1 Corinthians 6:10

My Notes

What Does 1 Corinthians 6:10 Mean?

1 Corinthians 6:10 completes the list of vices Paul began in verse 9 — a catalog of behaviors that exclude people from inheriting the kingdom of God. The list is uncomfortable, specific, and aimed directly at the Corinthian church.

"Nor thieves" — the Greek kleptai (thieves, stealers) describes those who take what belongs to others — whether through stealth, fraud, or exploitation.

"Nor covetous" — the Greek pleonektai (the greedy, the grasping, those who want more) describes an insatiable desire for what others have. The Greek pleonexia is literally "having more" — the compulsion to acquire beyond need or right.

"Nor drunkards" — the Greek methysoi (drunkards, those habitually intoxicated) describes not a single incident but a pattern — the person defined by their drunkenness.

"Nor revilers" — the Greek loidoroi (verbal abusers, those who insult, the foul-mouthed) describes people who use speech as a weapon — cursing, shaming, tearing others down with words.

"Nor extortioners" — the Greek harpages (extortioners, swindlers, those who seize by force) describes those who take through violence or manipulation — predators who use power to strip others of what's theirs.

"Shall inherit the kingdom of God" — the Greek basileian theou ou klēronomēsousin (will not inherit the kingdom of God) states the consequence: exclusion from God's kingdom. Not from forgiveness (verse 11 immediately says "and such were some of you" — past tense). From the kingdom as an inherited reality for those whose lives are defined by these patterns.

Verse 11 is the verse's essential companion: "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified." The list isn't a permanent sentencing. It's a description of what they were — past tense — before grace arrived. The Corinthian church contained former thieves, former drunkards, former extortioners. The gospel doesn't change the list. It changes which side of it you're on.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Paul lists specific sins that exclude from the kingdom — then immediately says 'such were some of you.' Which is more striking to you: the severity of the list or the reality of the transformation?
• 2.The list includes 'revilers' — people who use words as weapons. How seriously do you take verbal sin compared to the other items on this list?
• 3.'And such WERE some of you.' What's something in your past that grace has moved to past tense? Have you fully accepted that transformation, or do you still identify with the old version?
• 4.The three-word transformation: washed, sanctified, justified. Which of those three feels most real in your current experience — and which do you struggle to believe applies to you?

Devotional

Paul doesn't flinch. The list is specific, uncomfortable, and aimed at people in the room.

Thieves. The covetous. Drunkards. Revilers. Extortioners. None of them will inherit the kingdom of God. It's blunt. It's categorical. And if you read it in isolation, it sounds like a permanent death sentence.

But you can't read verse 10 without verse 11. And verse 11 is where the gospel detonates: "And such were some of you." Were. Past tense. The Corinthian church had thieves in it — former thieves. It had drunkards — washed drunkards. It had extortioners — justified extortioners. The list describes who they were, not who they are.

"But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified." Three words that move you from one side of the list to the other. Washed — the filth removed. Sanctified — set apart for a different purpose. Justified — declared righteous despite the record. Not because they cleaned themselves up. Because grace intervened.

This is the tension of the Christian life. The behaviors on this list are real, and they have real consequences. Paul isn't softening them. He's not saying they don't matter. He's saying they don't define you anymore — if you've been washed. The old identity is gone. The new one is real. And the kingdom that the old you couldn't inherit, the new you is walking into.

If you see yourself somewhere on this list — currently, not just historically — the verse is a warning and an invitation simultaneously. The warning: these patterns lead somewhere you don't want to go. The invitation: the same grace that moved the Corinthians from "such are you" to "such were you" is available. Right now. Today.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture