v. 1-4 Since God extended mercy to Gentiles it might seem like He rejected His people, the Israelites. But Paul says, "By no means!" Paul is an Israelite himself. He is certain that God has not rejected His people even though it may look as though He did. He tells his readers about the Jewish prophet, Elijah, who thought he was the only prophet left. But God assured Elijah that there were 7,000 other people who were faithful to Him even at a time when it seemed that no one was.

v. 5-6 Paul reminded them about Elijah because in their present circumstances it seemed like all of Israel had rejected Christ as the Messiah. But God preserved a remnant for Himself--  a relatively small group of people who did have faith.

v. 7-10 What Israel sought they did not obtain-- but "the elect did." This verse indicates that Israel is not "the elect." God gave Israel a "spirit of stupor" so that they could not see or hear. Paul quotes a psalm from King David that agrees with God's decision to do this.

v. 11-12 But Paul is quick to point out that this "stupor" is a temporary situation that fulfills God's purpose for the Gentiles. The Israelite's "transgression" and loss of riches means that salvation may now come to the Gentiles.

v. 13-16 Paul is addressing the Gentile-Christian converts here. Paul provokes his own people, the Jews, to envy by making a big deal out of his ministry to Gentiles. He does this to make them envious so that they will repent and be saved. For if the Jews repent of their rejection of Jesus as Messiah it is like "life from the dead." If a part of something is holy then the whole thing is holy.

Click to read more... 

1 Corinthians 6:1-7:40   

Paul continues his instructions to the believers in Corinth.

6:1-8 Apparently some of them are suing one another in secular courts. He's upset that disputes between believers are being settled by pagan judges and reminds his readers that believers will someday judge the world and even the angels. Therefore, they should be able to settle these relatively trivial matters among themselves. Paul gets a little sarcastic and tells them to appoint "even men of little account" to be judges. In other words, even a believer of low status should be more competent than a pagan court. Their lawsuits are a very poor witness to unbelievers. In fact, their lawsuits show that they "have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?" Instead they cheat and do wrong to their own brothers. It's human nature to seek justice or revenge rather than be cheated.

v. 9- 10 Paul is emphatic that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God. Notice the list of sinners he compiles here. It's not an exhaustive list but take a closer look at it. "The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexual offenders, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers." This is not a list of actions they should avoid but characterizes who they were before they came to faith. It's about "being" rather than "doing." For example, getting drunk a couple of times is not the same as "being" a drunkard. Stealing a candy bar when you're 6 years old isn't the same as "being" a thief. Paul is not talking about isolated actions (doing), he's talking about their identity (being). There's often pride associated with "being" a thief, or "being" homosexual, "being" greedy, etc.

v. 11 Paul reminds them that this is what some of the readers were before they became believers. But that was then and this is now. They have been "washed" (baptism?), "sanctified" (by the Spirit), and "justified" (by Christ's blood). They have become something different from what they were before. They don't just do different things, they have become something new.

v. 12 "Everything is permissible for me." Perhaps, says Paul, but not everything is beneficial and a man should not be mastered by anything. Paul is not quoting scripture here but probably a Corinthian slogan that celebrates freedom and autonomy.

v. 13 Another saying is "Food for the stomach and the stomach for food." Think of this as something involving pleasure like "eat to live and live to eat." But Paul is quick to warn that God will one day destroy both the food and the stomach. In other words, pleasures are temporary.

v. 14 Paul's point is that the body is meant for the Lord, not for sexual immorality. And the Lord is meant for the body in that just as God raised Jesus' physical body from the grave He will also raise the physical bodies of the believers. Their physical bodies are members of Christ's body and what they do with their physical bodies in this present life really matters. In a graphic example of his point Paul tells them, as members of Christ's body, not to unite with a prostitute. They are one with the Lord in both body and spirit. So they are to "flee from sexual immorality." Their physical bodies are "a temple of the Holy Spirit.' Again, it matters what they do with their bodies here on earth. They are to honor God with their physical bodies because they have been bought at the price of Christ's blood. They are not their own and therefore cannot do whatever they might feel like doing.

Click to read more...