Morning Watch Monday 12/14 1 Corinthians 4 6 Review 1 Cor. 4:1-9 1 Cor. 4:1-2, 4-6 Related verses 1 A man should account us in this way, as 3 servants of Christ and 4 stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Here, furthermore, it is sought in stewards that one be found faithful. 4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself; but I am not justified in this, but He who examines me is the Lord. 5 So then do not judge anything before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then there will be praise to each from God. 6 Now 1 these things, brothers, I have 2 transferred in figure to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us the matter of not going beyond what has been written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one, against the other. 1 Peter 4:10 10 Each one, as he has received a gift, ministering it among yourselves as good stewards of the varied grace of God. Luke 12:42-44 42 And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful and prudent steward, whom the master will set over his service to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 44 Truly I tell you that he will set him over all his possessions. 1 Cor. 3:6-7 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. 7 So then neither is he who plants anything nor he who waters, but God who causes the growth. Footnotes 1 Cor. 4:1 3 An attendant or appointed servant, an official servant appointed specifically for a certain purpose (Acts 26:16). 1 4 The Greek word is of the same root as the word for economy in 1 Tim. 1:4 and Eph. 1:10. It means a dispensing steward, a household administrator, who dispenses the household supply to its members. The apostles were appointed by the Lord to be such stewards, dispensing God s mysteries, which are Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ (Col. 2:2; Eph. 3:4), to the believers. This dispensing service, the stewardship, is the ministry of the apostles. 3 2 Man s day of judgment is the present age, in which man judges (this judgment refers to man s examination). It is in contrast to the Lord s day (3:13), which is the coming age, the kingdom age, in which the Lord will judge and in which the judgment will be the Lord s judgment. 6 1 Referring to the things mentioned in the preceding passage, from ch. 1 to this chapter. 6 2 A term used for metaphoric expressions. The things written by the apostle in the preceding chapters, chs. 1 3, were applicable to all those who served the Lord, especially to the proud and divisive Corinthians. But for their sake, that is, according to their condition and for their benefit, Paul transferred these things to himself and Apollos, using himself and Apollos as figures, as he had said in 3:5-8. By doing so, he expected the puffed up Corinthians to understand and apply to themselves the comparison that he made. 7 1 It is God who distinguishes us from others. And what we have we received from God. Hence, all the glory should be ascribed to God, and we should boast in Him, not in ourselves or in any servants, such as Paul or Apollos, whom He has used. 8 1 The Corinthian believers, proud of what they had obtained, became satisfied with what they had. They became self-sufficient and reigned independently of the apostles. This was altogether in themselves and in their flesh. 9 1 In Paul s time, when criminals fought with wild beasts in the amphitheater for the entertainment of the populace, they were exhibited last of all. Paul applied this figure to the apostles, who were set forth by God as last of all in His spectacle. 9 2 The apostles considered themselves criminals doomed to death before the world, unlike the Corinthians, who considered themselves kings destined to reign. 9 3 A metaphor, referring to the fights between criminals and wild beasts in the Roman amphitheater. The apostles became such a spectacle to the world, seen not only by men but also by angels. See note 33 1 in Heb. 10. Suggested daily reading Verses 14 through 21 are the most intimate portion of this chapter. Here we see that Paul was a begetting father. He seems to be saying to the Corinthians, Yes, I am scum and offscouring. But I am a father who has begotten many children. In Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. In verse 14 Paul says, Not as shaming you am I writing these things, but as my beloved
Morning Watch Monday 12/14 Continued... children I admonish you. If I had been one of the believers receiving this Epistle at Corinth, I would have been ashamed after reading the first thirteen verses of this chapter. I would have said to myself, My spiritual father says that we are exalting ourselves, but he considers himself as offscouring and scum. This makes me feel ashamed. However, Paul says that he wrote these things not to shame them, but to admonish them as his beloved children. In verse 15 Paul goes on to say, For though you have ten thousand guides in Christ, yet not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. The Greek word rendered guides literally means childconductors, as in Galatians 3:24 and 25. Guides, child-conductors, give instructions and directions to the children under their guardianship; fathers impart life to their children whom they beget. The apostle was such a father. He had begotten