Every church has to deal with differing levels of maturity and biblical knowledge within its congregation. This can lead to differing opinions on issues of conscience regarding what may or may not be done. In this chapter Paul teaches us that love is a better guide than knowledge on issues of conscience. Love considers what is best for others above our own personal freedom.
Morality was very confused in Corinth. So, it was hard for people, new and growing Christians, to fathom the rights and wrongs of marriage. Was singleness better? Was celibacy a superior spiritual state? Or was marriage holier? That is what many of the rabbis taught. The Corinthians were confused, so Paul is going to clear this up for them – and us.
The Corinthian church thought they were pretty smart. Paul knocks them down a few notches in this chapter, pointing out that they really don’t know very much. He asks them the question “Do you not know?” six times in the chapter’s 20 verses. Let’s be sure to learn these lessons so that we can be a spiritually intelligent church.
The moral standards of the world we live in are not exceedingly high. The standards of the Bible are clearly much more rigid than the standards of the world. How are we to respond as a church when standards are blatantly violated? In this chapter Paul begins to deal with the some of the flagrant sexual sin in Corinth and offers some helpful counsel for those times when sexual sin begins to corrupt the church.
Central Reflections 