These nine verses form a complex segment of the letter. One finds here quotations from the Corinthians and a citation of the LXX. The verses are largely cast in the diatribe style of popular Hellenistic philosophy. One also encounters traditional elements of early Christian doctrine. All of this material is woven together in service to Paul’s deliberate line of argumentation.

Paul builds and argues a case in verses 12–17 in response to the thinking and declarations of the Corinthians. As the NIV and other translations recognize by placing the statement “Everything is permissible for me” in quotations, Paul employs a pattern of rhetoric wherein he quotes the position of those with whom he is in imaginary dialogue in order to respond to their thinking. The hypothetical conversation goes bac…