6 Perhaps one of you has a quarrel with another Christian. Who should decide which of you is right? You should never ask people who do not know God to decide. No! Instead, you should go to God's people. They should decide. 2 It is God's people who will judge all the people in the world one day. You surely know that. Since that is true, you should be able to decide about small quarrels between yourselves. 3 You know that we will judge the angels one day. So we must be able to decide about ordinary things here on earth.
4 If you want to decide an ordinary matter like that, what do you do? Sometimes you go to a judge who does not believe in God. You should never do that! The church does not respect people like that. 5 I say this so that you will feel ashamed. There is surely a wise person in your group who could decide quarrels between yourselves. 6 But instead, some believers among you accuse other believers in front of judges. And those judges are not believers!
7 When you accuse each other like that, it shows that you have already failed. It would be better to accept it when other people hurt you. Even if people rob you, it would be better to accept it. 8 Instead, you yourselves hurt other people, and you even rob them. And those other people are believers like you!
9 People who do wrong things like that will never belong to God's kingdom. You surely know that. Do not think that people like this will receive God's good things: People who have sex in wrong ways. People who worship idols. People who have sex with anyone that they are not married to. Men who have sex with other men. 10 People who rob other people. People who want many things for themselves. Drunks. People who insult other people. People who deceive other people to take things from them. None of these people will receive the good things of God's kingdom.
11 At one time, some of you were people like that. But God has now made you clean and pure, so that you belong to him. You have become right with God. Our God has done this with the power of his Spirit because you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
12 Some of you believers may say, ‘I am free to do anything that I want to do.’ That may be true, but not everything will help you. I could say, ‘I am free to do the things that I want to do.’ Yes, but I will not let anything rule over me.
13 Some of you may say, ‘God made food to feed our bodies. That is why people have stomachs. But one day God will destroy both stomachs and food.’ Yes, but the Lord gave our bodies to us. Our bodies belong to the Lord. So you should not use your bodies to have sex in a wrong way. [ a ] 14 God raised the Lord Jesus after he died. And God will use his power to make us alive again too. [ b ]
15 You know that your bodies are parts of Christ's own body. So you must never take your body and make it join with a prostitute's body. That is like you have done it with part of Christ's body. Never let that happen! 16 Anyone who makes his own body join to a prostitute becomes one body with that prostitute. You should know that. It says in the Bible:
‘The man and the woman become as one body.’ [ c ]
17 But everyone who is united to the Lord has the same spirit as him. 18 So never have sex in a wrong way! You may say, ‘If a person does a bad thing, it is not his body that does it.’ But if you have sex in a wrong way, you are doing a bad thing to your own body. 19 Remember this: Your body is the home of God's Holy Spirit. God gave his Holy Spirit to you and he lives in you. You do not belong to yourselves any longer. 20 God bought you for himself. He paid the price for you. So use your body to show how great God is. [ d ]
6 When one of you has something against someone else in your group, why do you go to the judges in the law courts? The way they think and live is wrong. So why do you let them decide who is right? Why don’t you let God’s holy people decide who is right? 2 Don’t you know that God’s people will judge the world? So if you will judge the world, then surely you can judge small arguments like this. 3 You know that in the future we will judge angels. So surely we can judge life’s ordinary problems. 4 So if you have such matters to be judged, why do you take them to those who are not part of the church? They mean nothing to you. 5 I say this to shame you. Surely there is someone in your group wise enough to judge a complaint between two believers. 6 But now one believer goes to court against another, and you let people who are not believers judge their case!
7 The lawsuits that you have against each other show that you are already defeated. It would be better for you to let someone wrong you. It would be better to let someone cheat you. 8 But you are the ones doing wrong and cheating. And you do this to your own brothers and sisters in Christ!
