1 Corinthians Chapter 6
Showing all 20 verses for 1 Corinthians Chapter 6.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? "
"How dare any of you, when you have a dispute with a fellow believer, take it to a secular court instead of settling it among God's people?"
When you have a conflict with someone close to you, try honestly to work it out directly first, rather than immediately escalating to an outside authority or public battle. That takes more courage, but it preserves the relationship.
"Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? "
"Don't you know that God's people will judge the world? And if you're going to judge the world, surely you're capable of handling small disputes?"
Trust your own community's wisdom and character more than you do. If you're capable of handling the big things in life, you're capable of resolving small disputes with maturity too - give yourselves that credit.
"Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? "
"Don't you know that we will judge angels? So how much more the ordinary matters of this life?"
Keep perspective on what really matters. The disputes that feel huge right now are often small compared to the bigger picture of who you are and what you're capable of - don't let them consume you.
"If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. "
"So if you have everyday disputes to settle, why put them in front of people the church doesn't even respect, to judge?"
Think carefully about whose judgement you're trusting with important matters in your life. Seek out people who genuinely share your values and have your long-term good at heart, not just whoever happens to hold official authority.
"I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? "
"I say this to shame you. Is there really not one wise person among you who could settle a dispute between believers?"
Sometimes the problem isn't that we lack the wisdom to resolve conflict - it's that we lack the humility to actually try. Don't let pride keep you from doing the harder, better thing.
"But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. "
"Instead, believer goes to court against believer - and does so in front of unbelievers."
How you handle conflict says a lot about your integrity, especially when others are watching. Airing every dispute publicly rarely reflects well on anyone, and it can damage more than just the relationship at hand.
"Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather yourselves to be defrauded? "
💡 Highlighted words feature Jacobean 1611 tooltips to clarify shifted 17th-century English terms.
"The very fact that you're suing each other at all is already a failure on your part. Why not rather accept being wronged? Why not rather let yourselves be cheated?"
Ask yourself honestly: is this fight actually worth the damage it will do to the relationship? Sometimes absorbing a loss with grace preserves something far more valuable than winning the argument does.
"Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. "
"Instead, you're the ones doing wrong and cheating - and you're doing it to your own brothers and sisters."
Don't let familiarity or shared belief become an excuse to treat people close to you unfairly, assuming they'll just forgive and move on. Genuine community deserves more integrity, not less.
"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, "
"Don't you know that wrongdoers won't inherit God's kingdom? Don't be fooled - neither the sexually immoral, nor idol-worshippers, nor adulterers, nor those exploiting or being exploited in sexual immorality,"
I care more about your direction of travel than any single moment - are you moving towards integrity and love, or further into patterns that harm you and others? No one is beyond turning around.
"Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. "
"nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunks, nor abusive people, nor swindlers will inherit God's kingdom."
It's easy to feel morally superior by focusing on other people's more dramatic failings while excusing your own greed, temper, or dishonesty. I see it all the same way - as things that need addressing, not comparing.
"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. "
"And some of you used to be like that. But you were washed clean, you were made holy, you were made right with God, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Whatever you've done, whoever you've been, that's not the end of your story. Real change is possible, not by gritting your teeth and trying harder alone, but through a genuine, deep transformation available to anyone willing to turn towards it.
"All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. "
""I'm allowed to do anything" - but not everything is good for me. "I'm allowed to do anything" - but I won't let anything become my master."
Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Ask yourself honestly: does this genuinely help me flourish, or is it slowly becoming something I can't do without? Real freedom means nothing owns you.
"Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. "
""Food is for the stomach, and the stomach for food" - but God will do away with both. The body isn't meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body."
Your body isn't just a vehicle for appetites to be satisfied however you like - it's part of who you are and it matters to me. What you do with it is never 'just physical' - it touches something deeper.
"And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. "
"God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us up too, by his own power."
You matter, body and all, not just your soul or your intentions. What you do with your physical life has real, lasting significance, because you have a future that includes it.
"Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. "
"Don't you know your bodies are part of Christ himself? So should I take what belongs to Christ and join it to a prostitute? Absolutely not!"
The intimate choices you make aren't separate from the rest of who you are - they're connected to your deepest self and relationships. Treat that connection with the seriousness and respect it deserves.
"What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. "
"Don't you realise that a man who sleeps with a prostitute becomes one body with her? As scripture says, 'the two will become one flesh.'"
Physical intimacy actually bonds people together in a real way, whether you intend it to or not. Take that seriously before you take that step - it's not as casual an act as it can be made out to be.
"But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. "
"But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him."
The deepest, most defining connection in your life can be a spiritual one - a sense of genuine union with something greater than yourself. Let that be the anchor that shapes your other choices, not the other way round.
"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. "
"Run from sexual immorality! Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but sexual sin is a sin against one's own body."
With some temptations, the smartest move isn't to stand your ground and fight it out - it's to simply leave the situation before it escalates. There's no shame in running from a fight you don't need to have.
"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? "
"Don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You don't belong to yourself."
You are not just a body to be used, consumed, or discarded - you carry something sacred within you, and so does everyone else. Treat yourself, and every other person, with the dignity that deserves.
"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. "
"You were bought at a price. So honour God with your body."
You are worth more than you probably give yourself credit for - so much that everything, including your body, was considered worth the highest cost. Live like you believe that about yourself, and treat others as though it's true of them too.