both preaching and in living.
When Paul wrote the 6th chapter of 1 Corinthians, he addressed to major problems in the Corinthian church. First was the issue of Christians taking one another to court over civil matters (6:1-8), and the second was believers committing fornication with harlots (6:13-20). Sandwiched between these two important matters are four very interesting verses that show us the preaching style of the Apostle Paul.
When dealing with the first issue, Paul reminds the church of who they are in Christ, asking them, “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?” (verse 2). This appeal to who they are, not a diatribe on what they have done, is classic Apostle Paul. He states the problem, shows them that they are better than to act as they have acted and then moves on.
What he moves on to is another appeal to knowledge, asking them if they realize that unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God (verse 9). Many have preached this passage to mean that Paul was warning them that if they continued in this pattern that they were going to miss heaven, but within context it is not what Paul is saying at all. He is reminding them of the class of people that they are going to court in front of and wondering why they would accept the civil decisions over spiritual matters from people who are not part of heaven’s inheritance (verse 10). To further the argument he reminds them, “Such were some of you”. Notice that they used to be like those sinners but now they “are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). These are present states, having remained that way in spite of some pitiful living.
Paul’s statement of “All things are lawful unto me” is his way of showing the church that they have been set free from the letter of the law. There is no law that binds the believer to live a certain way, for Jesus has fulfilled that law through His perfect lifestyle (Matthew 5:17), and then He took it out of our way, freeing us to live (Colossians 2:14). A “good, old-fashioned preacher” should have said “THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY” in this passage to set up the forthcoming passage on fornication, but Paul steers clear of the 7th Commandment, opting instead to introduce freedom from the law, and a new way to live right. By declaring us free from the law, Paul puts the believer on the path of God’s grace which will teach them how to live right (Titus 2:11, 12).
Notice that just because all things are lawful does not mean that Paul encourages all things. Some things “are not expedient”, meaning that they are not profitable. Other things are so binding that Paul knows that if he starts doing them, he will be brought underneath their power. Though he is free to live how he chooses, he wants that life to reflect the change that has taken place in his heart, so many things will be avoided because of this fact.
This appeal is used to keep the Corinthian church from fornication, reminding them that their bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost (6:19). Though they are under no trappings of the law, why would they want to fornicate knowing that they are God’s purchased possession and that they are sons and daughters of God? Grace appeals to the better angels of our nature, and truly makes us free.
This was a watershed scripture for me so to speak. When I began to be shown the revelation of God’s grace and mercy, this verse was one of the first verses to jump off of the page at me and force me to reevaluate my beliefs about the usage of the law in both preaching and in living.
When Paul wrote the 6th chapter of 1 Corinthians, he addressed to major problems in the Corinthian church. First was the issue of Christians taking one another to court over civil matters (6:1-8), and the second was believers committing fornication with harlots (6:13-20). Sandwiched between these two important matters are four very interesting verses that show us the preaching style of the Apostle Paul.
When dealing with the first issue, Paul reminds the church of who they are in Christ, asking them, “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?” (verse 2). This appeal to who they are, not a diatribe on what they have done, is classic Apostle Paul. He states the problem, shows them that they are better than to act as they have acted and then moves on.
What he moves on to is another appeal to knowledge, asking them if they realize that unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God (verse 9). Many have preached this passage to mean that Paul was warning them that if they continued in this pattern that they were going to miss heaven, but within context it is not what Paul is saying at all. He is reminding them of the class of people that they are going to court in front of and wondering why they would accept the civil decisions over spiritual matters from people who are not part of heaven’s inheritance (verse 10). To further the argument he reminds them, “Such were some of you”. Notice that they used to be like those sinners but now they “are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). These are present states, having remained that way in spite of some pitiful living.
Paul’s statement of “All things are lawful unto me” is his way of showing the church that they have been set free from the letter of the law. There is no law that binds the believer to live a certain way, for Jesus has fulfilled that law through His perfect lifestyle (Matthew 5:17), and then He took it out of our way, freeing us to live (Colossians 2:14). A “good, old-fashioned preacher” should have said “THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY” in this passage to set up the forthcoming passage on fornication, but Paul steers clear of the 7th Commandment, opting instead to introduce freedom from the law, and a new way to live right. By declaring us free from the law, Paul puts the believer on the path of God’s grace which will teach them how to live right (Titus 2:11, 12).
Notice that just because all things are lawful does not mean that Paul encourages all things. Some things “are not expedient”, meaning that they are not profitable. Other things are so binding that Paul knows that if he starts doing them, he will be brought underneath their power. Though he is free to live how he chooses, he wants that life to reflect the change that has taken place in his heart, so many things will be avoided because of this fact.
This appeal is used to keep the Corinthian church from fornication, reminding them that their bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost (6:19). Though they are under no trappings of the law, why would they want to fornicate knowing that they are God’s purchased possession and that they are sons and daughters of God? Grace appeals to the better angels of our nature, and truly makes us free.
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