Thomas Aquinas Commentary 1 Corinthians 6:7-13

"Nay, already it is altogether a defect in you, that ye have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather take wrong? why not rather be defrauded? Nay, but ye yourselves do wrong, and defraud, and that [your] brethren. Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 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. All things are lawful for me; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful for me; but I will not be brought under the power of any. Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall bring to nought both it and them. But the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body:" — 1 Corinthians 6:7-13 (ASV)

After rebuking the Corinthians for bringing their lawsuits before unbelieving judges, the Apostle now rebukes them for the lawsuits themselves. In regard to this, he does three things: first, he states how they sinned in regard to lawsuits; secondly, he clarifies what he had said (verse 9). In regard to the first, he does two things: first, he rebukes them for something that is lawful in a lawsuit but not beneficial; secondly, for what is completely unlawful (verse 8). In regard to the first, he does two things: first, he rebukes them; secondly, he rejects an excuse (verse 7b).

First, therefore, he says: It has been stated that brother contends with brother in a lawsuit. It is not only bad that you contend before unbelievers, but after your conversion, it is a defeat for you—that is, it is regarded as a failing—to have lawsuits at all with one another, between whom there should be peace. For as it says in 2 Timothy 2:24, “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone.”

It appears from this, as a Gloss of Augustine says, that it is a sin to have a lawsuit against anyone; but this seems to be false. For if it is a sin to have a lawsuit, it seems to follow that it is also a sin to appoint judges, since this is equivalent to giving an occasion to those having lawsuits, whereas it says in Deuteronomy 1:16, “Hear the cases between your brethren and judge righteously.” A Gloss answers that the weak are permitted to seek their rights in a lawsuit, but not the perfect, who can lawfully seek their rights but not in a lawsuit. But it should be noted that something is lawful for the perfect and something for all others. The perfect, indeed, do not have anything they can call their own, for it says in Matthew 19:21, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess... and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Consequently, it is not lawful for them to seek in a lawsuit anything that can be considered their own, since it is not lawful for them to possess anything as their own, although they may seek common property in a lawsuit. For they do not sin in doing this, but rather they merit. For it is a work of charity to defend or recover the property of the poor, as it says in Psalms 82:4, “Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

But a lawsuit against anyone is unlawful for four reasons.

1. First, as to its cause, if one brings a lawsuit from covetousness and greed. Hence in Luke 12:13, when someone had said to the Lord, “Bid my brother divide the inheritance with me,” the Lord said, “Who made me judge or divider over you?” Then he added, “Take heed, and beware of all covetousness.”
2. Secondly, in regard to the way a lawsuit is conducted, if it is conducted with strife and harm to peace. For as James 3:16 says, “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” And this is what the Apostle seems to rebuke them for, as is clear from what he had said above (1 Corinthians 6:6): “But brother goes to law against brother.”
3. Thirdly, on account of the perversity of the judgment, for instance, when someone proceeds unjustly and fraudulently in a lawsuit, as it says in Isaiah 10:2, “You turn aside the needy from justice and rob the poor of my people of their right.” This, too, the Apostle rebukes in them, as he shows from what he adds: “But you yourselves wrong and defraud.”
4. Fourthly, on account of the scandal which follows. Hence the Lord commands in Matthew 5:40, “If any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well.” But out of charity, it is lawful to seek what is yours in a lawsuit. Hence Gregory says in his Morals: “When necessity forces us to have charge of things, some are merely to be tolerated when they demand things, but others are to be forestalled—as long as charity is preserved—from snatching what is not theirs and thus destroying themselves.”

Then when he says, “Why not rather suffer wrong?” he takes away their excuse. For they could say that necessity forces them to have lawsuits in order to resist harm and dishonesty from other people. But he rejects this, saying: “Why not rather suffer wrong?” by enduring it with patience, as the Lord says in Matthew 5:39, “If any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” As to the second point, he says, “Why not rather be defrauded?”—that is, suffer the crafty deception—for it says in Matthew 5:41, “If any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” But, as Augustine says in The Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, these precepts of the Lord are not always to be observed in the performance of the action, but we should be prepared in our hearts to obey them, so that we would always be ready to do this or endure that, rather than do anything against fraternal charity.

