In 1 Corinthians chapter 5, Paul confronted a sin taking place: a son was sleeping with his “father’s wife.” Now Paul deals with Christians bringing a lawsuit to another Christian in a secular court. Paul opens his worldview of what it means to be in Christ.
Settle Your Differences within the Church
Read 1 Corinthians 6:1-4
In the Greek text, Paul starts out with the “dare,” using it as the first word in the sentence for emphasis: “Dares one to…?”
- In verse 1, what contrast does Paul make to show that going to a secular court is counter-intuitive to the Christian?
- From an eternal perspective, what makes going to a secular court (the “unrighteous”) “trivial”?
- When describing the case, in what direction does Paul move?
Excursus: Christians will Judge the World
For Paul, being a former Jewish rabbi, the Old-Testament scriptures inform his every word, even if he does not directly quote the Old Testament (which when he does is from the Septuagint). In the Old Testament, we find hints of this end-of-time authority to judge being given to God’s saints.
- Daniel 7:22: [Context: The fourth beast, prophesying of the Roman Empire. In that setting,] the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy ones [saints] of the Most High, for the time had come, and the holy ones took possession of the kingdom.
- Wisdom 8:1, 8: [After death,] the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them…. They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever.
The Old Testament only hints of the saints possessing God’s Kingdom in Christ [the Ancient of Days prophesied in Daniel]. The Apocrypha book of Wisdom points forward to its end-times fulfillment, when the saints “will govern nations and rule over peoples.”
It’s in the New Testament where this becomes clearer, particularly in the book of Revelation. Like in the book of Wisdom, “no torment will ever touch” the saints in heaven:
Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will no longer strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes. [Revelation 7:16-17]
Where Wisdom stated that God’s saints “will govern nations and rule over peoples,” Revelation points to when such rule by the saints will take place. In Revelation 21:1, the Apostle John said that he “saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” John then writes of events for the saints in the new heaven and earth: “They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” In 2 Timothy 2:12, Paul wrote, “if we endure [in the faith], we will also reign with Him.”
Because Christians are in Christ, in Him, they reign and even participate in Christ’s judgment of unbelievers and fallen angels.
- 2 Pet 2:4: God did not spare the angels who sinned but threw them into hell, securing them in chains of darkness until judgment.
- Jude 6: The angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their assigned place, God has kept in eternal chains in darkness for the judgment of the great day.
It’s this end-times reality that shapes us to know, that in Christ, all is already judged. If true, then as His saints, we live that way.
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Read 1 Corinthians 6:5-6
- Where does Paul direct the Corinthians Christians to deal with disagreements?
- What does Paul reveal about who we are in Christ when he says, “brother goes against… brother?”
Read 1 Corinthians 6:7-8
- How are the Christians in Corinth acting more like unbelievers than Christians?
Who We Are in Christ
Read 1 Corinthians6:9-10
- Who does not inherit the kingdom of God?
- Does that mean that if we can keep ourselves from doing all the vices that Paul lists (and his list is not exhaustive!), we are then in the kingdom of God? Discuss.
Read 1 Corinthians 6:11
- When Paul said, “And such were some of you,” how did those Corinthians change from being one thing to another (note: Paul’s use of identity not doing)?
Acts 22:16: [Ananias speaking to Saul]: “be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his [Jesus] name.”
Ephesians 5:25-26: Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water with the word.
Romans 6:22: But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God [through baptism, Romans 6:3], you are reaping your harvest of sanctification, and the outcome is eternal life.
Titus 3:4-7: But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 4:5: To the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.
- When did being washed, sanctified, and justified take place “in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit of our God”?
- How then does this sanctification continue to take place in your life?
Lawful Versus Helpful
Read 1 Corinthians 6:12
- A Christian is “free in Christ”; therefore, “all thing are lawful” for him. Yet, what is to be considered before doing what one may do because it is “lawful”?
- Eating food is good; we need to eat to live. But what if you let food and your appetite become your master? How can that cause problems in your life?
Read 1 Corinthians 6:13-17
- Your body is meant for whom?
- Christ is meant for what?
- So if you commit a sin, whom do you bring into your sin with you?
- Understanding the union we have in Christ, why does it not make sense to have sinful sexual relations with another?
- Why would Paul make such a big deal about what a person does with his body? (vs. 14)
- How does God raising your body, fulfilling your salvation on the Last Day, shape the understanding of your body now?
Read 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
- Why does Paul say to flee sexual immorality?
- Discuss: Since Paul is dealing with sexual matters, how does someone glorify God through sex?
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