Unity in Christ

Bottom line

We need to be more like Christ when it comes to disputes and sexuality.

Opening Line

We’re going to start this morning off with a little game of guess that acronym. The following are a bunch of church acronyms that were popular at one time or another.

Introduction

I’m going to put the acronym on the screen, and if you know what it stands for, shout it out. Everyone watching online, feel free to leave a comment

PUSH

pray until something happens

FROG

fully rely on God

GOLF

God Offers Love and Forgiveness

BIBLE

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth

JOY

Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last

FAITH

Forsaking All I Trust Him

GRACE

God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense

WWJD?

What Would Jesus Do?

Main Point

Now in recent years, the church has tried to move away from using these acronyms because nothing makes church feel more like an exclusive club then a bunch of acronyms only church people know.

The problem is that we’ve lost some easy to remember truths that every believer should be living by. Especially when it comes to the last one, WWJD? What would Jesus do in this situation? Now the caveat to that question is actually knowing your bible well enough to answer that question accurately. Which reminds me; how is the summer PRESS going? How many people are still going strong?

Why it matters

See the question of, “What would Jesus do?” is really the foundation of chapter 6. As Paul is continuing to address the Corinthians, you are going to see him use some harsh language. He is going to drive home an important point, and underlying all of his teaching are the very things that Jesus taught. He is continuing to remind the church that Christ is the only foundation that you can build your life on, and this is what it looks like. In chapter 5, it was a reminder to hold a higher standard when it comes to personal holiness. This morning, he is going to remind the church of what grace and freedom in Christ really looks like.

Scripture

So we are in 1 Corinthians 6, starting at verse 1. If you don’t have your Bible, it is on the app or on the screen for you to follow along. If you don’t have a Bible, please come talk to me or one of our church leaders and we would gladly fix that problem for you.

1 Corinthians 6:1–6 NLT

When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers! Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church? I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? But instead, one believer sues another—right in front of unbelievers!

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Paul kicks things off with some really strong language. How dare you file a lawsuit. I am saying this to shame you. Why is he using such strong language? Because there is a pride issue in the Corinthian church. Remember in chapter 5, they were proud of the fact they had this man in ther midst who was sleeping with his stepmother. In chapter 6, he is addressing the pride of having to sue a brother or sister in Christ over some injustice. Why would you sue someone? Because they have violated your rights or hurt you in some way and you are trying to get even, right? It is your right to get what’s yours. But remember, in God’s kingdom, you are called to something higher, something better.

So what is all this about judging the earth and angels? Well, in Revelation 20, we saw that during the 1000 year reign of Christ, the saints would rule over the earth along side Christ. But Revelation hasn’t been written yet, so where is Paul getting this idea? It actually comes from Daniel 7. I’m not going to put in up on the screen, but the prophet Daniel has a vision of someone like the son of man ruling on a throne, and the holy ones of God taking over the kingdom.

What about the angels? One commentator pointed out that when the Day of the Lord comes, and the angels who rebelled against God are thrown into the lake of fire, the saints will be there and ask, “Why? Why would you rebel against God after being in His presence for your whole existence?”

What is Paul’s point? He calling out the church, these Holy Spirit empowered people, to use the gifts of God, which includes wisdom, and settle these matters among themselves. The church is meant to be unified, yet taking a fellow believer to court shows division among God’s people.

He continues in the next verse:

1 Corinthians 6:7–8 NLT

Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers.

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This comes straight from Jesus’ teaching in Matthew and Luke.

Luke 6:27–31 NLT

“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

Luke 6:35–36 NLT

“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

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It would be better if you wronged and cheated because you have an eternal perspective, knowing that in the end God will make all things right. You may feel cheated in this life, but you will blessed in the life to come. It doesn’t mean you should be a bunch of pushovers. Settle disputes, let the wisdom of God resolve issues, but be willing to error on the side of being shorted, knowing that this treasure was never meant to last.

Then Paul elaborates on the idea of doing wrong.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 NLT

Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

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Here is more of that strong language. It is a repetition of what Paul said in chapter 5. If you claim to be a believer and participate in any of these things, you will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. And just so we are clear, this list is not exhaustive. It is intentionally vague so that anyone hearing it wouldn’t be able to say, “Well I’m clear because the vice I’m caught up in wasn’t listed.” No, if you know that what you’re doing is wrong, you need to stop it.

