Additional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians – Part 1
1COR 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
I believe that Christians should be a very thankful people. Paul here is thankful and prays to God thanking Him for the grace that had been given to the Corinthian believers. Paul was not only thankful for what God had done for him. Paul was also thankful for what God had done for others. He thanked God on behalf of the Corinthian’s. And notice who Paul gives all the credit to. “for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;”
1COR 1:5 That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
It is Jesus who gives us grace. It is He who does the work in our lives. We ought to never think too highly of ourselves. Without Jesus we can do nothing. When He does a work of grace in our lives or in the life of someone else (no matter how big or small) we should realize that God is the one that did it. Everything we have is because of Him. We need to realize our great dependence upon Him, and then act accordingly. And we should never forget to tell Him thank you both for what He has done in our lives and for what He has done in the lives of others.
1COR 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
In my opinion this is what is sometimes called a mountain top verse. God is faithful. What a wonderful truth. Whatever God promises you can absolutely count on Him doing because God is faithful!
God says you have eternal life if you believe with a repentant heart and call upon Him to save you. So you cannot lose your salvation because God is faithful! God says He will never leave you. So you can count on it because God is faithful! You can count on all things working together for good if you love God and are called according to His purpose.
You can count on Jesus coming back.
You can count on God one day throwing that awful wicked Satan into a lake of fire.
You can count on God hearing your prayers.
You can trust God with your soul.
You can count on every single promise in the Bible.
Simply put, you can count on God because He is faithful! Amen and Amen!
1COR 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1COR 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1COR 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
No matter what we accomplish we are not to glory in His presence. The reason is that without Him we can do nothing.
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
It is only thru Him that we can truly do anything that will matter for eternity. It is only because He went to the cross and saved us. It is His righteousness and His redemption. It is His work and He only allows us the privilege of being used as a tool.
1COR 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1COR 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
God has chosen the foolish and the weak to confound the wise and mighty. This way He gets all the glory. He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Let us be always mindful that whatever success we have in serving Christ is only because of Him. It is His work done in His Power. Give all the praise and glory to Him.
1COR 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1COR 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Paul did not preach with enticing words. He did not use man’s wisdom. Instead he preached the Word of God. But there was more involved. Paul said that he preached in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Verses 10-14 sheds light on this.
1COR 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
The Holy Spirit speaks to the hearts of men. One of His jobs is to teach us.
Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Paul knew that it was more important to rely on the Holy Spirit to do the teaching. Sure Paul was used as a tool to deliver words to the ears, but for preaching to be in power it is the Holy Spirit who needs to be at work in the hearts and minds of men. He has to open the eyes and bring the conviction.
1COR 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Many will make the mistake and think for preaching to be powerful that it must contain a lot of yelling. That is not the case. Yelling is not power. Without the Holy Spirit working thru the preaching it is empty of power.
Paul wanted the results of his preaching to be in the power of God. He wanted real change to be made in the lives of the people he preached to. He realized that it is God who must do the work.
1COR 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
The Holy Spirit is many things to the believer. He is our comforter, He helps us pray, and He brings conviction just to name a few. The Holy Spirit is very active in our lives, and in verse 13 we see another one of the Holy Spirit’s jobs. He teaches. It is the Holy Spirit who illuminates the scriptures to believers. This is why the lost man cannot understand the Bible correctly. They don’t have God the Spirit speaking to their hearts in that still small voice as they read the scriptures.
We also know that the Spirit can be grieved by a believer. Christians can also backslide and harden their hearts. This will greatly hamper their efforts to study the bible because they are grieving the Holy Spirit who is the teacher! I have seen good men go way off course in their Bible study because they were lifted up in pride. God resists the proud.
All too often we forget our reliance upon the Holy Spirit in Bible study. If you want to get more out of your study, pray to God that His Spirit will teach you. Come to the Bible with a humble spirit and in prayer and let Him illuminate the scriptures for you. The Holy Spirit is a better teacher than a dictionary, or a commentary. Now, don’t misunderstand me. Those are good tools and they have their place. I use them myself. What I am talking about is priority. We should not put a tool like a dictionary above, or in replacement for, letting God teach us.
