1 Corinthians 6:11Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified" (1 Cor 6:11). With these words he reproaches them strongly. Consider, he says, from what evils God delivered you, and what proof of His love for mankind He showed you. He did not limit His mercy to deliverance from evils alone, but extended His benefaction still further. He made you pure. Was that all? No. He also sanctified you. And that was not all. He also justified you. To be freed from sins is already a great gift. Yet He enriched you with countless blessings, and this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, not in the name of this or that man, and by the Spirit of our God.

Consider, he says, from what evils God freed you and what blessings He bestowed upon you. You too were subject to all the vices listed above, but He cleansed you from them. He not only cleansed you, but also sanctified you. How? By justifying you. First He washed you. Then, by justifying you, He sanctified you, not in the name of this or that teacher, but in the name of Christ and by the Holy Spirit. That is, the Trinity bestowed these blessings on you. For when he says that God sanctified you in the name of Christ and by the Holy Spirit, he expresses nothing other than the Trinity.

Paul says that they changed for the better. This does not mean that they were altogether delivered from sin, which is impossible in this life, but that they ceased to submit to the desire of sin, which is possible in an honorable life.

And such some of you once were. But you were washed, sanctified, and justified. Therefore let this not be renewed in you again.

All these gifts of purity are known as received at baptism, which is the foundation of evangelical faith. In it the believer is washed from all sins, justified in the name of God, and adopted through the Holy Spirit of our God. Thus the Apostle reminds the Corinthians how much grace, and what kind, those who follow the true tradition have received. Later they deprived themselves of this grace, turning away in their thoughts from the rule of baptism at the prompting of false teachers. Paul seeks to call such Corinthians back to their original way of thinking, so that they may regain what they once received.

The Apostle clearly showed the equality of the Son and the Spirit, and added mention of God and the Father. For by the invocation of the Holy Trinity the nature of water is sanctified, and forgiveness of sins is given. Then he again continues the discourse about fornication and says: Verse 12. "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial. All things are lawful for me, but I shall not be mastered by anything."

"But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified." Washing is in Baptism. Sanctification is in the abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon believers in Chrismation and the other Mysteries. Here sanctification is understood as separation from other people and the reception of grace-filled powers for holiness. Justification is understood in the sense of final salvation, and therefore the Apostle places it after holiness. In another place holiness comes after justification (Rom 6:22).

Having listed these and other similar sins, which commonly serve as the source of mutual wrongs and insults and then lead to lawsuits, the Apostle sets before the Corinthians the pure Christian ideal. He also shows how inconsistent with this ideal are all the vices listed above, in which some of them had wallowed while still pagans. "And such were some of you," he says, "but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

As he begins to rebuke certain particular sins of pleasing the flesh, consisting in excess and in violation of God's established law concerning marriage, the Apostle sets boundaries for the possible satisfaction of natural impulses.

On the one hand he says, "I will not be brought under the power of anything." On the other, he indicates the higher goal: spiritual and moral benefit.

The Apostle speaks as though saying: "Use everything. But use it within the limits of benefit. Since we are not only body, but also soul, we must add: within the limits of benefit for the soul.

If we take into account the order of life in grace, then only what is essentially necessary will remain by itself. Everything else will be unprofitable" (Theophan).

Some were such, but now surely neither they nor the others are such. If they were still such now, the Apostle would not have spared them or begun to cover them.

St. Chrysostom also says that "the Apostle uttered the above-mentioned threat not because he knew all these sins among the Corinthians, but to make everyone watchful and cautious."

To sustain watchfulness over themselves, he now adds to the threats a reminder of the spiritual blessings they received when they entered the bosom of the Church.

It is as though he says to them: "Consider from what evils God delivered you, and what proof of His love for mankind He showed you. He did not limit His mercy to deliverance from evils alone.