1 Corinthians 5; 1
Corinthians 6; 1 Corinthians 7; 1 Corinthians 8
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality
among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his
father's wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have
been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did
this? 3 Even though I am not physically present, I am with you
in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as
if I were present. 4 When you are assembled in the name of our
Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is
present, 5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful
nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. 6 Your
boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the
whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast that you may
be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb,
has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not
with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without
yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I have written you
in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-- 10 not
at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and
swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But
now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself
a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a
drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. 12 What
business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge
those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. "Expel the
wicked man from among you."
1 If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it
before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? 2 Do
you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the
world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you
not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this
life! 4 Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters,
appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! 5 I
say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise
enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6 But instead,
one brother goes to law against another--and this in front of
unbelievers! 7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you
means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why
not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do
wrong, and you do this to your brothers. 9 Do you not know
that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:
Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes
nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor
drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And
that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you
were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our
God. 12 "Everything is permissible for me"--but not
everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I
will not be mastered by anything. 13"Food for the stomach and
the stomach for food"--but God will destroy them both. The body is not
meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By
his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do
you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself ? Shall I then take
the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do
you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in
body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." 17 But
he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18Flee
from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but
he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 Do you not
know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you
have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were
bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
1 Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man
not to marry. 2 But since there is so much immorality, each
man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. 3 The
husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her
husband. 4 The wife's body does not belong to her alone but
also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him
alone but also to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except
by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer.
Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack
of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a
command. 7 I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has
his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. 8 Now
to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried,
as I am. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should
marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. 10 To
the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate
from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain
unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce
his wife. 12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any
brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him,
he must not divorce her. 13And if a woman has a husband who is not
a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For
the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the
unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise
your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But
if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound
in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. 16 How
do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know,
husband, whether you will save your wife? 17Nevertheless, each one
should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God
has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18 Was
a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become
uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be
circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is
nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts. 20 Each one
should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. 21 Were
you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you--although if you can
gain your freedom, do so. 22 For he who was a slave when he
was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man
when he was called is Christ's slave. 23 You were bought at a
price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brothers, each man, as
responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to. 25 Now
about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one
who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. 26 Because of the
present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are. 27 Are
you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a
wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a
virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles
in this life, and I want to spare you this. 29 What I mean,
brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should
live as if they had none; 30 those who mourn, as if they did
not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if
it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the
world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is
passing away. 32 I would like you to be free from concern. An
unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs--how he can please the
Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of
this world--how he can please his wife--34 and his interests are
divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs:
Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married
woman is concerned about the affairs of this world--how she can please her
husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to
restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the
Lord. 36 If anyone thinks he is acting improperly toward the
virgin he is engaged to, and if she is getting along in years and he feels he
ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. 37But
the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion
but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry
the virgin--this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he
who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does even
better. 39 A woman is bound to her husband as long as he
lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he
must belong to the Lord. 40 In my judgment, she is happier if
she stays as she is--and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
