I Corinthians Chapter 6
The Greek culture was in love with human wisdom, and they loved to hear a good orator. They also found a court trial to be entertaining and so they tried criminals in a court that was in the open market. Paul had learned that the church was taking their grievances of one another to this local court room. What Paul hoped to find, and what we would hope to find in our local churches, is that when someone has a grievance with a brother or sister in Christ that they would settle the matter privately with love and forgiveness.
Paul wanted the believers to get a glimpse of their future. The believer’s future includes a time when we will stand with Christ and in some manner, we will judge the unrighteous. We will even in some way judge the evil angels that plague our world today. I confess I do not understand this concept, but it is written here in scripture. What I do understand is that the power of God and His authority is far greater than Satan or any of his demons, and certainly far greater than the authority of unrighteous men. The enemy would love nothing more than for believers to destroy one another in harmful vendettas. Paul admonishes believers to settle their grievances and not play into the devil’s hands.
Let's Reflect
1. In today’s terminology we might say that they were “sue happy.” What does verse 6 say about how they were handling disputes within the church?
2. In verse 5 what did Paul say about how they should feel about their actions?
3. The believers (the righteous) were taking their vendettas to be settled by an outside court (the unrighteous). Paul is not saying it would be better to just suffer being wronged. Paul wanted them to settle their differences. What he is saying, is that it would be far better to suffer being wronged than to dishonor the name of Jesus by taking the muck of the church to an unrighteous court. There is a distinct difference between those who have been washed by the blood and those who are unrighteous. Paul names some of the sins that are marks of the unrighteous. In verse 9 what truth about the unrighteous does Paul remind them of?
4. And so, the question one has to ask, (which is the elephant in the room) is that if a “brother in Christ” also has the characteristics of the unrighteous, such as cheating or defrauding a brother, are they truly a brother in Christ? The answer is of course only God knows the true heart of a man or woman, but the evidence of the character of a believer should be of godly character. What statement in verse 11 does Paul make that shows that the sins listed in verses 9 and 10 should not characterize the believer?
5. What other words besides washed does Paul use to describe the new condition of the believer?
6. Paul then reminds them of the freedom they have been given in Christ. One specific example is the freedom surrounding food. No longer were certain foods considered unclean. Paul would not be allowing anyone to put him under bondage (or legalism) concerning things like food. But he also would not be taking unhealthy liberties with food either. The church at Corinth had taken their freedom in Christ to the opposite extreme. They gave themselves permission to sin. In verse 13 what did Paul remind them about their own body?
7. Paul wanted them to consider the power of God. His power raised Jesus from the dead and will one day raise our bodies from the dead. Therefore, we belong to God – our bodies as well as our spirit. This is horrible to say out loud, but if a believer has sexual relations with a prostitute, it is the same as what?
8. What is the truth about a believer’s body that we must never forget?
Devotionals
