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1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTERS 5 & 6 KJV WEB See previous page 1Cor 5,1-13 (172b) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Devils among the saints >> Unrighteous among the righteous – We hear about things like this on soap operas, and we are glad our lives are not as screwed-up, but the fact that such scenarios play-out on TV suggests that it regularly happens in society, but it should not happen among the saints. This passage exposes false judgment in the world like no other passage in the Bible. At first glance we see that after Paul addressed the circumstances (someone was having sex with his stepmother), he said they ought not be arrogant about it, but the world says that if anybody passes judgment for any reason, it is being arrogant. The world says this in effort to obtain consent to do whatever they want without shame, striving to completely etch out the notion of God from their consciences; nevertheless, their heart squirms like a toad regarding the subject of God. Paul mandated they remove the offender from their midst, that is, kick him out of church until he repents. This was Paul’s remedy to the problem; he must not remain in the assembly of the righteous. If he does remain, people would be condoning his behavior, and it would spread like wildfire. If we coddle sin, we get more of it. 1Cor 5,1-5 (163j) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Used by Satan to destroy your own life (204a) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Back-slider >> Practicing sin >> Dying in sin – Paul was alluding to a spiritual act, something that would easily cater to witchcraft if attempted by an immature Church, as though conducting voodoo, like dressing a doll and poking it with pins. Some think Paul was doing something like this, but he wasn’t. Many things in the Church in the first century were properly in place, but this was one person amiss (see also: Act 5,1-13). Jesus said in Jn 14-13, “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son,” but if the Church is amiss and we call for judgment on somebody, what would be the point, since we may have bigger problems than the person were are trying to correct. The First Century Church served God in Spirit and truth, so when God performed His works of healing and other signs and wonders, the proper message was conveyed, leading to the fear of God and helping people believe in Jesus. In contrast, if God performed signs and wonders in the Church today, people would think God was happy with the status quo of the Church, which is false, and God doesn’t lie. There are many contradictions in the Church regarding Scripture, much more in the lives of believers who need to repent before we will ever see signs and wonders. 1Cor 5-1,2 (23b) Sin >> Pride can blind your eyes -- These verses go with verse 6. The Corinthian Church even while Paul was alive was already going woefully wrong in their behavior. Keep in mind the Corinthian Church wanted to judge Paul for being authoritarian. They thought they needed to correct him, as though they were judge and jury on spiritual matters, yet when it came to judging the sins of the body they were sluggish and secular. That is how it is with people who want to pass judgment; they are notoriously unqualified. Since they have little to do with God, they have no choice but to judge according to the flesh, which is distorted by nature, like looking through the bottom of coke bottles. If that were not bad enough, they are invariably guilty of the very accusations they make of other people. Paul’s solution was to remove the offender from their assembly, until he learned to repent. (74j) Thy kingdom come >> Heart of man is sinful >> Sin is conceived in the heart (77l) Thy kingdom come >> Being Humble Before God >> Let your laughter be turned to mourning (96k) Thy kingdom come >> Having a negative attitude about sin >> Being willing to practice sin -- These verses go with verse 6. In earlier chapters, Paul was talking about the wisdom of the world, saying that it is foolishness (1Cor 3-19). Christians who attempt to order their lives according to the elementary principles of the world will find themselves in deep water before they know it. If our walk with God is just as flawed as the person we are trying to correct, our efforts will explode in our face. The Bible was written for our instruction that we should live by it, not half-heartedly but entirely. When situations like this arise and our lives are completely devoted to Christ, people will watch and fear, acting as a deterrent to keep others from sinning, but if we expel somebody from the church and our behavior is no better than the one we removed, people will point at our faults and suggest we leave too. Living a sanctified life gives us the right to judge, but Jesus lived a sanctified life and judged no one. For this reason we say that there are stringent conditions appended to judging people in the Church, yet we must take decisive measures to protect the flock. (104a) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> Purified by circumstances >> Purified through judgment -- These verses go with verses 6-13. Paul was saying that the Corinthians held God’s law in contempt by not judging sin among them. A consistent message we hear in society today is that nobody has a right to judge, based on a statement Jesus made in the Sermon on the Mount, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged” (Mat 7-1). The world takes this as a blanket statement that we are not to judge anybody for any reason, but aren't they judging us, telling us not to judge? That doesn't jive with the rest of Scripture; rather, we are not to judge according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. In this way Jesus said in Jn 7-24, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” It is impossible not to judge. When Jesus said, “Do not judge,” He exempted the fact that we can and should judge according to the wisdom of God contained in Scripture. These things were written in Old Testament law, but the Corinthians did not condemn the man’s behavior or do anything to stop him, which is tantamount to passing judgment against Scripture. James said, "If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it" (Jm 4-11). See also: Righteous judgment; 1Cor 5,9-13; 69k / Believer's Judgment; 1Cor 2,10-13; 33l (153g) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Shame >> Walking in condemnation >> Walking in sin -- These verses go with verses 9-13 (203f) Denying Christ >> Dishonor God >> Dishonor God by dishonoring your own body 1Cor 5-1 (11d) Servant >> The law is our standard of conduct (16e) Sin >> Man’s willingness to be evil >> Allowing sin to reign in your flesh >> Afraid to deal with it (134j) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the body >> Immorality >> Adultery >> Physical adultery -- This verse goes with verses 9-13 (167j) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Do not conform to the world >> The world of sin -- This verse goes with verses 9-13 (184i) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Abusing the grace of God >> Spending His grace on your pleasures >> Adding leaven to His grace -- This verse goes with verses 6-13 (210k) Salvation >> Jews and gentiles are being saved >> Gentiles included >> Fellow heirs with Israel (Spiritual Jew) >> Ministry to the Gentiles – The Corinthians were gentiles, so the use of the word “gentile” referring to the world meant that Paul considered the Corinthians to be spiritual Jews. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 5,3-13 (7i) Responsibility >> Defend God’s cause >> Protecting your freedom (120a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Curse of God is broken >> Curse of God’s Judgment is broken 1Cor 5,3-5 (64c) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Limits of God >> God has limited patience -- These verses go with verses 9-13 (65b) Paradox >> Anomalies >> God helps Satan >> God gives people over to Satan – Paul speaks of a type of judgment that is so unconventional that if anyone else taught it would sound like a lunatic. Paul was probably locked in jail at the time of this writing to the Corinthian Church as the reason he could not be present with them in body, but was with them in spirit, saying that he had already judged the person who had committed this act as though present. In other words, Paul remotely judged him. In some cases instead of Jesus laying His hands on people, He healed them remotely; judging someone in this manner works the same. He said that when the Corinthian Church is assembled he would be with them in spirit with the power of Christ, and made the decision, “…to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” Many have the opinion that this means Paul simply quit praying for him, but there is more to it than that. The context of the statement implies that Paul’s efforts may possibly result in the man’s death! The advantage of the man’s death would be that he would go to heaven before sin caused him to fall away from the faith, developing a reprobate mind so that he could never repent. Paul essentially gave the man an ultimatum that either he repents or Paul will wash his hands of him, and the last step is that God Himself will give up on him. (68d) Authority >> Jesus delegates authority to execute judgment >> Against sin – Paul said in Romans 7 that the law inadvertently increased the power of sin. If the law gave power to sin, how much more does sin gain power with the conviction of the Holy Spirit? A Christian who refuses to repent with the Holy Spirit breathing down his neck