Brief Analysis of 1 Corinthians 1-7

Brief Analysis chapters 1-7

From the first seven chapters of Paul’s first letter to the Christians in Corinth, we learn several important, even astounding, things.

1.    We who are born again Christians, are the only ones with answers to the world’s problems. This is the case because, as Spirit filled Christians “…we have the mind of Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 2:10-16)

Obviously, we have either forgotten who we receive our directions from or we are ignoring the fantastic access we have to truth and right thinking because we have access to the “mind of Christ”

2.    We have the very Spirit of God residing within us. We are, in effect, holy ground.  Whoever is in contact with us is near to God’s own presence.  (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

One would think that such a concept would have dramatic effect upon our speech and behavior.  The fact that it doesn’t’ indicates that either we are “quenching the Spirit” or we are carnal and the Spirit does not reside within.

3.    When a man or woman engage in sexual intimacy, they give up authority and control over their bodies to their partner.  There is no autonomy in marriage or even in “casual” sexual relationships.  (1 Corinthians 7:3-5)

This would indicate that, in the case of abortion, the woman has given up her “rights” and the man has accepted both the responsibility and the authority given him by his and her actions.  Of course, the “law” does not recognize this fact and so in this case one can be perfectly “legal” while simultaneously being immoral.

 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV

Or       do you not know    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.

The Corinthian Christians understood that Jesus was the long-awaited Jewish messiah.  They understood that he had been crucified and then was raised from the dead. But they failed to understand something fundamental to their new faith.

When they had declared their faith in Jesus as Messiah and Lord they were also declaring that they willingly submitted and committed their lives to him and his service. This was something portrayed in the act of baptism.  Baptism publicly marked the beginning of a new life, one submitted to the authority and control of Jesus.  They no longer belonged to themselves.  They belonged to Jesus. 

Jesus was now to be the ruler and controller of their lives.  They were bought and paid for.  Daily they were to follow his guidance for their lives.  His Spirit now lived inside them and they were to listen to the Spirit who would guide them into all truth.

What was true then is true now.  When we accept Jesus as Messiah and Lord, we belong to him.  He now becomes the owner, ruler, controller of our lives.  Most of us live as if our lives are our own to be lived as we see fit.  When we live in tis manner we are, in effect, setting ourselves up as our own god.  Failure to understand this and act accordingly makes us rebels, resistant if not outright hostile to God’s authority over our lives.   

For many who claim to be Christ followers, God is a “tag-along god” who is there to do our bidding.  When we are sick he is to make us well.  When we want something, he is to provide it.  When life is not going our way, he is to turn things around for us.  The thought that we should be doing his bidding instead of he doing ours does not generally cross our minds.  If our lives are going well we claim that he is blessing us when in fact we may actually be in rebellion against him.

How often do we ask what his will is?  How often do we try to align our lives with his will rather than expect him to align his will with ours.

 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV

Or       do       you     not know

that                                               the unrighteous       will not inherit

the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived:

neither the sexually immoral,

nor idolaters,

nor adulterers,

nor men who practice homosexuality,

Reviler = λοίδορος = loidoros = λοιδός loidos (mischief); abusive, that is, a black guard: - railer, reviler.

nor thieves,

nor the greedy,

nor drunkards,

nor revilers,

nor swindlers                      will inherit

the kingdom of God.

  1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV

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.

Washed = ̓πολούω = apolouō = to wash fully, that is, (figuratively) have remitted (reflexively): - wash (away).

Justified = δικαιόω = dikaioō = to render (that is, show or regard as) just or innocent: - free, justify (-ier), be righteous.

We claim Jesus as our Lord and as a result receive the benefits of his sacrifice on our behal receive the benefits of his sacrifice on our behalf.

Sanctified = ἁγιάζω = hagiazō = to make holy, that is, (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate: - hallow, be holy, sanctify.

 

 

 

                                                                         

These benefits are applied to us by the Spirit of God

                                                                        

                                                                                

 

 These things can and will be washed away if we humbly repent and turn to Jesus in faith.  We may have been some or all of the things on the list and more but we can be clean.  Jesus sacrifice washes us clean upon our repentance.  The problem with many is that they do not see their uncleanness.  They have not been confronted by God’s holiness and therefore they do not see how “dirty” they really are.  The prophet Isaiah recognized the distance between us and God when he encountered God. 

Isaiah 6:5 ESV
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

Then he understood the vast difference between man and God as it pertains to “cleanness”.  He was a priest but was overcome by the difference between our concept of holy and God’s holiness.

Isaiah 64:6 ESV
We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

But faith in Jesus brings a washing; a washing away of our “uncleanness” and as a result we are made clean and consecrated to God.

Furthermore, with the washing comes a declaration from God that we are innocent and a new life of “cleanness” is made available to us.  God will not hold or remember how we were before our washing but he sees us only in our purified state.

Many live in a state of self-righteous, self-deception, believing they are ok; they are clean in their own eyes so think they are ok and fully acceptable to God.  But compared to the holiness of God they are filthy. 

Such was the situation at the church in Laodicea that Jesus sent a message to through the Apostle John.

Revelation 3:17 ESV
For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

Today’s church, for the most part, finds itself in this same condition.  Many who declare they are Christians are blinded by their own unrighteousness and substitute self-righteousness instead.  They stand unclean before a holy God.  The Apostle Paul warns us: “Do not be deceived”.