Four Points Church

In the previous passage (1 Corinthians 7:7-8), the Apostle Paul mentioned that he is single (and not as a suggestion that he’s available to date!). Church history tells us that he remained unmarried for the remainder of his life. In this passage, Paul speaks about singleness and the unique way it offers opportunities to serve the Lord. He also reminds all Christians of how the return of Jesus should cause us to focus on eternal things and to increase our devotion to Him.

Paul just finished advising Christian husbands and wives to remain in their marriages if their spouses are unbelievers and are willing. This is because those circumstances do not hinder God’s grace from bringing unbelieving spouses into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 7:17-24, Paul hits on the point again that earthly circumstances do have an impact on God’s saving grace. In fact, when God calls someone into a relationship with Himself that person is to live out his calling wherever God has sovereignly placed him “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches” (1 Corinthians 7:17). Paul lays out two examples of earthly circumstances that may be causing some division within the Corinthian church: circumcision versus uncircumcision, and bondservant versus freedman.

The overall message of 1 Corinthians 7 deals with marriage in various ways. In this particular section, Paul discusses three main issues: singleness, divorce, and the unbelieving spouse.

At the conclusion of chapter 6, Paul addressed the issue of sexual immorality within the Corinthian church. In his argument, Paul spoke against sexual immorality by providing the theological implications associated with sex outside of the boundaries God has prescribed in Scripture. Paul begins chapter 7 by addressing a series of questions that have been raised by the Corinthian church in their letter to him. The first question seems to be regarding sex.

Paul has already addressed a specific sexual sin that has infiltrated the church (see 1 Corinthians 5:1-13). In this section, Paul further investigates the issue of sexual immorality, another area in which the Corinthians have adopted the values of the pagan culture. Paul’s argument is simple, yet profound. What we do with our bodies matters! Our call as believers is to glorify God with all of ourselves, which includes our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20).

Perhaps when you were young, you did something so foolish that your parents sat you down and proceeded to ask you a stream of rhetorical questions, one on top of the other. By the time you formulated an answer to one, the next one was on its way! In this passage, the Apostle Paul is similarly vexed with the Corinthian church. In 1 Corinthians 5, they refused to confront someone who was clearly in sin. Here, they are confronting one another, but in the wrong way. The Corinthians are dragging each other before the local courts, bringing reproach on the church and disrupting its unity. Paul corrects them by teaching them about their role in Jesus’ judgment at the end of the age, and then reminds them that those who hold on to their sin will not inherit the kingdom of God. Paul then graciously reminds the Corinthians of what Jesus has done for them, and encourages them to live out these realities.

A certain amount of tolerance is important in any church, as we all come to differing conclusions about matters of conscience. Should we partake of alcohol, or abstain? Should we homeschool, or send our kids to public or private schools? Such tolerance is an expression of bearing with one another in love (Romans 15:1; Ephesians 4:2) and is an aspect of being brothers and sisters in Christ. However, when it comes to things that the Bible calls sin, tolerating sin actually becomes sin (Romans 1:32). In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul rebukes the church for tolerating grievous sin among them. This passage demonstrates how the practice of church discipline can be used to restore people, and helps us to see the importance of purity in the local church.

In our last passage, Paul used a series of sarcastic statements to call out the arrogance of many in the Corinthian church. But now, in 1 Corinthians 4:14, his tone changes. He speaks of them as “my beloved children.” Paul makes clear that he did not rebuke them to shame them (v. 14), but to correct them, just as a loving father would. Sometimes this correction requires harsher tones and words, but even that shows the care of the father. It is important for Paul, as their “father in Christ Jesus” (v. 15), to have this hard conversation with them. The words of their other “countless guides in Christ” (v. 15) do not carry the same weight as those of their spiritual father. Paul is modeling to them the way the Lord as our Father disciplines us: “For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives” (Hebrews 12:6). Paul brings loving correction to the arrogance that has grown like leaven in this church.

We know from 1 Corinthians 3 that one of the main issues that needs to be addressed in this church is the fact that factions have formed around peoples’ preferred leaders. In 1 Corinthians 3:4, Paul says that some are following him and some are following Apollos, and this has created “jealousy and strife among you.” The Corinthians are making judgments about leaders based on their own biased perceptions. This leads Paul to lay out the role of ministers and who exactly gets to judge their ministries. Then, in 1 Corinthians 4:6-13, Paul unpacks this church’s spiritual arrogance and explains why it is improper to judge God’s servants based on outward appearances.

The Bible gives us multiple images of the Church. According to Paul’s letter to the Galatians, the Church is a household of faith (Galatians 6:10). According to Peter, the Church is like a flock of sheep who need a shepherd (1 Peter 5:1-2). Later in 1 Corinthians, Paul will use the imagery of the human body to describe the Church, highlighting the interconnectedness and unity of the Body of Christ. However, in this text, Paul likens the Church to the Jerusalem Temple. The temple was the physical representation of God’s presence with His people.  Paul is communicating that God now dwells with His people, the Church, through His Spirit. There is no need for a physical temple. We ourselves are God’s temple! And Christ is the supreme builder of this temple.