the Corinthian believers in Christ through the gospel, imparting the divine life into them so that they became children of God and members of Christ. Verse 16 continues, I appeal therefore to you, become imitators of me. The Greek word for appeal is the same as that used in verse 13. In appealing to the Corinthians to imitate him, Paul seems to be saying, My children, don t be kings, but be willing to be despised as criminals in the sight of men. Don t be philosophers, but be offscouring and scum. Turn from what you were in the past and become imitators of me. Today we, the apostles, are despised before man for the sake of Christ. We have become fools because of Christ. We have been made a spectacle to angels and to men, we are like criminals sentenced to death, and we are scum and offscouring. But to you I am a begetting father. In verse 17 Paul says, Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every church. The ways here refer to the ways in which the apostle conducted himself as he taught the saints in every church. The expression everywhere in every church indicates two things: first, that the apostle s teaching is the same universally, not varying from place to place; second, that everywhere equals every church and that every church equals everywhere. This Epistle was brought to the Corinthians by Timothy. Thus, Paul not only wrote an Epistle; he also sent a co-worker to visit the Corinthians with this Epistle. By this we see that Paul had intimate and personal contact with the believers at Corinth. In verses 18 and 19 Paul tells the Corinthians, Now some have been puffed up as though I were not coming to you; but I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills. This was Paul s answer to those Corinthians who were asking why Paul himself did not come to them. Some were puffed up, thinking that he would not visit them. But Paul says that if the Lord wills, he will come to Corinth shortly. If it were up to him, he would definitely come. But, according to the New Testament way of speaking, Paul inserted the words if the Lord wills to indicate that the Lord may not send him there. Thus, if the Lord wills, he will come. But if the Lord does not will that he visit the Corinthians, there is nothing Paul can do about it. In verses 19 and 20 Paul says, I will know not the speech of those who have been puffed up, but the power; for the kingdom of God is not in speech, but in power. Paul s word about the kingdom of God refers to the church life. This implies that in the sense of authority the church in this age is the kingdom of God. Paul knew that the kingdom of God is not in speech, but in power. For this reason, he wanted to know the power of those who were puffed up. Verse 21 is the conclusion of this chapter: What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of meekness? This word is spoken to the Corinthian believers based upon the consideration that the apostle is their spiritual father. As such, he has the position and responsibility to chastise his children. A spirit of meekness here refers to the apostle s regenerated spirit indwelt by and mingled with the Holy Spirit. The spirit of meekness is one that is saturated with the meekness of Christ (2 Cor. 10:1) to express the virtue of Christ. Life Study of 1 Corinthians, Message 35 Pg. 310-313 Living Stream Ministry, 1984, used by permission
Morning Watch Tuesday 12/15 Related verses 1 Cor. 4:10-21 1 Cor. 4:10, 12, 15-17 10 We are 1 fools because of Christ but you are prudent in Christ; we are 2 weak but you are strong; you are glorious, but we are dishonored. 12 And we labor, working with our own hands. Reviled we bless; persecuted we endure; 15 For though you have ten thousand guides in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 I exhort you therefore, Become imitators of me. 17 Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach 2 everywhere in every church. 1 Thes. 2:11-12 11 Just as you know how we were to each one of you, as a father to his own children, exhorting you and consoling you and testifying, 12 So that you might walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. 2 Cor. 6:3-4a 3 We give no occasion of stumbling in anything that the ministry may not be faulted, 4a But in everything we commend ourselves as ministers of God, Footnotes 1 Cor. 4:10 1 The apostles were willing to be foolish by forsaking their human wisdom for the sake of Christ. But the fleshly Corinthian believers remained prudent in their natural wisdom, while claiming that they were in Christ. 10 2 The apostles, while ministering Christ, appeared to be weak, for they used no strength or power of their natural being (2:3). But the fleshly Corinthian believers were strong, seeking to be recognized as prominent among the believers by exercising their natural ability. 