And don’t leave prayer out of Bible study, and come to the Bible with the right heart. A heart that is prepared to be taught.
1COR 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
This is a key verse in understanding why there is so much false teaching out there. Here is one of the answers why some teach the Bible the exact opposite of someone else.
The answer is that the Bible is spiritually discerned. A lost man does not have the new spiritual nature that is received at salvation. Without the Holy Spirit the Bible is a closed book to them. Speaking of the scriptures the Bible says, “neither can he know them”
It is impossible for a man who is not born again to understand the scriptures. Therefore his teaching will be wrong.
For example, a Catholic who believes in a works salvation, and thereby is not saved, cannot understand the scriptures. That is why their teaching does not line up with the Bible. In fact most of what they teach is tradition and not the Bible. I can understand why they rely so much on tradition and not the Bible. They cannot understand the Bible.
So what about saved men who teach strange things?
The answer here is they are grieving the spirit. The Bible is spiritually discerned. Not only do you have to be saved, but you also must rely on the leading of the Holy Spirit to understand the Bible. You need Him to shed His light upon the scriptures.
So if a man is living in sin, his teaching is going to be off the mark. Not separating from the world is sin. Friendship with the world is sin.
Jam 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
If a man of God is to properly understand the Bible, he must not be a friend with the world. This includes a lot of things; the worlds wicked entertainment, drinking the Devils Booze or listening to the Devils music.
But instead of separating from the world, many preachers bring the world’s rock-n-roll music into God’s house. When they do this, they are living in sin. This grieves the spirit and without proper light they make mistakes in their teaching.
This explains much of the false teaching of the health and wealth preachers today. This explains the false teaching of tongues, slaying in the spirit, and that God wants every Christian to have a Lexus and so on.
If you want good Biblical teaching, don’t go to lost men and don’t listen to saved men who are not separated from the world. This also explains why good men also make mistakes from time to time. All preachers and teachers can have a bad day. Some days we are more spirit led than other days.
We need to give some allowance for a few rare small mistakes. No one should leave a church because the preacher make a few small rare mistakes. Major mistakes and or consistent mistakes are a different matter.
1COR 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1COR 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1COR 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
The believers that Paul was writing to were still as babes in Christ. They were not growing as they should. Paul fed them with milk and not meat because they were not able to bear it. And he says that they still were not able to bear it. You feed a human baby milk because he will choke if you try to feed him steak. But as time passes he grows and moves on to more solid food. Children naturally grow at a steady rate.
This is the way that it should be for new Christians. They must start off with the basics and then they should grow. If you saw a 15 year old human baby that still eats only milk from a bottle you would think, what is wrong. Something is not right. The thought might cross your mind, couldn’t the doctors do something. Thankfully we do not see human babies that do not grow. But sadly we do see new babes in Christ that do not grow.
Here Paul says that these Spiritual babes were carnal. Among them was envying, strife, and divisions. Much of this letter has the purpose of trying to get their growth process started again. And we see the results in the second letter to the Corinthians. A Christian whose growth has stopped can start growing again. Don’t give up on them. Paul didn’t.
1COR 3:8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
The Bible clearly teaches a reward system in heaven. And each man will receive according to his own labor.
1COR 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Verse 11 tells us that the only foundation that can be built upon is Jesus Christ. Keep that in mind as you read the next verses.
1COR 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
Verse 12 tells us of two types of materials that can be built upon this foundation. Remember the only foundation here is Christ. So what is going on here does not apply to lost people. It does not apply to Islam or any other false religion. These verses are specifically talking about saved people, and how they build upon the foundation of Jesus. This is talking about your works after you are saved.
1COR 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
God is going to try the works of the saved. If you build with wood hay and stubble, your works will be burned up. Wood, hay, and stubble are all temporary. Gold, silver, and precious stones are all permanent.
1COR 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
The works that you do for Jesus in the right way and with the right heart will survive God’s judgment by fire. And you will be rewarded for your works. The works that you did out of pride or contrary to the will of God will be burned up. You will not be rewarded for them. Only works produced God’s way will remain.
1COR 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Verse 15 is very important. We are not saved by works. We are saved by grace. So even if everything you did for Jesus was burned up, you will still be saved.