can cause a lot of stress to overwhelm the person, and in unusual cases results in death (Acts chapter 5). During times of the early Church the demonstration of the Holy Spirit was very powerful among the people, so if there were an individual in the assembly who refused to repent, the Holy Spirit's conviction combined with the power of sin, the work of Satan and a heavy anointing in the Church could turn the individual mad. The best example of this is King Saul; he went mad when the kingdom was taken from him after disobeying the edict of the prophet Samuel (1Samuel chapters 9-31). Paul was doing this because he cared about the man who had committed the sin, knowing that if he were permitted to continue, sin's corrosive effect would destroy his faith and damage other people in the process. So, Paul was saying it would be better if the man died and went to heaven than to continued on his present course and risk losing his soul. This same unconventional method of cleansing the Church will return in the last days as God roots out sin in His people prior to His return. (69i) Authority >> Righteous judgment (Outcome of Discernment) >> Judging the flesh by the Spirit (118f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Seeing through the eyes of your spirit >> Eyes of discernment (194f) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Hate evil >> Condemning sin >> Judging evil 1Cor 5-4,5 (69c) Authority >> Discernment >> Feeling the body’s infirmities (69k) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Executing God’s judgment by His authority 1Cor 5-5 (49h) Judgment >> God judges the world >> The last days >> The day of judgment (Armageddon) (65i) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Satan Glorifies God (190db) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Masochism (Self-made martyr) >> Literal suicide (207e) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Eternal security? >> God Himself will tear you down – Paul was with the Corinthians in spirit, as if he projected himself in their assembly from afar and passed judgment on the man who was committing sin. There are many interpretations about this verse. Many people have an encounter with God in a moment of clarity with faith like a flash in a pan that is bright and hot and then shortly dies. Their lifestyle never changes and they blow off their faith as if it were an epiphany. They would be way ahead in eternity if they died early while their faith was still intact that they might go to heaven. This thing that Paul mentioned he threatened to perform that would have ended this person’s life in the flesh, so he would die in faith, that his spirit might be preserved in heaven, rather than living longer to lose his faith through disobedience, to later die and find his place in hell. Of course to believe this requires that we understand eternal security is just a myth. It is in fact possible to lose our salvation, which many don’t believe, and therefore find this passage all the more difficult to understand. Nearly everyone’s favorite verse is Eph 2-8,9; we are saved by grace through faith, but what happens if our faith chisels to nothing? It happens all the time! People believe for a while, and then their faith dies. This was Jesus’ point in the parable of the sower regarding the seed that was sown on the road, on rocky soil and among the thorns. Paul was asking God to be merciful to the man and take Him while he still believed. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 5,6-13 (104a) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> Purified by circumstances >> Purified through judgment -- These verses go with verses 1&2 (184i) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Abusing the grace of God >> Spending His grace on your pleasures >> Adding leaven to His grace -- These verses go with verse 1 1Cor 5,6-8 (58j) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> Good things / Bad things (78c) Thy kingdom come >> Sincerity of heart >> Being honest >> Free from inconsistency (86m) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word from the heart >> Internalize the word of God (105b) Thy kingdom come >> Pure in heart >> A pure heart is an unleavened heart – There are three aspects of man: body, soul and spirit. We know we have a body, and we perceive we have a soul. We have a spirit too, but we weren’t born with it; rather, God gave us His Spirit the day we were born-again. This is something that has been introduced to us since our natural birth. Paul speaks of the new man that has been made in righteousness and holiness of the truth (Eph 4-24). Leaven in this passage represents sin. Paul says the new man is unleavened, meaning he is perfect; also, he is designated to become perfect. The only thing perfect in us is Jesus Christ. These are not separate spirits dwelling in us side-by-side, but more like one glass of water poured into another, so the two become one, causing a change of heart. We have received new desires to please God, though we still have the old cravings. This creates a conflict, where we get the notion of spiritual warfare. We must fight against these forces of wickedness that dwell in the flesh and in the mind. Nevertheless, we maintain that we are unleavened, the part of us that God has made perfect. John said, “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1Jn 3-9). (189b) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Holy sacrifice >> Holy offering (191e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Extract the leaven from the Church -- These verses go with verse 13. Paul used the word “arrogant” five times to describe the Corinthians, reminding them that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. “Leaven” in Paul’s comment to them represents sin. In other parables that Jesus taught He gave leaven an opposite meaning in reference to the anointing of the Holy Spirit. For example, Mat 13-33 says, “The kingdom of heave is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened.” The lump of dough represents the person, and the leaven represents the Holy Spirit. This parable shows that a person is changed from the inside/out as the effects of leaven radiate throughout his entire being. Paul is saying that sin has the same effect, so we need to be careful, suggesting there are two forces working on us at the same time. We have the Holy Spirit inside us emulating the Kingdom of Heaven, and we have sin emulating the nature of our flesh, and we are in the middle deciding what is allowed to manifest. (230a) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Partaking >> Partaking of Jesus >> Partaking of communion – There can be two people taking communion together. One believes the bread and wine are literally turning into the body and blood of Christ and somehow mystically imbuing them with some kind of spiritual virtue, while the other reverently takes communion in remembrance of Jesus’ suffering on the cross. One is practicing witchcraft while the other is not. This is the significance of knowledge; it can make the difference between worshipping God and worshipping demons. See also: Know the word; Act 20-32; 115e 1Cor 5-6 (23b) Sin >> Pride can blind your eyes -- This verse goes with verses 1&2 (96k) Thy kingdom come >> Having a negative attitude about sin >> Being willing to practice sin -- This verse goes with verses 1&2. What did Paul mean by, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?” We love God, yet we wrestle with our flesh and our evil thoughts and desires. Let’s say we had a pet sin that held us in bondage, and we can’t overcome it (every person on this planet can relate to this). When we succumb to sin, it affects every aspect of our lives spiritually. Sin has the effect of putting on a pair of tinted glasses; sin affects our ministry, our relationships with people, and it especially affects our relationship with God. We go into our prayer closet, and that sin stands between us and Him, limiting communications, and if we try to talk to God around the sin, it becomes the elephant in the room. The only thing we can do is repent. Nothing else works. Until we do our ministry doesn’t matter; our love for God doesn’t matter and our relationships don’t matter; but when we repent, our faith rekindles. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 5-7 (41g) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> God’s righteousness is His doing – How could we have leaven if we are in fact unleavened? Al though we are imperfect, Paul says there is something in us that is unleavened, something perfect and without sin, the Spirit of Jesus. In Eph 4-24 Paul mentioned the new self, referring to the Holy Spirit connecting with our heart, making us perfect, though we still sin. The dilemma of Christianity is that we have the desire to please God, yet our flesh often finds ways to sabotage our walk with Him, requiring us to repent and put the sin behind us. Our righteousness is a mere token of appreciation of the perfection that God invested in us by the indwelling Holy Spirit, for our real righteousness comes from God as a gift. The fact that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us makes us holy to the Lord, and what God said to Peter in Act 10-15 directly applies to us, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” (191b) Extract The Leaven (Key verse) (209h) Jesus Is Our Sacrifice (Key verse) (209ja) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our sacrifice >> Jesus paid the price for us >> Jesus is the lamb of God >> He was the Passover lamb (238f) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The kingdom is transferred to the Church >> New creation >> The new creation is our spiritual composition – It is interesting that Paul used the words new and old. Some people seem to think they were born saved, but if that were the case, how could there be things both new and old in them. If they were never saved, they could not have an old life; and if they have always been saved, they could not have a new life. Everybody needs to be saved, so they have both an old life before Christ and a new life after they're born-again. 