Paul ends Chapter 9 by encouraging the disciples to compete for the prize, an imperishable crown (stephanos) of victory.

This chapter begins by reminding them of some Hebrew history. Paul refers to a number of Old Testament accounts to show the Corinthians that if they did not continue to be obedient to the Lord’s will, they could fall from God’s favor.

The specific sins and Old Testament examples of them are as follows:

• Verse 6 – Lusting for evil things (Numbers 11)
• Verse 7 – Idolatry (Exodus 32)
• Verse 8 – Sexual immorality (Numbers 25)
• Verse 9 – Tempting God (Exodus 17)
• Verse 10 – Complaining (Exodus 16; Numbers 14)

These stories are preserved for us in God’s holy word as warnings about sinning against God to help us realize that He hates all iniquity. Just as many of them fell from God’s grace, we can also if we persist in sin.

In verses 14-22, the apostle points out to them that Christians cannot be partly in the church and partly in the world. They cannot rightly take part in the Lord’s table and also in the table of demons (or sin). God is never satisfied with part of our hearts; He demands the entirety of our being. James refers to those who try to hold the world with one hand and God with the other as “adulterers and adulteresses” (James 4:4).

He returns to the idea that Christians need to be aware of their influence on other people and refrain from certain activities that might cause others to stumble into sin themselves.

Paul also reminds them of the one overriding purpose of all Christians. “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (verse 31).

--Roger Hillis

The principle established in the previous chapter was that a Christian should not exercise his personal liberties if this would cause a weaker Christian to stumble.

In chapter 9, Paul uses himself as an illustration of giving up certain rights, so that he would not wound anyone’s conscience. The primary example he uses is that he did not take any financial support for preaching the gospel in Corinth. He did not want anybody to think that he preached simply for the money.

If you recall, Acts 18:1-17 tells us about Paul’s initial visit to Corinth, when the church was established in this first century city. The first few verses of that chapter inform us that, while Paul was preaching in Corinth, he worked as a tentmaker with Aquila and Priscilla, a husband and wife team. While he had the right to be paid for his work as an evangelist, he did not want to be a financial burden to the church. (He says, in 2 Corinthians 11:8, that he was paid by other churches during part of his time in Corinth.)

He further emphasizes that his motive for preaching the gospel was to save as many souls as possible, not to make as much money as possible.

Paul risked his life on many occasions to make disciples of Christ. He listed many of the hardships he endured for the Lord in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28. As you read that listing of his trials and difficulties, it is hard for us to realize the challenges faced by first century evangelists whose very lives were often in danger. They persevered because they kept their eyes on Christ and the ultimate reward, rather than on the hardships (Hebrews 12:1-2).

At the conclusion of the chapter, Paul reminds the disciples that all Christians must discipline themselves and remain pure in body and spirit so that they do not fall away from the Lord. He goes so far as to say that he himself, as an apostle, might become disqualified, if he failed to practice self-control. This is only one of the many New Testament passages that deny the false doctrine known as “once saved, always saved.”

--Roger Hillis  

Chapters 8-10 deal with matters of Christian liberties. Chapter 8 speaks about the problem of eating meat offered to idols. The specific issue is not a problem today but the principles of dealing with others do still apply.

One thing is clear, at least to us two thousand years later. There are no such things as idol gods and, therefore, eating meat that had been sacrificed to “nothing” is not a problem that defiles anyone.

But this chapter emphasizes to us that, even if something is acceptable to the Lord, we must always consider what impact any action would have on other Christians (verses 8-13).

Realizing that there will always be stronger and weaker Christians in every local church, those who are stronger must consider the effect that their actions will have on weaker saints. We should not use our liberty in Christ to do what we want, without some consideration of how weaker disciples might be emboldened to do something similar, but that is actually wrong or sinful.

This section of the book is parallel in many ways to the teaching of Romans 14 (and part of Romans 15). Since scripture is best interpreted in light of other scriptures, we must understand all of this material in these chapters consistently.

