Skip to content

Bible Study: "All Things Are Lawful" vs the Sermon on the Mount (pvj-17)

Question

Paul says "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient" (1 Corinthians 6:12) and "All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any" (1 Corinthians 6:12b). Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount INTENSIFIES moral demands: "ye have heard... but I say unto you" -- anger = murder (Matthew 5:22), lust = adultery (Matthew 5:28). Is Paul loosening what Jesus tightened? Examine: (1) Is "all things are lawful" a Corinthian slogan Paul is quoting and then correcting? The immediate qualifications ("but not all things are expedient," "but I will not be brought under power") suggest correction. (2) Compare 1 Corinthians 10:23 where the same phrase recurs with "all things are lawful but all things edify not." (3) Does Paul's own moral teaching (Romans 6:1-2 "shall we sin that grace may abound? God forbid"; Galatians 5:19-21 works of the flesh; Ephesians 5:3-5) actually align with Jesus's ethical intensity?

Discovered Scope

Topics Found (from naves_semantic.py)

Topic Score Key Verse References
MORAL LAW 0.70 (See LAW)
SERMON 0.62 MAT 5; 6; 7; LUK 6:17-49
MORALITY 0.58 (See DUTY OF MAN TO MAN, INTEGRITY, NEIGHBOR)
CONSCIENCE 0.53 ROM 14:1-23; 1CO 8:7-13; 10:32
LIBERTY 0.52 JHN 8:32,33,36; GAL 3:28
LUST 0.48 MAT 5:28; 1CO 9:27; 10:6,7; EPH 4:22
COMMANDMENTS 0.48 EXO 20:3-17; MAT 5:16,22
LAW 0.48 ROM 7:7,12,14; 13:10; 1TI 1:5,8-10; JAS 1:25; 1JN 3:4; 5:3
PRUDENCE 0.47 PRO 14:8,15,16

Verse References (from Nave's entries)

Primary Pauline "All Things Lawful" passages: - 1 Corinthians 6:12 (both halves) - 1 Corinthians 10:23 (parallel usage)

Paul's moral teaching (anti-antinomian): - Romans 6:1-2 ("shall we sin that grace may abound? God forbid") - Romans 6:14-15 ("not under law... shall we sin? God forbid") - Galatians 5:13-14 ("use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh") - Galatians 5:19-21 ("works of the flesh") - Ephesians 5:3-5 ("fornication and all uncleanness") - 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 ("this is the will of God, even your sanctification") - Romans 13:8-10 (love fulfills the law, quotes Decalogue) - Colossians 3:5-8 ("mortify therefore your members")

Jesus's Sermon on the Mount moral intensification: - Matthew 5:17-20 ("I came not to destroy the law... except your righteousness exceed") - Matthew 5:21-22 ("ye have heard... Thou shalt not kill... but I say unto you... angry") - Matthew 5:27-28 ("ye have heard... Thou shalt not commit adultery... but I say... looketh on a woman to lust") - Matthew 5:31-32 (divorce intensified) - Matthew 5:33-37 (oaths intensified) - Matthew 5:38-42 (retaliation reversed) - Matthew 5:43-48 ("love your enemies... be ye perfect")

1 Corinthians context passages (immediate context for 6:12): - 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 (fornication among them) - 1 Corinthians 5:9-11 ("not to company with fornicators") - 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ("the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom") - 1 Corinthians 6:13-20 ("the body is not for fornication... glorify God in your body") - 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 (knowledge, liberty, weaker brother) - 1 Corinthians 10:14 ("flee from idolatry") - 1 Corinthians 10:23-33 (all things lawful, second occurrence)

Strong's Numbers Found (from semantic_strongs.py)

Strong's Word Relevance
G1832 exesti (lawful, it is permitted) "All things are lawful" - the verb in 1 Cor 6:12, 10:23
G4851 sumphero (expedient, profitable) "but all things are not expedient" - 1 Cor 6:12, 10:23
G3618 oikodomeo (edify, build up) "but all things edify not" - 1 Cor 10:23
G1850 exousiazo (have power over, exercise authority) "I will not be brought under the power of any" - 1 Cor 6:12
G4202 porneia (fornication) Central context: 1 Cor 5-6 deals with sexual immorality
G266 hamartia (sin) Rom 6:1-2 "shall we sin that grace may abound?"
G3431 moicheuo (commit adultery) Mat 5:28 lust = adultery; also in Paul's vice lists
Study Question Relevance
pvj-05-faith-works-definitions "What do faith and works mean in Paul compared to Jesus?" Established that Paul and Jesus use different vocabulary in different contexts
pvj-09-not-under-law-vs-not-destroy "Is Paul abolishing what Jesus preserved?" Established that Paul's "not under law" refers to condemnation, not moral abolition; I-B resolved Strong against contradiction
pvj-06-paul-faith-apart-works Paul's faith-apart-from-works Contains Rom 6:1 "shall we sin that grace may abound" analysis
law-16-paul-and-law-in-romans Paul's law teaching in Romans Systematic examination of Paul's law vocabulary

Key findings from prior studies: - pvj-05: Paul's "erga nomou" and Jesus's "poieo thelema" are different vocabulary for different questions. Paul also affirms "faith which worketh by love" (Gal 5:6) and "created unto good works" (Eph 2:10). - pvj-09: Paul's "not under the law" resolved Strong against antinomian reading. Paul's own immediate context (Rom 6:15 "shall we sin? God forbid") directly denies the antinomian interpretation. Paul says "we establish the law" (Rom 3:31), "the law is holy" (Rom 7:12), "not without law to God" (1 Cor 9:21).

Focus Areas

  1. Rhetorical analysis of 1 Cor 6:12: Is "all things are lawful" a Corinthian slogan being quoted and corrected? Evidence: (a) Paul immediately qualifies with "but..." each time; (b) the same phrase recurs in 10:23; (c) the context is arguing AGAINST licentiousness (6:13-20).
  2. Paul's actual moral teaching: Does Paul's moral teaching in vice lists (Gal 5:19-21, Eph 5:3-5, Col 3:5-8, 1 Cor 6:9-11) align with or contradict Jesus's intensification of commandments?
  3. The Sermon on the Mount intensification pattern: What does Jesus's "ye have heard... but I say unto you" actually intensify? Compare to Paul's own moral standards.
  4. concept_context.py --scope author on key verses from BOTH Paul and the Gospels (MANDATORY per methodology).
  5. Liberty vs. license in Paul: Galatians 5:13 "use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh" -- Paul explicitly warns against the misuse of liberty.

Research Instructions

You are the Research Agent. Execute this study by:

  1. Read the SKILL.md at C:/Users/Michael/.claude/skills/bible-study2/SKILL.md for full tool documentation and principles
  2. Read your agent instructions at C:/Users/Michael/.claude/skills/bible-study2/agents/research-agent.md
  3. Follow the answer-question workflow from the skill
  4. Write research files to this folder:
  5. 01-topics.md - Nave's topics and full entries
  6. 02-verses.md - All verse texts retrieved with context
  7. 04-word-studies.md - Strong's research
  8. raw-data/ - Raw tool output organized by category
  9. Do NOT write 03-analysis.md or CONCLUSION.md -- those are for the analysis agent
  10. MANDATORY: Run concept_context.py --scope author on key verses from BOTH Paul and the Gospels (1 Cor 6:12, 1 Cor 10:23, Rom 6:1, Mat 5:22, Mat 5:28)

Workflow

answer-question

Scoped: 2026-03-04 Folder: bible-studies/pvj-17-all-things-lawful/