1 Corinthians 6
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1 Corinthians 6
Lawsuit Issue (6:1-11)
1 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?
1 Go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints: Non-criminal grievances between Christians had apparently been taken to the civil courts or arbitrators for settlement.
The Corinthian experience was opposite the early church in Jerusalem’s experience.
Corinthians: bickered in court over property, submitting to Roman standards.
Early church: sold everything and lived communally, submitting to the standard of Christ (love).
The Corinthians were not willing to put up with any injustice or inequity aimed towards themselves.
2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!
2-3 Do you not know: Repeated often in this chapter (and also 1 Corinthians).
What were they to have already known?
That saints will judge the world.
That saints are to judge angels.
An expansion of Jesus’ teaching:
Luke 22:28–30 (ESV) — 28 “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, 29 and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, 30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
2 Timothy 2:12 (ESV) — 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;
Revelation 2:26–27 (ESV) — 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.
Revelation 20:4 (ESV) — 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Daniel 7 prophecy of the four great beasts:
Lion with eagles’ wings — Babylonian
Bear with three ribs in its mouth — Medo-Persian
Leopard with four wings and heads — Greece
Different beast with ten horns, strong, iron teeth, an additional horn with eyes and a mouth, plucking up three other horns.
Daniel 7:25–27 (ESV) — 25 He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. 26 But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. 27 And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’
Conclusion: trivial cases and matters pertaining to this life should have been no problem for them to adjudicate.
Paul writes here in the light of Roman law, which allowed Jews to apply their own law in property matters; and Christians, who were not yet distinguished as a separate class, must have had the same privilege.
Paul appealed to a Roman commander (Acts 22:25-29), to a Roman governor (Acts 23:27, 24:10-21), and to the emperor (Acts 25:4-12).
His problem was not with the use of the courts, but that disputing Corinthian believers were embarrassing themselves as they argued in court.
Example: Fine for us to go to court to assert our church property line rights, but not fine for us to litigate disputes we have one with another.
4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church [nonbelievers]? 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers?
7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!
8 Even your own brothers!: This was “body life” at its worst.
7 Why not rather suffer wrong?:
Matthew 5:38–42 (ESV) — 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
What did the Old Testament say?
Exodus 21:24 (ESV) — 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot…
Why did the Old Testament say it?
This was designed to control anger and violence, over the top reactions to personal injustice.
It did this in 2 ways:
Remove retribution from the offended party, instead giving it to the judges.
Limited the punishment to fit the crime.
So it restrained revenge and retaliation.
What did the religious leaders say?
1 — They took back the responsibility from the judges.
2 — They made it a duty to perform.
Some reminders:
Not civil — as in no police or self-defense.
Not national — has nothing to do with state-based relationships.
Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 have something to say about that.
Not ridiculous — we can protect children, fight for justice, close a bank account, say no to a drunk who asks for more money, etc.
Not impossible — we must defend our families or loved ones.
Not contradictory —
James 4:7 (ESV) — 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Matthew 16:18 (ESV) — 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Note: even Jesus (at being hit during trial) and Paul (at being beaten in Philippi) objected, but they were concerned with the law being ignored.
Not mechanical — know the spirit of what Jesus is saying.
Jesus tells His people they are above the law...way above it.
New natures — Matthew 5:3.
Jesus wants to change the way we react to wrong done to us personally.
Slaps you on the right cheek: Major disrespect in the day (like spitting on someone).
Sue you and take your tunic: Unheard of, but indecent.
Forces you to go one mile: Romans soldiers could do this.
Give / Do not refuse:
Note: Each one of these is personal.
Jesus is pinpointing our tendency to vehemently stand up for SELF.
To react His way will lead to open doors.
We must get over being agitated by wrongful personal insult or minor injustices.
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
9 The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God: Paul reminded the Corinthians that the non-believing court system was not part of God’s kingdom. They weren’t regenerated! They weren’t related to Christ!
They are in a dangerous frame of mind—they must remember that if they act wickedly in this way, they are no better than those who will not inherit heaven.
9 Nor men who practice homosexuality:
Other translations:
NLT “Or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality”
NIV “Nor men who have sex with men”
Lesbians included in Romans 1.
Characteristic of Greco-Roman society.
Plato praised homosexual love.
Nero, at the time this letter was written, was about to marry a boy.
14 of the first 15 Roman emperors were homo or bisexual.
Key word: practice.
11 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.
11 Were some of you: past.
Washed / Sanctified / Justified
Sexual Immorality Issue (6:12-20)
Views on sex (Note: most agree fidelity in marriage is good, so much of this discussion has to do with sex outside of marriage.) John S. Feinberg and Paul D. Feinberg, Ethics for a Brave New World (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 153.:
Natural Impulse View: Sex is a natural impulse or instinct that humans should pursue and enjoy to maximize pleasure.
The Affection View: If intimacy (not necessarily love) is present, a feeling of closeness and care, then you should enter into the relationship, including sexually.
The Abstinence View: Marriage, with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence.
Sexual immorality defined: All sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage.
12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.
12 All things are lawful for me: Paul again asserts his teaching on Christian liberty. He says, “Yes, there is liberty in Christ. Yes, I am a free man. Yes, all things are lawful for me.”
Many think the Corinthians had actually made this a slogan.
Some of your Bibles may have actually put this phrase in quotation marks, signifying the view that Paul was quoting them quoting him!
