Chapter VI.
(Vers. 1.)
(Verse 1.) Does anyone among you dare to bring a case against another before the unjust, and not before the saints? Unjust here signifies two kinds: those who do not believe and those who interpret the laws frequently given by God to the world with flattery, attributing authority to these idols and therefore being unjust; and also because in the Church the law is more present, where the fear of the Lord of the law is respected, it is better to bring a case before the ministers of God: for they more readily pronounce a true judgment from the fear of God.
(Vers. 2.)
(Vers. 2.) Or, do you not know that the saints will judge this world? The Apostle says nothing in vain; he called it this world in order to show another; for even John the Apostle says (1 John 2:15): Do not love this world. And the Lord in the Gospel says: For God so loved the world, etc. (John 3:16). Therefore, this world is in error, not the higher one, to whose likeness it was made. Hence, man was placed in this world, made in the image of God, so that just as in the higher world all things come from one God, so in this world all might have their origin from one man. Hence it is that Moses, in Deuteronomy, says: 'When the Most High divided the nations, when He separated the sons of Adam, He appointed the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the gods.' (Deut. XXXII, 18). What clearer proof can there be that this world is an image of the higher one and that it has a definite cause for its origin? For the earthly Jerusalem is the inferior one, whereas the heavenly one is our mother, as the same Apostle declares. (Galat. IV, 26). The earthly paradise, where man was placed, received him in order to work there and to guard it, as the Lord commanded (Gen. II, 8). And that celestial [man], in whom the Apostle was caught up, heard secret words (II Cor. XII, 2). Therefore the holy ones will judge this world: because by the example of their faith the unbelief of the world will be condemned.
And if the world will be judged in us. Then this world will be judged in us, if the work of deceitful men is not found in us. Therefore, such people are unworthy, who even judge the smallest things? That is, certainly those who are going to judge the world itself are not unworthy, to judge those things which belong to the world.
(Vers. 3.)
(Verse 3.) Do you not know that we will judge angels? Furthermore, he adds, saying: we will judge angels, that is, the spiritual powers, which he elsewhere states dwell in heavenly places, the same kind of angels that will be judged by us, as the world will be judged.
(Vers. 4, 5.)
(Vers. 4, 5.) Therefore, if you have secular judgments, appoint those who are contemptible in the Church to judge them. Secular judgments are those pertaining to the body or physical matters. And because it should not be done this way, he added: I speak with reverence to you. Not because he mentioned a matter above, but which he did not specify; for there are also divine matters, as the same person says: Assistant to my business (Rom. XVI, 2). And perhaps the secular judgments, because he had prohibited them from being done among the wicked, although they heard that they should be heard or resolved by anyone in the Church; to their shame, he says: Appoint those who are contemptible in the Church to judge them. For there are both wood and earthen vessels in the Church; for by the former, he hath signified the indocile and inconsiderate among the brethren, that they might perchance choose ignorant men for their judges. This the Apostle learned by experience; for often had he found them lukewarm and unprudent in other matters.
So there is no wise person among you who can judge between his brothers? Therefore, says he, let wise brothers be chosen to judge, whose judgment the world may admire. For it is a great shame if among those who are said to have known God, there is not found one who can examine the matter according to the Gospel law. But he says that a brother should be chosen as a judge because their church leader had not yet been ordained.
(Vers. 6.)
(Verse 6) But the brother contends with the brother in judgment, and this among the unbelievers. It is clear that he signifies that the unbelievers either requested arbitrators, as is accustomed to be done, or a public judge, to whom it is said: Today is a day of religious observance, it cannot be called a court day.
(Vers. 7.)
(Verse 7.) Now indeed there is altogether a fault among you, because you have lawsuits with one another. To be a fault means that a brother disputes with a brother, when it ought to be done to work together, so that they may be in harmony, as if they were brothers; especially when our faith strives for peace. For even though a Christian ought not to dispute, yet if something serious and that cannot be disregarded occurs, let him bring the matter to the Church; so that he may not both incur a loss at present, and perhaps cause offense.
(Vers. 8.)
(Verse 8) Why do you not receive more injustice? Why do you not receive more fraud? But you commit injustice and defraud, and this against your brothers. Now you rebuke these, whose injustice generates strife; for not only are they guilty of the fraud committed, but they also share in the wrongdoing of those who, compelled by their injustice or fraud, ask the unfaithful to judge: and when they should not seek to pursue the fraud or injustices suffered, not only do they seek revenge, but they themselves commit fraud and injustice, so as to provide examples to be punished for their brothers. And what is believed to be done by someone who does not spare his own?
