Plymothian

It is very unAmerican to back down.  That is according to the 2009 Dodge Ram promotion campaign.  If someone breaks into your house, you should defend your turf with a shotgun.  This sounds tough, but it is not a Christian way of living.  Christianity is modest, self-deprecating, and can even give up on a just cause in order to maintain the peace.  In How to Ruin Your Life, Ben Stein has a chapter entitled ‘Fight the Good Fight … Over Everything’  which starts with, ‘Anything is worth fighting over.’

1 Corinthians 6: 7, 8

⁷The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? ⁸Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers.

Questions

1. What does the fact of law suits in the church mean?
2. What do the Corinthians do to get ahead?
3. How does Paul appeal to the must-win-at-all costs type who think they have won?
4. Are you fiercely competitive?  Did people earlier in life categorize people by winners and losers?
5. How does educating through competition create ill-feeling and a lot of losers?  How could educating children me modified?

Going Deeper

http://www.rickross.com/reference/calvary/calvary8.html

http://www.bvblackspin.com/2010/06/25/woman-sues-church-over-gay-marriage/

Christians should not take each other to court.  It creates bad publicity when a Christian takes another to court.  The method here is to get an arbitrator who knows God and that you both trust and work these things through amicably.  Of course, these days I think divorce is the most common area where Christians fight each other.  Divorce is permitted for a Christian, especially in cases where one spouse is abused or abandoned, but it is hated by God.  In our emotion driven society marriage is about a feeling we call love.  The Bible’s example of love doesn’t focus on that feeling.  In the case of divorce I have rarely seen two people come together complaining about how there is no opportunity for each person to grow in selfless giving.  In the Christian worldview a change of circumstances, a change in physical appearance, or a shift in personality is an opportunity to grow as an avenue of God’s grace.  This is the kind of selfless attitude that will keep you out of the law courts.

1 Corinthians 6: 1-6

 ¹If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? ²Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? ³Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! ⁴Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church!^{[a] 5}I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? ⁶But instead, one brother goes to law against another—and this in front of unbelievers!

Questions

1. What are the Corinthians having with one another?
2. What kind of men can be appointed as judges for the Corinthian church?
3. What kind of person would make a good arbiter?
4. Would you trust someone in the church to give a fair decision?
5. Does coming out on top in a decision matter?  Explain your answer.

I can’t say that I like the idea of church discipline.  If you look at how it has been practiced in many churches, the exercise can be vindictive and confused.  The sins that are pursued are the ones that those practicing the discipline would not commit, the sins of slander and gossip that they themselves are guilty of go unaddressed.  I see in scripture a desire for harmony and restoration.  Coupled with Matthew 18, we see that this passage would be addressed to someone who would not listen to a quiet word about their public behaviour.  There are persistent actions that fracture a church and they should be addressed.  However,an overzealous policing of the church can be even more divisive.

1 Corinthians 5

¹It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. ²And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? ³Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. ⁴When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, ⁵hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature^[a] may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

 ⁶Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? ⁷Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

 ⁹I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰not 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. ¹¹But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

 ¹²What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? ¹³God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

Questions

1. What was the guilty man guilty of?
2. How was he to be treated?
3. How did Paul assert his authority?
4. What should you do when someone sins shamelessly?
5. How can you help avoid something as serious as this occuring in your church or family?

1 Corinthians 5:12,13 would indicate that there are different governing standards for the church and state.  The state should have lower standards that the wider community can agree upon.  However, as the Spirit of God leads us into holiness there should be a standard by which we are measured.  I prefer to look at this standard as one of continual growth rather than hard and fast measures.  The growth is measured towards a goal like ‘Faith, Hope, and Love’.  Discipline keeps us moving toward these goals.  However, if we are a Christian and we couldn’t give a rip about becoming more faithful, hopeful, and loving we need some external discipline.  In our society people think that when they have become a Christian they received an instant holiness mix.  We add water and suddenly we have arrived at a Christian’s destination.  If we are aware that Christian virtues are ideals to be aimed at, we never arrive.  That can be frustrating for a perfectionist.  However, over time you can travel along with the people of God in a large holiness Winnebago and enjoy the trip to Christian virtue.

1 Corinthians 5:12-13

¹²What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? ¹³God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

Questions

1. What is Paul’s rhetorical question about those outside the church?
2. Who are Corinthian Christians to judge?
3. Who judges those outside the church?
4. How does judgment lead to a happier, healthier church?
5. Are you so afraid of judging someone that you lack judgment?  Why do many Christians lack discipline in virtues?

