In his
commentary on First Corinthians, Robert Sungenis, author of the must-read Not by Faith Alone: The Biblical Evidence
for the Catholic Doctrine of Justification (a biblical refutation of Sola
Fide), rendered 1 Cor 6:11 thusly:
And such were some of you; but you were
washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Commenting
on this passage and how it supports (1) baptismal regeneration and (2) refutes
forensic justification, he noted:
“washed”:
Gr: απελουσασθε, 2× (w: Ac 22:16), a combination of απο (“from” or “away from”) and λυο (“to loose,” “to destroy”), denoting that sin was
loosed or removed from them, answering to the Christian sacrament of Baptism (cf. Ti 3:5). Baptism is also implied by the use
of “the name of …Christ…the Spirit…our God” since it follows the baptismal
formula of Mt 28:19: “baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and
the Holy Spirit.” According to Robertson, this verb is a causative or
permissive middle voice and should be translated (as in the margin of the RSV):
“you had yourselves washed,” indicating that the Corinthians voluntarily
submitted to Baptism and thus it was not a mere ritual or symbolic act for
them. They were, indeed, cleansed of sin. The middle voice απελουσασθε is in contrast to the passive voices of both ηγιασθητε (“sanctified”) and εδικαιωθητε (“justified”), the latter two showing that
sanctification and justification are acts of God upon the individual. Yet because these passives follow the
middle voice, it necessarily means that once the Corinthians submitted to
Baptism by their own free will, they were at once sanctified and justified at that instant.
“Sanctified” comes first not because there is any particular ordo salutis in the act of Baptism, but because Paul
wishes to stress the holy state that is immediately initiated (cf. Ep 5:26). Added to this is a second term,
“justified,” indicating that the individual, through Baptism, has been made righteous in his inner essence, his soul. This is a
clear indication in Paul’s theology that “justified” (Gr: δικαιοω) is not forensic . . . (Robert A. Sungenis, The First
Epistle to the Corinthians [Catholic Apologetics Study Bible Volume 5;
State Line, Pa.: Catholic Apologetics International Publishing, Inc., 2009] 42
n. 113)
