The Right Use of Rights

Psalm 15                       1 Corinthians 9:1–18                Matthew 5:43-48

The Right Use of Rights

Last week we examined Paul’s approach to the question of theological precision that had manifested itself in the church of God in Corinth as an attitude of moral superiority that harmed other brothers and sisters in their community. Those who were not quite as assured in their new identity in Jesus were being spiritually wounded by those who considered themselves mature. Paul’s solution to this dilemma was a self-sacrificial love that always seeks to build up others…a love that would even deny certain legitimate rights of believers if exercising that right would harm another believer…in their case eating meat that had been offered to idols.

 Now after the service I was asked a very important question and that is, in the light of Paul’s teaching regarding the giving up of certain rights for the sake of others, how does one maintain theological accuracy when, in our own opinion, those around us are not as correct as we think they ought to be. Well, my answer to this is that we ought to look to Jesus…the one we are meant to imitate…the one we are meant to be like when it comes to how we interact with others.

Now, I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that Jesus is altogether right…he is altogether holy…he is altogether perfect. And yet, when we read the Gospels, we see that somehow, he manages to be quite comfortable in the presence of people the religious community of his day shunned. As we all know, Jesus obeyed every biblical law and yet he was vehemently opposed to the Scribes, Sadducees, and Pharisees…and it is not because Jesus was opposed to upholding theological accuracy! In Matthew 23, Jesus said, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.”

Now, what did he mean by that? Well, basically he was saying that to their credit, the Pharisees were encouraging people to keep the Law, which was a very good thing, because as Paul said, the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. In other words, Jesus commended the teaching and keeping of the law as contained in the Scriptures. 

But what Jesus spoke against was the way they applied the Law. They used the Law (or we could say “theology”) as a weapon and as a barrier. Jesus said that they shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. Whereas Jesus’ gentle approach loved people into the kingdom, the Pharisees’ harsh approach drove them away. 

The approach of the Scribes, Sadducees, and Pharisees, and even some of the disciples like James and John, was to judge, call down fire from heaven, confront, interrogate, excommunicate, or stone offenders. Jesus’ response to this type of religiosity was to point out their hypocrisy…let him who is without sin, cast the first stone, he said to the accusers of the woman caught in adultery…and to James and John Jesus said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.”

How many people have not been driven away from the Church because of something said or done by someone who considered themselves morally superior? I’m right, you’re wrong, so either you conform to my theological position or leave. That is exactly what Paul was addressing in 1 Corinthians 8. The destruction of others caused by self-inflated theological egotists.

And I repeat…there is nothing wrong with theological accuracy…don’t misunderstand what I am saying…as I said, Jesus was altogether right, altogether holy, and altogether perfect in every way and we should seek to be perfect as he was perfect and as our heavenly Father is perfect. And yet Jesus never used theology as a weapon to destroy but as a tool to lovingly and patiently draw people into change. And we ought to be like him.

A good exercise for all of us would be to diligently search the Gospels to see how Jesus behaved towards those dismissed by others. We need to ask ourselves who were the people in the Gospel accounts that Jesus most often confronted and took to task and why? And then we need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us whom we most clearly resemble. 

The Gospel of love is essentially simple…but it is the self-sacrificial, other-person-centred application of that love that we tend to complicate, because it is difficult and it is costly.

Now, back to chapter 9. At first glance, this chapter feels like an interruption. Whereas in the former chapters, Paul is addressing issues in the church of God in Corinth, here he suddenly begins speaking about his own apostleship, financial support for ministers of the Gospel, and his own personal rights.

But chapter 9 is not a digression. It is Paul’s living illustration of the principle he has just established in chapter 8.

The Corinthians claimed the right to eat food offered to idols. Paul responds by describing rights he himself possesses but willingly refuses to exercise. And he begins with a series of rhetorical questions:

“Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?”

The answers are all obvious. Yes, Paul is free. Yes, he did see Jesus on the road to Damascus. Yes, Paul is an apostle. In fact, the Corinthian church itself proves his apostolic ministry.

