1 Corinthians 6
6
Don’t go to the law courts to sort out trouble between Christians
1There is something else I have to talk to you about. If one of you Christians has a problem with another Christian, why do you go to the court house to sort it out? That is not right. Those court house people are not God’s people. No. You have to get Christians to sort it out. Remember, we Christians are God’s special people 2and one day God will get us Christians to be the judges of all the other people in the world. So, if you are going to be a judge of other people one day, why can’t you sort out your own little problems now? 3You know, one day we Christians will even be judges of God’s angel messengers. So we have to know how to sort out our problems here on the earth.
4Sometimes you don’t agree with each other about some little thing, and then you go to other people, and you get them to be your judges. 5I talk like this so that you will feel shame. I reckon there has to be somebody there in your church that is wise enough to help you sort out these problems between yourselves. 6But no, you don’t do it that way. Instead, one of you Christians goes to the court house people to argue against another Christian. You stand up in front of judges that don’t believe in Jesus Christ, and you get them to sort it out. That’s not the right way to settle your problems.
7You see, when you go to the court house to argue about these things you are letting the bad spirits win. Look, if people do bad things to you, just let them do those things and don’t worry about it. That’s the better way. Even if they rob you, don’t worry. 8But instead of that, you mob are doing those bad things yourselves. That is wrong. You even do bad things to other Christians, and you even rob other Christians.
9Listen. You know what will happen to bad people, right? They will not be in God’s family. They will never get the good things that God will give to his people. Don’t let anyone trick you about this. I’ll tell you now about the sort of people that will not be in God’s family. People that sleep with somebody that’s not their wife or husband, as if they are married. Those people will not be in God’s family. Or 2 men that sleep together as if one of them is a woman, they will not be in God’s family. And people that respect other spirits more than they respect God, 10and people that steal things, and greedy people that want a lot of money and things, they will not be in God’s family. And people that always get drunk, and people that yell at other people and swear at them, and people that trick other people to get their money, none of those people will be in God’s family.
11And I know that some of you used to be bad people like that before. You did that sort of bad thing, but now you believe in Jesus Christ and let him be your boss. And God’s spirit came into you and washed you inside, and he made you God’s own special people, so that God says you are all right now.
Use your bodies to show everyone that God is really great
12Some of you say, “I’m free from the Jewish law now, so I can do anything I want to.” Yes, but not everything will be good for you.
You see, I can say that too. I can say, “I’m free from the Jewish law, so I can do anything I want to.” But I don’t want to do bad things. And if I think about doing bad things, I will start doing bad things, and I will not be able to stop myself. But I don’t want that.#1 Corinthians 10:23
13Some of you say, “God made our bellies for food, and he made food to fill our bellies.” So you think that you can do what you want with your bodies, and it doesn’t matter. You think you can sleep with somebody that is not your wife or husband, as if you are married to them. But you are wrong. Don’t forget that, in the end, God will finish up your bellies, and he will finish up the food too. You see, God made your bodies for you to live his way. You can’t sleep with anyone you want to. You have to use your bodies the way God wants you to use them. 14You see, our bodies are important to God. Our leader, Jesus died, but then God made him alive again. And God will use his power to make our bodies alive again too. 15-16Think about this. God says this in his book,
“The man and his wife will join with each other, and their bodies will be like one body.”#Genesis 2:24
So, if a man pays a woman money to let him sleep with her, he joins his own body to her body and becomes like one body with her. And you know, your bodies are parts of Jesus Christ’s body. So don’t let part of Jesus’s body join up to the body of a bad woman. No way. 17But, you know, if you join on to our leader, Jesus, you join your spirit to his spirit, and the 2 of you become like one spirit.
18So never sleep with anyone that is not your own wife or husband and do what married people do together. Get away from that sort of bad thing. You see, other bad things that you do are outside of your own body. But if you sleep with a person you are not married to, you hurt your own body. 19And you know, God gave you his spirit and he lives in you. Your body is the home of the Holy Spirit. You don’t belong to yourself any more, but you belong to God.#1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16 20Remember this, God bought you. He paid a lot for you. So you have to use your body to live for him, to show everyone that God is really great and good.
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1 Corinthians 6
6
The Report About Lawsuits
1When one of you is in a dispute with another believer, how dare you take them to court to be judged by ungodly people! Why don’t you ask the Lord’s people to help you settle it? 2Don’t you know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? Since you’re going to do that, don’t you think you can judge small cases? 3Don’t you know that we’re even going to judge angels? We should certainly be able to judge the things of this life! 4So if you’re in a dispute with someone, should you ask people that the church doesn’t even respect to settle it? Of course not! 5You should be ashamed. Is it possible that none of you are wise enough to settle disputes between believers, 6so that they’re taking each other to court instead, in front of unbelievers?
7Just by getting into a lawsuit with another believer, you’ve already lost. Wouldn’t it be better to be treated wrongly instead? Wouldn’t it be better just to be cheated? 8Instead, you’re cheating and doing wrong yourselves, and you’re doing it to your own brothers and sisters. 9Don’t you know that people who do wrong won’t inherit God’s kingdom? Don’t be deceived. People who commit sexual sins, or who worship idols or commit adultery, or men who sleep with other men, 10or thieves or greedy people, or those who are often drunk or tell lies or cheat, will not inherit God’s kingdom. 11Some of you used to do things like that. But you were washed and made holy and right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
The Report About Sexual Sins
12Some of you are saying, “I have the right to do anything.” That may be true, but not everything is helpful. If you say, “I have the right to do anything,” you should also say, “But I won’t be controlled by anything.” 13Some of you are saying, “Food is meant for the stomach, and the stomach is meant for food, and God will destroy both of them.” But you can’t say the same thing about the body and sexual sins. The body is meant for the Lord, and the Lord is meant for the body. 14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us up too. 15Don’t you know that your bodies are part of Christ himself? Should I take a part of Christ and join it to a prostitute? Never! 16Don’t you know that when you have sex with a prostitute, you become one with her in body? Scripture says, “The two will become one.” 17But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one with him in spirit.
18So keep far away from sexual sins. All the other sins a person commits are outside the body. But if a person commits sexual sins, those are sins against their own body. 19Don’t you know that together you are a body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you? You have received the Spirit from God. You don’t belong to yourselves; 20you were bought with a price. So honor God together as one body.
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