Does The Vice List In 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 Describe Believers Or Unbelievers?

By René A. López

[René A. López is Pastor, Iglesia Biblica Nuestra Fe, Dallas, Texas.]

In 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 Paul wrote, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”[1]

Scholars have presented a number of interpretations of this passage. These views include the following: (a) believers who commit these sins will lose their salvation, (b) people who commit these sins show they were not saved in the first place, (c) believers who commit these sins lose fellowship with the Lord, (d) believers who commit these sins will miss the millennial kingdom, though they will have eternal life, and (e) believers who commit these sins will lose rewards in heaven. This article examines these views and then presents a sixth view.

View One: Loss Of Salvation

In this interpretation believers will lose their salvation if they commit the sins mentioned in these two verses.[2] This view goes back to John Wesley.[3] Since the phrase “inherit the kingdom of God” can be equivalent to “enter into eternal life” (Matt. 19:16; Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18; John 3:3, 5), some writers argue that unless believers stop practicing these sins they will lose their salvation.[4] Fee connects the verb ἀδικεῖτε (“do wrong”) in verse 8, which applies to believers, with those described by the word ἄδικοι (“unrighteous”) in verse 9.[5] “The warning is real; the wicked will not inherit the kingdom.. .. By persisting in the same behavior as those already destined for judgment they are placing themselves in the very real danger of the same judgment.”[6] Thus Paul gave a stern warning that is a powerful motivation for moral living.

Several weaknesses may be noted in this view. First, it does not harmonize with passages that teach unconditional inheritance or eternal security of the believer based on faith alone (John 10:28–29; Rom. 3:21–4:25; 8:17a, 30–39; Eph. 1:13–14; 4:30). Second, it does not account for the contrast between the Christians in 1 Corinthians 6:11 and the unrighteous unbelievers in verses 1 and 9–10. Third, this view does not include the possibility of some Christians leading carnal lives, as stated in 3:1–2.

View Two: Lack Of Salvation

Reformed theologians argue that believers cannot continuously behave like unbelievers and expect to enter the kingdom.[7] Persistence in sin proves that these individuals were never saved.[8] Since Reformed advocates believe in eternal security, they present an alternative solution to the problem of habitual sin by saying that such behavior proves that the individual’s profession of faith is false.[9] Reformed theologians say “the unrighteous” unbelievers in verse 1 are the same as those in verses 6 and 9–10.

This view has several weaknesses. First, it assumes believers cannot commit these sins for a prolonged period of time. And yet 5:9–12 gives an almost identical list without stating its duration of practice. Second, since Paul addressed believers (1:2–10) who were immature (3:1–2), causing church divisions (1:11–13; 3:3–9; 11:18), and behaving immorally, the Reformed view diminishes the force of Paul’s exhortation to “flee sexual immorality” (6:18). Third, the verb ἀδικεῖτε (“do wrong”) in verse 8 clearly has believers as its subject. And since the substantive ἄδικοι (“wrongdoers”) in verse 9 is of the same word group, some argue that it is more reasonable to see these words referring to believers rather than unbelievers.[10] Fourth, this view becomes virtually impossible to harmonize with a Christian’s assurance of salvation, as taught in 1 John 5:13. Fifth, no hint appears in the text that Paul addressed unbelievers who merely profess to be saved.

View Three: Loss Of Fellowship

Kendall interprets this passage as a warning to unrighteous Christians whose behavior prevents them from having fellowship with God.[11] Though Kendall says that “the “kingdom of God” occasionally means salvation (John 3:3, 5; Col. 1:13), he says the kingdom can also mean God’s sovereign rule over man (Luke 11:20), the eschatological millennial kingdom (2 Tim. 4:1), or God’s immediate presence in fellowship with believers. Kendall suggests that this fourth sense was Paul’s meaning in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10, in which the apostle warned believers that behaving immorally leads to broken fellowship with God.

However, when Paul used the words “inherit the kingdom of God” elsewhere (1 Cor. 15:50; Gal. 5:21) and a variation of them (Eph. 5:5), he referred to an eschatological inheritance, as seen by the future tense οὐ κληρονομήσουσιν (1 Cor. 6:9). The future tense in Matthew 5:5 also refers to a yet-to-come inheritance, not a present loss of fellowship (cf. 5:3, 10; 7:21). This view would reduce Paul’s warning to something like, “Don’t you know that wrongdoers are out of fellowship with God?” Although this is true, it does not seem to be the issue after 1 Corinthians 6:2–4 has just contrasted the future with “matters of this life.”

