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1 Corinthians 6:1 (NKJV) "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?"
They were supposed to settle their disputes among themselves through a Christian arbitrator and not in the secular law courts. In verse 7 Paul gave them the third and most noble option of deprivation:
Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?
Any believer can choose to deprive himself of his rights when he is wronged or defrauded, and choose to suffer the wrong. This is clearly the highest and most noble option. The person who is able to take the wrong without bitter resentment or slandering reflects one of the most beautiful characteristics of Jesus Christ. The person who voluntarily deprives himself is a humble person who esteems others better then himself; he has the same attitude as our Lord. We are not to seek revenge or to try to retaliate, we are to forgive.
If you feel that you have been wronged by another believer in a financial deal, there are only two options that you are permitted to take. You can go to arbitration within the church or you can deprive yourself of your rights. Prosecuting another believer in a court of law is wrong, selfish, and sinful.
In the first seven verses of 1 Corinthians 6 Paul told the Corinthian believers how to respond correctly when they were wronged or defrauded. In verses 8 through 11, he warned them of the consequences of responding incorrectly. It is obvious from verses 7 and 8 that they were not responding rightly and they were wronging their brothers.
Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren!
There were believers at Corinth who were not willing to be defrauded or to use arbitration: they were wronging their brothers by dragging them into secular courts. They were doing wrong by retaliating in court.
By doing this they were transgressing the law of love which is found in 1 John 3:14-16 (NKJV):
"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."
To not love our brothers is to be in a state of temporal (not spiritual) death. Temporal death means to be out of fellowship with God (John's theme in 1 John is fellowship); it's to be carnal, to be controlled by the flesh. Love is a fundamental principle of Christianity and one of the characteristics of love is forgiveness.
Ephesians 4:1-3 (NKJV) "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,
beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were
called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering,
bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
Ephesians 4:32-5:2 (NKJV) "And be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ
forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given
Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweet-smelling aroma."
The Corinthian believers who were taking each other to court were not
loving because they were not forgiving and they were seeking revenge. They
were just as bad as those who wronged them. Their response was bringing
them to the same low level and they were acting wrongly. Paul told them
in verse 9 that their poor behavior would cost them.
1 Corinthians 6:9 (NKJV) "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
We must understand Paul's argument: he has acknowledged that unrighteousness existed among the believers in Corinth because they were wronging each other and taking each other to court. He went on to say that unrighteous conduct will exclude a believer from inheriting the Kingdom of God. He asked the Corinthian believers, "Do you not know?" This was Paul's way of saying, "Of course you know this". They had forgotten this principle and needed to be reminded. Paul had taught them "that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God."
In the Greek text, a word jumps out: adikos which translates to unrighteous. It is exactly the same root word as we saw in verse 8, "you yourselves do wrong (adikeo)". Paul told the Corinthians that there is a certain class of people who will be excluded from inheriting the kingdom of God: wrong doers. And in verse 8 he had told the Corinthians that they were wrong doers. He very clearly told the believers at Corinth that their behavior would exclude them from inheriting the Kingdom of God. Most commentators miss the connection between verses 8 and 9 and they act as if verses 9 & 10 were dropped out of the sky. One commentator says, "Persons whose lives are characterized by such sins are not saved and therefore unrighteous, unjustified." He missed the context: Paul called believers unrighteous (speaking of their practices). Paul did not say that they were not Christians because they were doing such things. Nor did he say that because they were doing such things they would lose their salvation. Another co mmentator says, "The salvation already received is but probationary; gross sin will foreit it." That commentator at least recognizes that Paul is talking to believers, but Paul didn't say that they would not go to heaven--he said they would not inherit the Kingdom of God. And whatever not inheriting the Kingdom of God means, it applies to believers. Since we know that a believer cannot lose his salvation, we know that not inheriting the Kingdom must mean something else.
What does it mean to inherit the Kingdom of God? We must understand that there is a difference between entering the Kingdom of God and inheriting it. Christian heirship is a great New Testament theme. Paul gives us an instructive comment on the subject of heirship in Romans. Romans 8:17 (NKJV) "and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." All of God's children are heirs and will inherit everlasting life. But close examination of verse 17 reveals that there are two forms of heirship. One is predicated on being children of God and the other is predicated upon suffering with Christ. This distinction is crucial for understanding the New Testament teaching on the subject.
The concept of two kinds of heirship is unfamiliar to us, but it is very natural in light of the Old Testament custom. In a Jewish family, all the sons shared equally in their father's inheritance, except for the oldest, or firstborn, son who received a double portion: he inherited twice as much as the other sons.
Deuteronomy 21:15-17 (NKJV) "If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved, then it shall be, on the day he bequeaths his possessions to his sons, that he must not bestow firstborn status on the son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the unloved, the true firstborn. But he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his."
Esau and Jacob were the twin sons of Isaac, but Esau was the firstborn. Jewish tradition holds that he was a man of passion and impatient. Genesis recounts how Esau sold his birthright because he was hungry:
Genesis 25:31-32 (NKJV) "But Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright as of this day." And Esau said, "Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?"
