In the Crossfire

1 Corinthians 6: Beware of the Spatula

1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?

2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?
4 If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge?

5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?

6 But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!

7 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?

8 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren!

9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,

10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.

15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!

16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”

17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.

19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. —1 Corinthians 6

Two Major Issues Paul is addressing in this chapter. Different but connected.

1. Christians taking their issues outside the Church when they should have worked towards resolution.
2. Christians doing what is lawful but what might not be helpful

Issue 1: Christians were taking each other to the Greek courts when they should have resolved the issues among themselves.

• These were NOT issues of criminality. Those issues need to go to court!

This was about two believers disagreeing and deciding to air their differences before the world rather than inviting God to bring resolution through His Church.

Why was this such a big problem? Christians are God’s people, saved by His grace. WE have the Spirit of God leading us into all wisdom and when matters cannot be resolved among two of us then we are to invite God’s people to help us. Each of us is to get God’s wisdom for our lives and we have a role in helping each other by His Spirit.

THis is why we cannot live and be guided by our flesh. We will either overreact and try and be too gracious or legalistic. We need the Spirit to guide us into the right approach for our own lives and in how we help others.

Issue 2: Christians were acting as if sex was just a physical act like eating food. They failed to see the difference between food and sex so they treated them the same. It’s just something “my body” wants so I feed it.

Paul goes on to express that sex is not just a physical act- it is the whole of a person being given over to another person. And if you are a Christian you are a member of God’s Body so you are linking Him to a sexual partner that is not your spouse.

God is NOT against sex. He designed sex in marriage between husband and wife. But outside of marriage we are not to link ourselves to another person sexually.

The Corinthians failed to separate between what is physical and what is spiritual. Food is physical; needed to sustain life but sex is something more. It was made by God for married couples and it is a spiritual thing as well as physical.