17 2 This expression indicates two things: (1) that the apostle s teaching was the same universally, not varying from place to place; and (2) that everywhere equals every church, and every church, everywhere. Suggested daily reading In verse 6 Paul goes on to say, Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? The Corinthian believers, in spite of the confusions and such a gross sin as incest among them, were boasting and glorying. The apostle s Epistle should humble them by pointing out the sinful things among them, thus making them realize that their boasting is not good. In speaking of a little leaven, Paul s thought here may be that there is no need to have such a gross sin as that which existed among them; just a little leaven, a little sin, leavens and corrupts the whole lump, the whole church. In verse 7 Paul continues, Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For indeed our Passover, Christ, has been sacrificed. The word new in this verse literally means young, new in time. A new lump refers to the church, composed of the believers in their new nature. To say that Christ is our Passover indicates that the apostle considers the believers God s chosen people, who have had their Passover, as typified by the one in Exodus 12. In this Passover Christ is not only the Lamb, but also the entire Passover. To be our Passover, He was sacrificed on the cross for our redemption and reconciliation to God. Thus, we may enjoy Him as a feast before God. In this feast no leaven is allowed to be present. Sin and the redeeming Christ cannot go together. In verse 7 Paul says that the believers at Corinth are unleavened. Is this not difficult to believe? How could the Corinthian believers have been unleavened? In the first four chapters of this Epistle they were rebuked by Paul for their divisions. Is divisiveness not leaven? Are not jealousy, strife, and pride sinful things? How, then, could Paul say that the believers there were unleavened? This seems to be a contradiction. Actually, there is no contradiction here at all. The Bible always gives us a complete view of a matter, especially of our history as believers. This means that the Bible reveals both sides of a matter. On the one
Morning Watch Tuesday 12/15 Continued... hand, we have the side of Christ; on the other hand, we have the side of what we are in our fallen nature. According to one side, the side of Christ, we are holy. We are saints in Christ. In 1:2 Paul pointed out that we are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints. Thus, in Christ we are unleavened. But according to the other side, the side of our natural being, we are full of leaven. The crucial question is whether we eat unleavened bread or leavened bread. In other words, do we live Christ or do we live ourselves? If we live Christ, then we eat unleavened bread. But if we live ourselves, then we eat leavened bread. In verse 7 Paul charges us to purge out the old leaven that we may be a new lump, even as we are unleavened. We need to be a new lump according to Christ s side. We are unleavened in Christ, and should live according to Him, not according to ourselves. In verse 8 Paul says, Let us therefore keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of malice and evil, but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. The feast here refers to the feast of unleavened bread as the continuation of the Passover (Exo.12:15-20). It lasted for seven days, a period of completion, signifying the entire period of our Christian life, from the day of our conversion to the day of rapture. This is a long feast, which we must keep, not with the sin of our old nature, the old leaven, but with unleavened bread, which is the Christ of our new nature as our nourishment and enjoyment. Only He is the life supply of sincerity and truth, absolutely pure, without mixture, and full of reality. The feast is a time for the enjoyment of a banquet. The entire Christian life should be such a feast, such an enjoyment of Christ as our banquet, the rich supply of life. From verses 7 and 8 we realize that here we have two feasts. When we were saved, we enjoyed the feast of the Passover. But now throughout our entire Christian life we should enjoy the feast of unleavened bread. In typology, the seven days of the feast of unleavened bread signify our whole Christian life. Without 1 Corinthians 5, we would not think of the Christian life as such a feast. But according to verse 8, we see that the Christian life is a feast of unleavened bread, a feast of the enjoyment of Christ as our life supply without any leaven. Life Study of 1 Corinthians, Message 36 Pg. 321-323 Living Stream Ministry, 1984, used by permission
Morning Watch Wednesday 12/16 Related verses 1 Cor. 5:1-13 1 Cor. 5:6-8 6 Your 1 boasting is not good. Do you not know that a 2 little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Purge out the old leaven that you may be a 1 new lump, even as you are unleavened; for our 2 Passover, Christ, also has been sacrificed. 8 So then let us keep the 1 feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Rom. 13:14 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. 1Thes 4:3-4 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; 4 That each one of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, Heb. 12:14-15 14 Pursue peace with all men and sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord; 15 Looking carefully lest anyone fall away from the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and through this many be defiled; Footnotes 1 Cor. 5:1 1 The first problem, dealt with in chs. 1 4, is the matter of division, which is related mainly to the natural life of the soul. The second problem, dealt with in ch. 5, the second section of the book, is the sin of fornication, which is related to the lust of the flesh. This problem, involving incest with one s stepmother, is morally more gross than the former. The former pertains to the strife that comes from pride; the latter is a gross sin that comes from lust. 3 1 The apostle, as a spiritual person, behaved in his spirit, in contrast to the Corinthians, who behaved either in the soul or in the flesh. Although he was absent from them in the body, he was still present with them in the spirit, exercising his spirit to judge the evil person among them. 4 1 Both in the name of our Lord Jesus and with the power of our Lord Jesus modify deliver in v. 5. The apostle, in his spirit, applied the mighty name of the Lord with His power to deliver the evil person to Satan. 4 2 The apostle s spirit was so strong that it attended the meeting of the Corinthian believers. His spirit was assembled with them to carry out his judgment upon the evil person. 5 1 To deliver a sinful person to Satan is for discipline. 5 2 This refers mainly to the affliction of a certain disease (2 Cor. 12:7; Luke 13:16). 5 3 Flesh here refers to the lustful body, which should be destroyed. 5 4 This sinful one among the Corinthian believers was a brother who had been saved once for eternity (John 10:28-29). He could never perish because of any sin. However, because of his sinfulness he needed to be disciplined by the destruction of his sinful flesh, that he might be kept in a condition in which his spirit could be saved in the day of the Lord. 6 1 Or, glorying. In spite of the confusion and the presence of the gross sin of incest among them, the Corinthian believers were boasting and glorying. The apostle s Epistle should have humbled them by pointing out the sinful things among them, thus making them realize that their boasting was not good. 6 2 The apostle s thought here might have been that there was no need to have a sin as gross as that which existed among them; just a little leaven, a little sin, leavens and corrupts the whole lump, the whole church. 7 1 Lit., young, new in time. See note 10 2 in Col. 3. The new lump refers to the church, composed of the believers in their new nature. 7 2 This indicates that the apostle considered the believers God s chosen people, who have had their Passover, as typified by the one in Exo. 12. In this Passover, Christ is not only the Passover lamb but also the entire Passover. To be our Passover, He was sacrificed on the cross that we might be redeemed and reconciled to God. Thus, we may enjoy Him as a feast before God. In this feast no leaven is allowed to be present. Sin and the redeeming Christ cannot go together. 8 1 The feast here refers to the Feast of Unleavened Bread as the continuation of the Passover (Exo. 12:15-20). It lasted for seven days, a period of completion, signifying the entire period of our Christian life, from the day of our conversion to the day of rapture. This is a long feast, which we must keep not with the sin of our old nature, the old leaven, but with unleavened bread, which is the Christ of our new nature as our nourishment and enjoyment. Only He is the life supply of sincerity and truth, absolutely pure, without mixture, and full of reality. The feast is a time for the
Morning Watch Wednesday 12/16 Continued... enjoyment of the banquet. The entire Christian life should be such a feast, such an enjoyment of Christ as our banquet, the rich supply of life. 11 1 The evil persons mentioned in this verse are not those who have simply committed a certain sin, but those who live in that sin and remain in it, refusing to repent. To remove such a one is not just to remove a sin from the church but to judge and remove a sinful person so that the church will not be leavened by his presence. 13 1 I.e., cut him off from the fellowship of the church, as typified by the separating of a leper from the people of God (Lev. 13:45-46). Suggested daily reading In the book of 1 Corinthians Paul compares the believers at Corinth, and himself as well, to the children of Israel. He takes the history of the children of Israel as a background for this Epistle. This gives us the ground to say that the history of the children of Israel is a full type of our Christian life in the church. In verse 7 Paul speaks of our Passover, Christ. If Christ was Paul s Passover, then He must be the Passover for every believer. The children of Israel did not live individualistically; on the contrary, they lived, camped, traveled, and fought battles together. Their corporate life typifies our life in the church. Therefore, when we read the history of the children of Israel, we should realize that we are reading our own history. What happened to them is a type of our experience today. They ate manna in the wilderness; we also eat manna. They drank of the living water; we also drink the living water. They had a rock which went with them; we also have a rock. They experienced the Passover; we also have a Passover, a Passover that is Christ Himself. Furthermore, after the Passover, they kept the feast of unleavened bread. This indicates that we also should keep this feast. The church life is a feast of unleavened bread. For this reason, any leaven must be purged out of the church. Unleavened bread