Holy Unity

July 21, 2023

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul abruptly shifts from castigating the Corinthian Christians for taking one another to court over their internal disagreements. The church was deeply divided, various individuals following different factions that kept them in conflict with one another, each self-righteously claiming to be in the right. If that weren’t enough, the church mirrored the depravity of the pagan society in which they lived. 

Paul begins chapter 6 with a rebuke for their lawsuits, but suddenly and without warning, in v. 9 he changes direction to address the immorality rampant in the church. If here he transitioned smoothly as he did later in chapter 7, it would be understandable, but it’s almost in the middle of a sentence that he changes direction. Why is that?

I suspect it comes from his understanding of the Church as the body of Christ. A Christian suing another Christian is a fundamental violation of the Body of Christ, setting one part against another. Later in chapter 12, he explicitly speaks of the Church as the Body of Christ. We interpret such words metaphorically, whereas I suspect Paul saw the Body of CHrist in much more concrete terms. The Church isn’t merely LIKE a body; it IS the Body of Christ! 

After Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared to his disciples in bodily form, eating with them, inviting them to touch him. But with his ascension, we read no more of a physical body. In giving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Jesus Christ inhabits the Church in the same way as the Holy Spirit inhabited his physical body while here on earth. We aren’t merely LIKE his body; we ARE his body—the only body he has.

Anything that pollutes his Body the Church is a heinous sin to be confessed and forsaken for righteousness’ sake, whether it be division or immorality. Jesus came to redeem us from our brokenness, from the curse of the Law, from the destructiveness of our sinful choices. He came to make us holy, a body fit for a holy Savior and Lord.