1 CORINTHIANS

In This Section:

1 CORINTHIANS 3:16-17 with 1 CORINTHIANS 6:15-20, 6:9-10

{1} 1 CORINTHIANS 3:16-17

"16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are." (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

According to the typical NEST interpretation, this verse is explained as meaning that if you sin in your body, then you are sinning against God's temple; if you sin against God's temple then you are destroying God's temple, and so if you destroy God's temple, then God will destroy you in eternal damnation.

The NEST is wrong. In this section we will analyze why the NEST is wrong.

As we go into this epistle to understand certain passages that it contains, we must keep two thoughts at the forefront of our minds. First, Paul is writing to the Corinthian church to clear up a lot of bad practices and doctrinal chaos that has permeated the church. The malady is complicated by immaturity and fleshliness among the Corinthians. Secondly, Paul is defending his apostleship. Keep these contextual facts in mind as we start into chapter 1 recognizing that Paul is making his introductory comments. We are wanting to get the good foundation that Paul laid that will explain to us the fullness of what he means by the language of the "temple" that he is concerned with in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17. Immediately Paul starts out appealing for unity in this divisive and immature church of Corinth, (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:10-17). Next, Paul moves into declaring the wisdom of the gospel in 1:18-21. He says it is a stumbling block to the perishing, but to those being saved, it is the power of God. Then in chapter 2, Paul says that Christ Jesus is the,

"wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption," (1 Corinthians 2:30)

The gospel is the wisdom of God. Christ is the wisdom of God. This is the foundation of Paul's ministry. Paul goes into chapter two explaining the preaching of the gospel. He says that his preaching of the gospel is the wisdom and power of the Spirit (cf. Corinthians 2:4). Paul has summed his apostleship, and he has summed the foundation that he lays. He then enters into chapter 3 with direct, rebuking address to the Corinthian church; he calls them babes in Christ. Paul groups the Corinthians together in his epistle as a matter of writing style, and he points out what is evidently a problem that he became familiarized with. Some particular things that are being said among the Christians at Corinth are babyish assertions like,

"I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," (1 Corinthians 3:4)

Evidently partisanship was forming around the ministries of the various apostles. The most likely explanations for this may have been:

1) People in Corinth were being loyal to a familiar apostle, and so they were use to someone like Paul, Apollos, or Peter. This comfortable familiarity and trust may have led them to not care to listen to another apostle.

2) Apollos (or someone else for that matter), may have been teaching some odd things that may have actually been contrary to Paul's revelations. Cephas, which is Peter, is mentioned later in verse 21. There may have been some Christians in Corinth who were converted at Pentecost, or from Peter's first missionary activity, who had been discipled by Peter. So it is suggested that Peter may have had a faction of devotees.

3) Certain apostles may have been attaining celebrity status, and so people just wanted to associate themselves with a particular minister that had a big name. A supporting statement for this, is when Paul thanks God that he baptized none of the people in Corinth;

"15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my name." (1 Corinthians 1:15)

Immediately, Paul comes back with explaining that it does not matter who has been used by God among people. What really matters is that it is God who causes the growth of His church. This is where we need to pay special attention, because this brings us into the direct context of what Paul is saying. Let us look at the flow, picking up at verse 5, where Paul says,

"5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth." (1 Corinthians 3:5)

This is a big point, because the whole church body that is sprinkled across Corinth is who Paul is addressing in his planting metaphor. Paul is trying to cover everyone so as to stop any factionizing that is taking root and is undermining the unity, and growth, of the church. Paul goes on in verse 7;

"7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth." 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor." (1 Corinthians 3:7-8)

In other words, Paul is making the point that we are all God's workers. In fact we have one purpose, and one important identity, in Christ. We are a singular tool in God's hand. Nevertheless, Paul knows that each minister is separate, and each minister is separately accountable for everything they teach. Paul says that each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. This is important so keep it in mind as we proceed; once again it is "but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor." This maxim is going to pop up again in 3:14. Continuing with Paul's textual flow, Paul brings in more metaphor and analogy.

"9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building." (1 Corinthians 3:9)

Paul says "we" are God's fellow workers. This is important because the apostles are co-laborers; planting and watering God's field. This reference is evidently to Paul and Apollos, plus a reference to some influence from the apostle Peter (according to verse 23). It is at this point that Paul moves into a similar and very revealing metaphor to describe the Corinthian Christians. It is somewhat like being God's field. Notice that Paul switches to saying that he and Apollos, who are real servants of God, are building on what he calls, "God's building." We must also keep this in mind, because it is a very important detail concerning the temple metaphor that God is going to use later on. Paul goes on,

"10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it." (1 Corinthians 3:10)

