1 cor 6.1-11 - judgment in sexual matters

7/28/2019 1 Cor 6.1-11 - Judgment in Sexual Matters

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Novum Testamentum XXV, 1 (1983)

JUDGMENT IN SEXUAL MATTERS

IN 1 CORINTHIANS 6:1-11

by

PETER RICHARDSON

University College, University ofToronto

I. Introduction

Paul insists that the Corinthian church judge its own problems

directly. In 1 Cor. 5 he requires Christians to deal with a case to

which the church has turned a blind eye; in 1 Cor. 6 he demands

that they deal internally with a case that has been taken before

pagan judges. This insistence is peculiar to 1 Corinthians; it seems

to be the reverse of the account in Acts 18:12-17 where Paul is

himself taken by his fellow-Jews before a pagan judge, Gallio.

Gallio refuses to hear the case, insisting that the Jews of Corinth

dead with matters of "word, names and your law" (

' , 18:15). This striking coincidence

may not signify anything much more than the very close association

ofcommunal judgment with the Corinthian community. The main

point of this paper is to investigate the insistence upon communaljudgment in 1 Cor. 6:1-11, especially the aberrant behaviour which

has given rise to the case in question.

1 Cor. 5 and 6 have been regarded as a locus classicusfor an

understanding of Paul's sexual ethic. Not only do these chapters in

clude a dramatic account of sexual impropriety (5:1-8), they also in

clude three vice-catalogues in which sexual sins are dominant (5:10;

5:11; 6:9M0) and an impressive discussion of the body and problems of immorality (6:12-20). But 6:1-11 (or 1-8) is almost univer

f f '1


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38 P E T E R RI CHARDS ON

J. H. Bernard is the only person in this century who has

presented a reasoned case for chapter 6 being connected to chapter5 in subject matter,

2and " N o commen tator seems to have accepted

Bernard's suggestion."3

Usually his view has been given short

shrift by those who know of it, and the majority are ignorant of it.4

Some indefensible par ts of his hypothesis should be rejected, but

some of his evidence has continuing validity and will be restated in

what follows. It may be summarized thus:

the structure of 1 Corinthians suggests prima facie that chapters 5and 6 ought to be connected with each other;

the occurrences of in 6:12 and 7:4; of in

6:8 and 7:5; of . in 5:10, 11; 6:9-10; and of in

the vice-lists and in 1 Thess. 4:6 suggest a sexual sin;

the argument of 6:1-11 deals not so much with the impropriety

of Christians ever appearing before heathen tribunals but with

the impropriety of sins of adultery and infidelity being judgedby anything other than Christian standards.

From this evidence Bernard concludes that the of 6:1

are ''cases of adultery or the like; and that the of which he

speaks throughout chapter 6 is the wrong which is done when

domestic honour is hurt..." He goes on from this to claim that

" . . . t h e whole discussion [is] strictly relevant to the scandal that ha d

recently occurred in the Christian community at Corinth (5:1)",5

and he claims further that the offender "is the same as the offender

of 2 Cor . 2:5f. an d 7:12f."6

The latter arguments, the identity of

the offender in 2 Corinthia ns and the one in 1 Cor. 5 :1, and the

exact overlap of 1 Cor. 5 with 6:1-11, should not be maintained.

2J . H . Bern ard , " T h e Conne xio n Between the Fifth an d Sixth Cha pte rs of 1

C o r i n t h i a n s " , The Expositor, Series 7, Vol. 3, 1907, 433-443. Vischer completely

overlooks this important article.3 So Jo hn C. Hu rd , jr., The Origin ofICorinthians, London: SPCK, 1965, p. 84.4

H u r d , Origin, p. 84, n. 3, notes that Goudge on 1 Corinthians, 1911, allows a


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1 CORINTHIANS 6:1-11 39

But Bernard's insistence that chapters 5-6 are a unity, and that the

juridical question at issue in 6:1-11 is a sexual matter, are important contribut ions to the exegesis of this passage.