Then when he says, “But you yourselves,” he rebukes them for something completely unlawful. First, he accuses them of obvious injustice when he says, “But you yourselves wrong,” namely, by speaking openly against the just claims of others either in court or outside of it: “Do not delight in what pleases the unjust” . Secondly, he accuses them of crafty deception when he says, “and defraud”: “The counsels of the wicked are treacherous” (Proverbs 12:5). And you do that even to your own brethren—that is, believers to whom you should do good: “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). Therefore, it is said against some, “Every brother is a supplanter, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer” (Jeremiah 9:4).

Then when he says, “Do you not know,” he clarifies what he had said: first, as to what is completely unlawful; secondly, as to what is lawful but not beneficial (verse 12). In regard to the first, he does two things: first, he presents a question; secondly, he answers it (verse 9b).

First, therefore, he says: I have stated that you do wrong and defraud, which is to commit sin. But “do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” (1 Corinthians 6:9). It is as if to say: You seem not to know this, as long as you do not give up your sin; whereas it says in Psalms 6:8, “Depart from me, all you workers of evil!”

Then when he says, “Do not be deceived,” he determines the truth. First, he shows the impious their danger; secondly, he shows how they were snatched from this peril and should fear falling into it again (verse 11).

First, therefore, he says, “Do not be deceived.” This is said with a purpose, because some have been frequently deceived about sinning with impunity, as it says in Wisdom 2:21, “Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray.” For certain philosophers erred in believing that God does not have charge of human affairs, as it says in Zephaniah 1:12, “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.” Others erred by believing that faith alone is sufficient for salvation, according to John 11:26, “Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” Others believed that they will be saved just by Christ’s sacraments, on account of what is said in Mark 16:16, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved,” and John 6:54, “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” Still others suppose that they can sin with impunity on account of the works of mercy they perform, since it says in Luke 11:41, “But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you.” But they do not understand that all these things are of no benefit without charity, for it says in 1 Corinthians 13:2 and following, “If I have all faith... if I give away all I have to the poor... and have not charity, I gain nothing.” Therefore, he continues: sins contrary to charity exclude one from the kingdom of God, which charity alone permits one to enter, saying, “neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,” concerning whom Hebrews 13:4 says, “God will judge the immoral and adulterous,” “nor homosexuals,” of which it says in Genesis 13:13, “The men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord,” “nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.” For it says in Isaiah 35:8, “And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not pass over it,” and in Revelation 21:27, “But nothing unclean shall enter it, nor any one who practices abomination.” It should be noted that the vices mentioned here are the same as those mentioned in the previous chapter. But he added some in the category of lust, namely, adultery and sins against nature, and thievery in the category of injustice.

Then when he says, “And such were some of you,” he shows how they escaped from the danger mentioned above. First, he reminds them of their past state, saying, “And such were some of you”—namely, fornicators and idolaters, and so on. He makes particular mention of these vices because they were common among them, as it says in Ephesians 5:8, “For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”

Secondly, he shows how they were freed from them inwardly, saying, “But you were washed,” by the power of Christ’s blood in baptism, as it says in Revelation 1:5, “He freed us from our sins by his blood.” “You were sanctified,” by the power of Christ’s blood and consecrated in grace, as it says in Hebrews 13:12, “So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.” “You were justified,” that is, raised to the state of justice, according to Romans 8:30, “Those whom he called he also justified.”

Then he mentions the cause of these blessings: first, on the part of the humanity of Christ when he says, “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,” that is, in believing and calling on that name, as it says in Acts 4:12, “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Secondly, on the part of the divinity when he adds, “and in the Spirit of our God,” as it says in Ezekiel 37:5, “Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.” Therefore, since you have been freed by such great power, you should not return to your former ways.

Then when he says, “All things are lawful,” he clarifies what he had said about forbidding lawsuits and shows in what sense he rejects them: namely, he does not reject them as completely unlawful, but as not beneficial and as harmful. In regard to this, he does two things: first, he states his proposition; secondly, he assigns a reason (verse 13).