Questions

1. When do you think your child is inside the faith?
2. How would you discern your discipline between a child who says they have accepted Christ and a child who has not?
3. How would you address a Muslim neighbour who says they follow God but does not live according to the Koran?
4. To what standards can you hold an atheist?
5. Since murderers are generally non-church members, should a Christian stand by because they are not to judge non church members?  How should a Christian approach those who are accurately convicted and serving time in the Waukegan jail?

The Plymouth Brethren have a notorious rule that if someone in their family is not a believer they will set them apart at mealtimes.  My mother-in-law and father-in-law went to a church that quoted ‘be ye seperate from among them’ and would not socialize at a movie theater, a rock concert or such like.  This seems to be what had happened as a result of Paul’s earlier letter to the Corinthians (now lost).  Paul clarifies here by saying that you should dissociate from those who claim to be in the same club but disregard the club-house rules.  We are not talking about those who try and fail, we are not talking about those outside the club who play by their own rules.  We are talking about those who redefine the rules and therefore make sexual immorality, greed, slander, drunkenness and dishonesty an integral part of the church.  Those people need to be isolated or expelled.  They bring shame on the church itself.

1 Corinthians 5: 9-11

⁹I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰not 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. ¹¹But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

Questions

1. What did Paul write to the Corinthians in his previous letter?
2. How had they misunderstood his instruction?
3. How did Paul want the Corinthian church to act?
4. Do you make light of sexual immorality, greed, slander, drunkenness, or swindle?  How should Christians act toward you?
5. Do you know someone who claims to be a Christian and is sexually immoral, greedy, slanderous, drunk or a swindler by nature?  How do you act toward such person?

Going Deeper

Case Studies

1. Your church decides that its members must dissolve all friendships with unbelievers lest they become polluted.  How do you respond?
2. A church elder’s wife habitually runs down members of the congregation.  She seems very concerned with the lack of support there is for her husband.  She starts naming a list of people in the church who have let her and her husband down by not addressing sin issues strongly enough.  Howdo you respond?
3. A young man comes to the leadership of the church and admits that he has had sex with his girlfriend.  She is pregnant.  He says that he is very sorry and wants to work thing through with the church.  How would you respond?
4. A group of your Christian friends want to go to the movies to watch a movie that your pastor used as an illustration of immorality.  What do you contribute to the discussion?
5. You used to have a glass of wine to relax in the evening.  Now you have a bottle of wine to yourself regularly.  You know you are becoming dependent.  How should you address this with your church?

Yeast is a term used in the Bible for evil.  In the Passover ritual a devout family will search the whole house to expel any yeast.  It is considered so evil that they won’t touch it.  Sin is like this.  In our modern society we think of sin as ‘naughty but nice’.  We will refer to cakes as sinful because they taste good but contain calories.  We will refer to clothing as sinful because it arouses sexual desire.  These examples do not really use the word ‘sinful’ appropriately.  The desire to eat too much cake leads to obesity.  Unchecked sexual desire leads to isolation and despair.  In this passage Paul refocuses our approach to sin – eradicate it don’t flirt with it.  This may be hard for a society that thinks a dark side rounds out the character.  Sometimes eating cake and wearing exciting clothing is appropriate.  We don’t have to make things evil to have fun.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

 ⁶Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? ⁷Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

Questions

1. What is not good?
2. To what is the Corinthian boasting compared?
3. What kind of yeast does the new batch contain?
4. How much sin and evil can you flirt with safely?
5. How do you interact with an evil corrupted world and destroy evil in your own life?

Doesn’t handing a fellow church member over to Satan because of their private sexual practices sound harsh?  This kind of thing is what has got Christians into hot water for the past decade.  As sexual orientation and practices have been made more and more a question of personal choice rather than universal moral imperative, Christians have been seen as more and more repressive and out of touch.  However, if a man has an affair it still makes tabloid news.  If a senator sleeps with his intern we are concerned.  I believe that intuitively many still know that there are moral guidelines that say, for example, sex with an animal, a minor, or an unwilling person is wrong.  The church has found itself in trouble for not expelling people with those tendencies.  Here we have a situation more akin to the Catholic priest scandal rather than the question of gay sexual orientation.  We have a situation where members of the church thought they were free to engage in practices even the society around them didn’t condone.  This was in a society like Corinth which was arguably more liberal than our present one.  Where would you draw the line?  How should a universal moral code be enforced?

1 Corinthians 5:1-5

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. ²And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? ³Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. ⁴When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, ⁵hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature^[a] may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

Questions

1. What has the sexually immoral person done?
2. What should be done with him?
3. Where is the line between sexually moral and immoral?
4. Have you crossed the line that you have drawn in the sand?  When and how?
5. How do you think the church should handle sexual immorality and deviancy?

