Day 150: NT 1 Corinthians C4-6: Mind Your Own Business except in the Spiritual World!

The First Epistle of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians is pure gold in terms of a source of spiritual insight, understanding, and wisdom!

As such it is presented verbatim in its entirety below a brief personal insight into ‘minding your own business except in the Spiritual World’ found in the section below entitled ‘Paul’s Suggestion is for Punishment by Excommunication:’

Ministers of Gospel Judged by Christ:

Let a man so account us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now here it is required in stewards that a man be found trustworthy. Bit with me it is a very small matter to be judged by you or by man’s tribunal. Nay I do not even judge my own self. For I have nothing on my conscience, yet I am not thereby justified; but he who judges me is the Lord. Therefore, pass no judgment before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in darkness and make manifest the counsels of the heart; and then everyone will have his praise from God.

Corinthians Contrasted With Apostles:

Now, brethren, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos by way of illustration for your sakes, that in our case you may learn not to be puffed up one against the other over a third party, transgressing what is written. For who singles thee out? Or what hast thou that thou hast not received? And if thou hast received it, why dost thou boast as if thou hadst not received it? You are already filled! You are already made rich! Without us you reign! And would that you did reign, that we too might reign with you! For I think God has set forth us the apostle last of all, as men doomed to death, seeing the we have been made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, but we are without honor! To this very hour we hunger and thirst, and we are naked and buffeted, and have no fixed abode. And we toil, working with our own hands. We are reviled and we bless, we are persecuted and we bear with it, we are maligned and we entreat, we have become as the refuse of this world, the off scouring of all, even until now!

Paul’s Love for the Corinthians:

I write these things not to put you to shame, but to admonish you as my dearest children.  For although you have won ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet you have not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, through the gospel, did I beget you. Therefore, I beg you, be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. For this very reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my dearest son and faithful to the Lord. He will remind you of my ways, which are in Christ Jesus, even as I teach everywhere in every church.

He will Visit Them Shortly:

Now some are puffed up, as if I were not coming to you. But I shall come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing and I shall learn the power of those who are puffed up, not he promises. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. What is your wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and in the spirit of meekness?

Action Against the Incestuous Man:

It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and such immorality as is not found even among the Gentiles, that a man should have his father’s wife. And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned so that he who hast done this deed might be put away from your midst. I indeed, absent in body but present in spirit, have already, as though present, passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ on the one who has so acted—you and my spirit gathered together with the power of our Lord Jesus—to deliver such a one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Your boasting is unseemly. Do you not know that a little leaven ferments the whole lump? Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new dough, as you really are without leaven. For Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep festival, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Mind your own business… be friends with all in the world but be careful as to where your spiritual examples and leadership come from:

Paul’s Suggestion is for Punishment by Excommunication.

I wrote to you in the letter not to associate with the immoral—not meaning, of course, the immoral of this world, or the covetous, or the greedy, or idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world. But now I write to you not to associate with one who is called a brother, of he is immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or evil-tongued, or a drunkard, or greedy, with such a one not even to take food. For what have I do to do with judging those outside? Is it not those inside whom you judge? For those outside God will judge. Expel the wicked man from your midst.

No Lawsuits before Pagans:

Dare any of you, having a matter against another, bring your case to be judged before the unjust and not before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more worldly things! If, therefore, you have cases about worldly matters to be judged, appoint those who are rated as nothing in the Church to judge. To shame you I say it. Can it be that there is not one wise man among you competent to settle a case in his brother’s matter? But brother goes to law with brother and that before unbelievers.

Christians should have No Disputes:

Nay, to begin with, it is altogether a defect in you that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves do wrong and defraud, and that to your brethren. Or do you not know that the unjust will not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor the evil-tongued, nor the greedy will possess the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but you have been washed, you have been sanctified, you have been justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of God.

Sacredness of the Body:

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of anyone. Food for the belly and the belly for food, but one God will destroy both the one and the other. Now the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Now God has raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? By no means! Or do you not know that he who cleaves to a harlot, becomes one body with her? “For the two,” it says, “shall be one flesh.” But he who cleaves to the Lord is one spirit with him. Flee immorality. Every sin that a man commits is outside his body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your members are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought at a great price. Glorify God and bear him in your body.

Mind your own business… be friends with all in the world but be careful as to where your spiritual examples and leadership come from:

Day 150: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Mind Your Own Business except in the Spiritual World!

Read and inspired by the New Testament, The First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, Chapters 4-6.

