1 Corinthians 6:12 ESV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

The 1 Cor. 6:12, 13 seem to relate to that early dispute among Christians about the distinction of meats, and yet to be prefatory to the caution that follows against fornication. The connection seems plain enough if we attend to the famous determination of the apostles, Acts 15:19-29, where the prohibition of certain foods was joined with that of fornication. Now some among the Corinthians seem to have imagined that they were as much at liberty in the point of fornication as of meats,... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

6:12-20 True, all things are allowed to me; but all things are not good for me. All things are allowed to me, but I will not allow any thing to get control of me. Foods were made for the stomach and the stomach was made for foods; but God will obliterate both it and them. The body is not made for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. God raised up the Lord, and by his power he will raise us too. Are you not aware that your bodies are the limbs of Christ? Am I then to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:12

All things are lawful unto me ,.... That is, which are of an indifferent nature; otherwise everything is not lawful to be done: but all things are not expedient ; when the doing of them destroys the peace, comfort, and edification of others; when it stumbles and grieves weak minds, and causes offence to them; see 1 Corinthians 10:23 all things are lawful for me ; which is repeated for the sake of saying the following words: but I will not be brought under the power of any ;... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 6:12

All things are lawful unto me - It is likely that some of the Corinthians had pleaded that the offense of the man who had his father's wife, as well as the eating the things offered to idols, was not contrary to the law, as it then stood. To this the apostle answers: Though such a thing be lawful, yet the case of fornication, mentioned 1 Corinthians 5:1 , is not expedient, ου συμφερει - it is not agreeable to propriety, decency, order, and purity. It is contrary to the established usages... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 6:12

Verse 12 12.All things are lawful for me. Interpreters labor hard to make out the connection of these things, (345) as they appear to be somewhat foreign to the Apostle’s design. For my own part, without mentioning the different interpretations, I shall state what, in my opinion, is the most satisfactory. It is probable, that the Corinthians even up to that time retained much of their former licentiousness, and had still a savor of the morals of their city. Now when vices stalk abroad with... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:12

All things are lawful unto me. The abruptness with which the phrase is introduced perhaps shows that, in the letter of the Corinthians to St. Paul, they had used some such expression by way of palliating their lax tolerance of violations of the law of purity. By "all things," of course, is only meant "all things which are indifferent in themselves." They erroneously applied this maxim of Christian liberty to that which was inherently sinful, and thus were tempted to "make their liberty a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:12

The lawful and the expedient. I. IT IS IMPORTANT TO ASCERTAIN WHAT IS LAWFUL FOR US IN LIFE . All things indifferent ( i.e. not evil in themselves) are lawful for the Christian. He has the widest liberty. He is not under the restriction of the older economy. To him "every creature of God is good" ( 1 Timothy 4:4 ), and to be received with thanksgiving. The Christian must abide within the limits of the lawful. Nothing that seems expedient outside of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:12

Free, and yet not free. The first step to a right understanding of this passage is to observe that the "all things" of which the apostle speaks are things in themselves indifferent ( ἀδιάφορα ), not things in which any vital principle of morality or point of Christian doctrine is involved. Nothing could be "lawful" to him that was in its essential nature unlawful. There are matters in which the question of right and wrong is fixed, absolute, changeless; and there are others in which it... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:12

The lawful and the expedient. "All things are lawful for me; but not all things are expedient." This is the statement of a general principle, which may be thus expressed: when a man is renewed in Christ Jesus, he becomes a law unto himself, his regenerate conscience sufficiently attests what is lawful and what is expedient. The apostle is applying the principle to two subjects of discussion which were closely connected with the heathen worship: I. EVERY MAN MUST RECOGNIZE THIS... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:12-16

The sanctity of the body. At Corinth idolatry assumed a most imposing, luxurious, and voluptuous form. It is quite in accordance with all we know of the opulent and pleasure loving inhabitants of and visitors to "the star of Hellas," that those controversies and scandals which are dealt with so fully in this chapter should arise in a Christian society planted by the apostle at Corinth. It should be more especially noticed that there is a sufficient reason for the remarkable fact that... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:12

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 6:12

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 6:12

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:12

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:12

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:12

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:12

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:12-16

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