indicates a living which is without sin, without leaven. In ourselves we cannot possibly have this kind of living. However, in Christ it is possible to live a sinless life. We have been put into Christ, and now we must learn to live in Christ and by Christ. Then He will become our unleavened life supply. He will become the source, the fountain, of a sinless life and living. Because we have such a source and supply, it is possible for us to live a sinless life. If we would live a life without sin, we must daily eat Christ as unleavened bread. Dietitians tell us that we are what we eat. If we eat unleavened bread, we shall eventually become constituted of unleavened bread. Then we shall live an unleavened life. Although in ourselves it is impossible ever to be sinless, in Christ we can become sinless by eating Him as the source and supply of a sinless life. Since Christ, our source, is unleavened, if we feast on Him daily, we can have an unleavened church life. In writing this Epistle, Paul was endeavoring to bring the distracted Corinthians back to the central vision of God s economy. He knew that once they were brought back, they would be all right. But if they remained away from this vision, they would still be sinful in their living. This principle applies both to the church corporately and to the believers individually. We need to learn to bring others back to the central vision, not just to deal with their failures and sins. In the first two chapters of this book Paul lays a solid foundation for all the matters he later covers. Everything Paul deals with in this Epistle has the first two chapters as its basis. This indicates that all our dealings with the church and the saints must be based on the need to come back to Christ and to the central vision. We must help others see that the reason they have been distracted is that they have turned from the central vision to something else. If they come back to Christ, they will come back to the feast of unleavened bread. Life Study of 1 Corinthians, Message 36 Pg. 323-325 Living Stream Ministry, 1984, used by permission
Morning Watch Thursday 12/17 Related verses 1 Cor. 6:1-11 1 Cor. 6:1-3, 11 1 Does any one of you who has a 1 case against another dare to be judged before the 2 unrighteous and not before the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will 1 judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy of the 2 smallest judgments? 3 Do you not know that we will 1 judge angels, not to mention things of this life? 11 And these things were some of you; but you were 1 washed, but you were 1 sanctified, but you were 1 justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. Dan. 7:18, 22 18 But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, indeed, forever and ever. 22 Until the Ancient of Days came; and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. Titus 3:5 5 Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, Rom. 15:16 16 That I might be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, a laboring priest of the gospel of God, in order that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, having been sanctified in the Holy Spirit. Footnotes 1 Cor. 6:1 1 Note covered in daily reading below. 1 2 The unbelievers, who are unrighteous, unjust, before God. 2 1 Note covered in daily reading below. 2 2 Judgments carried out by a number of saints who judge cases among themselves. The judging of such cases is trifling compared to the ruling of the world. 3 1 Note covered in daily reading below. 7 1 Implying a defect, fault, loss, falling short (in the inheriting of the kingdom of God v. 9). 7 3 Willingness to be wronged or defrauded is willingness to suffer loss, to learn the lesson of the cross, to keep the virtue of Christ at some cost. 9 1 To inherit the kingdom in the next age is a reward to the saints who seek righteousness (Matt. 5:10, 20; 6:33). See notes 10 2 in Matt. 5, 21 2 in Gal. 5, 5 3 in Eph. 5, and 28 1 in Heb. 12. 11 1 In contrast to the washing, sanctifying, and justifying in 1 John 1:7, Heb. 10:29, and Rom. 3:24-25, the washing, sanctifying, and justifying here are not by the blood in an objective way. They are the subjective washing of regeneration as in Titus 3:5, the subjective sanctifying by the Spirit as in Rom. 15:16, and the subjective justifying in the Spirit as in this verse. All these items of God s salvation were accomplished in us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (i.e., in the person of the Lord, in an organic union with the Lord through faith) and in the Spirit of God (i.e., in the power and realization of the Holy Spirit). First, we were washed from the sinful things; second, we were sanctified, separated unto God, transformed by God; and third, we were justified, accepted, by God. Suggested daily reading In 6:1-11 Paul covers the matter of going to secular law. As we read this portion of 1 Corinthians, we need to get into the depths of these verses and not only care for what is written in black and white, but also touch the burden in Paul's spirit as he was writing. The third problem this Epistle deals with is the matter of one brother going to law against another. This is not a sin like division, which is initiated by the soul, nor a gross sin like incest, which is carried