These chapters, along with the Romans 14-15 verses, show us just how difficult it was, in the first century, to unite Jews and Gentiles together in the church. The situation is similar, in many respects, to the racial tensions that still exist in our current society. Around the world, there are racial divides that are difficult to bridge. Christians should realize that we hold the key to removing these stumbling blocks. The answer is the love of God and love of our neighbor (Matthew 22:34-40).

We do not serve our God as “Lone Ranger” Christians. We are part of a family and need to think about our influence and how it will appear to others.

--Roger Hillis

Chapter Seven begins a series of chapters in which Paul answers some questions that the church in Corinth had sent to him. The first issue he deals with is marriage.

Everything in the chapter must be considered in the context of what Paul refers to as “the present distress” (verse 26).  While there are no clues in the chapter about what that was, most Bible students believe it was most likely a reference to persecution of Christians.

There are two overriding principles taught in this chapter.

First, if you are not married, Paul recommends that you not get married under the current circumstances. He is not saying it is wrong (verses 9, 28), simply unwise. An unmarried person can focus on serving God without distraction. If they were undergoing severe persecution, it would be even more challenging to remain faithful for one who is married. A married person might want to compromise truth if his/her spouse was in danger.

Second, those who are married should be the best spouse they can be, even if (maybe especially if) they are married to a non-Christian. He does not tell a Christian to divorce a non-Christian mate, rather he says exactly the opposite. It was important for the disciples to realize that nothing Paul taught should be understood to weaken the marriage bond, but rather to strengthen it.

Verse 15 has often been misused as a scriptural reason for divorce, that is, the desertion of a spouse. When Paul says that one who is abandoned is “not under bondage,” he is not granting permission to choose a new spouse, he is telling them that they are no longer required to fulfill marital duties for the deserter.

And he also tells them that a widow (in principle, a widower as well) has the right to remarry, “only in the Lord,” that is, in keeping with everything else the Bible teaches about marriage.

--Roger Hillis

Another problem in Corinth was the issue of Christians taking one another to court. Rather than allowing stronger Christians in the local church to help solve problems between each other, they were going “to law before the unrighteous.” Paul tells them to act like Christians should and “let yourselves be cheated.”

The apostle also reminds them of their ungodly past. In doing so, he lists many sins that will cause people to be lost. Such lists are in the Bible as warnings to Christians in the first century and to us.

When he lists the sins of verses 9-10 that he says will keep people out of heaven, we must remember that any sin can be forgiven by God. But a part of our initial pardon includes the concept of repentance. Repentance means that we not only change our minds about a particular sin, but we also resolve in our hearts to stop committing that sin. We cannot expect God to forgive us of any sin that we are unwilling to give up. We cannot claim that, because we are now Christians and forgiven by the Lord, we can continue practicing sexual sins, idolatry, stealing, covetousness, drunkenness, reviling or swindling others for financial gain.

He especially reminds us that sexual immorality is a sin against the God-given purpose for our physical bodies. We, as Christians, are not to take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot. We are to keep ourselves pure, body, soul, and spirit. Do not forget that our bodies are described as “a temple of the Holy Spirit,” who is in you, whom you have from God.

We are not allowed as followers of Christ to use our bodies in whatever way we choose. We must use our bodies in a way that honors and glorifies Him.

Rather than serving the world and Satan, disciples of Christ are to use their bodies (and their spirits) to serve God. We belong to Him because He bought us with the blood of Christ.

--Roger Hillis  

Chapter Five begins the next section of the letter and it deals with the issue of sexual immorality. Many churches since the first century have struggled with problems of immorality among the people of God.

The first century world was highly immoral, just like our current time. Temptation was everywhere and, in Corinth, one of the disciples had taken up with his stepmother. (The Greek word for mother is not in the context, so it was not his mother, but his father’s current wife.) The church was not dealing with the sin and others were in danger of being influenced by the ungodly leaven.

