Notes on 1 Corinthians 6

1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
2 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?
3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
5 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?
6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
7 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 suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.

We have abrogated to the world all responsibility for settling disputes.  It is extremely rare, if not unheard of, for brethren with a property dispute to bring it before the church for resolution.  It does not even occur to us as a possibility.  The fact that we will one day sit on judgment of the world, even angels, is not something often discussed.  Clearly the judgment of whether to send someone to Hell is reserved for Christ at the great white throne, so this must mean during the Millennium.  This is the one instance when we will take to ourselves a prerogative normally reserved for God himself: judging the world rather than the church.  The idea of settling disputes within the church is consistent with the idea of the church's judging those within, as set out in Chapter 5.

There is another principle here, really the same as one expressed by our Lord himself, that of turning the other cheek.  It is a hard thing for us to not want to put things right when someone, whether another Christian or not, takes advantage of us.  That's not to say we should never stand up for our rights; Paul himself clearly did on occasion.  The issue, though, should be whether doing so furthers the work of the Kingdom rather than just our own personal interest.  That's a hard call to make, and requires a degree of discernment in determining what the Lord would have us do.  Nonetheless, we should make the effort, rather than just blindly reacting when someone does something wrong to us.  Not responding in anger requires more than just refraining from action; it also requires the willingness to forgive when a wrong is done.  The other side of that same coin is when we ourselves are the ones in the wrong, and take advantage of our brethren.  That requires restitution as well as seeking forgiveness.

9 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,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 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.

This is not intended to be a complete list of sins, but examples of the kinds of habitual sins practiced by the world.  The term "effeminate" refers to a trans-sexual, while "abusers of themselves with mankind" refers to homosexuals.  Someone who professes to be a Christian but refuses to give up a sinful lifestyle, has probably not made a genuine confession of faith, but only God can really judge that.  There is a difference between committing sins on an individual basis, and committing them as a matter of course in life still enslaved to sin.

12 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.
13 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.
14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
15 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.
16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
19 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?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

At first glance, the statement beginning this section appears to condone license to sin, but the real meaning is that we are no longer under the mandates of the law, but under grace.  We choose not to sin because we belong to Christ, not because there are commandments that say we shouldn't sin.  To the extent we do choose to sin, we place ourselves once more under its power.  If we choose to commit fornication, for example, we not only put ourselves under bondage to sin, but give our sex partner, a harlot according to Paul, a degree of power over our body.  That power should be reserved only for the Holy Spirit, because when we're saved we're joined with him.  The price paid for it is Christ's own lifeblood.  To use it unworthily, especially in sex sin, is to trample the blood of Jesus underfoot.  We are called to glorify God, not only with our spirits, but with our bodies as well.  That means we should be careful what we take into ourselves, and well as what we do externally.  To use alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs, or indulge in gluttony, is to abuse the temple of the Holy Spirit, and to use our bodies in the abuse of others is just as wrong.