(Vers. 9, 10.)
(Verse 9, 10.) Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? By saying this, he shows that they are not unknowingly sinning, and therefore they must be punished more severely. For if they are merciless before God, how much more so the unjust? Do not be deceived; for neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. He did not mention these things as if they were unaware, among whom he spent a year and six months, teaching the Gospel of God; but he warned, in order to restore reverence for the Law to them, and the merit for the kingdom of heaven (Acts 18:11).
(Vers. 11.)
(Verse 11) And indeed you were this. In order that it would not seem to attribute this to everyone or certainly make everyone immune from these crimes if he remained silent (for he seemed to prohibit, not to reveal their crimes), therefore he says thus: And indeed you were this. And in order not to provoke them to anger, he added: But you have been cleansed; so that upon recognizing the crimes of the guilty, they might immediately breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing: But you have been cleansed. For some people are accustomed to feeling shame and correcting themselves when they hear good things said about them.
But you have been sanctified, but you have been justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God. All these benefits of purity are realized in baptism, which is the foundation of the gospel truth. For there, with all sins deposited, the believer is washed, and justified in the name of the Lord, and through the Spirit of our God, becomes an adopted son of God. Through this, it reminds them of the greatness and quality of the grace they have obtained through the true tradition. But afterwards, going against this rule of faith by the urging of evil teachers, they laid off these benefits. Whereby it acts to bring them back to the true and original opinion; so that they may recover what they had achieved.
(Vers. 12.)
(Verse 12.) Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. It seems that the Apostle said this because of the freedom of choice granted to him: Everything is permissible for me, etc.; so that it is allowed to commit fornication, but it is not expedient. But how can something that is prohibited be allowed? Or certainly, if everything is permissible, nothing can be called unlawful. But it is allowed, but not expedient. These things are whispered rather than asserted, either because of forgetfulness or negligence. For John the Baptist said to Herod: It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife (Mark 6:18). But John, perhaps devoid of human eloquence, was inspired in the womb; for if this is the case, he should have said: It is allowed for you, but it is not expedient. And likewise, the Lord said to the Canaanite woman: It is not allowed to take the bread of the children and give it to the dogs (Matthew 15:16). And again, the Lord said to the Jews: Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, how he entered into the house of God and took the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, etc. So, everything that is prohibited is not allowed; and everything that is not allowed is prohibited: but sometimes, with the help of a certain reason, it is allowed, but not advisable.
I am allowed to do anything, but I will not be controlled by anyone. Everything is allowed for him, namely, what was allowed for his co-apostles, what is contained in natural law, not Moses' law; because Moses prohibited many things because of the hardness of the unbelieving and stubborn people's hearts (Matthew 19:8). However, if you consider the context, the Apostle meant something else when he said this; he said this in anticipation of a specific situation he would later address, just as he did with the person who committed incest; for he presents and indicates what he would do later. Finally, immediately after briefly recommending the matters at hand to his superior, he returns to the higher sense. He said this for the following reason: because it was allowed for him to receive support from them. But since he knew that the false apostles sought an opportunity to receive, he did not want to receive from them, lest the strength of evangelical truth be weakened by the appearance of a greedy stomach. For if he were to receive from those whom he was accusing of such great vices, he would be submitting the authority of his teaching granted to him by the Lord; for one cannot be steadfastly accused by one from whom he receives, especially since he is ready to give in order to humble his superior. And thus he says: But I should be brought under the power of no one.
(Vers. 13.)
(Verse 13) Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, but God will destroy both one and the other. The destruction of the stomach is when the act of eating ceases: but the destruction of food will only occur when the act of giving birth ceases. However, the false apostles, who were not interested in religion but in profit, did not want to be loved by sinners.
But the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord. Now it returns to a higher meaning: And the Lord for the body. What is the Lord for the body? It implies that He will bestow immortality upon the resurrected body; for a body dedicated to God will be rewarded with the spiritual gift by the merit of its leader, that is, the soul.
(Vers. 14.)
(Verse 14.) But God both raised up the Lord and will raise us up by His power. This is the same meaning which He wanted to confirm by the example of the Lord's resurrection; for the power of God is Christ, by which He will raise us up and Himself the Lord. He said this because the Lord Himself raised up His body, just as He Himself said: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. But He said this about the temple of His body (John 2:19).
