Dear reader, I owe you an apology. For the past posts I’ve just been dumping my thoughts and reflections, thinking that you would literally go through all of them. I believe it would be good for all of us if I went ahead and just gave you the final thoughts from these pieces of Scripture, at this given time and season.
And in this particular case, well, all I have to say is that God really loves us, in that He is thorough. He covers all bases, and gives every detail His full, undivided attention. We see this in the salvation that Christ won for us. In this short set of verses from Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians, we see how Christ has not just raised us to life, but He has also restored the authority we had.
We are reminded of how once we were sinners who could only sin, but now we have been made righteous, inheritors to the kingdom of God. We recognize who we once were has been utterly destroyed. Sin no longer has any permanent power over us. Instead, we have been made new, and we rejoice in the strength of the Lord, through whom we have been made completely, 100% righteous.
We are reminded of how we are cleansed of sin, sanctified from death, and justified of all accusation, from outside, and from the flesh.
We are given a glimpse of how sin, sexual immorality in particular, would sabotage us; yet again, we are reminded of how Christ’s resurrection made us new creations – living, moving Temples of the Holy Spirit. Because of Christ, we will not be put under the power of anything in creation, for we are ONE with our Creator.
What a great love God has lavished on us! What a perfect and complete savior we have in Christ!
And with that, you’re more than welcome to go deep with me. Read on.
“Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to the law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?
If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? I say this to your shame. Is it so that there is not a wise man among you, not even one who will be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goes against brother, and that is before unbelievers!
Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against each another. 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!” – 1 Corinthians 6:1-8
“Who are we to judge?”
While that may be true, I’ve considered saying, “Who HAVE we to judge?” Christ Himself.
By these passages, I am reminded that we do have Christ, and Christ has us. Therefore, we walk in His authority and power, just as we walk in His humility and peace. We move from glory to glory, all this time hearing and speaking. Tutored and taught by the Holy Spirit. Assured that we have Christ, and in Him we live and move and have our being.
Wisdom is to be had, and learned, from that reminder. Christ’s finished work not only restores us, but also, in Him, we have authority. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, his father gave him a robe to cover him, and also a ring to remind him of who he is in the household.
Christ has restored us. Christ has reinstated us. Christ has reconciled us. Christ has resurrected us.
And so in light of this Truth we settle any differences, any disagreements, any tension; Knowing the authority and responsibility we have, that we would judge angels and we would judge the world – By this realization we ought to see how counterproductive it would be to ‘go to law before the unrighteous’, against each other. We are more than able to judge ‘things that pertain to this life’, and we also have the option to search out a wise man among us to ‘judge between his brethren’.
Moving on, ‘Accept wrong?’, ‘Let yourselves be cheated?’
First thing I remember would be in the Old Testament, where God says, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay…‘ And so He did. His anger against sin is so great, only His Son, perfect and pure, could take it. We see once more how much He loves us. How He hates sin and death, that none less than His only begotten Son lay down His life, for death to die. We have victory over death. We join Christ, we join Paul in saying, ‘Death, where IS your sting? Hell, where IS your victory?’
Sin and all that drags this world down – they no longer have any power over us. They can do their worst, but they couldn’t do anything in all their strength. For we have Christ, and Christ has us.
We are no longer dazzled, nor are we shaken by this reality, for in Christ, we have a greater joy, and a peace beyond our understanding.
This, THIS is wisdom – To understand and believe God is who He says He is, that He has done what He says He has done, and is doing what He says He is doing. He has finished what He said He has finished, and so I am who He says I am, and we are who He says we are.
It is from this perspective that we judge, or find a wise man among us to judge.
We are patient with one another, but in the Spirit of Life and reconciliation, we are able to discern when we would have to agree to have a wise man among us to judge.
“There is a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” – Ecclesiastes 3:7b
“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.
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.“– 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
By Christ, we have been reconciled, so we reconcile. By Christ, we have forgiveness, so in Christ we forgive. He disciplines those He loves, and therefore we are corrected, guided and renewed. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. As such, we have been covered, and authority has been restored. We are dressed in righteousness, and we move in authority.
Christ’s finished work has washed us of sin. We have been set apart, sanctified from death. We have been justified of all accusations against us, from outside, and from the flesh. This is who we are in Christ, and much more. We are righteous, and we inherit the kingdom of God.
So it is against our identity, and it just isn’t us anymore, to fornicate, to idolize, to practice adultery/homosexuality; it isn’t us anymore to sodomize, to steal, to covet, to be drunk and to revile, or to extort. We aren’t sinners anymore, so it just isn’t us to sin. It doesn’t fit our identity anymore, no matter how hard we try to put it on. It doesn’t feel good anymore, no matter how we think it does. I say again, we aren’t sinners anymore. We aren’t those things anymore.
We’ve been made new. Permanently, absolutely righteous, blessed and happy – our hearts are full here and now, yet excited for when God raises us up, that we would enjoy what is in store for us at the end of time.
Thank You, Jesus.
It IS natural now, to love as we are loved. To rejoice, and Christ rejoices in us. To enjoy this constant communication we have in Him. To be thankful and grateful in all things. We rejoice in the strength of the Lord, and we enjoy Christ, our Yeshua, our salvation. How could sin (or anything in Creation, for that matter) amaze us or shake us now that we have been reconciled and reunited with the Creator of all things seen and unseen, who loves us with an everlasting Love, a Perfect Love that casts out all fear? Thank You, God! Thank You!
Yes, indeed, thank You, for You are forever, and what You have done, IS forever! Thank you forever life, forever love, and forever light! You ARE my literal progression, and all things are transformed, my being taken from glory to glory, from grace to grace, by the power of Your Spirit, and in the name of Jesus!
Thank You for purpose, thank You for teaching me, motivating me, inspiring me… loving me! Thank You, Jesus! Thank You, Father! Thank You, Holy Spirit! Thank You so much, for everything!
“All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful.All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of anything.
Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised up the LORD and will also raise us up by His power.”– 1 Corinthians 6:12-14
Keeping this theme of our identity: Our body, I dare say our being, is not for sexual immorality, nor will we be brought under the power of these things. Our being, our body is for the Lord (sanctified), and, also, the Lord for the body.
We have been cleaned, washed, sanctified and justified. We have been reconciled to God, and have been restored to authority and dominion over the earth. We will not be brought under the power of anything or anyone, for we are for the Lord, and the Lord is for us.
We are sealed by the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our salvation, and the comforter, the helper… OUR Helper. And as God raised Christ after His body expired, so shall we be raised up by His power.
“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 he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two”, He says, “shall become one flesh”. But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”– 1 Corinthians 6:15-17
Indeed, sealed by the Spirit, joined to the Lord, therefore we are one Spirit with Him. Actually, literally, just ONE. For if a man and a harlot join, and the two become one flesh, I say, how much more intimate would man and his wife be? And so it is with us: I am reminded that we are married to Christ, and we are ONE.
We have each other, and we are as close as we could ever be to each other; our bodies, members of Christ, one Spirit with Him.
“Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 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.” – 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
(Guess it can’t be avoided, huh? Well, I’m just going to touch on it really quick – that’s what she said)
That which God owns, He becomes one with. Sexual immorality is given a special mention here in that committing it goes against our bodies; it goes against the temple of the Holy Spirit.
That which God purchased at such a great price, so He values with great love. That which God owns, He is one with. Our bodies and spirits are ONE with God, and we, as temples of the Holy Spirit, will not be brought under the power of any, but we glorify God in our entire beings.
-End-
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
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