1 Corinthians will be our study today, and with the picture time and the presentation time and all of that, I can say with a fairly high degree of confidence that this may in fact be the second book that has to be broken into two parts. But two out of 66 ain't bad. So we'll see what we can do. 1 Corinthians will be our study today. uh, and we'll look at second Corinthians, Lord willing, uh, next week or the week after last week, uh, we studied the book of Romans, uh, which is a, a, a laser tight argument that unfolds in, in, in levels and in degrees. And it builds really from one 16 and 17 all the way through to chapter 16, Paul is unfolding. One argument, and to a mind like mine that likes to make those connections and see the progression of the bill, that's a very appealing way to write. 1 Corinthians is not like that. 1 Corinthians is very different. Corinth is one of the churches that Paul directly planted, so it's not like Rome in that sense. Paul had never been to Rome. He was writing to them because he's planning to visit. Corinth is a church that he had ministered to, I believe we read about this in Acts 18, and he had been there for about 18 months. So he spent a lot of time there preaching and ministering to these people, and he had an ongoing relationship with them. The letters to Corinth are not like other letters. They are, in the words of Guy Waters, who's a professor at RTS, paradoxically, two of Paul's most accessible and most distant letters. They're both accessible and distant. And what he means by that is, on the one hand, First Corinthians deals with so many issues that we face today. And you actually will see that in the outline as I break it down a little bit more. It deals with church politics in chapters one to four. It deals with scandalous sexual sins in chapter five. It deals with professing believers that are suing each other in courts of law in chapter six. It deals with confusion about marriage and divorce in chapter 7. It deals with serving Christ in the world without compromise in chapters 8 to 10. It deals with worship in chapters 11 to 14. It deals with the doctrine of the resurrection in chapter 15. And then 2 Corinthians is going to deal a lot with the idea, as we might express it today, of celebrity pastors or leaders within the church and those kinds of things. Again, Dr. Waters says the church at Corinth might very well be the church down the street because these are problems to one degree or another that all churches deal with even down to today. So in that sense, they're very accessible. But they're also hard to understand. They're also distant. because they're part of a dialogue between Paul and this church. Most scholars, including believing scholars of the New Testament, believe that Paul wrote a minimum of three. Most think four, and some will go higher than that, but there's not a lot of basis for that. But at least three or four letters to Corinth, and these are letters that are going back and forth. And so it's part of a dialogue that we only have Paul's end of, and we only have part of Paul's end of that dialogue, and so in a sense we're going to have to employ a lot of what's called mirror reading. Now we talked about mirror reading a couple weeks ago in our study of First Thessalonians. Does anyone remember what mirror reading is? Go ahead. I mean you already rudely just started into it, so. Just kidding, Nate. Go ahead. What is it? If you look at the answers or arguments given in the text, you can probably That's exactly right. So you look at the answers the text provides and you infer from those answers what the question was. It's kind of like Jeopardy, right? Like they give you the answer and you answer what is what, right? So that's kind of what mirror reading is and that's something we're gonna have to do a fair bit with these letters. Now, it's fairly easy to tell that that's what's going on if you give careful attention to the outline of the letter. So for example, um, if you look at, let's see, chapter one and verse 10, um, not, not one 10, I'm sorry. If you look at chapter five and verse one, he says, it's actually reported among you. And then he begins to deal with an issue, right? So the first major section will have that in various places. where Paul receives a report about the Church of Corinth, and he responds to what's in that report. It's reported among you X, and I'm going to say in response to those facts, Y. Not Y the question, but Y the letter, a variable. And then in the second half of the book, chapter 7 through 16, it's very evident that they've written him asking questions because he'll say, now concerning matters about what you wrote, chapter 7 verse 1, and he'll talk about marriage. Now concerning food offered to idols, chapter 8 verse 1, and he'll begin to deal with that issue. And so on and so forth throughout the letter He'll say and now I'm going to deal with this topic in that topic and so we infer that they've written him saying hey What are we supposed to do? What are we supposed to think about these things? And we'll deal with that throughout the study and in that sense Corinthians is is is difficult to outline because He's not unfolding an argument. He's responding to a bunch of stuff Right, and so he's dealing with it in sections. It can almost be like a grab bag of questions and answers, but there is one unifying theme. Again, relying heavily on Dr. Waters, he explains, for all the variety of problems and difficulties in the