1Cor 5-8 (78a) Sincerity of Heart (Key verse) (100l) Thy kingdom come >> Devotion >> In your ministry to God >> Devoted to worshipping God – In this verse Paul refers to worship. The leaven of sin turns our worship meaningless, until we repent; then our worship means something both to us and God. Repented sinners are His worshippers. He's proud of us and receives our worship without reservation, but when a person continues down the road of sin, the relationship between God and man deteriorates. We can run into spiritual trouble by refusing to repent, for the leaven of sin begins to rot inside us and festers, causing gangrene, leading to death. Repentance is the most beautiful form of worship we do with our sinful flesh; it is the ultimate act of love for God, which ultimately translates to restored human relationships. Repentance is a scary thing, though, partly due to our pride and arrogance by the fact that we must humble ourselves, but also it requires us to change the way we live, and usually that change is very difficult. We dread the thought of it, especially in our convenience-oriented society. Repentance is refreshing and restoring and promises a direct connection with God. See also: Process of repentance; 1Jn 3,19-21; 154j KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 5,9-13 (6a) Responsibility >> Jesus’ yoke of obedience >> Our obligation to keep His commandments – Without repentance Christianity quickly reduces to merely affirming a certain set of doctrines. Without repentance when we meet God at the judgment, we could say, ‘I believe in the blood of Jesus to cleanse me from all unrighteousness,’ and think this would make a difference to God, but He might tell us that the person who truly believes in Him won’t go on willfully sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth (Heb 10-26). If we don’t practice the doctrines we believe, it is spiritual suicide, and there are people in the Church today who actually think they have an option to obey the doctrines they affirm. (10c) Responsibility >> Bring order to the Church >> Dealing with immorality – Allowing such out-of-control lifestyles to continue is like allowing a contagious disease to rifle through the congregation, infecting people’s minds and messing with their doctrines and theology, hindering people’s faith in God, and we simply cannot allow that in the Church. (51i) Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world >> Do not show partiality to one another (64c) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Limits of God >> God has limited patience -- These verses go with verses 3-5 (69k) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Executing God’s judgment by His authority – People who feel they don’t have a right to pass judgment on anybody in the Church, have been duped into believing we are supposed to just let people live any way they want, regardless how many people’s faith they disrupt, because we are not supposed to judge. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are to be diligent and look into people’s lives, who claim strong faith, and especially those who want leadership roles in the Church. For example, we cannot ask church members to take a perfect stranger into their homes if we don’t know anything about him. If we allow sinners to have their way with people, it will put a strain on the Church, and put the breaks on their faith. When people consider it a risk to serve those in the Church, it will put them on edge, and we shouldn’t put God's people in fear of their lives. See also: Righteous judgment; 1Cor 5-12; 45g (72c) Authority >> Transferring authority >> Men delegate authority by obeying the word – How important is it to obey the word of God? Paul called him a so-called brother who refused to repent; that is, Paul had little confidence in the person who had no works to back up his faith (Jm 2,15-26). To pass judgment on somebody in the Church whom we think is immoral and be just as immoral ourselves is hypocritical, just as it is unethical to swindle our brother, but before we can pass judgment on anybody in the Church, we must be free from the practice of sin ourselves. (134j) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the body >> Immorality >> Adultery >> Physical adultery -- These verses go with verse 1 (138c) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Reprove your brother for sinning – God judges those outside the Church, but we judge those inside the Church, so God doesn’t have to judge us. If we judge the backslidden Christian, he may repent and be restored. If he is a Christian, he has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him, and every day he has the opportunity to repent, but sometimes it helps if the call to repent comes through human agency. (143b) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Having a bad reputation (153g) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Shame >> Walking in condemnation >> Walking in sin -- These verses go with verses 1&2. People in the world make no claim to faith but are in bondage to unbelief, and Paul said that we are not to judge them; rather, sin is something we should expect from people in the world, since he has no profession of faith. If he is not a Christian, it is like complaining about a pig wallowing in the mud; that is what they do. Once we become Christians, though, we are new creatures; we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, and after walking with Him a while, the sins that once held us in bondage should begin to drop off us, though it is not something that happens overnight. Eventually Christians should become free from willfully sinning, and for this reason Paul commanded us not to associate with a so-called brother who willfully practices sin, because they are not seeking the freedom of Christ, and this lifestyle is not an option for a true Christian. God expects Christians to become free, and if certain ones will not pursue the freedom of Christ, Paul commands us to dissociate from them. (159i) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit God >> Counterfeit anointing >> Drunkenness >> Having a party spirit (162j) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> Being slaves of men >> Bad company >> Do not associate with people who practice sin – Paul admonishes the Corinthians not to associate with any so-called brother who does not practice the standards of Christianity, not to even eat with such a fellow. If someone in the Church swindles us, it doesn’t mean we should dissociate from him if there is repentance, but without repentance it proves that he is willfully swindling the brethren, and we should break fellowship from him. Without repentance Christians cannot fellowship with each other, nor can there be Christian brotherhood in the Church. (167a) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind is set on the flesh >> Lust of the fleshly mind (167j) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Do not conform to the world >> The world of sin -- These verses go with verse 1 (178f) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for sin – People are good at playing mind games (mental calisthenics), enabling them to contrive whatever they want to believe about themselves. People have an uncanny ability to create an alternate inner world in their minds, and with brushstrokes paint any mural they want and actually believe in their contrivances. When God speaks to them, they simply create a false scenario to purposely misconstrue the conviction of the Holy Spirit to hide from the truth about themselves. For this reason it helps for a physical body to yell in his ear and get him to awaken from his self-induced spiritual coma. (179i) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Unworthy servant >> Unworthy because of unfaithfulness (190da) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Masochism (Self-made martyr) >> Spiritual suicide (191i) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Set apart from sin (202k) Denying Christ >> Running from God >> Wicked men cannot approach the throne of God >> Goats are unsaved church attendants KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 5-12,13 (48b) Judgment >> God judges the world >> Eternal judgment 1Cor 5-12 (45g) Judgment >> Believer’s sin >> God will judge us with the world if we live like them – Righteous Judgment to most people in the Church these days is an oxymoron, but there is a place for judgment. In the world we are told not to judge under any circumstances. They get this idea from Mat 7-1, Jesus said, “Do not judge.” This sounds like a blanket statement, as though it has no parameters, but there were parameters, the context of the Beatitudes, where Jesus instructed the Church how to live in the world. The Beatitudes make almost no mention of the Holy Spirit, yet He was describing Christianity, giving a word picture how it should look to the world; therefore, how much more should Christianity resemble the Beatitudes when we include the Holy Spirit? In the flesh we are not to judge, but in the Spirit we do, but we do not judge the world. Paul is saying we should open our eyes and judge those who are exploitive, who practice sin within