You Are Not Who You Were (1 Corinthians 6:1-11)

[Music] Will the Lord be with you? If you have a Bible, and I hope you or someone around you does, would you turn with me? We are going to be looking at 1 Corinthians chapter 6 this morning, working through verses 1 to 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 6:es 1 to 11.

And through this we've been seeing that the Apostle Paul is writing a letter to the church in the city of Corenth. And this is once again a a a church that he has established in in one of his previous missionary journeys. And of course, as Paul has done regularly through his missionary journeys, after he establishes a church, he regularly checks up on them and is seeing how they are doing spiritually and relationally. And as he has been contacting this church and he's been receiving letters and questions about what's going on in the churches, he's finding that this church is a mess. That there are a lot of issues, a lot of concerns in the church, a lot of um arguments and infighting within the church. And so through this letter, we've seen how Paul is addressing many of these concerns.

Of course, he begins the letter encouraging them, reminding them of their identity in Christ, that they are saints, set apart to be holy. But we see that though they have this position as saints, they aren't living up to their position, to their identity in Christ. And so for majority of the first few chapters, he's addressing these specific um debates and division that is going on within the church specifically because the the culture of the city has been infiltrating the church in the city of Corinth. They are beginning to um value status and wealth and education. And so what they do is they're starting to prioritize and rival one another and thinking certain Christians are more valuable than other Christians. And so they are starting to say, "Well, because I follow this leader or because I was baptized by this individual, I actually have more power or I have more value or more rank within the church."

And so Paul starts to unpack and basically start to systematically break down this um worldview or this this this value system explaining that Christ is not divided. He says that if we are the body of Christ, we are not to divide with one another. We are not to debate and and value one believer over another believer, but we are all equal. We are all one and we are to unite in Christ. We are to unite around the gospel.

And so after he has addressed some of these infighting, some of these factions that were forming within the church, he then addresses in the previous chapter in chapter 5 that there's also an issue where we see an incestuous relationship going on within the church. That is that there was a man who was now in a sexual relationship with his father's wife. So that would be most likely his stepmother. And this church was boasting in this fact. Not only were they allowing it to take place within their church without any recourse, any church discipline, but rather they were actually boasting in it. They were thinking that they were an awesome church because they were so accepting and affirming. And Paul begins to explain that this is not only a sin in God's law, but it is even something that you wouldn't even hear of in the pagan world. that even the Gentiles would not allow a man to be with his father's wife. And so he's he's starting to explain that they are embracing sexual immorality and and sexual immorality will destroy the church. And so he's he's not only is he addressing these these divisions and these these um these factions that are forming, he's also addressing this sexual sin that was starting to pervade the church. And he explains that if they were to leave it unchecked, it would permeate through the entire church. how a little leavenan can levven the whole lump.

Well, now as we come to chapter six, the issues just continue. So, not only are there factions forming, is there sexual immorality in the church, but now we find in chapter six that there are actually Christians that are suing one another within the same local assembly. So, can you just imagine that for a second? If that was going on in our church right now, just looking around at who we have here, if you're just like, "Okay, so over here we have one person who is with his father's wife. We got some other people over here that are saying that they're the the leader, that they're the most important, and then we have somebody else in the congregation that's also suing somebody else over here." It's like, it's just crazy to think about. But this is still a church, and they were still called to be saints. And so what we find here, I think, is that the the Corinthians were experiencing an identity crisis of faith. They were not really understanding who they were in Christ.

And so some leading questions for us this morning as we as we think about this text, my question is, who are you? If someone were to ask you that question, who are you? At at your very core, what is your identity? And you might initially say your name, but then beyond just simply what is your name, right? On your birth certificate or on your license, who are you as a person? What would be some of the answers maybe that you would give to that individual? Well, I think what we see here is that the Corinthians, they would not probably be able to give you a satisfactory spiritual answer to that question because in verses 1 to 7, once again, we start to see some of the issues with certain brothers or believers leading other believers to secular court. that is that they were actually taking these brothers in Christ to pagan judges who had no status in the church to arbitrate matters within the church. Can you think how crazy that is? there there's a there's a conflict there or there's something going on and then certain brothers in Christ decide to craft these petty lawsuits and then take them to these secular courts and say, "I'm going to make you come to this court and we're going to have these non-believers judge us." That's what was going on within this congregation.

