Divine Righteousness
Paul continues his letter to the Corinthian church addressing the issue of divine righteousness. What does it mean to be a true representative of the glory of God? How can we best be a light to the world? Here is what Paul says:
Vs. 1-6 If any of you has a legal dispute against another, do you dare go to court before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Or don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest cases? Don’t you know that we will judge angels—not to mention ordinary matters? So if you have cases pertaining to this life, do you select those who have no standing in the church to judge? I say this to your shame! Can it be that there is not one wise person among you who is able to arbitrate between his brothers? Instead, believer goes to court against believer, and that before unbelievers!
Interestingly, the Greek word for dare is tolma, which means bold courage. Paul’s use of this word shows how perplexed he is. You would dare to go to a civil court against your brother in Christ? You who will judge the world and the angels? You who proclaim that you have all this wisdom? So here is a church that believed it was so wise that Paul had to address this in chapters one and two, yet they can’t seem to deal with common civil matters amongst each other. Paul goes further in the next verse.
Vs 7a Therefore, to have legal disputes against one another is already a moral failure for you.
Paul does not see this as a legal issue, but as a moral issue. So to break this down, let’s understand exactly what Paul is referring to – and not referring to for that matter. Let’s start with what he is not referring to. He is not talking about criminal cases. In Romans 13, Paul speaks to our relationship with governments. In verse 4, he says, “For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.” In other words, the governing body is responsible for criminal cases. So, Paul isn’t asking the church to judge criminal matters within its body. He is only asking them to judge civil cases – brother against brother. And their failure to be able to judge these cases means that Christian brothers were bringing their cases to the public non-believing court and presenting these cases in front of non-believers. It was a moral failing because it showed they could not arbitrate matters within the context of the body of Christ. It showed their lack of faith in God to help settle their civil issues. It showed they could not sit down together in a loving spirit and work things out. On one hand, they prided themselves on their wisdom and insight, while on the other hand, they could not even come together to settle common civil issues.
Probably everyone has seen or at least heard of court TV. I have to admit, I have watched Judge Judy a time or two (maybe three). I am always fascinated and dismayed by all the families and friends who sue one another. Sons and daughters suing their parents, siblings suing each other, and best friends taking each other to court. I find when it comes to money, greed and bitterness can easily take over and all civility is thrown out the window. Have any of you experienced the death of a family member with money to hand out? Suddenly all the parties involved begin to look out for themselves – what’s in it for them? Brothers and sisters who once had loving relationships don’t speak to one another because of the money issues. My grandfather actually had a cousin who went and raided his parent’s house during the funeral service. Needless to say, as believers, we are to live a life at a higher standard. We have the mind of Christ and are led by the Holy Spirit. Suing our brothers or sisters in Christ is not just a a lack of faith, it is a lack of moral fiber as well. In fact, Paul likens this behavior with being unjust and cheating. Here is his list:
Vs 7b-11 Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you act unjustly and cheat—and you do this to believers! Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or anyone practicing homosexuality, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
So why not put up with injustice? Why not be cheated? This is more desirable than taking other believers to a common civil court overseen by non-believers. In fact, Paul puts this behavior in the category of the unrighteous. The Greek word for unrighteous is ádikos. It is a word that refers to divine injustice or a behavior against God. Why? Because it does harm to HaShem (His Name). As believers, we carry the name of Christ. Paul says, “I would rather you be cheated than defame the Name of God in a public forum.” As believers, we are to bring glory to the Father, not dishonor to His Name. On Sunday mornings many of us pray the Lord’s prayer which includes this request: May Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. How can we do this when we dishonor His Name? In John 13:34-35 Jesus says, “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” There is an old song called They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love. The words go as follows: We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Lord. And I pray that our unity may one day be restored. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love. Our behavior toward one another is an indication of our love and faith in God. When we set out to sue each other, or take advantage of one another, it is a public declaration of our lack of love, faith and moral character. We become much more concerned about our personal rights instead of looking out for others. Political entanglements are turned into “biblical doctrine” and anyone who disagrees with us becomes the enemy. We publicly air our differences and allow the court of opinion to judge our behavior. Paul says these amount to be unrighteous and the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Paul then includes a list of other sins that will keep us from inheriting the kingdom of God. His list includes greed, verbal abuse (loídoros or to injure another’s reputation by denigrating, abusive insults), homosexuality (arsenokoítēs a man who goes to bed with another man), swindling (harpages or the ravenous taking of something), thieving (kleptai where we get our word kleptomaniac), idolatry, sexually morality, and drunkards. It is a wide variety of sins. None are rated worse or better than the other. All show a lack of love and faith in God and all discredit His kingdom. In today’s world of tolerance and justification, we want to gloss over many of these sins, but Paul does not. Each sin destroys our relationship with God and with each other. Each sin disgraces the Name of God in the world. Paul says, “you used to be like this”. These were sins the Corinthians committed before they became followers of Christ. But now, since they are followers, they have Christ and have been justified. They now have the power of the Holy Spirit to empower them to put away the things of the flesh and live in the spirit. I believe this is the very thing that holds believers back from putting away the things of the flesh. They lack the faith that the Holy Spirit really can empower them.
Vs 12-20 “Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is helpful. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be brought under the control of anything. “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will do away with both of them. The body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. God raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. Don’t you know that your bodies are a part of Christ’s body? So should I take a part of Christ’s body and make it part of a prostitute? Absolutely not! Don’t you know that anyone joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For Scripture says, The two will become one flesh. But anyone joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Run from sexual immorality! “Every sin a person can commit is outside the body.” On the contrary, the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body. Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.
Everything is permissible, or lawful, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible, or lawful, but I will not allow anything to master or control me. Why does Paul put it this way? As we continue in his letter we find out. Just because something is lawful – it still does not make it the right thing to do. Just because something is culturally acceptable doesn’t mean it is spiritually or morally just. The issue for the Corinthians was the use of prostitutes. It was allowed and even a culturally acceptable practice, but it was not spiritually or morally just. This is a lesson to us. Just because something is lawful, doesn’t make it morally or spiritually acceptable. Our bodies are a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit. Think about that for a moment. The temple of God was the place where the shekina glory of God resided. When Christ died and the temple veil was ripped in two, our bodies became the residence for the Holy Spirit. We are to be a reflection of God to the world. We have ceased to be the owners of our bodies. For those of us who have surrendered to God’s Lordship, we have also surrendered our decisions and will to His. Everything we do or say should be intended for the glory of God. This is the reason the actions we take against one another, or the actions we take against the moral and righteous law of God, reflect adversely against God Himself. The world is watching us – what do they see in our lives?
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