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.
Paul takes up the claim "all things are lawful for me" and puts it to the test. He does not deny the freedom. He asks two questions of it: does this do any good, and who ends up in control?
The "all things" here are not sins. One writer marks out what Paul is talking about, and the danger hidden inside it.
"All things" — and here he speaks of right things, food and natural relations — are lawful for the Christian. Even so, we have to be careful. Everything may be lawful, but it does not follow that everything is helpful. There is a danger that in using right things we come under their power.
One question is "is it forbidden?" Paul adds a second one. Many things pass the first test and fail the second.
Even so, what is perfectly lawful may not be "helpful" or "profitable" at all. And even a lawful thing can tend to enslave. We must not let anything take power over us. We should stay free instead, as the willing slaves of our Lord and Saviour. How often people say about a disputed point, "But it is not forbidden. What is the harm in it?" The reply has to be another question: is it profitable? We want things that do no harm — but we also want things that do real good.
The second half of the verse guards the first. A freedom that hands control to a habit has stopped being freedom.
There is another safeguard. If all things are lawful to the Christian, he still refuses to let anything take power over him. If that were not so, it would be slavery, not freedom. So he must keep caring for the good of others, and keep his freedom itself intact. The Christian is called to serve others, never to be the slave of a habit, in anything great or small.
Note who is speaking. Paul says "I will not." One writer sees a man guarding himself against a real danger, not an imaginary one.
Paul says that things which are "lawful" to him — things not against Scripture — are not all "expedient," that is, wise. About these same things he at once adds, "All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything" (1 Cor. 6:12). Lawful things can build up a power or influence over a person, and even Paul feared becoming their captive.
The moment of surrender is not dramatic. It is the moment a thing starts giving the orders.
By "all things are lawful, but not all are helpful" (v. 12), he means that there is no difference to him, but he will not allow anything to have power over him. The moment a thing governs him, lust has power over him — even if it is only eating something nice… The Lord has taken up the body as well as the soul, though He has not yet redeemed it out of its present state. So the body is for the Lord, and not for its own lusts.
This restraint is not a return to law. It comes from somewhere else, and it rests on a simple fact: a Christian already has an owner.
Someone may insist that grace has made "all things lawful." Even so, grace has a powerful voice to persuade that person that "all things are not helpful." Grace teaches us the opposite of self-indulgence (Titus 2:11-12)… If "all things are lawful," personal faith still refuses to come under the power of mere "things." The believer has a Master who is supreme. So it is only right that he should let nothing else rule him.
Paul's freedom was real, and he still did not treat it as the deciding factor.
All things are lawful for those who are heirs of everything. But our great care should be to rule our natural desires, not to obey them. Otherwise we stop being free men and become slaves again. The apostle is our pattern here (1 Cor. 6:12). He claimed his personal freedom in the strongest terms, yet he chose to wear the chains of one bought by his Lord and belonging to Him. All things were lawful, but his rights were not his measure. His faith worked through love, and love does not count its rights; it looks for its opportunities.
- Lawful. The things in view are not sins. They are right things — food, natural relations. The danger is in the use, not the thing.
- Profitable. "Is it forbidden?" is only the first question. Ask also whether it does real good, not just no harm.
- Power. A lawful thing can start to govern you. The moment it governs, you are no longer free — that is slavery wearing the name of freedom.
- Master. A Christian already has a supreme Master, so nothing else may take command. Grace teaches this restraint, not rules.
- Love. Paul held his rights but did not let them decide. Love looks past what it may claim to what it can do for others.
Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats; but God will bring to nothing both it and them but the body [is] not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
Some in Corinth used the slogan "all things are lawful" to excuse what they did with their bodies. Paul answers by separating two things they had confused: food, which is temporary, and the body, which belongs to the Lord.
The first half of the verse deals with food. The pairing is mutual, and neither side lasts.
Paul first applies this to food. He deals with it so briefly and dismissively that he settles the question for every godly soul. "Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food" — and God will destroy both one and the other. The comparison he then draws is forceful and surprising, and no less true: the two suit each other, and both perish under God's dealing. They are only temporary… Put the stomach in its true and passing place, and the body rises to a position philosophy knew nothing about. It was not made for unholy or casual indulgence; it is for the Lord, and the Lord is for it.
Paul takes up the claim that everything is permitted. Something allowed can still take command, and food is the plain example.
All things are lawful for the Christian — and here he speaks of right things: food and natural relations. Even so we have to be careful. All may be lawful, but it does not follow at all that everything is helpful. There is the danger that in using right things we come under their power… It is possible to use food and the body for self-indulgence and become a glutton.
The rule is not about the size of the thing but about who is in charge.
By "all things lawful, not all expedient" (v. 12) he means that there is no difference to him. But he will not let anything have power over him. The moment it governs, lust has power over him, even if it is only eating something nice.
"For the Lord" is a claim of ownership. It holds now, even though the body has not yet entered glory.
He has taken up the body as well as the soul, though He has not yet redeemed it out of its present state. It is for the Lord, therefore, and not for its own lusts… It awaits its redemption in the sense of being taken into glory. My soul has the liberty of grace, and my body waits for the liberty of the glory, and all creation waits. Yet the body now belongs to the Lord, and He takes it for Himself, and the Holy Spirit dwells in it as a temple.
The second half of the verse is not a demand but a promise of care.
How precious too are the words, "and the Lord for the body." He has a real concern for the proper well-being of our bodies, not just of our spirit and soul. We may entrust our bodily needs to His own hand with complete confidence, instead of dwelling anxiously on our life or our body (Matt. 6:25).
Read together, the two halves carry both a duty and a comfort.
There is both a responsibility and an encouragement in these words. We are to acknowledge the Lordship of Christ and use our bodies in His service. In doing so we may be sure of His grace and support, as Paul says: "and the Lord for the body." The Holy Spirit lives in the believer's body. How serious, then, to use it for unholy practices.
No philosophy ever gave the body this honour. Christ did.
The honour of the body was never set in its true light until Christ came and proved it. He proved it in His own person as man, and also in ours, redeemed by His blood and indwelt by the Holy Spirit… Even now the Lord does not despise this temple of the Spirit. How much less will He despise it when it is changed into the likeness of His glory? In this body we shall have the portion of our Lord. For "God both raised the Lord and will raise up us by His power."
- Perishing — food and the stomach were made for each other, and God will destroy both. They are temporary equipment, not a model for how to treat the body.
- Permitted — lawful things can still enslave. The moment a favourite food governs you, lust has the power, not you.
- Possessed — the Lord has taken up the body as well as the soul; it is His now, so it is for Him and not for its own desires.
- Promised — the soul already has the liberty of grace; the body still waits for the liberty of glory. God who raised the Lord will raise us by His power.
- Paired — the verse runs both ways. Your body is for Him in service, and He is for your body in care, so you can trust Him with its needs.