Fire in the Bible speaks of God’s judgment. The man who has no remaining works is still saved because that is God’s judgment on the matter. God teaches in His Word that if you believe with a repentant heart you will be saved. If you have done that, then you are saved no matter if you build with wood or with gold.
But would you not rather have works that remain after God’s judgment? If this does not seem too important to you now, it will when you stand before Christ at the judgment seat.
1COR 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
The life you build, and the work you do for God, must start here. It MUST be built upon Jesus Christ. He is the only foundation. The judgment that now follows is only for those who build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. Not the false Jesus of the Mormons. They have a different Jesus. Theirs is the brother of Lucifer. Anyone who builds on anything but the Jesus of the Bible will face a different judgment. The judgment in verses 12 – 15 is for saved people.
1COR 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
Once you are saved you are now building a life on the foundation of Jesus Christ. The types of works you do are grouped into 2 groups. The first is gold, silver, and precious stones. These will all survive the fiery judgment. The other group is wood, hay, and stubble. They will not survive fire.
1COR 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
You might fool men, but there will be no fooling the judgment. The judgment of God will make no mistakes. If your works were done for the wrong reasons, or if they were filled with pride, or done with a hard heart, to name a few, then what you did will not count at all. On the other hand if the life and works you built upon Jesus was precious stones, then it will pass God’s judgment.
1COR 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
Works for Christ that are done correctly and with the right heart will get a reward. This will be an eternal reward that you will have forever.
1COR 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
If your works are burned up in judgment you will suffer loss. You will not get a reward for them. But you will still be saved. Remember this judgment is only for those who have accepted Jesus as Saviour.
Are you careful how you build your life upon the foundation of Jesus? Is what you do for Him precious stones or is it wood, hay, and stubble?
1COR 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Paul understood that it is required that a steward be found faithful. He is referring to being a steward in God’s work. Paul understood that he was a servant of a most High God. And that it is expected that he is faithful to the work he was given to do.
Some would then ask, who decides if you are faithful? Who is to judge if you are faithful or not? Paul gives us the answer in verses 3 and 4.
1COR 4:3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
1COR 4:4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
Paul thought very little of them judging his faithfulness to God’s work. He calls their judgment, and man’s judgment in general, “a very small thing”.
Paul then says, “he that judgeth me is the Lord.”
Too many Christian workers are worried about what men say about their work. We need to be like Paul and think of man’s judgment as a small thing. We need to be concerned with what God thinks about it and not what man thinks.
1COR 4:3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
1COR 4:4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
People were judging Paul all the time. The lost world judged him, reviled him, and persecuted him. He says in verse 13, “we are made as the filth of the world” They treated him like the filth of the world.
But the lost world was not the only ones who were judging him. These Christians were also judging him. Paul had the right attitude about it. He says, “with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you.” He had the same attitude about the lost world’s judgment upon him. Paul did not let the judgment of men bother him.
He realized that the judgment that really matters is the Lord’s judgment. Paul writes, “he that judgeth me is the Lord.” In the end man’s judgment will not matter a hill of beans. Keeping our eyes on Jesus and only being concerned about what He thinks puts man’s judgment into the proper perspective.
Serve the Lord the way He wants and don’t worry about what men say.
1COR 4:9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
The apostles held a special office. It was temporary. We know that because the Bible tells us that the qualifications of being an apostle was being a witness of Jesus’ ministry. After that generation died no one could meet the qualification. Some false teachers today will claim to be an apostle. Not only do they not meet the qualifications, but if they understood what the purpose of an apostle was, then they would not want that job.
Verse 9 tells us that the apostles were appointed to death, and history tells us that they did indeed die for their faith. It says that the apostles were made a spectacle. They were an example. The New Testament was not yet written. These men were asked to live Christianity under harsh conditions for an example to the world. It also says to angels. Angels are interested in and do watch what goes on. They seem to be very interested in the gospel and how it affects men. Paul goes on to further describe how the apostles are made a spectacle.
1COR 4:10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.
