1 CORINTHIANS LESSON 9

 
    We will begin this lesson in I 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."

    This is probably one of the most controversial Scriptures in the
Bible. First of all, we must remember who Paul is writing this to.
They are still very much caught up in the regulations of their Jewish
upbringing. Paul is saying, we are not obligated to keep the letter of
the law, because Jesus fulfilled the law for us. Even in the Old
Testament, we read that to obey is better than sacrifice. I Samuel
15:22 "And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold,
to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of
rams."

     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. Sacrifice, for the
Jews had been an obligation, and not a choice. Paul is saying, I am
not obligated to do any particular thing, or not do it. I choose to
please God, so as an act of my own free will, I obey God's laws.

     These new Christians were still sacrificing, and keeping the old
Mosaic law, from obligation. They were still technical in their form
of religion and did not understand fully the sacrifice of Jesus. Paul,
I believe is just saying, I am not under the law of obligation, I am a
free agent to operate my own will in a way pleasing unto God. Paul is
not saying that he has a license to sin without the punishment for
sin. He is saying that he is a free-will agent. He chooses for
himself, with the benefit of his conscience. He, also, is saying that
he refuses to become servant to sin.  Paul refuses to live by a set of
man made rules any longer. The condition of his soul is between him
and God. A Christian has Christ dwelling within them, and they no
longer have the desire in their hearts to sin. This is what Paul is
saying. If Christ, within me makes the decisions, there is no law
against that. The word "expedient", in the verse above, means to bear
together. It, also, means contribute. Possibly, one of the best
meanings is be of profit. If man could have made a law that would save
a man, there would have been righteousness through the law. Galatians
3:21 "[Is] the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for
if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily
righteousness should have been by the law."  Read the 6th chapter of
Romans where Paul fully explains this.

     I Corinthians 6:13 "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."

     The meat that you eat goes out in the refuse of the body. The
body, also, returns to dust after it is finished being used. We are to
glorify God in our body. Our body is the dwelling place of the Holy
Spirit of God. The Lord Jesus did not make our body for sin to be
prevalent in. He made our body as a dwelling place for Himself.
Galatians 2:20 "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."  In the spirit, all believers make up the body of
Christ. My belly, along with my body, should not be my God, because
they will perish and the real me will live in my new spiritual body
that Jesus will provide me. If the body is such a temporary thing, we
should not elevate it to godhood.

     I Corinthians 6:14 "And God hath both raised up the Lord, and
will also raise up us by his own power."

     The 15th chapter of this same book of Corinthians goes into great
detail about this very thing. We know that the body of the Lord Jesus
Christ died on the cross. That body was buried, and the third day He
arose from the grave. There is a physical body, and there is a
spiritual body. The physical body must die for the spiritual body to
live. This mortal must put on immortality. Because Jesus rose from the
grave, all those who put their faith in Jesus shall rise, also. We
will get into this even further in the lesson on I Thessalonians
chapter 4.

     I Corinthians 6:15 "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."

     This verse above is speaking of how bad it is for a Christian to
commit a sin of the body, because it includes the house of the Holy
Spirit in that sin. We Christians are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
All of us are individual parts making up the body of Christ. You can
see from the following Scriptures that we are one with Christ. Christ
is the head, and we are the body. Romans 12:5 "So we, [being] many,
are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." I
Corinthians 12:12 "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and
all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also
[is] Christ."  I Corinthians 12:27 "Now ye are the body of Christ, and
members in particular."  You can easily see why it would be important
not to involve the temple of the Holy Spirit in the act of a body sin.

     I Corinthians 6:16 "What? know ye not that he which is joined to
an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh."

     The beautiful act that God created for a man and his wife to be
one flesh is for the procreation of children between two married
people. These two do become one flesh in the child that they bear. The
word that was translated "shall be" really mean shall become. Both
parents are involved in the birth of a child, and they two really do
become one in their child.

     I Corinthians 6:17 "But he that is joined unto the Lord is one
spirit."

     These two Scriptures above should be studied carefully by those
who would make husband and wife one in the spirit. The Scriptures say
that husband and wife are one in the flesh, not the spirit. All
Christians, whether male or female, are one in spirit with the Lord
Jesus Christ. Husband and wife relations on this earth are in the
flesh. In heaven, it will not be that way. There is no marrying or
taking in marriage in heaven.

     I Corinthians 6:18 "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth
is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth
against his own body."

     What this is saying, is the fact that a sin without the body is
not as bad, because it does not effect the Holy Spirit. The best thing
to do is avoid sin at all cost, and especially sins that include your
body. Fornication, in the verse above, includes all sorts of harlotry.
This includes all unnatural sex acts, it also includes acts not with
the spouse that God has chosen for you.  The Aids patients are finding
out the hard way what this type of sin brings on. Not all Aids
patients are committing this sin, but this is one of the major ways of
transmitting this disease.

     I Corinthians 6:19 "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?"

     We have been bought by the precious blood of the Lamb {the Lord
Jesus Christ}. The "temple" is not a building, but the body of the
believer. The Holy Ghost is not just with us, but in our body. We
cannot continue the way of the world with the Holy Ghost within us.

     I Corinthians 6:20 "For ye are bought with a price: therefore
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

     When Jesus paid the price for our sin on the cross, He bought us
and paid in full for us. I have used the following Scripture numerous
times, but it seems to say exactly what I want to say on this.
Galatians 2:20 "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." If Christ is in me, then I should treat my body as if
it is His temple.  I should allow nothing into the temple of God that
would defame it in any way.












                      1 Corinthians 9 Questions

1.  Quote 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 12.
2.  Who had Paul written this to?
3.  Where do we find in the Scriptures, that to obey is better than
    sacrifice?
4.  Obeying is an act of our own ____ _____.
5.  Sacrifice, for the Jews, had been an __________, not a choice.
6.  Paul is just saying, he is not under the law of _____________.
7.  Is Paul saying he has a license to sin?
8.  Paul refuses to become a servant to ___.
9.  If Christ within me makes the decisions, there is no ______
    against that.
10. What does "expedient" mean in verse 12?
11. Quote Galations chapter 3 verse 21.
12. Meats for the _______, and the belly for ________.
13. The body is not for ______________, but for the Lord.
14. Our ______ is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.
15. I am _____________ with Christ, nevertheless I live.
16. The life which I now live, I live by the _________ of the Son of
    God.
17. Who raised up the Lord?
18. What hope does that give the Christian?
19. Where, in Thessalonians, do we read a great deal about this?
20. Why must the physical body of man die?
21. Know ye not that your bodies are the ___________ of Christ?
22. Why is it so terrible for a Christian to be involved in a sin of
    the body?
23. Quote Romans chapter 12 verse 5.
24. What are those who engage in sin with a harlot, one with her in?
25. Explain how man and woman are one flesh?
26. The word that was translated "shall be" in verse 16, could have
    been better translated what?
27. He that is joined unto the Lord is one _________.
28. Verse 18 says to flee what?
29. A person who commits fornication sins against their own _______.
30. What does fornication, in verse 18, include?
31. Quote 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19.
32. What is the temple in verse 19?
33. Quote Galations chapter 2 verse 20.