First, he states that what he rejects is lawful but not beneficial, saying, “All things are lawful for me.” Now those things are lawful which a person is not forbidden to do. But prohibitions are of two kinds: one is by force and the other by precept. According to this, some have understood that something is lawful if they are not prohibited from it by any necessitating force. Because a person’s decision is naturally free from force, they understand the Apostle to mean it in that sense when he said, “All things are lawful for me”—namely, that all things are subject to a person’s free choice, be they good or evil, according to what is said in Sirach 15:17, “Before a man are life and death; and whichever he chooses will be given to him.”

But this way of speaking is foreign to Sacred Scripture, in which it says that things forbidden by the divine law are not lawful, as in Matthew 14:4, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Consequently, what the Apostle says here, that “all things are lawful for me,” must not be understood absolutely but in this sense: all things are lawful for me which are not forbidden by the divine law.

This can be referred to three things:

1. First, to what he had said about lawsuits, namely, that it is lawful for anyone to obtain his property through lawsuits, since it is not forbidden by divine law.
2. Secondly, it can be referred to what he will say below (1 Corinthians 8:8) about the indiscriminate use of food, so that the sense would be: it is lawful for me to eat all foods, according to Titus 1:15, “To the pure all things are pure.”
3. Thirdly, it can be referred to what he will say below (1 Corinthians 9:4) about taking food and drink, so that the sense is this: “all things are lawful for me,” namely, to take what is necessary for life, just as it is for my co-apostles.

But he adds, “but not all things are helpful.” That is said to be helpful which is without a hindrance to attaining an end. Now it happens that something does not entirely exclude the end, but it offers some hindrance. For example, marriage does not exclude a person from the kingdom of God, but it offers a hindrance, namely, because as it says below (1 Corinthians 7:34), “The married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband.” So fornication is neither lawful nor helpful, because it totally excludes one from the end, which is eternal life; but marriage is lawful but not helpful. Therefore, according to this way of thinking, to get back one’s own in a lawsuit, or to use all foods without distinction, or to take one’s food from those to whom he preaches are all lawful, because they are not against justice or forbidden by any law; yet they are not helpful, either because peace toward one’s neighbor is endangered, or the scandal of the weak is produced, or an occasion for reviling is offered: “Not everything is good for every one” .

In another way, it can be understood not absolutely but conditionally, so that the sense is this: I have said that neither idolaters nor fornicators, etc., shall possess the kingdom of God. Therefore they are not lawful, because they exclude the end. But even if all things were lawful for me, not all are helpful, because they pose a hindrance to eternal life. Hence, speaking from the perspective of the wicked, it says in Wisdom 5:7, “We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction, and we journeyed through trackless deserts.”

Secondly, he shows that what he rejected above is harmful, saying, “All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything.” For one who uses something that is not helpful, whether it be lawful or unlawful, is somehow put under the power of that person or thing. Of a thing, indeed, because one who loves a thing too much is made its slave, as it says in Romans 16:18, “Such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.” But of a person, because as long as one does something not helpful, he is subject to the judgment of others; and particularly one who tries to get back his own in a lawsuit is under the power of the judge: “Why should my liberty be determined by another man’s conscience?” (1 Corinthians 10:29).

Then when he says, “Food is meant for the stomach,” he assigns a reason for what he has said. First, why all things are lawful, saying, “Food is meant for the stomach,” in order that after the stomach has done its work, it may nourish the entire body; “and the stomach for food,” that is, it serves to receive food and work on it. Therefore, since by God’s ordinance the stomach desires to receive food, and food was made to be put in the stomach—“Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed... and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food” (Genesis 1:29)—it is not unlawful for a person to get property back, or for a preacher to get support for necessary food, or even for a person to eat all foods without distinction.

Secondly, when he says, “and God will destroy both,” he gives the reason why all things are not helpful. For it is not helpful that a person suffer a loss in that which is never corrupted—namely, the heavenly kingdom—for the sake of something that is corrupted; and this happens in regard to food and the stomach. After this life, the use of food and of the stomach will cease, because the bodies of those who rise will be sustained without food by God’s power. And that is what he says: God will destroy—that is, will make cease—“this,” namely, the stomach, not as to its essence but as to its effect which it has now; and “that,” namely, foods, so far as they pertain to human use. For in the resurrection, “men will be like angels in heaven,” as it says in Matthew 22:30.