And I think that this is why Paul starts to remind them that the saints will judge the world. If you just notice in verse two, it says, "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?" See, what he's wanting them to do is to recognize who they are. that they are saints. They are set aart holy ones. Once again in chapter 1 verse two, that's the very first thing that he wants to get across to them is who they are in Christ. That they are they are now saint uh saints, sanctified individuals, but instead they were living like the world. And they were not only were they living like the world, but whenever there was a big dispute, when there was a an infighting, a a debate going on, when there's internal conflict within the the church family, what what do they do? They run to pagans and they say, "These people who don't have Christ, we want them to weigh in on church matters, on our personal fighting going on." And so, he is reminding them that they are meant to be saints. They are meant to do what God ha has called them to. And so they aren't meant to just go running to the secular courts, but rather believers should handle conflict internally with grace. That's what we are called to do as saints. If you have a conflict with a brother or a sister, your ideal situation is to handle it with grace and to seek reconciliation with one another. And if you can't solve the issue with your brother one-on-one, then you are called to bring in some other trusted brothers and sisters within the local congregation to solve this issue.

Now, as I say, that one big qualifier here is I don't think that Paul is saying that there is then no place for the secular government in the church that that all matters must be inhouse. I don't think that he's saying that because we know Paul also wrote the book of Romans and in chapter 13:es 1:3 he says let every soul be subject to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from God and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God. And those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same. So Paul clearly has a context for the government. He's not saying that that government has no place in the matters of our lives in our faith, but rather I think what he's addressing here specifically in chapter 6 is noncriminal activity. So this is not talking about someone who has committed sexual abuse. This is not someone who has been, you know, has been just like stealing from the entire church community or or doing something that that would cause great criminal um jurisdiction here. But I think what this is referring to is once again petty lawsuits, minimal issues. This would be something along the lines of greed where maybe someone cheated someone on a on a small scale issue. This is not meant to be these larger issues in which of course we actually by the church to submit to the government would be responsible. In fact, there are cases where you probably are familiar where there was a big church scandal and where the church actually it was wise for them to bring in a third party um group to to investigate the situation. And that could be once again regarding embezzlement or um maybe there's specific um sexual sin that's going on within the congregation, maybe even involving children. And in these cases, I think it is wise to bring outside sources in to investigate and to give you an objective lens on this so you don't have this bias within the church. But once again, I think what Paul is talking about is things that are are day-to-day matters that the church should be able to deal with. These are things that the church should be able to discuss and come to the truth on.

And so I think that it's interesting that he he's pointing this out and and showing that saints are meant to display an alternate way of doing life. That we shouldn't be like the rest of the world where there's debating and fighting and then we immediately want to go to an authority to cause them pain or punishment. but rather our goal ultimately should be seeking grace and reconciliation. Not wanting either side necessarily to be punished, but just wanting truth and grace to flourish. And so I think our goals then as the church, as saints, is to make clarity and charity our goals. We are to make clarity and charity our goals. That is that we must be clear. We must be intentional with what we say and what we what we do. We must make sure truth is actively present. And we must be giving charity to one another. Understanding that there are times that we might misunderstand one another. That there might be differences of of opinions. There might be things in which we disagree on and you might be right or wrong. But but that that we give one another grace and charity even on these um conflicts that may arise within the church. And we we we see Jesus being a perfect model of that in John 1:14 where he says, "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth." So when we think about God coming in the flesh, how he embodied his life, he was full of grace and truth. someone who valued both clarity and charity. And that is how we should model our lives and our relationships within the church because we once again are saints.

But not only are we just saints in a general sense, but it goes on to explain in verse two once again that the saints will have a future responsibility. And sometimes you don't hear about this or think about this maybe as much, but it says that the saints will judge the world. So, not only are you a saint right now and you're called to relate to one another in the church, but there will be a future day, it says, in which we all as the church will participate with Christ in the final day of judgment. The saints will rule and reign with Christ. That's amazing to think about. That means every single soul that's ever existed on this planet, the church will be responsible for in ruling and reigning and making certain judgments. And in fact, there's a few scriptures to think about in Daniel chapter 7 verse 22. It says until the ancient of days came and judgment was given for the saints of the most high and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. And so this is referring referring to God's coming and how judgment will be given to his saints and the saints will also possess the kingdom. And so this is talking about that future reality that we will experience. Likewise, in Matthew 19:28, it says, "So Jesus said to them,"As assuredly I say to you that in the regeneration when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory, you have follow you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel." Now, this is Jesus talking to his 12 disciples and he's letting them know that they will have authority in the kingdom that they will have thrones and being on thrones, they will rule, they will reign, and they will actually be responsible for judging the 12 tribes of Israel. So, for what Israel and what they have done with God and the Messiah and the promises of the kingdom, the 12 disciples are responsible for those individuals. Well, then one other text we see in Revelation 3:21, it says, "To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me on my throne as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne." So, you see the description, the imagery here. Just as what Christ had accomplished on the earth whenever he ascended, he is now on God's throne. He has God's authority, his power, his blessings, his glory. And then it says, "And we as his saints who follow him likewise get to partake of that same very throne." That's amazing. We get to partake of God's throne, have his rule, his reign, his authority over the world. That is what we have been gr g given through Christ because we are joint hes with Christ. We are just citizens in the kingdom. We aren't just random people that just happen to just barely make it into the kingdom by you know by by our teeth. But rather we are joint heirs. You are the highest in the kingdom because of who Christ is. Because Christ is our portion. He's our inheritance. He has done everything for us. And so because of that, we now will have this great responsibility on the day of judgment to judge the world in justice and in truth. We will judge.

