I Corinthians 6:12 · Bible study
1 Corinthians 6:12 Commentary: Christian Liberty and Its Limits
Greek · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Paul qualifies the claim that 'all things are lawful' by testing every action for its benefit and whether it masters us.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Paul upholds Christian liberty but limits it by the tests of benefit to others and personal mastery over one’s actions.
- Key words: The verb play between ἔξεστιν (lawful) and ἐξουσιασθήσομαι (brought under power) is central, freedom can become bondage.
- Main debate: Whether this verse applies to morally neutral actions only (adiaphora) or can be extended to forbid any sin, including fornication, through the principle of mastery.
- Theological theme: Christian freedom is not license; it is service to Christ and others, exercised with self-control and love.
- Best use: As a test for ethical decision-making in gray areas, especially in teaching on conscience, edification, and addiction.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.
WEB World English Bible 2000
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are expedient. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power of anything.
KJV King James Version 1769
All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
All things are lawful for me; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful for me; but I will not be brought under the power of any.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
All things are lawful to me, but all things are not profitable; all things are lawful to me, but I--I will not be under authority by any;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
All things are lawful to me, but all things do not profit; all things are lawful to me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
All things are lawful to me: but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful to me: but I will not be brought under the power of any.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Todas las cosas me son lícitas, mas no todas convienen: todas las cosas me son lícitas, mas yo no me meteré debajo de potestad de nada.
Todas as coisas me são lícitas, mas nem todas as coisas convêm; todas as coisas me são lícitas, porém eu não deixarei me sujeitar por coisa alguma.
Tout m’ est permis, mais tout n’ est pas utile; tout m’ est permis, mais je ne me laisserai asservir par quoi que ce soit.
Ich habe alles Macht; es frommt aber nicht alles. Ich habe alles Macht; es soll mich aber nichts gefangen nehmen.
Alle dingen zijn mij geoorloofd, maar alle dingen zijn niet oorbaar; alle dingen zijn mij geoorloofd, maar ik zal onder de macht van geen mij laten brengen.
Ogni cosa m’è lecita, ma non ogni cosa è utile. Ogni cosa m’è lecita, ma io non mi lascerò dominare da cosa alcuna.
Wszystko mi wolno, ale nie wszystko pożyteczno; wszystko mi wolno, ale ja się nie dam zniewolić żadnej rzeczy.
Все мне позволительно, но не все полезно; все мне позволительно, но ничто не должно обладать мною.
凡事 我 都可行，但 不 都有益處。凡事 我 都可行，但無論哪一件，我 總不 受 它的 轄制。
I am free to do all things; but not all things are wise. I am free to do all things; but I will not let myself come under the power of any.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · I Corinthians 6:12
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that verse 12 quotes a catchphrase popular among Corinthian believers, one that Paul himself may have used earlier (1 Corinthians 10:23) but that they had twisted into a license for indiscriminate behavior. Paul immediately counters with two tests. First, expediency (συμφέρει): even lawful acts must be measured by whether they build up others and the church. Second, mastery: the believer must not be enslaved by anything, even something permissible. Vincent points out the Greek play between ἔξεστιν (lawful) and ἐξουσιασθήσομαι (brought under power): a thing may be in your power, but you must not let it overpower you. The historical context, Paul’s warning against fornication and eating idol meat, shows that these tests were urgently practical, not merely theoretical.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Strictly adiaphora: The surrounding context (meats offered to idols in chapters 8–10) suggests Paul is only discussing morally neutral actions, not moral sins like fornication.
- Extended to all behavior: Paul applies the principle directly to fornication in verses 13–20, using the same phrase 'the body is for the Lord' to argue that no sin, not even a 'lawful' one, should master a believer.