View Four: Missing The Kingdom

In this view Paul was addressing disobedient believers (1 Cor. 1:11–12; 3:1–9; 4:18; 5:1–5; 6:1–20; 11:18) who will miss entering the kingdom but will remain eternally saved.[12] Advocates of this view correctly maintain that eternal life is a free gift that comes by faith alone. But they add that entrance into the millennium is based on having lived a life of obedience. Lang concludes, “The warning has no possible application to one who is not a child of God.”[13] In this view entrance into the kingdom and having eternal life are not identical concepts.[14] Thus, since it is impossible for a believer to lose his or her salvation, Paul’s warning applies to Christians.[15] Advocates of this view also connect the verb ἀδικεῖτε (“do wrong”) in verse 8 with the word ἄδικοι (“wrongdoers”) in verse 9. If carnal, disobedient believers will not be on the earth during the millennium, where will they be? Strangely, advocates of this view say that carnal believers will be banished to hades “in the center of the earth.”[16] Then “after the millennium, the banished Christians will be restored to endless bliss and the unbelievers will perish forever in the Lake of Fire.”[17]

However, the claim that believers can miss the kingdom contradicts various passages. First Corinthians 15:50–54 does not exclude any believers in the church age from being in the millennium, and 1 Thessalonians 5:5–10 does not distinguish immoral believers who will miss the kingdom. Also it is remarkably strange—and unbiblical—to think that some believers will be in hades along with unbelievers for one thousand years!

View Five: Loss Of Rewards

In this view Paul was addressing the loss of rewards in the millennium and the privilege of ruling with Christ in that future kingdom.[18] In this view “to inherit” the kingdom does not mean to “enter” it; instead it carries the idea of ownership.[19] Dillow says several Old Testament and New Testament passages on inheritance point to ownership and reigning based on obedience (e.g., Deut. 16:20; Isa. 57:13; Jer. 8:10; Rom. 8:17).[20] Though all believers will be in the millennial kingdom because of their faith in Christ (Rom. 8:17; Gal. 4:1–7), some believers will not receive rewards because of their disobedience. Inheritance in the Old Testament was equated with being in the land of Canaan (Deut. 15:4; 19:14; 25:19; 26:1). Though God gave Canaan to Israel (Gen. 15:7–18; Lev. 20:24), the Israelites’ failure to obey the Lord resulted in forfeiting that inheritance (cf. Gen. 17:14; Num. 14:24; Deut. 11:13–24; 16:20; 19:8–9; Josh. 1:6–7; 14:8–9).[21] However, not entering Canaan is not the same as not entering heaven; Moses who disobeyed (Deut. 4:21–22) was excluded from inheriting Canaan, but he was eternally saved (Matt. 17:3).

Hodges and Dillow say that ἀδικεῖτε (“do wrong”) in 1 Corinthians 6:8 and ἄδικοι (“wrongdoers”) in verse 9 both describe believers.[22] Dillow says that since the word ἄδικοι (“wrongdoers”) lacks the Greek article, this points to the character of those whose behavior is mentioned in verse 8.[23] Also proponents of this view argue that if these verses are saying that unbelievers or professing believers will not enter the kingdom, that provides no motivation for believers to lead godly lives. On the other hand the possibility of losing rewards, it is argued, provides a strong motivation.[24]

While some aspects of this view are correct, it is not without problems. First, though the distinctions between unconditional and conditional inheritance are correct, the question here is how the phrase “inherit the kingdom of God” was understood in the first century, therefore influencing the way Paul used it. Second, even though ἀδικεῖτε (v. 8) may be the nearest antecedent of ἄδικοι (v. 9), it does not prove that verse 8 refers to the same class of people described by the vice list. Third, the fact that ἄδικοι does not have an article does not help identify a certain class of people.

Proposed View: Exhortation To Believers To Live Like Saints

In this view Paul listed vices in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 that describe unbelievers in order to exhort believers to live godly lives. Five arguments support this view.

The Context Which Addresses Christians

At the opening of the letter Paul clearly addressed Christians (1:2–9), and he used the word “brother” nine times throughout the book in referring to his readers (1:1; 5:11; 6:6 [twice]; 7:12, 15; 8:11, 13; 16:12).