1COR 4:11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
1COR 4:12 And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
1COR 4:13 Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
The apostles were made to hunger, and thirst. They are buffeted, have no dwelling place, are reviled, and persecuted. It says they labour, working with our own hands. Paul for example had to make tents from time to time so he could eat. They were defamed. The apostles were made as the filth of the world to many. Make no mistake being an apostle meant that you suffered for Christ’s sake.
God had a purpose for having the office of apostle when Christianity was first getting started. They were men that were made a spectacle of for others to see. By watching these men go thru trials with real Christian character and with God’s power evidenced in their lives, people could easily see that their Christianity was for real. Once the New Testament was finished there was no longer any need for apostles. We can read about what others saw firsthand. The example of their lives has been faithfully recorded and preserved for us today.
If you hear anyone claim to be an apostle, you know that they are a false teacher.
1COR 5:2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
There was sin in the camp as the saying goes. There was awful sin in the church. Sin that should have made the church mourn and cry out to God. But instead they were puffed up. It did not bother them a bit. They made no effort to put that sin out from among them. The local church is to be an assembled group of believers that are striving together to carry out the great commission. They are to take seriously 2 Cor. 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you,
A church with a sinning member who is sinning to the level this guy is and is unrepentant, they are to take action to get him to forsake it. If he will not get right then, they are to put him out of the church. Get the sin out of the body so that the work of God can go on unhindered by sin. That is the biblical instructions.
Today we see groups doing the opposite. Instead of casting sin out, they are bringing sin in. And they have the same attitude about it as in verse 2. Instead of being convicted about it, they are puffed up. Sinning churches today are actually proud of the rock bands, the unmarried living together, woman preachers, ect…
O how we need to get back to biblical Christianity. Back to having local churches who are different from the world, that forsake sin, and are busy about the Great Commission.
We need groups of believers who are interested in studying the bible and not in entertainment. We need convicting Sunday school lessons as well as convicting preaching. We need doers of the Word and not just hearers. We have a serious lack today of serious disciples. We need people who are more interested in pleasing God than in pleasing fellow sinning members.
1COR 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Leaven in the Bible is a type, a picture, of sin. Here it is called the leaven of malice and wickedness.
1COR 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
Sin spreads like leaven. Sin will spread and contaminate whatever it comes in contact with. God is warning us here to cast out sin for our own good. For our own protection. But be careful here. This does not apply to some small thing. This man was having sex with his stepmom.
The context of these verses is fornicators in the church. You see this in verses 1 and 2.
1COR 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
Paul tells them to not keep company with fornicators. He gives more clarification on this in verse 10. (read verse 10 slowly)
1COR 5:10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
Paul tells them not to totally separate from the fornicators of the world because they have need to go out in the world. If you had to totally separate, then you could not even go out and buy groceries or work a job. We have need to do those things.
Since verse 9 is not talking about the fornicators of the world, then what fornicators is verse 9 talking about?
Verse 9 is talking about fornicators in the church. Verse 11 clears this up.
1COR 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
It is the fornicators that are called a brother that we are to separate from.
1COR 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
Wicked people who refuse to forsake their sin and get right with God are to be put out of the church.
Every effort is to be made to restore them first. The Bible gives specific instructions on this. But because sin is infectious, to protect the rest of the church, they must be put out if they will not repent of their wickedness.
This is a very unpopular teaching today, but it is still the Word of God.
1COR 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
1COR 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
Fornication differs from adultery in that fornication involves unmarried people. Sex is ordained by God only within the bounds of marriage. God calls sex outside of marriage wicked. The context of this chapter is dealing with fornicators in the church, and God’s clear New Testament teaching is to put them out of the church until they depart from their sin. To not do so and just turn the other cheek is to run His church contrary to His will.
This teaching on how to treat fornicators goes against our culture doesn’t it? That is why many will get mad about it. Others will ridicule it, and most churches will simply ignore it.
Is it any wonder that God does not bless the churches with power like He used to? There used to be a day when Holy Spirit sent conviction was common in the churches of our land. We have the same God that they did. We have the same Bible that they did. Could it be that the difference is in our attitude and our obedience to His Word?
