Holy spirit washing

HOLY SPIRIT WASHING
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
1 Corinthians6:11 And that is what some of you were.
But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were
justifiedin the name of the LORD Jesus Christ and by
the Spirit of our God.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Past, Present, And Future
1 Corinthians 6:11
J.R. Thomson
In the two preceding verses the apostle has described, in terse, plain terms, the
awful vices to which the heatheninhabitants of Corinth were addicted. To his
enlightened mind the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God were
diametrically opposed; and the test by which Paul judged them was the testof
moral character- a testwhich the reasonand conscience cannotbut approve.
The apostle knew from what a sloughsome of his Corinthian converts had
been delivered, and he points the contrastbetweenthe kingdom in their
person and history.
I. A BLESSING AS RESPECTSTHE PAST:THE CHRISTIAN IS
WASHED FROM MORAL FOULNESS. The language ofthis passagemust
have gone home with power to some hearts: "Such were some of you!" They
had indulged in sins of the flesh and of the spirit, in vices which were deemed

pardonable, and in vices which were deemed vile, in transgressions against
their own nature and againstsociety. Some had been notorious and flagrant,
others ordinary, offenders. But all had contractedmoral defilement. And
what had Christianity done for them? What has it done for all to whom it has
come? It has purified them from their old sins. "Ye were washed." The
lustration of baptismal waters was a symbol of the purification wrought in the
spirit by the redemption of Christ, by the Holy Spirit of God.
II. A BLESSING AS RESPECTSTHE PRESENT:THE CHRISTIAN IS
RENEWED IN HOLINESS. Forgivenessandcleansing from impurity may
justly be regardedas the means to an end; i.e. to hallowing or sanctification.
This is the positive, to which the other is the negative, side. Set free from vice
and crime, the subject of the Divine power of the cross comesunder a new and
inspiring influence. The Holy Spirit creates the nature afresh. No inferior
poweris adequate to produce a change so vast. It is a proof of the Divine
origin and adaptation of Christianity that it attempts and achieves a task so
superhuman. These moral miracles of sanctificationconstitute an evidence of
Christianity which is to many minds the most conclusive of all.
III. A BLESSING AS RESPECTSTHE FUTURE: THE CHRISTIAN IS
JUSTIFIED FROM CONDEMNATION.The expressionemployed refers to
the government of God and our relation to it. Justificationis acquittal at the
bar of the righteous Judge. By anticipation Scripture represents this acquittal
as already pronounced in the case ofthose who have acceptedthe terms of
salvation. For such the Name of Jesus Christavails, and in such the Spirit of
God graciouslyworks. Justificationis conferrednow; but the full benefit of it
will appearby contrastin the day of judgment.
APPLICATION.
1. The question is suggestedto every hearerof the gospel - Could the apostle
have used this language with reference to me? Are the signs of this mighty
change manifest in my life?
2. The reflection is suggestedto those who have experiencedthis moral
transformation - How wonderful and how effectualis the grace ofGod! How

vast is the debt of gratitude we owe to the Father who loved us, the Saviour
who redeemedus, the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us! - T.
Biblical Illustrator
And such were some of you, but ye are washed... sanctified... Justified.
1 Corinthians 6:11, 12
The greatcontrast
J. H. Hughes.
Note —
I. THE PAST STATE OF THE REDEEMED."And such were some of you."
1. They were void of moral rectitude. Their conscience wasburdened with
guilt.
2. They were subject to impure influences. Their affections were defiled.
When consciencelosesits authority there is nothing to prevent the soul
becoming the slave of the most debasing influences.
3. They were slaves ofwrong habits. "Their deeds were evil." When both the
conscienceandaffections are wrong, the deeds must be inconsistentwith truth
and righteousness.
4. They were incapable of spiritual enjoyment. "Know ye not that the
unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?" The unrighteous have no
capacity, taste, or fitness for it.
II. THE PRESENTSTATE OF THE REDEEMED"Butye are washed," &c.
Note —
1. The change.(1)An initiatory act. "But ye are washed." There is probably
an allusion here to baptism, the emblem of moral cleansing. But as the water
of baptism cannot washawaysin, the apostle evidently refers to the work of

the Holy Spirit on the heart.(2) A progressive development. "But ye are
sanctified." This does not imply faultless perfection, but consecration.
Christian graces, like living plants, gradually mature.
3. A beautiful completion. "But ye are justified." This act, though mentioned
last, is generally consideredthe first. There are three greatcauses atwork in
man's justification.(1) The merits of Christ. "Being justified freely by His
grace," &c.(2)The faith of the believer. "Man is justified by faith without the
deeds of the law."(3)The influence of the Holy Spirit. "And by the Spirit of
our God." Think of a man who, having fallen overboard, is carried awayby
the current. At last a rope is thrown towards him — he eagerlygrasps it —
and he is thereby rescued. We have here a combination of causes.The kind
friend who threw the rope — the rope itself — and the man's own eager
grasp. Thus the Saviour's merits, the penitent's faith, and the influence of the
Spirit are necessaryto secure the salvationof the soul.
2. The means. "In the name of the Lord Jesus." Nothing but that has
sufficient power to change the heart.
3. The agency. And by "the Spirit of our God." It is He that gives effectto the
word preached— moves the heart, destroys the yoke of sin, and creates the
man a new creature in Christ Jesus.
(J. H. Hughes.)
The powerof the gospelin changing the hearts and lives of men
E. Cooper, M. A.
I. THE GOSPELOF CHRIST IS ABUNDANTLY SUFFICIENT FOR
SAVING THE GREATEST SINNERS.
1. The salvation of a sinner consists in his deliverance from the guilt and
punishment of sin; and his recovery to the Divine image, i.e., his justification
and his sanctification. Let either of these blessings be wanting, and his
salvationwould be unfinished. But in both these respects the gospelremedy is
abundantly sufficient.

2. The instance in the text is to the point. Surely, if there could have been any
sinners, whose case the gospelremedy would not reach, these Corinthians
would have been the persons. If you require any more witnesses, lookatmany
celebratedin the Scripture for their piety, and see what they had formerly
been. What had the Ephesian converts been? (Ephesians 2:1, 3, 12.)What had
Matthew, Onesimus, and St. Paul himself been? But for all these the gospel
proved sufficient, for the thief upon the cross, for the jailer at Philippi, for
thousands among the wickedJews — for tens of thousands among the
idolatrous Gentiles.
3. Let us then apply the truth —(1) Forcorrecting a common error respecting
others. When we see a personnotoriously evil, how apt are we to speak of him
as being pastrecovery! But remember that the same grace, whichwas
sufficient for the Corinthians, will be sufficient for him.(2) For consolation
and encouragementto convinced and humbled sinners. Are you filled with
anxious fears for your safety? Well, suppose that your former state has been
as bad as that of the Corinthians, yet He who savedthem can save you. But
while the truth speaks comfortto the penitent, it leaves the impenitent without
excuse. Is the gospelsufficient for saving the greatestsinners? Then why do
any of you continue in the practice of sin? Is it not plain that you "love
darkness rather than light"; that you prefer slavery to freedom; that you
"will not come to Christ, that you may have life"?
II. A MAN'S RELIGION IS TO BE TRIED, not by what he was, but by what
he is.
1. True religion makes a real change in a man. Would we then know whether
a man be truly religious or not, we must inquire what is his present conduct.
2. Let this truth then correcta too generalpractice. When a man begins to
take up a serious professionof religion, nothing is more common than to hear
all the irregularities of his former life chargedagainsthim as proofs of his
present hypocrisy.
3. But while we apply this truth for correcting our wrong judgment of others,
let us also use it for forming a right judgment of ourselves. Are we still the
servants of sin? Or have we been made free from sin?

(E. Cooper, M. A.)
Triumphs of the gospelat Corinth
G. Weight, M. A.
One of the most common and powerful objections againstChristianity is that
many who profess it are by no means affectedwith it; that such professors
cannot therefore believe it, or if they do, it must be destitute of moral power.
But the badness of the copy is no proof of the badness of the original; the
basenessofthe counterfeit coin is no proof of the baseness ofthe genuine. Let
the religionof Jesus be compared with its own standards; let it be tried by its
own rules. With the crimes of religious professors we have nothing to do but
to deplore and avoid them. What Corinth was, we know. To this focus of all
that is horrible St. Paul went, and he did not preach in vain. What these
Corinthians had been, St. Paul tells us in the context:but now they were
washed, &c.
I. THE FEARFUL STATE OF UNCONVERTEDMEN.
1. Nothing canbe more clearthan the doctrine of universal depravity; but this
depravity exhibits itself under various aspects,and in various degrees. These
Corinthians had been uncommonly vile. Nor they only. We know of the thief
who was pardoned on the tree. This, indeed, is not uniformly the case. Forin
the characters ofmultitudes we see much that is pleasing, even the grace of
God. There are many who are "not far from the kingdom," and who yet
appear never to reachit.
2. We ought to regardthe depravity of man with deep sorrow and
compassion, but not with despair. The very glory of the gospelis that it is a
messageofpardon and mercy to the guilty, the bankrupt, and the undone. But
perhaps some of you may despair, not of the conversionof others, but of your
own. Such should remember these Corinthians, and the apostle who converted
them.
II. THE RENEWEDSTATE OF THESE CORINTHIANS.

