1 Corinthians 9:27

"But I discipline my body and keep it under control, [Greek I pummel my body and make it a slave] lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

Throughout history many people have been slaves of other people. None of us want to be slaves, and those who were slaves were often kept under control only through severe beatings. Slavery and the beating of slaves is wrong, but the effort used to keep slaves under reflects the effort we must use to keep our selfishness under.

We are deplorably selfish, and it may take drastic measures to overcome this selfishness. You will not naturally serve others. Therefore, great discipline is required. But what in what sense should "I pummel my body" to keep my selfishness under control? The passage is not promoting flagellation. It is pointing out that just as the slave rightly bucks against his slavery, our selfish will wrongly bucks against serving others.

We must all exert much effort to overcome our selfishness. But the one who encourages others to be a servant must take special care that he keeps his selfishness under control for the good of others.

1 Corinthians 9:24-26

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air."

Self-control and self-sacrifice do not come easily or naturally. A runner who seeks to win a prize must practice and practice hard. He will be selective about his activities—sleep, work, exercise, diet, etc. And when he runs the race, he will through all he is into winning.

We too must be disciplined and must exert much effort. We do not tend surrender our rights for the benefit of others, but this is what we are called to. Our effort goes into giving our lives for other people so that they may share in the blessings of the gospel.

1 Corinthians 9:20-23

"To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings."

These verses scream cultural adaptively to me, but they are so often misused. What does it mean to be all things to all people? Does it mean that you do whatever you have to for the gospels sake? Are there no boundaries? Some would say that the propagation of the gospel can be accomplished by any means necessary and that to engage your culture you must become like your culture. But I don’t believe that the text warrants such a position.

We are dealing with the need to become a servant by surrendering your rights. We are to meet people where they are and point them to Christ, but there are limitations as to how we can do this. To win the legalist, you may not put yourself under the law. You recognize their need and serve them, adapting to their mindset, but you do not disregard your spiritual freedom from the law by putting yourself under the law. Such an action would be destructive and would keep them from properly understanding the gospel.

Likewise, when dealing with the irreligious, you cannot forget who you are in Christ by becoming irreligious in order to minister to them. You can give up your rights, but you must not surrender the gospel or what it has done in your life. Your relationship with Christ should drive you to show people more love. You should long to see other people share in the blessings of the gospel. Give up your privileges and minister, but do not give up your relationship with Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:19

"For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them."

One thing I’ve learned from my time in Europe and Asia: people are very different from one another. I mean they are way different. Whole societies view things and see them the exact opposite way that my home society sees them. Beyond that there are huge differences of value and perspective within a culture. When dealing with other people who see things differently, we are not bound by their view, but if we want to minister to them, we need to put ourselves under their system of thought as much as is allowable biblically.

1 Corinthians 9:15-18

"But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel."

Ministers of the gospel are blessed with opportunity to work with the life-changing truth of God’s word on a daily basis. It is everyone’s responsibility to do this, but most people have other work responsibilities that naturally divide their time. The minister gets to do it all the time. This is undoubtably a privilege, but it does not earn him any special favor with God.

If a person does something kind because he chooses to, we put greater value on his kindness than if the same person does the same kind act when it is required of him. For the minister, sharing the gospel is a requirement (in addition to being a privilege). I would argue that it is also a necessity for every other believer, but the focus here is on the minister. Even if the minister doesn’t feel like delivering the gospel, it is his stewardship—his responsibility. He must do it, and there is no special reward for doing what is required of him. There is, however, a special reward for forfeiting his just right to receive compensation for doing this work.

What can those of us who don’t preach the gospel for a living learn from this? There are rewards for surrendering your rights. You have the Christian liberty to surrender your rights for the weaker brother. To fail to do so is disruptive for them and will bring consequences to you, but surrendering your rights protects the weaker Christian and brings rewards to you.

1 Corinthians 9:11-14

"If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more. Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel."

It is not unspiritual to make your living by the gospel. Those who profit spiritually from a minister of the gospel should be willing to compensate him materially. Of how much greater value are the spiritual blessings that come through him than the material blessings that you are able to give back? The spiritual blessings are eternal and cannot be taken away. The physical blessings are temporary and can easily be lost. The spiritual blessings can fill a void in your life that no object can ever fill. And the spiritual blessings bring you closer to Christ. Physical blessings only give you strength to pursue those true blessings in Christ.

While it is perfectly acceptable for those who give their life for the ministry of the gospel to make their living by the gospel, one should never enter the gospel ministry merely to earn a living. The minister should be more concerned about the spiritual wellbeing of the flock God has entrusted him with than his paycheck. But the flock should provide him with a paycheck. It is the least they can do for one who gives them so much.

1 Corinthians 9:8-10

"Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, 'You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.' Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop."

Further explaining that he could legitimately expect compensation for ministering to the Corinthians, Paul appeals to God's word.

God does not expect us to labor tirelessly with no hope of rewards. We are to work in hope. Sometimes people say that it is wrong to expect rewards for serving God. I remember one pastor's response to that idea: "don't try to be more spiritual than God." If God offers rewards and we are told to work in hope of reward, then it is right to do this.

1 Corinthians 9:3-7

"This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to eat and drink? Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?"

Why would Paul defend his rights here if he intends to surrender them? So why waste these five verses? It seems to fit with the previous chapter on Christian liberty. He has stated that, out of love, a Christian may need to surrender his rights for the good of a fellow-Christian. And now Paul gives an example of how he has done this himself. He goes through several things that were well within his rights to do. Then he explains that he has chosen not to claim these rights "rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ" (9:12).

So why take the time to enumerate his rights? Why show that he is giving something up? I don't believe that it was done to make other people think better of him. It was done to set an example—to show that you can sacrifice your rights for the good of others. He sacrificed certain foods. He sacrificed relationships that most people desire (and that most apostles had). And he sacrificed the remuneration that was rightly his for the ministerial work that he was doing. His example shows us that the things you give up don't have to even be morally questionable things. Love your brother, and be willing to surrender your rights for him.

1 Corinthians 9:1-2

"Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord."

The non-inspired heading for this chapter reads, "Paul surrenders his rights." It could just as well read, Paul defends and surrenders his rights. Before surrendering what was rightfully his, he made it clear that he could have justly claimed it. The Corinthians had called his position and his privileges into question.

Of all people, the Corinthians had cause to recognize Paul's authority. Perhaps they recognized it in others, but Paul's refusal to insist that his rights be given had lead them to take him for granted. It is sad but not surprising that someone who did so much for the believers would be taken for granted. We need to recognize the value of what those close to us have done for us and give them the respect that is due them. Otherwise, we will be guilty of gross ingratitude.

1 Corinthians 8:7-13

"However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble."

The Christian who understands that he has the freedom to do something (in this case, eat meat once offered to a fake thing) has the responsibility to make loving choices that will build up other Christians, making them stronger and bringing them into a closer relationship with God. If, on the other hand, the knowledgeable Christian over-values his freedom to do something, he will make choices that will be destructive. The choices may not be self-destructive, but they will hurt others.