(Vers. 15.)
(Ver. 15.) Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Our bodies are the members of Christ, but in the new man, who was created according to God; for he is the head of the Church. Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Certainly not (Ephesians 4:24). He says, Certainly not, because the members clinging to a prostitute cease to be members of Christ.
(Vers. 16.)
(Verse 16.) Do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is said, the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her. Sexual immorality joins them together as one, just as in nature, two become one. As it is written, 'They shall become one flesh' (Genesis 2:24). It is clear that because the woman is from the man, both are one flesh.
(Vers. 17.)
(Verse 17.) But the one who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. For in those who do good, the Spirit of God is shared with God and with humans.
(Vers. 18.)
(Verse 18.) Flee from fornication. It rightly warns that fornication should be avoided, through which the sons of God become the sons of the devil. Every sin that a person commits is outside the body. For although other sins are generated through the body, they do not bind and subject the soul to the carnal desire, as the act of sexual intercourse does, which binds the soul to the body to such an extent that in that very moment it is permissible for a man to think or intend nothing else; for the plunge and absorption of lust and carnal desire subject the very mind itself, making it captive. Unde subditur:
But whoever commits fornication sins against his own body. It shows that this sin is very grave because from it the whole body decays; whereas in other sins, a portion is lost, not the whole. For the body is the whole of man and woman; because the woman is the portion of the man. For whoever commits another sin, sins outside himself; but the fornicator sins against his own flesh. Now, if someone were to end their life by hanging or kill themselves with a dagger, it would not seem that they are sinning against their own body, but against the soul to which they are doing harm. But fornication is a corporal sin, which affects both the body and the soul: for it is not without the desire of the flesh, since the flesh has its own motion, and the soul desires to sin in the flesh; although it can do nothing without the soul. Therefore, by sinning in the flesh, which is its source, it is said to sin in its own body; so that it may cease from fornication, as if sparing itself. Nevertheless, here Novatian, who commits fornication, seems to sin not in his own body, but in Christ's; for he pronounces it differently, so that he also says that he who commits fornication sins against the Holy Spirit: on account of the reason by which he is cut off from the Church. This cannot be explained by any reason; for the body of Christ is not one or two Christians, but all, while each one is a member. Therefore, someone who commits fornication sins against the body of Christ, even though he does not contaminate all. If it were so, as it seems to Novatian, all other sins would be outside God, and only fornication would be a sin against God. Even someone who goes to idols does not sin against God, nor does someone who denies it in persecution; for every sin that a person commits is outside the body of Christ, as it seems to them. But if someone wants to pronounce it differently, so as to deny that any sin outside of the body of Christ exists, they will be forced to say that every sin they commit is a sin against God and against the Holy Spirit, so that even a thief, a perjurer, and a liar are said to sin against the Holy Spirit. And how is that, which the Lord says: All sins and blasphemies will be forgiven men; but whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit shall never have forgiveness, neither in this world, nor in the world to come (Matt. XII, 31)? It is evident, except for other sins, that there is another sin called the sin against the Holy Spirit. Some also think that the reason a person is said to sin against their own body when they commit fornication is because they are a member of the Church. By contaminating themselves, they sin against the Church, of which they are a member. Therefore, it must be said to someone who is a member of the Church, when they commit fornication, that they are not sinning against themselves, but against the Church. Furthermore, the Apostle says that when someone commits fornication, by acting against their own portion, they sin against their own body.
(Vers. 19.)
(Verse 19.) Do you not know that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? As stated earlier (1 Corinthians 3:16), it is said that our bodies are the temple of God, and here it is called the temple of the Holy Spirit; because in its essence, the Spirit is what God is. He said this, therefore, that we may keep our bodies undefiled, so that the Holy Spirit may dwell in us.
(Vers. 20.)
(Verse 20.) And you are not your own; for you were bought with a great price. It is evident that one who is bought is not his own master, but of him who bought him, so that he may not do his own will, but the will of the one who bought him. And because we were bought at a dear price, we should serve our Lord more willingly; lest, being offended, He who redeemed us should deliver us back to death. For with what a dear price He bought us, that He should give His own blood for us.
Clarify and carry God in your body. This is to clarify and carry God in the body, so that we may walk according to His law; for through His law, He Himself is seen in us. To carry God, however, is to display the image of God in good actions.