The apostles are like house sitters taking care of God's place while he's temporarily out of town. Sure, you have to check the references for your house sitter, but other than that, you're good. And Paul's references—namely Jesus—are pretty ironclad. That's why the Corinthians shouldn't judge his work against the work of others. God has already vouched for him. It's not like Paul is never going to face judgment—but that, is up to God himself. In short: don't do God's job for him, Corinthians. But then again, Paul tells them to relax and get down off their high horse... After all, the Corinthians are the greatest, right? They're rich as kings! They have power and wisdom and strength and everyone loves them! They're the best! (Not) And the poor apostles—like Paul—are just poor and weak and hungry and thirsty and homeless and beaten and weary and… . Look, Paul says, all comments aside, he's not trying to be a jerk. He doesn't want to embarrass the Corinthians or make them feel bad. …He's kind of acting like their dad. Paul watches over them along with Jesus like a father. So please try to understand. Paul tells them that he's sending Timothy to Corinth so that he can remind the little children of the church and how they should be acting. And if Paul doesn't hear a good report… well, then, he is going to have to come down there.
Speaking of doing bad stuff, Paul's been hearing some rumors. There's some steamy stuff going on in the bedroom, and he doesn't like it. He's heard that some guy is getting it on with his stepmom. It also happens to be against Jewish and Roman law (source). Paul is annoyed that the Corinthians still have this guy hanging around. He needs to be kicked out of the church—pronto. Paul wishes he were there in person so he could help, but never fear, all, he's there in Spirit. And he has so passed judgment on this guy in Spirit. This man should be forced to live the rest of his life outside of the church. Basically, they're gonna throw him to Satan. He compares it to yeast in bread. Paul is extremely annoyed at the Corinthians' lax attitude about this stuff. Don't they know that even a little yeast can make bread dough rise? Translation: one bad person can ruin a whole church. Paul thinks they need to be celebrating with some nice pure unleavened bread, not letting that evil yeast creep into their midst.
Rules for Being a Christian
Paul says that he wrote to the church before and told them not to have anything to do with immoral people. Of course, they misunderstood this. It would be kind of impossible not to associate with anyone who had a history of doing bad things. You'd have to stop going outside our house. What he meant was, don't associate with other Christians who are immoral. Oh, good clarification. How do you know a fellow Christian is super-bad like this? Well, are they sexually immoral? Are they greedy? Are they an idolater? Do they verbally abuse others? Are they drunks? Are they thieves? Then you can just cross them off your list. Get them out of the church. Judge the heck out of them. How are we suppose to do that? Paul has some other advice. Don't take each other to court over every little thing. If you have issues with each other, take it to the church. Let the community help settle it. Sounds like a good idea. That's way better than going in front of a bunch of non-believers in Roman courts. What would be even better was if Christians didn't sue each other at all, but Paul's not going to shoot for the moon here. After all, Paul explains, terrible people are not going to inherit the kingdom of God. Not even a little bit. Fornicators? Idolaters? Adulterers? Male prostitutes? Sodomites? Thieves? Greedy folks? Drunks? Abusers? They're all out. Paul points out that some of the people in the Christian church used to be guilty of this kind of stuff. But, then they were baptized in Christ and it's all good, because they have changed.
