Thursday
Evening Bible Study
July
24, 2014
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid to die? Does it speak
to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach
for a decision Is the church loved? Target 3500 words
In Paul's day, Corinth was the capitol of the province of Achaia (southern
Greece), and was the most important city in Greece.
Corinth was quite the cosmopolitan city. All merchant traffic flowing north
and south, as well as east and west, flowed through Corinth.
Corinth was also the center of the world’s greatest immorality.
The Temple of Aphrodite stood on the hill overlooking the city, and every
night 1,000 male and female prostitutes would come down into the city and
encourage the citizens to “worship” the goddess of love.
Paul had established the church in Corinth in AD 51 on his second
missionary journey. He had spent 18 months teaching and building the church
before moving on.
It is now AD 56, and Paul is across the Aegean Sea in the city of Ephesus. He’s received a letter telling about the problems and
questions in Corinth, and now he’s writing back.
The first issue raised was about the divisions in the church. (chs. 1-4)
(1 Corinthians 1:11 NKJV) For it has been declared to me
concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there
are contentions among you.
The second issue had to do with immorality (ch.
5)
(1 Co 5:1 NKJV) —1 It is actually reported that there is sexual
immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the
Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!
Now we move on to the third issue - lawsuits
6:1-11 Lawsuits
:1 Dare any of you, having a matter against
another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?
:1 having a matter against another
a matter – pragma – that which
has been done, a deed, an accomplished fact; spec. in a forensic sense, a
matter at law, case, suit
Another problem in the Corinthian church was that some people in the church
were suing others in the church.
They were taking their lawsuits to the Gentile courts rather than trying to
resolve them in church.
: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?
:2 the saints will judge the world
We will be involved in God’s process of judging the world.
(Re 20:4 NKJV) And I saw
thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the
word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received
his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And
they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
The “they” is “us”.
Lesson
Fixing things
Paul’s point is that if God is going to give us this job later, shouldn’t we be able to handle disputes between each other?
I think this is an ideal we should hope for, but
to be honest, it is a very difficult thing to pull off in our world today.
Over the years I’ve been involved
with different situations where people take these verses to their goal is to
try and get the pastor to “fix” the person they have a problem with.
I’ve had calls from people at
other churches telling me how I’m supposed to “fix” someone in our church.
Often this is what takes place in some marriage
counseling.
One spouse is mad at the other and wants the pastor to
“fix” them.
For this to really work, several things need to be in place:
Honesty
We have learned too well how to
bend the truth to make things sound as if we are the good guys and everyone
else is wrong.
I’ve had couples come in to talk,
and after asking each one to tell their side of things, I wonder if I’m talking
to people in the same marriage.
Truth is important when it comes to growing up.
(Eph 4:15 NKJV) but,
speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the
head—Christ—
Until you learn to be truly honest about yourself and
about others, you aren’t going to progress in life.
Humility
Both parties need to be willing to do whatever the arbiter
decides.
Yet what often happens is that unless the counselor makes
the other person do what you want them to do, you just leave mad.
Counseling with two people is not about winning a
war. It’s about
learning to change and do your part.
I don’t think that Paul is saying you can’t take
someone to court.
Some people will not seriously listen unless there is a judge threatening
them.
Paul is just saying that it’s all such a shame.
Paul is also not talking about situations with unbelievers.
Paul himself used the legal system when he was being
threatened by the Jews in Jerusalem.
He used his right to appeal his case to Caesar.
:3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?
:3 we shall judge angels
It could be that Paul is talking about the judgment at the Millennial
Kingdom, and the angels we will judge will be Satan and his demons, which are
going to be temporarily sent into the “abyss”.
I’m not sure it means that I ought to be mad at my
guardian angel when I get into a traffic accident.
:3 pertain to this life – biotikos –
pertaining to life and the affairs of 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?
:4 pertaining to this life – biotikos –
pertaining to life and the affairs of this life
:4 judgments – kriterion –
the instrument or means of trying or judging anything; the place where judgment
is given; the matter judged, thing to be decided, suit, case
:4 those who are least esteemed by the
church
When you take your case to a secular court, you run the risk of having it
settled by someone who doesn’t care about God’s
standards.
Though I have to admit, in America there are
Christian judges, and it is awesome to watch them at work.
: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?
:5 I say this to your shame
shame – entrope – shame
There are four different words in
Greek that can be translated “shame”.
The Greek word here is considered a “wholesome
shame” which leads a man to think about his condition if it is not right, and
to change his conduct for the better.
:6 But brother goes to law against brother, and
that before unbelievers!
: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?
:8 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you
do these things to your brethren!
:7 Why do you not rather accept wrong?
Lesson
Turn the cheek
(1 Co 6:7 NLT) Even to have such
lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the
injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be
cheated?
There is a time and place to stand up for yourself.
But there are times when we would be much better
off just letting the other person take advantage of us.
You have to learn to pick your battles.
Some of us for whatever reason can’t
let anything go. Everything is a major
conflict.
Yet we will end up doing much more damage to others by
trying to be “right” about everything than any bit of “good” we think we are
trying to accomplish.
