Sunday School Lessons

APRIL 12, 2020

THE ABUSE OF CHRISTIAN LIBERTY

INTRODUCTION:

1. This chapter consists of two distinct divisions.
a) The first relates to Christians having their disputes with one another judged before heathen magistrates.
b) The second has to do with the abuse of the principle “all things are lawful,” i.e. the misuse of Christian liberty.
2. The subject of this second division ought to be of particular interest in this present day when Christian liberties are being interpreted by many as license to sin.

I. THE MATTER OF CHRISTIANS BRINGING THEIR DISPUTES BEFORE HEATHEN JUDGES. (See last week’s notes on Verses 1-11)

II. THE ABUSE WHICH SOME IN THE CHURCH HAD MADE OF CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. (VERSES 12-20) Having in the preceding verses declared that the immoral cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, and having given special prominence to sins against the Seventh Commandment, the Apostle comes in these verses to consider the grounds on which such violations were being defended.

A. CHRISTIAN LIBERTY (THE DOCTRINE THAT ‘ALL THINGS ARE LAWFUL” MUST OF NECESSITY BE LIMITED ON TWO COUNTS. (VERSE 13)
1. First, Christian liberty must be limited by expediency. “But all things are not expedient.”
a) Many things that are in our power may not be for our good. This is true of foods, and many forms of work or pleasure. Circumstances often dictate whether a thing is good, irrespective of its being lawful. Here too, the good of others comes into view as a limiting factor.
b) The many texts which encourage us to ask freely of the Lord, assuring us that we shall receive what we ask for, are all, likewise, limited by this same consideration. We shall receive that which will be for our spiritual profit and good. (John 14:13; 15:7; I John 5:14, 15, etc.)
2. Secondly, Christian liberty must be limited by a regard to one’s own spiritual freedom. “I will not be brought under the power of any.”
a) There are many healthful enjoyments that are legitimate and permissible (foods, music, sports, exercise, etc., etc.) but we must not become slaves to any of these enjoyments.
b) It is imperative to the moral health of the soul that it should preserve its self-control, and not be in subjection to any of its appetites or desires, however innocent any desire in itself may be. This is a spiritual rule which Christians often violate. They defend their enslavement to certain forms of indulgence on the ground that they are not in themselves wrong, forgetting that it is wrong to be in bondage to any appetite or habit.

B. CHRISTIANS ARE AT LIBERTY TO PHYSICALLY PARTAKE OF ONLY SUCH THINGS FOR WHICH THEIR BODIES WERE DESIGNED. (VERSES 13, 14)
1. “Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats.” The one is evidently adapted and designed for the other. It is a legitimate inference from this constitution that it is lawful to eat, and to eat everything adapted for food. (I Tim. 4:4) But, as the Apostle notes, this is only a temporary arrangement, because God shall destroy both of them. The time will come when men shall be no more sustained by food, but shall be as the angels of God.
a) This is proof that meats belong to things indifferent, and have no bearing on the body’s eternal destiny.
b) This is not true regarding fornication, however, because the body was never designed for such promiscuous use. If the Corinthians were using this quotation to imply that fornication was simply a case of nature (as some think they were), their analogy failed.
2. “The body is for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.” The one stands in an intimate relation to the other. The body is designed to be a member of Christ, and the dwelling-place of the Spirit. Christ so regarded it, redeeming it with His blood. (Rom. 8:23) He has united it to Himself as part of His mystical body, making it the instrument of righteousness unto holiness. (Rom. 6:12, 13) With this design for the body, the sin here in question is absolutely incompatible and destructive to the relation it sustains to the Lord.
3. “And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by His own power.” The destiny of the body being what is stated in the preceding verse, it is not to perish, but is to share in the resurrection of Christ. (Rom. 8:11)
a) So the relation between the physical organs and food is temporary, but the relation between Christ and the body is permanent.
b) What concerns the former relation is a matter of indifference; what concerns the latter touches the design for which we were created. (Ch. 15:15, 20, 35-56; Phil. 3:21; II Cor. 4:14; I Thess. 4:14)

