What Does 1 Corinthians 6:12 Mean in the King James?
All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
In Greek, “lawful” and “brought under power” belong to the same word family: what is permitted can become what rules.
THE MEANING
What is permitted is not automatically beneficial, and permission does not guarantee freedom. A choice can begin as something you do and become something that directs you. The verse names freedom as not being brought under the power of anything.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is: “If I am allowed to choose it, it cannot take control of me.”
THE ROOT
ἔξεστιν
exestin
GROWS FROM
ἐξουσία (exousia), in the word family of ἔξεστιν (exestin)
permission, right, authority, the sphere in which something is possible or permitted
“lawful; brought under the power” in this verse is exestin. The Greek word for what is “lawful” is related to the word family behind “brought under the power.” The echo holds permission and mastery together: something may be within reach and still become the force that directs the chooser.
ALSO GROWS
exestin: It is permitted; it is possible.
ἔξεστιν
This is the word behind “lawful,” describing what lies within the speaker’s permission.
exousiazō: Exercise authority over; control.
ἐξουσιάζω
This related verb appears in “brought under the power,” shifting the question from what can be chosen to what can rule the chooser.
συμφέρει
sympherei
GROWS FROM
φέρω
pherō
carry, bring
“Expedient” can sound like mere convenience, but the Greek word pictures what an action brings together or contributes toward. The verse weighs permission by what a choice carries into the life it shapes.
ALSO GROWS
sympherō: Bring together; be advantageous or beneficial.
συμφέρω
This is the verb behind “expedient,” asking whether an action contributes to well-being.
prospherō: Bring toward; present or offer.
προσφέρω
Its carrying image shows how an action can bring something toward an outcome.
THE PATTERN
What a person gives themselves to can gain authority over them, even when the choice begins as permitted.
He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?THE THREAD
The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.The verb translated “hath power” comes from the same Greek word family as “brought under the power” here. In this verse it describes mutual authority over the body, making the question concrete: freedom concerns not only what a person can do, but what is allowed to rule them.
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