In 5:11 the New American Standard Bible refers to an immoral Christian as a “so-called brother.” This translation implies that he was not a genuine believer but only claimed to be.[25] While this view is possible, it is contextually indefensible. In 5:1 this person is contrasted with Gentiles and with those in the world (v. 12) and outside the church (vv. 9–10, 12–13). Furthermore nowhere else does the Greek verb ὀνομάζω (“named” or “called”) carry a sense of doubt.[26] Hence Paul distinguished the immoral believer from unbelievers, though they were alike in their behavior.[27]

In chapter 5 Paul addressed a sexually immoral believer in the church (vv. 1–2) who was to be judged by those in the church (vv. 3–4, 12) and excommunicated (v. 5). Open rebellion in the church destroys the testimony of the church before the world (vv. 6–8). However, Paul corrected a misunderstanding arising from a previous letter in which he commanded withdrawal from immoral people. He did not mean that believers were to have no contact with people outside the church (vv. 9–10). Instead the believers in the Corinthian church were not to fellowship with immoral Christians (v. 11). Ironically Christians in the future will judge the world, including angels (6:2–3). Yet they were going to the “least esteemed by the church” (i.e., unbelievers) to be judged by them (v. 4). Christians were again contrasted to “unbelievers” in verse 6 and in verses 9–11. Thus immoral believers were the focus of Paul’s concern, for they were wrong in going to court before immoral unbelievers to settle their issues.

The Relationship Between ἀδικέω And ἄδικος

᾿Αδικεῖτε (“do wrong”) in verse 8 clearly applies to believers, for Paul wrote, “You yourselves do wrong and defraud.” The similar word ἄδικοι (“wrongdoers”) in verse 9 expresses a link in behavior, not identity. In 5:1, 10–11 and 6:6–8 Paul referred to believers who acted like unbelievers. Thus it is not surprising that Paul compared believers in 6:8 with the conduct of unbelievers in verses 9–10.

The noun ἄδικοι in verse 9 has no article, and in verse 1 the word is used with an article. But that does not necessarily mean that Paul spoke of two different groups in the two verses.[28] Other details in the context must be examined for that to be established. In fact when a substantive nominative case follows ὅτι (as in v. 9, οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ἄδικοι), it never appears with an article in its 113 occurrences in the New Testament.[29] Hence to argue on the absence of the article that the group in verse 9 differs from the group in verse 1 is incorrect. The absence of the article in verse 9 simply stresses the character of the people Paul called “unrighteous.”[30] Paul’s words in verse 11, “And such were some of you,” suggest that the people in verses 9–10 were unbelievers. Clearly, though unfortunately, believers sometimes do behave like wrongdoers (ἀδικίας; cf. Rom. 6:13; 2 Tim. 2:19), people who in other passages are said to be unbelievers (Rom. 1:18, 29–31; 2:8; 2 Thess. 2:10–12; 2 Pet. 2:13–15). Though believers were behaving like unbelievers,[31] this was uncharacteristic of their position in Christ.[32]

The Meaning Of “Inherit The Kingdom Of God”

When Paul wrote of inheriting the kingdom,[33] did he mean earning rewards in it or merely entering it, or both? In the Scriptures the idea of inheritance includes the receiving of spiritual promises and blessings from God.[34] Inheritance in the Old Testament refers almost exclusively to the land of Canaan that Israel received freely from God but which Israel was to possess with God’s help by faith and obedience.[35] Hence the view that Romans 8:17 emphasizes dual inheritance (received freely but also received by obedient suffering) is not out of line.[36]

Because Israel failed to obey the Lord, He disinherited them temporarily from the land (Deut. 28) during the Exile. In the future only a righteous remnant will inherit the land (Isa. 49:8; 60:21; Ezek. 45:1; 47:13–14) and the world (Ps. 2:8; Isa. 54:3; Dan. 7:14). By the classical Greek period the idea of unconditional inheritance dominates the literature.[37]

In intertestamental literature the emphasis shifted from inheriting the land to inheriting eternal life in the world to come for the righteous and eternal destruction for the wicked.[38] Hence Brown says, “Significantly, there are no degrees or levels of inheritance among the righteous. The inheritance of the wicked is also singularly described as a place of torment and destruction (2 Enoch. 10:1–6).”[39] “The focus of the promised inheritance was less on national prominence in the present and more on personal participation in the future life with God.. .. A notable dichotomy existed between those who inherited the future world (the redeemed) and those who would not (the condemned).”[40]

Paul never considered the land an end in itself as the believer’s inheritance, which is why he never mentioned Canaan. This of course is a surprising omission considering the land’s importance in Jewish theology. Yet he did not ignore it; he simply amplified it.[41] Perhaps his references to inheriting the kingdom recall Daniel 7:22, 27, which refer to judgment being given to the saints.

As noted earlier, every time Paul used the verb κληρονομέω (except Gal. 4:30 where he quoted the Old Testament), the object is the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9–10; 15:50;[42] Gal. 5:21; and a variation in Eph. 5:5). Thus the kingdom became the content of the inheritance. The inheritance he referred to is having a position in the world to come,[43] as expressed by the phrase “inherit eternal life.”[44] In intertestamental Jewish literature the verb κληρονομέω became a technical term used for sharing in (i.e., entering) the future kingdom.[45] Paul’s use of the phrase “inherit the kingdom of God” means the same thing.

