1 Corinthians 6 Devotional

Washed and Made His Own

“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.”1 Corinthians 6:11 (BSB)

Paul is dismayed that believers are suing one another before unbelieving judges, and he asks why they would not rather suffer wrong than wrong each other (6:1-8). He then warns that the wicked will not inherit God's kingdom, and he names sins sexual and otherwise, including theft, greed, drunkenness and abusive speech (6:9-10).

Then hope breaks in. Some of them used to live exactly that way, but they were washed, set apart for God, and declared right with him through the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit (6:11). No one on that list is beyond God's reach. That is also why the body matters. It is meant for the Lord, it will be raised as Jesus was raised, and it is a temple of the Holy Spirit (6:13-14, 19). Believers do not belong to themselves, because God paid dearly to make them his (6:20). So fleeing sexual sin is not an attempt to become clean. It is honoring God with a body he has already washed and claimed.

To think about: What would honoring God with your body look like this week, as someone he has already washed and claimed?