So what is his point in asking these questions? Well, the bottom line is simply this.  Paul truly possesses certain rights and therefore he is not surrendering imaginary privileges. His application is not theoretical nor is it abstract. This is crucial because Christian surrender is meaningful only when genuine rights are voluntarily laid aside.

So, in this light, having established his position as a authentic apostle, Paul then develops the argument that ministers of the gospel have a legitimate right to material support. He first appeals to ordinary life: Soldiers, he says, do not finance their own campaigns. Pretty obvious, right? Next, he points out that farmers eat grapes from their vineyards just as shepherds drink milk from their flocks.

These examples from day-to-day life, reflect a broader pattern of moral reasoning common throughout both Jewish and Greco-Roman thought. Labour rightly deserves a living wage.

But Paul then strengthens the point from Scripture itself by quoting from Deuteronomy 25: “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.”

Now, at first this might seem like an odd prooftext, but Paul is not taking Scripture out of context. The surrounding laws in Deuteronomy 25 consistently emphasize humane and just treatment of labourers, vulnerable persons, and dependents. The principle is one of fair and just treatment for all – consequently one who labours should share in the fruit of that labour.

And Paul therefore applies the principle to gospel ministry. Those who provide spiritual things may rightly receive material support.

He further appeals to the Old Testament priesthood. Now remember, the Priests and Levites lived from the offerings of Israel (principally the tithe, but also other offerings and sacrifices) because they had no tribal inheritance of land. So, their dependence upon the worshipping community was built into Israel’s covenant structure. 

That is why, when Israel ceased to tithe, the spiritual system collapsed because the teachers and upholders of the law were distracted from serving as they had to sustain themselves. Now, I know Paul is often cited as an example of bi-vocational ministry, working as a tentmaker while also serving as an evangelist and pastor, but we also know that when Silas and Timothy brought to Corinth sufficient support from the church in Philippi, Paul was able to devote himself exclusively to preaching because he no longer had to support himself. (Acts 18:5) We must always endeavour to interpret Scripture with Scripture.

So, the foundational principal is established: Just as in the Old Testament, those who provide spiritual things may rightly receive material support.

And then finally Paul appeals to Jesus Himself: “The Lord commanded,” he says, “that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” Now, this is not a direct quote from the Gospels but it almost certainly echoes Jesus’ instructions to the apostles and the seventy-two during their missionary journeys: “The labourer deserves his wages.” (cf. Matthew 10:10; Luke 10:7).

So, in these few verses, Paul establishes beyond doubt that gospel workers possess a genuine right to support. Yet after establishing this right with overwhelming force, Paul delivers the shocking conclusion: “Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right.” And this is the heart of Paul’s argument.

He is not denying the legitimacy of support for ministers. He is demonstrating the supremacy of the gospel over personal entitlement.

You see, Paul feared that financial dependence upon the Corinthians might compromise the integrity of his ministry or reinforce the Corinthian systems of patronage and status. Remember, in Corinth, wealthy patrons often exercised influence through financial support and benefactors expected loyalty, honour, and public recognition in return for their gifts. But Paul refuses to allow the gospel to become entangled in these systems of social obligation.

He would rather labour with his own hands than permit anyone to think the gospel could be purchased, manipulated, or controlled.

And this reveals something essential about Christian leadership. Paul does not lead through self-assertion. He leads through self-sacrifice.

The false spirituality of Corinth says: “I have rights and therefore I will use them.” Whereas Paul’s spirituality says: “I have rights and therefore I am free to surrender them.” And here we encounter a profound paradox.

Only truly free people can willingly relinquish power and control.

People enslaved to status, recognition, comfort, or entitlement cannot surrender these things because they derive their identity from them. On the other hand, Paul’s freedom in Christ liberates him from the need to promote himself.

And this becomes even clearer when Paul describes his ministry as a stewardship. He says: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” You see, Paul does not view apostleship as a platform for self-expression. He views it as a divine commission.

The language of compulsion here reflects the world of stewardship and servanthood. Paul sees himself as one entrusted with a task committed to him by God and therefore, he has no choice but to fulfil his duty and his obligation. 

