1 Corinthians 7:17-24 - As You Were

17 Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches.
18 Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised.
19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.
20 Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called.
21 Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that.
22 For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave.
23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.
24 Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.

You Were Bought With A Price

V. 17 - “Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one” - It is possible this verse should be included in the previous section regarding marriage. I think this verse applies equally to the subject to be discussed here. Each of us had a life before we met Jesus, before we accepted and believed in Him.

“in this manner let him walk“ - That is, if you were married when you were saved, stay married. If you were single when saved, stay single.
Paul is not teaching that each of us is assigned a particular job or life - you were not born to be an ax murderer, nor a super-villain. You are who you are and where you are in life based on the choices you have made. You can accept or reject God’s guidance. Your decisions have led to where you are now. You have a new life in Christ; you do not need to stay in that life, living in sin. If you have been a criminal up to the point you accepted Jesus Christ, do not continue on that evil path. You can use the skills you have obtained to help others rather than hurt and destroy.

Do not give up what you have been doing (unless it is sinful and hurts or destroys others). If you were a school teacher, continue to teach. If you were a brick mason, lay it on. But, don't continue to steal or lie, or hurt people.

V. 18 - “Was any man called when he was already circumcised? ... Has anyone been called in uncircumcision?” - Don’t try to change the past, eliminate what has been done. (I have no idea how you would undo a circumcision!) However, with respect to Jews and Gentiles: when you ‘met Christ’, and believed in Him as Lord and Savior - those designations no longer are relevant. Being a Jew gains you nothing; it is the Lord Christ who has given His life as a sacrifice for your sin. Jewish-ness has not saved you. Being a Gentile has not condemned you; God loves you and sent His Son to save you. We are called to not live in the past. Jesus is our Savior, and our new life. 

In the United States at this time, we are experiencing what called “cancel culture”. Some people are trying to wipe clean the history books. They claim to be “woke”! They want to erase from history books, from the public square, from society in general, things done in the past. As if tearing down a statue of Robert E. Lee will eliminate what was done in the slave-states prior to the Civil War. They want to tear down to the ground and build anew. This was the aim of the Jacobin movement during the French Revolution. The old, bad thoughts and practices will be torn down and replaced with new, good thoughts. By the way, we will destroy you and your home and business if you don’t comply. Our past actions may not be laudatory, but we cannot be confined by them. We can learn, and change - through the leading of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Destroying the records of the past prevents us from learning what was evil and what was good. 

Paul is instructing you to accept the new life and purpose Jesus has given you. Use it to build upon, and improve your life and those around you. You are saved! You can say, “I once was lost. Now I am saved!” Jesus has given you the opportunity to share the Gospel that others may come to know Him also. This is not tearing down, destroying in order to rebuild. It is a chance to start anew, living for Jesus. There is a difference between the two ways of living - destroy/rebuild vs. new life in Christ. (See 2 Cor 5:17) One method tries to eliminate from memory what has gone before, the other knows we can learn from that time and thank God that He has given us a chance of new life in Christ. Thank God! Jesus has saved me from my sin. I know what I have done, and be sensitive so as to not fall back into it again.

V. 19 - “Circumcision is nothing” - What an astounding statement, considering it comes from a devout Jew, a Pharisee! This emphasizes what Paul has stated previously that it does not matter what you were, only what you are now. You are a child of God. You are a believer in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You have been changed. You have new commandments from Jesus. Follow them.

V. 20 - “Each man must remain in that condition” - The NASB notes that “condition” can also be translated “called”. The big message here is that Jesus Christ has saved you, and is now sending you out in the world from which you came to be his messenger to that world. If you were a Jew when you accepted Christ, now you are a Christian Jew. If you were an engineer, now you are a Christian engineer. The engineering doesn't change; you have since you are now in Christ. Go be an engineer, giving glory to God and Jesus, letting your faith in Him be known. The physical parameters of the universe remain the same. Your spiritual condition has changed.

A caveat that comes to mind is that if your way of life, or making a living violates God’s moral laws - that way of life must change. If you were a bank robber, and are now saved - you must give up robbing banks. If you were are prostitute - Christ in your life dictates a career change.

All other things - job, ethnicity, family, country, education, etc., - are not important when compared to salvation offered to you.

V. 21 - “Were you called while a slave?” - Would you give up life eternal with Jesus to be able to cling to something here on earth. Being a slave of another man does not prevent you from having Jesus Christ in your life. All this you see around you is of little importance compared to knowing Jesus. Being a slave is not good. We all want to be free. Being a slave is not important for salvation to be yours.

On the other hand, if your master/owner grants you freedom, jump on it! This is a hard concept for us to grasp. Slavery has such a horrible history, especially here in the United States. I suspect that the slavery here was no worse than slave conditions anywhere or anytime. The juxtaposition of ‘freedom’ here in the U.S. with slavery being the opposite of freedom makes it seem more odious. I am not denigrating the horribleness of slavery. Other cultures and times accepted slavery as a way of life. These places and people did not champion FREEDOM! Our country broke free from England and claimed all people to be free. Yet, we allowed slavery to exist. It took a war, and thousands upon thousands of deaths to establish in fact what we espoused in words. Although slavery was officially banished, some of the thoughts and ways of slavery persisted, and oppression of the blacks was tolerated.