life of this church that Paul labors to document and redress in these two letters, we will see that these problems for Paul all stem from one common root. That is, the failure of Christians to relate properly to the world around them. The Corinthian Christians exhibit in their beliefs, attitudes, choices, and behaviors, a worldview that at many points is insufficiently formed by, and at points, even antithetical to the gospel. In other words, what he's saying is Paul is responding to Christians, to true sincere believers that are not thinking like Christians. Not only are they not thinking like Christians ought to think, but in some ways their thinking is so molded by the world that they are thinking in opposite ways to how a Christian ought to think. A little bit of background information. The letter was probably written around 54 to 56 AD from Ephesus during Paul's third missionary journey. The original audience in Corinth contained members from all levels of society, but mostly people who were neither rich, wise, nor of noble birth. The original audience had set under the ministry of Paul. And you see the outline behind me. And so we see here, Always an extended greeting. And if you look at this greeting, it's undeniable that Paul sees himself as writing to Christians. First of all, he calls them the church of God that is at Corinth to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus. And then he says in verse 10, I appeal to you brothers. He calls them brothers. No matter how errant, how off base they are on several of these issues, Paul still regards them as brothers. So it's important to keep that in mind that for all the doctrinal variants within this church, which is not to say those things don't matter, but it is to say that Paul is still able to regard them as brothers. Now, for the sake of time, we will not be able to get through every single part of this, right? We're gonna pick one section that's reported problems to Paul, and then we're gonna pick one section that is a question they've asked that he's seeking to answer. So first we'll look at the problematic report in chapter five. So go ahead and turn your Bible to 1 Corinthians chapter five and I'll read for us chapter five verses one and two. Paul writes, it is actually reported, notice that word actually, he's almost in disbelief at what he has to write. It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans." So he's saying, not only is it scandalous that there's sexual immorality in the church, but it's to such a degree that it's not even permissible to speak about to the outside world. Like even the world thinks this is bad. What is that? He says, for a man has his father's wife. And you, to the church, not to this man, you are arrogant. Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. So what's pretty much universally agreed on is the Christians at Corinth are aware of this issue. Everybody knows what's going on. And their response is not to mourn for the sin, is not to discipline the offense, but rather is to say, it's all well and good. God's grace covers all of this and we don't need to worry about it. There's no grief over sin. There's no hatred over sin. There's no discipline for sin. And Paul says, this is a scandal. This is ghastly to consider. And we know that that's kind of what's going on here because Paul was going to deal with, first of all, let's look at the discipline thing. He says, let this one who has done this be removed from you. That sounds harsh, but he says, and this is actually the good news is the situation turns out well, uh, because it's followed up on in second Corinthians. And so we can be encouraged about this. But he says, um, Where is it? He says, let him be turned over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh in verse five, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. Paul is saying, discipline this man by excommunication. Why? So that in his time away, he will be restored to fellowship and faith in the gospel so that he will repent for his sin, that he will see that it's something serious to be repentant of and be restored. The goal of church discipline over sin is not to punish, to hurt somebody for having done wrong. The goal of church discipline is the same goal that your parents had in disciplining you, right? Like, I don't like having to discipline my children. It's not fun. But my goal is that they would learn from their mistakes and that they would grow in godly character. And sometimes that comes by way of discipline. That's Paul's goal. That's the goal of church discipline. And now, having given that command, he's going to deal with the underlying issue because it's a problem in the way that the Christians at Corinth think. And we'll see this in chapter six and verse 12. Paul writes, Notice this is in quotes here. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but I will not be dominated by anything. Paul begins by quoting a motto of the Corinthians. All things are lawful for me. One commentator writes, there can be no question that the initial clause of verse 12 represents a quotation used as a maxim by some or many at Corinth. Leon Morris agrees, it looks like a catchphrase the Corinthians used to justify their conduct. Now, where would a Christian get the idea, all things are lawful for me? Where do you guys think that might come from? Christian liberty, what is Christian liberty, Mr. Cancino? It's like, since I'm saved, this is like what this would be, what they would think. Yeah. Like, I'm saved so I can do whatever I want. That's a very prevalent mindset, even down to this day. Where might someone get that idea, though? Like, that is the idea, but where might somebody get that idea, Mr. Horn? Romans, where? That's okay. But yeah, it would have come exactly from things like that. Romans eight one, there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans eight 32 to the end of the chapter, nothing. And Paul goes through an exhaustive list there. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Now I'm not suggesting that the, Corinthian Christians had read Romans. In fact, we can be pretty confident they hadn't because Romans is written after this. But Romans is representative of Paul's teaching. They would have gotten these ideas from a misunderstanding of Paul's own words. And so they conclude that, well, if Jesus paid it all, which is true, premise is true, conclusion is faulty, If Jesus paid it all, therefore it does not matter how I live. I can do anything I want. Now, of course, I think we tend to know instinctively that that's not true, right? We dealt with that a lot last week. Uh, they were probably prone to this way of thinking because of not only things that might suggest that if taken out of context and other parts of the Bible, but also because of a Gnostic philosophy that was growing in popularity in the culture at the time. And we talked about Gnosticism again recently, too. Does anybody remember what that is? It's a secret knowledge, but what is the content of that secret knowledge? Ms. Berenger. Everything other than flesh is bad and everything spiritual is good. Yeah. And so that's the primary expression of Gnosticism. That's the one we talked about in Thessalonians. Another version of that, which is likely at play here, is all that really matters is the spirit and the flesh doesn't matter at all. It's the same kind of idea. And that's really largely what's in play here. The idea is that the spirit and the body are radically divided. They don't relate to one another. And so the spirit is who you really are, therefore your body and how you treat it and how you use it is insignificant. Do whatever you want because it's going to get burned up anyway. And don't we see a lot of this in our culture even today? This is not a distant old idea that the spirit is who you really are and the body is therefore immaterial. It doesn't matter. Now, that's a separate conversation, but it is related nonetheless to a lot of things that are going on in our culture today. But in this context, the thought is, well, if my soul is washed clean in the blood of Jesus, again, true premise, therefore, here's the faulty conclusion, I can do whatever I want with my body because my soul is what's eternal and my body is not. But Paul corrects this kind of thinking when he says, All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful, our ESV says, or not all things are beneficial, the NIV would render it. Not all things are profitable, the New American Standard, or not all things are expedient. And so what does that mean? It means that while it's true that there is nothing that you as a child of God can do to destroy that saving relationship. There is no sin that you can commit that's so grievous that'll cause God to cast you out of his grace. That's absolutely true. Don't ever lose that or deny that. It's not true that what you do does not matter at all. It's not permissible for a Christian to think in terms of, what can I do to get away with and stay within God's grace? It's not a Christian way of thinking to say, how far can I go until I'm in trouble? That's the opposite of how we are to think. And there is nowhere in life that we are more tempted to think this way than in sexual sins, which is what the Corinthian Christians were dealing with, and what are so prevalent in our culture today. How far can I go and still be in the realm of okay? A Christian is not to think that way. A Christian is to think in these terms. What can I do that is helpful? What can I do that is beneficial? What can I do that's profitable? What can I do that is expedient? And specifically with an eye to other people. Not what can I get away with, but what can I do to build up other people? Richard Pratt, who is a fantastic writer, and for those of you that have Bible papers in school, look up his stuff. He writes, whatever liberties believers have, so the category of Christian liberty is a true category, but he writes, whatever liberties we have, choices must be carefully evaluated as to their spiritual benefit. Many practices, though lawful, will have detrimental effects on believers' walks with Christ, on the lives of others, or the church. This consideration must be brought to bear any time Christians contemplate a course of action. What will my choices, what will my actions do in the minds and the hearts of others? How will my acts affect those around me in my family? in my social circles, and in my broader church. That is the way we are to think. The second problem as pertains to this particular issue of sexual immorality, the first is that it comes from a faulty anthropology. That is a misguided way of thinking about the body. The second problem is that it misunderstands the severity of the act of sexual immorality. And we'll look at that in verses 15 to 17. Paul writes, do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never. Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one with her? For as it is written, the two shall become one flesh. but he who is joined to the Lord becomes one with him. Paul's point is that, yes, your soul belongs to the Lord, but so does your body. We talked last week about what it means to be united with Christ, and it means that his death on the cross was your death on the cross, so that when he died, you died. And that his resurrection, and Paul's going to deal with this in chapter 15, is your resurrection. His being raised again from the dead is your being raised to newness of life from the moment that you repent and believe. And Paul's point is that your soul belongs to the Lord, but so does your body. And if you are in Christ, you are one with him. So that the way you live as a Christian, as one who bears the name of Christ, has an impact, has an effect on his reputation, that is Christ's reputation, right? In the same way that your last name means that the way you live has a bearing on the reputation of your parents, of your siblings, in that same way, and you guys know what this is like, right? You get a teacher who had one of your brothers or sisters beforehand, and there are certain expectations, or maybe you're the first one to go through it, so you're setting the bar that's going to be followed, right? Your name has an impact on others who share that name, and so if you bear the name of Christ, what you do, not just spiritually, but also with your body, affects people's perceptions of Him. Leon Morris rightly observes, the Corinthians had not thought through the implications of their sexual laxity. Anyone who unites with a prostitute by that act becomes one with her. Casual sex is anything but casual. It is an act of sacrilege. Temples like our bodies are not meant for profanations like this. It's not necessarily the worst kind of sin that there is. But it is a unique and distinct kind, as we read in this chapter. Verse 18 says, flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body. But the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Then he goes on to lay the foundation. 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. I think we actually can finish this if we just make one last appeal, and that's going to be the chapter 15. Chapter 15. I'm not picking this matter for the second half at random. I'm picking it because, well, Paul says, I deliver to you as of first importance. And so if Paul says this is the most important thing in the letter, I'm not picking it at random to go into with you. It's the most important thing in the letter. Would somebody please read 15.3-4? Mr. Liang. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again on the first day according to the Scriptures. Thank you very much. And so for Paul, this is the most important doctrine that there is. It's the way to confront dangerous false teachings that had crept into the church. There were people in the church at Corinth that were denying the resurrection. And Paul says, if you embrace that ideology, you've given away the whole thing. He'll go on and say, if Christ is not raised from the dead, then you're still in your sins. If the resurrection isn't true, none of this is true. And we have all are to be most pitied because we're wasting our time. We're wasting our lives, but it is true. And therefore your sins are paid for. And therefore this is profitable time. And therefore we have hope for the future. The point is, And what's uniquely emphasized, though not exclusively in 1 Corinthians, is that God cares about your body because the resurrection of Christ is also the proof that Paul lays down that you too, as in you also, will one day be raised from the dead. And he deals with the resurrection body in the latter part of this chapter. And so we don't know a lot about it, but what we do know is this. So it is, this is verse 42. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable. What is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. And so the hope and the glory of the resurrection is this. all the ways, not just sexual, all the ways that we can sin against our bodies by misusing them, by mistreating them, by malnourishing them, by depriving them of sleep, by doing all kinds of things that we do to break down our bodies. All of it will be restored and redeemed. And here's the other thing, is that not only will our resurrection bodies be better than the ones that we have now. But they will be directly the ones that we have now as well. He uses the illustration earlier in the chapter of a seed that's planted in the ground. That's what's sown in corruption. And so what comes out of that seed is what's raised incorruptible. And the point is that some heretics, Jehovah's Witnesses come to mind, teach that in the new heavens and the new earth, God recreates you according to his memory of you. And so that there's somebody that's kind of like you that will enjoy paradise forever, but it's not you. And Paul says, no, that's going to be you. All of you. The fullness of who you are as an individual person will be fully redeemed and enjoy all the benefits of that at the last day. Let's pray. God in heaven, we give thanks to you for the letter to the Corinthians. We thank you, Lord, for the assurance that it gives us of the resurrection and the wisdom that it provides on so many various topics and issues that I was not able to cover today. I pray, Lord, that you would help us to give due diligence to them. In Christ's name and for his glory, amen.