But not only does it say that we will judge the world, but then he argues from the less to the greater here where he then or rather from the the greater to the less to make his point in verse three where he says, "Do you not know that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life. So, not only are we going to judge those in this world, our neighbors, but we actually will be judging angels, the highest class of created beings. Because right now, the angels are more powerful than us. They know more than us. They have greater revelation than us. Um, they can do all these different things. And we are in a humble state here on the earth. We are finite creatures who will die here. But it says in the kingdom on the final day, not only are we going to be responsible for ruling and reigning and judging the world, but we actually will be judging angels. Now, it doesn't give a lot of description or explanation about what that means. It could just mean that it's talking about maybe the fallen angels. Maybe this is referring to the demons, right? When they rebelled and and we will now be responsible for giving them their just punishment. But it also could be that we would be maybe handing out rewards to the angels that have been serving throughout this life. We know that there are angels that are ministering to believers that that ministered to Christ that that came and made bold declarations of things regarding the Messiah or there were different angels that came to prophets at different moments. It could be that we would be responsible for not only judging the fallen angels but maybe even giving rewards to the faithful angels who have been serving throughout history. The the fact is we don't really know all of the details, but it's just amazing to think about and that you once again if you are in Christ, you are a saint and you are going to be given this responsibility. And so if God is going to trust us to judge the world, to judge angels even, then we should be able to handle the mundane matters of this life. And that's the point here. The Corinthians were not living like they were saints going to judge the world and judge the angels. They were living as if they needed the world to judge them. They needed the world's wisdom rather than the wisdom that had been given to them by the spirit of God. They have the gospel, the greatest wisdom. And that's why it's so interesting because the Corinthians once again, they were valuing their status, their education, their wealth, right? They thought that they were wise. And if you remember all the different back and forths about wisdom and folly in this book, but if you notice, he says so many times, "Do you not know?" in this chapter. Do you see how many times he says, "Do you not know?" He says it in verse two. He says in verse three, he says it in verse 9. He just keeps going on. Says, "Do you not know this?" He says, "You're not acting wise. You who think you were wise are actually seeking the wisdom of the world." Once again, submitting yourself to the justice and the judgment of pagans. But you have been given the greater wisdom and you should know this. I've been giving you this revelation. And so then you must handle conflict within your church because God has given you the wisdom and the spirit to do so. He's given us the tools and he has given us the responsibility. And so we should be eager to once again to deal with infighting, deal with conflict in our church and to do so with clarity and charity.

And so my question for us is how are we currently handling conflict in our lives? Are we more like the Corinthians who we immediately want the secular world to weigh in? Or are we saying I'm going to look to God's word on this. I have received his spirit and the spirit can give me wisdom. I'm going to seek my brothers and my sisters in the church who can give me godly counsel. Those are the ones I will go to. And my aim is always grace and reconciliation. That is the hope. That is the goal ultimately. Doesn't mean once again as we see in this letter doesn't mean there aren't times for hard conversations. Truth is part of this process. But ultimately the goal is grace and and restoration. And so we see here that there's this call for us to consider how are we handling conflict? Are we handling conflict like saints who will judge the world one day or are we handling conflict like the pagans? That's our option. Do we want to live like saints or do we want to live like pagans?