1COR 6:5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
1COR 6:6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
1COR 6:7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
1COR 6:8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
Another problem that Paul was addressing with this church is that they were taking each other to court. This is also a common problem today with Christians. Christians are not to sue Christians. Paul asks them a question, “Why do ye not rather take wrong?” “Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?” Instead of suing and causing trouble, Why not just take it. Why not have faith that it has not escaped the eye of God. Why not just let God take care of it in His way in His time. Why not use it as an exercise in forgiveness.
Paul also makes note in verse 6 that they were taking these fights before unbelievers. What a way to wreck your testimony. A mature Christian would rather suffer injustice from a brother in Christ than to set an awful display before an unbeliever. A mature Christian considers the souls of men more important than any injustice that he has suffered.
Disputes between Christians are to be handled face to face between the two parties involved. If that fails then others in the Church are to help resolve the issue. Christians should not bring shame to the name of Christ by defrauding each other and taking each other to an unbelieving court.
1COR 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
Effeminate and abusers of themselves with mankind is clearly a reference to homosexuals.
1COR 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Notice closely the first few words of verse 11.
1COR 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
It says, “And such were some of you:” Past tense. Verses 9 and 10 has a long list of sinful people and then says in the past tense, were some of you. Clearly indicating a change. A new creature. They were that, but not anymore.
Then the Bible says but ye are washed, sanctified, and justified. What a change. They are clearly no longer what they were before.
How did this happen? “ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus” They believed in Jesus and were changed.
1COR 6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
A Christian should not be involved in sex outside of wedlock. Our bodies are the members of Christ. The Holy Spirit indwells us. When a Christian enters into fornication he is taking the Holy Spirit with him. He is taking the members of Christ and makes them the members of an harlot. The Bible says to this, “God forbid.” That is putting it in very plain very strong language. Verse 18 tell us to flee fornication. When I read that I think of Joseph. He understood this issue that we should flee fornication.
Gen 39:7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
Gen 39:8 But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what [is] with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
Gen 39:9 [There is] none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou [art] his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
Gen 39:10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, [or] to be with her.
Gen 39:11 And it came to pass about this time, that [Joseph] went into the house to do his business; and [there was] none of the men of the house there within.
Gen 39:12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
Gen 39:13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,
Joseph understood that to have sex out of wedlock was great wickedness and a sin against God. A woman was after him day after day and she had great power. To turn her down would mean terrible consequences. Joseph would not do wrong and he ran from this sin. He then bore persecution because of it.
We live in a day where people are so immoral that they will argue about marriage being between a man and a woman. A great many more will get mad if you say that sex is only to be between a man and a women inside the bounds of marriage. However, God’s Word on the matter is very clear. Sex outside of marriage is a sin, the bible calls it fornication. Christians should have nothing to do with it. We should flee it. If temptation comes your way in this area, remember Joseph and RUN!
1COR 7:22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.
1COR 7:23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
If you are saved, you were bought with a price. The price was Jesus going to the cross. Salvation was free to you, but it cost God His only begotten Son going to the cross and taking your sins upon Him. He took the judgment for your sins in your place.
Therefore, because of what He did for us, we are to be His servant. One reason is that it is only right. It is our reasonable service.
Another reason that we should be His servant is out of gratitude. If you have a concept of the price that Jesus paid for you, then you will want to serve Him out of Love.
Wanting to return some of the Love that He has shown to you is what should be the natural result of being saved.
1COR 7:2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
Fornication is sex out of wedlock. God has a solution for the problem. It is called marriage.
1COR 7:3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
1COR 7:4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
1COR 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
The context here is sex within marriage. The husband and the wife are to consider the needs of the other. Sex is not to be withheld as a tool to get what you want or as a means to punish the other. There is to be respect for each other and for each other’s needs. A marriage is to be a loving relationship. True love will sacrifice for the other. Love will want what is best for the other and act accordingly. If sex within the marriage is handled correctly the temptation to cheat is greatly reduced.
1COR 7:3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
There is to be mutual respect in marriage. It is to go both ways. The husband is to render unto the wife due benevolence and also the wife to the husband. The word due is used. It is what you owe them. Giving them benevolence is your duty. It is something that you are morally bound to do. You are to treat your spouse with good will wanting what is best for them. Following this simple Biblical command would solve most marital problems. Most marriages would stay intact and more than that, they would thrive. And if marriages that are in trouble would institute due benevolence on both sides, their marriage could be saved.