If another Christian is unsure about doing something and he sees you doing it, he may be encouraged to do that thing, which to him seems like a sin. Then after he has done it, his conscience plagues him. He may think himself to be a failure, and acting on his presumed failure, he may turn away from Christianity and return to his former practices.

Knowing the potentially damaging effects of your choices, you must sensitively seek to build you fellow Christians up in love. Christ died for your brother. Can you fail to love him? But one protests, “I know that I am allowed to engage in this activity,” remember the words of verse two: “If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.”

1 Corinthians 8:4-6

"Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that 'an idol has no real existence,' and that 'there is no God but one.' For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many 'gods' and many 'lords'—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist."

There is only one God. He is the true God, and He actually exists. The rest are not really gods. They are fakes. They have no real existence. The true God is the creator of all things. We all owe Him our beginning and our continued existence. Without Him we would not be. An idol (and other false gods) does nothing. It creates nothing. It sustains nothing. You owe nothing to an idol. False gods are man's creation. Man makes them and without man they would cease to exist.

When someone worships an idol, he is praising something that has no real existence. We look upon such actions as worthless and ridiculous. But what of eating food offered to idols? I suppose the next verses will deal with that.

1 Corinthians 8:1-3

"Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that 'all of us possess knowledge.' This 'knowledge' puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God."

Knowledge is concerned about what can be done, but love is concerned with what should be done. When someone thinks that he knows better and thinks that he can do as he pleases, he has a "knowledge" that puffs up. But it is an incomplete knowledge. It is a knowledge that will act without regard for how his actions effect other people. It is a knowledge without love. That kind of knowledge is not true knowledge, and the person with that kind of knowledge "does not yet know as he ought to know."

It would be far better to be known by God. Now obviously God knows all of us, but when a person truly loves God, he is in a relationship with God. That is, God knows him relationally. When a person loves God and has an understanding of who God is and what He is like (a knowledge that "he ought to know"), the person will not be puffed up by this knowledge. He will be humbled, and he will act out of a desire to build up those who love God and are loved by God.

1 Corinthians 7:39-40

"A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God."

One family member of ours has the words "until death" engraved on the inside of his wedding band. Laurel and I have joked about this repeatedly saying things like "until you die" and other heart-warming affirmations. But "until death" is what we all pledge when we get married. We are bound, and nothing should break that bond (except death).

I suppose that some people might look at such an arrangement and believe it to be to restrictive. It's true that before you enter the marriage, you should carefully consider the life-long commitment that you are making with seriousness, care, and sobriety. But after you are married, you should treat this bond with a joyful sense of security. It should never be used to take your spouse for granted but should give great confidence in your relationship with you spouse.

If your partner dies, you are free to remarry without any sense of guilt, abandonment, or betrayal. Upon death, you are no longer bound to your former mate. You may marry whoever you wish (provided it's in the Lord).

Again we are told (I think for the last time) that it would be better for such a person (widow or widower) to remain single. Actually it says that the newly widowed will be "happier" if they do not remarry. In some cases and in some places this may be true even today, but it was especially so during the aforementioned persecution.

1 Corinthians 7:36-38

"If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better."

It is not a sin to get married (not even during a time of persecution). Again the decision to marry in time of persecution or not to marry comes down to what is best in your situation. It is the larger situation, the persecution, that makes refraining a better option in the first place. And it is the specific situation, your being unable to refrain from marriage, that overrides the call to refrain from marriage in the first place.

We can see from these verses, that sometimes your circumstances influence what is best for you. This could easily be used as justification for situational ethics. But an important distinction must be made. In situational ethics, the situation determines right and wrong. But in this passage, the situation influences what is best; it has no bearing on right or wrong. It is never wrong to marry in the Lord (if you are single). Therefore, the situation does not alter morality. The situation can help us determine what is best, but it never effects moral absolutes.

1 Corinthians 7:32-35

"I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord."

This is a rather puzzling passage. It seems to be arguing against marriage on the basis of the devotional division it causes. It seems to be saying that single people can be entirely devoted to the Lord (without any major distractions), but married people's devotion is naturally divided between the Lord and the spouse. In the past I've discounted this argument by assuming that it was said because of the persecution of the day, but I now think that past line of reasoning was flawed.

I believe that the persecution is a factor here, but more than that, the passage seems to be addressing what normally happens when people get married. And yet, I do not believe that the verses teach that it must be this way. These words are written, "not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord." We are not being told to abstain from marriage. We are being told that marriage can distract you from devotion to God. Don't be distracted. And if marriage is going to distract you, you probably shouldn't get married.

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

"This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away."

Our time on the earth is very short. I think that this reality would be felt more strongly by those facing persecution (even death) for their faith. Knowing our end and the earthly trouble that is before us, we should take a note from the founders and avoid entangling alliances.

During our short time on the earth there are many things that can distract us. And if we allow them, they can keep us from having the right focus. Family, sadness, joy, possessions, and business can all keep us from service to the Lord. The trouble that can come from these things can become so distracting that we loose sight of the Lord.

For some people, the answer is to avoid these things all together. But the verses don't command this. Instead the verses tell us to be as though we didn't have such things. I do not think that this means that we ignore our responsibilities but that we put them in their proper place (a place or insignificance relative to the Lord).

1 Corinthians 7:25-28

"Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that."

Avoid unnecessary trouble. Marriage is honorable and can bring glory to God. But in times of persecution, marriage can bring worldly troubles. If you are being persecuted, that persecution is going to be more painful for you if you have a family that is affected by it. This does not mean that it is wrong for a person to marry under such circumstances. It may be the right thing to do. However, you should know what you will be facing so that you can avoid unnecessary and unexpected trouble. If you are unable to deal with or unprepared for the persecution, it might cause you to crack. Therefore, know what you are getting into, and avoid unnecessary trouble.

1 Corinthians 7:20-24

"Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a slave is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a slave of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God."

The previous verses showed that God is not concerned about your earthly citizenship (that is, it doesn’t earn you any favor with him). You are under no directive to change after you become a Christian.

These verses here indicate that in addition to citizenship, a person’s socio-economic status earns him no favor with God, and they indicate that the Christian is not under divine directive to climb the economic ladder as if it were some sort of moral imperative. If you are a Christian born-again in poverty or even in slavery (which is a horrible state), don’t let you economic condition concern you. If you are able to improve your condition, that’s fine. But it shouldn’t consume you. You are free in Christ (freed from slaver to sin) and are in a position of great privilege in Him (beneficiary of all spiritual blessings in Christ).

For those born in freedom and privilege, do not get a big head about it. You are Christ’s purchased possession. He purchased you with His self-sacrificing death on the cross. Does this mean that the high-born should become an earthly slave? No, quite the opposite. The fact that you belong to Christ, should keep you from selling yourself to another.

