John Calvin Commentary 1 Corinthians 6:11

"And such were some of you: but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God." — 1 Corinthians 6:11 (ASV)

And such were you. Some add a term of specificity: Such were some of you, as the Greek word τινὲς is added. However, I am rather of the opinion that the Apostle speaks in a general way. I consider that term to be redundant, according to the practice of the Greeks, who frequently use it for the sake of ornament, not as a restriction. We must not, however, understand him as grouping everyone together, attributing all these vices to every one of them. Instead, he simply means to suggest that no one is entirely free from these vices until he has been renewed by the Spirit.

For we must hold this: human nature universally contains the seed of all evils. However, some vices prevail and are more apparent in some individuals than in others, as the Lord reveals the depravity of the flesh by its fruits.

Thus Paul, in the first chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, lists many different kinds of vices and crimes that flow from ignorance of God and the ingratitude of which he had shown all unbelievers to be guilty (Romans 1:21–32)—this does not mean that every unbeliever is infected with all these vices, but rather that all are susceptible to them, and no one is exempt from them all. For the one who is not an adulterer sins in some other way.

So also in the third chapter he presents as universally applicable to the descendants of Adam those declarations—their throat is an open sepulcher; their feet are swift to shed blood; their tongue is deceitful or poisonous (Romans 3:13–15).

—This does not mean that all are bloodthirsty and cruel, or that all are treacherous or slanderers. Rather, before we are formed anew by God, one person is inclined to cruelty, another to treachery, another to impurity, and another to deceit. Consequently, everyone has some trace of the corruption common to all. Indeed, every one of us, by an internal and secret disposition of the mind, is susceptible to all such spiritual ailments, unless the Lord inwardly restrains them from breaking out openly. The simple meaning, therefore, is this: before they were regenerated by grace, some of the Corinthians were covetous, others adulterers, others extortioners, others effeminate, and others revilers; but now, being made free by Christ, they were so no longer.

The Apostle's design, however, is to humble them by reminding them of their former condition, and, furthermore, to stir them up to acknowledge God's grace toward them. For the greater the acknowledged misery from which we have escaped through the Lord’s kindness, the more the magnitude of His grace shines forth. Now the praise of grace is a source of exhortations, because we ought to take diligent care that we do not nullify God's kindness, which ought to be so highly valued. It is as if he had said, “It is enough that God has drawn you out of that mire in which you were formerly sunk,” as Peter also says,

“The time past is sufficient to have fulfilled the lusts
of the Gentiles” (1 Peter 4:3).

But you are washed. He uses three terms to express one and the same thing, so that he may more effectively deter them from returning to the condition from which they had escaped. Therefore, although these three terms have the same general meaning, there is nevertheless great force in their very variety.

For there is an implied contrast between washing and defilement—sanctification and pollution—justification and guilt. His meaning is that, having been once justified, they must not draw down upon themselves a new condemnation—that, having been sanctified, they must not pollute themselves again—that, having been washed, they must not disgrace themselves with new defilements. On the contrary, they must aim at purity, persevere in true holiness, and abhor their former pollutions.

And from this we infer the purpose for which God reconciles us to Himself by the free pardon of our sins. Although I have said that one thing is expressed by three terms, I do not mean that there is no difference at all in their meaning; for, properly speaking, God justifies us when He frees us from condemnation by not imputing our sins to us; He cleanses us when He blots out the remembrance of our sins.

Thus these two terms differ only in this respect: the one is simple, while the other is figurative, for the term washing is metaphorical, Christ’s blood being compared to water. On the other hand, He sanctifies by renewing our depraved nature by His Spirit. Thus sanctification is connected with regeneration.

In this passage, however, the Apostle simply intended to extol, with many praises, the grace of God, which has delivered us from the bondage of sin, so that we may learn from this how much we should abhor everything that provokes God’s anger and vengeance against us.

In the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. He appropriately and elegantly distinguishes between different roles. For the blood of Christ is the cause that obtains our cleansing; righteousness and sanctification come to us through His death and resurrection. But, since the cleansing effected by Christ and the attainment of righteousness are of no use except to those who have been made partakers of those blessings by the influence of the Holy Spirit, he appropriately mentions the Spirit in connection with Christ. Christ, then, is the source of all blessings to us; from Him we obtain all things. However, Christ Himself, with all His blessings, is communicated to us by the Spirit. For it is by faith that we receive Christ and have His graces applied to us. The Author of faith is the Spirit.