V. 22 - “For he who was called in the Lord” - It does not matter if you were a slave or not. Now you are Christ’s own. You are free in Christ. You are now free from sin, that is the penalty of sin as well as the coercion of sin in the life. (See: Luk. 4:18; John 8:32, 36; Rom. 6:20, 8:2, 8:21; 1 Cor. 9:1; Gal. 4:7, 5:1; Heb. 2:15) Free from sin, but beholden to Christ who saves you from your sin. You are not your own, you are Christ’s. He has paid the price - death on the cross for you. (See: Rom. 6:20; John 8:34, 15:15; 1 Cor. 12:27, 15:23; 2 Cor. 10:7)

It does not matter where you are from, what you were before. There is no difference between us when we are in Christ. We have all been purchased from sin by Christ. We could not do this ourselves. We do not have the power to overcome sin on our own. So now we are all the same - we are His own. (See: 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11)

V. 23 - “You were bought with a price” - Christ’s life, death, burial, and resurrection.

“Do not become slaves of men.” - We are required to do what Jesus Christ tells us to do. When men begin making rules on what you have to do to be saved, these rules almost always have the effect of taking us further away from Jesus. When we follow their lead, we become their followers and not the Lord’s.
Jesus died for your sin, the pastor did not, nor the priest, bishop, pope, nor any of the deacons or elders. When any of these start piling on requirements (maybe not all at once) they begin to ‘own’ you.

V. 24 - “Each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.” - Don’t make any big moves. (You’ve already made one - you accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. Can’t get much bigger than that.)

1 Corinthians 7:10-17 - Married to an Unbeliever

10 But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband
11 (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.
12 But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her.
13 And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away.
14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.
15 Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace.
16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?
17 Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches.

Ma-Widge!

(See note 1)

V. 10 - “But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord” - Paul continues the discussion of believers and marriage. You already know his opinion that it is better to be single and serve the Lord, but if temptation toward sexual immorality becomes a problem for the single Christian, then marriage is the solution (staying faithful to the spouse in that marriage is a significant part of the solution). The rest of the this chapter is about living married.

Previously (v. 6) Paul indicated his instructions were in the form of good advice. He is not telling people to stay single no-matter-what, nor is he telling everyone to get married.

“the wife should not leave her husband” - I suspect the question was posed to Paul: Now that I am a Christian and am the Lord’s should I leave my spouse? Being dedicated to the Lord, should husbands and wives separate in order to wholly serve Jesus Christ? See the discussion for 1 Cor. 7:5, above. As I said there, this dilemma may be the result of misunderstanding Christ’s teaching about marriage in heaven.

The reason this is a command not a suggestion is that Jesus clearly indicated God did not approve of divorce, (See: Matt. 5:31; 19:3-12; Mark 10:2-12).

V. 11 - “but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried” - A parenthetical insert.

“the husband should not divorce his wife” - A continuation of the command in verse 10. It is not clear to me if this command is aimed at couples where both are believers. It seems aimed at believer/non-believer marriages. It would be easy to think it is for believing couples since Paul addresses “unequally yoked” marriages in the next few verses. However, why would “believing couples” feel the need to divorce because of their faith?

V. 12-13 - “But to the rest I say, not the Lord” - Let me assume the commands in verses 10-11 are to “believer/non-believer” marriages. First, a believer is not to divorce a believing spouse (if at all possible). Especially there should be no divorce because of theological or religious reasons.

But to the rest... Remember, Christians are a minority in the world in the first century A.D. (This is probably between 35-60 A.D.) Most people in Greece have no idea what the church of Jesus Christ is all about. It is likely that a woman will have heard the Good News and given her life to Christ, but her husband has not. Ditto for a man to have heard, but the wife not so. This could create relationship problems in a household.

“if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever” - Just because you have accepted Christ as savior, that is no reason to divorce your wife who has not yet believed. If she wishes to stay with you, let it be so. Remember, Paul sees this is a command from the Lord.

V. 13 - “a woman who has an unbelieving husband” - Just because you have accepted Christ as savior, that is no reason to divorce your husband who has not yet believed. If he wishes to stay with you, let it be so. Remember, Paul sees this is a command from the Lord.

V. 14 - “the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife” - Wowsers! The wife is a child of God. (1 John 3:1) The unbelieving husband is not. This does not mean the husband is saved. “Sanctification”: The dominant meaning is separation from the secular and sinful, and setting apart for a sacred purpose. In the OT, things, places, times, people were sanctified, i.e., consecrated to holy purposes - usually only in a ceremonial and legal sense, to remind the Jews of the need for spiritual cleansing and the grace of God. In the NT, people are called to consecrate themselves to God, that is the inward cleansing work of God and Holy Spirit. We cannot be in God’s life if we are not holy (“sanctified”); we cannot live with Him in eternity if we are not pure and holy. Christ’s sacrifice did that for we who believe and accept Him as Lord and Savior.

Marriage is not a ‘man-made’ artifact. It is instituted by God. (Gen. 2:21-24) A possible meaning of this verse is the unbelieving husband should not be considered as a heathen by the church members; i.e., because the woman is saved the husband is to be treated with some respect. This sounds a little goofy, because Christians should not treat the unsaved with disdain. How can we possibly expect someone to turn to Christ if we treat that person like dirt because they are not saved?

“the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband” - The same line of reasoning applies to an unbelieving wife of a Christian man. The married couple are now set apart for each other - i.e., sanctified. I do not believe this means the unbelieving spouse is ‘saved’ - cleansed from sin and part of Christ’s body, and body of believers.

“for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy” - And I have no idea how children of Christians are ‘holy’ - again they are not saved by Christ until they commit to belief and acceptance of Him as Lord. ( I need to discuss this with a pastor... )
Ezra 9:2 indicates the children of Israel were a “holy race” - obviously that does not mean they were sinless and holy as the Lord is holy! They had been set apart to be God’s own people, and witness to the world the power and majesty of God the Father. They were to stay set apart, but they intermingled with the heathen nations who rejected God. As a result they became anathema to the Lord. Well, maybe that is a bit too strong. God was very upset with them, and disciplined them, but was not so angry as to wipe them out completely.

So maybe this verse indicates that children of Christian parents are set apart from the rest of the world in that God’s care and love He has for their parents gets reflected upon the children. They have ‘advantages’ the other children do not.

V. 15 - “Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave” - If the unbelieving spouse decides they ‘just can’t take any more of this’, and so decides to divorce or separate themselves, Paul says let them go.

“Not under bondage in such cases” - The believing husband or wife is under no obligation to stay married in this circumstance. I do not know if this statement negates verse 11 above, i.e., the wife should not remarry if the unbelieving husband wants out of the marriage, and vice versa. I suspect it does not. If the non-believing spouse walks out or demands a divorce, don’t fight it, let them go in peace. Because, “God has called us to peace.”

V. 16 - “For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband?” - Showing love and compassion to the unbelieving spouse may convince them ‘there might be something to this new found faith in Jesus’. Being a loving witness for Christ may soften their hearts so they will come to Christ and also see Him as Savior and Lord!

V. 17 - “Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one” - It is possible this verse should be included in the previous section regarding marriage. Each of us had a life before we met Jesus, before we accepted and believed in Him.

“in this manner let him walk“ - That is, if you were married when you were saved stay married. If you were single when saved, stay single. Paul is not teaching that each of us is assigned a particular job or life - you were not born to be an ax murderer, nor a super-villain. You are who you are and where you are in life based on the choices you have made. You can accept or reject God’s guidance. Either way will lead to where you are now. If you have been a criminal up to the point you accepted Jesus Christ, do not continue on that evil path. You can use the skills you have obtained to help others rather than hurt and destroy.

Do not give up what you have been doing (unless it is sinful and hurts or destroys others).

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Note 1: (Reference: the movie: Princess Bride )
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1 Corinthians 7:7-9 - If Possible

7 Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that.
8 But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I.
9 But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

Each Man Has His One Gift From God

V. 7 - “I wish that all men were even as I myself am” - From this it appears that Paul was celibate, a confirmed bachelor. His whole life was dedicated to serving the Lord - first as a zealous Pharisee, and later, finally, as a zealous apostle and teacher of the Word of Salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord. I don’t think Paul thought it was good for every person to be single and celibate. He thought it would be good for every person to be so dedicated to service for Christ that they would not need to be married.

“However, each man has his own gift from God” - This is not ‘One-Size-Fits-All’. He did not denigrate those who are married and believe in Christ. God has a wonderful plan for your life. Live that plan for Him.

V. 8 - “But I say to the unmarried” - If you can, stay single (whether unmarried or widowed) so that your work for the Lord will be unhindered by family responsibilities. Paul is not downgrading the needs of your families. He knows that when you have a family the needs - wife, husband, children, house and home - will consume part of your attention and time. These cannot be denied or ignored. As a result your attention to the work of the Lord has competition from your family. So, in Paul’s opinion - coming from a hardworking apostle - it would be better for the church if you all were single-mindedly working just like him.

V. 9 - “if they do not have self-control” - same advice as in verses 3-6, above. Immorality - sexual sin whether single or married - is unacceptable.

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1 Cor 7:1-6 - Chap. 7 - Introduction to Married Life

Chap. 7 - Outline
7:1-6 - Marry or Immorality - your choice
7:7-9 - If Possible
7:10-16 - Married to an Unbeliever
7:17-24 - As You Were
7:25-35 - Demands of Marriage
7:36-38 - Virgin Daughters
7:39-40 - Widows and Re-Marriage

Introduction:

The church in Corinth wrote to Paul for advice or guidance. What were their questions? Perhaps the Corinthian church wrote concerning marriage - were Christians to marry, or should they stay single, or if married should they separate - but it most likely was not about the subjects discussed in the early part of this letter. The following list briefly shows the subjects chapters 7-16 cover.

ch. 7 - primarily deals with marriage;
ch. 8 - ‘liberty’, or using your freedom in Christ correctly;
chs. 9-11- expound on Paul’s ministry to them;
ch. 12 - the church as a organization or body of Christ;
ch. 13 - love;
ch. 14 - prophecy and tongues;
ch. 15 - Christ’s resurrection, and
ch. 16 - closing thoughts.

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1 Corinthians 7:1-6 -Marriage

1 Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2 But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.
3 The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband.
4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
5 Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
6 But this I say by way of concession, not of command.

Who Has Control?

V. 1 - “Now concerning the things about which you wrote” - Paul begins to answer questions presented to him from the Corinthian church. We must infer from the letter what the questions Paul was being asked...

