1Corinthians 6
Outline:
I. \\#1:1-4:21\\ In Answer to Chloe’s Report
II. \\#5:1-6:20\\ In Answer to Common Reports
A. \\#5:1-13\\ Of Incest
1. \\#5:1-8\\ Deliver the Fornicators for Discipline
2. \\#5:9-13\\ Separate Yourselves from Immoral Believers
B. \\#6:1-11\\ Concerning Litigation Between Believers
C. \\#6:12-20\\ Lessons to the Believers
II. \\#1Cor 6:1-11\\ - Concerning Litigation Between Believers
A. \\#1-6\\ Going to law before the unjust and not before the
saints.
1Cor 6:1 Dare any of you, having a matter
against another, go to law before the unjust, and
not before the saints?
1. \\#1\\ Paul never said what the legal matter between the
brethren actually was.
a. The fact is Paul did not make any statements until
\\#1Cor 6:4\\.
b. He only asked questions!
(1) Five of them in all.
(2) One question was asked to point out the problem.
(3) Four questions were asked to show them the
solution.
2. Instead of describing the legal condition that existed,
Paul taught the central point, namely that matters
between Christians should be settled among the
Christians.
3. And while it is unfortunate, all five of Paul’s questions
imply that there will situations on earth where
Christians will have major problems, even legal problems,
between themselves.
a. That is just the result of living in sinful flesh.
b. Indeed, Paul did not even reprove them for having the
problem.
c. The reproof he gave was for not settling it among
themselves.
4. \\#2-3\\ Paul again taught the church what it ought to do
by asking four rhetorical questions:
1Cor 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall
judge the world? and if the world shall be judged
by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest
matters?
a. \\#2\\ Don’t you know that saints will judge the
world?
(1) The answer to the question is not given but the
teaching is that God will one day use the saints
to judge the entire world.
(2) Paul’s question leads me to have questions?
(a) When and why will we be judges over this
world?
(b) The only answers I have is during the
millennial reign and if—IF—into eternity,
it is God’s plan to allow human flesh to
continue.
(3) The Bible does say of this time period:
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon
them, and judgment was given unto them: and I
saw the souls of them that were beheaded for
the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God,
and which had not worshipped the beast, neither
his image, neither had received hi] mark upon
their foreheads, or in their hands; and they
lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
(4) The hint is that if we are going to one day judge
the world, Christians should be able to settle
our own problems today.
(5) So a second implication is that the church SHOULD
be practicing with our own problems even now.
(a) I gave you some thoughts about "judging" one
another last week, i.e. \\#Matt 7:1\\ that
Jesus said "Judge not least you be judged."
(b) Yet, the Bible makes it clear that the body
of Christ is—at the very least—to judge
among themselves the things that are right
and the things that are wrong.
b. Are you not worthy to judge the smallest matters now?
(1) Our "worthiness" is determined not merely by our
position as a Christian, but by our filling of
the Holy Ghost.
(2) Being saved only makes us saved.
(3) Walking with God and turning from this world
makes us wise.
c. \\#3\\ Do you not know that you shall judge angels?
1Cor 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels?
how much more things that pertain to this life?
(1) Even more than the news that Christians shall
judge the world is the news that Christians will
one day judge the angels?
(2) For this, I have no when or why at all.
(a) It seems that the angels can no longer
BECOME sinners; and if that is so, the only
angels that we could judge will be the
angels that we today call demons.
(b) It may well be that God will allow us to
judge those being who have tempted and hurt
us so many times.
d. The fourth question is, "If God is going to let us
judge the world and angels, how much more should we
be able to judge the problems that arise among us
today?"
(1) And like the other three, Paul did not expect an
answer.
(2) However, like the other three, Paul was teaching
that is the charge of the church to—prayerfully
and wisely—deal with the problems within the
confines of the church.
5. \\#4-9\\ Paul’s Judgment in this Sin
a. Paul’s judgment here was not to settle the legal
matter.
(1) In chapter 5, he plainly told them what they
needed to do with the fornicator, i.e. turn him
over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.
(2) But here his judgment was not to settle the legal
matter.
1Cor 6:4 If then ye have judgments of things
pertaining to this life, set them to judge who
are least esteemed in the church.
b. Here his judgment was for the church to start doing
what the church was supposed to do, namely to deal
with the problems within it.
c. So the sin here was NOT that the brethren had a
problem so great that it needed to be settled by
outsiders.
d. The sin was that the Christians were suing Christians
before the unsaved.
e. The judgment (solution) was let the church settle
their own problems.
6. Notice that all of the church was to have a part in
settling this matter.
a. Let the church select a few.
b. Many churches use deacons.
c. Our church uses the Men’s Meetings.
d. But in the end, it is the church that must make their
judgments.
7. \\#5-6\\ Paul summarized all that he had already said
about this commonly-reported sin.
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?
a. "I speak to your shame." - There behavior—or again,
their inaction on this, was a shameful thing.
b. And again, by question, Paul implied they should have
some in their judge able to judge this matter.
