March 3, 2024
Evening Service

Chapter 5 Review:

·      Paul addressed the discipline of the church for those who were openly sinning within the church.  They are to be called out for the sin and be held out of the communion service not to destroy them, but to bring them to a place of repentance and redemption.

·      As we mentioned this morning, we must recognize sin for what it is and not allow ourselves to become tolerant of it for any reason.  If it is tolerated or accepted as the norm, it does not go away, it actually opens the door for more to spread as leaven does through the whole lump of dough.  We must act to stop it quickly and decisively.

·      He also mentioned separating ourselves from other Jesus followers who are tolerant specifically of sexually immoral lifestyles.  We must strive to keep the inside of the church pure so we can be an example to those who are on the outside looking in being a peculiar people.

·      Paul now teaches us on how the church should handle legal litigation from the inside and not allow the worldly courts to be a part of a dispute between two believers.

1Co 6:1-6 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?  (2)  Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?  (3)  Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?  (4)  If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge?  (5)  I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?  (6)  But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!

·      Paul was appalled that two believers with in the church would take a matter between them to a worldly court over allowing the church to judge over the matter.

·      He makes the point that in the end times it will be the believers who judge over the world and even over angels.  How then can we not trust each other in small matters at this time much more than we would trust a government official.  This was especially true in Paul’s day as going to court would mean going before Roman officials who cared nothing about religion at all.  Today his command stands true, but here in America at least the judicial system is founded upon Christian values.

·      The issue today is that the church is divided and we are not all on the same page anymore.  His command however, still applies for us to go that route first.  He continues with another possible solution.

 

1Co 6:7 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?

·      Paul’s idea here is that rather than take a brother to court, would it not be better to simply accept the wrong and move on in forgiveness?  That would take a very mature Christian to be able to do such a thing.  Our flesh cries for justice and we feel we can have no peace without it.

·      This would be an opportunity for us to put the process we discussed this morning into play as we face this situation as a temptation but also as an opportunity.  By submitting, resisting, drawing near to God, cleansing and purifying ourselves, lamenting, and showing humility in the situation where we feel cheated, we can allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to God’s will not our own.  Is this easy?  No way!  But is it the best way to keep the church and the Name of Jesus from disgrace as commanded by Paul.  Weigh in the balance what the outcome would be either way and judge for yourself.

·      Paul now adds to that thought process as he reminds us of who we once were before Christ.

 

1Co 6:8-11 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren!  (9)  Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, (10) nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionists will inherit the kingdom of God.  (11)  And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

·      Paul brings us to a very new perspective to view from when we have been wronged or cheated in a situation.  Recall who you once were a sinner outside the grace of God.  He creates a list for us of sins that are offending to God (where we wronged and cheated Him) that separated us from Him.

·      He then slaps us in the face at the end of the list with a very true reality.  “And such were some of you.”  I wronged, cheated, offended and defied God by committing and even practicing some of these sinful acts.  Notice the long list and the depth of it.  Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers extortionists will inherit the kingdom of God.  Each of us can find ourselves somewhere in that list.

·      BUT:  There is a way to become clean of these evil lifestyles through Jesus.  “We were washed, sanctified, justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God.”  Through Jesus we were forgiven, set apart for His use, and made right in the sight of God not because we deserved it but through His grace.

·      This is a wonderful scripture if you read only it of God’s power to change us from being unworthy evil doers, to being the very children of God.  But taken in this context we realize Paul is pointing out that we are forgiven for much wrong doing, how can we not also forgive our brothers who have wronged us?

·      Paul now does a quick switch back to the subject of Chapter 5, sexual immorality.

 

1Co 6:12-17 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.  (13)  Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.  (14)  And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.  (15)  Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!  (16)  Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For "THE TWO," He says, "SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH."  (17)  But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

·      Paul is not saying here that doing the sins he mentioned above to him are lawful, but he is speaking about things morally indifferent.  A good example would be drinking alcohol.  It is not a sin to drink, but it is to the extent of getting drunk as drunkenness is the sin.  But just because we can lawfully drink alcohol is that really helpful to us in our walk with the Lord?  Just because we can does not always mean we should.

·      He then moves the idea to sexual immorality and how defiling our body of being with a harlot is not only defiling us, but also Christ who we belong to.  We are joined to the Lord in one spirit and by being with a harlot, we too become one with them as he quotes Genesis 2:24 of how the two become one; through sexual intimacy. 

·      In chapter 7, Paul expounds about this deeper as he explains marriage more in depth to us.

·      He now sums up this point as he finishes the chapter bringing up a point he made back in chapter 3.

 

1Co 6:18-20 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.  (19)  Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  (20)  For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

·      Flee-resist-run from any form of sexual immorality.  This sin defiles us both physically and spiritually.  Paul proves this by returning to his point of chapter 3 that “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you.”  When we defile our body sexually, we defile the Spirit that lives within us as well.

·      We mentioned that this morning as part of the process of overcoming temptation.  When we submit, resist and then draw near to God, we call God into that moment forcing to recognize that God is with us always.  Would we give in to this temptation if Jesus were right there with us (which He is)?  No, we would remove ourselves from it moving from the darkness into the light not going the other way.

·      He then brings up another very good point to consider.  “You were bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and spirit which are God’s.”  We belong to God and no longer are to yield to our will, but to His.  We have died to ourselves and now He asks us to live for Him bringing Him glory in our actions through faithful obedience.

·      This teaching is not a clear cut and easy to understand as what James brought to us this morning, but it is just as powerful.  By being fulling committed to Jesus, we will take our issues with another before the church first and even consider accepting being wronged over taking a brother to court.  We will recognize that we who are forgiven much must also forgive others.  We must exercise self-control over our bodies keeping us pure on the inside and out.

·      Our motivation is again, we were bought with a high price and now we belong to God and everything we do MUST bring glory, not shame, to Him and His church.  The challenge is great, but the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us.

 

Heavenly Father help us to grow to the place where every decision we make is about bringing glory to You.  May You increase and may we decrease.