But lest we miss the point Paul is trying to make here by focussing on individual issues mentioned in these chapters…meat, and rights, and wages…we must see each one of these issues in the light of the whole thought. 

In these chapters, Paul is making a statement about two very different approaches to the Christian life. One which is self-centred and the other which is other-person-centred. And the important thing to grasp here is that the self-centred person may be perfectly right…allow me to repeat that: the self-centred person may be perfectly right, and consequently they justify their actions even though the upholding of their rights damages or destroys other believers.

But Paul deliberately chooses to live an other-person-centred life by forfeiting his legitimate rights for the sake of others. 

The question that quite naturally flows from this teaching of Paul is simply this: whom are we like?

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2026

Faith and Works

Moments

Moments

Before the dawn had gathered all her gold

the symphony of birdsong had begun

to usher in the rising of the sun

while morning mist lay doubled in the folds

of sleeping fields…and all the world seemed spun

from silver strands of music. Soon enough

the sun would sparkle brightly through the blush

of cotton clouds, dissolving dew till none

lay twinkling on the blades of grass and leaves 

of weeds…revealing shades of grey and green

upon the pastures painted with what seemed

to gently sigh a promise of reprieve

from night that takes all colours to the moon…

for well we know that all in life is lent

for moments that will all too soon be spent

as dusk descends upon our afternoon.

Based on Psalm 90:12

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2026

Spirituality, Stumbling, and Surrender

Psalm 135:15-21                    1 Corinthians 8:1–13                        Matthew 7:1-6

Spirituality, Stumbling, and Surrender

There is a time when spirituality becomes dangerous…in fact, I think that there are few things more dangerous in the Church than spirituality divorced from biblical love. 

Many of the Corinthians considered themselves mature, enlightened, and spiritually elevated. They possessed knowledge, rhetorical skill, social influence, many diverse spiritual gifts, and theological confidence. And yet Paul saw something deeply troubling beneath the surface of their spirituality: they had begun to use their freedom in ways that harmed the fragile believers among them.

The issue at stake in 1 Corinthians 8–9 is not merely whether Christians may eat meat offered to idols and how they should conduct themselves in repose to the freedom that is theirs in Jesus. No, beneath these practical question lies something far more searching: 

What governs the life of the Christian? Is it knowledge? Is it theological precision? Is it rights or freedom or status? Or is it love shaped by the self-giving pattern of Jesus?

Paul’s answer is both profound and unsettling. Christian maturity is not measured by what you know, but by how willing you are to surrender your perceived rights for the good of others.

The city of Corinth, like other cities in the Greco-Roman world, was saturated with temples, sacrificial meals, patronage systems, social climbing, and status competition. Meat sold in the marketplace often originated from pagan sacrifices. Banquets in temple dining halls were part of civic and commercial life. To refuse participation could carry social and economic consequences. You could forfeit the right to buy and sell in the marketplace. You could forfeit your employment. And if you were dependent on the patronage of one of the pagan religious systems, you could forfeit any form of practical aid reserved for devotees. Many believers in Corinth therefore argued that participation in these meals, and by extension the rituals involved, was harmless because idols were nothing.

In one sense, Paul agrees with them. An idol has no true existence. There is only one God. Yet Paul also recognizes that the issue is not merely theological accuracy but pastoral responsibility. Knowledge without love becomes destructive.

In chapters 8 and 9 Paul addresses three main points: 

1. The danger of knowledge without biblical love. (1 Corinthians 8:1–13)

2. The surrender of rights for the sake of others. (1 Corinthians 9:1–18)

3. The disciplined life required for faithful service. (1 Corinthians 9:19–23)

Together these chapters reveal a spirituality shaped not by self-assertion, but by self-sacrificial and cruciform love.

Today, we are to examine the first point: The danger of knowledge without biblical love. Basically Paul speaks about a prideful, self-assertive knowledge that destroys as opposed to a humble self-sacrificial love that nourishes and nurtures. (1 Corinthians 8:1–13)

Paul begins with what seems to have become the slogan for some in Corinth: “We all possess knowledge.” The Corinthians were proud of their theological sophistication. They understood monotheism. They understood that idols were not real gods. They believed this liberated them to participate freely in anything and everything.

