“Everything is permissible,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible,” but not everything is edifying.
Parallel translations
- WEB “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are profitable. “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things build up.
- KJV All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
- NKJV All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.
- NASB All things are permitted, but not all things are of benefit. All things are permitted, but not all things build people up.
- NLT You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Even lawful things are not always beneficial or edifying. Christian freedom must be guided by what builds others up, not mere permissibility.
Overview
Paul repeats a Corinthian slogan ('All things are lawful') and twice qualifies it: liberty must serve what is profitable and constructive. Freedom is not the highest value; love and edification are. This principle reorients the church from self-assertion toward the good of the community, reflecting the self-giving pattern of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 1 Cor 6:12“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.
- 1 Cor 8:9Be careful, however, that your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
- Eph 4:29Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.
- Rom 14:19–20So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
- 1 Th 5:11Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing.
- Rom 15:1–2We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
- Rom 14:15If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died.
- 1 Cor 14:17You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other one is not edified.
- 1 Cor 14:26What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a psalm or a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All of these must be done to build up the church.
- 1 Cor 14:12It is the same with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, strive to excel in gifts that build up the church.
- 1 Tim 1:4or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith.
- 1 Cor 14:3–5But he who prophesies speaks to men for their edification, encouragement, and comfort.
- 1 Cor 8:1Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
- 2 Cor 12:19Have you been thinking all along that we were making a defense to you? We speak before God in Christ, and all of this, beloved, is to build you up.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 10:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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