Now, I want to just touch on one thing briefly. Verse 9 has probably been one of the most hotly contested verse as of late. Does Paul really mean homosexuality, or is the original language suggesting something else? Let me just say this. I’m not a Greek expert, but I do know my Bible pretty well, and all through out Scripture it is pretty clear that God’s design for sex and marriage is between a man and woman, and anything outside of that is sin. It isn’t a translation issue, it is a whole context of scripture issue.

I do want to emphasize verse 11. Paul recognizes and reminds the church that before Jesus, before their confession of faith and the Holy Spirit filled them for the first time, many people were caught up in these actions. But look what has happened in their lives, and what happened in your life when you called on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You were cleansed of your sin, you were made holy, which is another way of saying you were set apart for God’s plans, and you were made right with God. Before, you were an enemy of God. Now you have been made right with Him.

If you have your bible, highlight, underline, asterisk, do whatever you need to do to remember this verse. The reason I want you mark it is because you have a spiritual enemy that will try to make you question each of those things. You will stumble, you will fall and make mistakes, but these things will never change. I especially want you to remember this truth when you don’t feel it. Our world puts so much emphasis on our feelings, but God’s truth trumps feelings, and this is the truth. You are cleansed of your sin, you are made holy, and you are made right with God, and someone should saying amen right now! Come on people!

Continuing on

1 Corinthians 6:12–14 NLT

You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.

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“I am allowed to do anything” is something that Paul is going to come back to often. This is more of that misunderstanding of how grace actually works. The mindset here is that as a believer, you can continue to sin because Jesus is going to forgive me anyways. I have been set free, and in the world freedom means I can make my own decisions and enjoy life. Why would I restrict myself from any of the pleasures of this life?

Here’s why: Your body wasn’t actually made for food, its not made for sexual pleasure, it was made for God. In fact, God cares about your body. He cares about it enough that he is going to raise it one day, just like he rose Jesus. Your body was made to honour the Lord

1 Corinthians 6:15–17 NLT

Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

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Not only was your body made for the Lord, but when you declared Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you became united with Christ in Spirit. You became part of his body here on earth. This is a metaphor Paul is going to use a lot, and this is the point he is trying to make. Would Jesus sleep with a prostitute? That very idea creates a violent reaction in me, and it should in you. No, of course not, how could anyone suggest such a thing?

Which is Paul’s point: If Jesus wouldn’t do it, why would you? You who has been united with Christ by the Holy Spirit. If you, who are a part of Christ’s body, does something wrong, in this case something sexually immoral, it is the same as if Christ would do it. If Jesus wouldn’t do it, then neither should you.

So what is the response?

1 Corinthians 6:18–20 NLT

Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

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What should you do? Run, flee, get away from it as quickly as possible!

You were bought at a high price, you belong to Jesus. This is Paul’s way of recalibrating the church’s understanding of grace. It’s not that you have been set free to keep on sinning. By God’s grace, you have been set free from sin, which made you a slave, so that you can do with your body what your body was made for, and that is honoring God. True freedom is the ability to serve God and honor him without sin trying to pull you away.

Transition to Application

By grace, you have been set free, and in your freedom, you can now honour God the way you were created to do.

Main To Do

This week, I want you to memorize verse 11. I want you to make it your lock screen, stick on your mirror with a sticky note or whatever you need to do to keep it in front of you.

Why it matters

I believe verse 11 is the best way to practice everything we have talked about this morning. Watch this. You have been cleansed. That means any sexual immorality in your past has been wiped clean, and by the power of Jesus’ blood, any immorality that may be lingering in your life is cut off. You have been cleansed, so live like cleansed people.

You have been made right with God, and what else matters in this life? So what if someone has wronged you? So what if someone is holding onto an offense after you’ve tried to ammend it? You have been made right with God, and that is all that matters. He will do the good work of convicting and healing the brokeness.

You have been made holy. You no longer have to be weighed down by the concerns of this world because God has called you to something more. You are part of something bigger then yourself, so don’t settle for the temporary ways of the world. Set your sights on the things of God.

Memorize this verse, and make an intentional effort to put it into practice each day. Let the truth sink in, especially on the days you don’t feel particularly holy or clean. Let the truth guide you.

Closing Line

By your confession of faith, when you called on the name of the Lord Jesus, you were cleansed, made holy and made right with God. Live in light of that truth.

Discussion Questions

What stood out from the message?

What steps can you take to memorize and meditate on verse 11 throughout the week?

How can we apply the principle of 'What would Jesus do?' in our daily interactions, especially in disputes with others?

How does the concept of our bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit impact the choices you make concerning your life?

What does it mean to you personally to be made holy and right with God after accepting Christ?