1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 6:1-11:
“Suing Brothers/What We’re Saved From”
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study we looked at Paul’s exhortation to the church in
Corinth concerning church discipline
1.1.1. We saw that we have now
reached the point in the book where we are dealing with the issue that probably
most grieved Paul, and all that he had previously written in the book had been
built in order for him to deal with that very delicate yet critical issue in
the church
1.1.2. We saw when we first began
our study of this book that Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians with many
tears, for his heart had been broken because the Corinthian church had become
so hardened in their heart against the Lord.
This hardness was seen in the factions that the church was involved in
as well as in their allowing a certain man in their fellowship to continue in
fellowship with them while living a lifestyle that was very far from honoring
the Lord
1.1.2.1.This man was living with his
father’s wife and thus he was committing two sins, sexual immorality
(fornication) and incest.
1.1.2.2.The Jewish law forbid the
sin of incest saying that a man who lived with his father’s wife should be put
to death
1.1.2.3.Likewise, even the Greeks
had a law against incest, and thus this man was even offending the
non-believers in Corinth
1.1.2.4.It was to Paul’s horror that
a man who was living in this way was a part of the fellowship in Corinth, and
worst of all the church didn’t see any problem with his living this way
1.1.3. Likewise, we saw that there
are some sins which if we allow them in our life, they will eventually destroy any hope of a walk with
God.
1.1.4. We looked at how Paul wrote
to them to avoid “sexual immorality”, which means any sex that a person has
outside of monogamous marriage
1.2.
In our study today we are going to look at Paul’s exhortation to the
church in Corinth because of their suing each other, then we are going to look
at what God has saved us from as Christians
1.2.1. The people in the church in
Corinth were selfish and greedy and even defrauding each other in the worldly
courts of law
1.2.1.1.This was a very bad witness
of Christian character to the world
1.2.1.2.Paul rebukes them saying
they should take matters which they cannot resolve between them before the
church to mediate, or they should just allow themselves to be wronged
1.2.2. Paul reverts to his previous
theme from chapter 5 involving sexual immorality and begins to explain to them
that a Christian is one who has been saved from the lifestyles of sin that
characterize those in the world
1.2.2.1.We as Christians are people
who have come to place our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, believing as
the scripture teaches that His death upon the cross is full payment for our
sins. We’ve asked Jesus to come into
hearts and lives, and He has come into us and regenerated us (we’ve been born
again). But, we have also repented of
our sins, that is, we’ve told God that we were going to willing to be obedient
to Him and His plan for our lives.
Thus, we have surrendered our plans, our future, our hopes, our dreams,
etc. into His hands and vowed to be people who will do His will in our lives. Here in our study today, we see that the
apostle Paul begins to outline the conduct that we as Christians are to carry
on in our lives. He speaks in relation
to brothers suing each other in the courts of law, and in regard to the sinful
activities that God has delivered each of us from
1.2.2.2.As I mentioned in our last
study as well as perhaps a previous one, if we Christians are to have our lives
be pleasing to the Lord and do the things that the Lord wants us to be doing,
then there are some things in our lives that we are going to have to flee like
the plague, and there are other things that we are going to have to pay close
attention to doing
1.2.2.3.As Christians it is also
important that we realize that God has a commission for us on this earth, a
purpose, and as part of that purpose He has called each of us to be His witnesses
to this lost and dying world around us, a world that is going to go to Hell if
they do not receive Christ in this life.
Therefore, it is important that we Christians try to live our lives in
such a way that we will be that salt and light in this world so that by our
actions people might be drawn to our Savior
2.
VS 6:1 - “6:1
Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go
to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?” - Paul begins
chapter 6 by rebuking the Corinthian church for their habit of suing one
another
2.1.
Many
who had come into the church in Corinth had kept some of their BC (before
Christ) bad habits, including suing people.
It was the habit of some of the people in the church to take one another
to court and sue them for all kinds of reasons.
2.1.1. The people in this very
wealthy metropolis of Corinth were very greedy and selfish, and for the most
part would take any advantage of each other any way that they could.
2.1.2. Many of the Corinthians were
still carrying the baggage of these worldly attitudes which they had before
coming to Christ.
2.2.
Paul
asks the church how they could ‘dare’ to take their “neighbor”, meaning “fellow
Christian”, to court and sue them, and that before non-Christian lawyers,
juries, and judges?
2.2.1. Paul saw this behavior as
being very brazen and bold and an affront to the love, mercy, and grace of
Jesus which they had received from Him.