Whatever nationality or socio-economic class you may be in, you can walk with God. God will not accept you any more or less if you are rich or poor, American or Pakistani. Your relationship to Him is what matters, not your class or citizenship. When you become a Christian, you will be a new person. But the newness deals with your nature, desires, and purposes. It doesn’t necessarily give you a new earthly place.

1 Corinthians 7:17-19

"Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God."

The gospel is fundamentally life-altering. It changes the very essence of who you are and what matters to you. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that a person who embraces the gospel becomes a new creation or a new creature. How does that fit with the call in these verses for a person to “lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him”? Two examples are given for our clarification (circumcision and slavery). Examining the directives concerning these matters will help the Christian to understand in what way God wants him to live the life “to which God has called him.”

In America, virtually all male babies are circumcised shortly after birth. This is done (with few exceptions) merely for health/sanitation. So it might not be immediately clear to us how circumcision could have anything to do with living as you are called. But in Israel, circumcision was much more than a medical procedure. It was a physical mark, identifying you with the nation Israel. It was an important, long-standing tradition that every male Israelite was required to undergo (and was supposed to undergo on the eight day of his life). If he did not go through with it, he did not have full Jewish privileges.

New Testament followers of Yahweh, do not have to physically identify themselves with the nation of Israel. You were born an American, Australian, Indian, Korean, Iranian, South African or Romanian. You do not need to change. You do not need to become a citizen of another country because of your relationship or to gain a relationship with the Holy One of Israel. This is not a prohibition against changing citizenship. It is a clarification that citizenship doesn’t matter with God. It doesn’t count for anything with God (i.e. it doesn’t win you any special favor). What matters is your keeping God’s commandments, living like the new creation that you are.

1 Corinthians 7:14-16

"For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?"

In what sense is an unbelieving spouse "made holy" because of a believing spouse. Perhaps being made holy refers to positive influences that the believer can have on the unbeliever. That would explain why the children are also holy. If they were left to the unbeliever alone, they would surely follow after the unbelievers ways. But if a believing spouse can positively influence the unbelieving spouse, the children will also be kept from much uncleanness.

But the verses seem to go beyond mere external restraint and reach to the heart of the unbeliever. The testimony of the believer may so move the unbeliever that (s)he trusts Christ herself. Verse sixteen indicates that this is a real possibility that ought to be hoped for. And it is this possibility that motivates believers to stay with their unbelieving spouses.

Because of verse sixteen, the second explanation seems more likely to me. In addition to this, the eventual/possible salvation of the unbelieving spouse also explains the spouse being "made holy." Salvation or more specifically justification does not equal being "made holy." But salvation results in one being made holy. And all that was said about the positive influence would be true, in a deeper sense, of one who has come to know Christ.

1 Corinthians 7:12-13

To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him.

The general truth is that God wants married people to stay together. But some situations are really bad. Is there any direction given about those kind of specific situations?

Two situations are given, and both of them have to do with mixed marriages (between a believer and an unbeliever), which could have the potential of being very difficult. No information is given about the conditions that the partners faced in dealing with the other. The unbeliever may have been kind or reprehensibly cruel. Such information is absent.

The issue dealt with in the marriage is the unbelievers willingness or refusal to remain in the marriage. If the unbeliever is willing to stay in the marriage, the believer should stay. If the unbeliever is not willing to stay in the marriage, the unbeliever should not feel bound to the unbeliever (even though God generally doesn’t want people to break up). No out is given for the believer if (s)he is unhappy or having difficulty. If the unbeliever wants to stay married, the believer should not leave.

1 Corinthians 7:10-11

"To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife."

If you are married, it is God's will for you to remain married. You have a holy charge from God. Husband and wife alike are directed to stay in their marriage. You should not get a divorce. But the objection comes, you do not know my spouse. It is true that no other person knows what it is like to be married to your spouse. But it was not a person who gave this directive. God commanded it, and God knows what your situation is like. In fact, He has a more realistic view of the relationship than you do.

Your situation is not irrelevant. In fact the next several verses are going to deal with specific situations. But in all the different situations, one thing remains constant. God wants the married person to stay married.

1 Corinthians 7:6-9

"Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion."


Not everyone is made the same way. We enjoy and are interested in different things because God made us for different purposes. We are all made to bring Him glory. But we do this in different ways. For example, some people give him the most glory by remaining single, while other people give Him the most glory by marrying.

In addition to directives from God’s word, determining what God has for you has to do with you situation, interests, aptitudes, and delighting yourself in the Lord by walking in the Spirit. In the distress of Paul’s day, most single people could give God more glory by remaining single. However, if the single person was going to be burning with passion in his single-hood, he would have been able to give God more glory by getting married.

1 Corinthians 7:5

"Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control."

We may think that we understand our weaknesses, but God understands our weaknesses far better than we understand them. Furthermore, he understands the weaknesses of the other people in our lives. That is something which we only receive momentary glimpses and of which we are mostly ignorant. Knowing this, God has clued us in on how to relate to others for their best good and ours too.

The directive here is to never withhold sexual relations from your spouse. The context indicated that fulfillment was each spouse's right. And here we see that your spouse's fulfillment in you can keep your spouse from the temptation of seeking fulfillment elsewhere. Therefore always give yourself freely and without reservation to your spouse whenever your spouse desires you, regardless of your current desire.

You can only withhold yourself from your spouse when three requirements are met. You must both be in agreement concerning the abstinence. You must only abstain for a pre-determined temporary period of time. And you can only abstain for the purpose of prayer. Obviously, other short periods of abstinence due to a spouse's illness or other extenuating circumstances are acceptable too. But again this should be an exception from the norm, and you should quickly return to one another after the abstinence and be fulfilled in an acceptable manner.

1 Corinthians 7:3-4

"The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. "

In many cultures throughout time, the woman in a marriage relationship was virtually or actually considered property of the man in a kind of slave and owner relationship. The wife was expected to do whatever the husband wanted (cook, entertain, bare children, pick up after the man, etc.). The husband, however, was only responsible to provide financially for the woman, and there his responsibilities ended. Obviously, this is a simplistic representation. But I consider it to show how different the Bible, an ancient text, directs us to live together.

Indeed, "the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does." But neither "does [the husband] have authority over his own body, but the wife does." A married couple belongs to each other. They exist to give God glory, and one of the ways to do this is by living for the other spouse. The specific application given deals with providing sexual fulfillment, but I think that the same principle applies to every aspect of a couple's lives together. In everything that they do, each should remember that (s)he belongs to the other.

1 Corinthians 7:1-2

"Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: 'It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.' But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband."

These verses make a distinction between "sexual relations" and "sexual immorality." The former refers to relations within the marriage setting. The later is outside of marriage. Paul is not saying that you should avoid sexual relations within marriage (the next few verses make that abundantly clear). He is saying that it is best for men not to get married. But then he makes the concession that if remaining unmarried will lead you to engage in extramarital relations, you should be married. To put it another way, marriage isn't a good idea, but if you can't contain yourself, get married.

These words seem strange and foreign to us. Do these verses indicate that the Christian church wrong to put such an emphasis on marriage. Should we be supporters of celibacy as a better option than marriage? One might come to believe that from this passage. But a later verse in this chapter helps us to understand the situation in which these comments were made. It is "in view of the present distress." The church was experiencing a time of persecution. And in that situation, it would be better not to be married. But even then, it was better to be married than to be given over to immorality.

Today's Christian should take at least two lessons away. One, relations within marriage are not immoral. They keep you from immorality. Two, if you are single and struggling with the desire for sexual relations, wait until you are married.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20

"Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

The first reason given for avoiding sexual immorality was that our bodies were not made for sexual immorality, and the second was that our physical bodies are spiritually joined to Christ. And now we read that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and our bodies are not our possession. They have been paid for by Christ's death. We have been purchased.

All sin is bad, but sexual sins, for the Christian, are particularly severe. Before a Christian engages in immorality, he needs to stop and think about what he is doing. Not only is he breaking God's law and thus dishonoring God. But he is sinning "against his own body," and because of the relationship between God and his body, he doubly dishonors God.

Even with the higher stakes, the sexually immoral person can be forgiven. But let us avoid that need. We are God's, and He intends for us to bring Him glory through our bodies.

1 Corinthians 6:15-17

"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, 'The two will become one flesh.' But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him."

Not only does our body belong to Christ, but it is joined to Him. Our bodies are "members of Christ." In a spiritual sense, we are part of Christ as our finger, arms, or shoulders are part of us physically.

Our relationship with Christ goes beyond mere friendship or familial ties. We are part of Him. Should we then, being part of him, be joined with a prostitute? The concept is revolting and blasphemous.

1 Corinthians 6:12-14

"“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything. “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power."

We have many different natural desires. Some desires can seem very strong and nearly overwhelming. But we are never to be brought under the power of our desire for anything. Take food for example. Our bodies (especially our stomachs) were created to require food, and food was made to be eaten. But eventually we will no longer need food nor our stomachs, and they shall both be destroyed. It is lawful for us to eat any kind of food that we can imagine. But it is not helpful to eat a bag of marshmallows for three meals a day. Someone who would eat such an unhealthy (or unhelpful) diet would likely be doing so because of a lack of control. The acceptable desire for white fluffy sweetness has overwhelmed him. So there is a lawful acceptable desire, but then there is also the unhelpful, misuse of the natural desire.

Another natural, lawful desire is the desire for sexual fulfillment. We were created with this desire. But we are not to fulfill that desire through immoral means (i.e. outside of a monogamous, heterosexual marriage relationship). Our bodies were created with the lawful desire, but we may not attempt to fulfill this desire in an unhelpful, unacceptable, unlawful way. Intensifying the importance of this matter is the fact that our bodies are not our own. Our bodies are "for the Lord."

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

There is both great condemnation in these verses (harsher than we would commonly admit) and great hope. There is condemnation for those who are not in Christ. Those who do not have the righteousness of Christ applied to their account continue unhindered in their sinful ways.

They commit immorality, idolatry, and thievery. They are also guilty of greediness, drunkenness, anger, and deception. This second group of sins is no less serious than the first. Unrepented of, all of these sins (little or small, as we falsely dichotomize) keep a person from being part of God's spiritual kingdom.

But the worst of sins cannot separate you from God, if you come to him for salvation. After the list of condemnation, we read "and such were some of you." There is great hope for the worst of sinners. You can be clean. You do not have to stay in your sin. You don't have to be described that way anymore.

I have heard it said that a person who steals one time is a thief, or a person who is unfaithful one time is an adulterer. There is a sense in which this is true. They have violated the law and are guilty before God. But if they come to God for forgiveness, it can then be said of them that they once were thieves and adulterers, but now they are clean.

When involved in a jail ministry, I spent several weeks speaking with a man in solitary confinement. He was in solitary for his own protection. He told me that if he were released into the general population he would be attacked by the other prisoners because of the heinousness of his crime. I do not know what his crime was. But I know that he could be "washed, ... sanctified, [and] justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." Whatever your sin, God can save.

But why would this wonderful truth be located in a passage instructing believers not to take other believers to court before unbelievers? Well, would you like someone fitting the description of the unrighteous judging you? Of course not. Christians should remember what they were like. This will keep them from putting themselves under the judgment of someone who is still that way.

1 Corinthians 6:5-8

"I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!"

Perhaps the problem in our churches is that there doesn't seem to be anybody wise enough to solve the dispute. But I think that it is what is being communicated here. There were people capable of mediating the dispute. So why weren't disputers going to them? Perhaps the offended party failed to seek out brothers to deal with the problem because he thought that they would not be able to enforce their decision. So to keep from loosing out, he went to court before unbelievers. This does not keep a person from defeat. It is a defeat.

We are so concerned about standing up for ourselves that we cannot imagine a situation where it would be good for us to suffer wrong or be defrauded. So instead of taking it, we dish out. We go from someone who was suffering because someone did wrong to being one who is doing wrong.

It would be far better for me to suffer wrong than to do wrong. God will not hold me accountable for the wrong done for me, but He will hold be accountable for the wrong that I do.

1 Corinthians 6:1-4

"When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?"

Christians should not have grievances with other Christians at all. If Christians were without sin, we would be able to avoid disagreements altogether. But no one on earth, not even the best of Christians, is without sin. Therefore, from time to time a Christian is going to wrong you, or you are going to wrong some other Christian. What should happen in such a case? After repeatedly talking to the person personally, we go with another Christian repeatedly and finally we take it to the church (according to Matthew 18). We do not go before non-Christian officials.

Consider an example: you have a lawn care business and one of your customers is a fellow Christian in your church. You mow his lawn several times, but he never pays you. Do you turn him over to the collection agency? No, people within the church have the capability of clearing up the matter. What if there is no proof of who is telling the truth? Allow yourself to be wronged. It was wrong for him to rob you. But it is wrong of you to take him to the civil authorities over the matter.

a reminder

The sub-title to the blog reads "trying to know more of God through His word." I started reading Taste and See, a book of devotional meditations written by John Piper. The first entry reminded me that I needed to be driven by a desire to know God more. I recognize that the section that I am reading/studying in 1 Corinthians is very practically oriented and does not explain who God is directly. So in considering the text, I will be trying to understand practical matters. But even in such a section, I can be focused on knowing God better.

1 Corinthians 5:11-13

"But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”"

Those who do not know Christ will be immoral, greedy, idolatrous, angry, drunken, and deceptive. It is their nature. It is to be expected. This is not to say that every non-Christian will be clearly characterized by all or any of these things. This simply is the way many are, and it's what is natural for them. Christians should not run away from non-Christians who are like this.

However, if someone is believed to be a Christian, and he acts like this, it must be dealt with. After trying to convince someone (according to Matthew 18) to stop behaving these ways, if he refuses biblical counsel, you must stop fellowshipping with him. Many Christians accept this as true for those engaged in immorality, idolatry, drunkenness, or deception. But God takes it further, saying that we shouldn't even fellowship with greedy or angry believers.

This may seem like an extreme standard, and perhaps it even seems unkind and unloving. I suppose that the discipline could be done in such a manner. But the discipline itself is not unkind. It is for the sake of the person being disciplined, for the testimony of Christ, and for the protection of other people in the church.

1 Corinthians 5:9-10

"I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. "

Jesus was criticized by the religious crowd for interacting with sinners. The religious of Jesus' day would have nothing to do with tax collectors or other seriously immoral people. But Jesus knew that He was sent to minister to these sinners. Today's religious or churched people often act like the religious hypocrites of Jesus' day rather than like Jesus. It was a problem in the first century church, and it is a problem today.

We need to be concerned about our purity. We need to deal with sin in our midst, but we also need to actively pursue ministering the gospel to even the most openly vile of sinners. Failing to do this parallels the building cloisters for ourselves out in the country somewhere away from everyone else. That's not God's plan.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

"Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

Boasting is almost never good, but boasting about the acceptance of sin is absolutely horrible. The destructive nature of the sin that a church accepts and allows to go unchallenged will spread, destroying the whole church. What Christian would rejoice over that happening?

Because of what Christ has done, we stand before the Father without sin. We are without sin before the Father not because we are actually sinless but because we are positionally sinless in Christ. And because of what we are positionally, we need to avoid being something else practically. We should not be sinning when we have been cleansed from our sin.

Is this cause to cloister yourself away and be ever quiet, keeping yourself from sin by never enjoying anything around you? Quite to the contrary, our positional sinlessness before the Father, because of Christ, should motivate us to celebrate. And that celebration should be a sinless, joyful consideration and outflow of what Christ truly has done.

1 Corinthians 5:3-5

"For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord."

These are strong, seemingly harsh words. How could a Christian ever "deliver [a] man to Satan"? That statement seems anti-Christian. So how could such a thing be done, especially in the spirit of Jesus who died to save us?

To answer that we need to understand what it means to "deliver [someone] to Satan for the destruction of the flesh." And we need to keep in mind why it would be done. It has already been established in the previous verses that this person in question is in gross, unrepentant sin. He is on a self-destructive path. According to Matthew 18, the church is to step in and try its hardest to turn the man from his sin. But if he refuses, you must release him from the church's fellowship. When someone refuses to repent, you need to allow him to experience the consequences of sin. It is better for someone to experience the bitter consequences of his sin and then repent than for you to shield him from the consequences and he go on sinning.

I believe that the phrase in question simply refers to turning a person over to the the natural consequences of his own sin. And it is done to see the person restored. Failure to discipline is not loving, but failure to love while you discipline is no good either.

1 Corinthians 5:1-2

"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you."

If there is someone in the church engaging in immorality, it must be addressed. We need to love people and accept them for who they are, but if Christians in our church are sinning and refusing to repent, we do them no favors by ignoring the problem. We are foolish if we congratulate ourselves for our acceptance of sin. Sin in the church should make us sad.

We should try to help the sinner. But if he persists, the best way that we can help him may be to remove him from our fellowship. That may seem extreme, but the effects of sin are extreme. And we must do everything we can to help the unrepentant sinner understand this.

1 Corinthians 4:18-21

"Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?"

Some people are all talk. They make a big show and act very strong, but they are afraid and weak. They may appear to be one thing, but when further examined, they are revealed for what they really are--nothing. Some people, like those in Corinth, stir up strife and contention. They puff themselves up by attacking others. But they have no real authority, nor do they have any real backbone.

When Paul dealt with this problem, he stated that he had no interest in knowing all of their arrogant and worthless talk. Instead, he wanted to see them back up their claims. God is not impressed by talk, and we should be fooled by it either.

God uses words to communicate with us, and we use words to share what He has shown us. But there is a difference between people’s words and God’s words. The claims that a person makes are only as good as his ability to back them up. It’s not his word alone but the power behind his word that matters.

The truth of God is communicated in words, but they are not mere words. They are the words of the all-powerful One. He can back it up. That is why the Christian should be utterly committed to communicating the truth of God’s word.

1 Corinthians 4:14-17

"I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church."

When we are confronted with our sin from the Bible, the purpose is not to make us feel bad about ourselves. The purpose is to bring about change in our lives. The Bible points out our pride, arrogance, and high-mindedness not to make us look bad (though we are bad) but to make us humble. The purpose of addressing the problem is the fixing of the problem.

Paul knew that the actions of the Corinthians were inappropriate. And he took steps to correct them. Apparently Paul had a very direct, intimate involvement with their coming to Christ for salvation, so much so that he calls himself a spiritual father to them. He knew what had happened in the people's lives because of Christ, and now he calls them to remember what they had learned from watching him. Paul even sends Timothy so that Timothy could remind them of how they were to follow Paul's example of walking in Christ.

At first, it seemed strange to me that a person would encourage others to do what he does. But Paul knew that He was walking with the Lord and that they would profit from following his leadership. I do not know that I would ever verbally encourage a person from following my example. But people follow other people all the time. I need to make sure that my life is worth following. And that following my example, someone would know what is right. It's a lofty task. But though I fail, I must endeavor to succeed.

1 Corinthians 4:8-13

"Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things."

When we think about someone who was given all that he has bragging because of it, we recognize his foolishness. I remember being teased by my classmates for not ever having the newest and best sneakers when I was growing up. Though they were given their sneakers by their parents, they thought themselves better than I because of it. We would all acknowledge that my classmates’ actions were wrong and shallow. But deep within ourselves we might cling to an unspoken belief that we are better than those who have less than we. Perhaps we think as the Hindoo, that somehow, we earned it. The Bible indicates that this is not so. All that we have was given to us by God, and it was not given because we deserve it.

In fact there are some people who are better than we, who have far less. This truth is established in these verses. There were some prideful Corinthian believers who thought themselves better than other Corinthian believers Because of what they had. Paul draws attention to the fact that he and the other apostles had less than these prideful Corinthians. The apostles, who were in such authority and given so much favor with God, were the scum of the world by human standards. Perhaps there is an element of sarcasm in these words, but the point was that being poor (or not having certain spiritual gifts [as would be addressed later]) does not make someone lower than another. And we need to completely rid ourselves of this notion or the notion that somehow it is really our due. It is not. It is all God’s. All that is ours is from Him, and we are only stewards of it. Let us be found trustworthy, humble stewards.

1 Corinthians 4:6-7

"I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?"

All of the discussion concerning division among Christians and elevation of personalities has been applied specifically to Paul and Apollos, but there is a broader application here that must not be missed. Obedience to God and the gospel produces humility and right living. But going beyond the word, it is possible to misapply truths and behave in a way completely opposite of that which is in keeping with the gospel.

The gospel reveals that we are all incapable of saving ourselves. All people everywhere have the same need for salvation. And those who come to Christ, come because of His grace and not because they are any better than those who do not come. Neither is one Christian better than another in the sight of God because none of us stand in our own works. Our standing is in the work of Christ, and all believers are equally accepted in Him.

This forever does away with any inclination to elevate yourself or someone else over another person. Christians are all the same before Christ. And even our standing before Christ should not elevate us in our minds over unbelievers. Salvation is a gift. If you believe, it was given to you. Why would being given something make you any better than someone else?

1 Corinthians 4:5

"Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God."

We have a stunning inability to accurately assess the spiritual condition of another's heart. This should prohibit us from pronouncing judgment. Why would you give such a strong opinion about something that you could not possibly know? We are bound by external indications, which are altogether insufficient to give an authoritative assessment.

There will come a time, however, when those hidden, internal matters will be open and clearly displayed. God knows them already. And when you come before Him, you will not be able to hide your heart. If there is unconfessed sin, how much better it would be for you to lay it bare before the Lord now, rather than in His very presence, where you will not be able to hide it. But if your heart is right with the Lord, when all is clearly seen before Him, you will commended by the supreme Sovereign.

1 Corinthians 4:3-4

"But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. "

Does what other people think about you matter? Well, in the sense that we need to have a testimony before people, yes. But that is not the focus here. Here we see that what other people think about your spiritual condition before God does not matter. Perhaps the whole Paul, Apollos, or Cephas division from the previous chapters was still in view a little bit here. Perhaps the dissension had gone so far as people questioning Paul’s spirituality or even his salvation.

Paul’s response indicates that that kind of talk is not appropriate. But his response also indicates that while they meant to be threatening to him, he was not threatened by it. He was not threatened because no human viewpoint had the power to alter his position before God. No person gets to decide who goes to heaven and who doesn’t. People who say unkind and inappropriate things may be divisive, but they cannot shake your standing before God.

It is not even your own conscience that is the ultimate judge of your standing before God. God is the one and only judge. We should not pronounce judgement on people, declaring their spiritual status, as if we know. We cannot know. We can know what the Bible says, and we can tell people what the Bible says. The Bible reveals how God judges. But it doesn’t give us the authority to decide any person’s spiritual state.

1 Corinthians 4:1-2

"This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy."

Beginning a section on the ministry of the apostles, Paul clarifies the proper perspective on those in that office; they are servants of Christ. To be a servant of One who is so great is a position of great privilege. But even the apostles were not the people’s masters. Christ is the master, and they were His servants. We are His servants too.

One way to serve Christ is to be a steward of the mysteries of God. We take the things that God has revealed to be true and we share them. God did not give us His word for us to bury it in a field. We must use it, and we must treat it carefully or in a trustworthy manner.

Stewards must be trustworthy. Stewards are not allowed to do whatever they want with what belongs to their master. If the steward abuses the master’s trust, he will be punished. God has given us His word, and we must treat it carefully. We must take care to not superimpose our own thoughts onto His truth, thereby abusing what He has entrusted unto us.

1 Corinthians 3:18-23

"Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's."

This paragraph seems to serve as a wrap up for the first three chapters of the book. We remember that there are those who think that they are wise and choose to reject that which they esteeme to be the foolishness of God and of His gospel. The people who reject the all-wise God, calling him foolish, have been deceived and are deceiving themselves.

The way for the wise of this world to know true wisdom is for them to become foolish. That is not to say that they become stupid and ignorant. Those qualities are never esteemed as virtues in the scripture. Instead, they need to realize that what they have falsely labeled as foolishness (i.e. the gospel) is really wisdom and what they had falsely labeled as wisdom (i.e. their own wisdom) is really foolishness. They should accept the wisdom that they had previously rejected. If the wise of this world fail to accept God's wisdom, they are foolish and worthless. The only way to true wisdom is to admit that your own wisdom is foolishness. You must reject your own way and accept the gospel.

But those who are already Christians must not forget the major application to them in these verses. You Christians (who have rejected your own wisdom) continue to understand your own wisdom's futility and do not revert to your worthless human wisdom in your human relationships. Do not behave in a merely human way in your human relationships.

Do not elevate one Christian over another. There are no super-Christians who are worthy of your devotion. We all have rejected our own wisdom and have come to Christ. And we all belong to Christ. Every believer is "Christ's, and Christ is God's." This is both humiliating and exalting. It is humiliating because you cannot extol yourself over others, but it is exalting because you belong to God, the one who is over all.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."

The spiritual work that is being done, is being done in the lives of people. Those who believe in Christ have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. Believers are each God's temple, and thus, they are holy. I have heard these verses often used as justification for exercise or for a reason why people should not drink or smoke. Those applications seem fair enough, but it seems that they are secondary applications of the verses.

The primary application is seen in the broader context of the chapter--divisions. When we become divisive and elevate people, we usually do it through tearing other people down. Attention should be drawn to theological deviation, but personal attacks on other believers are dangerous and should be avoided.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15

"Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire."

Not only must you take care to be founded on Christ, you also need to build on the foundation in the right way. Sometimes people do the work of the Lord in a careless, thoughtless, or worldly manner. If you do this, you will not be rewarded for your work. It will be burned up and you will suffer loss. This is not necessarily a punishment but rather a fact of life. It's rather like the three little pigs. If you build with poor building materials, your house might be blown away. Likewise, if you work for the Lord in a poor way, you cannot expect your work to stand the test of eternity.

Working for the Lord is not enough. You must work for the Lord in the right way. Build on the foundation of Christ that which is meaningful and valuable. If your work is lasting, your reward will be too. And no evil wolf shall take it away.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11

"According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

In ministry, there are starters, continuers, and terminators. Some people blaze completely new territory, doing things that have never been done before. Others pick up the work that has been started by others either continuing it after the same manner or else going astray from the original intent.

Whatever is done, it must be done with the right attitude and the right focus. The attitude must be one of humility and trust in the Lord. The work that you do must be “according to the grace of God.” You cannot do the work by your own efforts. And not only must it be done by God’s grace, it must be actually built upon Christ. He must be the focus of the work. If people think that the ministry they are doing is built on their own efforts, they will fail to recognize God’s grace in the work. And if people fail to build on Christ, they will simply fail.

Christ is my sure foundation. As I engage in the work ahead of me or the work that I am doing even now, I must look to Jesus. Weather I am blazing new trails or continuing the work started by others, I must take care to ensure that my dependence is solely rested upon the savior. All else is of little to no value.

1 Corinthians 3:5-9

"What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building."

When people elevate a spiritual leader, it is often because of the influential role that the person has played in their lives. When people pour themselves into our lives, it is right for us to be thankful, but we must recognize that the people that God chooses to use are not the ones accomplishing the spiritual good in our lives. They are being used to accomplish the good, but they are not accomplishing the good. God is the only one who can accomplish anything of spiritual value in our lives.

Those who are working for the Lord will be rewarded by Him. But they are only workers. They must not be lifted to a place of superiority over other believers. Neither should they be lifted to a position of superiority over each other. If one person witnessed to me, one person was a consistent testimony for Christ before me, and another person finally lead me to Christ, no worker is better than the other for it. They are all fellow workers. All were used by God, and God was the one who really accomplished the work.

I should delight in serving God no matter what role He has me play. And I must not divisively elevate people to a position that they do not deserve. God is the one doing great things in my life.

1 Corinthians 3:1-4

"But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not being merely human?"

Although all believers have the Spirit, some do not act like spiritual people and cannot be interacted with on a spiritual level. Though they are in Christ, they still behave as if they are in the flesh.

When Paul was teaching the Corinthian believers, he could not deal with weighty, spiritual matters. Instead, he was restricted to the most basic of spiritual concepts, almost dealing with them as if they were not Christians. After teaching and giving them opportunities to grow, they had failed to develop as they ought to have developed. They lacked the spiritual discernment that comes from God through His word. They still saw things through an earthly, sinful, human perspective.

How was this deficiency displayed in their lives? Was it seen though moral failures like adultery or idolatry? Those problems did exist in the church, but that is not here identified as the problem. The reason for their inchoate spiritual state was "jealousy and strife." They were identifying themselves with personalities and creating divisions over them. This is human behavior and does not reflect any spirituality.

I might be prone to think, I am following this very spiritual person. He is better than these other Christian leaders. Therefore, I am spiritual, and they are not. I probably wouldn't think these words exactly, but I might identify myself with someone and follow him to the unnecessary separation of others. If a person does such a thing, he would probably think himself spiritual for it. But really, there is nothing spiritual about those kind of actions. That person is "behaving only in a human way." Truly spiritual people follow Christ and love His word.

1 Corinthians 2:15-16

"The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 'For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ."

The believer has the Spirit, and this enables him to descern spiritual truths that are incomprehensable to unbelievers. Unbelievers can not understand spiritual truths in general nor can they understand spiritual truths as they are fleshed out in individual believers' lives.

Sometimes unbelievers attempt to understand why believers do things. But if a believer's actions are motivated by spiritual reasons, an unbeliever will not be able to understand the motives of the believer. He will not understand because the motives are spiritual. The believer is following the will or mind of the Lord. And no one can understand the mind of the Lord unless he has the Spirit.

If we are believers, then we have Christ's mind. That statement seems extreme to me. But it is so. If misunderstood or misapplied, these it could potentially foster pride in a believers heart. It does not mean that we know all that God knows or that we always act like Christ. Nor does this mean that believers are better or smarter than unbelievers. But when motivated by the Sprit, we have Christ's mind.

Sometimes I do not act this way, but I should. I can have the mind of Christ. And having the mind of Christ, I should act with reason-defying obedience to Him.

1 Corinthians 2:14

"The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned."

The unbeliever rejects the truth of God because he cannot understand it. He simply is not able to wrap his mind around spiritual truth because he lacks the spiritual discernment that comes with believing. I think about the different theological arguments for the existence of God, and I think about all the work that apologists do to try to convince people of the truth of spiritual things. These arguments are often helpful and reasonable, and they serve their place. But they will not enlighten the unbeliever. Only the Spirit can do that. I suppose that the Spirit can use the arguments, but it is the Spirit that does the work.

1 Corinthians 2:13

"And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual."

Spiritual truths cannot be conveyed with human wisdom. Not even a person who understands the spiritual truths can convince someone of them using human wisdom. When we share spiritual truths. only those who are taught by the Spirit will be able to understand.

If I want someone to understand a spiritual truth, I cannot rely on my own intellect or powers of persuasion. I need to pray that the Spirit opens their eyes to the truth of God's word. To rely on my own wisdom (or even wisdom gleaned from leadership seminars) is futile.

1 Corinthians 2:11-12

"For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God."

People frequently try to judge other people's motives. Some times they might get it right, but they can never be truly certain because they cannot see inside that person's mind and discern what they are thinking. Psychologists try really hard to do this. And some people behave in a way that psychologists have a pretty good guess as to what the person is thinking. But sometimes things are more complex than they psychologist realizes, and he gets it wrong.

If it is true that one person cannot know another person's thoughts and motivations, how much more is it true that we cannot know God's thoughts. Compared to God, our minds are very simple and formulaic. God is infiate, and His ways are completely beyond our comprehension. How could a person ever expect to understand things of God? Can he understand God through the Bible? Well yes, the Bible is necessary, but the Bible is not enough to understand the things of God. We need God's Spirit to enlighten us. This is the only way that we can comprehend spiritual things. The Spirit gives us understanding.

Those who do have not received God's Spirit, i.e. those who have not trusted Christ as their savior, do not understand spiritual things. They understand the things of the world because they have the spirit of the world. But they do not understand God or His ways. It's true that not even Christians can understand God fully, but we can understand what He reveals about Himself. Unbelievers cannot even do that.

Contrawise, Christians do not understand the world, because they don't have the spirit of the world. When I was at Bob Jones University, I remember thinking, of many of my classmates, that they were out of touch with the world. I went to public school and had had much contact with unbelievers. But many of my classmates had grown up in church and in Christian schools and had little to no understanding of the world. But these verses seem to indicate that I was no expert myself, and that is o.k. I cannot understand the world, and I do not have to. I understand something far better.

1 Corinthians 2:8-10

“None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”

God has done something unimaginable for us. He sent His Son to be crucified. The Lord of glory was brought to shame and was cursed for our sake. But people rejected Him and humiliated Him. Even now there are those who reject him. They will not believe; they cannot believe.

But the Spirit has revealed (to believers) the truth of what Christ accomplished for us, and now we love God because of what we know about Him and because of what we know that He has done. How could you do anything else?

1 Corinthians 2:6-8

“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

All this talk about the man’s wisdom not being how a person comes to understand the gospel and setting aside the use of wise speech in proclaiming the gospel might lead one to think that God does not value wisdom. But this is certainly not so. God just doesn’t value the kind of wisdom that the world values. The world’s wisdom is flawed, but God’s wisdom is perfect and complete--glorious. God’s wisdom is superior to the world's wisdom.

But God’s wisdom cannot be known by just anyone. It is a secret wisdom. It is not a secret wisdom in the gnostic sense, where there is a group of people who know something but are keeping it from everyone else somehow. Christians are not hiding the wisdom of God from the world. The world is simply unable to understand God’s wisdom. Therefore, they reject it as folly.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

There are times that God chooses to select gifted people to accomplish wonderful things for Him. But we need to realize that God does not ever need man’s talents to work in people’s hearts. And even the gifted man should not rely on his giftedness to accomplish God’s work.

Paul was very gifted. He was well advanced religiously, privileged socially, and accomplished academically. But when he sets off to proclaim the gospel, he doesn’t rely on any of his own abilities or privileges. He proclaimed the truth of what Jesus Christ accomplished, and he proclaimed it knowing his own weakness.

I should never seek to convince people with my own abilities. I must always rely on the Spirit’s working in the lives of people. The simple proclamation of the gospel is an opportunity for God to display his power, and true salvation comes from the work of the Spirit. The kind of faith that rests in the wisdom of men does not have the power of God behind it.

1 Corinthians 1:29-31

“So that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’”

God often chooses someone who is average or below average and accomplishes extraordinary things through him. God does this to display His marvelous power and to keep the person from boasting. If the person knows that he is insignificant, when God accomplishes amazing things through him, he is not as prone to claim the credit for himself. But when someone is well above average, he might find it easier to take the credit for the wonderful things that God does through him. Therefore, God usually chooses the lesser man (by worldly standards) to display His power and wisdom.

This fact should keep both the regular and the gifted person from boasting. It should lead me to glory in what Christ can do. I get to play a part in it, but I am not responsible for it. And if God chooses to use me, it is not because I am worthy. It is God’s work and God’s power, and He can display His wonders in whomever He chooses. I must boast in Him.

1 Corinthians 1:26-28

“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,”

Of those trusting Christ, few meet the world’s standards for wisdom, few are in positions of power and influence, few are wealthy, and few are highly esteemed in the world’s eyes. The world often makes the mistake of assuming then that Christianity is in itself week and powerless and that becoming a Christian shows that you are stupid or emotionally needy.

Christians, on the other hand, make the mistake of putting other Christians who are worldly wise or influential in positions of special honor simply because the world respects them. We become respecters of persons, just like the world. But God has chosen that which is foolish, low, and weak to show is wisdom, power and glory.

This does not mean that we should strive for foolishness, weakness, or poverty. God's word directs us towards rather different goals. But it does mean that we need to recognize the superiority of God over all that the world has to offer. He delights in using those whom world places little value on to show that the world system has no value. The lowly believer can be wiser than the most brilliant of unbelieving scholars. And the commoner who is trusting Christ has greater authority than the most influential of world leaders.

1 Corinthians 1:24-25

“But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

No matter who you are, what your background, or what you emphasis in life, if you are a believer, Christ is the axis upon which you life spins. The believer knows that Christ is the center, because the believer knows who Christ is. Christ is all powerful and all wise God. The wisdom and power of Christ is so far beyond our own that our meager attempts at wisdom and strength are utterly impotent in spiritual matters. They cannot bring us to God. God must come to us, and He has, and He does.

And though even unbelievers can manifest the virtues of wisdom or strength, all of us have limits, and we often fall short of even our own expectations. Sometimes wise people do foolish things, and sometimes very strong people are just worn out. It is disappointing to see people in these sad states. I remember being so surprised when I once saw someone who had always seemed very strong to me several days after he came out of major surgery. He was so weak. But we will never see God like that. God is never weak or foolish; He is always wise and strong.

If there was something that could be likened unto foolishness or weakness with God (when compared to what seem to be wiser and stronger acts), this so-called foolishness or weakness would still be infinitely wiser and stronger than anything that man could potentially muster up even when man is at his best. But, in reality, if we ever perceive God to be weak or foolish, our assessment is erroneous. He is never that way.

1 Corinthians 1:20-23

“Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,”

Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of those desires that we sinfully try to find fulfillment for in the things around us. These verses focus on two groups of people. One group is preoccupied by the desire for wisdom and the other is interested in displays of power. Christ is both all-powerful and all-wise, but they miss this truth because of pride and unbelief.

In earthly systems, you get ahead by being the best. If you work hard enough and long enough and make enough sacrifices, you will most likely succeed. So you might think that if you study hard enough or do enough research, you will be able to understand the world around you and maybe even the Creator of it. But this is not so. Even the most devoted of those who pursue this knowledge never come to the knowledge of God with their own wisdom. We come to know Him through the proclamation of His word. The worldly wise reject this, but in doing so they have rejected ultimate wisdom, mistaking it for folly.

1 Corinthians 1:19

“For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’”

God, the destroyer of wisdom--this does not seem right. God is an all wise God, and His word inseparably links wisdom with a healthy relationship with God. We are told to get wisdom because it is valuable and precious. So why would God destroy wisdom? The wisdom that He destroys is a fake wisdom. The “wisdom of the wise” is flawed. The false wisdom of the world has rejected God and thus is not wisdom at all. It is foolishness. And foolishness works against true wisdom. God will thwart the lofty but futile efforts of man to elevate himself above God in an attempt to prove himself to be wise. These foolish actions need to be combated, and God will do this.

1 Corinthians 1:18

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

In America, people often talk about how the country is becoming more and more polarized. There are huge ideological gaps between people. If God moves a person to accept the gospel, those barriers ought to be overcome. But at the same time that it breaks some barriers down, it can also put new barriers up.

When I think about what Christ has done for me, I am overwhelmed. His sacrificial life and death were acts of great love and grace. This good news (the gospel) drives me forward with vigor. I live for the gospel and for the glory of my Savior. I am willing to spend, be spent, or even to die in the work of the Lord, spreading His glory. I am willing to do this because of the gospel’s tremendous value. It is the power of God.

But not all people feel as I do. There are many in the world who have not embraced the truth. They are perishing. They view the gospel not as a powerful and glorious truth worth living or dying for but as a story. They may admit that it has truths that one can profit from, but to live your life for it or to give up your life for it, this is inconceivable to them. It is foolishness to them.

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

"I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."

Unity is found in the gospel and should be maintained for the gospel. We are so prone to group up and form clicks. We have our friends. They are most like us and we get along without much strife. But then sin enters in, and our camaraderie actually becomes a source of sin. We start excluding other people or looking down on other people because they aren’t just like us or they haven’t had the privileges that we have had.

This divisiveness reflects a lack of depth on our part. When we divide over trivial matters, we betray our sinful faithfulness to men over and above Christ. Our loyalties should be with Christ and the gospel, not with a group of friends or a dynamic leader. When our friends or leaders become so important to us that we are willing to quarrel or separate with other believers because of them, we have lost sight of what is really important, namely Christ and His redeeming work.

It is even possible for us to allow important issues to divide us unnecessarily. While the scripture does indicate that there are things worth dividing over, this passage indicates that there are things that are important but aren’t cause of division. Baptism is an important part of the Christian faith (though it is not as important as the gospel). There are positions on baptism that are contrary to the gospel; those issues are cause for separation. But the personalities involved in your baptism are not important. If you focus on people and not the gospel, even something as important as baptism can become an unnecessary cause for separation or prideful haughtiness. This is so heinous that Paul feels it necessary to de-emphasize the importance of baptism when compared to the unifying effects of the truth of the gospel.

Our lives should revolve around Christ and the gospel. This should be done in a way that directs all attention away from people (especially us), and focuses on the redemptive power of Christ in the life of a sinner. Christ is not divided, and His ambassadors should not be divided either.