C. THE RELATION BETWEEN OUR BODIES AND CHRIST IS OF SUCH A CHARACTER THAT THE SIN IN QUESTION IS UNTHINKABLE. (VERSES 15-17)
1. “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?” This is an established and familiar point of Christian doctrine, and obviously one with which the Corinthians were acquainted. (Verse 15)
a) Our bodies are members of Christ, because they were included in the redemption affected by His blood. (Rom. 8:23)
b) Our bodies are members of Christ because they are united with Him in partaking of His life. (Rom. 8:6-11; Eph. 2:6, 7; 5:30)
2. That fornication is totally incompatible with this relation between the bodies of believers to Christ arises out of the peculiar nature of that sin. (Verse 16)
a) The parties of it become partakers of a common life; whether we can understand this or not, it is the teaching of Scripture. (Gen. 2:24; Eph. 5:31)
b) Therefore the Apostle’s rhetorical question he emphatically answered with “GOD FORBID.”
3. He that is joined to Christ has one spirit with Christ, that is, they two share the same principles of life. (Vs. 17)
a) The Holy Spirit was given without measure to Christ, and from Him is communicated to all His people who are thereby brought into common life with Him. (Rom. 8:9, 10; I Cor. 12:13; John 17:21, 23; Eph. 4:4; 5:30)
b) This being the case, it places on believers the highest conceivable obligation not to act inconsistently with this intimate and exalting relationship.

D. FORNICATION IS IN A PARTICULAR MANNER A SIN AGAINST THE BODY, DESTRUCTIVE OF ITS VERY NATURE. (VERSE 18)
1. This is not to say that fornication is the greatest of all sins, but it does teach that it is altogether peculiar in it effects upon the body, not so much in the physical sense, but in its moral and spiritual effects.
2. Every other sin, however degrading and ruinous to the health of the body, is external to the life of the body. But fornication involves a community of life, and is a sin against the body itself, because it goes against the design of its creation, and its immortal destiny.

E. THE BODY IS A TEMPLE IN WHICH THE SPIRIT DWELLS, AND THEREFORE MUST NOT BE PROFANED BY LICENTIOUSNESS. (VERSE 19)
1. There are two things characteristic of a temple.
a) First, it is sacred as a dwelling-place of God, and therefore must not be profaned, and cannot be profaned with impurity.
b) Second, the proprietorship of a temple is not in man, but in God.
2. Both these things are true of the believer’s body.
a) It is a temple because the Holy Spirit dwells in it; and because it is not his own. It belongs to God.
b) As it is a temple of the Holy Spirit, it cannot be profaned without incurring great and peculiar guilt.
3. Since these things are true, our bodies are not at our own disposal. They can only be used for purposes for which God designed them.

F. BELIEVERS MUST REMEMBER THAT THEY, EVEN THEIR BODIES, ARE THE OBJECTS OF REDEMPTION. (VERSE 20)
1. They have been bought. “Ye are bought…” (literally “ye were bought”) that is, delivered by purchase. We were condemned and justly held in bondage.
2. They have been bought with a price. We were under penalty of the Law. Until that penalty was satisfied, we could not be delivered. The blood of Christ is our ransom, because it met the demands of the Law.
3. The particular ownership of believers asserted in Verse 19 does not arise from creation or preservation, but from redemption. (Rom. 6:17; Gal. 3:13; Eph. 3:13; Acts 20:28)
4. “Therefore…” Because we are not our own, but belong to God; and because we have been delivered by so great a purchase price, we have a solemn obligation. Since God has redeemed our whole person, its corporeal as well as its spiritual parts, we must seek to glorify Him both in body and spirit, which are God’s.

G. AS FOR CHRISTIAN LIBERTY, THESE VERSES DEFINE WHAT IT TRULY IS.

1. Christ has redeemed us, i.e. bought us back out of the marketplace of sin. He has liberated us from our old master. He has made us His own peculiar people. He has put His Spirit within us, so that we have both the ability and the desire to walk in His ways.
2. Christians are set at liberty, not only from the curse, but the bondage of sin. Christ has loosed the fetters and set us free.
3. What reasonable person would construe this wonderful doctrine so as to make it a license to sin? What true Christian would want to do so?

MARCH 8, 2020

CHRISTIANS AND LAWSUITS

INTRODUCTION:
1. The Apostle has sternly addressed the problem of pride in the church at Corinth, and the many branches which grew out of that root. (Contentions, divisions, magnifying of instructors above the Apostle, etc.) They were even puffed up with pride while a situation of gross sin was present among them.
2. Among the many other evils at Corinth calling for correction, a litigious spirit had arisen, fostered, no doubt, by the frictions of parties. Brother went to law with brother before the heathen tribunals, and the Christian name was thereby reproached.
3. This chapter consists of two distinct divisions. The first relates to lawsuits before heathen magistrates (Verses 1-11). The second relates to the abuse which some in the church had made of Christian liberty (Verses 12-20).

I. THE MATTER OF CHRISTIANS BRINGING THEIR DISPUTES BEFORE PAGAN JUDGES. (VERSES 1-11)

A. IT IS SCANDALOUS WHEN CHRISTIANS BRING THEIR DISPUTES BEFORE HEATHEN TRIBUNALS. (VERSE 1)
1. Paul found it appalling that a Christian would think it either necessary or acceptable to take another Christian to a court of law for the settling of a controversy. “Dare any of you…go to law before the unjust,” and not before the saints.”
a) “The unjust” is simply meant to distinguish them from God’s people. In this verse, unjust stands opposite of saints.
b) The complaint was not that they went to law before unjust judges, but that they appealed to secular courts for matters they should have handled within the Christian community.
2. Paul also found this sort of thing horrifying because of the nature of at least some of the matters, (lit. suits) they were litigating. This will appear a few verses later, when he reminds them of what some of them once were. (Verse 9)

B. THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY HAS WITHIN IT THOSE CAPABLE OF JUDGING DISPUTES AMONG ITS MEMBERS. (VERSES 2, 3)
1. Seeing that the saints shall one day judge the world, and even angels, it is inconceivable that they would not be capable of judging the smallest matter; the things of this life.
a) Some understand this in the same sense in which Christ that said the Ninevites and the queen of the south would rise up in judgment against the unbelieving Jews and condemn them.
b) Others think it refers to a time when God would give human government in to Christian hands in answer to Daniel’s prophecy. (Dan. 7:18, 27)
c) But, it is speaking of the Day of Judgment, when all the saints will sit as assessors with Christ, approving the sentences that He pronounces against the world. (Jude 14, 15; I Thess. 3:13)
2. That the saints shall judge angels puts this at the judgment of the last day. We are to understand this as the judgment of evil angels, fallen angels, which shall be brought before the Judge of the whole earth, and condemned and cast into the bottomless pit. Of this judgment the saints roll shall be as assessors, observing and approving of their sentence.
3. By comparison, disputes between brethren were indeed small matters.

C. IT MAKES NO SENSE TO GO TO HEATHEN JUDGES WITH SUCH MATTERS. (VERSE 4) This verse may be understood in either of two ways. Either way it stresses the senselessness of appealing to secular courts.
1. The text may be taken as spoken sarcastically. Why seek out a judge from among the unrighteous. Surely, it would not be for lack of someone capable of judging the case from within the church. The least among them would be able to hear the matter and make the right judgment.
2. The text may be an interrogative, in which case it would read something like this: “Do you set as judges those who are least esteemed in (i.e. by) the church?” Heathen judges would be the least esteemed by God’s people.
3. Either way, the point is made, but judging from the next verse, it seems that the latter understanding best suits the context. He does ask if there is not “a wise man” among them.

D. SUCH ACTIONS AS THEY WERE GUILTY OF WERE SHAMEFUL. (VERSES 5, 6)
1. To seek the wisdom of this world, rather than the wisdom of the godly, is shameful. “Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you…?” (Verse 5)
2. For a Christian to sue another Christian in a court of law is a shameful thing. There are here two grounds of complaint.
a) First, that they went to law instead of resorting to arbitration.b) Secondly, that they made unbelievers their judges. “Unbelievers” here is referring to the actively unbelieving, and therefore not to be trusted.
3. Airing controversies between Christians before the secular world is shameful.
4. For Christians to place a higher value on settlements (monetary or otherwise) than on the reputation of the church is shameful.
5. To do anything that could bring reproach upon Christ and Christianity is shameful. The ungodly like nothing more than to try and show that Christians are really no different than they are.

E. THE CHRISTIAN WAY IS TO RATHER SUFFER THE WRONG (IF NECESSARY) THAN TO BRING SHAME UPON THE CAUSE OF CHRIST. (VERSES 7, 8)
1. “Now therefore” (lit. “already indeed therefore”). That is, these lawsuits are already, in themselves an evil, irrespective of their being litigated in heathen courts. For, he says “there is utterly a FAULT among you.” That is, there is already a great loss, a diminution, a deterioration with respect to their profession, as the word means. The very fact that these things were happening was indication that something was desperately wrong with respect to their profession of Christianity.
2. This is further seen in the types of injuries that the Apostle was asking them to suffer for Christ’s sake. There were clearly cases of fraud, and other criminal behavior toward fellow church members.
3. Even these hurtful, damaging, and costly actions were to be borne with, for sake of the Christian faith. This is not, however, to say that they were acceptable. This becomes very clear from the following verses.

F. AMONG THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE CHURCH THERE WERE APPARENTLY SOME WHO HELD TO THEIR OLD WORLDLY WAYS AND PAGAN RELIGIOUS PRACTICES. (VRS. 9, 10)
1. This accounts for why there were the kinds of goings on that resulted in lawsuits in the church. There were some who were covetous, thieves, extortioners, etc. This is why Paul said, in essence, “Already there is indeed a loss.” If these things were not repented of, there would be the eternal loss of their souls, because “the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.”
2. Many of the sexual sins here named were part of their old pagan idolatrous religions. This is why it was stressed repeatedly that Gentile converts were not to continue in such immorality. (Acts 15:20, 29; and 21:25)
3. The tendency to look upon religion as an outward service divorced from morality has manifested itself in all ages of the world, and under all forms of religion. But, according to the Gospel all moral duties are religious services, and holiness is conformity of the souls to the image of God. Here again, the Apostle assures us that any religion that does not make us holy will not get us to heaven. (I Pet. 1:14-16; Heb. 12:14; Eph. 4:22-24)

G. ALTHOUGH SOME HAD BEEN GREAT SINNERS, ALL THAT WERE TRUE CONVERTS WERE NO LONGER WHAT THEY WERE BEFORE. (VERSE 11)
1. The Apostle avoids charging the gross immoralities here listed upon all of the Corinthians. (Vse. 11a)
2. Perhaps some had been none of these things, so far as the actual practices of them.
3. No doubt, many had been one or more of these things in the past.
4. Regardless, if they were true converts, they had been saved from their former uncleanness. Those who had been guilty of the vilest of these sins, if they were truly saved, no longer did them.
5. Paul gives the reason why they no longer did them. (Verse 11b)
a) “But, ye are WASHED…” (from the filth) (Tit. 3:5)
b) “But ye are SANCTIFIED…” (filled with new spiritual habits, set apart unto God)
c) “But ye are JUSTIFIED…” (covered with God’s righteousness) (Rom. 1:17)
6. They were washed, sanctified, and justified in the Name of Christ, Who had borne their sins, and by the Holy Spirit, effectually applied to them what Christ had done. (Verse 11c) NOTE: In our next lesson, we will deal with our second main division.

II. THE ABUSE WHICH SOME IN THE CHURCH HAD MADE OF CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. (VERSES 12-20)

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

SIN IN THE ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCTION:

1. Paul felt an urgency in writing this letter because of various problems in the church at Corinth. Even though he intended to visit them shortly (Ch. 4:19), these matters could not wait even for a short while. They needed to be dealt with immediately.

2.The first problem which he addressed was that of divisions in the church. (Ch. 1:10) The fact that these divisions were formed using the names of their ministers, his name being one, this led to a defense of the mode and message of his ministry. This, in turn, led to a discussion about how rightly to view ministers of the Gospel.

3. The second problem in the church at Corinth, that to which Paul now directs his attention, is the tolerating of fornication in the assembly. The word fornication is being used in a comprehensive sense, including all violations of the seventh commandment. Here, however, a particular case is distinguished as peculiarly atrocious. “…that one should have his father’s wife.”

I. THE APOSTLE HERE STATES THE CASE AND BLAMES THEM FOR THEIR INDULGENCE AND ORDERS THEM HOW TO DEAL WITH IT. (VERSES 1-6)

A. IT HAD BECOME PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE THAT THERE WAS A CASE OF INCEST BEING ALLOWED TO CONTINUE IN THE CHURCH. (VERSE 1)

1. This was not just a case of fornication, but incestuous fornication. This was a sin so egregious that even the Gentiles (generally speaking) would not countenance such a thing.

2. It was talked about in all places to their great dishonor. It was a reproach upon the church, and worse yet, brought shame upon the name of Christ. It was the more reproachful because it could not be denied. That which was known and discussed without was certainly known within the church. Matthew Henry thinks it probable that this man was a person of note, perhaps a leader of one of the factions.

3. We know how strongly it was stressed to Gentile converts that they must abstain from all pollutions of idolatry and from fornication. (Acts 15:20, 20; Eph. 4:17-21; I Pet. 4:3, 4) How then could something so vile as what we read of here have been tolerated in the church?

4. We are reminded by this that all churches are in a state of imperfection, and are liable to corruption. This church was planted by the Apostle Paul himself yet great sin was found in it. We must therefore be vigilant and watchful.

B. THE CORINTHIANS WERE TO BLAME FOR THEIR ATTITUDE AND CONDUCT IN LIGHT OF THIS DISGRACEFUL SITUATION. (VERSE 2)

1. They were puffed up. They were filled with pride – elated with how well they were doing. Who can tell for what reasons they were so self-satisfied? Churches can see themselves rich and increased with goods, feeling they have need of nothing, when in truth, they are wretched and miserable. (Rev. 3:17)

2. They were not grieved. “And have not rather mourned.” Sin in the assembly is a grievous thing. Instead of being filled with pride, they should have been humbled.3. They had done nothing to remove the offender. “…that he…might be taken away from among you.”

C. THE APOSTLE DIRECTED THEM HOW THEY WERE TO PROCEED IN DEALING WITH THE OFFENDER. (VERSES 3-5a)

1. There was no question about what should be done. Paul, though not present with them, needed not to contemplate what needed to be done. He also knew that the necessary action could not wait for his arrival.(Verse 3)

2. The man was to be excommunicated. That is, he was to be put out of the church and delivered unto Satan. (Verse 5a)

3. This action was to be taken by authority of the Apostle Paul, as if he were present, and in the name of Christ. In other words, Paul’s authority was as Christ’s Apostle, and He would be present in spirit. (Verse 4)

4. This matter was to be handled with great solemnity, and when the church was in full assembly. (I Tim. 5:20)

D. THERE IS A TWOFOLD PURPOSE FOR SUCH ACTIONS. (VERSES 5, 6)

1. First, the repentance and restoration of the guilty person is one main reason for church discipline. (Verse 5b) By putting the offender out of the church, he is turned over to Satan. Essentially there are only two societies. Christ and Satan divide the world. Those who live in sin after professing Christ are actually serving another master, and are therefore by excommunication delivered over to him in the name of Christ. This is done in order to bring him to repentance and mortification of the flesh. In the case here, it seems that was exactly the happy result that was achieved. (II Cor. 2:4-8)

2. Second, church discipline must be practiced in order to purge the leaven out of the church. (Vse. 7) The fact that they were puffed up (well pleased with themselves) while such a deadly contagion was working in their midst was shocking to the Apostle. “Your glorying is not good,” he says. “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” One diseased sheep will infect the whole flock.

II. HE EXHORTS TO CHRISTIAN PURITY BY PURGING OUT THE OLD LEAVEN. (VERSES 7, 8)

A. THE ADVICE ITSELF MAY BE ADDRESSED TO THE CHURCH IN GENERAL, OR TO INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS. (VERSE 7a) “Purge out therefore the old leaven…”

1. With respect to the church, purging out the old leaven refers to putting away from themselves the wicked person. The church is to be holy, and must not bear such corrupt and scandalous members.

2. With respect to individual members, they must purge themselves from all that pertains to the old man. Purge out the old leaven. The old man must be put off with his deeds. The mind must be renewed. The new man must be put on which is created in true righteousness. (Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:9, 10) Thus, they are to become a new lump.

B. THE REASON GIVEN TO SUPPORT THIS ADVICE. (VERSE 7b) “For Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.”

1. This is the great doctrine of the Gospel. The Jews, after they had killed the Passover, kept the feast of unleavened bread for seven days. So must we, when we have partaken of Christ, keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven is the number of perfection or completion, thus we are to purge out the old leaven all our days.

2. Notice, the great argument for purity of life is the sacrifice of Christ our Passover. How can we continue in sin after He has suffered and died to put it away?

C. LIVING IN PURITY AND HOLINESS IS DESCRIBED AS KEEPING THE GOSPEL FEAST. (VERSE 8)

1. “Let us therefore keep the feast.” This is not an exhortation to keep the Jewish Passover, as the whole context is clearly figurative. What about Christ’s death would suggest such a thing? Neither is it referring to the feast referred to as the Lord’s Supper that is meant. A feast was a portion of time that was consecrated to God. What portion of the Christian’s time is to be consecrated to God?

2. Paul says, “Let us THEREFORE keep the feast.” That is, since Christ our Passover is slain for us, and we are freed form bondage and sin, let our whole life be a sacred festival.

3. See here the believer’s attitude toward sanctification and holiness. It is not an endurance, or a drudgery, but a delight. It is a continual feast of fat things and wine on the leas. Only a renewed soul can truly partake of such a festival.

III. HE DIRECTS THEM TO AVOID KEEPING COMPANY WITH PROFESSED CHRISTIANS WHO ARE LIVING WICKEDLY. (VERSES 9-13)

A. SIMILAR ADVICE HE HAD GIVEN IN A LETTER PRIOR TO THIS. (VERSES 9, 10)

1. It seems likely that Paul had written other letters to the church at Corinth, and to other churches as well, which were not persevered for the Church in all ages as pastoral letters, but addressed particular matters in the individual churches. To such a letter he here apparently refers. (Verse 9) We can be sure that no divinely inspired writing intended to be preserved in Scripture had been lost.

2. We know that no divinely inspired Corinthian letter preceded this one. And since he was clearly not referring to the letter he was presently writing, he must have addressed the matter of keeping company with fornicators and other such people in an earlier letter no longer extant.

3. The shunning that he previously advised was limited to professed Christians who were living wickedly. (Verse 10) It did not include the heathen about them. If it had, they would have needed to remove themselves from the world. Particularly at Corinth, there were all about them such as were fornicators, covetous, (those who would defraud for sake of gain), extortioners (those who took advantage of other’s necessities to secure exorbitant gain), and idolaters (those who worshipped false gods).

4. The reason for shunning professed Christians who lived wickedly was to shame them, and hopefully bring them to repentance. Plus, for their own sakes, they were to avoid being in the company of nay whose profession of Christianity lacked sincerity.

B. THE COMMANDMENT NOW GIVEN IN THE PRESENT EPISTLE IS EXPLAINED. (VERSES 11-13)

1. The commandment is not to associate with any man who is called a brother, and yet lives an immoral and wicked live. (Verse 11)

a) In the Corinthian church there were instances of immorality, covetousness, extortion, drunkenness, and idolatry.

b) He says, “with such an one no not to eat.” This does not refer to the Lord’s Supper. The meaning is that we are not to have fellowship with such persons. It is not the act of eating that is forbidden, (Jesus ate with publicans and sinners) but the recognition of them as believers.

2. The commandment had to do only with those within the church. It was not his prerogative to judge those without. The church acted on the same principle. (Verse 12) They confined church discipline to church members, and therefore should not have thought his injunction to apply to others than those within the church.

3. God, and not the church, is the judge of those who are without. But, as he repeats the injunction, they were to take care of the responsibility that was theirs, and put away the offender.

JANUARY 19, 2020

FAITHFUL STEWARDS OF THE GOSPEL (cont.)

I. THE PROPER LIGHT IN WHICH THE CHURCH SHOULD REGARD ITS MINISTERS. (VERSES 1-6)

II. A CAUTION AGAINST PRIDE AND SELF-CONCEIT. (VERSES 7-13)

A. ALL FAVORABLE DISTINCTIONS FOUND IN MEN ARE OWING NOT TO THEMSELVES, BUT TO GOD’S GRACE ALONE. (VERSE 7)
1. The question that is asked in the text might be applied first to any of the ministers among them, some of whom were puffed up.
2. The question may also be applied to all Christians. Surely,any true believer knows that apart from God’s grace he is less than nothing. We have nothing that we did not receive. (Eph. 2:8, 9; I Cor. 12:4-11)
3. Although Paul addresses the question to the church, it is in fact a question that addresses itself to all men. No man has anything that is not owing to God’s goodness. (Acts 17:25-28; James 1:17)

B. THE CONCEIT OF THE CORINTHIANS PAUL FURTHER REPRESSES WITH DERIDING SARCASM. (VERSE 8) “Now ye are full…rich, ye have reigned as kings.”
1. Sarcasm is a powerful weapon against wickedness and foolishness, but must be used advisedly, and for the purpose of convincing and converting.
2. There is a definite assent in the verse. Ye are not only full, ye are rich. You are not only rich, you are kings. In other words, you have reached the goal of perfection. But, you have done it without us. They had advanced to quickly that they left the poor Apostles far behind. He represents the Corinthians as thinking they had already attained the full state of blessedness of the Messianic reign. (See Phil. 3:10-13)
3. He then adds, “I would to God ye did reign.” He could wish that the consummation of Christ’s Kingdom had really come, for then he would share with them in the glories of it. “…that we also might reign with you.”

C. THE APOSTLES WERE VERY FAR FROM BEING TREATED WITH THE HONOR AND RESPECT DUE TO KINGS. (VERSES 9-13)
1. It seemed to Paul that God had publicly exhibited himself and the other Apostles as the lowest and most afflicted of men. (Verse 9)
a) They were as men “appointed to death.” This not only means that they were daily exposed to death, which they were (Ch. 15:30, 31; II Cor. 1:8, 9; 11:23; Rom. 8:36), but also that they were treated as men condemned to death, i.e. as convicts to whom all comforts were denied.
b) He says, “We have become a spectacle,” (literally ‘theater’ – a show exhibit) and that to the whole universe. “…unto the world, and to angels, and to men.”
2. He amplifies what he had just said by contrasting his situation to theirs. (Verse 10)
a) The opinion of these Corinthians as well as that of others is here expressed.
b) The devotion of the Apostles to the cause was such that they were regarded as fools. But, the Corinthians regarded themselves in their profession of Christ as wise.
c) Paul and the other Apostles felt themselves to be weak, but they thought themselves strong.
d) While the Corinthians were objects of respect, honor; the faithful Apostles were despised, i.e. held in contempt.
3. We see why the Apostles were seen as weak and foolish in the eyes of the world, and sadly, in the eyes of far too many who were in the church. (Verses 11-13)
a) That a man should freely subject himself to hunger, thirst, and nakedness, and submit to be buffeted and home-less for no other reason but to simply preach Christ was indeed, in the eyes of the world, foolishness. (Vs. 11)
(1) The fact that Paul gladly suffered these things for Christ placed him in glaring contrast to his critics at Corinth.
(2) The world has the same opinion of those who will leave the comforts and privileges of America in order to preach the Gospel in third world countries.
b) That a man would forego his right to be maintained in the work of the Gospel (see Ch. 9:11-15), and choose to work with his hands to support himself, surely appeared foolish to many at Corinth. (Verse 12a)
c) That a man would return blessing for reviling should not have seemed strange to any Christian (I Pet. 2:23), nevertheless it did to the Corinthians. (Verse 12b) To suffer persecution without retaliation is not the way of man, but it is the way of Christian men. (Verse 12c)
d) That a man should entreat (treat with kindness) those who defame him may seem like strange behavior to the world, but it should not seem strange to those in the church. (Matt. 5:44, 45)
4. The indignities and sufferings which so good and great a man as Paul endured for Christ’s sake may well put us to shame. “We are made the filth of the world, and are the off scouring of all things unto this day.” (Verse 13)
a) Regarded as the filthiness of mankind, or as the dregs, a term used to describe the lowest of men.b) Regarded as the off scouring, another term used for the refuse of mankind.
5. As Christians are increasingly becoming targets for ridicule here in America, we must ask ourselves, are we willing to be so despised by the men of this world for sake of Christ? And as churches seem to be more and more courting the favor of the world, will we bear reproach for sake of Christ and the cause of the Gospel?

III. A FATHERLY APPEAL TO HIS CHILDREN IN THE FAITH. (VERSES 14-21)

A. HIS PURPOSE WAS NOT TO MOVE THEM TO SHAME, BUT TO ISSUE A FATHERLY WARNING. (VERSE 14)
1. The objective in drawing such a comparison between their case and his own was not to mortify them; not to drive them back, but rather, it was to show them that they, as sons, did not bear much resemblance to their father.
2. Though his purpose was not to shame them, they ought to have felt ashamed for the very fact that they were ashamed of the one who first introduced them to Christ.

B. PAUL WAS ENTITLED TO ADMONISH THEM AS SONS, FOR HE WAS THEIR SPIRITUAL FATHER. (VERSE 15)
1. He acknowledges that in reference to Christ they have many teachers. This is the meaning. Not Christian instructors, but instructors pertaining to their Christian profession. He here uses great hyperbole. “For though you have ten thousand instructors…”
2. They may have had many such teachers, but only one could claim to be their father in the faith; only one was the means of their conversion. In Christ, he had begotten them through the Gospel.
3. In himself he could do nothing, but by means of the Gospel he, as a preacher, was the instrumental agent in their conversion.

C. AS A FATHER HE CALLS UPON THEM TO FOLLOW HIM. (VERSE 16)
1. He means this not in the sense of following him rather than Apollos, Cephas, etc. That would be to counter his own arguments against such things before considered.
2. He means this in the sense of being willing to follow him in his sufferings for Christ – being willing to be reproached by the world for Christ’s sake.
3. He would have them imitate him as a child imitates his father. (I Thess. 1:6; 2:14; Eph. 5:1)

D. HE WAS SENDING TIMOTHY TO THEM TO REMIND THEM OF WHAT THEY SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN. (VERSE 17)
1. “For this cause…” that of encouraging them to imitate his example, Paul sent Timothy to Corinth.
2. Timothy was Paul’s beloved son; in the spiritual sense. Timothy was converted and called to the ministry through Paul’s ministry. He was also ordained by the laying on of his hands. (Acts 16:1ff; II Tim. 1:6) Paul regarded young Timothy very highly, and had the utmost confidence in him. (Phil. 2:19-21)
3. Timothy would faithfully represent Paul and his ministry, vindicating the Apostle from the aspersions which had been cast upon him. Nothing more was necessary than to appeal to their own knowledge of Paul and bear witness to his faithfulness in every place.
4. It is a blessed thing when an honest representation of a minister’s life and work will suffice to prove his faithfulness and silence his critics.

E. SENDING TIMOTHY WAS NOT TO INDICATE THAT HE WOULD NOT BE COMING IN PERSON. (VERSES 18-20)
1. Some of the puffed up false teachers may have wished he would not come, since some were endeavoring to undermine his authority. (Ch. 9:1-3; II Cor. 12:12) They also accused him of lightness and instability (II Cor. 1:17), and of being weak in his person and contemptible in speech. (II Cor. 10:10)
2. Some were so conceited as to their own importance and the effect of their criticism of the Apostle, as to give out that he was afraid to come, and therefore sent Timothy instead.
3. He assures them that, the Lord willing, he will come to them shortly. When he does, he will put to the test not their speech, but their power. (Verse 19) They talked big, but what were they actually doing for Christ. (Compare I Thess. 1:5; II Tim. 3:5)
4. “For the Kingdom of God, he argues, “is not in word, but in power.” (Verse 20), meaning, God’s Kingdom which is in the believer (Luke 17:21); which is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost (Rom. 14:17); God’s dominion and reign in the heart, does not consist in profession, but in reality. As in Verse 19, it matters not what these men say, but what they really are.

F. FAR FROM BEING AFRAID TO GO TO CORINTH (AS THESE MEN IMAGINED) PAUL WAS PREPARED TO GO THERE WITH AUTHORITY. (VERSE 21)
1. He, as their spiritual father and Christ’s Apostle, had authority and ability to punish if necessary.
2. It depended on themselves in what character he would appear among them. “What will ye?”
3. Good fathers will deal with their children in a manner appropriate to the situation.
a) To unruly children he will apply the rod.
b) To obedient children he will be loving, gentle, and kind.
c) In both of these characters, a good father displays his love. (Heb. 12:6)