This backward glance shifts the group’s temporal focus and provides a
renewed awareness of the type of social change Paul envisions among those who
have begun to experience new life. You were “washed” (ἀπολούω); this occurred when
the various group members had accepted the gospel, confessed Christ, and were baptized
(Rom. 10:9–10; cf. Acts 22:16; Tit. 3:5). You were “sanctified” (ἁγιάζω), an identity
label he had previously used in 1:2 and 1:30. The various group members at a specific
point in the past entered into a state of being set apart; as such he could
refer to them as “the saints” in 6:1. You were “justified” (δικαιόω), a
declaration by God that occurs by faith alone based on Christ’s act of
righteousness that provides life for all humanity (Rom. 5:18; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2
Cor. 5:21). (J. Brian Tucker, 1 Corinthians: A Social Identity Commentary
[T&T Clark Social Identity Commentaries on the New Testament; London:
T&T Clark, 2024], 145)