In rabbinic literature having an inheritance in the world to come was for the redeemed (e.g., m. Sanh. 10:1–6).[46] Rabbinic teaching adopted a salvation-by-works view through ritual observance[47] and personal character[48] as the only means of sharing in the world to come.[49] This concept of inheritance also involved the receiving of rewards based on good works.[50] Thus as Hester notes, “Paul was not coining a new expression when he spoke of ‘inheriting the Kingdom.’ The phrase and concept have roots deep in Judaism.”[51]

This concept of inheriting a future life, which developed in the intertestamental period, was continued through the New Testament[52] and in rabbinic literature. Hence inheriting the kingdom and entering the kingdom are used synonymously in the Gospels (cf. Matt. 19:16; Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18).[53] However, the concept of inheriting the kingdom involved not only entering the kingdom but also enjoying rewards in it. For one would never view entering the kingdom apart from the benefits to be enjoyed in it.[54]

In contrast to those who will inherit the kingdom Paul listed the characteristics of those who would not inherit it (1 Cor. 6:9–10; cf. Pirke Abot 3:16).[55] These vice lists in Jewish literature describe the sins that characterize unbelievers,56 and believers are encouraged to avoid practicing them.57 New Testament writers also used similar lists in describing unbelievers.[58] These lists seem to belong to a stock list of ethical tradition[59] used to exhort believers to avoid such practices.[60] Thus when Paul wrote, “These shall not inherit the kingdom of God,” he was expressing a common Jewish concept in wisdom literature,[61] which points out those who will be excluded from the future kingdom.[62]

Contrasting Elements

Entire context. In 1 Corinthians Paul often contrasted the difference between believers and unbelievers. In 5:1 he referred to a believer who was behaving in a way not even “named among the Gentiles.” So he encouraged believers “not to keep company with sexually immoral” believers (vv. 9, 11) in contrast to unbelievers (v. 10). This pattern of contrasts continues in 6:1–11. The saints (ἅγιοι) were taking church matters to legal courts before the unrighteous (ἄδικοι; v. 1). In verse 6 Paul contrasted Christians with “unbelievers,” and in verse 8 he accused the believers of doing wrong (ἀδικέω) to other believers. Thus it is natural to view the vice list in verses 9–10 as referring to unbelievers.

Contrast between verses 9–10 and verse 11. Since Paul wrote, “And such were [ἦτε] some of you” (v. 11), not “such are some of you,” the vice list in verses 9–10 does not typify believers.[63] If believers were practicing sins like those on the vice list (5:1, 9, 11–12; 6:8), why did he not say believers “are” like the unrighteous? The only logical conclusion is that Paul was saying that these sins, which were typical of many unbelievers, should never characterize believers because of their position as saints (v. 11).[64]

Other elements in verse 11 validate this conclusion. Three times Paul used the strong contrastive conjunction in Greek ἀλλὰ (“but”). And he used three verbs in the passive tense—ἀπελούσασθε (“washed”),[65] ἡγιάσθητε (“sanctified”), and ἐδικαιώθητε (“justified”)—to emphasize a believer’s saved position. This strong contrast between the readers’ past and present positions should lead them to change their moral behavior.[66] Believers should never be characterized by the behavior of unbelievers, since they are no longer under sin’s dominion (Rom. 6:1–23; 8:1–13). Of course, regrettably, believers sometimes do behave like unbelievers.[67] That is the crux of Paul’s exhortation: to get believers to live in accord with who they are positionally in Christ.

Exhortation Instead Of Warning

As discussed earlier, several commentators suggest that Paul’s point in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 could be summarized in this way: “You are doing wrong. Wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God. Therefore you will not inherit the kingdom.” However, as is being proposed here, Paul was giving an exhortation, not a warning. It is as if he were writing, “You are doing wrong. Wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God. But you are not wrongdoers (positionally).”[68]

Paul’s words were a rhetorical device[69] designed to exhort his readers to recall something previously known. The words “Do you not know” (v. 9) would prompt them to remember not to behave like those who have no share in the kingdom.[70] Before their conversion they were wrongdoers, but now they were “washed, sanctified, and justified.” Hodges and others recognize the strength of this appeal.[71] Yet, as noted earlier, Hodges believes Paul was warning believers of a possible loss of rewards.[72] However, this is impossible to harmonize with the strong contrast between believers in verse 11 and the wrongdoers in verses 9–10. Also, as Binion observes, ἄδικοι in verse 9 and ἀπίστων (“unbelievers”) in verse 6 are used synonymously. “Both terms are used to describe those outside the church to whom the believers were taking their disputes (6:1, 6, 9).”[73] This exhortation to lead godly lives is in keeping with Paul’s typical way of arguing from positional truth to practical living, exhorting believers to live righteously (cf. Rom. 3:21–4:25 with 6:1–8:39 and 12:1–15:13; cf. Gal. 2:1–4:7 with 4:8–6:15; cf. Eph. 1:1–3:21 with 4:1–6:20; cf. Col. 1:3–2:23 with 3:1–4:5). And in Galatians and Ephesians Paul used similar vice lists to exhort Christians to live righteously (Gal. 5:19, 24–25; Eph. 5:1–2, 5–7).[74]