Going Deeper

Observation

1. How did Paul find out about immorality in the church?
2. What is the attitude of the members of the church regarding this sexual immorality?
3. What should the Corinthian church have felt like?
4. What has Paul done as though he were present?
5. To whom should the immoral brother be handed to and why?

Interpretation

1. In what circumstances might it be right to tell church leadership about the conduct of one of its members?
2. When does someone visiting a church become a member who the church is responsible for?
3. Who has the authority in the church to carry out discipline?
4. What does it mean to hand over to Satan?
5. Is it possible for a person who willingly sins to lose their salvation?

Application

1. Would you ‘snitch’ on someone who was being sexually immoral?
2. What is the right course of action for restoring someone who is habitually engaged in sexual immorality?
3. Are you sexually immoral?  What would be the right course of action if you were?
4. How should Christians handle homosexuality?
5. How should Christians talk about sex?

The chapter contrasts the authority of Paul’s position with the active posture he has taken with the church in Corinth.  He doesn’t come out guns blazing and kicking over tables, he gently lays out how he has put aside authority that is his and longs for the Corinthians to put their self-aggrandizement to one side.  He does use sarcasm and humour to great effect, but it is meant to open the heart through laughter rather than cause offence and anger.  If they can see that even an apostle takes a low position, maybe they will too.

1 Corinthians 4

¹So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. ²Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. ³I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

 ⁶Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. ⁷For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

 ⁸Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings—and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you! ⁹For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. ¹⁰We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! ¹¹To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. ¹²We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ¹³when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.

 ¹⁴I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. ¹⁵Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. ¹⁶Therefore I urge you to imitate me. ¹⁷For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

 ¹⁸Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. ¹⁹But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. ²⁰For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. ²¹What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?

Questions

1. How ought men to regard the author of this passage?
2. What should Corinthians not take pride in?
3. Where has God put the apostles on display?
4. In what way does Paul’s sarcasm emphasize his point?
5. How do you assert yourself at the expense of others?  How can self aggrandizement destroy unity in your life?

Going Deeper

Observation

1. Who judges Paul?
2. What will the Lord bring to light?
3. What does Paul ask the Corinthians about what they have received?
4. What does Paul say that the Corinthians have become?
5. Who does Paul tell the Corinthians to imitate?

Interpretation

1. How does Paul subtly use his position as an apostle?
2. How does Paul use the concept of a universal sameness of mankind?
3. How does Paul use wit and sarcasm?
4. How does Paul develop the role of a father with his children?
5. Why is there a veiled threat at the end of all the persuasion?

Application

1. How do you regard yourself as a servant of Christ?  Are you faithful?
2. How is it humbling for you to think that you have nothing that you did not receive from God?
3. Do you ever look down on other Christians?  Why?  Why not?
4. Who led you to Christ?  What is your relationship with that person now?
5. How would you carefully use the threat of the power of God in your life and the life of others?

Here we have Paul ‘The Velevet Sledgehammer’. I play a computer game which updates a famous phrase by saying, “Talk softly and carry a big gun”.  There is a time to call another person’s bluff.  In the affairs of men there is authority which is more powerful if it is owned.  Paul has spent a lot of the opening of the letter lovingly reasoning with those who are less spiritually mature.  Now he is just reminding them that they can pay attention when he is being gentle or he can show a less delicate side.  A summary of this paragraph may be, “I am an apostle.  Your move.”

1 Corinthians 4:18-21

¹⁸Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. ¹⁹But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. ²⁰For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. ²¹What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?

Questions

1. What have those who are arrogant forgotten?
2. What is more important than the words of the arrogant?
3. How would you describe Paul’s role with the church?
4. Who is more spiritually mature or in a position of authority with you?
5. How do you allow someone who is more spiritually mature to deal with your growth issues?

 I know that some of us find it difficult to deal with Paul’s tone in his letters.  He seems forceful and even aggressive at times.  However, some parents are forceful and aggressive when they need to be.  As an elementary school teacher I have rarely raised my voice.  I remember once I was in Pakistan teaching and a student lost his temper and started running toward another with his fist raised in anger.  I shouted his name across the playground and the whole playground froze.  Needless to say, he didn’t hit the  other child and then dissolved in tears.  When someone is rushing headlong into error with eternal consequences what should your tone be?

1 Corinthians 4: 14-17

¹⁴I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. ¹⁵Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. ¹⁶Therefore I urge you to imitate me. ¹⁷For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

Questions

1. What qualifier does Paul use before ‘children’?
2. What is Paul’s relationship to the Corinthians?
3. What is Timothy’s relationship to Paul?
4. How are those who have been Christians for longer to help those who are young in the faith?
5. How can you develop a teachable spirit and be a gentle but firm teacher?

Going Deeper

Either find someone who can mentor you, or become a mentor this week.