T h e usual view is that 6:1-8 has little to do with sexual morality

or with the rest of chapters 5 and 6.7

It has sometimes been noted

that chapter 5 raises matters of one kind of church ju dgme nt , and

6:1-8 (which considers another quite different kind of judicial func

tion) is suggested by a natural association.8

But the subject matter

of 6:1-8, as commonly interpreted, does not have any necessary

connection with the preceding or following sections. Generally it is

held that the issue has something to do with fraudulent business

practices or with monetary ethics.9

Modern commentators,

however, seem less inclined to assert that the passages have no con

nection;1 0

indeed ifthere is a recent tendency, it is towards a slight

ly greater degree of integrity.11

T h e passage may be loosely translated as follows.

Does someone with a legal case against another dare to be judged before

unrighteous men, and not by the saints? Don't you understand that the saints will

judge the world, and if so you are worthyto establish lesser tribunals.12

Don't you

understand we will judge angels, not to mention human affairs? If you have such

7Few are as explicit as H. A. W. Meyer (tr. D. B. Bannerman), Critical and Ex-

egetical Commentary on the New Testament, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1877, p. 162.

(on 6:1): ' new section, not connected with what has gone before ... The connec

tions ofthought, which some have traced out, are arbitraryinventions". See also J.

Weiss, Dererste Korintherbrief, Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1910, pp. xl-xliii, 145-6.

8 J. B. Lightfoot, Notes on the Epistles of St. Paul, London: McMillan, 1895, p.

210; H. Lietzmann, An die Korinther I-II (HNT 95), Tbingen: J. C. B. Mohr,

1949, p. 25, p. 175 (additional note by W. G. Kmmel); Ernst Synofzik, Die

Gerichts- und Vergeltungsaussagen bei Paulus, Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,

1977, pp. 56-58.9 A. Deissmann, Paul: A Study in Social and Religious History, London: Hodder

and Stoughton, 1912, p. 71, is especially forthright: "The poor folk who made up

his churches and who lived on obols and denarii, envious persons who even, as St.

Paul once says, 'bite and devour one another,' and who by trooping before paganjudges in their miserable disputes over some mere bagatelle exposed the

b h h d k " ( id P l Ei K l d R li i hi h li h


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40 P E T E R R I C H A R D S O N

h u m a n tribunals do you set [on them] those who are least esteemed in the church? I

say this to shame you. Is there not even one wise man among you to decide be

tween brot her and brot her? But brot her takes brothe r to law even before

unbelievers ! It is already nothing but a defeat for you to have lawsuits against each

other. Wh y not prefer to be wronged ? Why not prefer to be defrauded? But you

wrong and defr aud even th e brethren. D o n ' t you understand that the unrighteous

will not inherit the kingdom of God? D o n ' t be deceived: no fornicators, no

idolaters, no adulterers, no catamites, no pederasts, no thieves, no greedy men, no

drunks, no abusive persons, no robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that

is what some of you were. But you were washed! But you were sanctified! But you

we re justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Chr is t and in the Spirit of our God!

It should be noted at the outset that there is in this statement

nothing describing the na ture of the lawsuits. For that we are forced

to infer from hints that lurk below the surface. The fact that it is a

legal matter narrows the range somewhat. It must be a case which

can, but need not, be properly brought before judges, and one of

sufficient concern that it ought to be dealt with by the Christian

community (6:1-6). To put it differently, it must be an issue which

is sufficiently against the law of the land that it can be taken to acourt, but not absolutely against the Christian community's basic

minimal standard of behaviour.1 3

If one leaves behind the specific

hypothesis of Bernard that chapters 5 and 6 involve the same per

sons, but accepts the notion that they are related, one would be

looking for a problem of the same sort but less severe. This would

satisfy the demands of the text that a less severe punishment is ex

pected in chapter 6.1 4

II . Arguments for a SexualReference in 6:1-11

Six arguments will be developed to support the claim that 6:1-11

presupposes a sexual problem.1 5

Though not of equal weight all

contribute something to the case. None is absolutely decisive, but

the cumulative force is persuasive. No countervailing argument re

quires that the issue is the one generally assumed: monetary fraud.The strongest support for the common view is that one of the mean


