A Study in I Corinthians Week 15

I Corinthians 14:1-25

Tongues: Three Greek words for tongues: glossa (language); dialectos (dialect) and glossalalia (fabricated and non-meaningful speech - not used in the New Testament).

Prophecy [from Ancient Greek verb προφημι (prophemi)]: A prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a prophet, by God, which the prophet then communicates to others.

01. 1-5 Paul opens with a declarative: “Follow the way of love…” He asserts that we should desire all of the spiritual gifts. He does NOT assert that we will receive all of the spiritual gifts. But the gift(s) we have must be administered with love.

Verse 4 tells us that the use of glossa (language) edifies (builds up) himself, whereas the use of prophecy builds up the church. This makes sense, because the theme of I Corinthians is Unity in the Body of Christ.

If you speak in a foreign language, nobody will understand you unless your have an interpreter. We will be demonstrating this on our next Great Day.

02. 6-12 The point here is that speaking in a foreign language to the church is useless, since nobody will understand. (verse 9). This also means that we should speak intelligibly…making sense in what we say. In verse 10 Paul recognizes the world’s many languages all meaningful to those who speak that language. In verse 12 he admonishes us to excel in the gifts that build up the church.

03. 13-17 When pastor Dax or pastor William (our Spanish speaking pastors) speak to us, sometimes they struggle to get the English right. We might be spiritually correct in what we are trying to convey, but if we can’t convey it intelligently, we are just flapping our lips. Say something that somebody can say, “Amen” to. You may be spiritual, but you are basically useless to other church members if you don’t. Does this lack of usefulness create unity in the church?

04. 18-19 As a missionary, Paul had spoken in at least a dozen different languages. But in the church, he spoke whatever language the congregation of the church spoke. If he could not, he got an interpreter.

05. 20-21 He admonishes the members of the Church of Corinth to stop acting like children. Grow up!

06. 22-25 As a missionary, Paul had to speak the language of those in whose country he was preaching…to unbelievers…trying to bring them to Christ. In the church, Paul spoke in prophecy…a message given to him from God for the church.

If the church is engaged in some form of gibber jabber, or if each person is speaking in his native language (we have 18 nationalities represented in our church), and an unsaved person walks in, that lost person will not know what is going on.

On the other hand, if we stay on message and speak in a language everybody understands, the lost person will have his heart softened and will be receptive to the prodding of the Holy Spirit to come to Christ.

We are to clearly present the gospel in terms people can understand…ALL OF US, not just the preacher. What a powerful witness THAT would be!

A Study in I Corinthians Week 14

I Corinthians 13:1-13

Verse 31 ends chapter 12 by saying “Eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.”

There are four Greek words for love that are important for Christians to understand. They are agape (an exercise of the will, a deliberate choice), phileo (to have a special interest in someone or something), storge (love and affection that naturally occurs between parents and children), and eros (erotic love). Three of them appear in the Bible: phileo; storge and agape.

In I Corinthians 13, Paul describes agape.

The Verses

1-3 No matter how spiritual I think I am, if I do not have love I am (choose one): [1) Not as good as I could be; 2) Better than most but not as good as others; 3) About where I ought to be; 4) absolutely nothing.]

Answer: 4) absolutely nothing.

So…do you have love? How do you know?

Paul gives us the yard stick.

4-7 Patient – Are you patient with others, including your spouse?
Kind – Do you exercise kindness toward others, including your spouse?
Envious – Are you envious of others, including your spouse?
Boastful – Are you boastful in front of others, including your spouse?
Prideful - Are you prideful around others, including your spouse?
Rudeness – Are you rude to others, including your spouse?
Self-seeking – Do you behave selfishly toward others, including your
spouse?
Anger – Do you get angry at others, including your spouse?
(All anger comes from not getting your way.)
Grudge – Do you hold grudges against others, including your spouse?
Love evil things – What’s your list of evils?
Truth – The truth is not what we say or think happened, it is what
actually happened.
Protect – Do you protect others, including your spouse?
Trust – Are you trustworthy? If you say you’ll do something, can you
be trusted to do it…even if you didn’t say the words, “I
promise?”
Hope – Are you filled with Holy Hope?
Perseverance – Do you Keep on Keeping On?

8-10 If you love, you love. If you “stop loving,” you never loved to begin with. Everything else on earth, physical and spiritual, will pass, but not love.

Verse 11 - Remember chapter 3, when Paul declared that he could not address the members of the First Baptist Church of Corinth as adults and had to feed them baby food? Here he’s talking about the same thing.

Verse 12 – We don’t understand a lot of things now (even though we sometimes act like we think we do). There will come a time when we will know everything there is for us to know: When we stand face-to-face with our Lord.

Faith, hope and love are all significant. But the most significant thing of all is love, for it was love that prompted God to provide the solution to our sin problem in the person of Christ at the cross of Calvary.

A Study in I Corinthians Week 13

I Corinthians 12:1-34

There are two Greek words translated tongues or language in the New Testament:

Glossa: the tongue, a member of the body, an organ of speech a tongue. The language or dialect used by a particular people distinct from that of other nations.

Dialectos: conversation, speech, discourse, language. The tongue or language peculiar to any people.

There is a third word in the ancient Greek language, Glossalalia: Fabricated and non-meaningful speech, especially such speech associated with a trance state or certain schizophrenic syndromes.

The word, glossalalia does not appear in the most dependable New Testament documents.

A very important principle to know: One cannot prove Scripture by one’s experience. One CAN prove one’s experience by Scripture.

The Verses

01. 1-6 Below is an overview of Spiritual Gifts. Notice that this passage conforms and re-states the theme of I Corinthians: Unity in the Church.

02. 7-11 The manifestation of the Spirit. Why do we each have a gift? For the common good of the Body of Christ.

03. 12-26 Here Paul really leans on God’s theme of unity. He uses the analogy of the body (since he constantly calls us The Body of Christ.

04. 27-28a Paul tells us that we are all different, but whatever gift we have we are to use. We do NOT all have all of the gifts, and there is not a single gift that everybody MUST have to please God. You want to please God? Use the gift you DO have for Him.

05. 29-30 The answer to each of the questions he asks is NO.

06. 31 We are to seek and desire the greatest gift. And next week we will examine it fully: The Most Excellent Way.

Gifts of the Spirit - What Are They?

Gifts of the Spirit are special abilities provided by the Holy Spirit to Christians for the purpose of building up the body of Christ. The list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 includes wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues. Similar lists appear in Ephesians 4:7-13 and Romans 12:3-8.

The gifts of the Spirit are simply God enabling believers to do what He has called us to do. 2 Peter 1:3 says, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." The gifts of the Holy Spirit are part of the "everything we need" to fulfill His purposes for our lives.

Gifts of the Spirit - The Definitions

There is some controversy as to the precise nature of each of the gifts of the Spirit, but here is a list of spiritual gifts and their basic definitions.

1. The gift of wisdom seems to be the ability to make decisions and give guidance that is according to God's will.

2. The gift of knowledge is the ability to have an in-depth understanding of a spiritual issue or situation.

3. The gift of faith is being able to trust God and encourage others to trust God, no matter the circumstances.

4. The gift of healing is the miraculous ability to use God's healing power to restore a person who is sick, injured, or suffering.

5. The gift of miracles is being able to perform signs and wonders that give authenticity to God's Word and the Gospel message.

6. The gift of prophecy is being able to proclaim a message from God.

7. The gift of discerning spirits is the ability to determine whether or not a message, person, or event is truly from God.

8. The gift of tongues is the ability to speak in a foreign language that you do not have knowledge of, in order to communicate with someone who speaks that language.

9. The gift of interpreting tongues is the ability to translate the tongues speaking and communicate it back to others in your own language.

10. The gift of administration is being able to keep things organized and in accordance with God's principles.

11.The gift of helps is always having the desire and ability to help others, to do whatever it takes to get a task accomplished.

Gifts of the Spirit - Which One(s) Do I Have?

The Holy Spirit distributes the gifts of the Spirit as He sees fit (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).

God does not want us to be ignorant of how He wants us to serve Him. However, it is very easy for us to get caught up in what spiritual gift(s) we have and then only serve God in that area of ministry.

That is not how it works.

God calls us to obediently serve Him.

He will equip us with whatever gifts of the Spirit we need to accomplish the task or tasks He has called us to.

Yes, God calls some to be teachers and gives them the gift of teaching, but that does not excuse the person from serving God in other ways as well.

Is it beneficial to know what spiritual gift(s) God has given you? Of course, it is.

Is it wrong to focus so much on spiritual gifts that we miss other opportunities to serve God?

Yes!

There is no magic formula or spiritual gift test that can tell you what gifts of the Spirit you possess. What we need to focus on is serving God.

Do you see a need in your church? Do what you can to meet it.

Is there a position in a ministry that is vacant? Pray as to whether God would have you fill it.

