1 Corinthians 6:1-20
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.
Where there is a failure between individuals, there is a need for a resolution to make it right. In the world, this is carried out based upon a secular system of justice, where man-written laws are the basis for judgment before a judge and group of fellow citizens. This process in a secular society has become a means for hypersensitivity, where every little violation is a reason to not only claim personal harm, but gain retribution and remuneration from the offending party. The lawyers and judges, those schooled in the intricacies of this system, are leaned upon for their “wisdom” to bring about justice where harm has been done. These are the ones that have possibly benefited the most, not legitimately seeking truth, but leveraging available information to win the side of their client, whether guilty or not. Courts are overrun with those bringing their differences before sketchy characters and then trusting their “wisdom” in judgment.
While this is maybe the best the world can come up with, resulting in very questionable decisions as much as right ones, there is another way Paul is crying out for to be utilized by those who have experienced the love and mercy of God. To be justified by God should do something to our sensitivity to failures against us. Rather than running to secular courts to resolve perceived mistreatment, there should be those who are schooled in the ways of grace to whom we could go for counsel about forgiveness on the side of the offended, and accountability and responsibility on the side of the offender. Instead of looking for every little reason to cast blame and obtain some kind of gain, hearts that have truly received the mercy of God should be offloading all the blaming with a desire for recovery/salvation rather than condemnation. Those living in offensive ways will become considerate of how those actions impact fellow body members. As it is, there is rarely consideration of spiritual leaders as counselors for conflicts, and therefore steps are taken that don’t remotely reflect the wisdom of God and the blessing that would come from His higher ways. Any harm done to each other and any retaliation to that harm bring shame and devastation to the same body we are joined to. Our obligation, then, should be to a much higher cause than self-preservation and betterment over others. It should be to the building up of the body that will require disregard for shortcomings with a vision for the building up of God’s kingdom over ours. Justice should prevail with a much better motive than self-gratification. Any time anyone is damaged, it brings damage to the whole.
I saw these verses in a different way today, one that is challenging and a little toe stepping, but here it is.
It’s been a good while since I’ve struggled with sexual sin; I’ve been married a long time! But how I saw these verses this morning was so much bigger than just sexual sins against my body. This body that I have been given, while far from perfect, IS, in fact, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and as such I need to be caring for it for what it is. Am I? Am I eating the way that I should to care for it correctly? Am I getting the rest that I should so it can regenerate? Am I hydrating enough that my cells are satisfied? Well, let’s just say, that’s a hard no.
I think we can so easily see these verses and think we are above those sins and we are golden… but if we look to the base of what Paul is saying, to the care and stewardship of our bodies, I know that I for one, sure have room that I need to correct and grow in
Video Comment