What is clear: The verse establishes a two-part ethical framework: Christians must evaluate every action by its benefit to others and by whether it controls them, and this applies urgently to the body's use.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Source of the slogan | Paul is quoting a statement made by some Corinthian Christians, possibly twisting his own earlier teaching. | Some argue Paul coined this phrase himself in an earlier letter (since he uses similar language in 1 Corinthians 10:23), while others see it as a popular Greek or Stoic maxim. |
| Scope of 'all things' | The phrase refers primarily to matters of indifference, such as eating meat offered to idols. | Catholic and Reformed traditions emphasize that it does not include moral absolutes like adultery or idolatry; some within the Corinthian church appeared to extend it to fornication. Paul refutes that extension in verses 13, 20. |
| Meaning of 'expedient' | The word συμφέρει carries the idea of what is beneficial for others and for spiritual growth. | Some traditions distinguish between private judgment (I may be free) and public responsibility (my action must build up the church). |
| Not being brought under power | A believer must not become enslaved to anything, even something permissible. | Length of application: some apply this strictly to external substances or habits (like alcohol), while others apply it to internal passions and desires that can dominate a person. |
Historical & Cultural Context
First-century Corinth was a prosperous port city with a reputation for sexual license and religious syncretism. Temples to Aphrodite, Apollo, and other deities hosted feasts where meat sacrificed to idols was served, and temple prostitution was common. Many Corinthian Christians came from this pagan background. They heard the gospel as a message of freedom (John 8:36, Galatians 5:1) and began to argue that since an idol is nothing (1 Corinthians 8:4), both eating idol meat and visiting prostitutes were matters of indifference, adiaphora. The slogan “All things are lawful” may even echo Paul’s own teaching on Christian liberty (compare 1 Corinthians 10:23), now divorced from his qualifications of love and edification.
The church’s struggles over these issues echo the Apostolic Decree of Acts 15, which linked the prohibition of certain foods and fornication as boundary markers for Gentile believers. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul had already rebuked the church for tolerating a man living with his father’s wife. Now in chapter 6, he confronts the logic that would defend such behavior. The phrase “All things are lawful for me” appears twice in this verse, each time with a different restriction. The first addresses the impact on others (not expedient). The second addresses internal self-mastery (I will not be brought under power). Both are grounded in the believer’s belonging to Christ and the indwelling Spirit, a theme that explodes in verses 13, 20.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for 1 Corinthians 6:12. Some later manuscripts add “for me” after the second “all things,” but the earliest witnesses support the reading used in the standard critical editions. The verse is stable across traditions.
Reception History
From the patristic period onward, this verse has been a touchstone for discussions of Christian liberty. Tertullian and Cyprian cited it to argue that idolatrous feasts were not permissible despite claims of freedom. During the Reformation, both Luther and Calvin appealed to it to distinguish Christian freedom from antinomian license, insisting that liberty always submits to love and edification. In the Puritan and Pietist traditions, the verse was used to warn against any habit, even a lawful one, that gains mastery over the soul. In modern evangelicalism, it is often cited in sermons on addiction and ethical decision-making, emphasizing that the Christian’s freedom is not a right to indulge but a capacity to restrain.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Claim: Paul quotes a Corinthian slogan that asserted absolute Christian liberty. The danger was using freedom as a cover for self-indulgence (Galatians 5:13).
- The Test of Expedience: Not everything permissible is profitable for the church or the individual. The word συμφέρει means to bring together, to help, actions must build up, not tear down.
- The Test of Mastery: The believer must remain free, not enslaved by any habit, even a lawful one. Paul’s emphatic ἐγώ (“I myself”) shows a personal commitment to stay in control.
Five-point outline
- Context: Corinthian believers were applying the “all things lawful” slogan to fornication and eating idol meat.
- Quote: Paul repeats the slogan but immediately qualifies it.
- Expediency: Actions are tested by whether they benefit others (see 1 Corinthians 10:23-24, Romans 14:15-21).
- No mastery: Freedom means the power to say no to lawful things that would enslave you (the play on exestin/exousiasthēsomai).
- Application: The body belongs to Christ and is destined for resurrection (vv. 13-14), so its use must honour him.
Illustration hooks
- Someone who says “I can drink alcohol because it’s lawful” but finds themselves craving it every evening, is it still lawful for them?
- A Christian who posts political opinions on social media that are technically allowed but harm their witness at work.
- The believer who refuses to eat meat at a family dinner to avoid offending a relative with a weak conscience (Romans 14:21).
Questions your congregation is asking
- “How do I know if something is truly ‘unlawful’ or just not wise?”
- “If I feel free to do something, why should I let someone else’s opinion limit me?”
- “What if I am being mastered by a good thing, like work, hobbies, or even ministry?”
