Open English Translation 1COR Chapter 6

6 If anyone among you all has a case against another believer, how dare they go to a secular court in front of an unbelieving judge instead of to believers. 2 Don’t you realise that in the future, believers will judge the world, and if the world’s going to be judged by all of you, surely you’re competent enough now to judge smaller cases? 3 Don’t you realise that we’ll judge God’s messengers? So surely we can judge things of this life? 4 So then, if you have legal disputes about things of this life, why do you appoint people with no standing in the assembly as judges? 5 I say that to your shame. Don’t you have anyone among you all who can arbitrate between believers? 6 But instead, one believer goes to court against another, and it’s in front of unbelievers!

7 Actually, you’re all disgraced already for having lawsuits among yourselves. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 But you’re all wronging and cheating others, including fellow believers.

9 Or don’t you all know that those who disobey God won’t inherit his kingdom? Don’t let yourselves be deceived: those who’re sexually immoral or idolaters, or adulterers or male prostitutes or homosexuals, 10 or thieves or greedy, or drunkards or slanderers or swindlers, will inherit God’s kingdom. 11 Now some of you all were like that, but now you’ve been washed and declared guiltless, and been declared innocent by the authority of the master Yeshua Messiah, and by our God’s spirit.

12 Some might say, ‘Everything is permissible for me,’ but not everything is beneficial. Everything might be permissible for me, but I don’t want those things to have control over me.[ref] 13 You might say, ‘Food is for the stomach, and the stomach for food,’ but God will eventually abolish them both. Also, the body is not meant to be used for sexual immorality, but rather, for the master, and the master for the body. 14 Actually, God made the master come alive again, and by his power, he’ll also do that for us.

15 Surely you all know that your bodies are parts of messiah’s body? Because of that, you shouldn’t take your body back and then join it to a prostitute’s body. May it never happen! 16 Or don’t you know that having sex with a prostitute is a joining together, because it says:[ref] ‘The two will become one body.’ 17 But a person joining with the master, becomes one spirit with him.

18 Don’t just walk away from sexual immorality, but run away from it, because other forms of disobeying God are outside the body, but sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Surely you all know that your body is a temple of the holy spirit who comes from God and lives within you.[ref] No, you don’t actually own yourselves 20 because a price was paid to buy you, so honour God with your bodies.