Conclusion

First Corinthians 6:9–10 has baffled Bible students over the years because the text leaves one wondering whether works play a role in determining a Christian’s destiny. Hence this passage seemingly is difficult to harmonize with passages that teach that salvation is solely by grace apart from works (Rom. 3:21–4:5; 11:6; Eph. 2:8–9).

The interpretation that best explains the details of 1 Corinthians is the view that Paul was addressing immature Christians in the letter (1:2–3:9) and in the immediate context (5:1–6:1-8, 11). In 6:8 he addressed believers with the word ἀδικεῖτε (“you are doing wrong”) and in verse 9 he used the word ἄδικοι (“wrongdoers”) of unbelievers, thereby establishing a link in behavior between the two groups (Christians and non-Christians), but this does not mean the groups were identical. Paul was addressing believers who were behaving like unbelievers.

Vices similar to those in verses 9–10 are also listed in Jewish and wisdom literature. Contrasting elements in chapter 6 support the view that the people described by the vice list were unbelievers. In verse 1 Paul referred to the saints taking church matters to legal courts before the unrighteous. Then in verse 6 Paul referred to the same problem and contrasted believers and unbelievers. Hence it seems normal to interpret the vice list in verses 9–10 as referring to unbelievers in contrast to believers in verse 11. If believers are the referent in the vice list in verses 9–10, then the contrast with those in verse 11 makes no sense.

Since some Corinthian believers were behaving like unbelievers, Paul exhorted them to live in the light of their position in Christ, and not how they were before they knew Him. This serves as a strong motivator for believers to lead Christlike lives.