out by the lustful body. This is a case of one claiming his legal rights, not willing to suffer wrong, not willing to learn the lesson of the cross. We have pointed out that Paul in this book covers at least ten different problems. The first is the problem of division, and the second that of the gross sin of incest. Third he deals with the problem of a brother who took another brother to a secular law court. Why does Paul make this the third case he deals with and not the second or the fourth? If we would answer this question, we must look into the depths of this book. Paul s burden in writing this Epistle is to deal with the replacements for Christ. The Corinthian believers were replacing Christ with their Greek culture, philosophy, and wisdom. These were all good things, the leading products of society. If we do not have culture, we shall be unrestrained. If we do not have philosophy and wisdom, we shall be foolish. Every human being needs culture, wisdom, and philosophy. The problem among the believers at Corinth was
Morning Watch Thursday 12/17 Continued... that these good things were replacing Christ. Therefore, the burden in Paul's spirit was to bring these believers back to Christ, God s unique center. God s intention is to work Christ into His chosen people so that Christ may become their life and everything to them and that they may live Christ and thereby in experience become the members of Christ. In this way Christ will have the Body, the church. This vision was in Paul s spirit as he was writing 1 Corinthians. In this Epistle Paul first deals with the problem of division. Division has its source in the soul, in particular, in the mind. For this reason, Paul deals with the philosophical mind of the Corinthian believers. Then he goes on to deal with a gross sin. This sequence indicates that if Christians live by the soul and by culture instead of Christ, the door will be opened to the lusts of the flesh. It is common for Christians today to take various soulish things as replacements for Christ. This opens the way for the lusts of the flesh to come in. Thus, among God s redeemed people there are the problems of the soul and of the lusts of the flesh. Soulish things are more refined than the lusts of the flesh. Culture enables people to become refined. To be cultured is simply to be refined. The lusts of the flesh, on the contrary, are crude and gross. Nevertheless, whenever people live in the soul, the door is opened wide to the lusts of the flesh. In fact, many times the most sinful and lustful things are done by those who are the most cultured. Often those who are not as highly cultured are not as sinful in their living. It is a fact that in many cases those who are most given to the exercise of the soul are very sinful. On the one hand, they live a soulish life; on the other hand, they indulge in the lusts of the flesh. Many of today s Christians also follow this trend. We have seen that after dealing with the soul and the lustful flesh, Paul turns to the matter of going to secular law. This is a matter of claiming our rights and of not being willing to suffer loss. When we are soulish and fleshly, we shall always claim our rights. We shall not be willing to be wronged by anyone. For this reason, Paul makes the third dealing in this Epistle that of claiming one s personal rights. This problem was found among the believers at Corinth. The problem of claiming our rights is found not only in society and in the church, but also in married life. If a husband and wife live in the soul and according to their lusts, both will claim their rights. Neither will be willing to give in to the other. Only when we live in the spirit are we willing to give in and not insist on our rights. When we have a life by the mingled spirit, we shall not claim any rights for ourselves. It may seem to us that we do not have any rights to claim. The reason we claim our rights is that instead of living by the mingled spirit, we live in the soul and in the flesh. Because the soulish life was prevailing and because the door was open to the lusts of the flesh, there were lawsuits among the believers in Corinth. The sequence is that first we have a soulish life, then the lusts of the flesh, and then the claiming of our rights. In 6:1 Paul asks, Does any one of you, having a case against another, dare to be judged before the unrighteous and not before the saints? The unrighteous are the unbelievers, who are unjust before God. In verse 2 Paul continues, Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy of the smallest judgments? In the coming kingdom age the overcoming saints will rule over the nations of the world (Heb. 2:5-6; Rev. 2:26-27). As co-kings with Christ, these overcoming saints will judge the world in the coming age. Since the world will be judged by the saints, they are certainly worthy of the smallest judgments. These judgments are those carried out by a number of saints judging cases among themselves, cases which are trifling compared to the ruling of the world. Here Paul seems to be saying, If you will be able to judge great things, are you not able to judge the small things today? Why don't you let the saints judge your cases? Why do you bring your case to unbelievers for judgment? Verse 3 says, Do you not know that we will judge angels, not to mention things of this life? Things of this life indicates that judgment over the angels by the saints will be in the future, not in this age. This probably refers to the judgment over the angels revealed in 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6. The angels mentioned in these verses and those referred to in Ephesians 2:2; 6:12; and Matthew 25:41 must be the evil angels. Thus we, the believers of Christ, will judge not only the human world, but also the angelic world in the future. Life Study of 1 Corinthians, Message 37 Pg. 327-330 Living Stream Ministry, 1984, used by permission
