Transcription
I know the Bible can be hard to read, especially by yourself, especially when you feel like you don't understand or you're not consistent in it. I got you. We are going to read 1 Corinthians chapter 6 today, and Paul's going to talk about what we do as Believers when we're cheated, when we feel cheated, when we just feel like someone has just done us dirty. So come on in and join [Music] me.
Hey y'all, I'm Cayla. Welcome back to my channel. I'm so glad you're here. As we continue going through the book of First Corinthians, Paul is giving some super awesome instructions, right? So I want you to grab your workbook. This one's free. This one's my gift to you. So the link to it is in the description. All you got to do, it'll come straight to your email. You'll have it immediately with these questions to help you dig into yourself, to help you apply what we read to your life, to truly do some examining. Look, it's not going to be easy, but to truly think through it. I'll tell you what, I share often about reading the Bible consistently and how I got to that point of reading consistently, and it was years after I went to Bible School. It was years after I was even working for a church full time. It was years after all that that I finally made this commitment. But what has kept it going for years and years and years and years is that I take the time to look into it, to apply to my life. I'm not just reading stories anymore. I'm not just reading for the sake of, "Oh, I read the Bible." I'm truly trying to walk this out like His word, my walk. I'm real about that. So let's keep going. So grab your workbook, okay? Grab your workbook, especially for this book of the Bible. Let's get right into chapter six in this letter that Paul has written to the Corinthians, okay? He's been talking last time he was talking about their pride, remember? It was like, you're just so prideful that you love this guy, but like he's doing all this sin, like don't just put up with anything. Well, now he's continuing on, and this is his instruction. When one, first of all, remember people are reporting back, right? People are telling them, "Hey, this is what's going on in Corinth. Can you address that?" So he's writing a letter to those in Corinth, to the Believers there at that time, addressing what they are going through. All right, context. Chapter 6. I'm reading from the New Living Translation. Let's go.
"When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter, instead of taking it to other believers? When one of you has a disagreement with another believer." Okay, we got to, we got to see what he's saying here and get the truth. With another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter, instead of taking it to other believers? There's so much in just this sentence. As I was just reading it a couple minutes ago, I was like, "Oh my gosh." Well, this also assumes that we have other believers that we can take disputes to, to who are going to give us Godly wisdom, who are going to judge according to God's word, who are going to give that kind of counsel, and that as Believers, we would listen to. So if I need to examine myself in that, right? And maybe the question goes further. If I have a disagreement or a dispute, maybe even right now with another believer, why am I not going to another believer to help us settle it? First of all, why am I not going to them? But why am I not going to another believer to help us settle it? Just, just wondering, right?
"Don't you realize that someday we Believers will judge the world? Oh, we will. Because I thought God judges the world. What's Paul saying to them there? I thought God judges the world. And since you're going to judge the world, can't you decide even these little things among yourselves? Don't you realize that we will judge angels? Wait, as Believers, we will judge the world and we will judge angels? How does that work? What's the understanding of that? What's the implication of that? What is Paul saying to them in Corinth at that time? This is where a DI or a a a dictionary or um a commentary is going to come in and help us understand that time and help us understand what Paul's saying there. Because what we have also been reading in this letter is God judges the world. We can judge other Believers. But now he's saying, "Don't you realize that someday we Believers will judge the world?" Is that the same word, "judge," that is used when God judges? And since you're going to judge the world, can't you decide even these little things among yourselves? It's like, I've got such bigger assignments for you. Figure it out amongst each other, right? Uh, "don't you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. Surely as Believers, we should be able to judge and solve and solve and solve. You should be able to resolve, resolve ordinary disputes in this life." I know sometimes we'll have something go on and we'll be like, "This isn't an ordinary dispute. No one knows how I feel about this. This is like beyond." Look at everything that Paul went through. And let's keep going because he's going to talk more about what they're going through at Corinth at that time, and he's still encouraging them to go to other Believers.
"If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go out? Why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church?" As I read that, I was like, "Oh, I don't know." Like, you know, outside judges who are not respected by the church. What does he mean by respected by the church? Because I would think it means like, don't go to outside people, right? Who don't understand. We've all talked about this, right? We can't hold unbelievers accountable to how we're trying to live. So if you go to a secular judge, or you go to outside counsel, is what he's just saying here, like they're not going to judge you the same way. They're not going to come up with solutions that go in line with God's word. Even maybe, um, I'm saying this sentence made me laugh. I'm saying this to shame you. Like, just flat out, period, full stop, sentence. "I am saying this to shame you."