Paul is saying that the Corinthian church is God's building, but Paul uses more metaphor to say that he (Paul) is the one who laid a foundation in Corinth for God's building. Keep this detail in mind too, because we are going to soon see how all of this fits together and relates to the Corinthians being God's temple, but we will get to that in a moment. The question here is, what is that foundation that Paul is talking about? Paul says, in verse 5, that he and Apollos are servants in whom the Corinthians believed. Initial belief has to do with the good news of the coming of the promised Christ. Initial belief has to do with the death, burial, and resurrection of the prophesied Christ. It is Christ and Him crucified, of which Paul just said in the previous chapter,

"For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2)

But that is not all. Paul recaps the Christ-foundation for the Corinthians in chapter 15, where he explains further details that he preached earlier on along with Christ crucified. Paul goes on explain the very important fact of the gospel, which is Christ's resurrection,

"Now I make known to you, brothers, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also." (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)

This is the "foundation" of Christ; it is "the wisdom of God," (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:21) "of first importance" (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:3). So, we see that Paul is making it clear that he laid this foundation at Corinth, and any one who comes later is building upon it. Paul knows that this is actually what is going on; that someone is indeed building on Paul's foundation, and Paul knows that it is probably more than one person, as we will see in a moment. Paul gives a warning next, and says,

"... But each man must be careful how he builds on it." (1 Corinthians 3:10)

It is God's building, so this is serious work for any man. Paul goes on with the reason why it is so important,

"11 Because no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:11)

In other words, the foundation is already there. It is a He. He is Jesus Christ, come, crucified, resurrected, and reigning. But nevertheless, people can come and build upon that foundation with all kinds of material. Paul knows it and so he says,

"12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work." (1 Corinthians 3:12-13)

Paul knows that there are people who have come, and are coming. They have come, and are coming as ministers to build upon Paul's foundation that he laid. There are people doing it at the time Paul wrote this letter. The point is that they are all building upon the Christ-foundation of God's building, but, it is not all gold, silver and precious stones. Remember, Paul is defending his apostleship in this letter and he is setting the Corinthians straight on a lot of doctrinal issues. Much of the problem is coming from the bad materials being used to construct upon the good foundation. In other words, Paul's concern is with fine craftsmanship that occurs with gold, silver, and precious stones. It is called "truth," and it is according to God's actual revelation. Further it is according to God's power. Paul describes his building material a few verses earlier with,

"4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God ..." (1 Corinthians 2:4)

Paul's apostolic building material is His truthful preaching that is of the Spirit and it is of the miracle-power of God. He goes on to say,

"13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit," (1 Corinthians 2:13)

The treasure material is his wisdom teaching that was originally taught by the supernatural Spirit of God. Paul says later,

"1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. 2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you."  (1 Corinthians 11:1-2)

The treasure material is the classically accepted traditions of truth, and Paul delivered it already. He says a little later,

"23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you," (1 Corinthians 11:23)

This is treasure from God and Paul delivers it to the job site, and so Paul builds. Paul even says,

"37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord's commandment. 38 But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized," (1 Corinthians 14:37)

Paul is writing treasure in writing 1 Corinthians. The treasure is the Lord's commandments. Paul cares about gold. His concern is with silver. Paul builds on the foundation with the precious stones material of God. His calling is to build on the foundation that he laid through evangelism in the first place. In fact it is the same foundation that God laid by His sovereign hand in appointing Paul as a tool, (cf. Acts 26:16). But there are problems brewing in Corinth. Paul is saying that there are people who are not being careful about what materials they are using when they build (teach). They build upon the foundation with wood, hay, and straw. They build with empty philosophies, conjecture, religiosity and all these types of things. When payday comes, Paul says, the true preciousness and stability of what those people are teaching will be revealed with fire. Paul says that "the day" will show it (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:13). "The day" is probably a reference to the day of judgment. There are some commentators who say that Paul is specifically talking about Apollos and some things Apollos may have taught that were out of line. This suggestion is certainly possible, but not necessarily the case. We read in Acts 19:1 that Apollos was in Corinth and ministered among the people there while Paul was on a missionary journey. There is no indication that Apollos taught wood, hay and stubble. In Acts 18:27 Luke states that Apollos,

"greatly helped those who had believed through grace," (Acts 18:27)

Further, Paul never gives any clear indication that Apollos taught weird doctrines or led the Corinthians astray. There is another suggestion from other commentators, in which Paul is said to be referencing Peter, who he mentions for the first time in a couple of sentences as Cephas. Peter and Paul had some run-ins early on when it came to Peter "not [being] straight forward concerning the gospel" of grace in respect to the Gentiles, (cf. Galatians 2:14). Such problems are true, but to say that Paul is talking about Peter in his point here is purely conjecture. The main problem with the suggestions above, is that it is not necessary to speculate that Paul is making a specific reference to the work of one particular person. In actuality, there are many teachers, and so Paul's concern has to do with numerous teachers who build upon the foundation. The way we come to conclude this fact is by recognizing that Paul just referred to "each man" being careful as to how he builds, which is a clue, because for Paul to say, "each man" suggests that he is probably warning many men to be careful; but there is more to gather in coming to this conclusion. Paul reveals it in the next chapter, saying,