the Church. We are to pass judgment on them for their own good and for the betterment of the Church. See also: Righteous judgment; 1Cor 5-1,2; 104a 1Cor 5-13 (191e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Extract the leaven from the Church -- This verse goes with verses 6-8. Everybody is welcome in church, but the door closes as well as it opens, and if people cannot demonstrate a genuine faith in God or at least conduct a genuine search for faith and truth, after a time it should raise some concern; why are they in church in the first place? We are invited to test their fruit, and when so-called Christians willfully practice sin, they need to be given an ultimatum, either repent or be expelled from the Church, though someone should keep in touch with them and strive for reconciliation. If they are unwilling to be repent, then they are not welcome to return. Heaven is a place of absolute tranquility, where there is no fear, and people have no suspicions of others. Although we will never achieve that on earth, we should strive for it. The Church should be a place of peace and tranquility where people can go and feel protected from the world like a safe harbor for a ship. (222i) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> God shares no intimacy with dogs >> Do not fellowship with dogs _________________________________ 1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 6 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 6,1-11 (168d) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Do not conform to the world >> Do not conform to the world and meet God’s judgment 1Cor 6,1-8 (108a) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Balance between truth and error >> Wisdom brings balance between truth and error – Paul wants the Church to discern matters between brothers, because the Church should have more insight and wisdom than the world. Don’t we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us? Why then don’t we have the wherewithal to discern for ourselves matters that pertain to this life? Why would the world have a better understanding of these things than we do? (178i) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for making false judgments – Paul thinks that people who are without the Spirit of God are unable to judge righteously, being a symptom of a reprobate mind. Jesus and others in the Bible have intimated that God seeks only a remnant from this world to be His worshippers, who are expected to avoid the corruption of the world. Since Paul forbade the Church to request a worldly institution to decide between brothers is to say that it cannot discern the truth, and it is for this that they remain unbelievers. For the Church to take their disputes to the world is an admission that they know less about the truth than the world, which is under the delusion of Satan, and for this reason the Corinthians had already accepted defeat. He told them that being wronged and defrauded was a lesser insult than taking their case to the wisdom of a worldly court. 1Cor 6,1-6 (69i) Authority >> Righteous judgment (Outcome of Discernment) >> Judging the flesh by the Spirit 1Cor 6-1 (10a) Responsibility >> Bring order to the Church >> Dealing with problems in the Church -- This verse goes with verses 4-8 (21j) Sin >> Premeditated sin >> Having no Intensions of loving your brother -- This verse goes with verses 4-8 (54l) Paradox >> Opposites >> Seeking victory for a defeated cause -- This verse goes with verses 7,8. People within the Corinthian Church were suing one another being unable to get along, being steeped in the flesh instead of pursuing unity and the things that make for peace. One defrauds while the other holds a grudge. What was Paul’s solution? It would be better for the person who was defrauded to simply forgive instead of perpetuating the fraud by taking his brother to a worldly court from a lack of spiritual discernment. Jesus said in Mat 5-40, “If anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.” (55m) Paradox >> Lose by gaining >> Lose God’s will to gain your own will -- This verse goes with verses 4-10. Looking back on other New Testament epistles that Paul wrote, such as Galatians and Ephesians, etc., he penned some of the most beautiful words for their sake and for ours. Paul was able to speak to them this way because they loved the Lord and sought His will, but he wrote the longest letters to the Corinthian Church to correct them on their behavior and on the basic ways of living as a Christian, free from bondage. In the beginning of this chapter Paul described what he thought about people who were not saved—he considered them infidels compared to the Church. (76d) Thy kingdom come >> Wicked motives >> Motives based on envy -- This verse goes with verses 4-8 (158f) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >> Division (Cliques) >> Jealously seeking prominence in the body -- This verse goes with verses 4-8 (161i) Works of the devil >> Carried Away >> Condemnation based on evidence of sin -- This verse goes with verses 4-8 (166k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind cannot discern between good and evil >> The carnal mind’s idea of justice -- This verse goes with verses 4-8 (170c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Pursuing the glory of man turns us in the wrong direction >> Fighting God to keep the glory of man -- This verse goes with verses 4-8 (181d) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Lawlessness is no excuse for sin >> Sinning under the law is still lawlessness -- This verse goes with verses 4-10 1Cor 6-2,3 (68c) Authority >> Jesus delegates authority to execute judgment >> Against Satan – Paul established a proper perspective when he reminded the Corinthians that one day the saints would judge the world. God will even give us authority to judge angels (fallen angels). Paul meant that the Church would play a part in judging Satan and his cohorts for tormenting and persecuting the saints, suggesting also that we will help judge the world for their unbelief. We visualize God’s final judgment as individuals standing alone with God. This will happen, but Jesus also said that He would judge entire cities at once (Matt 12:41-42). God intends to use the Church to judge mankind and the demons for attempting to subvert the truth. (94a) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective on this life >> It is our investment in the Kingdom of God (154d) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Witness that the world is godless >> Witness that the world does not know God 1Cor 6-3 (45m) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >> Satan VS the saints >> Demons are subject to the Church through Christ KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 6,4-10 (55m) Paradox >> Lose by gaining >> Lose God’s will to gain your own will -- These verses go with verse 1 (181d) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Lawlessness >> Lawlessness is no excuse for sin >> Sinning under the law is still lawlessness -- These verses go with verse 1. According to this passage, there are basically three categories of people who will not make it to heaven: immoral and materialistic people and those who practice hedonism. When we go back to the law and look at the first commandment, God said all these things when He said, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20-3). Idolatry is mentioned here, being really the only sin that exists, making all other sins the outcome of idolatry. God did not want us bending our knees to idols. Nowadays we don’t literally bow to idols, yet people are just as idolatrous as ever. He spoke of other sins such as adultery and bearing false witness; they all take the place of putting Jesus first. 1Cor 6,4-8 (10a) Responsibility >> Bring order to the Church >> Dealing with problems in the Church – These verses go with verse 1. This passage is about Christians taking their fellow believers to court over temporal issues, mostly involving money and property. Paul asks why there is not a wise man who can decide between them. This admits they are devoid of wisdom and renounced the virtues of Christianity that offers discernment, understanding and justice. They are apparently unaware that the Holy Spirit, supposedly dwelling in them, whom they received from God, being the cornerstone of the Christian faith, could give them the wisdom to decide between brothers, but are oblivious to any and all spiritual matters from God. Paul is saying he is self-defeated, who has never cultivated a genuine faith throughout his entire Christian life. It would be better if he simply let his brother win the dispute than go to a worldly court over it. Paul taught to die to self, and Jesus taught to take up our cross and follow Him. He said in Mat 5-40, “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also,” rather than argue about it. Instead if running to a lawyer and summoning our brother to court, we should pick up our cross and give our brother the things he wants to steal from us. This way we can teach him the tenets of Christianity, but if we take him to court, we have failed as servants of Christ. (21j) Sin >> Premeditated sin >> Having no Intensions of loving your brother -- These verses go with verse 1 (76d) Thy kingdom come >> Wicked motives >> Motives based on envy -- These verses go with verse 1 (158f) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >> Division (Cliques) >> Jealously seeking prominence in the body -- These verses go with verse 1 (161i) Works of the devil >> Carried Away >> Condemnation based on evidence of sin -- These verses go with verse 1 (166k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind cannot discern between good and evil >> The carnal mind’s idea of justice -- These verses go with verse 1 (170c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Pursuing the glory of man turns us in the wrong direction >> Fighting God to keep the glory of man -- These verses go with verse 1 (199d) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Frustrating the grace of God >> Frustrating Jesus >> Frustrating the apostles 1Cor 6-4,5 (153j) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Shame >> Walking in condemnation >> Attacking the body of Christ – Paul was talking a about Christians suing other Christians, going to secular courts with their arguments, which is not that different from the demon possessed man who gashed himself with stones (Mk 5-5), one member of the body attacking another. This is what division does within the Church. Paul chastised the Corinthians, because there was not a single wise man in the bunch who could decide between his brothers. They took their complaints to secular courts because they understood the world, but they didn’t understand God. It never occurred to them to find someone in the Church to stand as a third party to judge between them. Wisdom is an attribute of a spiritual man, though it is not a spiritual fruit. Someone who has spent time with God in His word and in prayer will have wisdom; he has come to know God on a personal level, whose ministry toward people has become an offshoot of his ministry toward God. The Corinthians didn’t know anybody like that; and if they did, they would have shunned him, because they related to each other based on a secular mindset. That is, they turned Paul’s faith into a religion of Christian secularism, and anyone unwilling to follow the tenets of their religiosity was shunned. 1Cor 6-7,8 (6d) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Jesus’ yoke of death – As Christians we are charged by God to do what He says, and He expects us to do it. This verse is essentially saying that the Corinthian Church was too entrenched in the things of the world and were useless for any good work, thinking only about themselves. They should have let the brethren have what they wanted, and shame them into repentance, instead of joining their covet club. God would have used their love and grace to convict their rapacious brothers of their carnality. (17m) Sin >> Unrighteous judgment >> Discerning by the flesh >> Judging the sins of others that you practice (18ca) Sin >> False Judgment lacks evidence >> Charges not defined as crimes >> Persecuting the body of Christ (54l) Paradox >> Opposites >> Seeking victory for a defeated cause -- These verses go with verse 12 (120e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >> Forgiving your brother >> Don’t forgive your brother and God won’t forgive you – The Corinthians were not fulfilling Jesus’ vision of the Church, perfecting unity through faith and love. The offended person’s response should be forgiveness, to shame the offender to love and good deeds. If he loves God and has a conscience, he will repent, but if he doesn’t, he shouldn’t be in the Church taking advantage of the saints. If someone defrauds you and you forgive him and he does not repent, that person has bigger problems than greed—he has no faith. If he continues defrauding the brethren without conscience, he proves to be non-Christian and should be treated like an unbeliever or else removed from the assembly to protect the flock. By seeking justice they are both wrong and self-defeated. People who wouldn’t give two cents to know God are now judging between brothers of faith, Christians whom God will one day call to help judge the world! If a so-called brother refuses to walk in love, it should be addressed as an issue of faith, rather than one of morality and ethics. Justice and truth are rarely found together in that love is actually more compatible with truth. For this reason we should seek love over justice, because the pursuit of justice often forfeits the truth. We hear truth and justice spoken together, but they never achieve God’s love, but their own version of truth, which is substandard to men of faith. These things parallel the law, but God’s truth is not found in the law, but in His mercy. (124k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Love your enemies >> Love your enemies that you may not become like them (126e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Peace >> Peacemakers >> Peacemakers avoid unnecessary confrontation (163i) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Used by Satan to destroy the Church KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 6,9-11 (22e) Sin >> Greed takes without consideration for others >> Covetousness – Paul makes a list of "practices" (key word) that bar people from heaven. Paul is not referring to those who have committed such sins, but those who practice them to the point of being named (defined) by their behavior. For example, it is not those who have stolen who are thieves but those who steal as a way of life. These are the kind that defraud the brethren, and the brethren should love and forgive, until they realize there is no end to their abuse. Then the Church should cast such people from the assembly, not allowing them to continue defrauding the saints. Paul says, “Such were some of you,” but they repented. The main goal of the saints is to contribute to one another, so defrauding the brethren is the opposite of what they want to do. Everyone makes mistakes and should be forgiven, but we are not talking about making mistakes but practicing an evil lifestyle on purpose. We should not allow such people to exploit God's children, but if they truly repent, we should receive them as those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. (36i) Gift of God >> Inheritance >> Our inheritance can be withheld – When we go back to verses like Eph 1-11, “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His will,” and then look at this passage, we quickly realize that Paul it talking about two different people, one who is predestined by God to inherit eternal life and the other who cannot find it in his flesh to separate from bondage such as fornication, idolatry, adultery, homosexuality, covetousness, alcoholism and the like. People in bondage to these sins Paul promises will never see the Kingdom of Heaven unless they repent. Therefore, the Christian cannot sit on his duff and wait for God to work His will into his life, but to get up and work God's grace into his own life. (135a) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the body >> Immorality >> Sexual perversion >> A mixed bag of impurities (135c) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the body >> Immorality >> Homosexuality – Homosexuality is an issue these days for some reason; they all want airtime on the media to promote their immoral lifestyle, forcing their agenda on us. Millions of homosexuals and those who support them are pushing this lifestyle on us, evoking a large platform of debate in society about the morality of their sexual orientation. Some people say it is evil and others say they were born this way and cannot control it, but there are other immoral lifestyles that God condemns, such as fornication and adultery, and no one seems to be debating about them. Self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and so being unwilling to practice self-control is a sign they do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, and in that case they need to get saved. What should be at the center of this debate is whether homosexuality is an expression of idolatry. If God personally visited us (again) and looked a homosexual in the eye and nicely asked him to repent, would he do it? If he did, he would be obedient; if he didn’t, he would be practicing idolatry, putting something in front of (and in place of) God and figuratively or otherwise bending their knee to it. Perhaps they would tell us that if they received a personal visitation from Christ they would repent but not if it is only written in the Bible. Psalm 138-2 says, "For you have exalted your Word above all your name," and His name invokes His presence. Therefore, it is more significant that it is written than if someone were to receive a personal visitation from the risen Savior (Lk 16,27-31). See also: Homosexuality; 179c (159j) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit God >> Counterfeit anointing >> Drunkenness >> The alcoholic (179c) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Jesus rebukes the Pharisees >> The world runs into the Church to escape God’s judgment – There are many people who fit the description of this passage, who think they are also Christians, but “Christian homosexual”, "Christian alcoholic" and "Christian swindler" are all oxymorons. “Homosexual” is derogatorily used in Scripture, yet people still squabble about it. Those in violation of this passage are like people standing in the tracks of an oncoming train and expecting it to stop for them. If they were honest with themselves, the best they could do is admit they were being disobedient, though still claiming to love God. They try to justify themselves, saying that their favorite sins are not evil, that God does not condemn their behavior, but they are just fooling themselves. When people die in their sins, they will face eternity in hell, but so long as they are alive in the flesh there is still hope for repentance and genuine faith in Christ. God loves us based on a vision He has of us, and His vision is that we will walk on His trail of good works, which He has prepared for each of us, according to Eph 2-10. See also: Homosexuality; 135c (182e) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Three causes of interpreting Scripture falsely >> Because they have no regard for God’s word (195g) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Worshipping men >> Worshipping the idol of pleasure 1Cor 6-9,10 (16e) Sin >> Man’s willingness to be evil >> Allowing sin to reign in your flesh >> Afraid to deal with it – We are in a war with our flesh, and many a Christian has gone AWAL as a digression from engaging the inner struggle. One of the biggest lies of the devil is to make the Christian feel guilty for being tempted; Paul called it the “good fight of faith” (1Tim 1-18). People generally don’t feel comfortable doing battle against their flesh, preferring rather to battle against someone else's flesh. When this continues over many generations, it causes apostasy in the Church and starts wars in the world. There are many Christians who allow their flesh to have its own way, because they are afraid to confront it. The sinful nature will bully us if we let it, but if we call its bluff, it has no choice but to surrender to us, since we are the ones in power, but if we cower to its aggression, it will take us captive and make us serve its evil desires, which is really no different from serving the devil himself. God has not redeemed our sinful flesh; he will give us a new body and discard this one, but until then He will allow our flesh to test us to see if we will serve Him. The Christian life in many respects is like living in a lion’s den; we live with a monster that wants to eat us alive. Its deception is that it looks just like us, but we are not buddies. Instead, we have a soul whom God has redeemed by His Spirit, and for this reason we have new desires from God, and we need to focus on them. Therefore, the purpose and calling of God for every Christian is to put down the sinful nature and put on the nature of Christ. See also: Spiritual warfare (Contrast of two natures); 1Cor 16-14; 75b (48a) Judgment >> God judges the world >> Eternal judgment >> Consequences for sin – Some of the items on this list are also in Mk 7,21-23, where Jesus talked about attributes of the heart. Paul is addressing the problem of allowing the sinful nature in our fleshly bodies to escape its cage and ravage the countryside with it evil passions and desires. These things dwell in each of us, and we try to keep a lid on them best we can, but like letting out a monster, we unlock the door and display the contents of our hearts. The sins we commit are the ways we allow our flesh to reign over us, and those who practice such things will not see the Kingdom of God. Some of us in the Church used to live like this, but not anymore, there was repentance, there was transformation, there was a change of heart. The saying, “People never change” may be true in the world, but not in the genuine Christian who obeys the Holy Spirit. Hence, for a Christian to allow his flesh to reign over him is a travesty that is unacceptable, for nowhere does the Bible condone the practice of sin. (52e) Judgment >> Judging Church with world >> Law judges sin >> God judges the lost through the law (90k) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> Unless you keep the law you will not see heaven (217h) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> I never knew you >> Because you never did His will (250i) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> List of traits that can be found in man >> List of deeds of the body KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 6-11 (67g) Authority >> Jesus delegates authority >> The name of Jesus is the salvation of God (103g) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> Spirit like water >> Anointing cleanses you from the practice of sin (111aa) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit sets you apart by t he word >> Set apart by His grace – Everyone in the Church is sitting around waiting for God to fix them because they don’t know how to walk in God's grace, and their teachers don’t understand the Scriptures well enough to lead their congregations from darkness into the light. Jesus said to the Pharisees in a similar situation (Mk 12-24), “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?” The Pharisees knew the Scriptures backward and forward, but they couldn’t properly interpret them to save their lives, and the same goes for the Church today. Jesus was saying that to access the power of God, we must be able to properly interpret the Scriptures, telling them that God works exclusively through His Spirit and His word, not one or the other but both at the same time, and this is what Paul said to the Corinthians after enunciating this dirty laundry list of sins (Vs 9-11). The Holy Spirit and the word of God have separate offices but have a common goal: sanctification for the purpose of obedience. (115ja) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through obedience of faith >> Through determination >> Determined to be set apart from the world – The gospel of John does well to describe the trinity, the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit, confirming that the Father is the origin of God's word, saying, “The things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world” (Jn 8-26); also saying, “The word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me” (Jn 14-24). The Holy Spirit teaches us the word of God, leaving Jesus with the ministry of obedience. God has made a covenant with man in the same way, promising to give His grace to overcome sin as we repent. We are no longer to wait for God but to work with Him in our quest for freedom, who superimposes His power over our commitment against sin. (191l) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Set apart >> Set apart by the Holy Spirit 1Cor 6,12-20 (136h) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Body of Christ consists of individual members >> We should live as Christ lived 1Cor 6-12 (7i) Responsibility >> Defend God’s cause >> Protecting your freedom – How was everything lawful for Paul? Was stealing or adultery lawful for him? How then was everything lawful? If we become a slave to men, we loose your freedom to obey Christ, but if we become slaves of Christ we loose your freedom to practice sin. Paul was no longer a slave to the law but had become a slave to Christ, and God changes our heart into conformity with His own. Being that stealing and adultery were not in God’s will, neither were they within the sphere of Paul’s will. Therefore, all things according to the will of God Paul was willing to do, but those things that offend Christ he was unwilling to do. (54l) Paradox >> Opposites >> Seeking victory for a defeated cause -- This verse goes with verse 1 (118k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >> Law of the spirit >> Law of liberty – There are no laws governing those who are possessed with the Holy Spirit, who walk according to God's will, in that the Holy Spirit and the Ten Commandments are in agreement. The Spirit changes us, and by that it has replaced the law, so it is no longer a question of litigation but one of the heart. However, we are by this all the more slaves of Christ. For the reason of our fallibilities we are under God's grace, but that doesn't liberates us to defraud our bother, because he should be under God's grace too. Paul said, “All things are lawful for me,” meaning, 'There are no longer any laws that govern me.' What governs Paul now is the Spirit of God, who has given us new desires to do His will. It gives us no pleasure to violate His commandments; instead, it terrifies us and fills us with dread. Paul said that he would not submit to bondage that brings destructive consequences in the addictive power of sin. We no longer have the law telling us what to do, but that doesn’t mean we can violate it, for it still has the power to condemn. Rather, we can avoid the condemnation of the law by joyfully doing the will of God. (192f) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Waiting for God to do it His way >> Lose your rights to gain His vindication (248k) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Values >> The Highest Values >> Some things take precedence over others KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 6,13-20 (213g) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> Jesus owns you >> We are his instruments >> We are reflectors of His glory 1Cor 6-13 (134d) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Composition of our bodies is from the earth >> We are physically subject to this natural realm – In heaven we will thrive in the light of the Son. It is doubtful we will need to replenish our nutrients. Life in heaven will be based on a completely different system, not one that expends nutrients that must be replaced, but one that lives as God lives. Rev 21-23 says, “And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” He will shine upon us and provide us with everything we need. We can postulate about heaven, but what we know about it for sure is that this current life-support system that also allows for death will not exist in heaven. In this life every living thing and some non-living things use resources that need to be replenished, and are constantly running down and will eventually die or quit working. For example, we buy a new car and love its new smell, but the smell goes away, and then there is the first time we take it to the mechanic; rust forms, then it starts nickel-n-dime-ing us; then we take it for a final ride to the junk yard. In heaven there isn’t a continuous depletion of resources. This is the greatest conundrum in our thinking about heaven, and those in heaven have an equal time understanding our dilemma of depleting resources. All we know is how this life works; how could we expend energy without depleting it? The answer is in this question, how could Jesus pull so much bread and fish from a single hand-basket to feed 5000 men, plus women and children? See also: No depleting resources; 224a (163j) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Used by Satan to destroy your own life – Paul used this statement about food for the stomach and the stomach for food as an analogy to show that the body is not for immorality but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. He asked if he should take the members of Christ and join them to a harlot? This is what some Christians do when they behave immoral. Paul then asked, “Do you not know that the one who joins himself to a harlot is one body with her? For He says, 'The two will become one flesh.'” Those who defraud the brethren are fellowshipping with the wrong spirits. They think they can steal and pillage and have sex with whomever and get away with it, but in so doing they narrow the gap between themselves and the demons, becoming one with them. Our willingness to obey evil spirits forms bonds with them that are similar to marriage bonds, and our willingness to be immoral acts as a covenant with sin, while the act itself consecrates the relationship. Fellowshipping with demons is easier than we think. Spirits follow disobedience and incite further disobedience, putting people in multiple layers of bondage. (224a) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> Describing the kingdom after he makes all things new >> Description of the resurrection – God will do away with the need for food so we won’t need to eat, but we can if we want as Jesus showed in Lk 24-42,43. This description of heaven tells us that the resurrected body will not come with a digestive system, so what happens to food when we eat it? Medically, we don’t fully understand what happens to our food in this life when we eat it. We know it goes through a process of digestion and releases nutrients necessary for our health, but there are so many mysteries that persist regarding the functioning of the human body, probably hundreds about our digestive system alone, and if we don’t understand what happens to our food in this life, how can we possibly understand heaven? All the energy we use in this life comes from the sun, which allows plants to grow and animals to eat the plants, and we eat those plants and animals. In heaven we will live under a system that doesn’t worry about resources, since its energy supply will stem directly from God. See also: No depleting resources; 134d KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 6-14,15 (134a) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Your body >> Mediator between the natural and the spiritual realms >> Manifesting the Kingdom of God through obedience -- These verses go with verses 17-20 1Cor 6-14 (38i) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Resurrection of the righteous – God has raised the Lord Jesus, and He will also raise our bodies through His power, but will our resurrection be the same as His? The Bible teaches that God will raise us in the same manner that He raised Christ Jesus, but that does not mean He will go looking for all the atoms that once composed our bodies and put them back together. The disciples looked into His tomb and found no one, and then later they discovered Him alive. So the dead body of Jesus and the live body of Jesus were the same body. For us, though, by the time the First Resurrection occurs most people’s flesh will have decayed off their bones, and for some even their bones will be missing or destroyed. Christ will use our remains to remake our bodies and then transform its substance into the likeness of His own. We will not grow old or feel pain or become injured or die. The resurrection is a mystery; Paul even said as much, “Behold, I tell you a mystery...” (1Cor 15-51). It will be a miracle so mysterious that it is currently incomprehensible to our finite minds; we cannot wrap our heads around it; we could say that about everything God does, and for that we worship Him. Paul also said in 1Corinthians chapter 15, “God gives it a body just as He wished” (v38). He will not give us our old body back but a new one, and “we will be changed” (1Cor 15-52). There are far too many unanswerable questions to be confident about anything, except for one thing: we know there will be a resurrection. We also know the Lord will raise the wicked at a later date in the same way that he raised the righteous. Based on our limited knowledge we could even say that there is no difference between the resurrection of the righteous and the resurrection of the wicked, except for a time factor of a thousand years and of course their destiny of everlasting contempt, instead of our destiny of eternal glory. 1Cor 6,15-20 (2n) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Get out of His way >> Do not abuse His grace (178f) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for sin (199a) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Frustrating the grace of God >> Frustrating Jesus >> Frustrating Jesus’ ministry 1Cor 6,15-17 (184k) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Abusing the grace of God >> Dragging God’s grace through the mud >> Dishonoring the grace of God – Since our bodies are of this natural realm, collectively every believer around the globe represents the body of Christ in the world. Paul is asking this question: would any member of the body of Christ have sex with a harlot? This is painting a word picture of Jesus committing fornication with a prostitute, which is the height of blasphemy, yet this is how God sees our sin. We are His children, purchased by the blood of Christ, and though we walk in the weakness of human flesh and are susceptible to sin, it does not diminish our offense in His eyes. We sin every day; this is part of being human, but practicing sin under the guise of Christianity is abusive to His grace. Anyone who would live this way without repentance in mind is only fooling himself, for no genuine Christian does this for long, though just about every Christian has fallen under the spell of sin for a season and felt its luring bondage. By the grace of God there is forgiveness through repentance. 1Cor 6-15,16 (16a) Sin >> The sin nature is instinctively evil >> Man’s flesh is related to the devil >> Man's sinful nature wars against God (134b) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Mediator between the natural and the spiritual realms >> Manifesting the kingdom of darkness through disobedience – This life is for learning lessons about God, learning about ourselves and about sin and the value of righteousness that we will take with us into eternity. This life is about training our ears to discern the voice of God in our heart. Paul was not condemning the Corinthians; he was forewarning them that if they decide to take the low road as Christians, it will lead to their ruin, for there is no guarantee they will ever return to their faith; they could lose their salvation over it. The Christian who determines to lead a lifestyle of debauchery is like taking Jesus’ hand and directing Him into sin. The general calling of every Christian is to represent Jesus Christ on the earth, and how we express that determines our specific calling from God. If certain Christians are not interested in representing Jesus to this lost and dying world, then maybe they are not Christians, and if they need to be saved but already consider themselves Christians, how can they be saved? They are the least likely of all people to make it to heaven. Jesus said of the Pharisees and scribes and hypocrites of His day, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you” (Mat 21-31). (141b) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ ministry >> Jesus as head of the Church KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 6-16,17 (61b) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> Complete—You are a whole member of the body / You have a part in the deity of Christ – Immorality is a unique sin; “the immoral man sins against his own body.” According to this analogy, the one who commits fornication with a harlot becomes one flesh with her, so inherits her demons that have held her in prostitution, and don’t forget the diseases she picked up along the way. The opposite is also true; “The one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” Our relationship with Christ is a form of spiritual intercourse. Following the analogy a bit further, the process of conception, where the male gamete fuses with the DNA of the female to create a unique person, in the same way man’s spirit has fused with God’s Spirit. The result is something that is both God and man, just as Jesus is both God and man, a new creation exhibiting both traits. This will be our new identity in heaven, similar to Jesus being conceived by His Father in Mary's womb, where the progeny was both God and man. That is, we are going to follow Jesus in His conception, only instead of God fusing with man, man will fuse with God. See also: Jesus Christ became like us that we might become like Him; 2Cor 8-9; 12l (208j) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being married to God >> Knowing God >> Sharing intimacy with Him – It is not marriage that joins the two to become one flesh, but the consummation of the marriage, meaning that we can become one flesh with a prostitute without marrying her. In a spiritual sense, the Church's true husband is Christ, and the prostitute is the world. Throughout the Old Testament it speaks of Israel playing the harlot with other nations in taking on their ways. Doing the will of God is like the consummation of our marriage to Christ, reminiscent to sex. In our personal experience it doesn’t seem that way; in fact, doing the will of God can often be very arduous, wearisome and painful to the flesh, yet to God it is like making love to Him. Since doing the will of God is like sex to Him, then disobeying Him is like committing adultery with a prostitute. Jesus died for us and paid for our sins through His own flesh, which was not pleasurable but agonizing (Lk 22,41-44), yet it was the will of His Father. 