"Isn't there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? Isn't there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? But instead, one believer sues another, right in front of unbelievers." A lot of this goes back to, um, we can remember the Pharisees when Jesus was on earth, right? And they're still there now. Paul was a Pharisee. But what was one of the words that Jesus kept saying to the Pharisees? "Hypocrite." When I was just at summer camp, we were talking about this, and I was asking the girls, like, "What's one, uh, one word that unbelievers often use to describe the church?" "Hypocrite." Right? "I don't want to be part of that. You guys are all hypocrites. Oh, you say you're supposed to live like this, but then you don't, and you're the ones that are worse than everyone else at this." And Paul's making it very clear here.
"Instead, you yourselves are the..." Oh, nope. Wrong, wrong paragraph. "But instead, one believer sues another, right in front of unbelievers. Like, let's live as examples of Christ, and let's live different than the world, you know? And know that the world is watching us. The world is watching." So instead, one believer sues another, right in front of unbelievers. Like, come on. I love that Paul's actually getting really detailed in, though, because it helps us in our own lives, right? How I'm living, and how am I living right in front of unbelievers? I have unbelievers in my family. I have unbelievers that I run into every single day, almost. You may have unbelievers on your job. How are you acting and representing Christ in front of unbelievers? What's, let's examine our... I actually don't think that's one of the questions that I wrote for this chapter. So like, that may be one of the, the Holy Spirit is like hitting you with that right now, you know? Unbelievers are watching. How are we acting? Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated?
Okay, Paul, right? This is our reaction. "Seriously, Paul, what do you mean, 'Why not just let yourselves be cheated?' I'm supposed to just let someone get away with it? If another, another believer cheats me, if another believer wrongs me, I'm supposed to just brush it off? You just said in the last chapter that we're supposed to hold other believers accountable, right? So now you're saying just brush it off?" I feel like this might be how they're reacting as as someone's reading this to them, right? Because I'm having a similar reaction by just reading it now. Woo.
"Instead, you yourselves are the one ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow Believers. You yourselves." Again, he's saying, "Examine yourself. You're so quick to say that you're the one that's cheated, but you can't let it go. But instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow Believers."
"Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the kingdom of God? What does inherit the kingdom of God mean, right? Because is there a difference between being saved and inheriting the kingdom of God? As Paul's writing this, as Paul's saying this, is there a difference between those two? It makes me wonder that as I'm reading it. It makes me have to dig in a little bit more and research. Is there a difference? Right? Because now he's saying some won't inherit the kingdom of God, but we are saved by faith and grace. So is there a difference between being saved and inheriting the kingdom of God? Do some research, okay? Remember, I'm here here to help you ask the questions. I'm here to help you like see some differences, see the similarities, and then I want you to go to those commentaries. I want you to get into it for yourself. I want you to feel the dictionaries and the pages and, you know, gosh, mine's sitting right here. It's such a big one, but like, this is the one I use almost every day. I know it's upside down, right? This one that I share. This is the one I use all the time that I go to. I share the commentaries with you that I go to. I truly do this for myself. I don't just read and let it go. I dig in when I have these kind of questions. Wait a minute, is there a difference between that? Because I remember reading this. I got to get in there and dig. I don't always find the answer. I also don't always find the answer that I think. And then sometimes I have to go dig more, or I have to call and ask somebody. All right, so get in there.
"Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in..." Stay with me through this whole sentence. "Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people, none of these will inherit the kingdom of God." Let me just stop here. There is no order there. There is no hierarchy there. We here on Earth, in this world, try to make some of those worse than others. Paul just is laying them all out. He lays them all out, and they are all on the same playing field, okay? We try to say some of those are worse than others. Paul doesn't. Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people, none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. There you go.
"Some of you were once like that. Can we be honest with ourselves? Some of you were once like that." He's saying that to the Corinthians, but I got to check myself. Was I once like that? Any of those situations? If the answer is no, dig deeper. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you examine yourself. But you were cleansed. You were made holy. You were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Right? It's, it's not the end. It is not the end. So we don't have shame to admit where we've been in the past and what we've done in the past because, but you were cleansed. You were made holy. You were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our Lord. And if God has done that for me, God can do that for others. And so I believe he can can do that for others. I believe that he can do that for others. And I continue to pray for others, and I continue to look within myself too, from when I like slip up.
"All right, you say, you say, 'I am allowed to do anything,' but not everything is good for you. And even though I am allowed to do anything, I must not become a slave to anything." All right, Paul, again, this is his letter to them at that time. What was their culture like? What was their city like? What were they going through? "You say food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food. This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them." I had never really, like, I mean, I've obviously read that before, but to think about it now, you know, we think of like heaven, we think of eternity, but I didn't really think of like, even just a simple sentence like that, that God will do away with both of them, like the need for food, you know? Like, just, just actually picturing that and like what eternity will be like.
