1 Corinthians 6:5-7

6:5 I say this to your shame! Is there no one among you wise enough to settle disputes between fellow Christians? ¹  6:6 Instead, does a Christian sue a Christian, ²  and do this before unbelievers? 6:7 The fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves demonstrates that you have already been defeated. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?

1 Corinthians 6:15-18

6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 6:16 Or do you not know that anyone who is united with ³  a prostitute is one body with her? ⁴  For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” ⁵  6:17 But the one united with ⁶  the Lord is one spirit with him. ⁷  6:18 Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin a person commits is outside of the body” ⁸  – but the immoral person sins against his own body.

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¹ tn Grk “to decide between his brother (and his opponent),” but see the note on the word “Christian” in 5:11.

² tn Grk “does a brother sue a brother,” but see the note on the word “Christian” in 5:11.

³ tn Or “is in relationship with.”

⁴ tn Grk “is one body,” implying the association “with her.”

⁵ sn A quotation from Gen 2:24.

⁶ tn Grk “in relationship with.”

⁷ tn Grk “is one spirit,” implying the association “with him.”

⁸ sn It is debated whether this is a Corinthian slogan. If it is not, then Paul is essentially arguing that there are two types of sin, nonsexual sins which take place outside the body and sexual sins which are against a person’s very own body. If it is a Corinthian slogan, then it is a slogan used by the Corinthians to justify their immoral behavior. With it they are claiming that anything done in the body or through the body had no moral relevance. A decision here is very difficult, but the latter is to be preferred for two main reasons. (1) This is the most natural understanding of the statement as it is written. To construe it as a statement by Paul requires a substantial clarification in the sense (e.g., “All other sins…” [NIV]). (2) Theologically the former is more difficult: Why would Paul single out sexual sins as more intrinsically related to the body than other sins, such as gluttony or drunkenness? For these reasons, it is more likely that the phrase in quotation marks is indeed a Corinthian slogan which Paul turns against them in the course of his argument, although the decision must be regarded as tentative.