Dec 1 - 1 Corinthians 5-8
1 Corinthians
1Above all else, it is being said that there is fornication among you, even fornication of a such kind that is not among the Gentiles, so that someone would have the wife of his father2And yet you are inflated, and you have not instead been grieved, so that he who has done this thing would be taken away from your midst3Certainly, though absent in body, I am present in spirit. Thus, I have already judged, as if I were present, him who has done this4In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, you have been gathered together with my spirit, in the power of our Lord Jesus5to hand over such a one as this to Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ6It is not good for you to glory. Do you not know that a little leaven corrupts the entire mass7Purge the old leaven, so that you may become the new bread, for you are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover, has now been immolated8And so, let us feast, not with the old leaven, not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth9As I have written to you in an epistle: "Do not associate with fornicators,10certainly not with the fornicators of this world, nor with the greedy, nor with robbers, nor with the servants of idolatry. Otherwise, you ought to depart from this world11But now I have written to you: do not associate with anyone who is called a brother and yet is a fornicator, or greedy, or a servant of idolatry, or a slanderer, or inebriated, or a robber. With such a one as this, do not even take food12For what have I to do with judging those who are outside? But do not even you yourselves judge those who are inside13For those who are outside, God will judge. But send this evil person away from yourselves
1How is it that anyone of you, having a dispute against another, would dare to be judged before the iniquitous, and not before the saints2Or do you not know that the saints from this age shall judge it? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you unworthy, then, to judge even the smallest matters3Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more the things of this age4Therefore, if you have matters to judge concerning this age, why not appoint those who are most contemptible in the Church to judge these things5But I am speaking so as to shame you. Is there no one among you wise enough, so that he might be able to judge between his brothers6Instead, brother contends against brother in court, and this before the unfaithful7Now there is certainly an offense among you, beyond everything else, when you have court cases against one another. Should you not accept injury instead? Should you not endure being cheated instead8But you are doing the injuring and the cheating, and this toward brothers9Do you not know that the iniquitous will not possess the kingdom of God? Do not choose to wander astray. For neither fornicators, nor servants of idolatry, nor adulterers10nor the effeminate, nor males who sleep with males, nor thieves, nor the avaricious, nor the inebriated, nor slanderers, nor the rapacious shall possess the kingdom of God11And some of you were like this. But you have been absolved, but you have been sanctified, but you have been justified: all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God12All is lawful to me, but not all is expedient. All is lawful to me, but I will not be driven back by the authority of anyone13Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food. But God shall destroy both the stomach and food. And the body is not for fornication, but rather for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body14Truly, God has raised up the Lord, and he will raise us up by his power15Do you not know that your bodies are a part of Christ? So then, should I take a part of Christ and make it a part of a harlot? Let it not be so16And do you not know that whoever is joined to a harlot becomes one body? "For the two," he said, "shall be as one flesh.17But whoever is joined to the Lord is one spirit18Flee from fornication. Every sin whatsoever that a man commits is outside of the body, but whoever fornicates, sins against his own body19Or do you not know that your bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own20For you have been bought at a great price. Glorify and carry God in your body
1Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman2But, because of fornication, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband3A husband should fulfill his obligation to his wife, and a wife should also act similarly toward her husband4It is not the wife, but the husband, who has power over her body. But, similarly also, it is not the husband, but the wife, who has power over his body5So, do not fail in your obligations to one another, except perhaps by consent, for a limited time, so that you may empty yourselves for prayer. And then, return together again, lest Satan tempt you by means of your abstinence6But I am saying this, neither as an indulgence, nor as a commandment7For I would prefer it if you were all like myself. But each person has his proper gift from God: one in this way, yet another in that way8But I say to the unmarried and to widows: It is good for them, if they would remain as they are, just as I also am9But if they cannot restrain themselves, they should marry. For it is better to marry, than to be burned10But to those who have been joined in matrimony, it is not I who commands you, but the Lord: a wife is not to separate from her husband11But if she has separated from him, she must remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband should not divorce his wife12Concerning the