BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

After addressing good versus bad ways of relating in Christian community, Paul narrows his focus to talk about sexual relationships.

He’s received some disturbing news. Some Corinthian Jesus followers are sleeping around. Men are visiting prostitutes. One man proudly believes his freedom in Christ makes sleeping with his stepmom okay. Even the Romans, who thought nothing of soliciting a prostitute or using a slave for sex, considered incest shocking and unacceptable.

The worst part? Some in the church are bragging about it, claiming freedom in Christ as a license to use one another’s bodies according to whatever feels right in their own eyes.

But Paul’s view on the human body transcends pure material, and sex is more than a physical activity. Pointing back to the Gospel story, he reminds them that their bodies, like their whole lives, belong to Jesus, who sacrificed his own body for them. As God, he also designed their bodies specifically for true love, not mere sexual gratification. Paul teaches Jesus’ followers to respond to God’s love and grace with lives of sexual integrity.

Pay close attention to the way Paul clarifies this as guidance for those inside the church. He’s not suggesting the Corinthians try to police outsiders’ behavior.

Then Paul takes a sharp left and starts talking about … lawsuits? What do bedrooms have to do with courtrooms?

This is where literary context, the subject of today’s video, can help us appreciate the finer points of Paul’s argument. Lawsuits and sex may seem unrelated, but by carefully following Paul’s flow of thought, we discover a common right-relationship theme. He’s talking about the way church people interact with insiders versus outsiders.

In both courtrooms and bedrooms, people can either be loved or used. People can be treated like objects for personal gain or like miracles of God Most High. Paul wants those who are inside the church to live with integrity—sexually, socially, legally—and showcase Christ’s love for those outside the church community.

Reflection Questions

• Paul warns about sin within the community by using the metaphor of yeast spreading. Jesus also uses the power of yeast as a teaching metaphor in both positive (Matt. 13:33-37) and negative (Matt. 16:5-12) contexts. What do these connected teachings reveal about the contagious power of righteous and unrighteous living?
• Paul quotes from Deuteronomy to warn the Corinthian church that they should regard insiders who refuse to give up sinful behavior as living outside of Jesus’ community (1 Cor. 5:13, quoting Deut. 13:5; 17:7; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21, 24; 24:7). Take a moment to review Deuteronomy 19:15-21. According to this passage, what makes a malicious witness so dangerous to the community? What safeguards does this passage include to prevent the abuse of the command to “purge the evil from among you” (Deut. 19:19)? What have you learned from Paul and Moses about the danger that inside threats pose to God’s covenant community?