Lesson #08

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1 – 2 Corinthians

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RETURN TO THE SYLLABUS

1CORINTHIANS 6
Lesson #08
THE CHRISTIAN’S ATTITUDE

• Memory verse: 1Cor 6:20

• Review: Paul, in his confrontation of spiritual carnality in the Corinthian church, has told us the importance of:
• =1= Unity, as opposed to divisions in the church. (Chapter 1)
• =2= The wisdom of God, as opposed to the wisdom of the world. (Chapter 2)
• =3= Spiritual growth, as opposed to continual spiritual immaturity. (Chapter 3)
• =4= An attitude of spiritual discernment, as opposed to an attitude of judging others. (Chapter 4)
• =5= The purity of holiness, as opposed to lustful behavior. (Chapter 5)
• =6= Proper church discipline, as opposed to tolerance of sinful lifestyles. (Chapter 5)
• In chapter 6 Paul confronted another church problem common in the Corinthian church that prevented this church from growing spiritually.

• Read 1Cor 6:1-11 The Christian’s attitude toward other Christians
• What was the serious problem that Paul addressed in this passage?
• The believers in that church were suing other believers in a court of law.
• What was wrong with that practice, if a believer had a legitimate case against another believer?
• A lawsuit puts two people against each other on opposite sides.
• Such contentions make enemies of those who are supposed to be brothers unified in Christ.
• Lawsuits between Christians in a secular court, demonstrates a lack of Christian ethics.
• Does that mean Christians are never supposed to go to court? No.
• This passage refers only to Christian law suits against other Christians.
• Paul says numerous times in this chapter and in various ways, “Do you not know…” (6:2,3,9,15,16)
• The following things are what the Corinthian Christians should have known, but because they were carnal Christians, they did not know them:

• =1=

Lawsuits between Christians are a poor witness to the non-believing world.

• Believers have responsibilities to the government and to the church. (Phi 3:20 Mat 22:17, 21 1Tim 2:1-4 Rom 13:1-4) By living peaceable lives is a witness to the unsaved.
• =2=

Due to the fact that believers will one day judge the world, they should have enough wisdom to judge between themselves.

• What does Paul mean that the believers will judge the world?
• In the millennial kingdom when Christ rules on earth for a thousand years, believers will rule with Him, having authority over cities. (Luk 19:17 2Tim 2:12)
• Believers will be judges and administrators of daily life in the millennium. (Mat 19:28 Rev 3:21 Rev 20:4)
• =3=

Because believers will one day judge angels.

• What does Paul mean that the believers will judge angels?
• The final judgment of angels occurs after the millennial kingdom period.
• The angels, who rebelled against God with the angel Lucifer before Genesis chapter 1, must be judged for their rebellion. (2Pet 2:4 Jude 1:6 Rev 19:19-20 Rev 20:10)
• Man, who was made lower than the angels, was raised to a higher position through redemption in Jesus Christ. This higher position is the position above the angels.
• =4=

The unrighteous non-believer has no place in the kingdom of God.

• The non-believer does not have the wisdom of God (as explained in chapter 2) and therefore, he cannot make spiritual decisions or bring a spiritual dimension to any court case.
• Therefore, a believer has better qualifications for judging a legal matter than a secular judge. The believer’s three qualifications are:
• =1= that he is cleansed from his sins by Christ’s blood, and therefore, he is capable of understanding true mercy.
• =2= that he is sanctified, set apart from the world, having the position of holiness before God, and therefore, he can understand true justice.
• =3= that he is justified before God through Christ, and therefore, he understands that all believers are equally justified through Christ, and he is able to understand true love.
• How does Paul tell them to solve this problem? (7)
• A believer who has a legal problem with another believer should choose a mature believer in the church to act as a judge between them.
• If a believer is unwilling to abide by the decision of a third believer, he should suffer the loss.
• This is a principle for maintaining unity in the church:
• Church unity in the body of Christ is so important that a mature believer will gladly suffer loss to maintain it. This includes:
• Suffering the loss of position.
• Suffering the loss of money.
• Suffering the loss of prestige or reputation.
• Why does Paul tell them what their lives used to be like before coming to Christ?
• Paul wanted to remind them of their old life before coming to Christ, so they would acknowledge that Christ had changed them.
• Incidentally there is a very important point of interpretation that we must understand at this point that relates to the phrase, “…abusers of themselves with mankind.” (9)
• In the original Greek, this phrase refers to the sin of homosexuality which was a common practice in the culture of the city of Corinth.
• However, in the New International Version of the Bible, it is phrased to mean something else: “…nor homosexual offenders.” (NIV vs.9)
• Those who practice homosexuality interpret this phrase to mean that those who speak offense against homosexuals or abuse homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God.
• Read 1Cor 6:12-20 The Christian’s attitude toward his own body
• What does Paul mean by the statement, “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient…” (12)
• The Christian is free in Jesus Christ. He is not under the restrictive nature of the Old Testament Law of Moses. However, even though the believer is free, it is not wise for him to do anything he wants. Paul gives an example, eating meat.
• In the Old Testament Law, certain foods were restricted so that man could not eat anything he wanted to eat. He could not eat pork or any animal that was a scavenger.
• In this New Testament age, we can eat anything we want, but it is not wise to eat anything and everything we might want, simply because it does not promote good health.
• What are some things that the believer is free to do but which are not expedient for him to do?
• The believer is free to listen to any kind of music or free to see any kind of movie. However, some of these worldly things are not good for the believer to do. Why?
• They draw the believer away from God.
• They pollute the believer’s mind.
• They do not produce faith or holiness in the believer.
• They cause other believers to stumble in their faith.
• They make one a poor witness to non-believers.
• They put the believer in bondage.