Paul instructs the church to purge out the old leaven of ungodliness by delivering this man “to Satan,” a reference to church discipline. This would purify the church so that others would not be tempted to commit the same sin. Known sin in the church must not be tolerated.

Notice in verse 5, that one of the reasons for church discipline is “the destruction of the flesh,” that is, the destruction of fleshly desires. That was the problem here; the man was being controlled by physical, fleshly lusts and could only be rescued if something destroyed those evil passions. Perhaps the reality of being withdrawn from (2 Thessalonians 3:6) by his brothers and sisters in Christ would shock him into repentance.

Paul makes a clear distinction between the people of the world (those who are outside) and those who are Christians (those who are inside). He tells them not to associate with ungodly people, but he explains to them that he is not referring to non-Christians by pointing out that to totally avoid ungodly people you would have to leave the planet. We must simply not allow ourselves to be influenced in a negative way by Christians who are not living right.

He goes so far as to say that we must not even “eat with such a person.” Eating a meal together had much significance in the first century. It showed not only friendship and a close relationship with another, it indicated approval of the other as well. He does not want them to engage in any behavior, with a common meal together as just one example, that would lead the other person to believe that you approve of his or her behavior. It might seem extreme, but this is a critical situation that requires serious action.

His conclusion, then, is simple. “Therefore, put away from among yourselves that wicked person.”

--Roger Hillis

Christians are servants of Christ. He is our Master; we are His slaves. Our lives must be spent in His service, doing His work to the salvation of souls with whom we come into contact. We should share Christ and His truth with everyone we meet.

Christians are stewards of God’s blessings. We do not own the truth, for example, but we have been entrusted with the responsibility to share it with others. God’s primary requirement for a steward is faithfulness. The apostle Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

Faithfulness is always tested by persecution and trials. The apostles lived “as men condemned to death.” Stewards must be willing to be “fools for Christ’s sake.” In the first century, disciples were considered “the filth of the world.”

But the problem with the first century Corinthians (one of their many problems) was that they were arrogant and puffed up about their relationship with God, not humbled by their forgiveness through the grace and mercy of the Lord. They considered themselves to be full, rich, and to be reigning as kings. They could have been powerful, effective workers for God, if they had been humble and submissive to His will.

Paul shows them that he and others (the other apostles, primarily, but anyone who served God humbly) simply considered themselves to be servants of the Lord. Paul used his stewardship to instruct people about how to become and live as children of God, not to rule over and dominate as inferiors. Paul refers to “my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.” This is the pattern of God’s truth that is the same for everyone.

The New Testament is a pattern (many don’t like that word today) for both our personal lives (Philippians 3:17) and for the things we do collectively as a church, the family of God (2 Timothy 1:13).

The New Testament directs how the church is to worship. That is the pattern for us to follow today The New Testament teaches us how the church is to be organized (Philippians 1:1). That is our pattern. The New Testament shows us what the mission or work of a local church is supposed to be (1 Timothy 3:15). In all of these areas, God has not merely given us suggestions, but a pattern that we should imitate, in order that we might please Him.

The church at Corinth needed to grow and change a number of things so that they could be acceptable to the God of heaven and earth. This letter was written to help them and us please our God.

--Roger Hillis

The basis for the trouble at Corinth was spiritual immaturity. Rather than growing spiritually, as all disciples should, they were still “babes in Christ.” This lack of spiritual growth led to envy, strife and divisions.

They had begun to divide the church (remember his warning about that in 1 Corinthians 1:10-15?) into various groups based on which preacher they liked the best. He reminds them again that this is proof of their lack of spiritual growth and development.

The preachers they were following, instead of Christ, were just ministers or servants of the Lord. We are all on the same team, all on the Lord’s side. Preachers plant and water the seed of the gospel, but it is God who makes the plant grow. The Lord, of course, uses human agents as “fellow workers,” but we are to worship God alone, not be divisive in following men.

There is only one true foundation for the church. It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died on the cross to purchase the church, who said He would build the church and who continues to make intercession for the church.  He is the Savior; He is the way, the truth and the life. It is all about Jesus, not about preachers or elders or teachers or scholars. It is all about Him.

