As we survey these chapters of First Corinthians, we may wonder why God allowed so much that is wrong and sinful, and dishonoring to Him, to develop in the early history of His Church. With the Holy Spirit present in the Church, and in believers, then as He is now, but in those days on occasion acting in power beyond anything we see in these closing days; with the apostles living and going about teaching and preaching; and amid freshness and spiritual energy far more manifest among Christians then than today, how was it that evil of all sorts came out in bud, if not in full flower, so that many pages and even entire Epistles of the New Testament had to be devoted to exposing and correcting these bad ways and wrong teachings?
The answer is not far off. Let us seek it in the Word of God itself. Turn to Acts 20, and read the chapter from the 17th verse to the end, noticing the important place that verse 32 has, following, as it does, the solemn prophecy of the 29th and 30th verses. Next, let us turn to 2 Tim. 3, wherein is much about the “last days” of which there is much evidence nowadays; here again, in the last four verses, the believer’s resource is seen to be the Bible:
“All Scripture... is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
Other Scriptures may well be referred to in the same connection, but space here forbids. The testimony of all of them leads to the conclusion that God, who foresaw the evils that were to come, allowed all to appear in one form or another before the New Testament Scriptures were completed, in order that His children might find in the Book of Books that which would afford guidance for them when the early restraints upon the natural will would be gone. Christians are never to lose sight of their constant need for full dependence upon God, and prayer and His Word are their safe resource in days such as the present.
The early part of the 6th chapter takes up the subject of the setting right of wrongs in the affairs of life. Altogether out of place would it be for a believer to go to law to seek correction of some real or supposed injustice done to himself. Other weighty reasons for not seeking redress of wrong abound in other Epistles; here it was sufficient for the Holy Spirit, by the apostle, to remind the Corinthian saints first of all that we shall judge the world and angels.
“The unjust,” verse 1, is the character of man, the character we had before we knew the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. This term is used by God with reference to man six times in the New Testament-in Matt. 5:4545That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:45) and Acts 24:1515And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. (Acts 24:15), where both the present and the future are in view; in 1 Peter 3:1818For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18) and 2 Peter 2:99The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: (2 Peter 2:9) where the Cross of Christ, and the day of judgment to come are spoken of; and twice in this chapter (verses 1 and 9). Let him try ever so hard, man with all his philosophy, ethics and laws cannot attain to the character of being just or righteous in God’s sight; apart from receiving God’s salvation, he is still unjust.
When Christ judges the world (Acts 17:3131Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)) and angels (2 Peter 2:44For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; (2 Peter 2:4); Jude 66And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (Jude 6); Matthew 25-41; Rev. 21:1010And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, (Revelation 21:10)) His saints will be associated with Him in the judgments (Zech. 14:55And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. (Zechariah 14:5); Jude 14-1514And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 14‑15); Rev. 19:1414And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. (Revelation 19:14) and 20:4).
There is a certain obscurity of meaning in the latter part of the third verse as given in the King James translation; this is removed in J. N. Darby’s New Translation (1880): “Do ye not know that we shall judge angels? and not then matters of this life?”
Judgments of things pertaining to this life, far from being beyond the capacity of the gathered saints, should be given to those to decide who are little esteemed in the Assembly. Such matters do not require spirituality, but only ordinary intelligence and fair-mindedness.
So the apostle continues to treat of the subject in verses 5, 6, 7, seeking to put the Corinthian believers to shame. Was there indeed not a wise man among them? Not one able to judge between his brethren? Why did they not rather suffer wrong? Why not submit to being defrauded? Those whose future involves sharing in the coming judgment of the world and of angels, ought, viewing the matter on the very lowest ground, to care little about what injury may be done to themselves, or their possessions during this life’s short term.
But the inspired penman must tell those to whom he was writing that it was not only a question of their submitting to injustice; they themselves did wrong, and defrauded their brethren (verse 8). Solemnly then he warns them:
“Do ye not know that unrighteous persons shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not err; Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who make women of themselves; nor who abuse themselves with men; nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor abusive persons, nor the rapacious, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And these things were some of you; but ye have been washed, but ye have been sanctified, but ye have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (verses 9, 10, 11. N. T.)