• “…I will not be brought under the power of any.”

(12)

• Paul says that the Christian should not put himself into any kind of bondage by indulging in sins of the flesh that are addictive such as sex, drugs, alcohol, over-eating, smoking, etc.
• Paul used a well-known Greek saying of his day, “Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats.” (13)
• Some people tried to extend this saying to sexual pleasures. They said that sex was like food, meant to be enjoyed in abundance.
• God’s perspective is this:
• God created our bodies to eat food and He created food for our bodies, but both are temporary and will one day be destroyed.
• God did not create our bodies for immorality.
• What should be the Christian’s attitude toward his own body?
• The body is temporary and will one day die.
• The body will be raised and regenerated into a new, incorruptible body at the Rapture of the church.
• The body belongs to Christ. He purchased man’s body, his soul, and his spirit on Calvary.
• What difference will this attitude make in how the Christian lives his life?
• Because God is in control of the body:
• The believer will not commit suicide.
• The believer will not use his body to live a sinful lifestyle.
• Paul again refers to fornication as an example, and uses the case of prostitution.
• Why is this concept important?
• One famous group of Greek philosophers believed that what man did in his body did not affect man’s soul or spirit. These were men of the Gnostic religion.
• Therefore, it is Gnosticism that Paul is teaching against in this passage.
• The believer should live his life in unity with Christ, body, soul, and spirit. (16-17) This unity produces a stable faith and victory in the Christian life. (Jam 1:6-8)
• The believer cannot serve Christ if his life is compromised by any form of immorality. Even if the world accepts those lifestyles, God does not.
• The sin of fornication in all its forms is a sin against a person’s own body. (18)
• Paul’s counsel to the believer is “Flee fornication…” (18)
• The idea in this command is that fornication is such a devastating sin that the believer should turn around and run away as fast as he can.
• This is exactly what Joseph did in Gen 39:18.
• The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. (19)
• What does Paul mean by this statement?
• When a person receives Jesus Christ into his heart and life, he also receives the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is living in the human body in the same way that God dwelt in the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament tabernacle in the book of Exodus and later in the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s temple.
• It is this Old Testament illustration that Paul brings to mind when he said that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
• Summary and application:
• Right living is the result of right thinking. Paul tells the Corinthian church how they should be thinking so that it would result in right living.
• The people in the Corinthian church were puffed up with pride. They were thinking only of themselves. They had no feelings for the welfare of their brothers and sisters in Christ. They had no feelings of responsibility for the church or the church’s witness to the world.
• All of these characteristics are those of a carnal Christian.
• In this chapter we begin to see some principles for making every-day decisions concerning our behavior as Christians. Paul will add to these principles as we continue in our study of 1Corinthians.

• Principle #1 = I will do nothing that places me in any kind of worldly bondage. (12)
• Principle #2 = I will do nothing that defiles my body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, because I have been bought with a price. (19-20)

HOMEWORK
1CORINTHIANS 7:1-9
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of 1Cor 6
• Which areas of your thinking fall into the characteristics of a carnal Christian?
• What is your plan to move your thinking so as to become a more spiritual Christian?
• Preparation for 1Cor 7:1-9
• Read 1Cor 7:1-9
• Why did Paul place this discussion about Christian marriage after his discussion about fornication?
• What principles for Christian marriage do you find in this passage?
• Memory Verse: Eph 5:25