"15 For though you have countless instructors in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel." (1 Corinthians 4:15)

"Countless instructors" means a lot of people. The actual Greek rendering has a bit of hyperbole in it, where Paul exaggerates to make the point of how many instructors there are at Corinth who are building upon Paul's foundation. The Greek for "countless instructors in Christ" as the NASB renders it is stated more accurately in the NET, and the NKJV with, "ten thousand instructors in Christ." There are countless instructors (likened to the immense number of 10 thousand) building on the foundation there at the church in Corinth, which, we will see, is the temple as all the Christians. It is with all of these instructors in mind that Paul is defending his apostleship and showing his concern for the Corinthian church. Paul goes on,

"14 If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." (1 Corinthians 3:14-15)

We must be mindful that Paul said earlier that each man will receive his own reward according to his own labor over God's field, and God's building, in verses 8-9. Paul revisits that principle of the reward in laboring over the church, but notice now that Paul also speaks of loss. In other words, all the excess religiosity that is wrong theology, doctrine, and practice, will be destroyed. Wood, hay, and straw burns up easily and quickly, but gold, silver, and precious stone is the beauty that remains. Paul calls it "work," because it is the labor of all the multitudes of teachers and leaders who are building on the foundation. It has to do with work concerning the church. And though the truly born-again Christian minister (ministers) will be saved from the fire because they have not rejected the foundation which is Christ, there will be loss for them when it comes to all the error, bad advice, and wrong teaching that they had piled upon the foundation that Paul originally laid as a church planting apostle of Christ. All the work that is as flammable will be burned up, so the teacher will suffer loss. He will be saved, yet so as through fire. The Bible is consistent on this principle. Paul gives this same kind of warning to Timothy, who, as a worker, is a teacher. Paul is like a foreman, and he says to Timothy,

"15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 timothy 2:15)

Timothy is a workman. He is handling the word of truth. It is clear that this is what he is doing. But the question to apply to Timothy's, based upon what Paul says in 1 Corinthians, is the question of whether Timothy is accurate? That is the point. Is it gold, silver and precious stones of accuracy that Timothy (or anyone) is building with as a workman? What would be the resultant loss if Timothy is not building with those things? Paul says it would be shame. Reading it again we see the concern with shame,

"15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, ..." (2 timothy 2:15)

[Being ashamed is to find out that you have been building with wood, hay, and straw, and it has all burned up.]

"... accurately handling the word of truth." (2 timothy 2:15)

In comparison to what Paul explains in 1 Corinthians, this accuracy analogous to the fire retardant of unburnable treasure, ie. gold, silver, and precious stones. This is a principle. So with all of this, Paul goes directly into our passage, and we will see that he carries the point now into a progression of degree of seriousness concerning people who actually destroy-defile-corrupt the church of God. Paul says,

"16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are." (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

There are two important things to recognize about this:

/1/
The first thing we need to recognize is that the Greek word translated "destroys" (phtheiro) also means "defiles, and "corrupts." This is why we find phtheiro translated this way in the NKJV, the Literal Translation Version, the Wycliffe translation, and so forth. When we look at the passage according to this translation of phtheiro, we find it reading somewhat like this,

"If any man defiles-corrupts the temple of God, God will defile-corrupt him ..." (1 Corinthians 3:17)

/2/
The second thing we need to recognize is that Paul is talking to the whole church at Corinth as he is moving along with his point. When we recognize, and stick to, the context, we see that the temple of God is "God's building" of verse 9. It is unfortunate that many renderings of this passage do not show the plural pronouns and plural verb endings of the actual Greek sentence that Paul wrote. But it makes sense because there is generally not an English word outside of the Southern and Western United States that fits the Greek here. When you read the Greek, the plural of all the Christians who are there who exist as being the one temple, is made evident. This is why verse 17 rendered accurately as,

"If anyone corrupts the temple of God, God will corrupt this one, for the temple of God is holy, which you yourselves are"

"You yourselves"; oitenes este uneis. The same word construction would be rendered in good Texan english as "which ya'll are". Paul is saying that the combined church at Corinth is the temple of God. The Spirit of God dwells in all the Corinthian Christians as a whole, and they, as the temple here in this context, are holy (set apart). Of course, the Spirit of God dwells in all Christians throughout all time. The Spirit of God dwells in each Christian individually. God's Spirit is in every Christian, but this is not Paul's main point. Paul demonstrates his usage of the plural aspect of the combined group as the one temple, the building aspect, the foundation aspect, and so forth in a similar passage when writing to the Ephesians. Notice the amazing parallel,

"19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens ..." (Ephesians 2:19)

[Notice the plural. Paul is addressing many people, as "citizens." Paul goes on,]

"... fellow citizens with the set apart ones, and are of God's household, ..." (Ephesians 2:19)

[Here, it is good to be thinking of the parallel metaphor of being "God's building." Paul continues,]

"20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone," (Ephesians 2:20)

[At this point, it is good to be thinking of the foundation. The Ephesian Christians, Christian doctrine, and anything Christian, is all built on the foundation of Christ. So Paul says,]

"in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, ..." (Ephesians 2:21)

[There it is, the combined building of all the Christians as God's holy temple, and notice that it is continuously growing. From the beginning of this section, we have been working our way through the various texts, seeking to get a fuller picture of what Paul's temple language means in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17. Paul continues,]

"in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." [This is a plural reference; "built together" into a singular dwelling] (Ephesians 2:22)

What a fantastic truth! The apostle Peter talks about this same type of thing in his first letter,

"4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, ..." (1 Peter 2:4-5)

[We must notice Peter's usage of the plural. He says that there are "stones" which are many. Peter continues,]

"5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house ..." (1 Peter 2:5)

[There it is. It is Peter's holy temple reference in the same sense that Paul is expressing. Peter is saying that the combined Christians are being built up together as one spiritual house, which is God's building, and temple. Peter continues with his point of what the combined Christians are being built up into in terms of service, saying]

"5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:4-5)

This is same kind of thing Paul is thinking of in 1 Corinthians. All the Christians at Corinth are God's building, which is His temple. We worked through all of the above contextual and theological material to get to what Paul's point really is. Paul's point is not what the NEST interpretation claims it is. Paul's real point is that God takes it seriously when it comes to building upon the foundation, and so anyone who comes along and purposely defiles-corrupts-destroys God's building, which is God's temple, God will defile-corrupt-destroy Him. These defiling people are not merely those who make mistakes, or simply stack wood hay and stubble around on the foundation. The people in this warning actually destroy-corrupt-defile the church and they get a judgment from God in like manner. False prophets, especially Judaizers who were confusing the Corinthian Christians with false doctrines, are people who fell into this category. Another kind of example which follows this principle can be found concerning the man who fornicates with His father's wife in chapter five. He is in, and among, the church fellowship of God's combined temple. When we look at chapter 5, we see that the man is like leaven, defiling the clean dough, and so Paul says to get him out of God's house, and not only that, but Paul says that Paul is delivering the man over to Satan (which is equated with delivering the man over to the world outside of Christian fellowship where the evil spirit is at work in the son's of disobedience, cf. Ephesians 2:2). Paul mandates this deliverance of the unrepentant fornicator for the sole reason of destruction of the man's flesh so that his spirit will be saved. We see from all of this, then, that it is an amazingly connected principle. The principle is recognized in Chapter 5 as Paul essentially saying:

Do you not know that you combined Christians at Corinth are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are like--God's clean lump of dough. So clean out the old leaven of the man who fornicates with his father's wife, and deliver him over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh.

Continuing back in chapter 3, we move on to get the fuller context of our original passage where Paul warns,

"18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.   19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, 'He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness;' 20 and again, 'the Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.'" (1 Corinthians 3:18-20)

This is Paul's warning to the Corinthians about becoming speculative and self proclaimed wise men in believing all kinds of things that are put forth as so-called wisdom. Such is the world of endless opinions that infect, defile, corrupt, and destroy the church. Paul says that the wisdom of this world is foolishness and useless, and it is actually worse when it destroys and defiles the temple. All of this comes into more clarity when we look at the next sentence,

"21 So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, 23 and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God." (1 Corinthians 3:21-23)

Paul is going back to his earlier rebuke of the Corinthian practice of some of them saying that they were of certain apostles. Boasting in men can get you in trouble because it gets you off of the God-focus into the wisdom of man focus.

All we have covered brings clarity to what Paul is talking about in the 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 passage of concern. When looked at in context, we see that Paul is not talking about losing one's salvation. Therefore, we recognize that this passage is cleared up as not remotely teaching the philosophy of the NEST.

{2} 1 CORINTHIANS 6:15-20

There is another 1 Corinthians passage that is used in conjunction with 1 Corinthians 3:17-17 by those who interpret the Bible from the presuppositions of the NEST. The other one is 1 Corinthians 6:15-20;

"15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I [Paul] then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! 16 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, 'the two shall become one flesh.' 17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." (1 Corinthians 6:15-20)

According to the typical NEST interpretation, it is rightly recognized that if a man sins against his body then he is sinning against the temple of the Holy Spirit. But, with this right recognition in mind, a specious connection is made to the other passage in chapter 3 that has been covered above, (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). The NEST interpretation reasons that these two passages must go together as one doctrine. With these presuppositions in place, both passages are glued to one another to demonstrate that to sin against the body is to destroy the body, and to destroy the body is to destroy the temple of God; therefore, God will destroy you,. The claimed destruction, is taken one step further by the NEST interpretation to mean damnation in hell.

The NEST is wrong, so let us see why.