Because finally what he goes on to say in the in the section is that public grievances discredit the gospel and the church. He goes on in this section in verse um in verse six and following. He says, "But brother goes to law against brother and that before unbelievers. Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?" See, what he's saying here is that it's better to allow yourself to be wronged at times, maybe even cheated at times, rather than losing your brother in Christ or your witness. Do we believe that it's better to be wronged at times, to be misunderstood, to be cheated at times, but you don't lose your brother or sister in Christ in the process, and you don't let the church lose its witness? Because what they were doing, he's saying it's an utter failure. He says, even if you go to court with the secular courts, the pagans come and let's say that they say you're right and they give you the money that you deserve. He says, even if you win in court, you've already lost. It's already an utter failure because you've already told the entire city that you don't believe the gospel is enough. That's what's going on here. They didn't believe that the gospel that the utilities, the resources that come with the gospel, they weren't enough to deal with their disputes, their conflicts. They needed something beyond the gospel to solve this problem. And what I think this really means then is that they they said Christ wasn't enough. What Christ has done in their life, who Christ has made them, it wasn't enough to deal with their disputes. And so they were willing to risk not only their brother in this relationship, but they were also willing to risk the reputation of the church and Christ's gospel message because they would not embrace what God has called them to.

And so then we see that the saints are called to judge the world. But then he also gives them this strict warning in verses 8 to10 because he also then says that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. He says, "No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat and you do these things to your brethren." So what he's saying here is that not only are you acting in a way that is be unbefitting of a saint going to court bringing your other brothers and sisters to court suing them but he says but you are already doing this yourself. You're also living like the people that you are suing. You are living an unrighteous life here. And then he goes on to say, "And do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?" He says, 'You guys are living unrighteous lives. You are living once again like the pagans. And he get then gives them this what is called a vice list in scripture. And there's many many vice lists in scripture where it gives a list of all these different individuals and says they will not inherit the kingdom of God. And I think it's really important that we read this text humbly and soberly and understand that not all people go to heaven. It says they will not all inherit the kingdom of God. Do we take this really seriously? I see so many times on social media when I interact with certain people, every time that they lose a loved one, they're always in a better place. And sometimes they're like having gained a new angel. I mentioned this recently on a Wednesday night that you know having gained a new angel that when you die you become an angel. Once again we just read no you don't become an angel. You're going to be above the angels if you're a saint and you're going to judge the angels. So when you die you don't become an angel. And just because you die that doesn't mean that you're in a better place. In fact we see that if you are unrighteous you will not inherit the kingdom. There are millions if not billions of people who have died in this life and are not partakers of the kingdom of heaven. There are people that you know probably even love and care about right now that if they continue the the route that they are going, they will not inherit the kingdom of heaven and they will go to the place that is the eternal lake of fire. they will experience eternal death, separation from God. Not all people will go to heaven.

And so what's interesting here is I think it shows us that our identity directly affects our destiny. Once again, look at this list. Notice that these are not simply actions that are being described here. It's not saying that if you did this then you will not inherit the kingdom. But it says that these are describing their very identities. It says neither fornicators nor idolattors nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revelers nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. These are identities. These are individuals who are either living in perpetual unrepentant sin or they are someone who have embraced this activity as their identity. That is who they have found themselves in. That is they say that they are either um respected or they are fulfilled or they they find pleasure purpose in these different things. And so what this really means then is that if you are identifying in idols, you will not inherit the kingdom of God. And that's why I asked that leading question at the beginning. Who are you? What is your identity? Where are you finding meaning and purpose? Where do you feel like you really have value in this life? What do you look to? What do you point to to solidify that? Is it Christ or is it an idol? And so I think this list is really just giving you a list of idols that these individuals that these Corinthians may be identifying in. And some of them could be money. Some of us think that we don't have worth or value unless we have a lot of money or at least as much as our neighbor or maybe more than our neighbor or work. Maybe our profession. Maybe we we think that because I'm a CEO that I have more value, that I I'm more important than maybe someone of a of a lesser position. Or maybe just status in general. Maybe you are a public figure. Maybe you have more fans, more followers, more people in your church building, whatever the case may be. If you're viewing status and thinking that is how I have meaning and and worth and fulfillment or relationships, maybe you think that you need a specific relationship to satisfy your deepest needs or pleasure. Or maybe you're turning to a substance, seeking pleasure or substances. If you're thinking that is what fulfills you, you're making an idol that goes beyond Christ. or sexuality is also a major one. In fact, he even gives a a list of different types of sexuality here. And we see that in our culture today that sexual identity identity is huge. So many people are making their entire worldview, their entire lifestyle is surrounded around their sexuality. But I don't care if you're gay or straight or trans or any of these things. If you are identifying in these things, that is sin. Once again, even the straight person, your identity should not be I'm a straight person. Your identity is I'm in Christ. That is your identity. That is who you follow. That is where you find your worth, your value, your purpose, your satisfaction. That is our identity. But the Corinthians, once again, they were having gospel amnesia here and they were living like the unrighteous.

