Because believers have been washed, sanctified, justified, joined to Christ, and claimed by God for resurrection life, they must not handle disputes or use their bodies by the standards of the unbelieving world. That means ordinary lawsuits between believers should not be taken before unbelieving judges, and sexual immorality must be fled.

Paul continues his call to holiness by confronting two serious failures in Corinth. First, some believers were taking fellow believers to court before unbelievers. Paul is astonished by this. Since the saints will one day judge the world and even angels, they should be able to settle ordinary matters among themselves now. His point is not that civil courts never have a proper role. Rather, ordinary disputes between Christians should not be prosecuted before unbelieving tribunals. The church, as God’s holy people, should have enough wisdom to deal with such cases.

In verses 7–8, Paul sharpens the rebuke. The problem is not only that they are going to court before unbelievers. The very fact that brother is suing brother already reveals moral defeat. Even if someone were to win the case, the church would still have failed. So Paul presses them with a searching question: would it not be better, in some cases, to suffer wrong than to damage the fellowship and shame the church before outsiders? Yet instead of accepting loss, some of them were doing wrong and cheating fellow believers.

This leads directly into the kingdom warning in verses 9–10. Paul is not changing subjects. By using the language of the “unrighteous,” he connects the courts of verse 1 with the kind of conduct that does not inherit God’s kingdom. He tells them plainly not to be deceived. Sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, homosexual practice, theft, greed, drunkenness, abusive speech, and swindling are not minor matters. Those who persist in such unrighteous living will not inherit the kingdom of God. This is a real eschatological warning, not merely a statement about reduced reward.

But Paul does not end with warning. In verse 11, he reminds them of God’s saving work. Some of them once lived in those very sins, but they were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. These are decisive conversion realities accomplished by God, not acts of self-reform. God cleansed them, set them apart as holy, and declared them righteous. Since He has done this for them, they must not return to the patterns from which they were rescued.

In verses 12–13, Paul appears to quote Corinthian slogans about freedom and bodily appetite. Some were saying, “All things are lawful for me.” Paul answers that not everything is beneficial, and he refuses to be mastered by anything. Christian freedom does not mean moral permission to do whatever one wants. Freedom must be tested by what is truly good and by whether something gains control over a person.

They also seem to have said, “Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food,” as though bodily appetites were morally neutral and temporary. Paul answers that this way of thinking does not apply to sexuality. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. The body matters to God. It is not disposable. God raised the Lord Jesus, and He will also raise believers by His power. So Paul’s teaching is not anti-body. Rather, the body has lasting significance because it belongs to Christ and will be raised.

Paul then strengthens the argument further. Believers’ bodies are members of Christ. Therefore sexual sin is not a private matter. If someone joins himself to a prostitute, he is taking what belongs to Christ and misusing it in a sinful union. Paul rejects that absolutely. He quotes Genesis: “The two will become one flesh.” His point is that sexual union creates a real bodily bond. It is not a casual act with no deeper meaning. By contrast, the one united to the Lord is one spirit with Him. This speaks of a real union with Christ without collapsing personal distinction, and that union carries moral consequences.

That is why Paul gives the direct command: flee sexual immorality. Do not move toward it, excuse it, or test the limits around it. Run from it. In the logic of this passage, sexual immorality is especially serious because it misuses one’s own body—a body that belongs to Christ, is destined for resurrection, and is indwelt by the Spirit. Paul’s concern is not merely social embarrassment or painful consequences. His concern is holiness.

He closes with one of the strongest reasons in the passage. The believer’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in them and was given by God. That means the body is consecrated to God. It is not available for common or immoral use. Christians are not their own. They were bought at a price, referring to Christ’s redeeming work. Because God has purchased them, He has rightful claim over them. Therefore they must glorify God in their body.

Throughout this whole section, Paul refuses to separate spiritual identity from everyday conduct. Future glory, present holiness, union with Christ, the Spirit’s indwelling, and God’s ownership all shape how believers handle conflict and how they use their bodies. Rights, slogans, and appetites do not rule the Christian life. The Lord does.