First and foremost we must recognize that Paul's point in chapter 6, is easily identified as a separate point from Paul's points in the first 3 chapters. Further, we must keep in mind that the unique references to the temple as people that we find in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, and other places, such as Ephesians 2:19-22, and 1 Peter 2:4-5, demonstrate that God's temple is discussed as a group. All those passages mention that the combined Christians are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and there is a specific contextual basis for each passage. More, we must keep in mind that our exegetical study so far has demonstrated that Paul has already made a specific point concerning the corporate temple of God in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7. Additionally, (which will be demonstrated further in this section), neither Paul's point in 3:6-7, nor the one here in 6:15-20 has to do with losing one's salvation that one supposedly already had.

Before looking directly at the 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 sentences, we must first look at what Paul said right before the sentences. The reason is because the prior verses--verses 12 and 13 are the keys to Paul's whole point. Paul comes into the section saying,

"12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body."

We know that Paul starts out addressing all of the Christians in the first 11 verses in 1 Corinthians 6. He speaks of "anyone" in 1 Corinthians 6:1. In verse 7 Paul speaks of "you" being the group as "one another." And in respect to the immoral affinities of the unsaved, Paul says in the verse prior to 1 Corinthians 6:12, "such were some of you." And so now Paul says "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.” The strength of Paul’s use of “all” must be considered according to the generalized way he so often used it. Paul does not mean that slapping the Roman emperor in the face is lawful under Roman law. He also does not mean that hating God is lawful for a Christian to do under God’s Law. With these things in mind, we recognize that Paul’s point is that it may be lawful for you to do certain sins under certain jurisdictions, and in respect to certain sins you are judicially declared righteous in Christ, but that does not make the sin itself, right, or profitable. The reader may want to refer to the section in this book where Romans 6, and Romans 8 is covered. In those two sections, Christians are described as now being the masters over sin, and sin is no longer master over Christians. This point of Romans 6 and 8 is the same point that Paul is restating in brevity here in 1 Corinthians 6. Paul says that the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord (The "Lord" is the Greek word for Christ being Master of Christians, ie. kurios) which is Jesus; and the Lord is for the body. So, when we come to verse 15, Paul says,

"15 Do you ..." (1 Corinthians 6:15)

[Again, we notice that Paul refers to the plural "you" of the combined Christians, and we actually have this further confirmed for us from what Paul says next,]

"Do you not know that your bodies [plural] are members [plural] of Christ? Shall I [Paul] then take away the members [plural] of Christ and make them members [plural] of a prostitute [singular]?" (1 Corinthians 6:15)

Paul is using language that has to do with the doctrine of the body of Christ (the church, cf. Colossians 1:24) which Paul goes into more thoroughly in 1 Corinthians 12:27 where he explains that our bodies are individually members of Christ's body. This is another way of expressing that the corporately combined Christians are God's temple. Paul asks through a hypothetical question whether he, Paul, shall, as an apostle who is making a point about holy living in respect to the believers life in the New Covenant, shall take the Corinthian Christians bodies away from Christ, as Christ's members, and make their bodies members of a prostitute. Paul's statement is full of metaphor so it is difficult to follow from a hermeneutic that does not admit hyperbole, poetry, analogy, and metaphor in Paul's language. To explain it further, just as a man and woman come together in marriage and become one flesh, the members of Christ's body in the New Covenant are "one spirit" with Him, which is what Paul says in the next sentence. In the meantime, right here we need to notice that Paul is talking about himself being the one who could do this,

"Shall I [Paul the apostle] then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute?" (1 Corinthians 6:15)

This is important because it is the apostle explaining his own meaning in his previous words where he says,

"12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body." (1 Corinthians 6:12-13)

In other words, just because certain things are lawful, such facts do not mean that all things are profitable. Not all activities edify, (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:23). Paul states through hypothetical questioning, that no, he can not take away the Corinthian Christian’s bodies and make them members of a prostitute; meaning that even if it was lawful, there is absolutely no way such a bizarre thing would be profitable for Paul to do. In fact, Paul is indicating that there is no way he can teach such things. He says,

"May it never be!" (1 Corinthians 6:15)

[Then Paul gives the reason why it may never be, by bringing in the analogy of the wrongness of fornicating with prostitutes and becoming one in a sinful pseudo-marriage type union]

"16 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, 'the two shall become one flesh.' 17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him." (1 Corinthians 6:16-17)

Paul is not going to take away the members of Christ and join them to a prostitute. The Corinthian Christians, as members of the body of Christ, should not do this type of sinful act either, and that is where Paul goes next in his point. Evidently there was a problem in Corinth of Christians seeking sexual relief from prostitutes, and they were seeking to justify their activities based upon a wrong doctrinal stance. He says,

"18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)

It is clear. Paul is saying that it is sin to join with a prostitute. It is immorality. The main point is that instead of saying you will lose your salvation if you visit a prostitute, Paul says that you sin against your own body when you commit immorality, and since your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, you are not your own, and so it is not profitable. Some expositors interpret this to mean that Paul is continuing to reference the body of Christ as a local fellowship. Either way, Paul's point is that Christians have been bought with a price; they have been particularly redeemed. Therefore Christians are to glorify God as a matter of command. Obviously these Corinthian Christians had to be told not to flee immorality (Apparently Timothy needed this same urging, cf. 2 Timothy 2:22) even after being saved. So, this is the analogy of truth that goes along with Paul's original point where Paul is certainly not going to join the body of Christ to a prostitute. And so Paul is saying that rather than be immoral, the Corinthian Christians should do what they were designed to do as temples that God owns, which is glorify God.