“it is good for a man not to touch a woman” - I do not think Paul was teaching isolation of men from women. (This is not rehashing Mosaic law: like dealing with a leper, or touching a woman during her menstrual cycle, or touching a dead body (See: Lev. 11:31, 32; 13:45; 14:2, 3; 15:19, 25,33; 21:1, 11; 22:4; Num. 5:2; 6:6.) Paul was warning against romantic or sexual involvement. Both men and women can be distracted from the Lord during a romantic encounter with the opposite sex. This is fleshed out more clearly in the following verses.

V. 2 - “because of immoralities” - Men and women are attracted to each other. This is the way God designed us (See: Gen. 2:18-25). There is nothing immoral or sinful about this mutual attraction. The problem is not in the attraction, but in the way humans meddle or pervert the plan. It is not a surprise that sex is a big business - pornography, prostitution, etc. - or that non-criminal sexual acts are prevalent in every society. It is difficult to write about this without sounding prudish, or stodgy, or puritanical. I do not mean that males simply talking with females turn into slavering louts, or that the females become harlots luring the males into sin. Paul is saying it is difficult to be single-minded, focused on the Lord’s work in some situations.

“each man is to have his own wife” - The solution: get married! Paul is teaching/preaching monogamy. We can see from the OT scripture that it was not uncommon for a man to have several wives and/or concubines - AT THE SAME TIME! 

“each woman is to have her own husband” - The solution: get married! I haven't noticed that a woman would have several husbands - at the same time - in scripture.

And I think these were not unusual situations all over the ancient world. My personal understanding is that God intended a one-man-one-woman relationship, or marriage. And like so many things we touch, it (marriage) gets marred by our sin. This discussion is not connected to divorce or remarrying.

V. 3 - “The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife and likewise also the wife to her husband” - Sexual intercourse within a marriage is neither immoral or sinful. It is as God intended. I am not sure that I see that as a “duty” that has to be done, a “chore” or “task” that must be checked off as completed. A husband shows his love to his wife by this intimate act. The wife shows her love by providing the way to keep the man’s mind from wandering into sinful thoughts or relations. Their love for each other supports them and keeps them from sexual sin.

V. 4 - “The wife does not have authority over her own body... the husband does not have authority over his own body” - This is not an authoritarian, master-slave relationship. This is to be a mutual surrendering of self to another. Our society seems to treat sex as a simple physical function - see almost any movie or TV show. (Two people meet in a bar and are strangers; the next thing you know they’ve hopped into bed for sex, hop out of bed and go about their business as if nothing special has occurred.) We try to pretend that sex is merely satisfying a physical attraction or need. We try to pretend it is not what God has intended for us.

V. 5 - “Stop depriving one another” - Addressing a problem that may have come about between married couples. This may be a result of misunderstanding Jesus’ teaching, or a misunderstanding of what it means to be spiritual and a member of the body of Christ while here on earth.

In the first instance, we know Jesus Christ taught that when the kingdom of God is fully realized there will be no marriage between man and woman. (See: Matt. 22:30; Mk. 12:23; Lk 20:34-35) Does that mean there should be no marriage now here on earth before the Lord returns in power and glory? I do not think that is what Jesus is teaching. We will be His and there will be no need for marriage in His kingdom. More than that i cannot guess.

In the second instance, I suspect that people were drawing the conclusion that since we are now in Christ and Christ is in us, we should not be having sex, subjecting Christ to those physical, emotional and spiritual activities. In other words, ‘defiling’ the body of Christ with our bodies. This is taking the teaching from chapter six (1 Cor.6:15) and applying it to the marriage bed. Sexual immorality with a harlot is not in the same category as sexual intercourse with your spouse. Unmarried sex with a harlot is a sin. Sex with your lawfully wedded spouse is not. Plain and simple.

“and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control“ - If you cannot control your urges, those sexual desires lead you into sin. Sexual desire is extremely strong. I do not think it is only emotional, but far deeper because it is the way life is extended. All animals and humans (Humans are not animals, even though we eat, breathe, live, die, and procreate as animals do - we are more! God has made us so). Know that sex is important for life to go on. It doesn’t mean you will die if you don’t have sex, but the human race will die out if we don’t. Rather than trying to tamp down those natural urges, get married and enjoy them with your spouse. Rather than give in to the sexual desires and do it any time with any one, get married and avoid the sin, and the penalty of sin.

V. 6 - “But this I say by way of concession, not of command” - Paul is not telling them they must get married and must have marital intercourse. It is better for them to be married and satisfy their desires within that marriage than stay single and fall into sin. We are not ignoring that it is possible to be married and yet sin outside of marriage. He knows that sexual sin is less likely when needs are being met within the marriage.

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1 Cor. 6:9-11 - Inheritors of the Kingdom

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,
10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

You Are To Be Different!

V. 9-10 - “do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” - In some ways, this paragraph seems to coming from left field! Paul was upbraiding them for not getting along and then lays this list of people who will not “inherit the kingdom”. I do not think Paul has changed directions, going off in a totally different path. The list is not exhaustive, nor is it exclusive (i.e., any sinner not on the list can inherit the kingdom). It is just a good list of ‘recognizable sins’ - those sins almost anyone can agree that the doers are not saved and therefore will not be in heaven.

“Do not be deceived” - You must not believe you can do anything you want because now you are forgiven. You are to be different. As a believer you are a new person in Christ. The righteous, the forgiven, are not to live and act like the unrighteous. You now have choice. God does not coerce you to live and act in a certain way. You are not a robot, a little human “app" that can only act one way because that is how you are programmed. Christ and the Holy Spirit will guide you, will help you, will lead you into the right path. Do not fall back into the behavior of the unrighteous.

See this list of ten... (the following are not dictionary definitions - nor is the list comprehensive)

fornicators - sexually active, but not married
idolaters - worshipping anything other than the Lord
adulterers - sexually active outside of marriage
effeminate - acting and living as if you are the opposite sex, (e.g., male prostitute)
homosexuals - sexually active with members of the same sex
thieves - robbers, stealers
covetous - greedy, desirous of others’ things
drunkards - over use of alcohol
revilers - demeanors of spiritual things, especially of God
swindlers - robbing people by trickery and deception, a thief but done cleverly.

V. 11 - “but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified” - This is the ‘punch line’. Now, as Christians, you no longer have to live like that. The unsaved, the secular world is free to act in evil ways toward each other. But you as a Christian are now different. You have no reason to be selfish, hard-hearted, stingy, grasping, always demanding your ‘rights’. You have the Holy Spirit living in you to guide and protect.

• You were dirty in your sin. Now you have been washed in the blood of Christ. You are clean. 
•  You were common and unholy, you were human. Now you are set apart, holy, made suitable for holy purposes, that is, serving the Lord Jesus Christ. Now you are sanctified.
• You were a sinner, unworthy of being in God’s presence. Now you have been declared righteous because Jesus took your sins upon Himself. You have been justified. I learned a mnemonic: Justified = Just-as-if-I’d-never sinned.
• Now you are acceptable.  

"in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." - Does this sound incredible, amazing, maybe even impossible? Not to worry. You are not on your own. You are Jesus' own people.(See: 1 Pet 2:9-10). You were not a 'people'. Now you are God's own possession! And you have God living in you. You have been given a gift because you put your faith in Jesus - You have the Holy Spirit in you to lead you, to correct, to instruct, to counsel, to comfort, and to rejoice when you follow Him.

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1 Cor. 6:1-8 - Rules for harmonious living

1 Corinthians Chapter 6
6:1-8 - Going to Court vs. Handling Disputes Internally 
6:9-11 - Inheritors of the Kingdo 
6:12-13 - All Things Lawful
6:14-20 - In the Body of Christ
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This is a continuation of the discussion in the previous chapter: 

1 Corinthians 6:1-8 - Going to Court

1 Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints?
2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts?
3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?
4 So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church?
5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren,
6 but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?
7 Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?
8 On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren. (NASB)

Don't Go To Court If Possible

V. 1 - “Does any one of you... dare to go to law” - The question is: Are you going to take a fellow Christian to court over a dispute? The “neighbor” in this verse and the “brother” (vss. 6, 8) is someone in the same church as you, believes in the same Lord Jesus Christ as you. Are you willing (if not eager to do so) to take your dispute with another Christian and air that out to the non-believing world? Why would you show the world that Christians cannot get along? Why would you want the world to know you cannot work out differences face-to-face?

This train of thought places the church on a different plane than non-believers. We tend to think of the law as a moral influence or force in the world. Indeed, some of our laws are based on Biblical principles (murder, rape, theft, etc.). Many of societies laws are rules devised to bring some sort of order to society, and may not be moral at all.

“before the unrighteous and not before the saints?” - Going to court in the secular world (the unrighteous world) rather than asking for help and decisions from fellow believers (the saints). Paul is not saying the court system is immoral, or evil. It is not Christian; it is not operated on Biblical principles. Our court system has decoupled itself from Scripture and God.

Don’t take your disputes and differences into the secular system. Is this concept a command? I don’t think so, but is sound advice for the church.

V. 2 - “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” - Whoa! How does this correlate with Jesus and God the Father judging the universe at the Great White Throne judgement (See: Rev. 20). John sees people on thrones who have the authority to judge (Rev. 20:4) - it doesn’t say what they are judging. Later in the chapter, all will come before God, where it will be revealed whether they are in the Lamb’s Book of Life. (Rev. 20:11-15). Christians, involved in judgements at the end times are listed in several New Testament verses. (See: Mat. 19:28; Jude 14, 15; 1 Thes. 3:13). They (believers) have already been judged and approved by the Lord. (Mat. 25:31-41). We cannot supplant the Lord and His power and authority to judge all creation. On view has us there to nod our heads in agreement. Another view is that we will have the mind of Christ; we are resurrected in our new minds and bodies and will be able to reflect the judgment of Christ on the world and unbelievers. Remember, God has the final authority.

“are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts?” - Being led by Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, following the precepts of the Lord, we are (should be...) more than competent to make judgments on ‘legal’ or ‘disputes’ between members of the church. 

V. 3 - “Do you not know that we will judge angels?” - See Rev. 20:4-15. (See notes on verse 2, above.) I don’t understand how we will judge angels. It is pointed out that Jesus was ‘a little lower than angels (see: Heb. 2:7, 9) when he was born as a human. He returned to his position, greater than the angels when he was raised from the dead to be seated at the right hand of God the Father. We can extrapolate we too will be greater than the angels, because we will be just like Him. (See: 1 John2:1-3).

“How much more matters of this life?” - So, if we will judge angels, spiritual beings, how big a deal is it to make judgements on our physical lives? One commentary (I looked at several to try to get a better understanding) noted the Greek word used here is not about issuing a verdict of guilty or innocent, but indicates a relative value decision. That is, we will acknowledge that what was done or said does not comport with God’s standards, and thereby agree with Jesus’ judgement. We will applaud Jesus’ righteous decisions, but will not make or execute any such decision. We will be ‘like Him’ (1 John 3:3), but will not be Him. Only God is God. 

There is also the aspect of this being about civil matters, not legal or moral matters. This is about disagreements between individuals, not criminal issues. Matters of conflict within the church body should never be aired in public civil courts.

V. 4 - “do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church?” - Are you really going take personal disagreements between Christian church members (a.k.a. - brothers) to secular civil courts? Are you really going to air out your dirty laundry before non-believers? Whether it is as trivial as arguing about padded church pews, or musical instruments in the worship leaders, or more seriously - immoral behavior in the church body - are these things you want to broadcast to the world?

V. 5-6 - “Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man” - Is there no one you can trust in the church to help you resolve these issues? Not one person? Not the pastor/preacher, nor a teacher, nor an elder or deacon, the guy in the back row - no one in the family of believers can help?

“but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?” - Rather than work it out inside the church family, you go to those who do not accept or believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and ask them to make a judgement. Now the whole world, people who have no respect for God, knows you cannot live in harmony with likeminded believers! The dirty secret is out - your “faith” has not made you a better person than before. You are as petty and vindictive as any heathen. Paul is chastising them for a couple of things: that they cannot resolve disputes, and that they are appealing to non-believers. 

V. 7 - “Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you” - What a victory for Satan! You have just shown the world that ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ is a fraudulent concept. You do not have the ‘peace of Christ’ in you. You do not have the love and forgiveness that Jesus promised. Your actions, taking issues to civil court, have indicated the church of Christ is bogus. Why should anyone bother with all that church stuff if they end up no different than before? No one needs extra baggage.

But that is not the way it should be.

“Why not rather be wronged?” - It is better for you to suffer a little, than to damage the image of the church. This is not telling them to put on a bag over their head, and be blindfolded so as not to see what is happening. Also, Paul is not telling them to be punching bags, to be victims to every person’s schemes.

No. We Christians should first talk to each other, especially if there is a problem between two. Work it out between you. If you can’t work it out with each other. Go to your church leaders. Lay out the problem to them. Look back at verse 5, above, “Is there not one wise man among you?” Find a wise leader, pastor, elder, deacon - tell them. Tell both sides, viewpoints. Perhaps you won’t like the ruling. On the other hand, it might go in your favor and the other person is not pleased. Either result is better than going into civil court. Going to court shows the world that Christians cannot get along and fight with each other.

This is not a New Testament ‘invention’, i.e., taking a dispute or problem to a religious leader to decide. When Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt, the people began to quarrel with God and each other (Surprise! Surprise!). They were camped in the wilderness at the mount of God, and Moses’ father-in-law (Jethro) noticed how overwhelmed Moses was. Moses was being besieged by people bringing their disputes with each other. They wanted him to ask God for a ruling. So, we have 2-3 million cantankerous people needing disputes settled. The advice given to Moses was to appoint leaders - leaders of tens (10s), fifties (50s), hundreds (100s), and thousands (1000s) - who would make decisions on these disputes. A dispute would be resolved in the lowest ‘court’ possible (the 10s). If that didn’t work, they went to the next higher level. A dispute might eventually make its way to Moses, but it had been heard many times with many opportunities to end the dispute. (See: Exo. 18:13-26)

The ‘judges’ in the book of Judges were not just military leaders. They also governed the people and made decisions about issues that came up. During the time of the kings, the famous dispute is the two mothers disagreeing about a baby. (See: 1 Ki. 3:16-26) The leaders of the synagogues also had the duty of resolving differences.

Jesus did teach something similar. (See: Matt. 18:15-17)… Interesting observation: Jesus is directing His comments to the ‘church’, the body of His believers, not the synagogue or the nation of Israel. He is guiding those who believe in Him to new relationships with other believers. Why do I thing this is 'interesting'? Jesus is calling His followers the 'church', but this was well before Jesus was arrested, tried, executed, and resurrected. It was well before the apostles were given the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to preach and lead people to salvation. Jesus was foretelling that His family of believers would be the church.

V. 8 - “You yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren” - Paul accuses them to treating people in wrong ways and defrauding others, especially fellow Christians. Perhaps this is the point, even more than not going to civil court against a brother in Christ. Not that as good Christian you will never have a dispute with another Christian, but that you will resolve it by being kind, forgiving, and loving each other. You have a good example to follow, for you have been forgiven by God, even though you do not deserve it. But even before you get to the point of conflict, as followers of Jesus you should not be treating other people in ways that cause offense. Here are some teachings with respect to living with others:

Be kind to each other. (Eph. 4:32; Titus 2:5, 3:2)

Forgive each other (Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13)

Love one another. (John 13:34, 35; 15:12, 17; Rom. 12:10; 13:8; Gal. 5:13; Eph. 4:2)

Live at peace with each other (1 Thes. 5:13).

Remember, love covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet. 4:8).

This is a theme repeated throughout this letter. Paul accuses them of acting like unbelievers in 1 Cor 3:3, etc.

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1 Cor. 6:14-20 - In the Body of Christ

14 Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!
16 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.”
17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

***

V. 14 - “Now God has not only raised the Lord” - Jesus Christ is the first to be resurrected from death to eternal life. (See: Matt. 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-20; Luke 24:1-53; John 20:1-21:25).

“will also raise us up” - In the previous verse Paul says our bodies will be done away with, our bodies will be for the Lord. I think this implies we receive new bodies, and this is confirmed in this verse. John in his first letter says, “Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2) Think on this: We will be like Him! What a wondrous thing to ponder - His perfect spiritual body, like that! His spiritual union with the Father and the Holy Spirit - like that! Being able to praise the Lord, to stand in His presence without fear and in great joy - like that!

V. 15 - “Do you not know” - Has no one told you? Or, have you forgotten what we taught you?

“your bodies are members of Christ?” - This is one of those theological miracles or mysteries - when we believe and Christ as Lord and Savior, we become part of Christ. That statement is fantastic! We get Christ’s life when we believe in Him. The eternal resurrected life is ours. It is not a life eternal separate from God’s life, but His life in us. “God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:27)

“Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute?” - This is distinctly different from the way our modern society views the sexual act between a man and a woman. We are told by some that sex is just an act, nothing special... We see that God intended this is to be an emotional and spiritual union in addition to the physical act.

Here, Paul takes us all the way back to Genesis. (The emphasis is mine.) “The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.’ For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” (Gen. 2:20-25) That is the basis for Paul’s statement.

V. 16 - “the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her” - A reiteration of verse 15 above. This may seem to be a huge logical jump from settling personal disagreements about theology between believers to consorting with a prostitute. Because this section is more than disagreements over how often we should have communion; or whether communion bread should be unleavened wafers or pieces of sandwich bread; or whether we should baptize a new believer immediately, or whether the music is too loud. Did Paul really mean airing your differences is equal with committing adultery? Why, yes, I believe he did. 

We can think, “I would never ever be with a prostitute! Think of the horrible image that would provide to the non-believing world.” One aspect of this message is that we must be careful to hold to the gospel and principles taught by Jesus and the apostles. Following a teacher of a false doctrine will lead us to disobeience and rejection of Jesus as Lord. Rejecting the gospel is rejecting God and Jesus - in essence spiritual adultery. On the other hand, perhaps we would not lose a moment of sleep thinking about the image of the lack of love and forgiveness is displayed by taking another person to court in order to resolve a difference. Taking a fellow believer to court is rejecting the principle of being kind, forgiving and at peace with your brother. The non-Christian world is always watching, analyzing, judging. We claim to have a better way. They want to see ‘proof of life’.

“The two shall become one flesh.” - Quoted from Gen. 2:24. As noted above, there were no animals that were suitable to be a partner with Adam. God knew the animals would not do it (See: Gen. 2:18). It was not good for the man to be alone. This is significant. Man’s greatest need was to have someone with whom to share his life. Not one beast, not one bird, not one farm animal - not one living creature - could fill the need. No one was a perfect match. God ‘sculpted’ the woman (Gen. 2:22) - the NASB uses the word ‘fashioned’ for the creation of the woman. Whereas, God built or constructed the man (See: Gen. 2:7) from dust. (Two different verbs are used in these verses.)

I do not mean that the man was less than perfect, starting from dirt, and the woman was started with finer materials. That would imply that God is limited in some way in His creative powers. Not true. God is perfect in all His ways. Man and woman are designed by the Lord God to be the almost perfect match for each other.

The only perfect match for mankind is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

V. 17 - “the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” - This theme, when we are in Christ, He is in us. We are joined together to become one. He lives in us. We live in Him. More than man and woman becoming “one flesh’, we have the Spirit of the living God in us.
Stop. Think about this. We have the Spirit of God Almighty, the LORD of Lords, the Creator and sustainer of the universe living in us. Why would you subject the Holy Spirit of God to be one with an adulterous person. This is not strictly a male problem, nor is it a female problem. It is demeaning the Holy God by joining Him to an immoral person by an immoral act.

V. 18 - “Flee immorality” - The admonition here is to flee sexually immoral behavior. The Greek word here is where we get our word “pornography”. Illicit sexual conduct, of all kinds, of any kind - man-and-woman, man-and-man, woman-and-woman, human-and-animal, self-gratification, movies, music, television, books, magazines - sexual immorality kills.

Sexual immorality brought the judgement during Noah’s time. Sexual immorality brought the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is interesting to note that Joseph did what Paul admonishes - Joseph fled from his boss’s wife when she tried to seduce him. However, David did not flee immorality and committed adultery with the wife of one of his warriors. (Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah).

“Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body,” - Whether murder, theft, disrespect of parents, or lying, these sins are committed against others or against God. It is not as if you are a third-party observer remotely watching yourself commit these acts. You are completely and fully involved in the planning, commission, and cover-up of these sins. Sexual sin is more personal, in that you are giving yourself to another person, intimately. All sin is a corruption of the plans of the Lord for you. Sexual sin is more corrosive, and destructive.

“the immoral man sins against his own body.” - For all the reasons stated above. Sexual immorality is more personal.

V. 19 - “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit” - God the Holy Spirit lives within you when you commit your life to Christ. The Temple, and before that the Tabernacle, was where God dwelt with the nation of Israel. Michael Heiser identified this beautifully in his book “Unseen Realms” in the chapter on “Realm Distinction”.

“The concept of otherness was at the core of Israelite identity. Otherness was the core of holiness. The Hebrew vocabulary for holiness means to be set apart or to be distinct. While the idea has a moral dimension related to conduct, it is not intrinsically about morality. It is about distinction... Israelites were to be set apart (‘holy’) as Yahweh was set apart (‘holy’).

Yahweh’s complete otherness was reinforced in the minds of Israelites through worship and sacrifice.Yahweh was not only the source of Israel’s life - He was life. Yahweh was not of earth, a place where there is death, disease, and imperfection. His realm is supernatural; ours is terrestrial. The space He occupies is sacred and made otherworldly by his presence. The space we occupy is ‘profane’ or ordinary.

Many laws in the Torah illustrate this worldview and its messaging. Whether priest or not, male or female, people could be disqualified from sacred space by a variety of activities or conditions. Examples include sexual activity, bodily emissions, physical handicaps, contact with a dead body, and childbirth... These laws were not considered unclean out of prudishness... These laws kept the community conscious of Yahweh’s otherness.

Even within sacred space there were gradations of holiness or sanctity. The closer one got to Yahweh’s presence, the more holy the ground or the object in his proximity. The terms that describe the layout of the structure are evidence of this progression. From the entrance inward there was the court, the holy place, and the ‘most holy place’ (‘holy of holies’). The sacred space of the tabernacle got progressively more holy from the entrance to the innermost room.” (See note 1, below)

“who is in you, whom you have from God,” - The “who” in this sentence is the Holy Spirit. The Temple, and before that the Tabernacle, was the dwelling place for God among his chosen people, the Israelites. God never needed a place to “be”, but the Israelites (and other humans) needed a place where they could say they meet God. That dwelling place was centered in the Tabernacle and then the Temple. God judged Israel/Judah for their apostasy and the Babylonians took Judah captive and destroyed the Temple. It seems that at no time in the Second Temple period (515 BC to 70 AD) that God occupied the Holy of Holies.

Christ told the disciples/apostles that the Holy Spirit would be given them. (See: John 14:16, 17; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7-11; Acts 1:4-8; 2:1ff) The Temple is no longer applicable. An obsession to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem is human pride ignoring the facts on the ground. The believer is the Temple of the Almighty God, not some building in a particular city.

“and that you are not your own?” - When we accept Christ as Lord and Savior we make a decision to surrender ourselves to Him. Christ becomes part of us; He is in us. We become part of Christ; we are in Christ. We are no longer to be a rebellious independent entity. We are to be ‘bond-slaves’ of the Lord God. That means if you decide to have sexual congress with a prostitute, or any sexual immoral activity you are subjecting Christ to that act! (I don’t think that is too strong a statement.)

The equation seems to go:

You believe in Christ = Christ in you. (vs. 6:17)
You have sex with a prostitute = you and prostitute “become one”. (vs. 6:16) Therefore: Christ is one with the prostitute. (vs. 6:15)

May it never be! Never, ever defile the Lord by such behavior! (The Lord cannot be lowered or diminished. He is before and above all. We are defiling our relationship with Him when we do such things.)

V. 20 - “you have been bought with a price:” - God came to earth as a human. He lived and then was crucified for our sin. The price was paid in full by Christ’s death. He personally took the penalty of death for sin upon Himself. The price paid was acceptable to God the Father. Christ rose from death to eternal life. That eternal life is ours when we believe and commit to Him.

“therefore glorify God in your body” - We are not saved because we are good. We are not saved because we have earned it. We are saved by His grace, mercy and love. As a result we have Jesus and the Holy Spirit in us, in our bodies. We glorify God by our behavior that matches His standards and follow His directions. Nothing we do can make God greater than He already is. However, we are to be the image of God to the world. Our behavior, our actions as believers can show His glory and grace - our relationship with Him can glorify God to the world around us.

Many people go through life without thinking about God at all. Even Christians live without consciously thinking about the Lord. Jesus called us to be different than non-believers. “You shall be holy (“distinct, different”) because I am holy (“distinct, different”). (See: Lev. 19:2; 1 Pet 1:16) Why would anyone believe in Christ, based on my life and behavior, if I am not glorifying the Lord by my life and behavior?
As an example: Our son asked us how could we, as Christians, vote for Trump? (Seeing as how evil Trump was.) Wasn’t voting for Trump going against our faith in God? As it turns out, some or all of his objections to President Trump were not based on facts, but on news reports that either twisted the facts or outright lied. To him, a believer would not be able to cast a vote for such an evil person. We and he were not operating on the same set of facts (Trump lied, people died; kids in cages; etc.). That hardly matters, since he believed we were violating our Christian beliefs - further proof to him there is no value in faith in Christ.

I give this example because people are always watching us to see if the “peace that passes understanding” (Phil 4:7) is working in us; not to see if we are ‘religious’ but if we are showing Christ’s love and forgiveness. For it is not just about sex with prostitutes, but how does our lifestyle and actions glorify God to those around us. Does our love for others extend beyond our church buddies? Does our patience extend to clerks in the store; the waitress in the restaurant; the lady on the street that wants me to move so she can have six feet of space between us as she passes by (Covid-19 reference)? Are we patient, kind, and forgiving, just as the Lord was patient, kind, and forgiving with us? That is what people are looking for - they don’t care if you go to church every Sunday, carry a Bible, if you don’t treat them with Jesus’ love.

***

Note 1: Michael S. Heiser; “The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible”; Lexham Press; 2015.

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End of Chapter (31-Dec-2025)