1. "Ye are washed." Since sanctificationandjustification are mentioned
directly afterwards, perhaps this refers to baptism.
2. "Ye are sanctified," i.e., ye are more and more alienatedfrom the world,
and conformed to the image and the will of God.
3. "Ye are justified," i.e., your sins are pardoned, and you are acceptedas
righteous before God, through faith in Christ.
III. THE DIVINE METHOD OF SANCTIFICATION AND
JUSTIFICATION HERE EXHIBITED. "In the name of the Lord Jesus"
means —
1. Doing anything by the authority of Christ. "Master, we saw one casting out
devils in Thy name."
2. Doing anything for the honour of Christ: thus St. Paul says — "Whatsoever
ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,"&c.
3. Receiving anything from the Father, through His dear Son: thus our Lord
says — "Whatsoeverye shall ask the Father in My name," on accountof My
merits, "He will give it you." The text, then, teaches us that the only method
by which we can approachGod, the only method by which God can display
His grace and love to man, is through Christ.
(G. Weight, M. A.)
Cleansedby the Spirit
Hugh Macmillan, D. D.
There is a lonely little pool of wateron the mountain side near Tarbet, Loch
Lomond, calledthe Fairy Loch. If you look into it you will see a great many
colours in the water, owing to the varied nature of the materials that form its
bottom. There is a legendabout it which says that the fairies used to dye
things for the people round about, if a specimenof the colourwanted was left
along with the cloth on the brink of the pool at sunset. One evening a
shepherd left beside the Fairy Loch the fleece ofa black sheep, and placed

upon it a white woollenthread to show that he wishedthe fleece dyed white.
This fairly puzzled the goodfolk. They could dye a white fleece anycolour,
but to make a black fleece white was impossible. In despair they threw all
their colours into the loch, giving it its presentstrange look, and disappeared
for ever. This may seema foolish fable, but it has a wise moral. What the
fairies could not do beside the Fairy Loch, the Spirit of God can do beside the
fountain opened for sin and uncleanness. He can make the blackestsoulwhite.
(Hugh Macmillan, D. D.)
The greatchange
J. R. Miller.
A piece of canvas is of a trifling value. You can buy it for a few pennies. You
would scarcelythink it worth picking up if you saw it lying in the street. But
an artist takes it and draws a few lines and figures on it, and then with his
brush touches in certain colours, and the canvas is sold for a large sum. So
Godtakes up a ruined, worthless human life which has no beauty, no
attractiveness, but is repulsive, blotched, and stainedby sin. Then the fingers
of His love add touches of beauty, painting the Divine image upon it, and it
becomes precious and glorious.
(J. R. Miller.)
Moraltransformations
Scientific Illustrations and Symbols.
There are marvellous transformations in the material as also in the moral
world. Look in the material world. The full-fed maggot, that has rioted in filth
till its tender skin seems ready to burst with repletion, when the appointed
time arrives leaves the offensive matters it was ordained to assistin removing,
and gets into some convenient hole or crevice;then its body contracts or
shortens, and becomes egg-shaped, while the skin hardens, and turns brown

and dry, so that, under this form, the creature appears more like a seedthan a
living animal; after some time passedin this inactive and equivocalform,
during which wonderful changes have takenplace within the seed-like shell,
one end of the shell is burst off, and from the inside comes forth a buzzing fly,
that drops its former filthy habits with its cast-offdress, and now, with a more
refined taste, seeksonlyto lap the solid viands of our tables, or sip the liquid
contents of our cups. Look againinto the moral world. There you see a
transformation as wonderful. The selfish debauchee, whose horrid taste has
grubbed in every sortof immoral filth, and become habituated to the harsh,
the cruel, and the dishonourable, has been brought into contactwith the
necessaryspiritual conditions for a change, and behold from one stage to
another he passes until at last his tastes are entirely altered, his existence is
changed, and even he is able to soarin the light and purity of the world.
Elsewhere, behold, the miser is transformed to the philanthropist, the coward
into a hero. We watchthe fly's aerialcirclings in the sunbeam, and remember
with wonder its degraded origin. The preacher looks overhis congregation,
and he sees those who have become noble and virtuous, he is able to take heart
for new work; for as he remembers in their presence the debasedand the
wickedwho are yet to be transformed, he says, "And such were some of you;
but you are regeneratedby the higher Power,"and those others may be
changedlikewise.
(Scientific Illustrations and Symbols.)
STUDYLIGHT.ORG RESOURCES
Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
1 Corinthians 6:11

Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but
you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christand in the Spirit of
our God.
Adam Clarke Commentary
And such were some of you - It was not with the prospectof collecting saints
that the apostles wentabout preaching the Gospelof the kingdom. None but
sinners were to be found over the face of the earth; they preachedthat sinners
might be convertedunto God, made saints, and constituted into a Church;
and this was the effectas well as the objectof their preaching.
But ye are washed- Severalsuppose that the order in which the operations of
the grace ofGod take place in the soul is here inverted; but I am of a very
different mind. Every thing will appear here in its order, when we understand
the terms used by the apostle.
Ye are washed, απελουσασθε ; ye have been baptized into the Christian faith,
and ye have promised in this baptism to put off all filthiness of the flesh and
spirit: and the washing of your bodies is emblematicalof the purification of
your souls.
Ye are sanctified- Ἡγιασθητε ; from α, privative, and γη, the earth; ye are
separatedfrom earthly things to be connectedwith spiritual. Ye are separated
from time to be connectedwith eternity. Ye are separatedfrom idols to be
joined to the living God. Separationfrom common, earthly, or sinful uses, to
be wholly employed in the service of the true God, is the ideal meaning of this
word, both in the Old and New Testaments. It was in consequence oftheir
being separatedfrom the world that they became a Church of God. Ye were
formerly workers ofiniquity, and associatedwith workers of iniquity; but
now ye are separatedfrom them, and united togetherto work out your
salvationwith fear and trembling before God.
Ye are justified - Εδικαιωθητε·Ye have been brought into a state of favor
with God; your sins having been blotted out through Christ Jesus, the Spirit
of God witnessing the same to your conscience,and carrying on by his energy

the greatwork of regenerationin your hearts. The process here is plain and
simple: -
Paul and his brother apostles preachedthe Gospelat Corinth, and besought
the people to turn from darkness to light - from idol vanities to the living God,
and to believe in the Lord Jesus forthe remissionof sins.
The people who heard were convincedof the Divine truths delivered by the
apostle, and flockedto baptism.
They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and thus took upon them
the public professionof the Gospel.
Being now baptized into the Christian faith, they were separatedfrom idols
and idolaters, and became incorporated with the Church of God.
As penitents, they were led to the Lord Jesus for justification, which they
receivedthrough faith in his blood.
6. Being justified freely - having their sins forgiven through the redemption
that is in Jesus, they receivedthe Spirit of God to attest this glorious work of
grace to their consciences;and thus became possessedofthat principle of
righteousness, thattrue leavenwhich was to leaventhe whole lump, producing
that universal holiness without which none cansee the Lord.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/1-
corinthians-6.html. 1832.
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Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
And such - Such drunkards, lascivious, and covetous persons. This shows:
(1) The exceeding grace ofGod that could recovereven such persons from sins
so debasing and degrading.
(2) it shows that we are not to despairof reclaiming the most abandoned and
wretchedpeople.
(3) it is well for Christians to look back on what they once were. It will
produce:
(a)humility,
(b)gratitude,
(c)adeepsense ofthe sovereignmercy of God,
(d)an earnestdesire that others may be recoveredand savedin like manner;
compare Ephesians 2:1, Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 5:8; Colossians 3:7;Titus
3:3, Titus 3:6 - The designof this is to remind them of what they were, and to
show them that they were now under obligation to lead better lives - by all the
mercy which God had shownin recovering them from sins so degrading, and
from a condition so dreadful.
But ye are washed- Hebrews 10:22. Washing is an emblem of purifying. They
had been made pure by the Spirit of God. They had been, indeed, baptized,
and their baptism was an emblem of purifying, but the thing here particularly
referred to is not baptism, but it is something that had been done by the Spirit
of God, and must refer to his agencyon the heart in cleansing them from these
pollutions. Paul here uses three words, “washed, sanctified, justified,” to
denote the various agenciesofthe Holy Spirit by which they had been
recoveredfrom sin. The first, that of washing, I understand of that work of
the Spirit by which the process ofpurifying was commencedin the soul, and
which was especiallysignified in baptism - the work of regenerationor
conversionto God. By the agencyofthe Spirit the defilement of these
pollutions had been washedawayor removed - as filth is removed by ablution

- The agencyof the Holy Spirit in regenerationis elsewhere represented by
washing, Titus 3:5,” The washing of regeneration.”compare Hebrews 10:22.
Ye are sanctified- This denotes the progressive andadvancing process of
purifying which succeedsregenerationin the Christian. Regenerationis the
commencementof it - its close is the perfect purity of the Christian in heaven;
see the note at John 17:17. It does not mean that they were perfect - for the
reasoning of the apostle shows that this was far from being the case with the
Corinthians; but that the work was advancing, and that they were in fact
under a process ofsanctification.
But ye are justified - Your sins are pardoned, and you are acceptedas
righteous, and will be treated as such on accountof the merits of the Lord
Jesus Christ; see the note at Romans 1:17; note at Romans 3:25-26; note at
Romans 4:3. The apostle does not say that this was lastin the order of time,
but simply says that this was done to them. People are justified when they
believe, and when the work of sanctificationcommences in the soul.
In the name of the Lord Jesus - That is, by the Lord Jesus;by his authority,
appointment, influence; see the note at Acts 3:6. All this had been
accomplishedthrough the Lord Jesus;that is, in his name forgiveness ofsins
had been proclaimed to them Luke 24:47; and by his merits all these favors
had been conferredon them.
And by the Spirit of our God - The Holy Spirit. All this had been
accomplishedby his agencyon the heart - This verse brings in the whole
subject of redemption, and states in a most emphatic manner the various
stages by which a sinner is saved, and by this single passage, a man may
obtain all the essentialknowledge ofthe plan of salvation. All is condensed
here in few words:
(1) He is by nature a miserable and polluted sinner - without merit, and
without hope.
(2) he is renewedby the Holy Spirit, and washedby baptism.
(3) he is justified, pardoned, and acceptedas righteous, through the merits of
the Lord Jesus alone.