No place in this teaching can one find the erroneous concept of losing salvation. The call to sanctification is here--sanctification, meaning to abstain from sexual immorality. This is a simple urging to saved people to repent (to turn) from a particular sin as a matter of glorifying God. The bottom line is that both passages (1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 6:15-20) are unrelated in their main points. Both passages mention that Christians are temples of the Holy Spirit, but so do other passages. One of the biggest lessons we learn from this is that we can not create a Scriptural connection here to losing salvation. Such a connection simply has nothing to do with Paul's various points at all. Therefore, we recognize that these two passages are not teachings that one who is truly spiritually saved, can lose their salvation, gain it by meritorious self effort, or maintain keeping it secure by humanistic works.

1 CORINTHIANS 6:9-10

"9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

According to the typical NEST interpretation of 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (a passage which describes unsaved people), it is said that the passage is actually describing particular sins, and so to do any of those sins is to prove that the one who does any of them, is not really saved. According to the NEST interpretation, to do the sin, makes you into the unsaved described in the list. Accordingly, it is either asserted that a saved person can not do any of those things that the people in the list do, or, if a saved person does any of those sins, they are in a state of un-salvation until they repent, or ask for forgiveness. Some will say that if the person was saved, then that person loses salvation by sinning in respect to the sins of the people described in Paul's list, and so it is made evident that they have lost their salvation because of the sin. A common sub-theory to these interpretations, is that a person can do a number of the sins of the people described here, and the quantity is the real issue. Therefore, quantified contingency is suggested to be Paul's real point. When one sins too much ("too much" being a quantity that is impossible to define because it is not Biblical) then that one is damned.

The NEST is wrong, so let us see why the NEST is wrong.

Quickly, we must recognize that the primary problem with the above theories is that all people sin, whether saved, or unsaved--all sin, and the manifestations can sometimes be subtle, but nevertheless, just as serious. For example, one of the modifier words that describe an affinity of "the unrighteous" in this passage, is the word, "adulterers." We must remember that Jesus explained that committing adultery is more than two people meeting together and having a sexual affair. Adultery is actually equivalent to merely lusting after a woman sexually. Jesus explains,

"27 You have heard that it was said, 'you shall not commit adultery'; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-28)

By implication, this goes for women lusting after men too, and also homosexual lust. There is another problem that the lose-salvation theories demonstrate. The problem is ignorance among proponents of the NEST concerning what salvation really is. Salvation is a miracle. It is a supernatural metaphysical miracle of redemption that breaks the power and enslavement of sin over people. Salvation does not break a person's power to sin. Salvation breaks the power and enslavement of sin over people. For emphasis, it is necessary to repeat the statement:

Salvation breaks the power and enslavement of sin over someone, but salvation does not break someone's power to sin.

All Christians will sin, but it is a matter of doing it aside from being in complete bondage to sin as master-owner. Christians sin, but they are not held enslaved in sin's power in lostness, where they must, by necessity, obey sin's commands. This is why Christians can, and must, repent of sin. Paul explains the enslavement to sin as master-owner, and the Christian's responsibility to seek to obey righteousness now that righteousness is our master, in Romans 6-8. The proper exegesis of Romans 6-8 can be found in the chapter in this book that deals with Romans. The point is that Christians sin, but they are not held in sin's power in lostness, where they must by necessity obey sin's commands. Christians obey righteousness as master which demonstrates that Christians, in union with Christ, are now the masters over sin. As such, Christians should seek by the Spirit, to repent from sin at all points. As we look at the context of 1 Corinthians 6, we will clear it up in tight manner, thus recognizing the truth that God meant for us to get out of it in the first place. To do so, we must go to verse 1 and see what Paul is talking about.

"1 Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous ..." (1 Corinthians 6:1)

[Note the designation, "the unrighteous." Continuing,]

"... and not before the saints? (1 Corinthians 6:1)

[Note the designation, "the saints," which literally means, the separated ones.]

