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1 Corinthians

About this book
Chapter 6

1 When any of you has a legal dispute with another, does he dare go to court before the unrighteous rather than before the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you not competent to settle trivial suits?⁠ 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? Why not ordinary matters! 4 So if you have ordinary lawsuits, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame! Is there no one among you wise enough to settle disputes between fellow Christians? 6 Instead, does a Christian sue a Christian, and do this before unbelievers? 7 The fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves demonstrates that you have already been defeated. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 But you yourselves wrong and cheat, and you do this to your brothers and sisters! 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, 10 thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Some of you once lived this way. 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. 12 “All things are lawful for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “All things are lawful for me”—but I will not be controlled by anything.⁠ 13 “Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both.” The body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 Now God indeed raised the Lord and he will raise us by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that anyone who is united with a prostitute is one body with her? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”⁠ 17 But the one united with the Lord is one spirit with him. 18 Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin a person commits is outside of the body”—but the immoral person sins against his own body.⁠ 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,⁠ whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

Texts in conversation

Compare Sirach 37:28 and 1 Corinthians 6:12

Deuterocanon · New Testament

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Summary

Sirach warns that not everything is good for everyone, urging discernment and restraint, language Paul echoes in 1 Corinthians when he states that not everything is beneficial. Both reflect a Jewish tradition that freedom of choice must be thoughtful.

Passages

Sirach 37:28

Deuterocanon · Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
26 The wise man will inherit confidence among his people. His name will live forever. 27 My son, test your soul in your life. See what is evil for it, and don’t give in to it. 28 For not all things are profitable for all men. Not every soul has pleasure in everything. 29 Don’t be insatiable in any luxury. Don’t be greedy in the things that you eat. 30 For overeating brings disease, and gluttony causes nausea. 31 Because of gluttony, many have perished, but he who takes heed shall prolong his life.
195–180 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sirach

1 Corinthians 6:12

New Testament
11 Some of you once lived this way. 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. 12 “All things are lawful for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “All things are lawful for me”—but I will not be controlled by anything. 13 “Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both.” The body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 Now God indeed raised the Lord and he will raise us by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!
55–57 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Corinthians

References

"... but not all are beneficial ... i.e., do not contribute to my good or the good of the community. Paul’s reaction echoes in fact an idea found in Sirach 37:28, “not everything contributes to the good of everyone.” Not everything builds up the community, a notion to which Paul will return in 7:35, also 10:23. Individualism or selfishness contributes nothing to the common good. In both Aristotelian and Stoic philosophy, to sympheron, “the beneficial,” and to agathon, “the good,” are so identified ..."
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, First Corinthians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008), 263.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Sirach 37:28 and 1 Corinthians 6:12

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