T H E
N E W
T E S T A M E N T
COPYRIGHT BY WILLIAM EVANS
F IR ST COR INTH IAN S Continued
I N our study of 1 Corinthians we have dealt with the Introduction (i. 1-9) and the first main division—namely, “Party Factions” (i. 10-iv. 21). Today we begin with the second main division, as follows: SOCIAL PURITY— FAILURE .TO EXER CISE DISCIPLINE IN MORAL AFFAIRS Chapters v., vi. 1. The Failure to Exercise Discipline Rebuked (v. 1 -5 ). The church at Corinth was in a very seri ous moral condition, not merely according to reports, but in very fact. It actually harbored grievous immorality in its midst, and apparently manifested no disposition to remove such a stain by disciplining the offender or expelling him from their fel lowship. On the contrary, conscious all the time of such an existing immoral con dition and the enormity of it, they were yet able to remain content with so grievous a sin in their midst. The immoral man and his immorality were tolerated. We are reminded of the rebuke given to the church in Revelation (ii. 20): “Thou sufferest that woman Jezebel . . . to teach and to seduce.” The fact that such a sin should have been even committed in a Christian assembly was in itself surprising enough; but that it should be condoned in such an assembly and that the one guilty of so heinous an offense had not met with instant
discipline and expulsion was a severe shock to the apostle and greatly aroused his righteous indignation. Just what this awful sin was it may be difficult to say. Whether it was marriage to a stepmother or concubinage, it was, at all events, a grave offense and one that called for the severest discipline. 2. The Contaminating Influence of the Sin in Question (v. 6 -8 ). The, influence of allowing such a condi tion of affairs to exist unjudged and unre buked was seriously contaminating and con demning. Because of the sin of one mem ber the whole body was suffering (cf. xii. 26). Achan’s sin involved the whole nation (Joshua 7). What trouble the children of Israel brought on themselves because, instead of driving out the heathen inhab itants of Canaan as God had told them to do, they permitted them to dwell in their midst (Joshua xvii. 13; Judges x;ix. 21). Such people are “spots in your feasts” (Jude 12). Herein lies the importance of recognizing the fact of the unity of the Church as the body of Christ. The sin of one member affects the whole body. The feasts of the Christian assembly must be kept not only by “refusing to admit evil with the good, but by refusing to^admit evil instead of the good.” The entire assembly of Christ rises or falls with the moral and religious standing of its individual mem-
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker