First Corinthians 5 and 6
Monday, January 20 1 Corinthians 5:1-8
“A man is living insin with his stepmother”
A horrible state of affairs in theCorinthian church has captured Paul’s attention: a man in the congregation iscommitting the sexual sin of incest with his stepmother. This kind of sexual relationship was forbiddenin Jewish law and widely condemned in the Greco-Roman world. The church’s reaction to this affair was asbad or worse than the affair itself. Instead of grieving over sin in their midst, they were actually smugover their newfound “enlightened” tolerance as Christians. Paul tells them that they must remove thisman from the congregation. That nomention is made of removing the woman suggests she was not a church member.
In his writings, Paul consistentlycontrasted the flesh (the old, sinful nature) and the spirit (the new,Christ-like nature). To “hand him overto Satan” is a remedial step intended to show the man the depth of his sin and,hopefully, lead to his confession and repentance, thus “destroying hisflesh.” God requires his church to takemoral purity seriously, for serious sin can infect the whole congregation.
May we take sin seriously, Lord, that ourchurch may be healthy. Amen.
Tuesday, January 21 1 Corinthians 5:9-13
“When I wrote youbefore . . .”
Paul now clarifiesan apparent misunderstanding, or possibly even a deliberate misrepresentation,of Paul’s previous letter. When Paul hadtold them not to associate with flagrantly immoral people, he was referring toprofessing Christians, not affirmed unbelievers. To drive home this point, Paul generalizesand lists several serious sins in addition to sexual immorality. These include those who seize others’property by force, who worship false gods, who oppose and mock God’s people,and whose lifestyle is consistently characterized by drunkenness.
Not only mustthe Corinthians remove from their fellowship people who repeatedly refuse torepent of such sins, they must not even associate with them in intimate socialgatherings outside the church. The logicof this command is that the church’s jurisdiction is restricted to its ownmembership. God will take care ofunbelievers’ sins; indeed, their fate will be bad enough that Christians oughtnot add to the negative consequences of their sin but seek instead to lead themto Christ.
Oursecurity against sin, Lord, lies in our being shocked by it. Amen.
Wednesday, January 22 Matthew 18:15-18
“If another believer sins against you . . .”
When there is afault between Christians, Jesus holds the believer sinned against responsibleto initiate action for restoration. Hisasking for a spirit of forgiveness stands in contrast to retaliation. The goal is to win and reinstate the erring Christianinto fellowship. This discipline istaught by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 5, and the restoration in 2Corinthians 2. Paul’s approach is toconfront the person, to call for repentance, and to extend forgiveness.
Jesus outlines aclear three-step procedure to reinstate the erring. First, go to him alone and discuss thefault. This preserves confidentialityand avoids public embarrassment. Second,if he will not hear you, take other believers and try again. This adds witnesses to the conversation andprovides protection for the sinner against unreasonable demands by the sinnedagainst. Third, if the offender will nothear the several persons in step two, then take the issue to the congregation. If the offender will not hear the church,then he is to be excommunicated, for he is deliberately choosing to remain inhis sin.
Help us, Lord, todeal lovingly with the reality of sin in the church. Amen.
Thursday, January 23 1 Corinthians 6:1-6
“If any of you has a dispute with another . . .”
Paul’s main point is that if disputesbetween believers require intervention, it should occur within the Christiancommunity. Most common Greek litigationinvolved property and business disputes. If this is what was going on at Corinth, then the disputants were amongthe minority of well-to-do believers in the congregation, since the majority ofpeople didn’t own land or businesses. Drawingon Daniel 7:22, Paul reminds the Corinthians that they will help Jesus exercisejudgment over the non-Christian world (both people and angels). Surely, therefore, they must be competent tohandle earthly disputes in their own midst.
For Paul, even the least competentChristian is preferable to a non-Christian as judge between believers’disputes. In contrast with 4:14, Paul isprepared to shame the Corinthians over this matter. Their litigation angers him even more thantheir factions in chapter 4, because it fundamentally compromises their witnessbefore a watching world quick to ridicule and reject the church on suchoccasions.
How we treat oneanother in the church, Lord, is a witness to the world. Amen.
Friday, January 24 1 Corinthians 6:7-11
“Why not justaccept the injustice?”
Whether inside or outside the church, theattitude of demanding one’s rights remains diametrically opposed to Christ’steaching (Matthew 5:39-42) and example (1 Peter 2:23). If two Christians cannot resolve theirdisagreements short of both secular litigation and Christian arbitration,something is fundamentally amiss. Betterto suffer wrong – God will one day vindicate all injustices – than to alienatea fellow believer by requiring redress.
The fraud and injustice that triggerlawsuits leads Paul naturally to think about those who practice wrongdoing moregenerally. So he warns against beingsucked into similar types of behavior. By using nouns that become labels for individuals only after persistentsin in particular areas, Paul makes plain that temporary lapses are not a causefor a person to question his or her salvation. While these types of behavior characterized the pre-Christian lives ofmany of the Corinthians, they have now given up such practices. Therefore, they ought to be able to give upsuing each other also.
Demanding my rights, Lord, should nevertake precedence over love. Amen.
Saturday, January 25 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
“Honor God withyour body”
The practical application of “honor Godwith your body” had as large a relevance then as it does now. While the Puritans may have lived as thoughthere were no such thing as sex, our generation, like the Corinthians, acts asthough there is nothing but sex. As didthe Corinthians, our society has a hard time making the moral distinctionbetween “fast food” and “fast sex.” Iffood and sex are both bodily appetites, goes the argument, why can’t I satisfythem as I see fit?
Paul makes a clear distinction between howthe appetite for food and the need for sex are to be met. Ultimately both the stomach and the food thatsatisfies it will cease to exist. Sexualintercourse, however, involves an intimate union between two persons – “twobecome one.” Since believers have beenunited with Christ, for them to unite themselves with a prostitute, or anyoneelse outside of marriage between a man and a woman, is to live in disobedienceto the direct commands of God. While ourstomachs were made for food, our bodies were not made for sexual immorality.
Icommit, Lord, to honoring you with my body. Amen.