Morning Watch Friday 12/18 Related verses 1 Cor. 6:12-20 1 Cor. 6:12-14, 17, 19-20 12 1 All things are 2 lawful to me, but not all things are profitable; all things are lawful to me, but I will not be brought under the power of anything. 13 1 Foods are for the stomach, and the stomach for foods; but God will bring to nought both it and them. But the 2 body is not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God has both 1 raised up the Lord and will raise us up through His power. 17 But he who is 1 joined to the Lord is one spirit. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the 1 Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price. So then 2 glorify God in your body. John 2:19-21 19 Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 Then the Jews said, This temple was built in forty-six years, and You will raise it up in three days? 21 But He spoke of the temple of His body. John 14:17 17 Even the Spirit of reality, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him; but you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you. Rom. 8:9 9 But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Yet if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him. Footnotes Cor. 6:12 1 The fourth matter dealt with by this Epistle is the abuse of freedom in foods and in the body (vv. 12-20). Foods for man to exist and sex (pertaining to the body) for man to propagate are both necessary and ordained by God. Man has the right to use them. However, he should not abuse them, nor should he be under their power, controlled and enslaved by them. Abusive eating, such as the eating of things sacrificed to idols, stumbles the weak brothers (8:9-13; 10:28-30, 32), and excessive eating damages our body. Both foods and our stomach will be done away with; God will bring both to nothing. The abuse of sex is fornication. Not only is it condemned by God; it also destroys our body (v. 18), which is for the Lord. 12 2 Lit., under my authority (of choice to do); hence, permissible, allowable, lawful. 13 1 Foods and the stomach are for the existence of the body. By themselves they do not mean anything; God will bring them to nothing. 13 2 Our body was created for the Lord, and the Lord within us is for our body. He feeds it with material food (Psa. 103:5) and gives it His resurrection life (Rom. 8:11), which swallows its death element along with its weakness and sickness. Eventually, He will transfigure it, conforming it to His glorious body. We should not abuse it by committing fornication. 14 1 God raised up the Lord bodily. Our body is destined to participate in the Lord s glorious body in resurrection (Phil. 3:21) and to be raised incorruptible (15:52). This will be the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23). Even now the Spirit of the resurrected Christ, who dwells in us, gives life to our body (Rom. 8:11), making it a member of Christ (v. 15) and a temple of God indwelt by His Holy Spirit (v. 19). 15 1 Note covered in daily reading below. 15 2 Lit., May it not happen! 17 1 This refers to the believers organic union with the Lord through believing into Him (John 3:15-16). This union is illustrated by that of the branches with the vine (John 15:4-5). It is a matter not only of life but in life (the divine life). Such a union with the resurrected Lord can only be in our spirit. 17 2 Note covered in daily reading below. 18 1 Lit., result of sinning; the same word as for sins in Mark 3:28 and Rom. 3:25. 19 1 Note covered in daily reading below. 20 2 Note covered in daily reading below. Suggested daily reading In 6:15, 17, and 19 there are three crucial matters: first, that our bodies are members of Christ; second, that we are one spirit with the Lord; and third, that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. In the context of dealing with the abuse of freedom in foods and in the body, Paul opens up these matters in a marvelous way. Verse 15 says, Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Because we are organically united with Christ (v. 17), and because Christ dwells in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22) and makes His home in our heart (Eph. 3:17), our entire being, including our purified body, becomes a member of Him. Hence, to practice such membership we need to offer our body to Him (Rom. 12:1, 4-5). In verse 17 Paul says, But he who is
