Freedom, Discipline, Purity, and Covenant Identity
Paul writes to the Corinthians as a people who have already been redeemed. They are not outsiders. They confess Messiah, operate in spiritual gifts, and gather as an assembly. Yet Paul addresses them with urgency because redemption does not cancel covenant responsibility.
The first major misunderstandings Paul confronts revolve around freedom, tolerance of sin, and identity. When these are misunderstood, everything else in the assembly collapses.
This phrase did not originate with Paul. It is a slogan the Corinthians were repeating to justify behavior. Their logic was essentially this:
Messiah has redeemed us
Sin is no longer counted against us
Therefore, what we do with our bodies no longer matters
This is why Paul immediately moves the discussion into sexual immorality and the body.
Paul does three things in rapid succession:
He limits the slogan
“Not all things are beneficial.”
Freedom is evaluated by outcome, not desire.
He introduces mastery
“I will not be mastered by anything.”
Anything that controls you is no longer freedom.
He redefines ownership
“You are not your own… you were bought with a price.” (6:19–20)
Freedom is not self-ownership. Freedom is belonging to Yehovah.
Paul then grounds this in covenant reality:
The body matters
Sexual sin is not neutral
What is done in the body affects covenant standing
Freedom in Messiah is not the removal of boundaries. It is deliverance from slavery so that faithfulness becomes possible.
The assumption is that because Paul emphasizes grace, the Spirit, and love, he must be setting aside God’s instruction.
Enforces moral boundaries (1 Cor 5–6)
Warns against idolatry using Israel’s wilderness failures (1 Cor 10)
Insists on order and reverence in worship (1 Cor 11–14)
States plainly that persistent unrighteousness excludes from inheritance (1 Cor 6:9–10)
Paul never argues against obedience. He argues against lawlessness disguised as spirituality.
If Corinthians is read as anti-instruction:
Sin is minimized
Discipline is rejected
Love is redefined as tolerance
But Paul’s goal is the opposite: to restore a redeemed people to faithful covenant living. Grace does not erase expectation. Grace establishes responsibility.
A man is living in ongoing sexual sin so severe that even outsiders recognize it as wrong. The assembly is not grieving. They are boasting, likely believing their tolerance proves spiritual maturity.
This is not impulsive anger. It is covenant logic.
Sin spreads
“A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” (5:6)
The assembly is meant to be set apart
Passover imagery is used to show that impurity must be removed.
The goal is restoration
The removal is meant to awaken repentance, not destroy the person. Paul later confirms this when repentance occurs and restoration is required (2 Cor 2:6–8).
Ignoring sin is not love. Allowing corruption to spread is not mercy.
protects the body
confronts rebellion
restores the repentant
Discipline is not opposite of grace. It is one of grace’s most serious expressions.
Paul lists behaviors that exclude from inheritance, then says:
This passage is often read as if Paul is saying:
“Those things don’t matter anymore.”
Paul is drawing a line between past identity and present calling.
The warning list is real
The inheritance stakes are real
The transformation is expected to be real
That life no longer defines you
That behavior no longer rules you
That returning to it contradicts who you now are
Forgiveness removes guilt. It does not remove responsibility.
A washed people are called to live as a set-apart people. Identity in Messiah is not merely declared. It is walked out.
Freedom misunderstood leads to tolerated sin. Tolerated sin corrupts the assembly. Corrupted assemblies lose clarity about identity.
Paul begins Corinthians here because everything else depends on it.
If freedom is misdefined, love will be distorted. If sin is tolerated, worship becomes hollow. If identity is confused, discipline feels offensive.