It Does a Body Good
Because they've become new people through baptism, it seems the Corinthians think that they can do whatever they like. Not quite. Sure, they could go around having sex with loads of different people and eating whatever they want, but Paul doesn't really think this is a good idea. They've got to treat their bodies right. After all, the Corinthians' bodies belong to God. They're his temples, remember? Besides, it's not like their bodies are going to get left behind in the end. Nope. God is going to raise them up… eventually. So that means if you have some sexy times with a prostitute, then you're becoming one with a prostitute and not with God. Look, Paul says, the point is, our bodies aren't our own. We can't just go around sleeping with whomever and think it's a-okay, because it is not. Now Paul starts to address some of the things the Corinthians wrote to him about. Apparently, they had a lot of questions about sex. Paul tells them that if people can't stop themselves from getting it on with each other, then they might as well get married. Well, okay then. Once you're married, men and women shouldn't withhold sex from each other. That can lead to temptation… and that's no good. Of course, Paul isn't thrilled to have to give this advice. If you're single or you're a widow, Paul's advice is to stay that way. But if you can't keep it in your pants then, by all means, make it right. Christians who are married to unbelievers shouldn't divorce their spouses. As long as the non-believer of the pair is fine living with a Christian, they should be ok with it. Yes, in the last chapter, having sex with a prostitute made you a prostitute, but, don't worry: a Christian spouse actually makes their non-believing spouse holy. Don't ask Paul to explain how. And if you're lucky, you might actually be able to convert your non-believing spouse to Christianity. Really, what all this comes down to is what Christians do about their current situations. What if you're married or a virgin or a slave even? So what's the deal with that? Paul thinks that Christians should just let it be. If you're circumcised, then don't try to change it. Same thing if you weren't circumcised. Don't go cutting off a foreskin just for the sake of Jesus. That stuff doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is living for God. So if you're a slave who converted to Christianity, then stay a slave. Good news is, even though you're a slave, you are a free person in God's eyes. More advice… this time for virgins! Thinking about getting married? Think again. Married people have all kinds of problems. They have to worry about each other all the time. Paying the bills, cleaning the house, cooking the meals, etc. But unmarried people can just keep their eyes on the prize—life with God. That is, when they're not thinking about sex. The end of the world is coming soon, Paul explains. So soon, none of this stuff is going to matter. God is going to swoop in and wipe it all away, and give faithful Christians their reward. That's why it's better to keep your focus on the Big Guy instead of trying to snag Mr. Right. Again, Paul's not saying marriage is actually sinful or bad, just that you should avoid it if you can. Remember, if you're just some frisky dude who can't control himself, go ahead and get married. But if you're able to keep the sexy times under control, then that's way better. You're more blessed when you stay single, Paul says.
Now Paul turns to another important question: is it okay for Christians to eat meat that has been sacrificed to Roman gods? The Corinthians have told him that they think this is fine. After all, there's only one God and one Jesus, so those other gods aren't even real. That's pretty much right—but they shouldn't get too high and mighty about it. Even though they're right about those gods not existing, not all Christians fully understand this yet. There might be Corinthian Christians out there who still believe these gods are real. That means they're actually committing idolatry in their hearts when they eat this sacrificed meat. And everyone knows that God does not like idolatry
Paul is a big deal. He's an apostle. He's seen the Risen Christ. Even the fact that the church in Corinth exists is proof that God is working through him. He explains that, as an apostle, he is entitled to monetary support from his fellow Christians. He should get free food and beverages. He should have a faithful wife traveling by his side. He shouldn't have to work little side jobs. Really, the Corinthians should be fully supporting him. But Paul doesn't roll this way. Even though these are his rights, even though this is what God demands, Paul never took advantage of these perks. And don't worry, he's not going to start doing it now. He's just trying to make a point. All Paul is saying is that he chose this life freely. He gets to spread the gospel around free of charge to everyone. Paul might be free, but he's made himself into a slave ( in order to win more converts to Christ. Wherever he goes, he becomes like the people he's with so that he can help convince them that Jesus is Lord. We believe this is called empathy. And you've got to stay strong throughout. Christians are like world-class athletes. They have to train and be super discipled in order to win the prize at the end. This is how Paul lives his life.
So I hope you are reading this like a story.. it is a story, about how we all got here and how this is still being passed on daily throughout the world. Its amazing how it has gone on and on for years.. I love it.. So please just bear with me, read it through and try to think that someday you will pick up the bible for yourself and read it and then some of this stuff you will recognize.. believe me this is just skimming the surface, you have to read it for yourself to get the true message.. and it will come.. like it did for me..
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