Jesus said,
(Mt 5:39–40 NKJV) —39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to
him also. 40 If anyone
wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.
This isn’t easy in our modern lawsuit crazy world
we live in.
Illustration
An American attorney had just finished a guest lecture at
a law school in Italy when an Italian lawyer approached him and asked, “Is it
true that a person can fall down on a sidewalk in your county and then sue the
landowners for lots of money?” Told that it was true, the lawyer turned to his
partner and started speaking rapidly in Italian. When they stopped, the
American attorney asked if they wanted to go to America to practice law. “No,
no,” one replied. “We want to go to America and fall down on sidewalks.”
Illustration
A big city lawyer was called in
on a case between a farmer and a large railroad company. The farmer noticed that his prize cow was
missing from the field through which the railroad passed. He filed suit against the railroad company
for the value of the cow. The case was
to be tried before the justice of the peace in the back
room of the general store. The attorney
immediately cornered the farmer and tried to get him to settle out of court.
The lawyer did his best selling job, and the farmer finally agreed to take half
of what he was claiming to settle the case.
After the farmer signed the release and took the check, the lawyer couldn’t help but gloat a little over his success. He said to the farmer, “You know, I hate to
tell you this but I put one over on you in there. I couldn’t have won
the case. The engineer was asleep and
the fireman was in the caboose when the train went
through your farm that morning. I didn’t
have one witness to put on the stand.” The old farmer replied, “Well, I’ll tell
you, young feller, I was a little worried about winning that case myself when
that cow came home this morning!”
:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not
inherit the kingdom of God?
:9 unrighteous will not inherit the
kingdom of God
This is Paul’s reason for encouraging the church to learn to handle their
conflicts within the church.
Unbelievers have a different set of values that they make their decisions
based on.
:9 …Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters,
nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
:10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor
revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom
of God.
:10 will inherit the kingdom of God
People who live in these kinds of lifestyles will not go to heaven.
fornicators – sex outside of marriage
adulterers – specifically sinning against
your marriage
homosexuals – malakos –
soft to the touch; effeminate; of a boy kept for homosexual relations with a
man; of a male prostitute
sodomites – arsenokoites – one
who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual
Note:
Even though homosexuality is a serious sin, it is right in the middle of
a list of lots of types of sins.
Sometimes Christians like to single out homosexuality as the most evil
thing in the world, but all these things are wrong.
thieves – kleptes – an
embezzler, pilferer
covetous – pleonektes – one
eager to have more, esp. what belongs to others; greedy of gain, covetous
drunkards – methusos – drunken, intoxicated
revilers – loidoros – a railer, reviler (people who yell a lot)
extortioners – harpax – rapacious, ravenous; a extortioner,
a robber; from – harpazo – to seize, carry off by
force
If a person is claiming to be a Christian, yet is living in one of these kinds
of lifestyles, continually and unrepentant, I think
they need to think twice whether or not they have really come to know Jesus.
Paul called these things “works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19-21)
(Ga 5:19–21 NKJV) —19
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which
are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies,
outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like;
of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past,
that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Those who continue to live in a lifestyle characterized by the deeds of the
flesh ought to think twice about claiming to be a Christian.
: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.
:11 such were some of you
Perhaps you’ve committed some of the things listed
in verses 9-10. Perhaps you might still
be doing some of these things.
Have you gone too far? Are you
beyond salvation? Not
at all.
The church is composed of people who have turned from these things.
When we turn from our sins and confess them to Jesus, He forgives us.
(1 Jn 1:9 NKJV) If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The Corinthian church had people in their church who
used to be like this, but they were
cleaned up by Jesus.
Lesson
Compassion
When we look at these lists of sins, we can become Pharisaical and look
down our noses in condemnation at people who are caught
in these kinds of sins.
The truth is, without Jesus, we are no different.
We have no reason to be hating homosexuals when they are simply lost
without Jesus like we once were.
Whatever our sin was, we were in the same boat, condemned and not heading
for the kingdom of God.
Video: John – The woman caught in
adultery (John 8)
I think it’s a good idea to remind ourselves of
how Paul describes us, “such was I”.
This doesn’t excuse sin, but it does help us to
understand Jesus’ compassion on sinners.
6:12-20 Lawful vs. Helpful
:12 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.
:12 lawful … not helpful
lawful – exesti – it is lawful
We could translate this word “do-able”, “to have the possibility”, or “it
is free”.
It doesn’t reference the Law of Moses
specifically, but carries the idea that there are no hindrances to doing
something, or that there is no higher court or authority stopping you.
It seems that the Corinthians had this “proverb” going around the church,
that “all things are lawful”.
Paul will repeat this phrase again in 10:23.
(1 Co 10:23 NKJV) —23 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are
helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.
Jesus died to pay the requirement of the Law. In that sense we can
say that we are free from the Law because our entrance into heaven no longer
depends upon us fulfilling the Law.
Jesus fulfilled it for us.
Paul clearly is not including things like the immorality he condemns in
chapter 5.
