July 19, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the next 16 days we will be reading through the book of 1 Corinthians together. The church in Corinth was an absolute mess! They were plagued by serious issues of arrogance, division, sexual immorality, and confusion concerning doctrine as well as the particulars of their moral living under the gospel. This church needed a wake-up call, a call to repentance and purity, to renewed devotion to Christ, to love and unity, and to zeal for the gospel. The church has changed little over the last 2,000 years, but praise God that there is abundant grace for the mess! Each of us needs this same call to humility faithfulness, unity, and fervor today as much as they needed it then. Let\u2019s heed this call which God gave the church at Corinth through the apostle Paul and let it shape the way we live as Christ\u2019s body!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this chapter Paul addresses two issues going on in the Corinthian church. The first is that the Corinthians are wronging each other, but instead of dealing with their interpersonal sins within the church, as is fitting for believers, they are taking each other before the pagan courts. Paul rebukes them for this kind of shameful treatment of their fellow believers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As those who have been redeemed and made part of Christ\u2019s body, our treatment of one another must reflect the love of Christ which we share! The love we have for one another is what identifies us as true disciples of Jesus (John 13:), and Paul says it would be better for us to allow ourselves to be harmed or defrauded rather than allowing those outside the church to judge those within the church!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second issue is that some of the Corinthians had been using prostitutes, believing that what they did with their bodies was inconsequential. Paul warns them strongly here that their bodies have been united to Christ and His body, that their bodies have been made temples of the Holy Spirit who dwells in them, and that therefore the way in which they use their bodies is of utmost importance!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our bodies have been united to Christ and made temples of the Holy Spirit as well. This means that whatever we do with our bodies, it is as if Christ himself were doing so; we cannot take shameful, sinful physical acts so lightly, because when we do so we take lightly the fact of our union with Christ and the indwelling presence of the Spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We no longer belong to ourselves, because we have been purchased by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ! So we must be careful to honor God in every way in the way we use our bodies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n