Moral Standards in a Church

GOLDEN TEXT: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” —I Corinthians 6:19,20

I CORINTHIANS 5:6-13; 6:17-20

THE sin of carnality as reflected in the spirit of division among the brethren was one of the main points in last week’s lesson. The verses from Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth, cited for today’s lesson, relate to immorality which the apostle learned existed in the Corinthian church. “Your glorying is not good,” he wrote, indicating that perhaps they took pride in their false sense of brotherly love which was causing them to tolerate such a condition.

In the case of one offender in particular whom Paul had called to his attention, he directed that the church should put him out from their fellowship, or as Paul put it, “deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (I Cor. 5:5) Paul spoke of this proper action as the purging out of “leaven” from their midst. Leaven in the Scriptures is always used as a symbol of sin in one form or another, never as a pure and wholesome influence.

That immorality should exist in a congregation of the “sanctified in Christ Jesus” seems strange, but not so much so when we take into consideration the former habits of some in Corinth who had accepted Christ and attached themselves to his people. The Grecians in Corinth were heathen worshippers. Venus was their goddess. The historian wrote, “The worship of Venus here was attended with shameful licentiousness.” Since immorality had been a part of their former religious worship, perhaps it would not at first be viewed by some of the brethren in Corinth with the same degree of disdain as it otherwise would have been. But it was contrary to the will of God, and Paul took drastic steps to correct the disorder.

Nevertheless, this inflexible stand against wrong was taken by Paul in love. He reveals this in his second letter to the same church. (II Cor. 2:1-11) Paul was planning to visit these brethren, and he wanted nothing to mar the joy of the occasion. He commended the church for taking the action against the wrongdoer which he urged. But he considered that now this brother had learned his lesson, and to avoid overburdening him with sorrow, he now suggested to the church that he be forgiven. If the church took this action, Paul explained, he would join them in it, believing that this also would be the attitude which would be taken by Christ. Thus we see not only that Paul wanted wrongdoing to be corrected, but also the wrongdoer saved.

Paul wrote, “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God?” (6:19) Edifices called temples were well-known to the ancients, both Jews and Gentiles. In Israel, the temple, which took the place of the temporary building known as the tabernacle, was the meeting place between God and his people. It was looked upon by the devout of Israel as a sacred, holy place, and the faithful among them endeavored to keep it that way. Time and again, however, under the rulership of wicked kings, the temple became defiled by idol worship set up within its walls.

The temple picture, or symbolism, is used in the New Testament in two ways. One of them is in today’s lesson, in which Paul refers to the fleshly body of each believer as a “temple,” the dwelling place of God through his Holy Spirit. This is in keeping with the teachings of the Word that each disciple of Christ is also his ambassador, and occupied in the “ministry of reconciliation.” Paul wrote, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” (II Cor. 5:18,19) Those who are called are brought to God through Christ by his ambassadors. Thus they are as “temples,” through whom God meets those who are drawn to Christ.

The other temple picture used in the New Testament is presented by the Apostle Peter. He wrote, “Ye also, as lively stones are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood.” (I Pet. 2:5) Here each consecrated believer is spoken of, not as a temple, but as a stone being prepared to be a part of a spiritual “house” or “temple” of the future.—Heb. 3:6

This is in keeping with teachings of the Word that Christ and his church together, as the “seed” of Abraham, will be the channel through which God’s promised blessings ultimately—during the thousand years of the messianic kingdom—will reach out to “all the families of the earth.”—Gal. 3:27-29

QUESTIONS

What particular sin in the Corinthian church does Paul condemn in today’s lesson?

Give a possible reason why immorality existed in the church at Corinth?

What course did Paul recommend to remedy this situation, and what were his final instructions?

In what two ways is the temple symbolism employed in the New Testament?

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