1Cor 6:6 But brother goeth to law with brother,
and that before the unbelievers.
c. And he restated the wrong that was being done.
(1) Again, it was NOT that brothers had problems.
(2) It was that bothers were taking brothers before
the unsaved to settle their problems.
B. \\#7-8\\ They did not take the loss instead of suing before
the lost.
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?
1. Paul pointed out a second sin in this matter, namely, one
brother or the other had not just suffered the loss of
whatever the issue was INSTEAD of suing the other before
the lost.
a. Paul was clearly teaching that before one Christian
sues another before the lost, they should be willing
to lose whatever it is they were going to sue for.
b. Now that was not Paul’s first counsel to this church.
(1) Paul’s first counsel was to let the brethren
settle the matter.
(2) This was Paul’s second counsel.
(a) You might call this a "last resort" counsel.
(b) Before Christians go to law with Christians,
we should just suffer the loss, counting
that our Lord will handle the matter and
reward everyone involved in a just manner.
2. "suffer yourselves to be defrauded"
a. Here, Paul did hint at how bad the legal case MIGHT
have been.
b. To defraud indicates someone was promised something
for payment and either the payment of the "something"
was not provided.
1Cor 6:8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that
your brethren.
3. Paul went on to say that the Christian, if not the whole
church, was doing the wrong in not taking the loss.
a. Then he said in those cases, those suing one another
were defrauding their brothers.
b. Why? I suppose because all Christians have committed
together to suffer the loss of all things that Christ
might be glorified and that His church might be
C. It needs to be pointed out that this was Paul’s counsel for
believers "having a matter against another, going to law
before the unjust…." \\#1Cor 6:1\\
1. It was not a matter for Christians who had been wronged by
the unsaved.
2. While any Christian CAN take the loss when wronged by the
unsaved, Paul was not telling them to do it in this
passage.
a. The law, especially in the United States, was made by
the people for the people, and there is nothing in
the Scripture that teaches a Christian that he cannot
use it against the unsaved.
b. If suffering the loss from the unbeliever is what a
believers feels lead to do, then he should do so; but
the Bible does not tell him to do so.
III. \\#6:12-20\\ Lessons to the Believers
A. Perhaps because of the severity of the sins being discussed,
perhaps for the general ignorance and sinfulness of the
congregation, perhaps because Paul knew some of the topics he
still had to discuss with this church, Paul felt the need to
teach the Corinthians some basic lessons of truth.
B. Paul may not have been thinking about the situation of chapter
five, but it seems obvious that his mind was still on sexual
immorality as he mentioned the word "fornication" twice
\\#13, 18\\ and the word "harlot" was used three times
\\#15,16,26\\.
1. \\#1Cor 6:9-11\\ Not everyone talking about heaven is
going there.
a. Paul’s list of those who habitually, continuously,
unrepentantly sin included: the fornicators, the
idol worshippers, the effeminate (i.e. men who act
like women), the homosexual (those who abuse
themselves with men), thieves, covetous, and
drunkards.
b. \\#10\\ These will not go to heaven.
(1) The conditions of salvation are repentance and
faith.
(2) With no repentance, even faith is made void.
c. \\#11\\ While we all WERE these, we should not BE
these if we are saved.
2. \\#1Cor 6:12-14\\ Just because we can, doesn’t mean we
should.
a. New Testament Christians are not "under the law," but
that does not give us "the right" to do whatever we
desire.
b. \\#12\\ It may be "lawful" but that does not mean it
is good for us.
c. It may be lawful, but we should not put ourselves
into any kind of bondage.
d. \\#13\\ Our bodies are not for the Lord.
3. \\#1Cor 6:15-20\\ Our bodies are God’s temple.
a. Paul had already given this teaching once
\\#1Cor 3:16-17\\.
(1) The fact that he was repeating it, tells how
important it is.
(2) \\#18\\ The fact that he was mentioning it with
fornication reveals that he was still thinking
of sexual immorality.
b. \\#18\\\ A command was given
(1) "Flee fornication."
a. That is the whole sentence.
b. Paul’s sentences are typically very long.
c. This may be his shortest sentence!
d. It was short because this was Paul’s point.
(2) Why do we need to flee fornication?
a. \\#16\\ Because physical fornication JOINS
two together.
(1) God created us, our bodies, and the
act of physical joining.
(2) Regardless of what men think, God says
that such joining connects the two in
a way that is beyond what we see.
b. \\#18\\ Because this sin is a sin that
requires the body.
(1) Paul was not speaking of lust which is
a sin of the mind and spirit.
(2) He was speaking of the physical act of
fornication which requires the use of
the body.
(3) This is a sin WITH the body and Paul
called it a sin AGAINST, WITH, or IN
the their body.
(4) As one might use a weapon to commit a
crime, so one can use his body to
commit a sin.
c. \\#19\\ Our bodies are God’s temple.
(1) They are the place where God lives.
(2) We cannot commit a sin with our bodies
that we do not take God with us.
d. \\#20\\ Because our bodies are now the
Lord’s.
(1) They are not ours any longer.
(2) They were bought with the price of
Jesus’ blood.
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