Asbury Bible Commentary – C. Transition: The Unrighteous (6:9-11)
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C. Transition: The Unrighteous (6:9-11)

C. Transition: The Unrighteous (6:9-11)

In both 6:1 and 6:9 Paul mentions the adikoi, the “ungodly,” or wicked (niv). Those to whom the Corinthians have appealed for judgment are doomed; they will not inherit the kingdom of God (6:9-10). Paul’s list of unrighteous people emphasizes sexual and social vices. He reminds his readers that they were once just such ungodly people, but God completely changed them. Paul describes their thorough regeneration as being washed, sanctified, and justified. This sequence presents no problem to the Wesleyan order of salvation (Clarke, 6:217-18; Wesley, Notes on 6:11). “The three verbs do not seem to denote three stages but three aspects of the Holy Spirit’s action” (Héring, 42). The Corinthians were forgiven of their sins, set apart as God’s people, and put into a right relationship with him. These are three concomitant, redemptive, divine acts—conceived as the work of God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Spirit. Thus here sanctification denotes, not entire, but initial sanctification.