We need to recognize these designations that Paul makes here, and we need to understand their importance. One designation is of "the unrighteous," (which is the Greek, Ton adikon). The unrighteous are in direct contrast to "the Saints" (which is the Greek, Ton agion). In other words, there are "the righteous" which are people who are once saved in eternal spiritual salvation, and there are "the unrighteous" which are unsaved people. This is the same type of designation as the apostle Peter made in his first epistle in contrasting Christ with people when they were in a state of spiritual lostness,

"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the Righteous [being Christ] for the unrighteous, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;" (1 Peter 3:18)

It is the designation Paul made before Felix, saying,

"... there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous." (Acts 24:15)

Keep this in mind because this is the key to understanding who "the unrighteous" are who will not inherit the kingdom of God that are mentioned in our 1 Corinthians 6:9 passage. Saved people are the righteousness of God in the righteous Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21). Saved people are made righteous by Christ's obedience (Romans 5:19). Saved people are the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, as Paul explains,

"... the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;" (Romans 3:22-23)

Saved people are believers. "The unrighteous," on the other hand, are the lost unbelievers. In addition to this important distinction, Paul's whole contextual point is that he is talking about the bizarre concept of a separated one in Christ (a saint) going to law with another saint under an unrighteous, unseperated, unbeliever who is bound to sin as master in this lost world. Paul goes on,

"2 Or do you not know that the saints [set apart ones] will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?" (1 Corinthians 6:2-3)

This is how important and different we saved people actually are as God's separated ones in contrast to "the unrighteous," which is unsaved humanity enslaved in sin in spiritual death. The immature Christians of Corinth were not fully understanding this. Many of us Christians today are just as immature in our understanding of these same things. We must get the magnitude of what Paul is saying. Because we are so different, Paul is expressing how ironic it is that we will judge the world who are the very "unrighteous" ones we go to in their worldly courts to have judgments made among us saints! We are going to judge them, and we will also judge angels. It is an amazing future that God has in store for all of us who are Once Saved In Eternal Spiritual Salvation, who trust in God's grace rather than man's feeble attempts at justification. Paul goes on,

"4 So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church?" (1 Corinthians 6:4)

This is another place that makes the stark distinction. In other words, being designated as having no account in the church is what "the unrighteous" are. W. MacDonald in his Commentary paraphrases well Paul's intended meaning here,

"When matters arise between you requiring the impartial judgment of some third party, do you go outside the confines of the church and set men to judge you who are not recognized by the church for spiritual discernment?" W. MacDonald, p. 1762.

The answer is, unfortunately, "yes;" Christian brothers and sisters follow this procedure all the time. By going to Paul's contextual flow, we are getting a tight definition of "the unrighteous" as being separate from the church, (which is the ekklesia Gk., as the called out and gathered one's from the world that is lost in bondage to the curse of Adam). "The unrighteous" have no account in the church at all. Paul proceeds with his rebuke,

"5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brothers, 6 but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?" (1 Corinthians 6:5-6)

These verses contain an excellent, and consistent example of the delineation that Paul is making between the saved and unsaved. The saved are referenced as "brothers" in contra to "the unrighteous," who are called "unbelievers. Paul goes on,

"7 Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you ..." (1 Corinthians 6:7 emph. mine)

["You" here is the Christian, Saint, brother, believer, person in the world but not of the world, also known as "the righteous." Continuing,]

"... that you have lawsuits with <one another> ..." (1 Corinthians 6:7 emph. mine)

["One another" here are the Christians, Saints, brothers, believers, people "in the world but not of the world," also known as "the righteous." Continuing,]

"Why not rather be wronged? ..." (1 Corinthians 6:7)

[The Greek for being wronged here is adikeisthe. It means an unrighteous act, and yet the wrong is from another brother]

"Why not rather be defrauded, cheated?" (1 Corinthians 6:7)

[The defrauding, or cheating here is from the Greek, apostepeisthe, yet it is an action by another Christian. Paul clearly shows that Christians wrong other Christians, which is sin. This describes the whole issue of a Christian brother fighting against another Christian brother. From the context alone, we easily identify Christians as sinning. What this means is that there is a distinction between doing an unrighteous thing as a Christian, which is sin, (like for example this act of wronging [Gk. adikeisthe] another Christian) than the doing of unrighteousness as a person who is unsaved, who is called "the unrighteous" (Gk. Ton adikon) of the world. Paul goes on chastising the immature Corinthian Christians;

"8 On the contrary, you yourselves [Christians] wrong and defraud ..." (1 Corinthians 6:8)

[The Christians wrong and defraud as actions, but they do not do this as being in a physical, spiritual state of wrongness or state of defraudness, which is the lost state of sin of the unrighteous. In other words, the Christians are doing an act of sin, but they as people are not pure-manifested-sin as the rest of the world which is born in sin. Paul goes on,]

"You do this even to your brothers." (1 Corinthians 6:8)

Paul is clearly indicating that Christians do this to other Christians; they wrong them; defraud them. It is important for us to keep remembering that Christians have the Spirit of God dwelling in them. We, who are saved, are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus through faith alone in Christ Jesus for our righteousness. Remember,