The author of Hebrews refered to Esau as he spoke to his audience:
Hebrews 12:16-17 (NKJV) "lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears."
With this background in mind, we understand Paul's point that all children are heirs, simply because they are children. But those who are faithful to Christ, those who suffer with Him, have a special "joint heirship" with Christ.
All believers are God's heirs. In the eternal future they will inherit all of the blessings which are unconditionally promised to them. Among these is an eternal glory which is inherent in the resurrection itself. But in Romans 8:17, Paul speaks of a "co- heirship" that results in "co-glory." As Paul's words make clear, such an heirship is dependent on something more than saving faith. The heirship is contingent on our experience of suffering with Christ. Suffering with Christ is connected in Scripture to living a godly life.
2 Timothy 3:12 (NKJV) "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in
Christ Jesus will suffer persecution."
2 Timothy 2:12 (NKJV) "If we endure, We shall also reign with
Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us."
The verb translated "reign with Him" is another compound word like those
we saw in Romans 8:17. The idea is: "If we endure, we shall co-reign."
From Romans 8:17 and 2 Timothy 2:12, we can conclude that to be
"co-glorified" with Christ involves "co-reigning" with Him. The glory of
co-heirship is more than merely participating in the glorious future
world. It is to share the portion of the Firstborn Son of God and to reign
in His Kingdom. Joseph, David, Daniel, Esther picture the believer's
future co-reigning position because all of them became more than subjects
under their respective sovereigns: each attained rulership and glory here
on earth through their faithfulness to Jesus Christ.
The connection between faithfulness to Christ and the privilege of sharing the authority of His Kingdom was taught by Jesus in the parable of the minas.
Luke 19:12-17 (NKJV) "Therefore He said: "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. "So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.' But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.' And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.' And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.
The minas represent the potential for useful service to Christ with which every believer is entrusted. His marching orders to us are "Do business till I come." According to the story which Jesus told, when the nobleman returned, he called each of his servants to account. This clearly suggests the Judgment Seat of Christ. The outcome of this review, as the parable unfolds, is varying degrees of authority in the kingdom. The degree of authority is based on the measure of each servant's faithfulness and productivity. One servant received authority over ten cities (19:17), another over five (19:19). The wicked servant in Jesus' parable failed to engage in his lord's business and as a result, he did not co-reign with his master over even a single city.
All Christians are heirs of God and they will enter the kingdom of God and share the glory of the kingdom. But all Christians are not heirs to an equal degree. Each believer's fidelity to the service of Christ, with all its attendant hardships and sufferings, will be the gauge by which heirship will be measured out to him. Those who are faithful to Jesus Christ is this life will be greatly rewarded by inheriting the kingdom and sharing in its rule.
A survey of the Biblical use of the word "to inherit" shows that it is most frequently a synonym for "to possess" or "to own." Jesus Christ owns the world to come and we can share in his rule if we are faithful to him. Caleb provides an Old Testament example of the connection between inheritance and faithfulness:
Joshua 14:14 (NKJV) "Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel."
Moses missed his inheritance because he disobeyed God. Caleb came into his inheritance because he was faithful. Paul said that the Corinthians were engaged in conduct that could make it impossible to inherit the Kingdom of God. Persistence in this type of behavior would obviously disqualify them from this kind of heirship. No other deduction about Paul's meaning can possibly be fair to the text.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NKJV) "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."
The general unrighteous are now defined. This is not an exhaustive list of sins that will keep a believer from inheriting the Kingdom but it was particularly appropriate to the Corinthians.
Paul began the list of sins with, "Do not be deceived". It's easy to deceive ourselves into thinking that our actions are ok and that somehow God will let our sin slide.
A fornicator is a person who is engaged in any sexual relationship that is illicit. According to God's unchanging standard, that is any sex outside of the marriage bond.
Idolaters come next on Paul's list of sins. Notice that Paul places idolaters between fornicators and adulterers. In the Gentile world of that day idolatry often was a source of sexual perversion. The greatest building in Corinth was the Temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love; worshipping Aphrodite involved sacred prostitution. We in America might not build idols to worship, but we allow many things to become idols in our lives through covetousness.
Colossians 3:5 (NKJV) "Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry."
Covetousness is idolatry because we begin to worship things desired instead of God.
Adulterers are violators of the marriage vow of faithfulness.
Effeminate comes next on the list of sin. Some translations use the word homosexuals. The Greek word is malakos which had very obnoxious overtones to the Corinthians because in the days of the New Testament a malakos was a person who allowed himself or herself to be used homosexually. This is the passive homosexual.
In the list of unrighteous behavior, after effeminate come abusers of themselves with mankind. That phrase is one word in the Greek text: arsenokoites. In the days of the New Testament that word meant the active homosexual, the person who engaged in homosexual activity. Note that both aspects are presented, the passive homosexual and the active homosexual. Paul makes it very clear that homosexuality is a sin, not a disease or genetic predisposition. Today if you call homosexuality a sin, you are labeled a homophobe. Included in the category of abusers of themselves with mankind would be transvestites, sex change, and other gender perversions. God's unique creation, those created in His own image, were created "male and female" (Gen. 1:27), and the Lord strictly forbids the two roles to be blurred, much less exchanged. Men are to look and act like men. And women are to look and act like women.
Deuteronomy 22:5 (NKJV) "A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God."
1 Corinthians 6:10 continues the list of sin that exclude a believer from inheriting the kingdom of God. Thieves, people who steals what belongs to someone else are included.
Covetous people strongly desire what belongs to someone else. In our day it is difficult to find a person, even a Christian, who is satisfied with his income and possessions.
Drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God. Today alcoholism is spreading even to the elementary ages. The harm that alcohol does to individuals and to families is beyond measure.
Revilers are people who abuse others by their speech. When a teenager speaks abusively to his parents, he or she is a reviler. A parent can also revile his children. When an employee speaks abusively to his employer or vise versa, he is a reviler. The seriousness of this sin can be seen from the its context.
An extortioner is a thief who steals indirectly. He takes unfair advantage of others to promote his own gain.
Paul stated very clearly that such persons will not inherit the kingdom of God. These sins, when habitually practiced, will exclude a believer from inheriting God's kingdom. All believers will enter the kingdom, but not all believers will inherit it. All sin damages the believer's life; forgiveness is available from God; habitual sin excludes the believer from inheriting the kingdom. Inheriting the kingdom is the privilege of the faithful.
In Hebrews 12:16 we have an example of an immoral person who lost his inheritance. Immorality and profane disregard of Christian privileges cost Esau his birthright: "lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright." Jewish tradition depicted Esau as a man of sensuous passions, and this would have been well known to the Hebrew recipients of this epistle. Fornication is a destroyer of Holiness.
Ephesians 5:3-5 (NKJV) "But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God."
Esau was not only immoral he was also profane or secular. A profane mindset takes little notice of anything beyond the material. Easu's profane outlook is apparent in the incident referred to, when Esau for just one meal bargained away his inheritance rights as the oldest son (Gen. 25:29-34). His insistence on the gratification of his immediate needs led him to overlook the importance of his rights as the firstborn. For a small immediate gain, he bartered away what was of infinitely greater worth.
Christians will be guilty of a much greater act of profanity if they barter their heavenly birthright for a short period of worldly pleasure and prosperity. Hebrews 12:17 tells us more about Esau:
For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, [in his father Isaac] though he sought it diligently with tears."
Esau did repent, in the sense of tearfully seeking the blessing of the firstborn, but it was too late because Jacob already had the blessing. The writer of Hebrews is saying that immoral and worldly Christians who squander the opportunity for inheritance will someday deeply regret it . But it will be to late. BELIEVER, DO NOT EXCHANGE ETERNAL BLESSINGS FOR TEMPORAL PLEASURE.
Contrary to what some may say, Paul did not call the Corinthians' salvation into question. Instead he writes in verse 11:
1 Corinthians 6:11 (NKJV) "And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."
Paul appeals to the fact that the Corinthians were God's children. Paul's whole argument for moral behavior by his readers is based on the fact that they were truly God's temple and members of the Body of Christ. They ought to have acted like what they were.
1 Corinthians 6:15,19-20 "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! .... Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."
Paul affirmed their salvation when he said, "And such were some of you." Paul was far from suggesting to them that perhaps they were not Christians. This verse is another evidence of the remarkable fact that, although the church be full of sins, she remains nevertheless the church of Jesus Christ. God chastens, but He does not disown His children.
Paul went on to tell the Corinthians, "But you were washed." I think it's best to see these three verbs as expressing one comprehensive idea. Being washed was a picture of the cleansing from the sin in their lives. They were spiritually cleansed by God at salvation. "But you were sanctified": God had set them apart for himself. This is positional sanctification not practical. "But you were justified": God had acquitted them by his grace. Justification is a legal term, a declarative act of God whereby the believer is pronounced righteous. How can God forgive guilty sinners? "In the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." The answer is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus died to pay our sin debt, and it is paid in full. Why would we want to live in the old sins that have been forgiven? Paul appealed to the Corinthians to be in their conduct what they were in their position before God. God had cleansed them and their conduct no longer had to be unrighteous; they could live holy lives.
Paul said that while unrighteous conduct existed in their church at Corinth, they were still believers. Their conduct was characteristic of unbelievers, but they had been cleansed, sanctified, and justified. They needed to make their conduct consistent with their calling as children of God. For the sake of our testimony, every believer is to be in conduct what we are in position. The Christians at Corinth were having a lapse of faith and a lapse of holiness. But Paul wanted those believers to mature in the faith, to grow up, to become in practice what they were in position!
If you have been wronged you now know you only have two righteous avenues to follow, arbitration or deprivation. If you are wronging others, if you are acting unrighteously, then you need to understand that you are throwing away your inheritance as a co-heir with Jesus Christ for temporal satisfaction. Store up treasure in heaven by living faithfully for Christ.
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