(4) he is made holy - becomes sanctified- and more and more like God, and fit
for heaven.
(5) all this is done by the agencyof the Holy Spirit.
(6) the obligation thence results that be should lead a holy life, and forsake sin
in every form.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. "Commentaryon 1 Corinthians 6:11". "Barnes'Notes onthe
New Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/1-
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
And such were some of you: but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but
ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our
God.
Such were some of you ... This was intended by Paul to call attention to the
conditions from which they had been rescuedby Christ.
But ye are washed... sanctified ... justified ... This refers to the conversionof
the Corinthians. "By `sanctified' is meant, not the progressive course of
sanctification, but the consecrationto God by baptism."[19]As always,
however, the scholars who deny baptism's necessityin any true conversion
strive to soften the impact of these words, as in: "Nothing in the context
identifies this with baptism."[20]"(They) submitted to baptism as THE SIGN
OF THE WASHING awayof sin."[21]Etc.

Two considerations require the understanding of this place as a reference to
Christian baptism, along with the sanctificationand justification
accomplishedin the ceremony itself, when performed Scripturally upon a
believing penitent: (1) There is the use of "the middle voice for WASHED, as
in Acts 22:16, carrying the meaning of `you had yourselves washed.'"[22](2)
There is the appearance in the verse itself of the trinitarian formula for the
administration of baptism. As Guthrie noted:
"In the name of ... Christ ... Spirit ... God ..." Note the unconscious
Trinitarianism. The words may recallthe actualformula used in baptism and
the complementary baptism of the Spirit ... There is a reference here to the
external and internal essential ofbaptism.[23]
Justificationhas reference to the status of the believer "in Christ" who by
virtue of his identity with the Saviourdoes not deserve any punishment
whatever; it is a total and complete justification bestowedupon the believer
when he is baptized "into Christ."
[19] F. W. Farrar, op. cit., p. 193.
[20] Paul W. Marsh, A New Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1969), p. 386.
[21] J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 901.
[22] Paul W. Marsh, op. cit., p. 386.
[23] Donald Guthrie, op. cit., p. 1059.
Copyright Statement
James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Bibliography

Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/1-corinthians-6.html.
Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
And such were some of you,.... Not all, but some of them; and of these
everyone was not guilty of all these crimes;but some had been guilty of one,
and others of another; so that they had been all committed by one or another
of them. The Corinthians were a people very much given to uncleanness and
luxury, without measureF9, whichwas the ruin of their state:and among
these wickedpeople God had some chosenvessels ofsalvation;who are put in
mind of their former state, partly for their present humiliation, when they
consideredwhat they once were, no better than others, but children of wrath,
even as others; and partly to observe to them, and the more to illustrate and
magnify the grace ofGod in their conversion, pardon, justification, and
salvation;as also to point out to them the obligations that lay upon them to
live otherwise now than they formerly did.
But ye are washed;which is not to be understood of external washing, of
corporealablution, or of their being baptized in water; so they might be, and
yet not be cleansedfrom their filthiness, either by original or actual
transgressions;nor of the washing of regeneration, whichmore properly
comes under the next head; but of their being washedfrom their sins by the
blood of Christ, through the application of it to them, for the remissionof
them; which supposes them to have been polluted, as they were originally,
being conceivedin sin, and shapen in iniquity; naturally, for who can bring a
cleanthing out of an unclean? and internally, in heart, mind, and conscience;
also universally, both as to persons, and as to the powers and faculties of their
souls, and members of their bodies; and that they could not washand cleanse
themselves by any ceremonialpurifications, moral duties, or evangelical
performances;but that this was a blessing of grace they enjoyed through the
blood of Christ, by which they were washedfrom their sins, both in the sight

of God, his justice being satisfiedfor them, they were all pardoned and done
away, so as to be seenno more, and they appearedunblamable and
irreprovable in his sight; and also in their own apprehensions, for being
convinced of their pollution, and being directed to Christ for cleansing, the
Spirit of Godtook his blood, and sprinkled it on their consciences, to the
appeasementof them, the removal of sin from thence, and a non-
remembrance of it.
But ye are sanctified;which designs not their sanctificationby God the
Father, which is no other than the eternal separationof them from himself, or
his everlasting choice ofthem to eternal happiness; nor the sanctificationof
them, or the expiation of their sins by the blood of Christ, this is meant in the
former clause;nor their sanctificationin Christ, or the imputation of his
holiness with his obedience and death for their justification, which is intended
in the following one; but the sanctificationof the Spirit, which lies in a
principle of spiritual life infused into the soul, in a spiritual light in the
understanding, in a flexion of the will to the will of God, both in grace and
providence, in a settlementof the affections on divine objects, and in an
implantation of every grace;which is a gradual work, as yet not perfect, but
will be fulfilled in all in whom it is begun.
But ye are justified; not by the works of the law, but by the righteousness of
Christ. Justified they were from all eternity, as soonas Christ became a surety
for them; and so they were when he rose from the dead, who were justified as
their head and surety, and they in him; but here it is to be understood of their
being justified in the court of conscience,under the witnessings ofthe Spirit of
God; who having convincedthem of the insufficiency of their own
righteousness, andhaving brought near the righteousness ofChrist unto
them, and wrought faith in them to lay hold on it, pronounced them justified
persons in their own consciences;whence followedjoy, peace, and comfort.
In the name of the Lord Jesus;which may refer, as the following clause, to all
that is said before: by "the name of the Lord Jesus" maybe meant he himself;
and the sense be, that they were washedby his blood, sanctifiedby his Spirit,
and justified by his righteousness;or it may intend the merit and efficacyof
Christ's blood, sacrifice, and righteousness;as that their sins were pardoned,

and they cleansedfrom them through the merit of the blood of Christ shed for
the remissionof their sins; and that they were regeneratedand sanctified
through the efficacyof Christ's resurrectionfrom the dead; and were instilled
by the grace ofGod, through the redemption that is in Christ: or else the
name of Christ may designhis Gospel, through which they receivedthe
knowledge ofGod's way of pardoning sinners, and justifying them, and the
Spirit of God, as a spirit of regenerationand sanctification:
and by the Spirit of our God; who sprinkled the blood of Christ upon them, to
the cleansing ofthem; who sanctified their hearts, and revealedthe
righteousness ofChrist unto them for their justification, and pronounced the
sentence ofit upon them. It is to be observed, that all the three persons,
Father, Son, and Spirit, are here mentioned, as being jointly concernedin
those acts of grace.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
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Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". "The New John Gill
Exposition of the Entire Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/1-corinthians-6.html.
1999.
Geneva Study Bible
And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye
are justified in the f name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

(f) In Jesus.
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon 1 Corinthians 6:11". "The 1599 Geneva
Study Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/1-
corinthians-6.html. 1599-1645.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
ye are washed— The Greek middle voice expresses,“Ye have had yourselves
washed.” This washing implies the admission to the benefits of Christ‘s
salvationgenerally; of which the parts are; (1) Sanctification, or the setting
apart from the world, and adoption into the Church: so “sanctified” is used 1
Corinthians 7:14; John 17:19. Compare 1 Peter1:2, where it rather seems to
mean the setting apart of one as consecratedby the Spirit in the eternal
purpose God. (2) Justificationfrom condemnation through the righteousness
of God in Christ by faith (Romans 1:17). So Paraeus. The orderof
sanctificationbefore justification shows that it must be so taken, and not in
the sense ofprogressive sanctification. “Washed” precedesboth, and so must
refer to the Christian‘s outward new birth of water, the signof the inward
setting apart to the Lord by the inspiration of the Spirit as the seedof new life
(John 3:5; Ephesians 5:26; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 10:22). Paul (compare the
Church of England Baptismal Service), in charity, and faith in the ideal of the
Church, presumes that baptism realizes its original design, and that those
outwardly baptized inwardly enter into vital communion with Christ
(Galatians 3:27). He presents the grand ideal which those alone realized in

whom the inward and the outward baptism coalesced. At the same time he
recognizes the fact that this in many casesdoes not hold good(1 Corinthians
6:8-10), leaving it to God to decide who are the really “washed,” while he only
decides on broad generalprinciples.
in the name of … Jesus, andby the Spirit — rather, “in the Spirit,” that is, by
His in-dwelling. Both clauses belong to the three - “washed, sanctified,
justified.”
our God — The “our” reminds the that amidst all his reproofs God is still the
common God of himself and them.
Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on 1
Corinthians 6:11". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/1-corinthians-
6.html. 1871-8.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
And such were some of you (και ταυτα τινες ητε — kai tauta tines ēte). A
sharp homethrust. Literally, “And these things (ταυτα — tauta neuter plural)
were ye (some of you).” The horror is shown by ταυτα — tauta but by τινες —
tines Paul narrows the picture to some, not all. But that was in the past (ητε

— ēte imperfect indicative) like Romans 6:17. Thank God the blood of Jesus
does cleanse from such sins as these. But do not go back to them.
But ye were washed(απελουσαστε — apelousasthe). Firstaoristmiddle
indicative, not passive, of απολουω — apolouō Either direct middle, ye
washedyourselves, orindirect middle, as in Acts 22:16, ye washedyour sins
away(force of απο — apo). This was their own voluntary act in baptism which
was the outward expressionof the previous act of God in cleansing (ηγιαστητε
— hēgiasthēte ye were sanctifiedor cleansedbefore the baptism) and justified
(εδικαιωτητε — edikaiōthēte ye were put right with God before the actof
baptism). “These twin conceptions ofthe Christian state in its beginning
appear commonly in the reverse order” (Findlay). The outward expressionis
usually mentioned before the inward change which precedes it. In this passage
the Trinity appear as in the baptismal command in Matthew 28:19.
Copyright Statement
The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal 1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)
Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". "Robertson'sWord
Pictures of the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/1-corinthians-6.html.
Broadman Press 1932,33.Renewal1960.
Vincent's Word Studies
Washed- sanctified- justified