Bible Notes:

Saint Paul in this letter to the Christians of Corinth denounces certain abuses, e.g., rivalries among themselves, incest, appealing to pagan courts, and fornication. He then answers questions they had proposed to him on marriage and celibacy, on eating the meats offered to idols, on abuses in the celebration of the Eucharist, on various gifts of the Holy Spirit, and on the future resurrection.

1 Corinthians Chapter 4:  Ministers of gospel judged by Christ; Corinthians contrasted with Apostles; Paul’s love for the Corinthians; He will visit them shortly.

Ministers of Gospel Judged by Christ:

Let a man so account us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now here it is required in stewards that a man be found trustworthy. Bit with me it is a very small matter to be judged by you or by man’s tribunal. Nay I do not even judge my own self. For I have nothing on my conscience, yet I am not thereby justified; but he who judges me is the Lord. Therefore, pass no judgment before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in darkness and make manifest the counsels of the heart; and then everyone will have his praise from God.

Corinthians Contrasted With Apostles:

Now, brethren, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos by way of illustration for your sakes, that in our case you may learn not to be puffed up one against the other over a third party, transgressing what is written. For who singles thee out? Or what hast thou that thou hast not received? And if thou hast received it, why dost thou boast as if thou hadst not received it? You are already filled! You are already made rich! Without us you reign! And would that you did reign, that we too might reign with you! For I think God has set forth us the apostle last of all, as men doomed to death, seeing the we have been made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, but we are without honor! To this very hour we hunger and thirst, and we are naked and buffeted, and have no fixed abode. And we toil, working with our own hands. We are reviled and we bless, we are persecuted and we bear with it, we are maligned and we entreat, we have become as the refuse of this world, the off scouring of all, even until now!

Reviled—to assail with contemptuous or opprobrious language; address or speak of abusively.

Entreat—to ask (a person) earnestly; beseech; implore; beg; to ask earnestly for (something).

Paul’s Love for the Corinthians:

I write these things not to put you to shame, but to admonish you as my dearest children.  For although you have won ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet you have not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, through the gospel, did I beget you. Therefore, I beg you, be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. For this very reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my dearest son and faithful to the Lord. He will remind you of my ways, which are in Christ Jesus, even as I teach everywhere in every church.

He will Visit Them Shortly:

Now some are puffed up, as if I were not coming to you. But I shall come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing and I shall learn the power of those who are puffed up, not he promises. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. What is your wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and in the spirit of meekness?

1 Corinthians Chapter 5:  Action against the incestuous man; Paul’s suggestion is for punishment by excommunication.

Action Against the Incestuous Man:

It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and such immorality as is not found even among the Gentiles, that a man should have his father’s wife. And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned so that he who hast done this deed might be put away from your midst. I indeed, absent in body but present in spirit, have already, as though present, passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ on the one who has so acted—you and my spirit gathered together with the power of our Lord Jesus—to deliver such a one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Your boasting is unseemly. Do you not know that a little leaven ferments the whole lump? Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new dough, as you really are without leaven. For Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep festival, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Paul’s Suggestion is for Punishment by Excommunication.

I wrote to you in the letter not to associate with the immoral—not meaning, of course, the immoral of this world, or the covetous, or the greedy, or idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world. But now I write to you not to associate with one who is called a brother, of he is immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or evil-tongued, or a drunkard, or greedy, with such a one not even to take food. For what have I do to do with judging those outside? Is it not those inside whom you judge? For those outside God will judge. Expel the wicked man from your midst.

1 Corinthians Chapter 6:  No lawsuits before pagans; Christians should have no disputes; Sacredness of the body.

No Lawsuits before Pagans:

Dare any of you, having a matter against another, bring your case to be judged before the unjust and not before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more worldly things! If, therefore, you have cases about worldly matters to be judged, appoint those who are rated as nothing in the Church to judge. To shame you I say it. Can it be that there is not one wise man among you competent to settle a case in his brother’s matter? But brother goes to law with brother and that before unbelievers.

Christians should have No Disputes:

Nay, to begin with, it is altogether a defect in you that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves do wrong and defraud, and that to your brethren. Or do you not know that the unjust will not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor the evil-tongued, nor the greedy will possess the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but you have been washed, you have been sanctified, you have been justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of God.

Sacredness of the Body:

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of anyone. Food for the belly and the belly for food, but one God will destroy both the one and the other. Now the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Now God has raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? By no means! Or do you not know that he who cleaves to a harlot, becomes one body with her? “For the two,” it says, “shall be one flesh.” But he who cleaves to the Lord is one spirit with him. Flee immorality. Every sin that a man commits is outside his body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your members are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought at a great price. Glorify God and bear him in your body.

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