Chapter 11: Christian Perfection. Do you know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? 1 Corinthians 6:9. And he who retaliates acts unrighteously; it makes no difference if it is by action, word, or desire. For the gospel addresses even the unspoken desire, and this is what some of you were. But you are washed (1 Corinthians 6:11), not just like everyone else, but with knowledge. You have discarded the fleshly desires of the soul to become, as far as possible, part of the goodness of God's care.
You do this by being long-suffering and by forgiving both the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). You become like the sun, shining beams of kindness on others through your words and deeds. But you are sanctified (1 Corinthians 6:11). He who has been sanctified is in a condition to be holy. He does not give in to fleshly desires in any way. He behaves as though he was already freed from his body. It is as though he has already grown holy, rising above this earth.
The apostle continues, "For this reason you are justified in the name of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 6:11). God made you to be righteous just as He is righteous. You are blended as far as possible with the Holy Spirit. Are not all things lawful to me? Yet I will not be brought under the power of any (1 Corinthians 6:12). For you are not to do, think, or speak anything contrary to the gospel. Meats for the belly and the belly for meats, which God shall destroy (1 Corinthians 6:13).
Some people think and live as though they were made for eating. They don't eat simply for the purpose of sustaining life, knowing God is not their primary goal. Does God not say that these are figurative senses, the fleshly parts of the holy body? For the church of the Lord, the spiritual and holy choir, is referred to as a body. So those who are merely called Christians, but do not live in accordance with the Word, are the fleshly parts. Now this spiritual body, the holy church, is not for fornication.
Likewise, we are not to apostatize from the gospel by adopting those things that belong to pagan life. And the one who acts like a pagan in the church, whether in actions, words, or thoughts, commits fornication both as to the church and as to his own body. If his conduct is contrary to the covenant, he is joined to the harlot (1 Corinthians 6:15). He thereby becomes another body, one that is not holy. He becomes one flesh with something else, living a pagan life and having a different hope.
But he who is joined to the Lord in spirit becomes a spiritual body by a different kind of union. The one joined to the Lord is fully a son. He is a holy man, one who is intimate with God. He is molded by the teaching of the Lord and is perfect without fleshly desires. Indeed, in work and in spirit itself, he has been brought close to the Lord. Because he has reached spiritual manhood in this manner, he will receive the mansion that is due to him.
Those who partake of this intimacy will understand how it was said by the Lord, "Be perfect as your father perfectly" (Matthew 5:48). We call physicians and philosophers perfect, don't we? So likewise, we can call one who is intimate with God perfect. We become perfect by forgiving sins, forgetting injuries, and living free of fleshly desires every day. However, although all of these things are important, none of them put us on the same level as God.
The Stoics irreverently say that virtue in man and God is the same. But we don't say this. Should we not be perfect as the Father wills? For it is utterly impossible for anyone to become perfect as God is. The Father wishes us to be perfect by living blamelessly, being obedient to the gospel.