And that's why he explains this. He says, "You're doing this stuff." But then he gives us hope in verse 11 and he reminds us that the washed now walk in Christ. Because what's so interesting is after he gives this long vice list and says that these individuals will not inherit the kingdom of God, he then says, "And such were some of you." So, not only is he saying that maybe some of them are are starting to maybe be tempted to go back into this lifestyle and and we know that in the culture at large, a lot of these people would have been identifying with these these certain vices, these certain sins. But then he says, "Hey, don't forget who you were before Christ." He says, "A lot of you in this congregation were these very things before you came to know Christ. You were an adulterer. You were a homosexual. You were an idoltor. You were a fornicator. You were covetous. You were a drunkard. And you can fill in the blank. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive list. Anything else that you were identifying in that wasn't Christ, you were these things. And so what he's pointing out is that we were all unrighteous before Christ. Who were you in your BC days? Maybe think about that. before Christ, right? Before you met Christ, before you you committed your life and followed Christ, who were you? He reminds them of who they were. So he can then remind them that they are not who they were anymore. That is they have been washed, sanctified, and justified. It says in the text, it says, "But you were washed, but you were sanctified. that you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God. If you were in Christ, you are a saint. And that means that you are not who you used to be. So if there is something in your past where you feel shameful about, you feel condemned about, I want to encourage you that when we read these beautiful words here, you have been washed. What washed means is that mean you have been cleansed. You've been purified. That dirt, that filth of sin, that shame, it's not with you anymore. is completely removed by the blood of Christ. And so you have been washed. You've been cleansed. It says you've been sanctified. That means you've literally been set apart now for a holy purpose like religious holy activity. You have been set apart for God. And you've been justified. So, not only are you in a position of holiness, have you been cleaned physically, but you actually have a righteous standing before God. It says justified means you have been declared righteous. It's like a a legal pardon, not guilty. That's who you are now in Christ. And so, it's so important that we see this. We need to remind ourselves who we were bec who were you before Christ. You were you were um unrighteous. You were all of these things on these lists. That's who we were before Christ. But now because of Christ, we are now living in the AD that is in the ano domin that is in the year of our Lord. Everything is radically changed. We are in a different part in history, a different part in our own lives now because of Christ. We need to recognize who we are now. And that's why in Titus 3:es 5-6, it says, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior. So, we have been washed by the power of the Holy Spirit when we came to Christ and we are now radically different from who we were before. The gospel of Christ transforms us. We know 2 Corinthians 5:17, it says that we are now in Christ. We have become a new creation. Old things have passed away. We know that Romans 1:16, it tells us that we shouldn't be ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Why? Because it's the power of God to salvation for anyone who believes. The power there is that transformative power. It makes you an unrighteous pagan and it brings you in to becoming a saint, a holy judge who has been washed, sanctified, and justified and now is encouraged to walk in Christ.

And so then if we can just keep these categories in our minds, understanding who we were BC, who we are now in AD, we then should then allow ourselves as we think about what Christ has done for us, then let it then apply to how we treat others. Because if Jesus forgave us of who we were in the past, if he embraced us, not only just gave us a legal pardon, but he actually embraces us. He he calls us to come to his table to be a part of his family to be in his kingdom and he literally died for us. How much more should we do for others? That's why these petty lawsuits are so so trivial, so foolish, so sinful. If we are literally boldly proclaiming the gospel that we were unrighteous, unworthy to inherit the kingdom of God, that we had no holiness within ourselves, but Christ willingly came offering us truth and grace, that we could be washed, that we could be sanctified, that we could be justified, being partakers of the kingdom, and actually have the ability to judge, rule, and reign. If literally Christ did that for us, if someone is bickering in the church, can we be more like Christ? Can we start to live in Christ and live like Christ? That's what he's calling them to do here, to remind them once again, all things are Christ. We must do all things in Christ and for Christ and because of Christ. And so as we think about this and we think about these issues that may be in the church, we do take sin seriously. Christ took sin very seriously. He would rebuke sin. He died for sin. But we also handle it graciously. And that's how we should consider our own conflicts. We need to remember who we are. We need to remember identity is in Christ who has made us a saint, a judge of the world. That we are no longer unrighteous. that we actually get to inherit the kingdom that we are washed. We are now to walk in Christ. And the way that we do that when we when we deal with these different conflicts is we do take the sins seriously. We deal with these things, but we make sure that we always allow grace to prevail. So that is my encouragement for us this morning as we as we think about this passage. The saints will judge the world. The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom. But the washed now walk in