12 But: It was true, but with a qualification or two. Paul seeks to clarify.
12 Helpful / Dominated:
Paul was concerned with two things.
Is this helping me?
Is this mastering me?
Paul knew the Corinthians were hurt and mastered by their sexual sins.
He saw in them a church brought to its knees by immorality.
Just as Proverbs 7:22 speaks of the man who goes after the immoral woman as an ox goes to the slaughter, so Paul saw the Corinthian church on their way to the slaughterhouse.
Many Christians will often violate this simple principle.
Paul hasn’t pulled out the big guns of his argument, but this simple truth ought to deter us from being sexually immoral - it doesn’t help and it doesn’t empower.
Many want to know where “the line” is, while others argue “there’s nothing wrong with it,” but Paul would ask if it helping and empowering us!
Some will say it does help and empower them - Paul will deal with them!
Don’t be brought to your knees by any behavior.
Our freedom - we are free not to sin!
13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”: The Corinthians argued that sex was like food and the body like the stomach.
My stomach wants food - I should eat.
My body wants sex - I should engage in some form of sexual activity.
Paul addressed this argument in two ways.
1 — God will destroy both one and the other: Foods and the stomach aren’t eternal in nature. God has no eternal plan for my gut and no spiritual purpose for my taco. YOU, on the other hand, are eternal!
2 — The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
Paul is challenging the Corinthian concept of design.
The stomach is designed for food.
The body is not designed for sexual immorality.
In fact, given their argument, you could say it’s designed for purity.
The result of sexual immorality - unwanted pregnancies, terminated pregnancies/babies, sexually transmitted disease, rape, incest, adultery, broken families, shattered lives, sex slavery / forced prostitution, greed, murders, poverty, and the like.
The result of sexual purity (God’s standards) - safety, wholeness, oneness, family, wanted pregnancies/children, mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional health for men, women, and children, and the absence of the above.
The body is designed for God.
Our bodies belong to God - Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (Rom 12:1).
Not for sexual immorality: I should mention, at this point, God’s design for the body does include sex. On and on throughout Scripture, God encourages the sexual relationship between a husband and wife. Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled (Heb 13:4). Next week in chapter 7.
14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.
14 Will also raise us up: We are not separate from our bodies, but one with them. God has an eternal plan for these bodies of ours, as we will see in 1 Corinthians 15.
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 prostitute? Never!
15 Do you not know: Asked 6 times in this chapter.
Paul had been speaking of stewardship, that we must use our bodies for what God intended.
In a few moments he will speak on ownership, the fact that we have been bought by the blood of Christ.
Now he speaks on membership, who we are joined to.
15 Your bodies are members of Christ: This is a very mystical argument, but Paul teaches us that, once in Christ, we have a new membership. This actually speaks of the body of Jesus.
On earth Jesus used His physical members.
He broke bread with His hands, spoke Sermon on the Mount with His mouth, walked to the Syro-Phoenician woman with His feet, saw the need of the people with His eyes, and heard the cries of the lepers with His ears.
From heaven we are His spiritual members.
We are His hands, feet, eyes, ears, and mouth.
In other words, Jesus wants to use these bodies of ours!
Our bodies should be sanctified and useful for the Master.
2 Timothy 2:21 (ESV) — 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.”
16 Do you not know: Many did not know.
They assumed their was no connection between their physical actions and their spiritual well being.
Ex. My Christian life + my other life.
16 One flesh: He quotes Genesis 2:24. This is a spiritual argument.
Paul is saying sex is much more than just physical contact, but also spiritual connection.
Just as Adam and Eve “became one” the right way, so the man and the harlot “become one” the wrong way.
Let me be clear, Paul isn’t saying this constitutes a marriage, but that there is a deep and unhealthy connection between people engaged in sexual activity outside of marriage.
Many men and women ignore this reality.
Many men and women are giving themselves away.
Note: No such thing as “casual sex.”
Note: This is a major trap in cohabitation, as the sexual component can bind you to someone you shouldn’t marry.
17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
17 Joined / one spirit with him: This is where our connection should be - The LORD. Stay in step with Him!
This is where the church comes in.
I want you to notice Paul’s heart. He longs to help these Corinthians.
The statistics demonstrate that not many of us grew up without one of these 4 things - sexual abuse, exposure to pornography, sexual activity before marriage, or parents who remained faithful to one another. Some do, many don’t.
18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
Paul exhorts all of us to run away from sexual immorality.
This is one area he encourages us to be like a coward.
We aren’t to “stand up to it,” but run from it.
Adam Clarke, a theologian from the late 17 and early 1800’s - “Reason not! FLY!”
Joseph fled sexual immorality with Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39).
He saw it as sin against God (39:9).
He left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside (39:12).
His private walk with God (the LORD was with Joseph - 39:2) helped him in his public walk with God.
There are moments when only God can be your accountability.
FLEE!
Matthew 5 - cut it off!
Be radical.
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
19 Temple of the Holy Spirit: He resides within the Christian.
19 You are not your own: We belong to God. Ex. my own car vs. Pechanga low-riders.
20 Price: 1 Peter 1:19 (ESV) — 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
20 Glorify God in your body: Honor Him. Make your Father proud!
God will receive honor with your decision to live unlike the world.
The world which publicly mocks you might privately admire you.
Ex. Summer job - security guards would mock me publicly, but privately ask me.