1 Corinthians 6:9-11

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV

Or       do       you     not know

that                                               the unrighteous       will not inherit

the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived:

neither the sexually immoral,

nor idolaters,

nor adulterers,

nor men who practice homosexuality,

Reviler = λοίδορος = loidoros = λοιδός loidos (mischief); abusive, that is, a black guard: - railer, reviler.

nor thieves,

nor the greedy,

nor drunkards,

nor revilers,

nor swindlers                      will inherit

the kingdom of God.

  1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV

And    such              were              some of you.

 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.

Washed = ̓πολούω = apolouō = to wash fully, that is, (figuratively) have remitted (reflexively): - wash (away).

Justified = δικαιόω = dikaioō = to render (that is, show or regard as) just or innocent: - free, justify (-ier), be righteous.

We claim Jesus as our Lord and as a result receive the benefits of his sacrifice on our behal receive the benefits of his sacrifice on our behalf.

Sanctified = ἁγιάζω = hagiazō = to make holy, that is, (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate: - hallow, be holy, sanctify.

 

 

 

                                                                         

These benefits are applied to us by the Spirit of God

                                                                        

                                                                                

 

 These things can and will be washed away if we humbly repent and turn to Jesus in faith.  We may have been some or all of the things on the list and more but we can be clean.  Jesus sacrifice washes us clean upon our repentance.  The problem with many is that they do not see their uncleanness.  They have not been confronted by God’s holiness and therefore they do not see how “dirty” they really are.  The prophet Isaiah recognized the distance between us and God when he encountered God. 

Isaiah 6:5 ESV
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

Then he understood the vast difference between man and God as it pertains to “cleanness”.  He was a priest but was overcome by the difference between our concept of holy and God’s holiness.

Isaiah 64:6 ESV
We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

But faith in Jesus brings a washing; a washing away of our “uncleanness” and as a result we are made clean and consecrated to God.

Furthermore, with the washing comes a declaration from God that we are innocent and a new life of “cleanness” is made available to us.  God will not hold or remember how we were before our washing but he sees us only in our purified state.

Many live in a state of self-righteous, self-deception, believing they are ok; they are clean in their own eyes so think they are ok and fully acceptable to God.  But compared to the holiness of God they are filthy. 

Such was the situation at the church in Laodicea that Jesus sent a message to through the Apostle John.

Revelation 3:17 ESV
For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

Today’s church, for the most part, finds itself in this same condition.  Many who declare they are Christians are blinded by their own unrighteousness and substitute self-righteousness instead.  They stand unclean before a holy God.  The Apostle Paul warns us: “Do not be deceived”.