According to fact the order would be justified, washed(baptism), sanctified;
but as Ellicott justly remarks, “in this epistle this order is not set forth with
any studied precision, since its main purpose is corrective.”
Ye were justified ( ἐδικαιώθητε )
Emphasizing the actualmoral renewal, which is the true idea of justification.
This is shown by the words “by the Spirit,” etc., for the Spirit is not concerned
in mere forensic justification.
Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Bibliography
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon 1 Corinthians 6:11". "Vincent's
Word Studies in the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/1-corinthians-6.html.
Charles Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye
are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, andby the Spirit of our God.
And such were some of you: but ye are washed — From those gross
abominations; nay, and ye are inwardly sanctified; not before, but in
consequence of, your being justified in the name - That is, by the merits, of the
Lord Jesus, through which your sins are forgiven.
And by the Spirit of our God — By whom ye are thus washedand sanctified.
Copyright Statement

These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". "JohnWesley's
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/1-corinthians-6.html.
1765.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
11.And such were ye. Some add a term of speciality:Such were some of you,
as in Greek the word τινὲς is added; but I am rather of opinion that the
Apostle speaks in a generalway. I considerthat term to be redundant, in
accordancewith the practice of the Greeks, who frequently make use of it for
the sake ofornament, not by way of restriction. We must not, however,
understand him as putting all in one bundle, so as to attribute all these vices to
eachof them, but he simply means to intimate, that no one is altogetherfree
from these vices, until he has been renewedby the Spirit. For we must hold
this, that man’s nature universally contains the seedof all evils, but that some
vices prevail and discoverthemselves more in some than in others, according
as the Lord brings out to view the depravity of the flesh by its fruits.
Thus Paul, in the first chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, piles up many
different kinds of vices and crimes, which flow from ignorance of God, and
that ingratitude, of which he had shown all unbelievers to be guilty, (Romans
1:21) — not that every unbeliever is infected with all these vices, but that all
are liable to them, and no one is exempt from them all. For he who is not an
adulterer, sins in some other way. So also in the third chapter he brings
forward as applicable to the sons of Adam universally those declarations —
their throat is an open sepulcher: their feetare swift to shed blood: their
tongue is deceitful or poisonous, (Romans 3:13)

— not that all are sanguinary and cruel, or that all are treacherous or
revilers; but that, previously to our being formed anew by God, one is inclined
to cruelty, anotherto treachery, another to impurity, another to deceit;so that
there is no one in whom there does not exist some trace of the corruption
common to all; and we are all of us, to a man, by an internal and secret
affectionof the mind, liable to all diseases, unless in so far as the Lord
inwardly restrains them from breaking forth openly. (342)The simple
meaning, therefore, is this, that prior to their being regeneratedby grace,
some of the Corinthians were covetous, others adulterers, others extortioners,
others effeminate, others revilers, but now, being made free by Christ, they
were such no longer.
The designof the Apostle, however, is to humble them, by calling to their
remembrance their former condition; and, farther, to stir them up to
acknowledge the grace ofGod towards them. For the greaterthe misery is
acknowledgedto be, from which we have escapedthrough the Lord’s
kindness, so much the more does the magnitude of his grace shine forth. Now
the commendation of grace is a fountain (343)of exhortations, because we
ought to take diligent heed, that we may not make void the kindness of God,
which ought to be so highly esteemed. It is as though he had said: “It is
enough that God has drawn you out of that mire in which you were formerly
sunk;” as Peteralso says,
“The time past is sufficient to have fulfilled the lusts
of the Gentiles.” (1 Peter4:3.)
But ye are washedHe makes use of three terms to express one and the same
thing, that he may the more effectuallydeter them from rolling back into the
condition from which they had escaped. Hence, though these three terms have
the same generalmeaning, there is, nevertheless, greatforce in their very
variety. For there is an implied contrastbetweenwashing and defilement —
sanctificationand pollution — justification and guilt. His meaning is, that
having been once justified, they must not draw down upon themselves a new
condemnation — that, having been sanctified, they must not pollute
themselves anew — that, having been washed, they must not disgrace

themselves with new defilements, but, on the contrary, aim at purity,
persevere in true holiness, and abominate their former pollutions. And hence
we infer what is the purpose for which God reconciles us to himself by the free
pardon of our sins. While I have saidthat one thing is expressedby three
terms, I do not mean that there is no difference whateverin their import, for,
properly speaking, Godjustifies us when he frees us from condemnation, by
not imputing to us our sins; he cleansesus, when he blots out the
remembrance of our sins. Thus these two terms differ only in this respect, that
the one is simple, while the other is figurative; for the term washing is
metaphorical, Christ’s blood being likenedto water. On the other hand, he
sanctifies by renewing our depraved nature by his Spirit. Thus sanctification
is connectedwith regeneration. In this passage, however, the Apostle had
simply in view to extol, with many commendations, the grace of God, which
has delivered us from the bondage of sin, that we may learn from this how
much it becomes us to hold in abhorrence everything that stirs up againstus
God’s anger and vengeance.
In the name of the Lord Jesus, etc With propriety and elegancehe
distinguishes betweendifferent offices. Forthe blood of Christ is the
procuring cause ofour cleansing:righteousness and sanctificationcome to us
through his death and resurrection. But, as the cleansing effectedby Christ,
and the attainment of righteousness, are ofno avail exceptto those who have
been made partakers of those blessings by the influence of the Holy Spirit, it is
with propriety that he makes mention of the Spirit in connectionwith Christ.
Christ, then, is the source of all blessings to us from him we obtain all things;
but Christ himself, with all his blessings, is communicated to us by the Spirit.
For it is by faith that we receive Christ, and have his graces appliedto us. The
Author of faith is the Spirit.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Calvin, John. "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". "Calvin's Commentary
on the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/1-
Vv. 11. "And such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified,
but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of
our God."
Paul has been addressing the feeling of fear; he now appeals to the higher
motive, that of Christian honour. He thus returns to the feeling which had
dictated the first word of the passage,τολμᾷ τις, has any one the courage? —
The vices he has just enumerated belong to a pastfrom which a series of
Divine facts have separatedthem for ever. These facts are, first, baptism, then
the consecrationand reconciliationto God of which baptism is the symbol.
Such a fathomless depth of grace is not to be recrossed!
καί, and it is true.
There is in the verb ἦτε, ye were, more than the recalling of polluting acts;the
term identifies their person with the pollutions to which they gave themselves
up.
But, by the τινές, some, the apostle restricts the application of his saying, not
only in the sense whichReuss ascribes to the words (one who was guilty of one
of those vices, another of another), but so as to bring out that there was, after
all, among them a goodlynumber of men who before their conversionhad
lived exempt from all those external pollutions. Billroth has made τινές an
attribute, and connectedit as such with ταῦτα in the contemptuous sense,
"sucha set of men!" This would have needed ταῦτά τινα, or τοῖοὶ τινες
(Meyer).
The following verbs denote the three acts which constituted the entrance of
believers into their new state. They are joined togetherby the ἀλλά of
gradation: but moreover (2 Corinthians 7:11); from which it does not follow

that the order in which these acts are placedis necessarilyone of
chronologicalsuccession, it may equally be one of moral gradation. For the
apostle"s intention is to bring out by eachstroke, with more and more
marked emphasis, the contrast betweenthe former state of believers and the
new state into which these acts had brought them.
All are at one in applying the first of the three verbs to baptism. In fact,
outwardly speaking, it was the actwhich had transferred them from the state
of heathens to that of Christians, from the condition of beings polluted and
condemned to that of beings pardoned and purified. The Middle form of the
verb ἀπελούσασθε, ye washedyourselves, expresses the freedom and
spontaneity with which they had done the deed; comp. the ἐβαπτίσαντο, 1
Corinthians 10:2 (in the reading of the Vatic.); Edwards also compares Acts
22:16.
The term bathe, wash, is explained by the two following terms. Baptism, when
it is done in faith, is not a pure symbol; two purifying graces are connected
with it, sanctificationand justification. The verbs which express these two
facts are in the passive;for they signify two Divine acts, ofwhich the baptized
are the subjects. The two verbs in the aorist canonly refer both of them to a
deed done once for all, and not to a continuous state. This is what prevents us
from applying the term sanctify to the growing work of Christian
sanctification. This word here can only designate the initial act whereby the
believer passedfrom his previous state of corruption to that of holiness, that is
to say, the believer"s consecrationto God in consequence ofthe gift of the
Spirit bestowedon him in baptism; comp. Acts 2:38; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22;
Ephesians 1:13. They entered thereby into the community of saints which is
presided over by Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God.
The verb sanctify is placedbefore justify, because, as Edwards says:"Paul,
wishing to contrastthe present moral condition of believers with their former
state, lays specialemphasis on the characteristic ofsanctification." This is also
the feature which most directly applies to the passage1 Corinthians 6:7-10.
From the fact that the term justify is placedsecond, many, even Meyer, have
concluded that it could not here have its ordinary Pauline meaning, and that

instead of imputed righteousness it must denote exceptionally the internal
righteousness whichGod infuses into the hearts of believers during the course
of their life. But this meaning is, whateverMeyer may say, incompatible with
the use of the aorist(ye were justified), a tense which necessarilydenotes the
initial moment of the new state of righteousness, the transition from the state
of corruption to that of regeneration. Besides, it would be impossible to
distinguish from this point of view the meaning of the two acts sanctifying and
justifying, and to understand how they could be joined, or rather contrasted,
with one another by an ἀλλά of gradation: but moreover. It is therefore, also,
wholly mistakenwhen Catholic theologians, and even Protestants,like Beck,
make use of this passageto deny the notion of justification as the imputation
of righteousness in Paul"s writings. When an entire dogmatic view is thus
made to rest on the successionoftwo terms, it should be remembered that the
inverse order is given in 1 Corinthians 1:30. We have already indicated the
reasonwhy Paul emphasizes sanctificationin the first place:it is to point out
clearly the contrastbetweenthe normal state of the Christian and the
degrading vices which were invading the Church; comp. 1 Corinthians 1:2.
But thereafterhe feels the need of ascending to the hidden foundation of this
sanctifying actionof the gospel, to the state of justification in which the
believer is put by it. The question at the outsetof the passagewas whether
Christians did not possessin themselves the standard of righteousness,by
means of which they might regulate their mutual differences. From this point
of view Paul had calledthe heathen οἱ ἄδικοι, the unrighteous. By closing with
the idea of the justification bestowedon believers, he points to them as the
true possessors ofrighteousness,first in their relation to God, and thereby in
all the relations of life.
But what is it that gives to baptism such efficacy, that, when it is celebrated
with faith, it is accompaniedwith such graces, anddraws a line of
demarcationso profound betweentwo states in the believer"s life? The
apostle indicates the answerin the last words of the verse:in the name of the
Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. It seems to me that there is an
unmistakable allusion in these words to the formula of baptism: "In the name
of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." In the two passageswe find