If we seek God's will and obey His leading, He will always equip us with whatever gifts of the Spirit we need.

Spiritual gift tests can be of some value in determining what areas God has especially gifted you.

As always, though, place far more emphasis on God's Word and submitting to the Lord's leading than you do on the results of a spiritual gift test.

Gifts of the Spirit - What Are the Gifts Used For?

The Apostle Paul indicated that the gifts of the Spirit are equally valid, but not equally valuable.

Their value is determined by their worth to the church. In dealing with this matter, he used the analogy of the human body.

All members of the body have functions, Paul declared, but some are more important than others (1 Corinthians 12:12-26).

The service of each Christian should be in proportion to the gifts which he possesses (1 Corinthians 12-14).

All believers, as members of the body of Christ, must be serving together in order for the body to be fully-functional. That is why a church needs pastors, teachers, helpers, servants, administrators, those with great faith, etc.

All of the gifts of the Holy Spirit working together are needed to produce the full potential of the church.

Since the gifts of the Spirit are gifts of grace, their use must be controlled by the rule of love - the greatest of all the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 13).

A Study in I Corinthians Week 12

I Corinthians 11:1-34

If the subject of I Corinthians is unity in the Body of Christ (the Church), how do the principles laid out in chapter 11 relate to this unity?

Paul will deal with two main issues that affect unity: 1) Propriety in Worship and 2) The spiritual depth of communion (not “communion” as in the Lord’s Supper, but “communion” as in being one with and in Christ.

There are 16 verses that deal with the proper physical approach to worship and 18 that deal with our oneness in Christ.

The Verses

1-2 Verse one actually belongs to chapter 10 and is its logical conclusion. Verse 2 represents a bit of a change. Up to now, Paul has said, “…I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly…" (3:1). Now he praises them for seeking his wisdom and leadership.

3-10 Three things to recognize here: 1) There is an order to the universe: God/Christ/man/woman/everything else. 2) Women must have been allowed to pray and prophesy in public or Paul would not have even brought this up. 3) There are societal conventions that should be followed to avoid disunity.

11-16 Men and women are dependent upon one another (in marriage they become one flesh; in the church they form one body and in Christ they form one church. In verse 13, Paul gives the local church the right to establish norms (“Judge for yourselves…”): Should a woman pray uncovered? Is the length of hair important? Then in verse 16, Paul says “If you want to argue about this…don’t. We don’t have a set practice for this and neither do the other churches.”

17-22 Paul restates his observation that there is disunity at First Baptist Church of Corinth. You act impolitely, like pigs at a trough, rather than civilized people at a meal. Impoliteness in church is a rotten, despicable offense to God.

23-26 Now he deals directly with our attitudes during the Lord’s Supper, and our communion with Christ when we worship. We must remember whose we are, and how we got to be whose we are, every time we get together for worship. Our worship MUST be Christ crucified, buried and resurrected every time we gather, for we have no other message.

27-32 If we have had any part in bringing disunity in the church, we dare not participate in the Lord’s Supper, or in any worship experience until we have allowed the Holy Spirit to make our attitudes right before God.

This is NOT written about non-Christians participating in the Lord’s Supper, but about you and me participating in it. When you worship or take the Lord’s Supper you had BETTER recognize that you are a part of the Body of Christ and you had BETTER not be the source of pain to the body.

33-34 Do whatever it takes to bring unity rather than disunity to the Body of Christ, for this is a VERY SERIOUS matter.

A Study in I Corinthians Week 11

I Corinthians 10:1-33

In the Bible, phrasing is important to understanding. For those of you who thought English grammar was not important, consider I Thessalonians 4:13 “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren.” Move the comma and you have: “But I would not have you to be, ignorant brethren.”

The Verses

01. 1-5 Paul gives a quick synopsis of the history of Israel and her relationship to God. Verse 3 refers to the manna that was provided them and shows us that it was a physical representation of a spiritual truth. Verse 4 refers to Exodus 17:6 and tells us of the rock from which sprang water…here referencing the living water who is Christ.

02. 6-10 We are reminded that if we are in Christ we can do whatever we want, because we will want what He wants for us. If we are in Christ, we will not want to do any of the things enumerated here. If we want to do them, we had better examine our relationship to Christ.

03. 11-13 No matter who you are, you can fall. You cannot lose your salvation, but you can fall from the experiencing of God’s grace. Somebody has been tempted to do the same things you are tempted to do. When you are tempted, though, He gives you a way to run from the temptations of Satan.

04. 14-17 Paul reminds us that the subject is unity. He’s talking about our communion with God through Christ. The cup is the blood and the bread is the body and we, who are many, are one body…unified in Christ.

05. 18-22 He tells us that he is not contradicting himself, but is clarifying what he has said before: You cannot belong to Christ and to Satan at the same time. You belong to one or the other…not both.

06. 23-24 We are free in Christ. We are free to choose our actions. We are not free to choose the consequences of our actions. Some things are better left undone, even though they are lawful. Stop seeking only what is “good for you.” Seek the good of others.

07. 25-30 The point here is the freedom we have in Christ to make others comfortable. Verse 29 explains that he is talking about helping the other person avoid matters of conscience.

08. 31-33 What we do…all of what we do…from the moment we arise in the morning to the moment we retire at night…all of it should be to the glory of Christ. We should be constantly aware of how what we do, think or are reflects on Christ’s glory 24/7.

A Study in I Corinthians Week 10

I Corinthians 9:1-27

The Verses

1-3 This begins Paul’s explanation of the relationship of Christians to their liberty. He has a right to be an apostle. An apostle is someone who has had a face-to-face encounter with Jesus. When someone calls himself an apostle, he is claiming to have seen Jesus face-to-face, something that will not take place until after we die (I Corinthians 13:12ff).

4-6 There had been questions asked (apparently in the letters sent to him by the First Baptist Church of Corinth) about his authority and about how he made his living. Notice that Paul defends his right to take women with him on his missionary trips (Vs 5 – That would NEVER have happened under Jewish Law). Paul was reputed to have been a tent-maker, but here he is defending the right of church leaders to be compensated for their work.

7-10 The church staff members are generals and colonels in God’s army. Soldiers don’t pay their own way…the government pays them. In the same way, those who lead in church should not pay their own way, but should be compensated for their expertise and leadership. In fact, it is vile for a church to expect their leadership to work for free. If you call someone to a position, pay them!

This is not about non-professional positions. This is about professional positions. If you want professional Bible study teachers, pay them. If you want professional choir members, pay them. If you want professional music coordinators, pay them. If you want professional administration, pay an administrator. If you want professional children’s leaders, pay them. If you want professional youth leaders, pay them. Stop this business of leeching on volunteers and then expect professional results from them without compensation!)

“But we’re just a poor little church and we have trouble meeting our budget.” Well loose the small church mentality and start being what God wants us to be: a strong light in the community with a light so bright that people can’t miss us! There are 60,000 people living in Lehigh Acres and we surely should be able to reach 10% of them!

It will not happen by osmosis, magic or “when God wants it to happen.” He has already told us He wants it to happen NOW. “Now” is the only “when God wants it to happen” there is. Go out into the community and tell people about Jesus. Learn how to share, not your church, your FAITH.

You share Jesus with enough people and you will stop having budget problems. God guarantees it! You have HIS Word on it!

11-13 He continues the thought.

Vs 14 “Those who preach the gospel should earn their living from the gospel.” If you have ever thought, “Well those who work for the Lord should not be paid,” then you do not believe what God says about it.

15-18 A person called to a ministry by God feels continually compelled to perform that ministry. He cannot be satisfied doing something else. The reward is not the pay, the reward is the doing of the ministry. The pay is just a necessity (on the part of the minister as well as the church).

19-23 Paul had one advantage in being bi-vocational: he owed no obligation to anyone and could say what God wanted him to say without fear of being fired.

24-27 Once again Paul reveals one of his main doctrines: the doctrine of dying to self for the cause of Christ.

QUESTIONS FOR YOU: Have you made a conscious effort to die to your wants, desires, opinions and preferences? Is unity in the church more important than your perception of what should or should not be done?

A Study in I Corinthians-Week 09

I Corinthians 8:1-13

For the next 9 weeks we’ll be continuing our study of I Corinthians.

Because we could not finish the book of I Corinthians in the 10 allotted weeks, we are continuing, one chapter at a time since it has such important material. We don’t want to slight any of it.

The Church of Corinth had written Paul one or more letters asking his direction on certain issues. Paul’s reply is the book of I Corinthians. Its theme is unity in the Body of Christ, and to illustrate, Paul has used examples from immorality, the law and from marriage.

The Verses

1-3 Paul is about to use another illustration to demonstrate how to achieve unity in the church. There were some who would eat anything, any time and some who restricted themselves to the Old Testament Jewish legal diet. And there were all of those in between.

Have you ever watched one of those cooking shows where the host declares the benefits of eating only organic foods? Watch their attitudes and see whether they do not at least border on haughtiness.

Paul tells us not to depend on our sense of our own wisdom, but to depend on the wisdom of God.
Think about Peter’s vision recorded in Acts 10:9-16. God expressly told Peter to eat from the “sheet” things that were expressly forbidden by the law. What was God’s response to Peter’s reluctance to eat?

4-6 What do you think Paul was saying in the statement: “We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world?” Are there other “gods?” What are the “gods” and “lords” Paul refers to in verse 5?

Paul makes it clear that there is only one God, the Father and one Lord, Jesus. He reminds us that Jesus is the one through whom all things came into existence (John 1:1-4). He also reminds us that it is through Christ that we all “live” in the true sense of the word.

7-8 I don’t know how Paul could have made this any clearer. Different people have different approaches to food and that’s OK. We are not to sit in judgement on them, nor are we to try to change them. We ARE to understand them and accommodate them when necessary.

He clearly says that we are not closer to God based on our dietary choices, nor are we farther from Him based on those choices. (Vs 8)

9-13 We are free in Christ to do whatever we want that does not violate His moral law or bring spiritual harm to another. Read Galatians 4:1-7. So…why do we constantly think we are pleasing God by going back into restrictions and bondage?

What Paul wants to emphasize here is that we are to be spiritual helps to one another. If what I eat (or anything else I do) caused my brother to stumble, how does that promote unity in the Body of Christ? Answer: It does not.

Let’s not let our “self-aggrandizement” get in the way of our service to and our encouragement of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

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A Study in I Corinthians-Week 07

I Corinthians 7:1-40

For the next 4 weeks we’ll be continuing our study of I Corinthians.

This section of Scripture has been used to confound and confuse many people, as taking any given section of it and trying to make a doctrine of it results in proof-texting of the worst kind. We often take these Scriptures and use them to “prove” this or that about marriage. Let’s remember, however, that earthly marriage is to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and His Bride…the marriage of Christ and His Bride.

Under what circumstances can you imagine Christ leaving His Bride?

Therefore, our marriages should reflect that same truth.

The Verses

01. 1-7 Is the emphasis of verse 1 equal or superior to the emphasis of verse 2? Verse 3 demonstrates the “two-wayness” of marriage. Verse 4 demonstrates the 100%/100% relationship of marriage, just like the 100%/100% relationship between Christ and His bride. Verese 5-7 demonstrates the giving of each to the other, with time for personal communion with God as well.

02. 8-9 Natural desires are to be overcome by spiritual desires. But Paul recognizes that we are human, with God-given drives.

03. 10-11 Once again, remember the picture that marriage is to portray: that of Christ to the Church. Would Christ divorce His Church?

04. 12-14 The main reason we are not to be “…unequally yoked, believer with unbeliever…” (2 Cor 6:14) is that it is impossible for the Genesis “…they shall become one flesh” to happen (Genesis 2:24).

05. 15-16 Unbelief on the part of one or the other spouse will cause division, just as unbelief in the Church will cause division (remember: this is about unity in the Church)

06. 17-24 Here Paul reiterates what he said in Romans: ceremony is irrelevant to our spiritual life. Don’t try to change your situation artificially to conform to some imagined spiritual cause.

07. 25-28 Earthly marriage is tough and should not be entered into lightly, just as having a relationship to God through Christ should not be taken lightly. Christianity is not a “spare part.” It is the sum of who we are in Christ.

08. 29-31 No matter what our station in life, we don’t have time to mess around. We need to be about the Lord’s business NOW.

09. 32-35 Our allegiance belongs to God and only to God.

10. 36-38 This is another picture of Christ’s relationship to His Church. We are to treat each other right. He always treats us right.

11. 39-40 There is freedom in Christ to follow Him and His example.

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A Study in I Corinthians-Week 06

I Corinthians 6:1-20

For the next 5 weeks we’ll be continuing our study of I Corinthians.

Keeping in mind the theme of unity in the church, we will now examine two other sources of disunity in the church. This chapter has some things to say about the Christian and his relation to the state. While our conversation (GK: Politeuma) is in Heaven (Philippians 3:20), we still have a responsibility to the state…Jesus said so (render to Caesar…).

The Verses

01. 1-6 This is not an admonition against suing people, but against suing other Christians. So what if a Christian does something “worthy of a lawsuit?” We really need a system in place that will arbitrate such things, for if one Christian sues another, how does that promote unity in the church? We are not to achieve unity by acquiescence, but by deliberate, positive action. (Vs 2) There will come a time when our imputed innocence in Christ will form a judgement on the world. (Vs 3) We were created a little lower than the angels, but in Christ we are given a station above the angels.

02. 7-8 This business of unity requires that we settle issues by giving up ourselves. Lawsuits among the brethren, whether by some internal court or by a secular court, will do nothing but promote disunity.

03. 9-11 Paul reminds us that if there is one among us who is not saved (wicked), we don’t have to worry about him/her. He/she will not make it into Heaven. In fact, there will be no (read the list in Vs 9 & 10). We were all, all of those things if we broke any part of God’s Law we have broken it all (James 2:10 & 11). Once again Paul tells us that we don’t get to Heaven by being good Christians, but by being washed by the blood of the Lamb.

04. 12-17 Remember when I told you that we are all entitled to our opinions, but we are not entitled to express it if it results in division? Here is the same principle stated another way. The book of Galatians is dedicated to exposing our freedom in Christ. But it also reminds us that we must not use our freedom as an excuse to sin. Vs 7 tells us that we are to be united, us…the Church, because we all profess Christ. He is the source of our unity.

05. 18-20 We get hung up on the “sexual immorality” part of this (and Paul is clear that sexual immorality is a hideous sin…a sin against ourselves), but he is equally clear that the principle here is that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit of God. If we are, why on earth would we want to try to force some kind of coexistence between our sinful nature and Christ living in us?


Here’s the wrap: If we have been born again, we have to realize that we are not our own. We have been bought with a price (Vs 19 & 20). That price was more than you or I could pay, even if we wanted to. That price enslaves those who are saved to Jesus. That price was the actual experience of the darkness and penalty of sin placed upon Jesus on our behalf. Do we not, therefore, owe complete allegiance to Him, and by yielding it to Him, do we not achieve the unity about which Paul speaks?

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A Study in I Corinthians-Week 05

For the next 6 weeks we’ll be continuing our study of I Corinthians.

On the surface, it looks as though Paul is changing the subject here. But remember, the theme of I Corinthians is unity in the Body (of baptized believers) through the Holy Spirit.
What kind of unity is there when some behave one way and others behave another?

Do not misunderstand. Sexual immorality is contrary to the high moral Law of God. Jesus said, “You have read that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery’(Exodus 20:14). But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

The Verses

01. 1-5 Paul has heard of immorality in the church of Corinth…vile, unimaginable immorality: A son sleeping with his mother (or step-mother, perhaps). Verse 2 is a reference to the Christians in the church, not the immoral one(s). They are proud of their “tolerance.”

Tolerance is a very politically correct stance in American society today. We are told we must be tolerant of everything and everybody (except, of course, traditional Christianity, true patriotism, and the political right). Funny thing is, the ones who preach tolerance the loudest are among the most intolerant people on earth.

There is great theological argument over the meaning of verse 5. My own stand is that this is Paul telling us that those who behave this far off the mark could not possibly be following Christ, for He would not lead them there. So Paul says, “Turn them over to Satan…” Recognize that they are likely unsaved and quit worrying about it. Let the Holy Spirit deal with them. In the mean time, do not let them be an influence in the church even if it means kicking them out.

02. 6-8 He deals with the issue of boasting again (remember 1:14-15 & 3:21?). Yeast is always representative of sin. Your pride is a sin, and can infect the whole church.

03. 9-11 Here Paul is talking about immoral Christians. In verse 10 he makes clear that he is not talking about those outside of Christ.

04. 12-13 We don’t have to “judge” those who are not Christians. God will take care of that. He will be fair and just with them, just as He is with us, because He is the definition of fairness and justice.

When he talks about “judging” those inside the church, he is not talking about the ultimate judgement…that’s left to God. He means that by judging each other we establish accountability to one another, and thus promote the cause of unity.

Verse 13 “Expel the wicked man from among you” is an extension of the “God will judge those outside of the church” thought.

Look at II Corinthians 2: 4. Paul’s purpose was to help them, not to condemn.

In the next chapter, we will discover some other issues that bring disunity to the church.

Kathy Miller has a passion to help teens

Some Some people just have a fire in their hearts to put their Christian experience into action.

That's Kathy Miller.

Kathy's heart is for young girls who find themselves in an unplanned pregnancy and don't know where to turn.

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The Christian Chamber of Southwest Florida

A vision for Southwest Florida Christian businesses.

Thirteen years ago a group of Southwest Florida businessmen, who happened to be Christians, grew tired of having to deal with the secular world-view...

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