I think they would be shocked how fast things could turn around if they would try it. Giving due benevolence is the right thing to do; it is an obvious solution to many problems; it is a simple solution. Some might think that is too simple. Listen, God does not make it hard to figure out. He instituted the marriage. It is His institution and He knows best what will work. And He wants marriages to be successful and so He gives us simple and ample instructions on how a marriage should work. And due benevolence is a big part of it!
So why do so many people go down the wrong road and destroy their marriages? Why do they refuse to give each other due benevolence? The answer can be summed up in one word. PRIDE.
If you run into some rocky time in your marriage, work on making sure you give each other due benevolence. Put away your pride, humble yourself and treat your spouse with kindness. It will go a long way to getting you thru it and it will make your marriage stronger.
1COR 8:1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
1COR 8:2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
1COR 8:3 But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
Knowledge alone puffs men up. But charity edifieth. Charity is a certain type of love. It is not an empty emotional only type. That is not Christian love. Charity is the type of love that does something. It is the love of God in action. God so loved that He gave!
Verse 3 tells us that if any man loves God, then the same is known of that man. If a man really loves God, then the love of God will flow thru him to others.
If a man loves God, then he will have a working type of love that the Bible calls charity.
One example is a love for the souls of men. Giving to others and to God’s work is showing that you love God. Running a bus route, visiting the sick, preaching in the nursing homes, helping your brothers and sisters in Christ. The list is almost endless.
1COR 8:3 But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
Do people know that you truly love God because of your charity?
1COR 8:1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
Many Christians have the wrong idea about the Bible. They think that the Bible was given mainly for knowledge. Some even study and study to try to find hidden knowledge. They think it is some kind of test or something. And the Bible says that knowledge puffeth up. Now don’t get me wrong, the Bible was given for knowledge. But not knowledge for knowledge’s sake.
The Bible was given that we might know how to act, how to believe, how to increase faith, how to pray, how to obey. The Bible was given to affect our lives and not to puff us up with knowledge for knowledge’s sake. The Bible was given that we might be doers of the Word. Good teaching, preaching, and Bible study has its eye on the application. How is this truth, this knowledge, to affect me? What change do I need to make in my life.
The Bible was given to change us, not so we can just have knowledge of facts.
1COR 8:12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
1COR 8:13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
In this chapter Paul is talking about eating meat that was offered to idols. This is not really a problem for most of us today. I have never even seen meat that was offered to idols. We might never come across this in our lives. However, the underlying principal shown here is very applicable to our Christian walk today.
The underlying principal is how a Christian can do something to make a weaker brother to offend. The thing that you do might not in itself be a sin. In this chapter Paul talks about how eating the meat does not make you any better or any worse (verse 8). But partaking in front of a weaker brother who does not understand this hurts the weaker brother. Look at verse 12 again.
1COR 8:12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
Doing something in front of a weaker brother that he thinks is sin can wound their weak conscience. When you do this the Bible says that you have sinned. Even if what you did in itself was not sin, you sinned against the brethren, and it says that, “ye sin against Christ.”
The principal is that we are to be aware of those around us, and we are to forsake partaking in something in front of weaker brethren that might cause them to stumble. We are to be sensitive to them and care enough to not make them stumble. We are to build people up and not offend them. Sometimes you need to use some common sense and know when to exercise some self-denial.
You might be thinking what type of things could it be. Well, it could be a large number of things. I will give you just one example. I knew a fellow Christian man who refused to own a TV. He was a good man. Lived a clean life, cared for others, served in the Church. Was very faithful. The kind of friend that you knew you could count on his help if you got in a bind. He had a conviction against owning a TV. I don’t believe that everything on TV is bad. I do believe that there is a lot on there that is bad and you need to be careful. Now when we had this brother over for dinner we would not have the TV on. Even if the show was clean and not a sin. I knew how he felt about it and was sensitive to it.
You should know your Christian brothers well enough to know what might make them to offend and then not partake of it in their presence.