But Paul immediately qualifies their claim: “Knowledge,” he says, “puffs up, but love builds up.”

The contrast is striking. The Greek term Paul uses for being “puffed up” carries the image of something inflated with air: swollen, enlarged, impressive in appearance, yet lacking substance. By contrast, love “builds up.” The imagery shifts from inflation to construction. Knowledge alone inflates the ego of one; love strengthens the whole community.

Now, it is important to note that Paul is not attacking knowledge itself. Christianity is not anti-intellectual. Paul himself is one of the greatest theological minds in history. The problem is not knowledge but knowledge severed from love.

There is a kind of knowledge that becomes spiritually dangerous because it breeds a pride devoid of compassion. Instead of leading us to examine our own weaknesses, it fixates on the failures of others. It is the familiar spirit of judgment that Jesus exposed in the image of the splinter and the log…a pattern that remains all too common in the Church.

The Corinthians believed they were strong because they understood the nothingness of idols. Yet Paul insists that true maturity is not demonstrated merely by possessing correct theology, but by using truth in ways that strengthen others in Christ’s Body.

This becomes especially important when we understand the social setting at the time when Paul was writing this letter.

In the ancient world, temples were not merely religious spaces; they were centres of social and economic life. Banquets, guild meetings, celebrations, and business relationships often took place within temple precincts. Participation in these meals communicated social belonging and status.

For some believers, particularly newer converts from pagan backgrounds, these temple associations still carried deep spiritual significance. Their former lives of idolatry remained emotionally and psychologically close to them. They lacked the confidence and stability of those who considered themselves spiritually mature.

Paul therefore introduces a profoundly pastoral category: the weak or fragile or vulnerable believer.

These believers are not weak because they lack intelligence. Indeed, Paul does not despise them nor reprimand them. The language likely refers to those whose sense of self and spiritual stability remained fragile. Their consciences…or perhaps better, their self-awareness…were still shaped by their former participation in idolatry.

Thus when they observed mature believers exercising their so-called rights, in this case by eating in pagan temples, the vulnerable were not strengthened into freedom but drawn back toward their former bondage.

And Paul’s warning is severe: “By your knowledge this weak person is destroyed…the brother for whom Christ died.”

The word “destroyed” is extraordinarily strong. Paul does not mean mere discomfort or offense. He envisions spiritual ruin caused by the arrogant callousness of a fellow believer.

What makes this so tragic is the contrast Paul deliberately creates: Jesus gave his life to save this person. Yet some Corinthians were willing to wound them merely to preserve a social privilege.

This is the central irony of the passage. The Corinthians considered themselves spiritually mature while behaving in profoundly un-Christlike ways…something that actually portrays them as infantile in their faith. As those needing spiritual milk instead of solid spiritual food.

And here Paul introduces one of the most searching principles in all Christian ethics: Freedom is never absolute when love is at stake.

The modern world often defines freedom as the unrestricted exercise of personal rights. Paul defines freedom differently. Christian freedom is the liberty to surrender one’s rights for the good of another.

That is why Paul concludes: “If food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again.” Not because meat was meat, mind you, but because all meat at that time was connected to pagan rituals and temples. 

But I want you to notice the radicality of Paul’s statement. He doesn’t merely say he will be cautious or careful in what he eats or doesn’t eat. No, he says he will gladly relinquish an otherwise legitimate freedom if exercising it harms, hurts, or endangers another believer. In this sense his statement transcends the subject of food, of rights, and of freedom…because this is the spirituality of the cross.

The Christian life is not governed by the question: “What am I permitted to do?” but rather: “What most helps my brother or sister stand firm in Christ?”

