1 Corinthians 6:12-20

 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Many of us would like to be able to compartmentalize our lives to make sure that what happens in one area does not bother or affect any other area. That simply is not the case. In this passage, Paul addresses two issues, which he will address in greater detail later. He begins with a play on words that is missed in English. It is almost as if he says, “All things are under my power, but I will not surrender that power to anything.”

Paul was the champion of Christian liberty, rejecting sanctification by the rituals of the Mosaic Law. But apparently the Corinthians took this so far as to become libertarian. They may have even used the phrase, “all things are lawful for me,” as a rallying cry. The Corinthians may have argued that their liberty permitted them to eat whatever they liked, even food dedicated to idols. The ceremonial law of Moses forbade certain foods. Jesus declared all foods in themselves acceptable. But the Corinthians were going to the point of eating food sacrificed to other gods. Since both body and food will eventually go away, what is the big deal? The big deal is the resurrection means the body is important. To eat a sacred meal is to worship the deity with that meal. In much the same way that the bread and the wine of communion are more than just food when they are eaten in worship. The food sacrificed to an idol is more than simply a piece of meat.

Paul now turns to the practice of hiring a prostitute. The practice was legal but absolutely wrong. When a person has sex, they become one flesh with their partner, married or not, in love or not. This union is as much spiritual as it is physical. Sex has been described as two bodies connected at the spirit. The sex union of a Christian and a non-Christian is an attempt to unite the Holy Spirit within the believer with whatever spirit directs the life of their lover. In the case of a prostitute, that spirit is demonic.

Our lives are not made up of compartments; they are an integrated whole. The food offered to an idol or demon, which a person eats, opens their whole person to the dark powers, not just their stomachs. A sexual union opens the whole being to union with that person and their spirits. Because Christ has ransomed us from our sentence of guilt, we belong to Him. We are not free based on the laws of man or even Moses. We are free in Christ, and that freedom and power must not be surrendered to the control of anyone or anything.

"Lord, I am Your's and only Your's. AMEN"

1 Corinthians 6:1-11

 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

Nothing displays our maturity or lack of maturity more clearly than our reaction to not getting what we want. In this the most immature of churches, the response to denied desires was litigation. The Corinthian culture was very litigious, and this carnal behavior was at home in this church. Paul points out that as Christians we will judge the world and angels; this refers to the judgment at the end of time. Paul says little on that subject, and that is best for us as well. But he was using this reference to point out that with such God-given wisdom and authority, we ought to be able to work out the details of our own civic life.

Paul says that their lack of an ability to work stings out as a matter of shame. People have ruined their reputation and that of the church because, like spoiled children, they refuse to work things out. If cooperation and compromise are not possible, they are so immature that they lack even one person wise enough to decide between the two parties who disagree. This church that is so puffed up, so proud, so pretentious, and so self-aggrandizing doesn’t have one person smart enough to settle these small matters. Even the most humble person, if holy and honest, should be sufficient, but they lack even one such person. The issue is another indication of how sinful and wicked they are. Justice would be best. Suffering loss would be the next best option. But the worst possible option was the one they chose.

Their behavior indicates that the old sinful way of life still clings to them, and so they do evil to their brothers. Paul then lists some of the immoral behaviors that are more obvious and are from their past. Paul is identifying the evil of their wronging each other as being as wicked as their former life. They seem to have forgotten that this wicked life ended with baptism; they were made holy and declared not guilty and should by no means continue the practice.

How wicked is it to divide a church to fracture the fellowship? And in some ways it would be better to practice the vices listed by Paul in verses 9-10. At least those who practice these have a sense of shame and guilt that might lead to repentance. Those who, for their own twisted purposes and personality wreck at church, are almost never repentant, are generally not ashamed but are always guilty.

“Lord, convict my heart if I ever demand to have my way. AMEN”