1st Corinthians 6

Recap CH 5

Okay so Last Wednesday we went through some questions regarding chapter 5

now Paul is going down the list of issues that are plaguing the church of Corinth

Last week it was spiritual pride within the church

the spiritual pride of excusing sin instead of dealing with sin

a man was sleeping with his step mother and still serving or leading within the church

He was a man potentially of importance

regardless of who he was , his sin was excused and was actually viewed as not a big deal

the men and women of the church thought that they were spiritually mature by letting the sin happen , they excused the sin that was in this mans life

but they were actually very spiritually immature because the sin that was being overlooked by fake grace , was hurting the people around them and causing more division

now here in chapter 6 we are going to cover another one of the topics/ issues the church of Corinth was dealing with

That other issue is suing another believer

so the church of Corinth goes from divisions, to moral dishonesty , and from moral dishonesty to suing each-other within the church

man this church was really messed up

but that is what happens when the focal point in any church is anything but JESUS !

Colossians 1:17 “17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”

without the recognition of God in a church we are going to have issues just like the church of Corinth

now i know that every church has issues , but with out God these issues get a-lot worst

without spiritually mature leaders these issues continue within the church like the issue of this man sleeping with his stepmom

with out God , things are not held together within the church

so lets dive into chapter 6

1st Corinthians Chapter 6

1 Corinthians 6:1 “1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?”

okay so in this first verse Paul is calling the church of Corinth out now for running to the public courts to sue one another

now this, as christians is contrary to what we believe when it comes to having issues with one another

Paul in this verse is saying why would you go to the court of Law full of unbelievers and have them judge your matter before going to the other believers to try and resolve the issue

as believers we are encouraged to work out issues that can stay out of a court of Law

now that does not mean we cant use a form of Law to help in a matter but why would we allow someone outside judge us here on the inside

for example , some people going through a divorce can handle that situation without going to actual court

they can have someone who is called an arbitrator mediate the divorce ( expound ) Use a story

so yes there are christian arbitrators out there that can help with certain issues

Paul here specifically is talking about running straight to the court

so back in these days the people of Greek origin loved court issues , they found it entertaining

so when a believer had a dispute that was taken to the court it would be put on display for everyone to see

kind of Like Judge Judy on TV ( expound )

Its embarrassing to see that stuff , not only that everything that is taken to the court is exposed

so now you have people who are suppose to view you as a christian viewing you as a weirdo, i mean who knows what the courts were dealing with

but how weird for everyone to know everything

thats why its important to deal with the issues they had or we have on the inside

think of what that does to the unbeliever looking in

disputes within the church should be disputed like brothers, not adversaries

1 Corinthians 6:2 “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?”

1 Corinthians 6:3 “3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?”

so as believers we will Judge the world and we will also judge the angels

because of christ and the work he did on the cross , we become righteous because of Him, we sit behind him and partake in the things he will do ( so we will judge the world and the angels)

so what Paul is saying is, if we are to Judge the world, and judge the angels , then why cant we deal with the issues we have with one another amongst ourselves

1 Corinthians 6:4 “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?”

1 Corinthians 6:5 “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?”

why would we go outside the church to those who are not respected and have them judge one of us or one of our brothers ? ( it makes no sense) Expound

is there not someone wise enough among you/ us who can judge between the brothers ( they didn’t have wisdom in this church, they had become carnal )

now as believers we are given a wisdom that is far greater than any wisdom the world has to offer

and its through the fear of the Lord

so we have God on our side to help us judge situations and circumstances so why would we ever go to a court and have them decide for us ?

it makes no sense

even those among us who are least esteemed within the church are people we should go to rather that a court of Law

Godly wisdom is far greater than earthly worldly wisdom

1 Corinthians 6:6 “6 But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!”

brothers going to the law against each-other is not good , it never ends well

think of the impact it has on you, and those around you we brothers are suing each-other

and then we are suppose to call ourselves christians ?

1 Corinthians 6:7 “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?”

sometimes when we are wronged , and wronged worthy of Judgement , its okay to turn the other cheek

its okay to allow ourselves to be cheated for the sake of the relationship in christ

if we go to court over a matter that can be handled from within with biblical wisdom , we are losing

the church should be able to settle disputes and if they fail at settling the disputes than we should be mature enough to know that God will handle the situation for us

our rights are not above the Kingdom of God !

yes sometimes we have to take an L , but we are never truly taking an L because Gods got us !

Matthew 5:39–41 NKJV

39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

it is better to lose money and possessions over losing a brother and a testimony

1 Corinthians 6:8 “8 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren!”

speaking to the man that did wrong , Paul is rebuking him here in this verse

the people that were going to court and disgracing the name of the Lord here in ch 6 were no different than the man disgracing the name of the lord in ch 5 sleeping with his Step mom

1 Corinthians 6:9 “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,”

1 Corinthians 6:10 “10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”

again here Paul is addressing the man with the problem

he is living an unrighteous life, a life contrary to the lord

unrighteous people do not inherit the kingdom of God

Not only is he living a life that is unrighteous , but his unrighteous life is categorized amongst those that are , fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards revilers, and extortioners

He is no better and his sin is not any less than these people

Sin is sin

James 2:10 “10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”

wether we tell a white lie, wether we sue one another , wether we live in sexual sin, if someone is living a homosexual relationship, its all sin

if we sin with one, we sin with all

sin is not to be singled out by christians either because sin is equally bad, and sin is equally committed

1 Corinthians 6:11 “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.”

Titus 3:5 “5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,”

Acts 22:16 “16 And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’”

Hebrews 10:10 “10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

John 17:19 “19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”

Romans 3:24 “24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”

Romans 3:28 “28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”

Though these sins are categorized and listed, its important to understand that some of them, some of you , me all of us were at one point unrighteous

we have been justified through christ and through the work on the cross

these sins that Paul has listed are sins that we should ask for forgiveness, if we are partaking in them

and for those that don’t know Jesus that partake and practice those sins, Its important for us as believers to continue to love on those sinners

thats what Paul was saying

its important for us to share Jesus with them

its important for us to not forget where we came from

we were once sinners , destined for Hell !

Matthew 1:21 “21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.””

these people need to hear the Gospel

they need Jesus in there Life

- So Again the whole idea behind this Chapter in the first 11 verses is to not stoop down to a level where it is brother against brother

We should be helping each-other even when one of us is wrong and the other is right

we should be loving one another looking past the sin that was committed toward us

and we should remember where we came from because we too were once lost in sin like this man here in chapter 6