1 Corinthians 5; 1 Corinthians 6; 1 Corinthians 7; 1 Corinthians 8

1 Corinthians 5

1 It is widely reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and the kind of sexual immorality that is not even condoned among the Gentiles-a man is living with his father's wife.

2 And you are inflated with pride, instead of filled with grief so that he who has committed this act might be removed from among you.

3 For though absent in body but present in spirit, I have already decided about him who has done this thing as though I were present.

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, along with my spirit and with the power of our Lord Jesus,

5 turn that one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord.

6 Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast permeates the whole batch of dough?

7 Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, since you are unleavened. For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed.

8 Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old yeast, or with the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9 I wrote to you in a letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-

10 by no means referring to this world's immoral people, or to the greedy and swindlers, or to idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world.

11 But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother who is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a reviler, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.

12 For what is it to me to judge outsiders? Do you not judge those who are inside?

13 But God judges outsiders. Put away the evil person from among yourselves.

1 Corinthians 6

1 Does any of you who has a complaint against someone dare go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?

2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest cases?

3 Do you not know that we will judge angels-not to speak of things pertaining to this life?

4 So if you have cases pertaining to this life, do you select those who have no standing in the church to judge?

5 I say this to your shame! Can it be that there is not one wise person among you who will be able to arbitrate between his brothers?

6 Instead, brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!

7 Therefore, it is already a total defeat for you that you have lawsuits against one another. Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather be cheated?

8 Instead, you act unjustly and cheat-and this to brothers!

9 Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit God's kingdom? Do not be deceived: no sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals,

10 thieves, greedy people, drunkards, revilers, or swindlers will inherit God's kingdom.

11 Some of you were like this; 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 helpful. "Everything is permissible for me," but I will not be brought under the control of anything.

13 "Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods," but God will do away with both of them. The body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

14 God raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.

15 Do you not know that your bodies are the members of Christ? So should I take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Absolutely not!

16 Do you not know that anyone joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For it says, The two will become one flesh.

17 But anyone joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

18 Flee from sexual immorality! "Every sin a person can commit is outside the body," but the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body.

19 Do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

20 for you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 7

1 About the things you wrote: "It is good for a man not to have relations with a woman."

2 But because of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.

3 A husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband.

4 A wife does not have authority over her own body, but her husband does. Equally, a husband does not have authority over his own body, but his wife does.

5 Do not deprive one another-except when you agree, for a time, to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again; otherwise, Satan may 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 people were just like me. But each has his own gift from God, one this and another that.

8 I say to the unmarried and to widows: It is good for them if they remain as I am.

9 But if they do not have self-control, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with desire.

10 I command the married-not I, but the Lord-a wife is not to leave her husband.

11 But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband-and a husband is not to leave his wife.

12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is willing to live with him, he must not leave her.

13 Also, if any woman has an unbelieving husband, and he is willing to live with her, she must not leave her husband.

14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the Christian husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you to peace.

16 For you, wife, how do you know whether you will save your husband? Or you, husband, how do you know whether you will save your wife?

17 However, each one must live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called him. This is what I command in all the churches.

18 Was anyone already circumcised when he was called? He should not undo his circumcision. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised.

19 Circumcision does not matter and uncircumcision does not matter, but keeping God's commandments does.

20 Each person should remain in the life situation in which he was called.

21 Were you called while a slave? It should not be a concern to you. But if you can become free, by all means take the opportunity.

22 For he who is called by the Lord as a slave is the Lord's freedman. Likewise he who is called as a free man is Christ's slave.

23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.

24 Brothers, each person should remain with God in whatever situation he was called.

25 About virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I do give an opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy.

26 Therefore I consider this to be good because of the present distress: it is fine for a man to stay as he is.

27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife.

28 However, if you do get married, you have not sinned, and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But such people will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you.

29 And I say this, brothers: the time is limited, so from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none,

30 those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess,

31 and those who use the world as though they did not make full use of it. For this world in its current form is passing away.

32 I want you to be without concerns. An unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord-how he may please the Lord.

33 But a married man is concerned about the things of the world-how he may please his wife-

34 and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the things of the world-how she may please her husband.

35 Now I am saying this for your own benefit, not to put a restraint on you, but because of what is proper, and so that you may be devoted to the Lord without distraction.

36 But if any man thinks he is acting improperly toward his virgin, if she is past marriageable age, and so it must be, he can do what he wants. He is not sinning; they can get married.

37 But he who stands firm in his heart (who is under no compulsion, but has control over his own will) and has decided in his heart to keep his own virgin, will do well.

38 So then he who marries his virgin does well, but he who does not marry will do better.

39 A wife is bound as long as her husband is living. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to anyone she wants-only in the Lord.

40 But she is happier if she remains as she is, in my opinion. And I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 8

1 About food offered to idols: We know that "we all have knowledge." Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.

2 If anyone thinks he knows anything, he does not yet know it as he ought to know it.

3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.

4 About eating food offered to idols, then, we know that "an idol is nothing in the world," and that "there is no God but one."

5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth-as there are many "gods" and many "lords"-

6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through Him.

7 However, not everyone has this knowledge. In fact, some have been so used to idolatry up until now, that when they eat food offered to an idol, their conscience, being weak, is defiled.

8 Food will not make us acceptable to God. We are not inferior if we don't eat, and we are not better if we do eat.

9 But be careful that this right of yours in no way becomes a stumbling block to the weak.

10 For if somebody sees you, the one who has this knowledge, dining in an idol's temple, won't his weak conscience be encouraged to eat food offered to idols?

11 Then the weak person, the brother for whom Christ died, is ruined by your knowledge.

12 Now when you sin like this against the brothers and wound their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ.

13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to fall, I will never again eat meat, so that I won't cause my brother to fall.