1 Corinthians 7:1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
Paul here is making reference to someone not being married. It was God’ intention that a man and woman join marriage to populate the earth but it does not mean that if you stay single it is a sin. In the next verse Paul is saying if you are going to be joined together in marriage let it be a man and a woman in a husband and wife relationship. Even if you do not marry you are still to stay away from fornication or all sexual sins. There is not sin in getting married. There is a sin when you live with someone you are not married to. Finally here he says that a husband and wife are to love the other and think about their spouses needs more than their own. We are to love and comfort our spouse so they do not even think of looking else where for that comfort. While celibacy is right for the single, married believers are not to sexually deprive their spouses.The love between a husband wife is a bond God put together and we are to keep that bond the way God intended.
18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
As this chapter winds up we see Paul warning against fornication again and here he is meaning all kinds of sexual sins. for a believer to commit these sins he is defiling his body which belongs to Christ. It is wrong in many ways cause it is also the way many diseases are transmitted. A Christians body belongs to the Lord an is a member of Christ and is the Holy Spirit’s temple. Every act of sin that is committed by the believer is in the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, where God dwells. When Jesus died on the cross He bought us and paid in full for us. If Christ lives in us we should treat our bodies as if it is His temple and not do anything to defile the temple of God. In Galatians 2:20 it tells us, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Attend a church today that will feed you the true word of God.
1 Corinthians 6:14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
Bodies of believers and the Lord have an eternal relationship that will never perish. He is referring to the believer’s body to be changed, raised, glorified and made heavenly. Because we are the body of Christ should we commit sin a sin of the body is what Paul is asking. It is important not to involve the temple of the Holy Spirit in the act of a body sin. N ext we see when a man and woman are joined together they become one flesh. likewise when someone is joined to harlot they become one flesh. The two Scriptures above say that husband and wife are one in the flesh, All Christians, whether male or female, are one in spirit with the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 6:12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
In this first verse Paul is referring to some of the converted Christians and are still following and sacrifices that are no longer necessary. He lets us see in this verse it still good to follow the law of God but we do it of our own free will. Jesus covered us with His blood which took care of the law but we still need to be obedient to God. Obeying is an act of our own free will. We obey, because we know that it will please God, and we want to please Him. He is also saying he will not be a servant to sin. In this other verse we see that there is a comparison between food and the body and we should also realize that both of these will perish. Our body is the dwelling place for the Holy Spirit and my belly, along with my body, should not be my God. They will perish and the real me will live in my new spiritual body that Jesus will provide me. Since the body is such a temporary thing then we should not elevate it to godhood.
1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Now Paul reminds us that before we were saved we to committed some of theses sins and it was the purpose of Christ who came to save us from those sins. We were washed by a spiritual cleansing and regeneration. Sanctified being set apart to a new behavior of obedience and holiness. Justified which means just as if we had never sinned. We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ because in His death our sins were put to His account. so that His righteousness might be put to an account, so that we might be blessed. Finally we see and know the Holy Spirit is the agent of salvation’s transformation. Everyone who ever lived has sinned and come short of the glory of God but He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and wash us in His precious blood. We are saved by the grace of God. When He saves us, we become a new creature in Christ.
1 Corinthians 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
The sins we see here in verse 10 are bad sins also but they are of a different nature from those in verse 9. The sins in verse 9 dealt with the body where the holy spirit resides and these in verse 10 happen outside the body. First Paul mentions thieves and covetous which are both sins of greed. Those who covet want things others have while thieves take it. Next are revilers who are people that destroy others with words. Then we have extortioners who are swindlers and embezzlers that steal indirectly by taking unfair advantage others for their own financial gain. Remember what Paul said at the start of these two verse that non of these will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
Paul gets down to the specifics in verse 9 and 10 as to who will not inherit the kingdom of God. True believers who commit these sins, resent that sin and seek to gain the victory over it. Lets look at verse 9 first.The sins are fornicators, which involves all kinds of sexual immorality. Idolaters are those who worship false gods or false religions. Adulterers are those who commit sexual acts out side of marriage. The effeminate or abusers of themselves are homosexuals or sodomites, terms referring to those who exchange and corrupt normal male-female sexual roles and relations. Transvestism, sex changes, and other gender perversions are included. Paul is saying here you cannot go back into sin, and commit the sins the world is guilty of, and not be judged. iIf you were really saved, you would not have the desire in your heart to commit these sins that the world is guilty of.
1 Corinthians 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?
8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
Paul continues in these two verses to stress how wrong it is to to take a fellow Christian to court over something that should should be settled in a Christ like manner. Jesus told us if someone ask for your coat give them your cloak also. He also said to turn the other cheek, if someone slapped you on one cheek. Jesus taught to give to him that ask and that vengeance was His. What make us a Christian is when return good for evil and kill them with kindness. It will just store up forgiveness for you in heaven, if you forgive the wrong he has done unto you. This last verse Paul is saying it is bad to do wrong to someone of the world ,but it is terrible to wrong a brother in Christ. Those who sue their brothers are just as guilty of wrongdoing for what they are doing. Let us strive to help our brothers that may have wronged us to bring them to realization of the truth of God’s word and His forgiveness.
1 Corinthians 6:4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. 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? 6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
Paul starts here asking are we going to go to those that void of God’s truth and spirit to settled a dispute or go to someone that does know the Word of God and are obedient to the Spirit. He continues in the next verse to say how silly it is to use an ungodly person to solve a problem. He is saying Christians should be able to sit down and talk things out even if you have to include others. Pray together and let God decide the outcome. Finally Paul is saying for one Christian to take another Christian gives Christianity a black eye. Christians who take fellow Christians to court, suffer moral defeat and spiritual loss even before the case is heard and they become subject to divine chastening. We should try to always solve problems between church members in the church and not in court of law where God’s guidance is not used. Hope you attend a church today where you can praise and worship God for what He does for you every day.
1 Corinthians 6:1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?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?3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
Paul now tells us that as Christians we should not take other Christians to court over a disagreement. As Christians we should be able to work this out between our selves instead of taking it to a worldly court. He goes on to say that as Christians we will be assisting Christ in judging during the millennial reign so we should be able to work out the smallest of matters now. Finally we know that God’s word tells us we will even rule over the angels in eternity so why can we not solve the simplest of matters here on this earth toady. What these verses are saying is if we expect to rule and reign with Christ we need to start doing our part on this earth today to show we are worthy of that responsibly.
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." I John 5:7