From the connection it is plain that the causes of the lawsuits at Corinth were in part, at least, contained in the list of verses 9, 10. The people of that city were notorious for ways such as these, and it was not only that the Christians there had grown up in such an atmosphere, and as the apostle says, “and such were some of you”, but there is always the tendency in our hearts to be affected by what goes on in the world around us. It takes spiritual power to combat and overcome these things.
“But ye have been washed” in verse 11 speaks of the cleansing power of the blood of Christ (Rev. 1:55And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (Revelation 1:5); 1 John 5:66This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. (1 John 5:6); John 13:1010Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. (John 13:10)) by which the sinner is cleansed of his sins. This is done but once, and cannot be repeated. The New Testament Scriptures tell of another needful cleansing,-that of the saint-which is to be a constant thing: cleansing by the Word of God (Eph. 5:2626That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (Ephesians 5:26); John 13:1010Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. (John 13:10) and 14).
The believer contracts defilement which hinders his growth and mars his communion with the Lord, unless and until confessed and removed through the active power of the Word of God applied to the conscience by the Holy Spirit. It is however the once-for-all cleansing by blood that is referred to in verse 11 of our chapter.
“Ye are” (or have been) “sanctified” speaks of another divine work in the bringing of a soul to Christ. It is the setting apart of the believer to God which is effected in his conversion (2 Thess. 2:1313But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: (2 Thessalonians 2:13); 1 Peter 1:22Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. (1 Peter 1:2); Acts 20:3232And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. (Acts 20:32) and 26:18). This is his fitness for heaven. The Father hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, as it is said in Col. 1:1212Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: (Colossians 1:12).
Are you, dear young Christian, proving daily in your own life the value of the Word of God in cleansing and sanctifying you, a chosen vessel for Christ?
Verse 12. All things are lawful to the Christian; he is free, but all things are not expedient (or, do not profit; see the marginal note in your Bible). “All things are lawful to me”, says the apostle, “but I will not be brought under the power of any.” Thus the believer’s liberty is preserved; he is not to be under the control of anything that would be unprofitable to him. Food is given to sustain life, not to become a governing object; then it is lust. So it is said in verse 13, “Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats, but God will bring to nothing both it and them” (N. T.). Nor is the body for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
The Lord has taken up the believer’s body as well as his soul, though the body has not yet been redeemed out of its present state. (Rom. 12:11I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1); 1 John 3:1-31Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (1 John 3:1‑3); Phil. 3:17-2117Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. 18(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) 20For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Philippians 3:17‑21)). And God has both raised up the Lord and will raise us up from among the dead by His power (Rom. 8:1111But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11)).
Have you noticed in your reading of the Scriptures the interest God has in your body, young Christian? Here is a list of passages rich in profit to the soul (Rom. 6:12, 13, 19; 8:10; 12:112Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. (Romans 6:12‑13)
19I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. (Romans 6:19)
10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (Romans 8:10)
1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1); Eph. 5:2323For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. (Ephesians 5:23); Phil. 1:20; 3:17-2120According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. (Philippians 1:20)
17Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. 18(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) 20For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Philippians 3:17‑21); Col. 2:2323Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh. (Colossians 2:23); 1 Thess. 4:1-7; 5:231Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. 3For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor; 5Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: 6That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. (1 Thessalonians 4:1‑7)
23And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23); 1 Tim. 4:3-53Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. 4For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 5For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:3‑5); James 3:66And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. (James 3:6)).
That our bodies (not our souls) are members of Christ is a truth brought out in the 15th verse; that he that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit, following in the 17th. The Holy Spirit who dwells in me- for our bodies are His temples (verse 19)- unites me to Christ. I am not my own; I have been bought with a price; therefore I ought to glorify God in my body (verse 20). What weighty reasons are here given, that His children may be kept from sin!