the three names whose invocationconstitutes the peculiar characteristic of
this institution.
The constructionof the sentence does not allow us to apply the first of these
clauses exclusivelyto the one of the lasttwo verbs, the other to the other
(Flatt). It seems to me equally impossible to connectthem both with the last
verb, as Rückertand Meyerpropose. I think that both togetherapply to the
first verb, ἀπελούσασθε, ye were washed, and therefore to the two following
verbs, which, as we have seen, are merely epexegeticalofthe first. As this verb
expresslypoints to the ceremonyof baptism, these two subordinate clauses
reproduce the formula of invocation which was pronounced when the rite was
celebrated. The name of Jesus denotes the revelation of His personand work,
which has been granted to the Church. It is because ofthis knowledge thatthe
Church carries out this actof spiritual purification on those whom it receives
as its members.
The Spirit of God is the creative breath which accomplishes the new birth in
the heart of the man baptized, and thus separates him from the pollutions of
his pastlife. I cannotpossibly understand why Meyer allegesthat this second
clause cannotapply to the verb ἀπελούσασθε as well as the first. Is not the
actionof the Spirit in the heart of the baptized, whereby he deposits in it the
principle of consecration, the purifying act by way of excellence? (Titus 3:5).
By adding of our God, the apostle expresses the idea of the fatherly and filial
relation formed by Christ betweenGodand the Church, and in virtue of
which He communicates to it His Spirit. The apostle never fails, while paying
homage to the two Divine agents, Christ and the Spirit, to ascendto the
supreme source of all this salvation, even God, who reveals Himself in Jesus,
and gives Himself by the Spirit.
Hofmann has takenthe strange fancy to connectthese two clauses with 1
Corinthians 6:12 : "In the name of Christ, and by the Holy Spirit, all things
are lawful to me." But if the maxim, All things are lawful to me, had been
qualified from the first in this way, Paul would not have needed to limit its
application afterwards, as he does on two successive occasions, andby two
different restrictions in 1 Corinthians 6:12 (see Meyer).

The formula of baptism in the Apostolic Church.
The idea has often been expressed, that the formula of baptism in the
Apostolic Church was not yet that which is mentioned Matthew 28:19 : "In
the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," and that it was
limited to the invocation of the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38; Acts 8:16; Acts
10:48;Acts 19:5). The passagewhichwe have been studying does not appear
to me to favour this view. For, as we have pointed out, the mention of the
three Divine names contained in the formula Matthew 28:19, is supposedby
the terms used by the Apostle Paul. The idea even of God as Father seems
implied in the pronoun ἡμῶν, our God.
There is anotherfact which seems to me to confirm this result; that which is
related Acts 19:1-6. Paul asks some disciples who have not yet heard speak of
the Holy Spirit: "in what ( εἰς τί) then ( οὖν) they have been baptized?" The
logicalrelation, expressedby then, betweenthe ignorance of those persons in
regard to the Holy Spirit and the apostle"s questionregarding the baptism
which they have received, would not be intelligible if the mention of the Holy
Spirit had not been usual in baptism as it was celebratedby the Apostolic
Church. Now if the name of Jesus and that of the Holy Spirit were solemnly
pronounced in baptism, that of God could not be wanting. Hence I conclude
that the phrase: to baptize in the name of Jesus, frequently used in the Acts, is
an abridged form to denote Christian baptism in general. This conclusionis
confirmed by the factthat in the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles the
Trinitarian formula found in Matthew is used side by side with the abridged
form of the Acts; comp. 1 Corinthians 7:1 and 1 Corinthians 9:5.
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Bibliography

Godet, Frédéric Louis. "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". "Frédéric
Louis Godet - Commentary on SelectedBooks".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsc/1-corinthians-6.html.
Scofield's ReferenceNotes
are washedwere, and so throughout the verse.
justified Justification. Galatians 2:16; Luke 18:14;Romans 3:28.
Copyright Statement
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edition that is available in the Online Bible Software Library.
Bibliography
Scofield, C. I. "ScofieldReferenceNoteson 1 Corinthians 6:11". "Scofield
Reference Notes(1917Edition)".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/srn/1-corinthians-6.html.
1917.
James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary
LIVING MIRACLES
‘And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye
are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, andby the Spirit of our God.’
1 Corinthians 6:11

The Evangelpreachedby St. Paul works miracles. It actedin some measure
on all ranks of society;it even savedthe waifs and strays of heathen cities like
Rome, Ephesus, and Corinth. Men sometimes ask for ethics, for morality to be
preached. But such preaching has been tried and it has failed over and over
again. It softens no hearts, saves no souls, transforms no lives. Our subject
divides itself.
I. There is the former state of these people.—Theyhad been fornicators,
adulterers, and such like. The very hand of the devil had been on them.
II. Now think of their present condition.
(a) ‘But ye are washed.’St. Paul did not say, ‘But you atoned for your sins by
repentance.’St. Paul did not say, ‘But you amended your lives.’ St. Paul did
not say, ‘But you reformed yourselves.’St. Paul said, ‘But ye are washed.’
(b) ‘But ye are sanctified.’ They had been setapart for the service of God.
They had found the blessedlife—the Divine ideal of what life should be. They
belongedto Christ. They were to ‘occupy’ till He came. They themselves,
talents, time, and money all belongedto Him. They were only stewards:all
they had was only held on trust.
(c) ‘But ye are justified.’ Justify means to pronounce just or righteous. ‘We
are accountedrighteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings’
(Article XI).
III. How the change came about.—‘In the name of the Lord Jesus.’This name
has not lost its wonder-working power. It can still work moral miracles. It can
still transform and uplift human hearts and lives as in the far-off ages. Christ
can touch the strings of the human heart, howeverhopeless that heart may
seemto be, and when He touches the strings, sweetmusic is heard—a new
song of praise and gladness. ‘… And by the Spirit of our God.’ Forit is He
that convinces men of sin and unites them to Christ, and reveals His
“unsearchable riches.”’
Rev. F. Harper.

Illustrations
(1) ‘“If I washthee not, thou hast no part with Me,” so Christ says. “O solemn
words! which leave no alternative behind them; but shut up the soul into a
dilemma. You may have greatvirtue, as the world calls virtue; you may have
greathonour, as the world calls honour; you may have great love, as the
world calls love; but the question comes back upon us, simple, irresistible,
alone—‘Are you washed?’‘Has the blood of Christ ever yet been applied, by
faith, to your poor soul?’If not, it is all tinsel—all the restis an empty show—
you are not safe, you are not safe. Notfor a moment. If you have any peace, it
is false;if you have any hope, it is a lie. Not one grape of Eshcolmay you eat;
not one promise may you grasp; not one spot of Canaancanyou call your
own. You are not ‘washed’;you are not ‘washed’; therefore you have no part
in Christ. ‘No part in Christ?’ Then where is your part?”’
(2) ‘One day an old violin was put up at a London auctionmart, and the
auctioneercould scarcelygeta bid. But when it was going for a mere song, a
strangercame in and askedto see it. He took it up and beganto play. He
touched the upper strings and every one was thrilled. He played in quickened
time and they wantedto dance. He began on his favourite G string, “Home,
sweetHome,” and they all sobbed. It was the MasterofMusicians, the great
Paganinihimself, and the despisedviolin was knockeddown for one hundred
guineas.’
(SECOND OUTLINE)
THREE STEPS TO HEAVEN
St. Paul draws a very dark picture of the past of the Corinthian Christians.
‘And such,’ he says, ‘were some of you.’ Will consciencespeakvery wrong in
saying, ‘Such are some of you?’ In that black catalogue do you find your case,
either in the letter of it or in the spirit of it? Were you not once, or are you not
now, one of those ten classes?Doesnot the Spirit whisper that in one of those
things ‘Thou art the man!’ Be faithful to yourself; be faithful to God in
answering that question.

It is of such materials that the Church on earth, and the Church in heaven, is
made. A place for us all; hope for us all; mercy for us all; heaven for us all.
I. But the first thing of all is to getrid of the past.—To separatethat which
was, and that which is to be. To cut off the sequence;to recastthe life; to start
another man. To this end, the first requirement is, to have the old all washed
out; in some way obliterated. Like the stains, like the darkened colourof some
old, defiled garment, they must be ‘washed’quite out.
II. We need more than this; we need to be positively holy.—It will not be
enough to be found without sins, we must be like God, if we are to live with
God. He must see His own reflection in us. Now let us go on to see how this is
done. We, being in Christ, the Holy Ghost comes and dwells in us. He has
already come to you in the faith by which you receive the washing;but now
He comes in all His holy, special, seven-foldoffices. He comes to teach;to
relieve; to comfort; to reprove; to purify; to heal, or, in one word, which
includes all, He comes to ‘sanctify,’ and make us holy. The Holy Ghostin the
heart is a RealLiving Being;not simply a spiritual person. He draws;He
speaks;He restores;He leads;He teaches;He imparts goodthoughts and holy
desires;He actually prays in our souls;and He empowers us with everything,
and assimilates us with God in heaven; while in harmony with the inworking
of the Spirit, God makes all outer things to ‘work together’for the same end.
The whole of life becomes a schoolof sanctification. Alike our sorrows and
our joys, they have all the same end in view. They co-operate with the inner
workings of the Divine Presence;some to humble us; some to cheerus; but all
to help us to maintain the spirit of Christ. The imparted sanctificationis the
work of the Holy Ghost; the imputed sanctificationis the holiness of Christ
laid on, above all, and over all, hiding all deficiencies, andclothing the
believer in a garment which covers the whole.
III. This leads to the third step, ‘justified.’—‘Justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.’ In the Bible, the word ‘justified’ means a
person is accountedrighteous before God, though he is not really righteous in
himself, but rather a poor, miserable sinner! If we were ‘sanctified’ to the
utmost point we can reach, we are not ‘perfect’; we are not good in the sight
of a holy God. The whitestheart in this church is black by the side of the

perfections of God. Therefore Godprovideth the remedy; now He hath ‘made
a way whereby He can be just, and yet our Justifier.’ God sees everybeliever,
every real believer in Christ, coveredwith Christ. He imputes to that man the
very beauty, the holiness of the whole life of Jesus. He, poor sinner, is as
though he had lived Christ’s life, for he is one that is ‘perfect and entire,’
wanting nothing. That is justification.
So we are first ‘washed,’then ‘sanctified,’ then ‘justified.’ ‘Washed’with the
blood of the Son of God, ‘sanctified’ by the Holy Ghost, ‘justified’ by the
Father.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nisbet, James. "Commentaryon 1 Corinthians 6:11". Church Pulpit
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cpc/1-
John Trapp Complete Commentary
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but
ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Ver. 11. Such were some of you] Oh, the infinite goodness ofGod, that would
once look upon such walking dunghills, such monstrous miscreants!

