1Corinthians 6:9-11
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
This passage from Paul is another theological expression of the great plan of salvation, Acts 2:38, which was declared on the Day of Pentecost to be for all persons (Acts 2:39).
Baptism in Jesus’ name
Can anyone seriously doubt that the washing referred to in this text is that of baptism in Jesus’ name? That’s what baptism meant to Paul ever since his conversion (Acts 22:16). We know from the book of Acts that the Corinthians were baptized by Paul’s missionary team (Acts 18:8). We also know that all the baptisms in the biblical record of the Christian era were done in Jesus’ name, so, on that basis alone, we’re confident the Corinthians were baptized in Jesus name. We’re even more certain of that because Paul was their preacher. That’s how he was baptized and we know that’s how he baptized others. In fact, Paul even re-baptized the Ephesians so that they would be baptized in Jesus’ name (Acts 19:1-6).
In 1Corinthians 6:11, Paul is referring to the Corinthians’ conversion experience. That is clear by his use of the word, justified. When a person is saved, he is freed from his sins and their penalty. He is legally justified in the sight of God. And, baptism was declared from the beginning of the Christian era to be for this very purpose (Acts 2:38).
The baptism of the Holy Ghost
The Corinthians were not only justified, they were also sanctified. In other words, they had undergone a cataclysmic transformation— a regeneration— whereby they were no longer committing the catalog of sins that Paul had enumerated in this passage. As Paul references, they had received the Holy Ghost.
Sanctification is precisely the work of the Spirit. That’s the reason for Jesus’ stress upon being born again (John 3:5). Water baptism in Jesus’ name can wash sins away, but another trail of the same sins will follow unless there is a change in nature. And so the need for the double baptism into Christ, involving the Holy Ghost.
Interpreting 1Corinthians 6:11 is really easy.
Clearly, the Corinthians had received the John 3:5/Acts 2:38 salvation experience— like everyone else since the Day of Pentecost. They had been baptized in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins and filled with the Holy Ghost. Imagine you were there at that time and were one of them. Your recent conversion had a dramatic effect on you and you were happy with your new life in Christ. Later, Paul wrote a letter to all the saints at Corinth and referenced this transformational conversion experience. How would you have interpreted this verse when it was read to the Church? No doubt, you and everyone else would have interpreted it according to the salvation experience you had been previously taught by Paul, which you came to believe, receive, and cherish. Being washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God would have been universally understood as the conversion experience of baptism in Jesus’ name and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. It’s really that simple. One would be wresting the Scripture to make it mean anything else.