9-10 Surely you know that people who do wrong will not get to enjoy God’s kingdom. Don’t be fooled. These are the people who will not get to enjoy his kingdom: those who sin sexually, those who worship idols, those who commit adultery, men who let other men use them for sex or who have sex with other men, those who steal, those who are greedy, those who drink too much, those who abuse others with insults, and those who cheat. 11 In the past some of you were like that. But you were washed clean, you were made holy, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
12 “I am allowed to do anything,” you say. My answer to this is that not all things are good. Even if it is true that “I am allowed to do anything,” I will not let anything control me like a slave. 13 Someone else says, “Food is for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” Yes, and God will destroy them both. But the body is not for sexual sin. The body is for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. 14 And God will raise our bodies from death with the same power he used to raise the Lord Jesus. 15 Surely you know that your bodies are parts of Christ himself. So I must never take what is part of Christ and join it to a prostitute! 16 The Scriptures say, “The two people will become one.” [ a ] So you should know that anyone who is joined with a prostitute becomes one with her in body. 17 But anyone who is joined with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
18 So run away from sexual sin. It involves the body in a way that no other sin does. So if you commit sexual sin, you are sinning against your own body. 19 You should know that your body is a temple [ b ] for the Holy Spirit that you received from God and that lives in you. You don’t own yourselves. 20 God paid a very high price to make you his. So honor God with your body.
6 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.
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.
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.
6 Does any one of you, when he has a [ a ] case against [ b ] his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and ( A ) not before the [ c ] saints? 2 Or ( B ) do you not know that ( C ) the [ d ] saints will judge ( D ) the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to form the smallest [ e ] law courts? 3 ( E ) Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? 4 So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, [ f ] do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? 5 ( F ) I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you anyone wise who will be able to decide between his ( G ) brothers and sisters , 6 but brother goes to law with brother, and that before ( H ) unbelievers?
7 Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. ( I ) Why not rather suffer the wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 On the contrary, you yourselves do wrong and defraud. And this to your ( J ) brothers and sisters !
9 Or ( K ) do you not know that the unrighteous will not ( L ) inherit the kingdom of God? ( M ) Do not be deceived; ( N ) neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor [ g ] homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will ( O ) inherit the kingdom of God. 11 ( P ) Such were some of you; but you were ( Q ) washed, but you were ( R ) sanctified, but you were ( S ) justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and [ h ] in the Spirit of our God.
12 ( T ) All things are permitted for me, but not all things are of benefit. All things are permitted for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 ( U ) Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, however God will ( V ) do away with both [ i ] of them. But the body is not for sexual immorality, but ( W ) for the Lord, and ( X ) the Lord is for the body. 14 Now God has not only ( Y ) raised the Lord, but ( Z ) will also raise us up through His power. 15 ( AA ) Do you not know that ( AB ) your bodies are parts of Christ? Shall I then take away the parts of Christ and make them parts of a prostitute? [ j ] ( AC ) Far from it! 16 Or ( AD ) do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her ? For He says, “ ( AE ) The two shall become one flesh .” 17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is ( AF ) one spirit with Him . 18 ( AG ) Flee sexual immorality. Every other sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the [ k ] sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or ( AH ) do you not know that ( AI ) your body is a [ l ] temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from [ m ] God, and that ( AJ ) you are not your own? 20 For ( AK ) you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in ( AL ) your body.
6 If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? ( A ) 2 Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? ( B ) And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? 5 I say this to shame you. ( C ) Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? ( D ) 6 But instead, one brother ( E ) takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers! ( F )
7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? ( G ) 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. ( H ) 9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? ( I ) Do not be deceived: ( J ) Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers ( K ) nor men who have sex with men [ a ] ( L ) 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers ( M ) will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. ( N ) But you were washed, ( O ) you were sanctified, ( P ) you were justified ( Q ) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. ( R ) “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” ( S ) The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, ( T ) and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, ( U ) and he will raise us also. ( V ) 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? ( W ) Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” [ b ] ( X ) 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. [ c ] ( Y )
18 Flee from sexual immorality. ( Z ) All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. ( AA ) 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples ( AB ) of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ( AC ) 20 you were bought at a price. ( AD ) Therefore honor God with your bodies. ( AE )
