1 Corinthians 6:1-11, Called to Discernment

Theological Proposition/Focus: The Call of a Christian is a call to help others by discerning what is just.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: Make sure that your actions reflect your God-given status as saints of the Most High.

Introduction:

Image: Évariste Galois surely he could have solved his problems better

On May 31, 1832 a promising young man (20 y/o) died after having been shot in a duel.

Évariste Galois at 20 years of age solved one of the most significant math problems of his day.

The problem had been openly worked on for more than 350 years and is really pretty simple to state. Is there a version of the quadratic formula for bigger equations.

What was most significant was that the solution provided by Galois was so profound that it gave rise to an entire new area of mathematics that later became known as Galois theory. Even today, every graduate student in mathematics studies the work done by Galois. So, why did such a profound thinker die at age 20? We don't really know, there are theories and the most prominent theory is that he got involved with a girl and a series of events led him to challenge an unknown man to a duel. Galois was shot in the stomach and died the next day.

Setting the Stage:

In First Corinthians chapter 5 we saw a critical reality. The church is called to deal with sin. We saw in chapter 1-4 that their church was struggling with unity and part of this struggle seems rooted in their focus on worldly wisdom instead of their common focus on Christ. The church prided itself on wisdom and giftedness but was not succeeding in the basics. Moreover, this church that prided itself in wisdom was not able to wisely deal with issues arising in the church.

Body

Christians need to ensure their actions reflect a theology of regeneration (1-6).

Our NIV translation of verse one hides the shock that is present in the Greek. Paul starts with the word "Τολμᾷ" do you dare? It is very much, I can't believe what I heard... you claim to be wise but what I am hearing is that you are taking each other to civil court and cannot even settle simple matters among yourselves.

Paul is pointing out that

God's people are especially equipped with divine wisdom (1-3).

In verse one Paul reminds the Corinthians Christians that they themselves are Saints.

The Corinthian Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The only status of any real significance is their status before God.

We tend to contrast unrighteous (NIV ungodly) with the righteous but Paul instead contrasts the unrighteous with the Saints.

Nothing that Corinthians Christians have done is of significance, what is of significance is their position as Saints of God.

Arguing from the greater to the lesser Paul argues that judging issues we face in the present life should be a walk in the park.

Now before I go too far into this let me first deal with two major questions you might be asking.

So ultimately, the argument is that the Christian is equipped with the very Spirit of God, the wisdom of the ages, surely the Christian can settle trivial matters of this age.

And it is not just the wisdom that we have but also the fact that the world lacks any of this wisdom. In verse 4 Paul argues that

The world is especially unequipped with divine wisdom (4).

Using fairly colorful language Paul asks a pretty simple question "do you really think that you are going to get justice from those who know nothing of justice?" Paul literally calls those who enact the worlds justice "despised (NIV: scorned) by the church." In other words, why are you going to people whose life hardly reflects holiness to solve your problems?

Image: Some direct applications and Indirect Applications

Court Cases

We can over apply this passage. Certainly there are cases where we must go to court. As an example, a man had to evict a Tennant and while at one point the individual had professed Christ, the individual was no longer participating in church and the only way to get the individual out of the house was with a police order from a judge. This is a case where I personally do think it was appropriate to go to the court. The point of this passage is that if it can be solve din the church between brothers it should be solved in the church.

Seeking Counseling

This is a sensitive subject but I am going to come out and say it. At some point in your life you may want some form of counseling. I strongly believe you should seek out a Christian counselor who will employ a Christian world-view in counseling.

Parenting Advice, discipline, general family

Before, you use google, the local library, or the latest news story, maybe try talking with Christian parents in the church and see what advice they have.

Politics

We live in a country where we have a voice. Be careful about where you get your facts from. Everyone has spin, make sure that you are not falling for the spin of those who have no interest in God's standard for righteousness. We have people in our church who know the issues and the people. We have people in our church who work for organizations who are seeking to apply Christian values to politics. You do not have to agree with the conclusions they draw, but don't just dismiss them because they disagree with you, take a second and listen.

MTR: Evaluate your sources; are you seeking counsel from appropriate sources?

As we move into verses 7 and 8 I see a general idea that the Christian who has a right view of the Gospel and Christ will look at the present in light of eternity. My summary of the verses 7-10 is that

Christians need to take careful stock of how their life reflects the Gospel (7-10).

Don't get caught up in artificial worldly values (7-8).

Instead of the world's way, the Christian way is to risk the present in exchange for the future. This is the whole idea of Matthew 5:39.

But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.

The principle is this, everything we do should be focussed on eternity rather than the present.

From here Paul chooses to contrast the present practice of the Corinthian Christians with the reality of eternity. The point Paul makes is that the Corinthians are acting like eternity does not matter. They need to

Recognize the behaviors characteristic of the unredeemed (9-10)

However, the Corinthians also must make sure they are not deceiving themselves, they need to be careful that they truly are saved!

swindlers

Rather than go into a bunch of detail explaining all of these the point I want to make is that we need to do a self-check. There are practices that are wrong, things that a Christian should not do. Frankly, the list is pretty explicit, people have tried to explain these away but it is right there. Some scholars have done lots of gymnastics to change the meaning of words but the truth is pretty blunt.

MTR: Carefully look for areas where you have allowed yourself to behave like the unredeemed.

In the end I guess the main idea is that

Christians need to carefully reflect on how Christ has changed them (11)

Paul begins by noting that the practices he has just mentioned, while not characteristic of the redeemed are well represented among the unredeemed. And in fact, for many a Christian those practices were characteristic of their life before they came to know Christ. While some of the Corinthians may not have previously lived crazy lives in sin, some did. But in reality that didn't matter because all of those who accepted Christ's payment on the cross for their sins had been changed. Three changes are specifically called out.

The Christian has been washed.

At the moment of salvation sin is washed away. Ephesians 5:25-27 describes this.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

The Christians has been sanctified.

Since this is an aorist verb it is almost certainly positional sanctification. The believer is positionally set apart for God.

At the moment of salvation the believer becomes a Saint, set apart for God.This does not mean the individual is perfectly holy in all they do but rather that positionally they are set apart for God. Progressive sanctification is an ongoing process.