rest, I am speaking, not the Lord. If any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her13And if any woman has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce her husband14For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through the believing wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through the believing husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, whereas instead they are holy15But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart. For a brother or sister cannot be made subject to servitude in this way. For God has called us to peace16And how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife17However, let each one walk just as the Lord has distributed to him, each one just as God has called him. And thus do I teach in all the churches18Has any circumcised man been called? Let him not cover his circumcision. Has any uncircumcised man been called? Let him not be circumcised19Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; there is only the observance of the commandments of God20Let each and every one remain in the same calling to which he was called21Are you a servant who has been called? Do not be concerned about it. But if you ever have the ability to be free, make use of it22For any servant who has been called in the Lord is free in the Lord. Similarly, any free person who has been called is a servant in Christ23You have been bought with a price. Do not be willing to become the servants of men24Brothers, let each one, in whatever state he was called, remain in that state with God25Now, concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord. But I give counsel, as one who has obtained the mercy of the Lord, so as to be faithful26Therefore, I consider this to be good, because of the present necessity: that it is good for a man to be such as I am27Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be freed. Are you free of a wife? Do not seek a wife28But if you take a wife, you have not sinned. And if a virgin has married, she has not sinned. Even so, such as these will have the tribulation of the flesh. But I would spare you from this29And so, this is what I say, brothers: The time is short. What remains of it is such that: those who have wives should be as if they had none30and those who weep, as though they were not weeping; and those who rejoice, as if they were not rejoicing; and those who buy, as if they possessed nothing31and those who use the things of this world, as if they were not using them. For the figure of this world is passing away32But I would prefer you to be without worry. Whoever is without a wife is worried about the things of the Lord, as to how he may please God33But whoever is with a wife is worried about the things of the world, as to how he may please his wife. And so, he is divided34And the unmarried woman and the virgin think about the things that are of the Lord, so that she may be holy in body and in spirit. But she who is married thinks about the things that are of the world, as to how she may please her husband35Furthermore, I am saying this for your own benefit, not in order to cast a snare over you, but toward whatever is honest and whatever may provide you with the ability to be without hindrance, so as to worship the Lord36But if any man considers himself to seem dishonorable, concerning a virgin who is of adult age, and so it ought to be, he may do as he wills. If he marries her, he does not sin37But if he has decided firmly in his heart, and he does not have any obligation, but only the power of his free will, and if he has judged this in his heart, to let her remain a virgin, he does well38And so, he who joins with his virgin in matrimony does well, and he who does not join with her does better39A woman is bound under the law for as long as her husband lives. But if her husband has died, she is free. She may marry whomever she wishes, but only in the Lord40But she will be more blessed, if she remains in this state, in accord with my counsel. And I think that I, too, have the Spirit of God
1Now concerning those things that are sacrificed to idols: we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but charity builds up2But if anyone considers himself to know anything, he does not yet know in the way that he ought to know3For if anyone loves God, he is known by him4But as to the foods that are immolated to idols, we know that an idol in the world is nothing, and that no one is God, except One5For although there are things that are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, (if one even considers there to be many gods and many lords6yet we know that there is only one God, the Father, from whom all things are, and in whom we are, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things are, and by whom we are7But knowledge is not in everyone. For some persons, even now, with consent to an idol, eat what has been sacrificed to an idol. And their conscience, being infirm, becomes polluted8Yet food does not commend us to God. For if we eat, we will not have more, and if we do not eat, we will not have less9But be careful not to let your liberty become a cause of sin to those who are weak10For if anyone sees someone with knowledge sitting down to eat in idolatry, will not his own conscience, being infirm, be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols11And should an infirm brother perish by your knowledge, even though Christ died for him12So when you sin in this way against the brothers, and you harm their weakened conscience, then you sin against Christ13Because of this, if food leads my brother to sin, I will never eat meat, lest I lead my brother to sin