Paul is now going to put two “limits” to this “freedom” that the Corinthians were boasting in. The first “limit…”
helpful – sumphero – to
bear or bring together; to help, be profitable, be expedient
Just because I have freedom in Christ doesn’t mean
that all things are good for me. Some
things just aren’t worth it.
I may be free to eat Krispy Kreme donuts every day for the rest of my life,
but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to be free from
the fat added to my belly, or the cholesterol added to my blood.
The second “limit” to freedom is…
brought under the power – exousiadzo – to have power or authority, use
power; to be master of any one, exercise authority over one
There is a play on words here because this word is
related to the word “lawful”. It
may be “lawful”, I may have “freedom”, but not at the expense of being under
something’s power.
Things that I may indeed have liberty to do can end up being my master.
It is “lawful” for me to drink alcoholic beverages. But I know more than
a few who have been brought “under the power” of alcohol and it’s destroyed
their lives.
Lesson
Watch your priorities
It’s very easy to get sidetracked by lots of
different kinds of things. Even good things.
It has been said, “The good things are the enemy
of the best things”. We get to doing so
many “good” things, that we don’t have time to be
doing the “best” things.
Take time every once in a while to sit back and
see how you are spending your time.
Are there things that are taking up too much time?
Illustration
An expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students
and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never
forget. As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers,
he said, “Okay, time for a quiz.” Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed
mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then
he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a
time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top
and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in
the class said, “Yes.” Then he said, “Really?” He reached under the table and
pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar
causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the
big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was onto him. “Probably not,” one of them
answered. “Good!” he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a
bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces
left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he
asked the question, “Is this jar full?” “No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, “Good!” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water
and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to
the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, “What is the point of this
illustration?” One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no
matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit
some more things into it!” “No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point.
The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don’t put the big rocks in
first, you’ll never get them in at all.”
:13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for
foods, but God will destroy both it and them.
:13 Foods for the stomach
It is lawful to eat anything.
It is not always helpful to eat anything.
Yet in the end, all of it is going to perish, so it’s
not of the same kind of eternal consequence.
:13 Now the body is not for sexual
immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
:13 the body is not for sexual
immorality
God gave you a sexual drive, but His design was for sex to be used in a specific context. God’s desire is for sex to be between people
who have a commitment to each other, a commitment that won’t
be broken. He doesn’t
want you sharing yourself with someone else who will not stay by your side.
We call that commitment “marriage”.
:14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also
raise us up by His power.
The resurrection of Jesus is a promise that our bodies
will be raised and live eternally.
Your glorified body is going to be around a long, long time.
: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.
:16 joined to a harlot
Intercourse goes beyond the physical act of sex.
It is a part of what Genesis calls two people “becoming one flesh”.
One analogy is that your body is worth a million bucks. When you share yourself intimately with
another person, it’s like you’ve given them half of
you. If you’re
married to the other person, it’s no big deal because they’re always there for
you and your relationship is worth a “million bucks”. But if you’re not
married, and they walk out of your life, you’ve only got $500,000 to share with
another person. When you have sex with another other person, you only have $250,000 to give them. When
that person leaves you, you’re only left with $125,000. After a while you’ve
become pretty cheap.
Physical intimacy ought to be worth a million bucks. Save it for the right person, your spouse.
:15 your bodies are members of Christ
Sometimes we have this notion that when we commit certain sins, that Jesus
probably is standing outside the door, waiting for us.
In the old days, men used to go to “porno” theaters to watch their porn
movies.
Jesus doesn’t wait outside the porn theater while
you go inside. He’s
walking right on in with you, and grieved about it.
A person committing sexual immorality is taking a part of Jesus with him.
:18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man
does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his
own body.
:18 Flee sexual immorality
Run from sin. Run from
temptation. Don’t
stay and savor it.
When Joseph was cornered by Potiphar’s wife, she
grabbed him and begged him to sleep with her.
He left his coat in her hand and ran.
We would be wise to do the same.
Luther said, “It’s not a sin for a bird to fly over your head, just don’t
let it land and build a nest in your hair.
: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?
:19 the temple of the Holy Spirit
You individually, your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost. He lives inside of you.
temple – naos – used
of the temple at Jerusalem, but only of the sacred edifice (or sanctuary)
itself, consisting of the Holy place and the Holy of Holies (in classical Greek
it is used of the sanctuary or cell of the temple, where the image of gold was
placed which is distinguished from the whole enclosure)
We saw back in chapter 3 that when we as a church are together, we too are
a Temple –
(1 Co 3:16–17 NKJV) —16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that
the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If
anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God
is holy, which temple you are.
There the concept was that a person
defiling the “temple” was defiling the church, speaking of the divisions that
were going on in the church.
Here, the idea of “defiling” the temple has to do with immorality.
:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore
glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
:20 you were bought at a price
Lesson
Dad’s Car
Paul said in verse 19 that we were “not our own”. That is because we’ve
been purchased. We belong to someone
else.
Have you ever had to borrow another person’s car for a day? You usually want to be extra careful about
how you drive. The car doesn’t belong to you.
You are especially careful if the car is a costly one.
The “car” you’re driving belongs to your Father in
heaven.
Jesus paid a very great price for you.
Take care of the car.