But ye are washed]In general;as in particular, 1. Ye are sanctified And that
by the Spirit of our God. 2. Ye are justified And that in the name, or by the
righteousness, ofour Lord Jesus Christ. His blood cleansethus from sins, both
guiltiness and filthiness. It is like to those sovereignmundifying waters, which
so washoff the corruption of the ulcer, that they cool the heat and staythe
spread of the infection, and by degrees healthe same. {See Trapp on "Romans
11:26"}{See Trapp on "Revelation19:8"}God never pays our debts, but he
gives us a stock of grace.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/1-
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
1 Corinthians 6:11. But ye are washed— "You are not only baptized, but
divine grace has made a happy change in your state and temper, and you are
purified and renewed, as well as dischargedfrom the condemnation to which
you were justly obnoxious, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of
him, whom we are now taught, through that common Saviour, to call with
complacencyour God." See Hebrews 9:10-23 ch. 1 Corinthians 10:10;1
Corinthians 10:18 compared.

Copyright Statement
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Coke, Thomas. "Commentaryon 1 Corinthians 6:11". Thomas Coke
Commentary on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/1-corinthians-6.html.
1801-1803.
Expository Notes with PracticalObservations onthe New Testament
Here we have anotherargument, which our apostle uses to dissuade them
from all gross wickednessin general, and from such unchristian behaviour
one towards another, as he had before reproved in particular: namely, that
greatand mighty change which had been wrought upon severalof them by
means of their conversionto the Christian religion, or the faith of Christ;
Such were some of you; but ye are now washed. As if the apostle had said,
"You are no longer swine, but sheep, and therefore must not wallow in the
mire of sin as you formerly did."
Note here, 1. The black and filthy condition of a sinner, before conversion;the
apostle had reckonedup the vilest and worstof sins that could be mentioned,
and then says, Suchwere some of you. The original word is in the neuter, not
in the masculine gender; not dtoi, such persons, but tanta, such sins; as
emphatically demonstrating their wickedness,that they were not so much
peccatores, sinners, as ipsa peccata, the very sins themselves.
Learn hence, That the converting grace ofGod is sometimes vouchsafedto the
vilest and worstof men; and where it is vouchsafed, makes a very greatand
mighty change.
Note, 2. The particular expressions by which this change is represented:ye
are washed, sacramentallywashedin baptism; ye are sanctified, purified in

your hearts and natures by the sanctifying influences of divine grace;ye are
justified, that is, acquitted from guilt, and approved as righteous.
Note, 3. The means by which this change was wrought and effected;in the
name of our Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of God. In the name of our Lord
Jesus, that is, through the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit.
1. Here we have the defiling nature of sin supposed; all men by nature are
polluted and defiled, and stand in need of washing.
2. Our Lord Jesus Christwill not disdain or refuse to justify by his blood, and
sanctify by his Spirit, the greatestsinners, and the filthiest souls, that apply
unto him, by faith, for pardoning mercy and sanctifying grace:Such were
you, but ye are washed.
4. Though justification and sanctificationare distinct and different in their
nature, yet are they always inseparable in their subject: no personis justified
but he that is sanctified: Christ justifies none by his blood, whom he doth not
sanctify by his spirit. Though justification and sanctificationare not the same
thing, yet are they always found in the same person: by the former there is a
relative change in our condition; by the latter, a real change in our
conversation.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Burkitt, William. "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". ExpositoryNotes
with PracticalObservations onthe New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wbc/1-corinthians-6.html.
1700-1703.

Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
11.]‘These things were the former state of some among you: but ye are now in
a far different state.’These things (I cannotthink with Meyer that ταῦτα is
used with an implication of contempt, such a horde, or rabble: it is rather ‘of
such a kind,’ see Winer, Gr. § 23.5)were some of you ( τινες limits the ὑμεῖς
which is the suppressedsubject of ἦτε): but ye washedthem off (viz. at your
baptism. The 1 aor. mid. cannot by any possibility be passive in signification,
as it is generally, for doctrinal reasons, here rendered. On the other hand the
middle sense has no doctrinal import, regarding merely the fact of their
having submitted themselves to Christian baptism. See ref. Acts), but (there is
in the repetition of ἀλλά, the triumph of one who was under God the
instrument of this mighty change)ye were sanctified(not in the dogmatic
sense ofprogressive sanctification, but so that whereas before you were
unholy, by the reception of the Holy Ghostyou became dedicatedto God and
holy), but ye were justified (by faith in Christ, you receivedthe δικαιοσύνη
θεοῦ, Romans 1:17), in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and in the (working of
the) Spirit of our God. These two lastclauses must not be fancifully (as Meyer,
al.) assignedamongstthe preceding. They belong to all, as De Wette rightly
maintains. The spiritual washing in baptism, the sanctificationofthe children
of God, the justification of the believer, are all wrought in the Name of the
Lord Jesus, and are eachand all the work of the Spirit of our God.
By the ἡμῶν again, he binds the Corinthians and himself together in the
glorious blessings ofthe gospel-state, and mingles the oil of joy with the
mourning which by his reproof he is reluctantly creating.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Alford, Henry. "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". Greek Testament
Critical ExegeticalCommentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hac/1-corinthians-6.html.
1863-1878.
Heinrich Meyer's Critical and ExegeticalCommentaryon the New Testament
1 Corinthians 6:11. How unworthy are such of your new Christian relations!
ταῦτα]of persons in a contemptuous sense:such trash, such a set. See
Bernhardy, p. 281.
τινές] more exactdefinition of the subject of ἦτε, namely, that all are not
meant. It is the well-knownσχῆμα καθʼὅλον καὶ μέρος (Kühner, II. p. 156).
Comp Grotius. Valckenaersays well:“vocula τινές dictum paulo durius
emollit.” Billroth is wrong in holding (as Vorstius before him) that ταῦτά τινες
belong to eachother, and are equivalent to τοιοῦτοι. In that case ταῦτά τινα
would be required, or τοῖοί τινες. See Ast, a(935)Plat. Legg. p. 71;
Bornemann, a(936)Xen. Cyr. ii. 1. 2; Ellendt, Lex. Soph. II. p. 832.
ἀπελούσ. κ. τ. λ(937)] describes from step to step the new relations established
by their reception of Christianity. First of all: ye washedyourselves clean,
namely, by your immersion in the waters of baptism, from the moral
defilement of the guilt of your sins (you obtained, through means of baptism,
the forgiveness ofyour sins committed before you became Christians). Comp
Acts 22:16;Acts 2:38; Ephesians 5:26; 1 Peter3:21. Observe the use of the
middle, arising from the conceptionof their self-destinationfor baptism.
Comp ἐβαπτίσαντο, 1 Corinthians 10:2. We must not take the middle here for
the passive, as mostexpositors do, following the Vulgate (so Flatt, Pott,
Billroth, Olshausen, Ewald), which in part arose—as in the case of
Olshausen—fromdogmaticalpreconceptions;neither is it to be understood,
with Usteri (Lehrbegriff, p. 230)and Rückert(comp Loesner, p. 278), of
moral purification by laying aside everything sinful, of the putting off the old
man (comp Romans 6:2 ff.), againstwhich the same phrase in Acts 22:16, and
the analogousone, καθαρίσας,in Ephesians 5:26, militate strongly. This moral

regenerationexists in connectionwith baptism (Titus 3:5), but is not
designatedby ἀπελούσ., although its subjective conditions, ΄ετάνοια and
πίστις, are presupposed in the latter expression. The producing of
regeneration, whichis by waterand Spirit, is implied in the ἡγιάσθητε which
follows:ye became (from being unholy, as ye were before baptism) holy,
inasmuch, namely, as by receiving the δωρεὰ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (Acts 2:38)
ye were translated into that moral altitude and frame of life which is Christian
and consecratedto God (John 3:5; Titus 3:5; Ephesians 5:25, ἁγιάσῃ).
Rückertand Olshausentake it in the theocratic sense:“ye became setapart,
numbered among the ἅγιοι.” CompOsiander, also Hofmann: “incorporated
in the holy church.” But the progressionofthought here, which marks its
advance towards a climax by the repetition of the ἀλλά, requires, not a
threefold description of the transactioninvolved in baptism (Calvin,
Hofmann), but three different characteristic points, dating their
commencementfrom baptism, and forming, as regards their substance, the
new moral condition of life from which those who have become Christians
ought not againto fall back.
ἐδικαιώθητε]ye were made righteous. This, however, cannotmean the
imputative justification of Romans 3:21 (de Wette, Osiander, Hofmann, with
older commentators);because, in the first place, this is already given in the
ἀπελούσασθε;and secondly, because the ἐδικαιώθητε, ifused in this sense,
would have needed not to follow the ἁγιάσθητε, but to precede it, as in 1
Corinthians 1:30; for to suppose a descending climax (Calovius) is out of the
question, if only on accountof the ἀπελούσ., which so manifestly indicates the
beginning of the Christian state. What is meant, and that by way of contrast
to the notion of ἀδικία whichprevails in 1 Corinthians 6:9 f., is the actual
moral righteousness oflife,(943)which has been brought about as the result of
the operationof the Spirit which beganwith baptism, so that now there is seen
in the man the fulfilment of the moral demands or of the δικαίωμα τοῦ νόμου
(Romans 8:4), and he himself, being dead unto sin, δεδικαίωται ἀπὸ τῆς
ἁμαρτίας (Romans 6:7), and ἐδουλώθη τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ (Romans 6:18), whose
instruments his members have now become in the καινότης of the spirit and
life (Romans 6:13). This δικαιωθῆναι does notstand relatedto the ἁγιασθῆναι
in any sort of tautologicalsense,but is the effectand outcome of it, and in so

far, certainly, is also the moral continuatio justificationis (comp Calovius),
Revelation22:11.
The thrice repeatedἀλλά lays a specialemphasis upon eachof the three
points. Comp Xenophon, Anab. v. 8. 4; Aristophanes, Acharn. 402 ff.; 2
Corinthians 2:17; 2 Corinthians 7:11; Wyttenbach, a(946)Plat. Phaed. p. 142;
Bornemann, a(947)Xen. Symp. iv. 53;Buttmann, neut. Gramm. p. 341 [E. T.
398].
ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι … ἡμῶν] is by most expositors made to refer to all the three
points. But since ἐν τῷ πνεύματι κ. τ. λ(948)does not accordwith ἀπελούσ.
(for the Spirit is only receivedafter baptism, Acts 2:38; Acts 19:5-6; Titus 3:5-
6; the case in Acts 10:47 is exceptional), it is better, with Rückert, to connect
ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι … ἡμῶν simply with ἐδικαιώθ., whichbestharmonizes also
with the significantimportance of the ἐδικαιώθητε as the crowning point of
the whole transformation wrought in the Christian. The name of the Lord
Jesus, i.e. whatpronouncing the name “ κύριος ἰησοῦς” (1 Corinthians 12:3)
affirms,—this, as the contents of the faith and confession, is that in which the
becoming morally righteous had its causalbasis ( ἐν), and equally had it its
ground in the Spirit of our God, since it was He who establishedit by His
sanctifying agency;through that name its origin was subjectivelyconditioned,
and through that Spirit it was objectively realized. Were we, with Hofmann,
to bring ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι … θεοῦ ἡμῶν into connectionwith the πάντα ΄οι
ἔξεστιν which follows, the latter would at once become limited and defined in
a way with which the antitheses ἀλλʼ κ. τ. λ(949)would no longerin that case
harmonize. For it is precisely in the absoluteness ofthe πάντα μοι ἔξεστιν that
these antitheses have their ethicalcorrectnessand significance, as being the
moral limitation of that axiom, which therefore appears againabsolutely in 1
Corinthians 10:23.
Observe, further, how, notwithstanding of the defective condition of the
church in point of fact, the aorists ἡγιάσθ. and ἐδικαιώθ. have their warrant
as acts of God, and in accordancewith the ideal view of what is the specifically
Christian condition, however imperfectly as yet this may have been realized,
or whatever backsliding may have takenplace. The ideal wayof speaking, too,
corresponds to the design of the apostle, who is seeking to make his readers

feel the contradiction betweentheir conduct and the characterwhich as
Christians they assumedat conversion;σφόδρα ἐντρεπτικῶς ἐπήγαγε λέγων·
ἐννοήσατε ἡλίκων ὑμᾶς ἐξείλετο κακῶνὁ θεός κ. τ. λ(950), Chrysostom. And
thereby he seeks morallyto raise them.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Meyer, Heinrich. "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". Heinrich Meyer's
Critical and ExegeticalCommentary on the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hmc/1-corinthians-6.html.
1832.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
1 Corinthians 6:11. ταῦτα, such)The Nominative neuter for the masculine; or
the accusative with κατα understood, as ἶσα, Philippians 2:6 : Even the
accusative as anadverb may be construed with the substantive verb to be.—
ἀλλὰ ἀπελούσασθε, ἀλλὰ ἡγιάσθητε, ἀλλʼ ἐδικαιώθητε,but ye have been
washed, but ye have been sanctified, but ye have been justified) you have been
setentirely free from fornication and sins of impurity, in regard to yourselves;
from idolatry and impiety againstGod; from unrighteousness againstyour
neighbour, and that too, in relation both to the guilt and dominion of sin:
chap. 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Corinthians 5:10.— ἡγιάσθητε, you have been
sanctified) a man is calledholy in respectto God.— ἐδικαιώθητε, ye have
been justified) corresponds to, the unrighteous, 1 Corinthians 6:9. I was
formerly unwilling to commit to paper, what emphasis the apostrophe in ἀλλʼ
adds to this verb more than to the two preceding (comp. 2 Corinthians 7:11),
lest some one should hiss me. Considerhoweverthe antithesis, the
unrighteous. Without an apostrophe, ἀλλὰ is emphatic, but when ἀλλʼ has the

apostrophe, the accentand emphasisfall upon the verb, (which stands in
opposition to that fault, which is reproved at 1 Corinthians 6:7, etc.,)namely,
on the word ἐδικαιώθητε,ye are justified, because the discourse here is
directed against[injustice] unrighteousness;and so in 2 Corinthians 7:11. [
ἀλλʼ is apostrophisedbefore]ἐκδικησιν, revenge, for this is a principal part of
the zeal, previously spokenof, arising from holy sorrow;add Mark 2:17.— ἐν
τῷ ὀνόματι, in the name) From this name we have the forgiveness ofsins.— ἐν
τῷ πνεύματι, by the Spirit) From this Spirit, the new life.— ἡμῶν, of our) For
these reasons, he shows them, that there is now no longerany hinderance to
their becoming heirs of the kingdom of God.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bengel, JohannAlbrecht. "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". Johann
Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/1-corinthians-6.html.
1897.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
In the two lastverses the apostle had pronounced a terrible sentence,
especiallyto the Corinthians, who, having been heathens lately, had wallowed
in a greatdeal of this guilt; he therefore here, that they might be humbled,
and have low thoughts of themselves, and not be puffed up, (as he had before
chargedthem), mindeth them, that some of them had been guilty of some of
these enormous sins, some of them of one or some of them, and others of other
of them. But, that they might not despair in their reflections upon that guilt,
he tells them, they were washed, not only with the baptism of water, but with
the baptism of the blood of Christ, and with the baptism of the Holy Ghost,

born againof waterand of the Spirit, John 3:5; yea, and not only washed, but
sanctified, filled with new, spiritual habits, through the renewing of the Holy
Ghost: having obtained a true righteousness, in which they might stand and
appear before God, even the righteousness ofChrist, reckonedunto them for
righteousness;justified through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
sanctifiedthrough the Spirit of holiness. So that the washing, first mentioned
in this verse, seemethto be a genericalterm, comprehending both
justification, remissionof sin, and deliverance from the guilt of it; and also
regenerationand sanctification, which is the proper effectof the Spirit of
grace, creating in the soul new habits and dispositions, by which it is enabled
and inclined, as to die unto sin, so to live unto God. This the apostle doth not
say of them all, (for it is very probable there were in this church some
hypocrites), but of some of them.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon 1 Corinthians 6:11". Matthew Poole's
English Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/1-corinthians-6.html.
1685.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
11. ἀλλὰ ἀπελούσασθε. The past tense is employed in the original—‘ye were
washed, sanctified, justified.’ The allusion is to baptism, where by a solemn
professionthe disciple entered into covenantwith—and so put on (see
Galatians 3:27) Christ. The meaning of ἀπελούσασθε is either ye washed
yourselves cleanfrom them, by a voluntary act, cf. Acts 22:16, or ‘ye allowed
yourselves to be washed.’So Winer, Gr. Gram. § 38. 4. b. There has been

much controversyas to the meaning of ἡγιάσθητε and ἐδικαιώθητε here, as
their position is inverted from the usual order in which they stand. It is best to
take ἡγιάσθητε in the sense ofdedicated to a holy life (halowed, Wiclif), see
note on ch. 1 Corinthians 1:2, and ἐδικαιώθητε as referring to the actual
righteousness oflife which is brought about by union with Christ through the
operationof the Spirit. See also Romans 1:17.
ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι. The name of Christ stands for His power, almost, we might
say, for Himself. Something more is probably conveyedby ἐν than a mere
instrumental agency, though it is often used in this way (as in 1 Corinthians
6:2 of this very chapter). A comparisonof this passage withothers in which
the indwelling of the Spirit is implied, as in 1 Corinthians 6:19 and Romans
8:11, teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the instrument of our sanctificationand
justification by virtue of our dwelling in Christ and He in us, making Christ’s
death to sin, and His life in righteousness anaccomplishedfactin our hearts
and lives. See also John 3:6.
Copyright Statement
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"Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". "Cambridge Greek Testamentfor
Schools and Colleges". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cgt/1-
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
11. Washed—Greek middle voice, Ye have washedyourselves;that is, by
regenerationinternally, symbolized by baptism, externally.
Sanctified— And, therefore, these sensualities are the opposite of your
character.