“God’s building” (verse 9) or “the temple of God” (verses 16-17) is the church. We are to build the church on the only solid foundation, Jesus Christ, not on human wisdom or the doctrines and commandments of men. That’s where true edification comes from. If we build on anything else, we will fail. As the song says, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. All other ground is sinking sand.”

The apostle sums much of this up in verse 19 when he reminds us of the value of true spiritual wisdom. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.”

If we ever get the idea that we have a better way to do things than what God has revealed in His word, we will always be wrong, every time. We cannot improve on God’s ways, ever. Always remember, the Bible is right.

--Roger Hillis

Human wisdom is never a good solution for spiritual problems. The problem of division among God’s people continues to be the subject of 1 Corinthians 2.

This chapter begins with Paul’s admission that preaching in Corinth made him nervous. He refers to “weakness” and “fear” and “much trembling.” This was an extremely immoral city and one could not be certain how the gospel was going to be received. The Lord spoke to Paul, while the apostle was in Corinth, in a night vision, to reassure him that he should continue to work in this city and not to be afraid.

Paul reminds the Corinthians that, even in his work among them, it was not his persuasive speech or superior wisdom that had brought them into a saved relationship with the Lord. What Paul brought to them that made all the difference was “Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

If we try to convert people to anyone or anything other than Christ, we will not succeed. Jesus is the message and we must never shrink from sharing our confidence in the Savior with a lost and dying world. All that we do must be to His glory, not our own.

Jesus is the only Savior, not Paul or Apollos or Cephas (Peter) or any other gospel preacher.

There is a section of the chapter which deals with the process of inspiration. Given through the Holy Spirit, the Bible came from God to man so that we might understand what God would have us to do, as we seek to serve Him in this earth life.

Verse 13 affirms that we have, in the New Testament, all that God wants us to know and that He has revealed His covenant with man, not in words of human wisdom, but as the Spirit taught, a message directly from our Creator. He says that the Bible combines “spiritual thoughts with spiritual words” (NASV).

True spiritual wisdom comes from a deeper and fuller knowledge of God’s revelation. Mankind can only know God’s mind when He reveals it to us. And He did that in what we now call the Bible. It is a spiritual message for people who want to know and obey God’s will.

--Roger Hillis

The letter begins by addressing the congregation as “the church of God which is at Corinth.” The Christians who comprised the local church were “sanctified in Christ Jesus” and “called to be saints.”

The author of the inspired epistle was Paul (1 Corinthians 1:1), a bondservant and an apostle of Jesus Christ.

He had several more faithful Christians with him when he penned the letter and they sent their love and greetings to these disciples also (1 Corinthians 16:21, 23). One of them, named Tertius, was the scribe who actually literally did the writing, as instructed by Paul (1 Corinthians 16:22).

The church in Corinth has often been referred to as a dysfunctional church. They certainly had a number of problems which the apostle deals with in the letter.

Some of these problems had been described to Paul by members of the congregation, in the hope that these struggles could be corrected (1 Corinthians 1:11; 5:1; 11:18, for example).

Other problems had been mentioned to Paul in a letter which he received, in the form of questions that some of the disciples there had asked him to clarify for them (see 1 Corinthians 7:1).

The first problem dealt with is the issue of division. Various disciples were claiming to be of Paul, of Apollos, of Cephas, or of Christ. And beyond the idea of having favorite preachers, they were dividing into groups that would only listen to certain messengers, while rejecting the teaching of any others.

What could reunite the Christians in Corinth and all believers today is the message of the cross of Christ. To the Jews, it was a stumbling block and to the Gentiles it was foolishness. But to the faithful, it contains the power of God to salvation.

It is unimportant whether one is wise, mighty and noble or foolish, weak and despised. In Christ, anyone can have righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

Therefore, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” We must follow Jesus, not a human teacher.

--Roger Hillis