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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.

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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.

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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.

(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.

(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

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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

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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

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

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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.