Morning Watch Friday 12/18 Continued... joined to the Lord is one spirit. The word joined in this verse refers to the believers organic union with the Lord through believing into Him (John 3:15-16). This union is illustrated by that of the branches with the vine (John 15:4-5). It is a matter not only of life, but also in life, the divine life. Such a union with the resurrected Lord can only be in our spirit. The expression one spirit indicates the mingling of the Lord as the Spirit with our spirit. Our spirit has been regenerated by the Spirit of God (John 3:6), who is now in us (1 Cor. 6:19) and is one with our spirit (Rom. 8:16). This is the realization of the Lord who became the life-giving Spirit through resurrection (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17), and who is now with our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). This mingled spirit is often referred to in Pauls Epistles, as in Romans 8:4-6. In verse 19 Paul says, Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have from God, and you are not your own? The Holy Spirit is in our spirit (Rom. 8:16), and our spirit is within our body. Hence, our body becomes a temple, a dwelling place, of the Holy Spirit. In verse 20 Paul concludes, For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body. The price mentioned here is the precious blood of Christ (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Rev. 5:9). To glorify God in our body means to let God who dwells in us (1 John 4:13) occupy and saturate our body and express Himself through our body as His temple, especially in the two matters of eating and marriage, according to the context of this section from 6:13 through 11:1. For this, we need to exercise a severe and strict control over our body, bringing it into subjection (1 Cor. 9:27) and presenting it to God as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). These verses in 1 Corinthians 6 are the only verses in the New Testament which tell us that our bodies are members of Christ, that we are one spirit with the Lord, and that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. When we read these verses, however, we may take them for granted and may not spend adequate time to study them and the important matters revealed in them. How much time have you spent on verse 15, which says that our bodies are members of Christ? Very few believers have paid the proper attention to this verse. Yes, messages have been given on verse 19, messages on the believers body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. But before you came into the Lord s recovery, did you ever hear a message on being one spirit with the Lord? Did you ever hear a message on being joined to the Lord as one spirit? These three matters deserve thorough study. I do not mean merely the study of the black and white letters of the Word, but a study in the light of experience. Rarely do Christians today practice being one spirit with the Lord. Do you know of a book, or even a message, entitled One Spirit with the Lord? Due to the influence of traditional theology and practice, most Christians are not able to digest a verse like 6:17. There seems to be no room in them for the vital matter of being one spirit with the Lord. However, they may have a great deal of room in them for such matters as holiness, victory, power, miracles, and speaking in tongues. Certain Christians in Pentecostalism place great emphasis on speaking in tongues. In some cases they do not care whether or not the tongues-speaking is genuine. Because they are so fond of speaking in tongues, they do not care much for proper prayers and do not care at all for the central vision of Paul s completing ministry. If someone speaks in tongues, these believers easily become excited. But if someone prays, Lord, thank You for Your mercy and grace, they quickly become disinterested. They have no heart for this kind of prayer. Furthermore, should you speak to them of the vision of God s economy, they would not be able to understand what you are saying. Do you think it is possible for such persons to know the Word of God? No, they cannot know the Word, for there is no room in them for the crucial matters of God s revelation. Life Study of 1 Corinthians, Message 39 Pg. 345-347 Living Stream Ministry, 1984, used by permission
Saturday 12/19 1 Cor. 4:1, 2, 4-6, 12, 15-17; 5:6-8; 6:1-3, 11, 12-14, 17, 19-20 Lord s Day 12/20 Col. 1:3-14 3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always concerning you, 4 Because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have unto all the saints 5 Because of the hope laid up for you in the heavens, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 Which has come to you, even as it is also in all the world, bearing fruit and growing, as also in you, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 Even as you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow slave, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8 Who also has made known to us your love in the Spirit. 9 Therefore we also, since the day we heard of it, do not cease praying and asking on your behalf that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 To walk worthily of the Lord to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and growing by the full knowledge of God, 11 Being empowered with all power, according to the might of His glory, unto all endurance and long-suffering with joy, 12 Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light; 13 Who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins;