1 Corinthians 5-6
Paul brings up the rumor that a gross sexual sinner is being celebrated within the Corinthian church! Not even the heathens were this bad! And that's tough to accomplish! Paul calls for the believers to put this man out of the fellowship. Church discipline. The purpose is so the man can be saved after the sinful nature is destroyed. Paul tells them that the only way this man is going to repent is if he is humiliated instead of being celebrated. At present he has no reason to change. And his corruption ruins the name of Christ in Corinth.
Paul points out that just as a little yeast works its way through all of the dough, so sin does the same thing. Allowing that sin is a corruption of the church itself. We are not told about a situation where repentence occurs before discipline can take place. This example is strictly about a man who perversely doesn't think he needs to repent and a church who, for some reason, brags about this man's sinfulness among itself and presumably to the world.
Paul uses much Passover imagery to show the keeping of that Festival through keeping our "bread" pure and unleavened. The Passover Lamb is Christ.
At 5:9, Paul returns to his talk of judgment by reminding the believers that they have been warned not to associate with the sexually immoral. He clarifies this statement so that we understand Paul is not calling us to cloister ourselves away for purity's sake. Paul is calling for church discipline. A Christian should not be someone known as sexually immmoral, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunk or a cheat. These are not Christian characteristics, and those who display these characteristics should be dealt with as Scripture tells us. We are to keep our brothers and sisters pure. God will judge those outside of the church.
The line between the godly and the ungodly is further marked in Paul's discussion of lawsuits. Why would believers take this to unbelievers for judgment? In 6:2 he tells us that the saints (presumably all believers) will judge the world! We will even, and we're not given details, be judging angels! Certainly trivial cases can be judged by those who are going to judge the world.
That's a qualification I'm not sure we all realize we are to have. And frankly, there are many within the church whom I'm not sure should be allowed to judge. But that's for God to decide. I'm to encourage those people in the faith and away from the attitudes described at the end of chapter 5.
The need for lawsuits is a sign of immaturity in the faith. Paul tells us that we should rather be cheated than to take a brother to court in front of unbelievers. Yet the worldly behavior is still a part of the Christian brotherhood in Corinth and it not supposed to be there. Paul reminds them that many were called out of very sinful lifestyles and washed clean. Those dirty habits should not be the hallmarks of their current lives.
The final section of chapter six again deals with sexual immorality -- a hot button issue in Corinth and the Corinthian church. The proverb at 6:12 is curious by its inclusion here. Is Paul saying that all sex is permissible, but not all sex is beneficial? It seems he is quoting other sources. Perhaps the Corinthians were using this proverb as an excuse for continuing to behave badly. Many times we seek only to do what is permissible without regard for what is best. But Paul writes that we are not to be mastered by anything, and sexual appetites can master even the strongest of people. Paul downplays the "needs" and "urges" by pointing out that food and stomachs will each be destroyed by God.
Paul continues by telling the believers that the body is not made to be used to be immoral. Sexual sin is the one sin committed against one's own body. That body, which is a house for God, is defiled by sexual sin. Joining my body with a prostitute's body is like joining God's house with a house of prostitution. The holy linked with the sinful. It is not right. Especially when we consider
that the body we have is not ours. It is worthless if not redeemed from sinfulness. We were bought at a price. Therefore what was purchased should honor the Purchaser.
Paul points out that just as a little yeast works its way through all of the dough, so sin does the same thing. Allowing that sin is a corruption of the church itself. We are not told about a situation where repentence occurs before discipline can take place. This example is strictly about a man who perversely doesn't think he needs to repent and a church who, for some reason, brags about this man's sinfulness among itself and presumably to the world.
Paul uses much Passover imagery to show the keeping of that Festival through keeping our "bread" pure and unleavened. The Passover Lamb is Christ.
At 5:9, Paul returns to his talk of judgment by reminding the believers that they have been warned not to associate with the sexually immoral. He clarifies this statement so that we understand Paul is not calling us to cloister ourselves away for purity's sake. Paul is calling for church discipline. A Christian should not be someone known as sexually immmoral, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunk or a cheat. These are not Christian characteristics, and those who display these characteristics should be dealt with as Scripture tells us. We are to keep our brothers and sisters pure. God will judge those outside of the church.
The line between the godly and the ungodly is further marked in Paul's discussion of lawsuits. Why would believers take this to unbelievers for judgment? In 6:2 he tells us that the saints (presumably all believers) will judge the world! We will even, and we're not given details, be judging angels! Certainly trivial cases can be judged by those who are going to judge the world.
That's a qualification I'm not sure we all realize we are to have. And frankly, there are many within the church whom I'm not sure should be allowed to judge. But that's for God to decide. I'm to encourage those people in the faith and away from the attitudes described at the end of chapter 5.
The need for lawsuits is a sign of immaturity in the faith. Paul tells us that we should rather be cheated than to take a brother to court in front of unbelievers. Yet the worldly behavior is still a part of the Christian brotherhood in Corinth and it not supposed to be there. Paul reminds them that many were called out of very sinful lifestyles and washed clean. Those dirty habits should not be the hallmarks of their current lives.
The final section of chapter six again deals with sexual immorality -- a hot button issue in Corinth and the Corinthian church. The proverb at 6:12 is curious by its inclusion here. Is Paul saying that all sex is permissible, but not all sex is beneficial? It seems he is quoting other sources. Perhaps the Corinthians were using this proverb as an excuse for continuing to behave badly. Many times we seek only to do what is permissible without regard for what is best. But Paul writes that we are not to be mastered by anything, and sexual appetites can master even the strongest of people. Paul downplays the "needs" and "urges" by pointing out that food and stomachs will each be destroyed by God.
Paul continues by telling the believers that the body is not made to be used to be immoral. Sexual sin is the one sin committed against one's own body. That body, which is a house for God, is defiled by sexual sin. Joining my body with a prostitute's body is like joining God's house with a house of prostitution. The holy linked with the sinful. It is not right. Especially when we consider
that the body we have is not ours. It is worthless if not redeemed from sinfulness. We were bought at a price. Therefore what was purchased should honor the Purchaser.
posted by rev-ed @ 4:27 PM
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