Notes

1. Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.
2. Reginald H. Fuller, “An Exegetical Paper: 1 Corinthians 6:1–11, ” Ex Auditu 2 (1986): 102; Archibald Robertson and Alfred Plummer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, 2nd ed., International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: Clark, 1911), 118; Brian S. Rosner, “The Origin and Meaning of 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 in Context,” Biblische Zeitschrift 40 (1996): 253; and Karl P. Donfried, “Justification and the Last Judgment in Paul,” Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 67 (1976): 102.
3. John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (Nashville: Publishing House of the M.E. Church, South, 1894), 419.
4. I. Howard Marshall, Kept by the Power of God (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1969), 112; Robert L Shank, Life in the Son: A Study of the Doctrine of Perseverance (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1960), 145.
5. Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 242. See also Rosner, “The Origin and Meaning of 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 in Context,” 253.
6. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, 242.
7. Anthony C. Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 438–39; Charles Hodge, 1 Corinthians, Crossway Classic Commentaries (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1995), 103–4; and William F. Orr and James Arthur Walter, I Corinthians: A New Translation, Anchor Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1976), 197.
8. James D. Hester, Paul’s Concept of Inheritance: A Contribution to the Understanding of Heilsgeschichte (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1968), 86; and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993), 187, 189.
9. Stephen H. Travis, “Judgment,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Donald G. Reid (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993), 517. J. M. Gundry-Volf says the vice list has a secondary use of indicating false profession (“Apostasy, Falling Away, Perseverance,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, 42).
10. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, 242.
11. R. T. Kendall, Once Saved, Always Saved (Chicago: Moody, 1983), 132.
12. J. D. Faust, The Rod: Will God Spare It? An Exhaustive Study of Temporary Punishment for Unfaithful Christians at the Judgment Seat and during the Millennial Kingdom (Hayesville, NC: Schoettle, 2002), 72.
13. G. H. Lang, Firstborn Sons, Their Rights and Risks: An Inquiry as to the Privileges and Perils of Members of the Church of God (Miami Springs, FL: Conley & Schoettle, 1984), 110 (italics his).
14. Robert Govett, Entrance into the Kingdom: Or Reward according to Works (Miami Springs, FL: Conley & Schoettle, 1978), 1–9.
15. Faust, The Rod: Will God Spare It? 77.
16. Ibid., 113.
17. Ibid.
18. Joseph C. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings: A Study of Eternal Security and the Final Significance of Man (Miami Springs, FL: Schoettle, 1992), 46; and Theodore P. Ayre, Win Your Race, Gain the Prize: Rewards and Inheritance after Jesus Returns (Bellaire, TX: Olive, 2000), 48.
19. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, 45.
20. Ibid., 47–59.
21. See also Rosner, “The Origin and Meaning of 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 in Context,” 252.
22. Zane C. Hodges, The Gospel under Siege: Faith and Works in Tension (Dallas: Redención Viva, 1981), 133; and Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, 70–72.
23. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, 71.
24. Zane C. Hodges, Grace in Eclipse: A Study on Eternal Rewards (Dallas: Redención Viva, 1985), 77.
25. See George Gillanders Findlay, “St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians,” in The Expositor’s Greek New Testament, ed. W. Robertson Nicoll (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967), 2:813.
26. See Mark 3:14; Acts 19:13; Romans 15:20; Ephesians 3:15; 5:3; and 2 Timothy 2:19.
27. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, 321. See also John H. Elliott, “No Kingdom of God for Softies? or, What Was Paul Really Saying? 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 in Context,” Biblical Theology Bulletin 34 (spring 2004): 21.
28. Daniel B. Wallace notes that articles usually but “not always” appear with substantives (Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996], 294).
29. See Accordance 6.4 search.
30. Lloyd A. Lewis Jr., “The Law Courts in Corinth: An Experiment in the Power of Baptism,” Anglican Theological Review Supplement Series 11 (March 1990): 89. Elliott says verses 9–10 list characteristics of the unrighteous in verse 1 (“No Kingdom of God for Softies?” 22).
31. “The litigators [Christians] have become as the adikoi and the apistoi” (Alan C. Mitchell, “Rich and Poor in the Courts of Corinth: Litigiousness and Status in 1 Corinthians 6:1–11, ” New Testament Studies 39 [October 1993]: 567).
32. John F. MacArthur Jr. writes that the sins of the “flesh can become dominant in the disobedient Christian, so that he may take on the appearance of an unbeliever” (1 Corinthians [Chicago: Moody, 1984], 141). See also Werner Foerster, “κληρονόμος,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel, trans. and ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), 782–85.
33. The word κληρονομέω (“inherit”) basically means to “acquire, obtain, come into possession of” something (Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., rev. Frederick W. Danker [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000]), 547).