Leading a Discussion
This verse cuts to the heart of Christian freedom. Paul doesn’t deny that believers have liberty, but he insists that freedom must not become a cage. Begin your group time by asking: what is one area of your life where you feel completely free, and what is one where you struggle with self-control? Then read 1 Corinthians 6:12 aloud together.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think Paul repeats the slogan “All things are lawful for me” twice? What change does he make the second time?
- The Greek word for “expedient” (συμφέρει) literally means to bring together, to be profitable. Who or what is supposed to benefit from our actions, according to Paul?
- Paul uses a wordplay between “lawful” (exestin) and “brought under power” (exousiasthēsomai). How does freedom become a form of slavery when we let a permissible thing take over?
- Read 1 Corinthians 10:23, 24 and Romans 14:15, 16. How do these passages expand on the principle of verse 12?
- Some Corinthian Christians were using this slogan to excuse fornication. Paul’s main argument in verses 13, 20 is that the body belongs to the Lord. How does that change the way we think about “lawful” actions?
- Think of a cultural habit that is legal but might not be expedient for your Christian witness. How would you decide whether to participate?
- What is one “lawful” thing in your life that you need to examine for the sake of not being mastered by it? How can the group pray for you this week?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Romans 7:14 | For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin. |
| Romans 14:14 | I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. |
| Romans 14:15 | Yet if because of food your brother is grieved, you walk no longer in love. Don’t destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. |
| Romans 14:23 | But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it isn’t of faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin. |
| I Corinthians 8:4 | Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one. |
| I Corinthians 8:7 | However, that knowledge isn’t in all men. But some, with consciousness of an idol until now, eat as of a thing sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. |
| I Corinthians 8:13 | Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forever more, that I don’t cause my brother to stumble. |
| I Corinthians 9:12 | If others partake of this right over you, don’t we yet more? Nevertheless we didn’t use this right, but we bear all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the Good News of Christ. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that Paul counters the Corinthians' claim that something lawful cannot be sin. The decisive issue is not the law but power: if a person cannot give up a practice, that practice has enslaved them, and slavery to anything is sin.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin sees Paul confronting Corinthians who used "all things are lawful" as a flimsy excuse for their actual licentiousness, including fornication. Paul's sweeping phrase either exposes their unbridled excess or points to God's generosity as the true guide to self-restraint, not a blank check.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary notes that Corinthian believers had twisted the slogan "all things are lawful" into a justification for any behavior. Paul responds by imposing three conditions: actions must align with God's design in creation, benefit others, and never gain power over the person. Christian liberty has real boundaries.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The note draws a sharp distinction between what is permitted and what is wise. Even lawful actions can become harmful if they gain control over a person, so the believer must guard against letting any legitimate freedom turn into a master.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill highlights the apostle's refusal to let anything, even lawful things, gain mastery over him. For Paul, a Christian may have liberty in indifferent matters, but exercising that liberty is inexpedient when it either offends a weak brother or enslaves the user to his own appetite.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB notes that the Corinthians twisted Paul's statement that all things are lawful, using it to excuse fornication as if bodily appetites justified their gratification. He highlights Paul's play on words: all things are in my power, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Unlawful things ruin thousands, but lawful things misused ruin ten thousands.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues that Paul is not simply quoting an opponent’s slogan but laying down a genuine Christian principle of liberty, then immediately fencing it with limits. For Lange, the crucial point is that the body belongs to the Lord, is destined for resurrection, and is a member of Christ and temple of the Spirit, making fornication a unique sin that directly desecrates the body’s sacred purpose and union with Christ.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry draws a direct connection between the Corinthians' mistaken freedom about foods and their deeper error about sexual immorality. Just as some thought Christian liberty gave them license to eat what the apostles had forbidden, others reasoned that fornication was also permissible since local law did not condemn it.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent highlights a Greek wordplay that English cannot fully capture: the same root appears in "lawful" and "brought under the power." His closest rendering is "all things are in my power, but I shall not be brought under the power of any," where the verbal kinship reinforces the contrast between permission and enslavement.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley draws a sharp line between what is lawful and what is wise. Even permissible things can enslave a person if abstaining from them brings unease. True Christian freedom, he argues, means nothing has power over you—not even something allowed.