1 Corinthians 6

Scripture

1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 (NIV)

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Observation

Paul continues to urge the Church in Corinth to treat their bodies with dignity and respect, and to remain pure. He extends this idea towards the idea of sin and turning away from things like sexual immorality. He urges the church to not fulfill physical desires for the sake of satisfaction, but to live a life that glorifies Christ.

Understanding

Maintaining and respecting our body is the same as honoring and glorifying our Heavenly Father.

I know this seems like an absolute no-brainer when it comes to ideas like sexual immorality, but I think Paul intended this to be applied to ideas beyond just that. I’m not just speaking of physical harm either, I’m speaking of mental turmoil that we put ourselves through as well. These lies we feed ourself like “I’m not good enough,” or even “I’ll never be like that person when it come to this.” These thoughts dishonor the God who created us and whose Spirit lives inside of us. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do all the good things he planned for us long ago.”

It’s comforting to know that God does not make accidents, but it is sobering to realize that when we dishonor ourselves physically or mentally we criticize the Spirit given freely to us. In other words, when we dishonor our own body, we ultimately tell God that the price He bought us back with wasn’t enough; we tell the God of the universe that He didn’t really think everything through. We place our own thoughts and physical desires above everything else, which is the most dishonoring thing we could ever do to God. I’m not saying that aren’t days where we feel beaten down by the world and sometimes struggle, but Paul reminds us that we have a Spirit living inside of us that goes past all comprehension. A Spirit that comforts the weary, heals the sick, provides rest for the tired, and joy for the sad. It isn’t hard to find. It’s the one thing about ourselves we can be sure of.

Life Application

A cleansing of the inside, is bound to shine outwardly.

When we treat our bodies as a temple we not only rid ourselves of the negative junk that shouldn’t be there, but we glorify our Creator. When we glorify Him, others begin to notice and wonder what’s different. Let us be a light in a world that focuses solely on one’s own mind as a means of finding the answers. May we learn to rely on the Spirit given to us at a high price. But above all, may we glorify God through treating our bodies like a temple

-Allison Khan

1 Corinthians__5

Scripture

1 Cor 5:9-12-

9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. 12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

Observation-What does it say?

In this passage, the church was becoming tolerant of sin. They were taking sin lightly and it was having a negative effect on the Body. As a result, Paul gave his exhortation about what they were to do about the immorality and sin present in the church. He made it clear that he was not talking about judging non believers and separating from them, but rather those who claimed to be believers, yet were living in rebellion.

Understanding-What does it mean?

Church discipline is a necessary part of the church and should not be looked at in a negative fashion.

Church discipline is required in order to protect the rest of the Body of Christ. Sin is like a cancer that can spread if not dealt with in a Biblical fashion.

Church discipline is also a result of love for the believer because we do not desire for them to walk down the path of rebellion against the Lord.  Just as Hebrews 12 speaks about God disciplining those He loves, church discipline is an act of love. 

I read a really good book about someone in leadership who had a moral failure and the steps the church took to restore that person back into the family. There were consequences as a result of her sin, like the lost of her job at the church and the loss of her relationship at the time; however, because of how the church loved her and because she humbled herself to the point of going through the process of restoration (instead of running away from it or feeling like a victim and allowing pride to make her angry), her lost relationship with the man she loved was restored, that man also rededicated his life to Christ and she is back in ministry as a Pastor, book writer, and huge influencer for the Kingdom. The end result could have been worse if not for her church’s process of discipline and restoration and her humble response to it. 

Life Application

We must change our mindset about church discipline.

We must be humble enough to accept church discipline when necessary. Or if anyone who claims to be a believer in the church is in rebellion, we cannot be afraid to gently confront that person in sin because we love the Church and the individual too much to allow Satan to have a foothold. 

“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.” Galatians 6:1 NIV

Dear Lord, You loved us and the Church so much that You died for our sins and resurrected from the grave so that we would be free from sin and death, not continue in it. I pray for humility to turn from sin when confronted by another believer about it, rather than defensiveness. I also pray that we would not fear when the Holy Spirit convicts us to confront a brother or sister in sin. Please give us strength and may we be gentle and loving in our approach when you lead us to bring their sin to light. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

-Michelle Gaddi

1 Corinthians_3

Scripture  1 Corinthians 3:18   Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.

Observation-What does it say?  The city of Corinth was an important city to the ancient trade routes.  And, therefore, it had a thriving commerce and a cultural importance.  It was a place frequented by the social elite and there was a presence from multiple nationalities: Greeks, Asians, Egyptians, Syrians and Jews.  It was also a place that had a great wealth and transitory population, Corinth had a reputation for luxury, and uninhibited pleasures.  There was a temple of Aphrodite in the city, with thousands of temple prostitutes, adding to the reputation of the cities excess.  

All of this knowledge, culture and wealth created a feeling of superiority amongst the citizens of Corinth, which was apparently creeping into the members of the church.  Paul calls them out for their judgmental and argumentative attitude. God’s plan for salvation, through Christ’s death on the cross, is foolishness to the world.  In God’s body, there is no place for pride or looking down on another.  

Understanding-What does it mean?  Some of my most embarrassing moments came when I felt like someone was acting like they were better than me.  Especially when I was younger, if I felt someone was regarding me as less than them, I would make it my mission to prove that I was superior.  This sometimes ended in me lashing out and storming off like a toddler having a temper tantrum. This happened a lot with my brother, who is a highly intelligent individual.  More than once, if my brother proved that he was smarter than me in an area, I would use some type of brut force against him, proving his point further and landing me in trouble.

Luckily, God isn’t concerned with who is “better” and he doesn’t choose people based on their accolades.  God made us all as individuals, with an individual purpose.  God concerns himself more with the state of our heart, and our willingness to be used by him in what ever capacity he has for us.  Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:20-21 “ In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use.  Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.”

Life Application  Jesus, help me to let go of my pride.  Help me to forget the part of me that wants to prove that I am better, or somehow more worthy of respect than those around me.  You are the ultimate example of laying down yourself, taking on the form of man in order to save us from our brokenness.  Help me to dress myself as a servant, and look for ways to give your love to those around me. 

-Tyler Galloway