"... the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe;" (Romans 3:22-23)

All of this background material we have worked through is tedious, but it has laid both the contextual foundation, and the foundation of terminology that is vitally useful to understanding 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Paul continues with the flow of his point, going into verse 9, saying,

"9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous ..." (1 Corinthians 6:9)

[Remembering now what the designation "the unrighteous" means in terms of the lost, we can easily see Paul's point. Without going to context, we would have never known who these people are. Paul says the unrighteous, as he continues,]

"... will not inherit the kingdom of God?" (1 Corinthians 6:9)

[Now here comes the ever important modifiers that describe the affinity categories of the lost,]

"Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

"The unrighteous" are lost people, so in answer to Paul's question; "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?" We say, "Yes we know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God." Staying with designating "the unrighteous" as different from Christians who do, or think, something unrighteous, Paul lists "the unrighteous" into recognizable forms based upon the various sin-affinities the Corinthians know so well. It is important to realize that the words Paul uses are modifiers. It is a list of modifiers that describe the natural affinity of "the unrighteous." It is the same way of saying concerning the lost unsaved people,

"10 ... There is none righteous, not even one; 11 There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; 12 all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one." (Romans 3:10-12)

They as "the unrighteous," are fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, swindlers, and Paul could go on with the list because "the unrighteous" have many kinds of manifestations of what they are by their lost sinful natures which have not been regenerated. What Paul is doing is making a contrast between Christians, and the types of people the pagan judges (and those in the Roman legal system) are that Christians come under when going to the unrighteous pagan government to settle disputes. The modifiers Paul uses really drive Paul's whole point home in a stark way. So, what Paul is doing is bringing the many characterizations of lost people to the Corinthian reader's minds so that they will see how wrong it is to rely on the world for justice. Those, of the world, are unrighteous. They are of no account in God's church (ekklesia). This is Paul's point, and with that he really lays out the difference now between what these Corinthians used to be, and what they are now, by referencing the modifiers of "the unrighteous" that he just listed; He says,

"11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were set apart, but you were justified [made righteous; literally righteousified] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11)

When we go to context we see the illuminating irony of Paul's real point. The irony here is that this is an assurance of salvation passage; not a lose your salvation passage! It is not a passage that claims saved people will never sin. It is not a passage that suggests that to be doing the sins listed, makes one lose a previous state of spiritual salvation that one supposedly had beforehand. It is not a passage that remotely suggests that if a Christian dies while doing any of the sins committed, before repenting, or asking for forgiveness, that the Christian is damned for eternity in lostness. Such theories are not in the substance of this passage at all. Paul is saying that some of you Christians, saints, brothers, believers, spiritually saved people, as the righteous, used to be those same kinds of people in my (Paul's) list here. You used to be the same kinds of people you find in worldly Corinthian jurisprudence, but you were washed by the blood of Christ. You are squeaky clean now according to Christ's atoning work on the cross. You are not clean by your works. You are not dirty by your works. Certainly your dirty works are sinful, and abhorrent works before God, and certainly your dirty works wrong one another. Your dirty works will take another Christian to trial before the unrighteous. Your dirty works will go to unrighteous court of the corrupted unbelievers, and it should not be this way, but, you were made righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Spirit of our God. You were washed already, set apart from the world already, and justified already. This is salvation. It is eternal. Saved people are clean;

"let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:22)

This is what Paul explained that God did in Ephesians,

"4 just as He [Father God] elected us in Him [Messiah Jesus] before the foundation of the world, that we would be separate [Gk. agious] and blameless before Him In love" (Ephesians 1:4)

God elected all Christians in Christ before the foundation of the world that they would be holy (separated from the curse of the world) and blameless (meaning unindictable). The question is "how?" Paul gives us a clue. The how is a miracle. It is the miracle that occurs in salvation "in Him." The amazing revelation comes further in Ephesians; in chapter 5, where we read how saved people are cleansed,

"25... Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her," (Ephesians 5:25)s

[Recognizing why Christ gave Himself up for the church He elected is a very important fact. Paul tells us the reason,]

"26 so that He [Christ] might separate [Gk. agiase] her, having cleansed her [past tense] by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be separate [Gk. agia] and blameless." (Ephesians 5:25-27)

This revelation is tremendous! Christ cleansed the body church through the gospel, as "the word" of God. The two (Christ and church) become one in the sense of identification. Christ cleansed his precious chosen bride to be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing--separated from the Adamic curse and found completely blameless, justified (literally, righteousified), which is, in fact, His imputed righteousness.

Back to our Corinthians passage, Paul goes into teachings on repentance from sin, and so many other things throughout the Epistle, but the main point we need to recognize is that Paul does not teach that one can lose one's eternal spiritual salvation in Christ, gain it through self efforts of repentance from sin lists, or maintain keeping it secure by self effort. Therefore, no interpretation according to any NEST philosophy applies.