1 Corinthians 6:11

Context

This verse belongs to chapter 6 of 1 Corinthians, a letter Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. Earlier in the chapter Paul rebukes church members for taking one another to secular courts (6:1-8). He then warns that the "unrighteous"—those who practice fornication, idolatry, covetousness, drunkenness, and the like—"shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (6:9-10). In this verse he reminds the believers of their past with the words "And such were some of you" and declares that they have already been washed, sanctified, and justified. An exhortation not to give the body over to fornication follows (6:12-20). The verse thus serves as a link, grounding the call to a changed life in the believers' changed status.

Interpretation

In the original Greek, all three verbs are in the aorist tense, here denoting an event that took place in the past. Because "the name of the Lord Jesus" and "the Spirit of our God" appear together, the verse is also cited as a text bearing on the Trinity.

• Reformed reading: The Reformed tradition does not take the sequence of the three terms as the order in which salvation unfolds, but rather as a description of a single salvation from three angles. Many interpreters hold that "sanctified" here refers not so much to lifelong growth in sanctification as to the status of being set apart to God at conversion. The verse is used to support the view that justification and sanctification are distinct but inseparable.
• Wesleyan and Holiness reading: Wesleyan theology and the Holiness tradition understand this sanctification as initial sanctification, begun at conversion, and as the starting point for further sanctification and for entire sanctification.
• "Washed" and baptism: Traditions that place strong emphasis on the sacraments, such as the Anglican and Lutheran traditions, read "washed" as a direct reference to baptism. Presbyterians regard the expression as having baptism in view, while holding that the substance of the washing is the Holy Spirit's cleansing of the inner person. Baptists read the verse from the perspective that baptism by immersion is a sign professing a conversion that has already taken place.

Debates and Issues

• The translation of certain terms in the list in the preceding verse (6:9) is bound up with the debate over homosexuality. Conservative churches cite "such were some of you" as evidence that people can leave such a way of life. Others challenge this application, beginning with the more basic question of whether the Greek terms in 6:9 refer to present-day same-sex relationships at all.
• Views also diverge over the past-tense wording. One side sees it as grounds for the security of salvation already received (perseverance of the saints). The other holds that the warning in verses 9-10 genuinely applies to believers as well.

In the Korean Church

Because the verse contrasts life before and after conversion, it is often cited in sermons and testimonies dealing with conversion and new identity.

Related Passages

• 1 Corinthians 6:15-18
• Titus 3:5
• Galatians 5:16-21
• Ephesians 5:5
• Romans 6:3-6