After all, how could we who have come to know Jesus who gave everything
in His life for us all the way up to going to the cross of Calvary to die for
our sins, hold onto the things in our life and assert to the letter our legal
rights? How could we refuse to allow
ourselves to be wronged by others after how badly our Lord had freely allowed
Himself to be wronged by men?
2.3.
This
practice of suing each other brought a very bad light upon the church and
compromised their witness to the non-Christians in Corinth. When they should have been a witness of the
“agape” love among brothers and sisters in Christ, instead they were treating
them as any other non-Christian would treat someone.
2.4.
Paul
tells the church that they should bring their unresolved disputes before the
church to resolve because resolving these will bring a better witness to the
world, and it would also be good for the church for it would allow God’s people
to exercise godly wisdom and “agape” love to govern their actions.
2.5.
Let
me ask the question outright though, “Does it really matter to you what people
think of your Christian witness?” It
should matter to you, that is, if you love Jesus and really appreciate what
your salvation cost him.
2.5.1. Do your actions preach the
gospel to non-Christians? I believe it
was Augustine who said, “Preach the gospel at all times, if necessary
use words”.
2.5.2. People here in America today
are “sue-happy”, for as they see the huge multi-million dollar judgments that
can potentially be granted, it breeds greed in people’s hearts.
2.5.2.1.I think of the man who sued
McDonald’s because their coffee was served too hot and he had spilled some on
his lap. He won a settlement of over a
million dollars.
2.5.2.2.There was another incident
where a man sued an insurance company for not paying him an amount of less than
$10 which he was owed. The jury was so
incensed at the insurance company that they awarded the man a multi-million
dollar settlement, I believe.
2.5.2.3.Our culture here in America
is similar in some ways to the Corinthian culture in Paul’s day, for the
affluence and prosperity of the people had produced a great amount of
greed. In America, Christians come into
the church today with the baggage of their greed from their BC (before-Christ)
days, and thus many Christians sue each other even in our time.
2.5.3. Many of those who are suing
others in our country today are Christians, and therefore Paul’s exhortation to
resolve or take disputes with brothers and sisters before the church is timely
and ought to be heeded.
2.5.3.1.Each of us as Christians
must try to resolve our conflicts with other Christians in order to keep a brother
or a sister.
2.5.3.2.Having walked with Christ
now for almost 29 years I have come to realize the importance of trying to keep
friendships in this world, especially with brothers and sisters in the
Lord. What a sad thing it is to break
fellowship with a brother or sister in the Lord. Friendships in Christ should last a lifetime, and what a blessing
it is when they do.
2.5.3.3.We should also try to keep a
good testimony before the world. If
matters cannot be worked out between Christians, then they ought to bring their
case before the church leaders for arbitration and counsel.
2.5.3.3.1.I believe that even with the
church the way it is today, with all of the various denominations and belief
systems, that the church can and should still arbitrate legal matters between
Christians.
2.5.3.4.If we Christians followed
this exhortation today we would be better witnesses to this world of Christ’s
love.
3.
VS 6:2 - “6:2
Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you
not competent to constitute the
smallest law courts?” - Paul chides the Corinthians asking them if they are capable to
constitute the smallest law courts?
3.1.
Paul
reminds the Corinthians that God’s design in His coming kingdom is to have the
saints involved in some way in judging the world.
3.2.
Scripture
doesn’t provide us the knowledge concerning the scope of how God will use the
saints to judge the world in the future, but we have His testimony that they
will.
3.2.1. This may refer to the coming
day of Judgment, the Great White Throne of Judgment, where all non-believers
will be judged and then thrown into the Lake of Fire that burns for eternity.
3.2.2. It could just refer to what
the scripture teaches about the saints reigning with Him in His Millennial
Kingdom.
3.3.
Paul
tells the Corinthians that if it is the case that the saints shall judge the
world to come, then they must be capable to judge the simplest of matters here
and now in this world.
3.4.
We
Christians need to be confident in the fact that we have been given the mind of
Christ, and therefore we can judge things with His wisdom. We need to take to heart what Paul wrote in 2
Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power,
and of love, and of a sound mind”.
4.
VS 6:3 - “6:3
Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, matters of this life?”
- Paul tells the Corinthians that the
church will judge angels
4.1.
God
has given His saints a special place in the world to come. He says that we shall even be greater in
glory and responsibility than the angels.
4.2.
Here
Paul reveals that God is going to entrust even the judging of angels to the
saints.
5.
VS 6:4-7 - “6:4
If then you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you
appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? I say this
to your shame. Is it so, that there is
not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but
brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? 6:7
Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with
one another. Why not rather be
wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?” - Paul asks
the Corinthians if there is not one among them who can judge between his
brethren?
5.1.
Due
to the manner in which the church in Corinth handled issues that would arise,
Paul is using a bit of sarcasm to rebuke the Corinthians in these verses. He asks them two questions here:
5.1.1. If the church were to
appoint men to judge between matters of this life, would they appoint as judges
the ones in the church who are the least mature and spiritual?
5.1.1.1.This reflects poorly of
their wisdom and judgment.
5.1.2. Could they not find one man
amongst them who would be able to judge a case between brothers in the
church?
5.2.
Paul
says that they ought to be ashamed that they have not felt that there was one
wise mature brother among them who could judge and arbitrate between brothers
and sisters in disputes.
5.2.1. Paul said this because he
knew that God can give wisdom even to the weakest and least mature of
believers, if they will just seek him for it, for we know that James 1:5-7
teaches this, “5 If any of you lacks wisdom,
he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it
will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must
believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown
and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he
will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man,
unstable in all he does”.
5.2.2. If any of us needs wisdom in
order to make some decision or understand some truth, we ought to go straight
to the Lord and ask Him to reveal the wisdom He wants us to have. If we ask in faith, we shall receive what we
are asking for.
5.3.
Paul
tells the Corinthians that they have already suffered a defeat if they sue a
brother or a sister. They have compromised
their testimony and they have not walked in love with their brothers.
5.4.
In
many cases it would be better off for God’s kingdom and the well-being of a
brother or a sister who is considering suing a fellow Christian to just let the
brother or sister have something that they know rightfully belongs to them,
rather than take the brother or sister to a law court.
5.4.1. I have to say that God has
placed a few men in my life who have been an example of those who were willing
to be defrauded by others rather than affirm their rights or resort to legal
avenues. The attitude of these men has
been that it is just not worth it to pursue this kind of retribution.
5.5.
If
we Christians are to walk as Christ walked, and commanded that we walk, then we
must give up all of our rights to God.
We must also allow ourselves to be taken advantage of while refusing to
be revengeful in heart or deed. This is
what Jesus said we should do in Matt. 5:38-48,38 "You have heard that
it was said, `Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' 39 But I tell you, Do not
resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him
the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue
you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you to go
one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks
you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. 43 "You have heard that it
was said, `Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your
Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends
rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love
you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your
brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as
your heavenly Father is perfect”.
5.5.1. Jesus said that we are not
to resist an evil person, however that does not mean that we do not use common
sense and discernment.
6.
VS 6:8 - “6:8
On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud, and that your brothren.” - Paul
tells the Corinthians that instead of taking matters to the church they are
instead defrauding their own brothers and sisters in Christ
6.1.
The
Corinthians were wronging and defrauding the brethren through their law suits.
7.
VS 6:9-10 - “6:9
Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of
God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor
revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” - Paul
tells the Corinthians that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God
7.1.
In
verse 9 here, Paul shifts gears and reverts to his previous theme from chapter
5. It is as if in the midst of the
topic he was developing in chapter 5 that Paul put a parenthesis in there with
this teaching regarding not suing brothers.
Paul now begins again to teach the Corinthians the importance of living
a life that pleases the Lord, forsaking all ways of sin.
7.2.
Again,
a Christian is one who has repented of his sin and told the Lord that he is
willing to do whatever He wants him to do.
Thus, we Christians must be people who now are trying to find out what
the Lord wants of us, as we seek to know those things that the Lord would have
us both to do, and not to do.
7.3.
I
remember 1973 when I first accepted Christ at the age of 18, being a typical
kid of the hippie generation of the 60’s and 70’s. I had committed my life to Christ and told Him that I would do
whatever He wanted me to do in my life, however I didn’t have a clue really
what that might mean. I knew murder and
adultery was wrong, but I really didn’t know much beyond that. It was then as I daily read God’s word that
He revealed to me the things that did and did not please Him. It has been a long journey since that time
seeking to know the things that please the Lord.
7.4.
Paul
had been expounding in chapter 5 about how that Christians should avoid sexual
immorality, and now he again takes up that topic in these verses. God created the sexual relationship, and He
created it to be enjoyed by a man and a woman.
Sexual intercourse in marriage brings two people to the height of
intimacy and is actually part of the two becoming one flesh. To have sex outside of marriage causes
people to be dehumanized. When Siamese
Twins are born they are connected together at birth, and sometimes there is an
effort to cut them apart. Many times
one or both will die if they are not cut apart. Sometimes both will die if they are cut apart. However, Siamese Twins cannot be cut apart
without great harm occurring to both people.
This illustrates I believe what happens when people divorce as well as
when people have sex outside of marriage.
Both people are damaged and dehumanized in the process. Inside of marriage the sexual relationship is
to be enjoyed and brings great oneness and enjoyment to a man and woman.
7.5.
Paul
tells the Corinthians that the ‘unrighteous’, which is a word which refers to
non-believers, will not inherit the kingdom of God. Those who “continually” practice the deeds of unrighteousness
shall not be permitted entrance into God’s kingdom.
7.5.1. Many of the Corinthians used
to practice some of the deeds of unrighteousness which currently typify the
lives of unbelievers, but they had repented of those works.
7.5.2. As I mentioned in the last
message, there is a difference between doing a sinful act, and “continually”
doing a sinful act. God will forgive
our sins if we are willing to forsake them for Him, confess and repent of our
sins. However, the people who refuse to
part with their sins are the ones who are going to be refused entrance to
heaven. In these verses Paul is
speaking about “habitual sin”, and that those who are habitually
committing these sins are the ones who will be excluded from heaven.
7.6.
Because
the Corinthians were lacking greatly in spiritual discernment as to what was
right and wrong, in this book Paul enumerates many deeds that are not pleasing
to the Lord:
7.6.1. fornicators: those who
practice any kind of sex outside of the bond of marriage.
7.6.2. idolaters: those who
bow the knee to gods other than the One true God as well as those adolatrous
things which occupy the heart, where the Lord should be first.
7.6.3. adulterers: those who
have sexual relations with someone besides their own spouse.
7.6.4. effeminate: those who
dress or act in any way like those of the opposite sex.
7.6.4.1.Deut. 22:5 says, “A woman must
not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God
detests anyone who does this”.
Death was the sentence for those who violated this law. This word includes in its definition those
who are transvestites and transsexuals.
7.6.5. homosexuals: those who
have sexual relations with those of the same sex.
7.6.6. thieves: those who practice stealing from others.
7.6.7. covetous: those who desire the things that others
have, as well as those who are living for the material possessions and
attainments of this life.
7.6.8. drunkards: those whose
habit it is of getting drunk.
7.6.9. revilers: those who injure others through their harsh,
false, or deceitful words.
7.6.10. swindlers: those who
use any kind of fraud to deceive others out of their possessions.
7.7.
If
we who call ourselves Christians are practicing the deeds of those who are
non-believers, then we ought to do what Paul tells the church to do, “Examine yourselves
as to whether or not you are in the faith”.
8.
VS 6:11 - “6:11
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 Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.”
- Paul reminds the Corinthians that
they used to be those who practiced those sins
8.1.
A
Christian is one who is a sinner, yet the guilt of his sin has been washed
away, and the Lord has “sanctified”, or set him apart unto God as a holy thing
for His purpose
8.1.1. For a person to have become
a Christian and yet to habitually be committing these sins is a contradiction
in terms, for a Christian is one who has died to self, been sanctified by God,
regenerated, made a new creature in Christ, and washed from all sin.
8.1.2. What a blessing it is to
know that our sins are washed away through the blood of Jesus. There is no religion which has this kind of
blessed hope which we as Christians have.
8.2.
However,
the Lord has also “justified” us as Christians.
8.2.1. This is a word that means to
be made (“just as if I’d never sinned”) through the blood of Christ.
8.2.2. It was our sins that once
separated us from God, from knowing Him personally, from having our spirit
regenerated and placed back into connection with His Spirit, and from having
eternal life. Now as a Christian, God
has removed our sins, but He has done much more than this, He has made our
relationship with Him such that it is like it would be if we had never sinned
in the first place.
8.2.2.1.To illustrate how wonderful
this is I’ll use the illustration of a man and wife. Imagine that a man hit his wife and caused her much pain and
suffering, both physically and emotionally.
The woman may eventually forgive her husband, however the memory of what
he did and the pain from that may be such that though she forgives her husband
that she will not treat her husband for a long time, or perhaps forever, the
way that she treated him before he hit her.
This is not the way that the Lord deals with us, for when He removes our
sin He restores our relationship to as if it would be if we had never sinned in
the first place. This is what it means
to be ‘justified’.
8.2.3. A Christian will never face
the judgment of God because of sin in his life, and in fact God will never
again bring up a believer’s sin to him again.
Rather, God poured out the full wrath of His wrath against sin on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thus the work of Christ in the believer’s life is so
effective that it removes any trace of the effects of our sin from the
Lord.
8.3.
The
Christian has been justified “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” which means
that he has been made just in God’s sight through Christ’s work.
8.4.
God’s
“name” stands for everything that He is.
A Christian has been justified in or through the agency and influence of
“the Spirit of our God”.