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1 CORINTHIANS 6 :1 -1 1 41

(a) the place of the passage in the structure of 1 Corinthians;

(b) the bracketing of the passage by 5:1-13 and 6:12-20;(c) the connection with 7:1-7;

(d) the connection of the passage with O T passages, especially in

5:13;

(e) the similar problem in 1 Thess. 4:1-8;

(f) a possibly similar situation in James.

(a)The Structure of1 Corinthians

Recent Pauline scholarship has made major advances on the

question of letter-writing forms and structure. Regrettably, these

advances have not led to a common opinion on the integrity of 1

Corinthians, in large part because it is such a complicated letter.

What follows is to some extent an attempt to explore the question of

structure. It will assume as a point of departure that 1 Corinthians

exists in more or less its original form, and that its macro-structureincludes a letter body (chapters 1-4), responses to oral reports

(chapters 5-6), and responses to written questions (chapters 7-16).16

This is by no means certain, and if one hypothesizes instead that

parts of two or more letters have been put together by a later hand,

the problem of 6:1-11 is radically altered. This latter hypothesis is

more persuasive if 6:1-11 does nothave a sexual reference.

With respect to the structure of chapters 5-6, the following parts

may be identified at the outset: report of a case of incest (5:1-5);

reflections on the community's purity generally (5:6-8); clarifica

tion of a previous letter (5:9-13); legal disputes before pagan courts

(6:1-8); reflections on immorality and purity (6:9-11);17

freedom,

immorality and the body (6:12-20). It is usually agreed that all of

chapter 5 properly belongs together, since there is a sensible

development of thought throughout the three discernible sections.

The transition between 5:13b

(with its quotation from Deut. 17:7)and 6:1 will be dealt with below. The transition seems abrupt,


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The Lasterkatalog in 6:9-11 is not always included with 6:1-8. The

most obvious connection between the two is the development in theuse of (6:7), (6:8) and (6:9), where they

refer to believers. This represents a gradual development from the

earlier use of in 6:1 of unbelievers.1 8

Another clear connec

tion is the repetition of the formula in 6:2, 3, 9. If it be

correct that 6:1-8 and 6:9-11 properly belong together, then 6:1-11

and 5:1-13 show the same basic elements: a specific case or cases, a

demand for community action set in a strongly eschatological con

text, a general discussion of the purity question, and one or more

Lasterkataloge.19

The paragraph 6:12-20 has been shown by Hurd to be a transi

tional paragraph, looking both back to chapters 5 and 6 and for

ward to chapters 7-16.20

In that 6:12-20 deals with sexual issues

similar to those which animate chapter 5, and is also connected

closely with the sexual emphasis of 6:9-11, the material in chapters

5-6 is closely intertwined. Structurally one would expect 6:1-8 alsoto deal with sexual matters.

Paul, as Hurd has emphasized, frequently uses a chiastic struc

ture in large blocks of material. Seemingly abrupt changes in

thought need not require the hypothesis of letter fragments, they

may be seen as a part of Paul's ordinary argumentative pattern.

Thus there is an ABA pattern in chs. 12-14, as also in chs. 8-10; it

can be argued that the same is true here in 5:1-13; 6:1-11; 6:12-20.But an ABA pattern does not require that 6:1-11 is on a different

topic; just as there are impo rtant connections between ch. 13 and

chs. 12 and 14, and between chs. 9 and 8 and 10:1-22, so there are

connections within chs. 5 and 6. Whereas 5:1-13 and 6:12-20 are

especially concerned with -vocabulary, it is remarkable that

6:1-11 is not. But 6:1-11 deals with a second form of ju dg men t, the

first example of which is dealt with in 5.-5.2 1

In each major part of

chapters 5-6 there is a deep concern for the proper approach to inter-


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nal matters.2 2

So the correct observation that chapters 5-6 are

another example of Pauline chiasmus need not lead to the conclusion that 6:1-11 deals with something other than sexual problems.

Chapters 7-16 are woven around responses to written questions,

indicated by the repetitive . W e do not know, ofcourse, the

exact content ofthe Corinthians' letter,2 3

nor do we know whyPaul

deals with the topics in the particular orderin which he does. It is

worth nothing that the first response topic ha s to do with marriage

and, within that general topic, with conjugal rights.2 4 Ifthe letteris

a unityPaul deals first with party groupings (reports of which he

has heard orally from Chlo's people, 1:11), then with other oral

reports focussing on sexual problems (chapters 5-6) which were not

included in the letter from Corinth. Paul then uses his angry discus

sion of those matters to lead into a calmer appraisal of the Corin

thians' own questions. So, while chapter 7 begins a new section of

the letter, that fact ought not to obscure a connection in thought

between chapters 5-6 and 7.To recapitulate, chapters 5-6 have a coherent ABA structure, the

middle term being 6:1-11. All parts ofthese chapters may well deal

with the same subject matter. Further, though chapters 5-6 deal

with matters raised orally and chapters 7-16 deal with matters

raised in writing, there is a close connection between the first ofthe

response topics and oral reports.

(b) Connections ofThoughtandLanguage in Chapters 5-6

The two chapters comprise three basic sections: 5:1-13; 6:1-11;

6:12-20. There are innumerable overlaps and intertwinings be

tween these sections, connections that can only be sketchily sug

gested. There is first, the dominant motif of //-

2 2

Note the pattern: outside inside1 Cor. 5:12 What is it to me to judge Do you not judge those

th t id ? i id ?


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/, absent from 6:1-8 but controlling the remainder (5:1,

8, 9, 10, 11, 13; 6:9, 13, 15, 18; cf. 7:2).25

Second, there is thestrong emphasis on ju dg me nt , coupled with a sense of

eschatological urgency (5:3-5, 5:6-8, 12-13; 6:1-5, 6:9-10, 11,

13-14). Associated with this is the way in which concerns about the

body are treated together with the activity of the Spirit (5:3(?), 4-5;

6:11, 13, 15-20; cf. 7:4). There is an obvious concern running

throughout for the community as a collective entity (5:2, 4, 9, 11,

12-13; 6:1-5, 12, 19), beside which is placed the co mmun ity' s total

ly inadequate reaction to its corporate well-being (5:2, 6; 6:5, 8,

15). The Lasterkataloge constitute another obvious connection be

tween the several parts (5:10; 5:11; 6:9-10).26

The glimmerings of a diatribe form in these chapters, particular

ly the repetitive (5:6; 6:2, 3, 9, 15, 16, 19) is another

strong indication that Paul is developing a coherent set of concerns

in chapters 5-6. He is working in a quite different mood an d mode

from that which he adopts in the rest of the letter, indeed in the restof his correspondence.

2 7

The uses of -vocabulary, the Lasterkataloge of 5:10, 11; 6:9-10,

the striking concern for the body and Spirit, the awesome

eschatology, all emphasi s that the basic thrust of chapters 5-6 is sex

ual, specifically the right way of dealing with sexual challenges in

the face of the imminent end when judgment will be given and the

kingdom of God will be attained.It is in this general context that one should attempt to interpret

the judgment theme of 6:1-11, and the role of the community in ex

ercising judgment. The problem is not so much Christians going to

law before unbelievers as it is engaging in litigation within the

Christian community (6:6, 8). That is what is defeat for the com

munity (6:7; ' ).

(c) 1 Cor. 7:1-7

The connections between 7:1-7 and our passage are striking and


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in 6:7-8 and 7:5, which is almost always overlooked. Ac

cording to Liddell-Scott the range of meaning of includes"rob, despoil, bereave, defraud; passively to be robbed or deprived

of; with ace. pers. to deprive or rob".2 8

The word is used only in

these three instances in Paul (cf. also 1 Tim. 6:5). In 7:5 its mean

ing is clear and undisputed: " D o not refuse one another (i.e.,

deprive your spouse of normal sexual intercourse) except for an

agreed upon period of time so that you can devote yourselfto prayer

... lest Satan tempt you through your lack of self-control'' (which

closelyresembles Test. Naph. 8:8, "For there is a season for a man

to embrace his wife, and a season to abstain therefrom for his

prayer").

While this meaning is universally recognized, the only other in

stances of the same word in Paul occur one paragraph earlier in

6:7-8. It is strange that these two uses have not attracted the same

meaning, for it could easily be that Paul is using the words in exact

ly the same way: "...why not prefer to be deprived sexually? Butyou ... deprive, and that even the brothers" (6:7-8). with

which is linked here, is a general word: "To do wrong,

or to be wronged". It adds no degree of specificity to the charge,

but merely heightens the rebuke.29

The known meaning of 7:5 may

establish a probable meaning for 6:7-8.

This approach is reinforced by the following additional con

siderations. First, there is the fact to which Bernard pointed

30

that is found in Paul's letters only at 6:12 and 7:4 (bis).

31

While the meaning is not exactly the same in both places the con

tent, which has given rise to the use of the word, is the same.32

When coupled with the evidence for , the coincidence is

2 8See also Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich: steal, rob. This is too specific for the evidence

supplied.2 9

The -words are more frequent, especially, (found here in 6:1, 9, to

refer to pagan judges in the one case and the unrighteous generally in the other).The related word appears in 1 Cor. only at 13:6 (cf. 6x in Rom., lx in 2

2 f


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remarkable . Second, there is the concern for the way (7:2;

6:13; 5:1; and references to related roots throughout) affects thewell-being of the Christian community. Third, the use of Gen. 2:24

in 6:16 stands out as partly appropriate in its immediate context,

but also significant as the O T basis for the discussion of marriage

which begins in 7:1. Fourth, the references to Satan in 5:5 and 7:5

help to draw 7:1-7 firmly into the context of chapters 5-6. In both

instances the action of Satan is described by Paul as a destructive

force within the area of sexual relationship, in the one case as

punisher, in the other as tempter.3 3

These indications point towards a close connection between

chapters 5-6 and 7:1-7, much closer than would be expected if there

were a sharp break between Paul's reaction to the oral reports and

to the wri tten questions. Specifically, the proximity of in

6:7-8; 7:5, creates a strong presumption that the word bears a

related meaning in the two places. Generally, the contexts are

similar. Hence it is likely that the problem of 6:1-11 has to do withsexual defrauding, not financial fraud.

(d) 1 Cor. 5:13

The transit ion between 5:13 and 6:1 seems abrupt and awkward.

If it is the case that chapters 5 and 6 belong together, as I have been

arguing, this abruptness needs careful consideration. Were it notfor the O T quotation, of course, the transition would be smoother,

for 5:12-13


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point ''judges and officers"34 who shall "judge" (xptvoatv

Stxococv, Deut. 16:18 LXX). The very next instruction, afterthe establishing of a method of judgment , is a sexual sin: planting

trees as Asheroth (Deut. 16:21-22). Then, immediately after a brief

reference to sacrifice (17:1), comes a description of the first sin to

require absolute purging: serving other gods. The person who does

this, man or woman, does evil: . Deut. 17:8-13,

which in 17:12 has a comparable4

1 cor 6.1-11 - judgment in sexual matters

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