1 Corinthians 3:1-5:13     

3:16-17 A new metaphor is used here. The believers (collectively) are God's temple, the place where God's Spirit lives. Therefore, if anyone destroys this sacred temple of believers, God will destroy him.

v. 18-23 Now Paul is back to talking about wisdom and foolishness. The readers are warned not to deceive themselves. Those who think they are wise (the way the world sees wisdom) should become fools (according to human standards) so that they will really be wise (by God's standard). Human wisdom is futile, it goes nowhere. So, no more boasting about men. The believers do not have to choose whether they are of Paul, Apollos, or Cephas. "All things are yours." That is, the believers can have all three of these men, as well as the world, life, death, the present and the future.

4:1-7 Paul considers himself and Apollos to be servants of Christ who have been given a sacred trust. It's important for them to be faithful with that trust. Paul doesn't care if he's judged by a human court, nor does he judge himself. It is the Lord who judges him. Since that's the case, the readers should not judge anything before its time-- when the Lord returns. Because at that time He will "expose the motives of men's hearts," and each one will receive his praise from God. Paul warns them, "do not go beyond what is written." Don't take pride in one man over another. Everything they have has been given to them by God.

v. 8-13 Now Paul gets a little sarcastic as he exposes the arrogance of the Corinthian believers. He exclaims, "Already you have become rich!" Already you are kings! You are so wise and strong and honored (v. 10). But Paul and the other apostles are fools for Christ, weak and dishonored. They are hungry, thirsty, in rags, brutally treated, homeless. They work hard but are cursed by men, persecuted and slandered. They are the scum of the earth, the refuse (garbage) of the world.

In verse 9 Paul uses the imagery of men who are "put on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena." He's referring to what happened when a king returned home after a victory. There would be a procession or parade led by the king and his soldiers, followed by the people they had taken captive. The last ones in the procession were the ones who were condemned to die by fighting animals or gladiators in the arena. This procession Paul is talking about is very public. In fact he says, "We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men."

v. 14-21 Paul is not writing this to shame them, but to warn them as a father would warn his beloved children. He's going to send Timothy, his spiritual son, to remind them of what he taught when he was with them. Some of them have been arrogant in Paul's absence. But he intends to visit and find out if they have any real power or if they're just talking. "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power." Paul's ministry often included displays of the Spirit's power to heal and perform supernatural signs and wonders. These displays of power authenticated both the gospel message and the messenger. Paul wants to come to them gently but he will come with a "whip" if necessary.

5:1-5 Now we begin to see why Paul is so distressed. There is sin in this church and it's such a vile thing that not even the pagans practice it--a man is sleeping with his step-mother (his father's wife). And the Corinthian believers are proud of themselves for tolerating this behavior! Paul says they should have been grieved and put this man out of the church. He has already passed judgment on this man, though he is not present with them. Paul wants them to gather the church together in the name of the Lord and "hand this man over to Satan." This is very strong language but there is a redemptive motive behind it. Putting the man out of their fellowship is intended to bring him to repentance. When we get to 2 Corinthians 2:5-8 we will see that the church did expel the man, he did repent, and Paul then urged them to welcome him back into their fellowship.

v. 6-8 Again Paul warns them about their boasting. He uses a metaphor of yeast in a batch of dough. The believers are the dough and sin is the yeast. They're supposed to get rid of the yeast so they can be a new batch without yeast. The reference to the Passover reinforces the metaphor. The Jews used to eat roasted lamb with unleavened bread every year at Passover. Now, Christ is the Lamb and the believers are the unleavened bread which is to be bread of sincerity and truth.

v. 9-13 The Corinthian believers are not to associate with sexually immoral people, like this man who has his father's wife. But Paul is not telling them to avoid sexually immoral people in the world because it would be impossible to do that; they would have to leave this world. Paul is not interested in judging the world, but he will not hesitate to judge those who call themselves believers. God will judge those who are outside, but believers have an obligation to judge sin within the church and even go so far as to "expel that wicked man from among you."

Much more tough love from Paul next time.

  --Sandy Blank