34. William E. Brown, “Inheritance,” in Baker Theological Dictionary of the Bible, ed. Walter A. Elwell (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 374. Jewish inheritance customs were linked to bloodlines, but Greek and Roman laws also provided for transference of property through an adoptive heir (idem, “The New Testament Concept of the Believer’s Inheritance” [Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1984], 8–25).
35. A number of writers have noted the distinction between a “passive” inheritance based solely on faith and an “active” inheritance based on obedience (e.g., John E. Hartley, “יָרַשׁ,” in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke (Chicago: Moody, 1980), 1:410; J. Herrmann, “κληρονόμος,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 3:770, 772–73; and Hester, Paul’s Concept of Inheritance, 75–76.
36. A son’s behavior influenced his future inheritance (Dale B. Martin, “ArsenokoitÎs and Malakos: Meanings and Consequences,” in Biblical Ethics and Homosexuality, ed. Robert L. Brawley [Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1996], 136. Several passages also speak of the believer’s inheritance as a merited possession with rewards given in return for godly living (Matt. 5:3, 5, 7, 9, 11–12; Acts 20:32; Col. 3:24; Heb. 6:12; 12:17). See also Brown, “The New Testament Concept of the Believer’s Inheritance,” 66; and René A. Lopez, Romans Unlocked: Power to Deliver (Springfield, MO: 21st Century, 2005), 173–75.
37. Foerster, “κληρονόμος,” 768. Yet Polybius wrote that glory and fame could be “inherited” as a result of one’s behavior (Histories 15.22.3; 18.55.8; cf. Demosthenes, Oracles 21.20).
38. Psalms of Solomon 14:10; 1 Enoch 40:9; 2 Enoch 9:1; 10:4–6; 2 Esdras 7:7–9, 96; Sibylline Oracles 46–49; and 2 Baruch 44:13; see also Hester, Paul’s Concept of Inheritance, 79. The whole earth was sometimes viewed as Israel’s inheritance (Jubilees 17:3; 22:14; 32:19; 1 Enoch 5:7). One may therefore see how the expression to “inherit the earth” was meaningful to the Jews (Paul Volz, Die Eschatologie der Jüdischen Gemeinde im Neutestamentlichen Zeitalter [Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1934], 411; and Hester, Paul’s Concept of Inheritance, 32). Brown notes that the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha refer to inheritance in much the same way as the Old Testament (Sirach 6:1; Jubilees 33:20; Judith 4:12; 8:22; 9:12; 13:5; Tobit 4:12; 1 Macc. 2:56; 6:24; 15:33; 2 Macc. 2:17), but “beyond these general references, the inheritance is described as an assured possession of the righteous” (Brown, “The New Testament Concept of the Believer’s Inheritance,” 29–30). See also Foerster, “κληρονόμος,” 780–81.
39. Brown, “The New Testament Concept of the Believer’s Inheritance,” 32.
40. Brown, “Inheritance,” 374. The Dead Sea Scrolls add very little to the understanding of the concept of inheritance in the intertestamental period, and when the terms appear they express concepts similar to those of the Old Testament (William H. Brownlee, “The Casting of Lots at Qumran and in the Book of Acts,” Novum Testamentum 4 [1960]: 247).
41. Hester, Paul’s Concept of Inheritance, 77–80. Yet Hester overstates the case that geographical Palestine was unimportant, because between the Testaments the land was still considered Israel’s inheritance (Tobit 4:2; Jubilees 49:19; Sirach 44:11).
42. First Corinthians 15:50 is the only other place in that letter where Paul used the phrase “inherit the kingdom of God,” and there he wrote that “flesh and blood cannot inherit” it. This refers to the transformation of church saints at the rapture (vv. 51–54; cf. 1 Thess. 4:13–18). Thus it is impossible for church saints to enter the millennial kingdom in earthly bodies since they will all be raptured and changed “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52; cf. 1 Thess. 5:10) seven years before Christ’s millennium begins. However, tribulation saints who will not have been martyred will enter the millennium in natural bodies (see Matt. 25:31–46). Thus Paul’s statement that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” refers to church-age believers, not all believers in every dispensation.
43. George F. Moore, Judaism in the First Centuries of the Christian Era: The Age of Tannaim, vol. 3 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1927), 94; Brown, “The New Testament Concept of the Believer’s Inheritance,” 30–31; and R. H. Charles, Religious Development between the Old and New Testament (London: William and Norgate, 1914), 98–99.
44. Foerster discusses how the New Testament uses the phrase “inherit eternal life” as a synonym of “inherit the kingdom of God” (Foerster, “κληρονόμος,” 782).
45. Joachin Jeremias, Jesus’ Promise to the Nation, trans. S. H. Hooke (Naperville, IL: A. R. Allenson, 1958), 68.
46. Brown, “The New Testament Concept of the Believer’s Inheritance,” 31–32, 34–40. See also Arthur Mamorstein, Studies in Jewish Law (London: Oxford University Press, 1952).
47. Song of Solomon Rabbah 2:5, 3; Exodus Rabbah 30:24; b. Niddah 166; b. Berakot 40b.
48. Pe’a 1:1; b. Pesaḥim 8a; b. Sanhedrin 88a; Numbers Rabbah 19:1.
49. Brown, “The New Testament Concept of the Believer’s Inheritance,” 34–40.
50. m. ‘Uqṣin 3:12; m. ’Abot 5:19.
51. Hester, Paul’s Concept of Inheritance, 79. See also Robertson and Plummer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, 576. The same idea of inheritance in rabbinic literature appears in patristic writings “where the righteous inherit the Kingdom of God or eternal life and the wicked are refused any future inheritance” (Brown, “The New Testament Concept of the Believer’s Inheritance,” 47).
52. J. Eichler, “Inheritance,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Colin Brown (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), 2:300.
53. “Hence, ‘eternal life’ radically means participation in the theocracy; and it is substantially the same thing whether entrance into the theocracy or into eternal life is spoken of” (Gustaf Dalman, The Words of Jesus [Edinburgh: Clark, 1909], 162).
54. Eichler notes that the rabbis viewed both ideas of inheritance in a similar way (“Inheritance,” 300, 303). And R. C. H. Lenski states that both ideas are involved in the inheritance (The Interpretation of St. Paul’s First and Second Epistles to the Corinthians [Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1963], 68).
55. Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerback, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch (Munich: C. H. Beck, 1961), 4.2:1183–92; Elliott, “No Kingdom of God for Softies?” 22; and Peter S. Zaas, “Catalogues and Context: 1 Corinthians 5 and 6, ” New Testament Studies 34 (1988): 626–27.
56. Second Enoch 10:4–6 mentions a similar vice list and concludes that people who practice these vices will be with the wicked forever. See also 2 Enoch 34:1–2; 2 Baruch 73:1–4; 1QS 4:9–15; 10:21–23; Testament of Reuben 3:3–6; Testament of Dan 1:6; 2:4; Testament of Simeon 3:1; Testament of Judah 16:1; Testament of Moses 7:3–10; Philo, Sacrifices of Abel and Cain, 32; and Josephus, Against Apion 2:19–28.
57. Wisdom 14:25–31; Sirach 7:1–17; 1 Enoch 8:1–4. See also J. Duncan M. Derrett, “Judgment and 1 Corinthians 6, ” New Testament Studies 37 (1991): 33–34. M. B. Thompson says, “Catalogs of virtues and vices were a common device in the ancient world to delineate community values” (“Teaching/Paraenesis,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, 922).
58. Matthew 15:11–19; Mark 7:21–22; Romans 1:29–31; 1 Corinthians 5:10; 6:9–10; Galatians 5:19–21; Ephesians 5:3–5; 1 Timothy 1:9–10; 2 Timothy 3:1–9; Titus 3:3; and Revelation 21:8; 22:15.
59. Grant R. Osborne, “Hermeneutics/Interpreting Paul,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, 393; Hans Conzelmann, A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, trans. James W. Leitch, Hermenia (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1975), 106; and Herbert Braun, “πλανάω,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Friedrich, vol. 6 (1968), 244.
60. Romans 13:13; 1 Corinthians 5:11; 6:8; 2 Corinthians 12:20–21; Ephesians 4:25–31; 5:6–13; Colossians 3:5–9; 1 Timothy 6:4–5; Titus 3:9.
61. Paul’s use of the vice list “clearly reflects material often used in the homilies of Hellenistic Jewish synagogues as a means of exhorting a difference of status of lifestyle between Jews of the diaspora and pagan society around them.. .. Paul’s notion is drawn from Wisdom or Wisdom-type material that ignorance of God turns moral values upside down” (Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, 440). For an excellent discussion of the Greek or Jewish influence on vice lists see ibid., 440–53.
62. John G. Gager, “Functional Diversity in Paul’s Use of End-Time Language,” Journal of Biblical Literature 89 (1970): 333–34. See also Brown, “The New Testament Concept of the Believer’s Inheritance,” 154.
63. Lewis, “Law Courts in Corinth,” 96.
64. Ibid., 89. F. W. Grosheide writes, “How great was the change in their life! Paul recalls their former sins in order that they might see that they were reverting to their former life” (Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, New International Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1953], 141).
65. ᾿Απελούσασθε, middle in form, may be translated as a permissive middle, implying that the recipients consented or permitted the action to be done. Hence one may translate ἀπελούσασθε here: “You allowed yourselves to be washed” (Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 427).
66. Fritz Rienecker, A Lingusitic Key to the Greek New Testament, ed. Cleon L. Rogers (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), 402. “The threefold ‘But’ emphasizes strongly the contrast between their present state and their past, and the consequent demand which their changed moral condition makes upon them” (Robertson and Plummer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, 119).
67. Paul referred to the Corinthian believers as being “carnal” and behaving “like mere men” (1 Cor. 3:3). See David L. Tiede, “Will Idolaters, Sodomizers or Greedy Inherit the Kingdom of God: A Pastoral Exposition of 1 Cor 6:9–10, ” Word & World 10 (spring 1990): 154–55.
68. J. Eric Binion, “Paul’s Concept of Inheritance” (Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1987), 42. See also Charles R. Erdman, The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1983), 70.
69. This rhetorical device “serves as an exhortative slogan: ‘Do not err’ ” (David E. Garland, 1 Corinthians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003], 211). F. F. Bruce views this as an exhortation (1 and 2 Corinthians, New Century Bible [London: Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1971], 61). And Thompson sees this as a typical Hellenistic exhortation (“Teaching/Paraenesis,” 922). Paul’s distinction between believers and unbelievers was to “to motivate the Corinthians to reform their behavior so it will conform to their final destiny” (Gundry-Volf, “Apostasy, Falling Away, Perseverance,” 42).
70. “Do you not know” appears in Romans 6:3, 16; 7:1; 11:2; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 5:6; 6:2–3, 15–16, 19; 9:13, 24; 2 Corinthians 13:5; James 4:4, and “do not be deceived” is used in 1 Corinthians 15:33; Galatians 6:7; and James 1:16.
71. Zane C. Hodges, The Hungry Inherit: Winning the Wealth of the World to Come, 3rd ed. (Chicago: Moody, 1972; reprint, Dallas: Redención Viva, 1997), 131.
72. Hodges, The Gospel under Siege, 133. See also Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, 73.
73. Binion, Paul’s Concept of Inheritance,” 43–44.
74. “Their future role [in God’s kingdom] should have radically affected their practice in the present” (David K. Lowery, “1 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck [Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1983; reprint, Colorado Springs: Cook Communications Ministries, 1996], 516).