Justified—And so such practices must forfeit your justification, and exclude
you from the kingdom of God.
This paragraph condemns, 1. All idea that the being once justified insures, in
spite of relapse into vice, a securedinheritance of God’s glorified kingdom;
and, 2. All Antinomianism; that is, the doctrine that a Christian’s professional
holiness renders his sin and vice righteous and safe, so that he may transgress
with impunity.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". "Whedon's
Commentary on the Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/1-corinthians-6.html.
1874-1909.
William Godbey's Commentary on the New Testament
11. “And such were some of you.” We see that the grace ofGod, under Paul’s
ministry at that time, those memorable eighteenmonths, had reacheddown to
the bottom of slumdom and savedall sorts of the most terrible criminals,
debauches, libertines and thieves. Neither was it any bogus salvation. While
some of them had never reachedrock-bottom, and others had fallen, yet the
church abounded in noble examples beautifully illustrative of the sovereign
mercy and transcendent grace ofGod. How exceedinglyconsolatorythese
Scriptures! Thrillingly inspiring to all soul- savers, and Heavenbells of mercy
ringing in the ears of the vilest of the vile. “But ye are washed, but ye are
sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the
Spirit of our God.” Some have been perplexed over this arrangement, as we

see sanctificationpreceding justification. Such perplexity disappears upon a
literal exegesis ofthe sentence. Here we have three statements:
(a) “Ye are washed,” i. e., regenerated, which includes justification as a
necessaryand invariable antecedent.
(b) “Ye are sanctified,” here standing as a secondwork of grace, whichis in
harmony with the uniform teaching of God’s Word.
(c) “Ye are justified.” This is not primary justification, which is involved in
regenerationas a logicalantecedent, but it is justification in that ultimate
sense in which we all receive it after we have been sanctifiednot the reversal
of the condemnatory sentence whichtook place when you fell beneath the
cross and cried for mercy, recognizing your meeknessonly for damnation and
casting your soul on the commiserationof God in Christ; but there is a broad
and final sense in which you are justified from all iniquity, intrinsical and
extrinsical, which prepares you to stand before the greatwhite throne. It is in
this ultimate and legalsense that all savedpeople are justified after they get
sanctified; primary justification having an expiatory attitude, and, with the
sanctificationwhich follows, extirpating inbred sin and thus preparing the
way for that legaljustification which we ultimately have in Christ, qualifying
us to meet the open books of final judgment.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Godbey, William. "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:11". "William Godbey's
Commentary on the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ges/1-corinthians-6.html.
JosephBeet's Commentary on SelectedBooks ofthe New Testament

1 Corinthians 6:11. Supports the foregoing solemnwarning by the contrastof
their entrance to the Christian life. When Paul speaks ofsin in the abstract, he
says, “There is no difference: for all have sinned,” Romans 3:22; Romans 5:8
ff. But, when speaking of gross and open sins, he says some of you. For there
may have been at Corinth men who, like Paul, (Acts 26:5,) were outwardly
moral from their youth.
You washedyourselves:close coincidencewith Acts 22:16, “Baptize thyself
(or, have thyself baptized) and washawaythy sin.” God designs the Christian
life to be one of purity, i.e. free from the inward conscious defilement, causing
shame, which always accompanies sin. To this life of purity, Baptism, as a
public confessionofChrist and formal union with His people, was the divinely
appointed outward entrance. Only thus, in ordinary cases, couldmen obtain
salvation:Mark 16:16;Acts 2:38. And the use of waterset forth in outward
symbol the inward purity which God requires, and is ready to give. Therefore
by voluntarily receiving Baptism, not only did the early converts profess their
desire for the purity promised in the Gospel, but, by fulfilling the divinely
ordained condition, they actually obtained it in proportion to their faith.
Consequently, by coming to baptism, they practically washed themselves from
the stain of their sin. Cp. Titus 3:5, “He savedus by means of the laver of
regeneration.” This does not imply purification in the moment of baptism, or
apart from the converts'faith and steadfastresolve to forsake sin. But these
words reminded the readers that, unless it was a meaningless and an empty
form, their baptism was a renouncing of all sin. The allusion here is similar to
the mention of baptism in Romans 6:2 ff: see notes.
You were sanctified: as in 1 Corinthians 1:2. “When God rescuedyou from
sin and joined you to His people, He claimed you for His Own, and thus
placed you in a new and solemn relation to Himself.”
Justified: a solitary instance probably in the New Testamentof the simplest
sense, “made righteous.” ForPaulis dealing here (cp. 1 Corinthians 6:9 a)
with practicalunrighteousness:and with him the justification of pardon
always precedes (e.g. 1 Corinthians 1:30) sanctification. But we have the
opposite order here, because practicalconformity with the Law is an outflow
and consequenceofdevotion to God. Therefore, by claiming us for His Own,

and by breathing into us the devotion He claims, God makes us righteous. You
washedyourselves, reminds the readers that by their own actthey renounced
sin: therefore to continue in sin is to retrace their own act. You were sanctified
etc., reminds “them that by One greaterthan themselves they were devoted to
the service ofGod and made righteous: therefore, to sin is to resistGod.”
Thus the change of expressionsets before us two sides of the Christian life.
In the Name etc.; belongs probably to all three verbs. Their baptism was an
acknowledgmentthat Jesus claimed to be their Anointed Master, whose Name
they were henceforth to bear. Cp. Acts 2:38; Acts 8:16; Acts 10:48;Acts 19:5.
They were “sanctifiedin Christ,” 1 Corinthians 1:2. And moral uprightness
was imparted to them in view of their confessionofthe Name of Christ, and
for the honor of that Name.
The Spirit of God: the inward and immediate source, as the Name of Christ is
the outward professedsource, ofthe Christian life. This Spirit they receivedat
Baptism, 1 Corinthians 12:13 : Acts 2:38; Acts 19:5 f: (though not by
mechanicalnecessitybut by faith, Galatians 3:14;Galatians 3:26 f: Galatians
4:6 : Ephesians 1:13; and therefore not necessarilyin the moment of
Baptism:) and He was the source of (Romans 15:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:13)
their loyalty to God; and of (Romans 8:4) their conformity to the Law.
In this section, as frequently, Paul deals with matters of detail by appealing to
greatprinciples of wide application. Notonly are there at Corinth legal
disputes, but these are carried into the common law-courts. The litigants
insult the majesty of the church, forgetful of the dignity awaiting its members,
by submitting their disputes to the decisionof men on whom they themselves
look down with contempt as aliens from God, as though the church did not
contain even one man wise enough to decide them. That there are lawsuits at
all, is a spiritual injury to them, an injury they would do well to avoid, even at
the costof submitting to injustice. It is needful to warn them againstthe error
of expecting that bad men will enter the kingdom of God; and to remind them
that, when they enteredthe church and so far as their professionwas genuine,
they renounced sin, became the people of God, and therefore righteous men.

The above does not imply that in that early day there were regularly
constituted Christian law-courts. The readers are simply urged to settle their
disputes privately by Christian arbitration rather than by a public legal
process. A century later there were regular, though private, Christian courts;
in which the bishops gave judgment betweenchurch-members.
To us, the argument of 1 Corinthians 6:1-6 is modified by the fact that our
public courts are for the more part presided over by excellentChristian men.
But the injury inflicted upon a church by lawsuits betweenmembers, and the
spirit of unscrupulous grasping, in one or both parties, which lies at the root
of nearly all lawsuits, are the same in all ages. And, in proportion as men are
moved by the Spirit of God, disputes about property will become rare; and
the disputants will decide them, not in a public court, but by private
arbitration, and by arbiters who themselves are guided by the same Spirit.
Whether, in any one case itbe more for the advancement of the kingdom of
God that we defend our property or submit to injustice, must be determined
by that spiritual wisdom which God has promised to give. From 1 Corinthians
6:8 we learn that there are casesin which we shall do well to choose the latter
alternative.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Beet, Joseph. "Commentaryon 1 Corinthians 6:11". JosephBeet's
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jbc/1-

Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
Some of the Corinthian Christians had been fornicators and had practicedthe
other sins Paul cited before they trusted in Christ. Howeverthe blood of
Christ had cleansedthem, and God had setthem apart to a life of holiness ( 1
Corinthians 1:2). The Lord had declaredthem righteous through union with
Christ by faith (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30) and through the sanctifying work of
the Holy Spirit who indwelt them. He had made them saints. Consequently
they needed to live like saints.
"The quite unconscious Trinitarianism of the concluding words should be
noted: the Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit, our God. Trinitarian theology, at
leastin its New Testamentform, did not arise out of speculation, but out of the
fact that when Christians spoke of what God had done for them and in them
they often found themselves obliged to use threefold language of this kind."
[Note:Barrett, p143.]
This verse does not support the idea that once a personhas experienced
eternal salvationhe will live a life free of gross sin. Normally this is the
consequence ofconversionthanks to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
Howeverbelievers can grieve and quench the Holy Spirit"s ministry in their
lives. In this letter we have seenthat not only were some of the Corinthian
saints fornicators before their conversion, but one of them had continued in or
returned to that sin ( 1 Corinthians 5:1).
Paul"s point in this whole section( 1 Corinthians 6:1-11) was that genuine
Christians should not continue in or return to the sinful practices that mark
unbelievers. We should become what we are because ofwhat Jesus Christ has
done for us. This appealruns throughout the New Testamentand is latent in

every exhortation to pursue godliness. It is especiallystrong in this epistle.
Rather than assuming that believers will not continually practice sin, the
inspired writers constantlywarned us of that possibility.
This passagedoes notdeal with how Christians should respond when pagans
defraud or sue us. But if we apply the principles Paul advocatedin dealing
with fellow believers, we should participate in public litigation only as a last
resort.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentaryon 1 Corinthians 6:11". "Expository
Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/1-corinthians-6.html.
2012.
The Expositor's Greek Testament
1 Corinthians 6:11. καὶ ταῦτά τινες ἦτε: “And these things you were, some (of
you)”. The neuter ταῦτα is contemptuous—“suchabominations!” τινὲς softens
the aspersion;the majority of Cor(956)Christians had not been guilty of
extreme vice. The stress lies on the tense of ἦτε; “you were”—athing of the
past, cf. Romans 6:19, Ephesians 2:11 f.—“Butyou washedyourselves!but
you were sanctified;but you were justified!”— ἀλλὰ thrice repeated, with
joyful emphasis, as in 2 Corinthians 2:17; 2 Corinthians 7:11. The first of the

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