What does "you were bought at a price" mean in 1 Corinthians 6:20? Canonical Text and Immediate Context 1 Corinthians 6:20 : “for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.” Paul completes an argument begun in v. 12 against sexual immorality, anchoring every ethical imperative to a completed, historical purchase. The Greek verb ἠγοράσθητε (ēgorásthēte, “you were bought”) is the aorist passive of ἀγοράζω, used of commercial exchange in the agora. The aorist points to a decisive, once-for-all transaction already accomplished. Old Testament Background of Redemption Language The Torah repeatedly portrays liberation by purchase or substitution: • Exodus 6:6—Yahweh promises, “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm.” • Leviticus 25:47-55—kinsman-redeemer provisions regulate buying Israelites out of slavery. • Isaiah 52:3—“You were sold for nothing, and you will be redeemed without money.” The semantic field ties redemption to both deliverance and transfer of ownership; God’s people become His exclusive possession (Exodus 19:5). The Price Identified: The Blood of Christ The New Testament uniformly defines the “price” as Jesus’ sacrificial death: • Mark 10:45—He gives “His life as a ransom for many.” • 1 Peter 1:18-19—“You were redeemed… with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish.” • Revelation 5:9—“You purchased for God those from every tribe… with Your blood.” The price is not silver or gold but the infinite value of the incarnate Son’s life, confirming both the gravity of human sin and the immeasurable worth God assigns to His redeemed. Completed Transaction, New Ownership Because Christ’s payment is objective and finished (John 19:30), believers shift realms: • Colossians 1:13—rescued from darkness, transferred to the kingdom of the Son. • Titus 2:14—“to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people His own.” The phrase “you are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19) is legal language: we now belong to the Purchaser. Ancient manumission records in Delphi and Oxyrhynchus use identical vocabulary to note slaves bought for freedom yet obligated to honor the deity who ransomed them—paralleling Paul’s rubric. Ethical Implications: Body and Spirit Alike Corinthian dualists assumed bodily acts were spiritually inconsequential. Paul counters: 1. The body is for the Lord (v. 13) and destined for resurrection (v. 14). 2. Union with Christ renders sexual sin a profanation of His members (v. 15-16). 3. Therefore, glorify God with your body—positive holiness, not mere prohibition. Redemption reorients physical existence toward worship, making every daily act a liturgy (Romans 12:1). Freedom Re-Defined: From Slavery to Sin to Servitude to God Paul marries two paradoxes: bought to belong, freed to serve. Romans 6:22: “having been set free from sin, you have become slaves to God.” Christian liberty is not autonomous self-expression but empowered obedience—true freedom. Corporate Dimension: The Church as Purchased Bride Acts 20:28 speaks of “the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.” The price secures a collective people. 1 Corinthians 6 therefore informs ecclesial purity: tolerating immorality injures the whole body of Christ. Worship and Cosmic Purpose Revelation 1:5-6 connects the purchase to doxology: “To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood… to Him be glory.” Glorifying God “with your body” includes sexual integrity, charitable service, artistic creativity, and stewardship of health—each acknowledges the costly redemption. Resurrection and Eschatological Guarantee 1 Cor 6:14 roots moral exhortation in bodily resurrection: “God raised the Lord and will also raise us.” The paid price includes future bodily restoration; thus our present bodies matter eternally. Practical Pastoral Applications • Sexual Purity: Recognize personal and communal cost when redeemed bodies are misused. • Addiction & Self-Harm: The price confers immeasurable worth; destructive behaviors contradict purchased value. • Vocation: Vocational excellence becomes stewardship of a redeemed life. • Suffering & Persecution: The paid price guarantees ultimate vindication; suffering cannot nullify ownership. Cross-Reference Synopsis 1 Cor 6:20 resonates with: • 1 Corinthians 7:23—“You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.” • Galatians 3:13; 4:4-5—Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law. • Ephesians 1:7—redemption through His blood. Together these build a canonical tapestry: substitutionary atonement, covenantal purchase, transformative lordship. Summary Definition “You were bought at a price” asserts that through the historical, substitutionary death of Jesus, God paid the infinite cost to redeem believers from sin’s slavery, transferring ownership to Himself. This completed purchase obligates and empowers Christians to glorify God with every facet of body and spirit, anticipates bodily resurrection, and anchors all ethical living in Christ’s finished work. |
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