1Cor 6,17-20 (134a) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Your body >> Mediator between the natural and the spiritual realms >> Manifesting the Kingdom of God through obedience -- These verses go with verses 14&15 1Cor 6-17 (231c) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Mystery of godliness >> God’s grace is the mystery of godliness >> God working in you is a mystery (238b) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The kingdom is transferred to the Church >> Born again >> Born of the Spirit by the will of man 1Cor 6,18-20 (135f) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the body >> Abortion >> Consequences of abortion >> Abortion is the result of a selfish lifestyle – The immoral man sins against his own body; that becomes clear when the person contracts a disease as a consequence of having sex with strangers. We know that all sins will be judged in both the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked, judged in the righteous by the loss of reward and judged in the wicked by the addition of weight of sin to his body before throwing him into the lake of fire, where his sin will pull him into the liquid-hot magma, and by that his sins have judged him. God will append both reward and condemnation to the resurrected body in the afterlife. See also: Judgment appended to the resurrected body; 1Jn 2-17; 87e (203f) Denying Christ >> Dishonor God >> Dishonor God by dishonoring your own body – The Corinthians were the most carnal church of all Paul’s epistles; they didn’t know how to behave. They saw their bodies as their own, as though they could do whatever they wanted with it, such as having sex with whoever was most convenient; meanwhile, they were trying to engender faith in Jesus. We are expected to conform to His image. Paul reminded them that the Holy Spirit dwells in them, making their bodies a temple of the Holy Spirit. This was one of the points of old covenant temple worship: it carried the simple message that our bodies are the temple of God. There were centuries of performing the same rituals and sacrifices day after day and year after year just to drive home this message, and we still don’t get it. We understand that we are fleshly creatures on the outside, and inwardly we have a soul, but some even deny the spiritual realm, having completely surrendered to materialistic secularism; how much more do they deny the indwelling Holy Spirit in those who believe in Jesus? Moreover, there are fleshly sins and spiritual sins. Spiritual sins are far worse, but if we allow our fleshly sins to go unchecked, they will mutate into spiritual sins, and now we have a problem. Spiritual sins have to do with unbelief and all the forces that underlie the rejection of God. They do this against the evidence that is all around them. Every physical thing points to the existence of God that without Him could not exist. God is the origin of all things and the Creator of the human soul and of every spirit; the Bible calls Him the Father of spirits (Heb 12-9). All fleshly sins are conducted in the body, but spiritual sins have to do with our belief systems: the rejection of truth, defiance of God and the corruption of the conscience. If we allow our fleshly sins to run rampant, we will eventually defy God to His face, and our faith will erode to a set of doctrines that we affirm, and eventually even they will decompose, putrefy, dry to dust and blow with the wind. We think our body belongs to us, but according to the Bible it belongs to God, and if our body belongs to Him, then everything does. Essentially, we are borrowing our own bodies from God throughout this life, using it to either serve Him or deny Him. If we serve Christ in the body, He will give us a new body after this life has expired, at the First Resurrection, one that is far better than this one, but if we use our body to continually deny Him, He will deny us a place in His heavenly kingdom. We have been bought with the price of Jesus’ flesh and blood, and for this reason we are obligated to Him. We don’t do Him a favor by obeying Him; rather, we are only doing what we should (Lk 17,7-10). Jesus didn’t have to come and live among us in misery; He did it for us, and at the end of His life they tortured Him until hardly a drop of blood was left in his veins and hung Him on a cross to die. We were bought with a price; “Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1Cor 6-18 (22e) Lust (Key verse) – These are the definitions of greed, lust and pride: greed desires more, lust desires what it can’t have, and pride desires what it can't be. In all cases the word “desire” is present, and so greed, lust and pride can all be summarized by the term “evil desire.” Lust exists in the heart as temptation, and yielding to it produces sin, and once sin is conceived, something must die; that is a spiritual principle, and the thing that sin kills first is our conscience. (48h) Judgment >> Levels of judgment >> Judged according to your type of sin (134h) Immorality (Key verse) (192k) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Repent >> Stop practicing sin >> Run from sin – God wants us to be consistent in our walk with Him and in our faith and sincerity; in all aspects of our lives we are to stop sinning. We must use the years God has given us to overtake the curse in our lives one form of bondage at a time, until we become free from sin to serve Christ. Paul likened us to a lump of dough with no leaven in it, but if we put leaven at the center of the lump, the next day the entire lump of dough is leavened from the inside-out. If we use one body part to commit sin, it defiles our entire conscience, leading to other sins until the whole body is defiled, making us useless for any good work. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 6-19,20 (140c) Temple >> Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >> House where you live with Jesus (213d) Jesus Owns You (Key verse) (213k) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> Jesus owns you >> His will becomes our will >> We are bought with a price – As Christians we do not have absolute authority over what we do with our own bodies but the Lord does. We have a master who has authority over what we do, though more often we override His authority and just do what we want. Our whole purpose as Christians is to prove our love for God, and we do this by letting Him make the decisions in our lives as to how we will help establish His kingdom in this world. This chapter ends with the word “body.” This is what matters and it embodies the problem with the Corinthian Church, which was the church that that best typifies the church in America today; they didn’t use their bodies to glorify God. They were stubborn when it came to doing the will of God, yet they readily caved to the impulses of their flesh. (233g) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Do not seek the kingdom by the flesh – Our flesh only understands guilt and condemnation, being all our flesh will ever receive from God. The Bible speaks both to our spiritual mind and to our fleshly mind; the fleshly mind interprets the Scriptures as they are written, whereas the spiritual mind interprets the word of God as we will in heaven. When Paul speaks to our spirit, He speaks of faith, hope and love, though sometimes Scripture needs to speak to our flesh. When we think about the book of James, he spoke mostly to our flesh, and Paul also in this verse is telling our flesh to obey God as our spirit obeys Him. James didn’t speak much to our spirit, because he knew our spirit was already willing to obey God, but our flesh will obey Him only if we force it to comply. 1Cor 6-20 (233i) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> Seek His glory without wavering >> Seek His glory through obedience – A Christian’s relationship with his flesh is like a man with his dog. He walks his dog to a restaurant, but when he gets there, he must tether its leash to an outside poll and enter the restaurant alone, because dogs are not allowed in the building. In this analogy the man represents our spirit and the dog represents our flesh. While the man is in the restaurant, our flesh feels alone and abandoned. While he is eating (communing with God), he is wondering how his dog is doing. The dog that has never been properly trained is probably wreaking havoc, possibly gotten off its leash and chasing people and cats up and down the street, whereas the well trained dog waits patiently for his master to return. The man glorifies God in the body, but the body cannot glorify God because it is under the curse, for it is the spirit of man that has been redeemed and not the flesh. The fact that we make our bodies do God’s will honors Him, and when the man returns to retrieve his dog, he sees it has attracted a small crowd of pet lovers, and when he speaks to them, he hears their admiration, but the approval actually belongs to the man who diligently trained his dog to behave. See next page