"But you can't say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality, right? You can say the stomach was made for food and food for the for the stomach, but you can't say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. You can't say that they were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. That is a truth. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead." Look at the power. How, how Paul is still putting in the truths of the Gospel, right? This isn't just instruction to them of how to live, how to live, how to live. You're doing it wrong, you're doing it wrong, you've got to change and do it this way. He's also speaking the truth. He's quoting other scripture. He's still with a like boldness and, um, correction. He's still encouraging, right? And he's still even uplifting.
"And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead." He didn't say "me, not you." He said "us." "Us." "Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? How are our bodies parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never. And don't you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? That's a truth that we can take and know in our life. That's what happens when bodies are joined together. They become one together, right? For the scriptures say, 'The two are united into one.' The scriptures say, 'The two are united into one.' But, but that person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him." Or, "But the person, but the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him."
"Run from sexual sin. Run from sexual sin. Run from sexual sin." This is a truth we can take into our lives. But at that time, they were wild, and he has been addressing sexual sin to them because whatever was going on in Corinth, that's what they needed to be addressed in this moment. "Run from sexual sin. No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does, for sexual immorality is a sin against your own body." A sin against your own body. Remember, this is the only body we have.
"And let's finish this chapter out. Don't you realize that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body." That's the context of that verse. Have I used that verse to like try to encourage people to be healthy in my like fitness era? And even now? Absolutely, because it's a truth. But the context of this verse is talking about the Corinthians, first of all, and it's talking about sexual immorality. But the truth is, "Don't you realize that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price." God bought you with a high price. Jesus, the blood of Jesus, the life of His only Son. So you must honor God with your body. Do I honor God with my body? How do I honor God with my body?
Man, right? We think the Corinthian Church was a trip. Let's look at life now. Let's look at what we go through. Let's look at our city. Let's look at our people. Let's get into these questions.
Chapter 6: Have I been cheated in the past? Am I being cheated right now? What was or is my reaction and my course of action? Reading Paul's instruction to the Corinthians, is there alternate action or inaction I need to consider? You know, we always want there to be an exception, right? We always want there to be an exception for what we're going through because clearly it's got to be worse than what everyone else is going through. But let's examine ourselves, and let's look at the instruction that Paul gave to the Corinthians, and let's see, you know, whatever we're going through in life, is there an alternate action or inaction that I need to consider?
Second question: Do I honor God with my body? How do I honor God with my body? Have I made some decisions that were not honoring to God when it comes to my body? What's the truth that I know now about those decisions I made in the past? What's the truth about decisions I made in the past? Okay, about decisions I made in the past. What's the truth about the decisions? But also, what's the truth of who God is and how I can move forward? Okay.
And now, here's your Walk It Out Challenge. Look, you're getting all the homework in these, so truly grab this workbook because you can slow it down through this workbook. You don't have to do a chapter a day. I seriously hope and pray that these are questions that you start to think about in your own life. I'm still thinking about questions from chapter one. I'm still thinking about them, okay? So like, don't rush through this. This is us trying to live this life on Earth, which is a trip, in this world, all for God's glory.
Here's your walk it out challenge today: Take an honest assessment of your life. What areas are not aligned with God, with His will, with His truth? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you and allow Him to guide you into honesty. Then take action. Cut out the action. Cut off the relationship. Confess and repent before God, and even before another if needed. God is faithful. God loves you. It's time to cut it out.
Let me pray for you. Woo. God, thank you. Thank you for who You are. Thank you for Your mercy. Thank you for Your grace. Thank you for Your Son and the sacrifice that You gave for us, the high price that You paid for each of us, that we are now Your children. Thank you. Thank you, God. I pray over the one watching right now. Holy Spirit, I pray that they hear You clearly. That they hear You clearly and examine pieces of their lives that You will point out, and they will know which way to go. They will know what needs to be cut out immediately. They will know when they are trying to make exceptions to Your word and to Your truth. That they will know, God, where to go when they feel cheated or when they feel lied to, and how to handle those situations as Believers representing You. Thank you for the example that we can read. Thank you for the example that You lived here on Earth. God, we desire to live here on Earth representing You, all for Your glory. In Jesus' name, amen.
Oh, I've got some homework to do. I've got some examining to do, and I hope you do too. While you're at it, I've got these other resources to help you understand, to help you dig in, to help you do some research in the Bible and also in yourself. So check these ones out too.