1 Corinthians 6

1 Corinthians 6 contains Paul’s strong words to the church about a couple areas.  He first addresses grievances that will occur.  It isn’t that they won’t happen – it is what we do when they do occur.  What is your response when a brother wrongs you?  Do you immediately threaten or run to the courts to have someone make a ruling.  Paul says “if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church”?  Why is it that we immediately seem to run to lawsuits if things don’t go the way we want?  And Paul then asks “Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers”? We don’t leverage the power of the body nearly the way God intended.  We run outside to the court of law to fix issues rather than seek counsel and direction from within God’s flock.  But the even more basic question is why we do those things in the first place.  One lesson that was very hard for me to accept as a business person had to do with the reality that the people who most take advantage of me as a business person are almost always from within the church.  I have never really figured out why other than they think they can get away with it because they are a brother.  But it is a problem.  We should not live like that: “you yourselves wrong and defraud – even your own brothers”!  If there is anyone I should be able to trust it should be a brother in the Lord.  But that isn’t how I see things happen.

Paul goes on to remind us that there are a bunch of bad things that happen and that are unrighteous – and those folks won’t inherit the kingdom of God.  The list is very similar to what was in the previous chapter where we were told not to associate with folks like that.  But Paul reminds us that there is a plan to fix our sin.  “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”.  Sin is a real problem.  It has to be dealt with.  But Jesus went to the cross for that very reason.  He died to help us overcome our sin problem and be restored to God.  He is in the restoration business.  Does that give us a license to sin?  Absolutely not.  Just because Jesus died for us and our sins can be forgiven does not mean we can live however we want.  In fact, Paul says:
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful.

“All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything.

We are not only to avoid sin, but we are also to put things through this filter when we are making choices on what to do.  Will it be helpful?  Will it enslave me?  If so – we need to walk away from it. 

Paul finishes the chapter reminding us that we belong to Him.  Our bodies are His – He paid the ultimate price for them on the Cross.  “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ”?  Paul refers directly to sexual immorality, but I believe the truth applies to all things related to our body – our health, our eating, our exercising and many others.  We are to take care of ourselves.  We are to realize that “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body”.  Have you thought about that?  We are a temple to the Holy Spirit.  He lives in us.  We are home to part of the Trinity.  How we live and treat our body matters.  And with our body we can glorify God.  That is the end game – to live life in a way that He is glorified and we are living exactly as He desires.  Is that how you liv