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2026

Summer Newsletter: Praise and Prayer

Johann and Louise: Training Disciples to Make Disciples in the Netherlands

As we enter the summer months, we wanted to write with an update regarding our ministry here in the Netherlands and to thank you all for your faithful prayers, encouragement, and support. We are continually reminded that the work of the gospel is never carried by one person alone, but by a fellowship of believers who share in the ministry through prayer, generosity, and friendship. Every one of you is indispensable to us.  We recently said farewell to a dear friend whose faithful encouragement and partnership over many years left a lasting mark on our lives and ministry. We are deeply grateful for the legacy of faith he leaves behind and for the many ways he served the Lord even when health issues made it more and more difficult to do so. He was an amazing man, and we miss him so much.  Life at Christ Church has been busy, though perhaps not always in dramatic ways. Much of pastoral ministry consists of faithfully walking with people through the ordinary joys and sorrows of life. Our Annual General Meeting was both positive and encouraging. There were no major surprises or controversies, for which we are grateful, and we now move forward with a strong and capable church council. Please pray for wisdom, unity, and perseverance as they help guide the congregation in the months ahead. As always, ministry has involved sharing in both celebration and grief. We recently lost a member of our parish, and his widow is carrying the deep burden of bereavement. Please pray that the Lord would surround her and her son with comfort, strength, and the tangible presence of His people. One of our missionaries, serving in the highlands of Lesotho, recently visited us while on furlough. She shared moving accounts of her ministry among shepherd boys living in remote mountain communities. The poverty in these areas is difficult to comprehend, yet the opportunities for gospel witness and practical education are remarkable. Through patient teaching and discipleship, children who might otherwise receive little or no education are being equipped with both literacy and hope. Her visit was a powerful reminder of the global reach of Christ's kingdom. Closer to home, one of our members is facing a particularly difficult season. Having lived for several years with a Parkinson's-type diagnosis, she must now make the painful decision of whether to remain in her home with full-time care or move into a care facility. Several serious falls have highlighted the urgency of the situation. Please pray for wisdom for her, her family, and all those involved in making these decisions. One of the great joys of recent months was our All-Age Service. It was wonderful to see children actively participating in worship and in the life of the congregation. Their enthusiasm and engagement were a blessing to everyone present. Another source of encouragement has been the arrival of a young man who has begun attending services, participating in a home group, and joining our men's Bible study. He is genuinely seeking answers and is reading Scripture with remarkable eagerness. He is now the second young man to come through our doors searching for truth. The first has since become a mature and committed believer. Please pray that God would continue his work in both these young men. We are increasingly aware that many young people throughout the Netherlands are searching for meaning, purpose, and certainty in an increasingly unsettled world. Questions about identity, purpose, and the future seem especially pressing as international tensions continue to rise. Please pray that many would encounter Christ, the One who alone gives lasting hope. In many ways, Christ Church has often served as a conduit. People come, grow in faith, and are equipped before eventually moving on to Dutch-speaking churches where they can continue their discipleship journey. While every congregation naturally hopes to grow numerically, our deepest desire is to see people mature into faithful followers of Jesus. If that means helping prepare believers for fruitful service elsewhere, we rejoice in that calling. On a more personal note, Louise recently travelled to South Africa to spend time with her mother, who is now 100½ years old. The visit was emotionally demanding but deeply precious, providing opportunities to build memories and cherished time together. We are thankful for that gift. There have also been encouraging developments in my writing ministry. My narrative commentary on 1 Corinthians has now been accepted for publication and is scheduled for release in October, Lord willing. In addition, Langham UK and Ireland recently interviewed me on two separate occasions as part of the launch of a book club featuring my first book, Breakfast on the Beach. Later in July, Langham Australia will be conducting an interview focused on my second book, For the Life of the World for their own book club. Please pray that these opportunities would serve the wider church and encourage believers around the world. Finally, we want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who prayed for our annual Women's Retreat, contributed financially, or donated items for the gift bags (it was so exciting receiving a package in the mail from one of our supporting churches!) Your generosity helped make the day possible. Louise writes: "Once again we enjoyed a truly blessed Women's Retreat. Our theme this year was Restore, Refresh, Rest. Sarah Dawkins was an excellent speaker. Through her warmth, honesty, and personal testimony, she encouraged us to remain connected to Christ, the source of living water. Her challenge was to cultivate the garden of our spiritual lives carefully, to remain rooted in Jesus, and to find true rest through repentance and fellowship with Him. The worship was beautiful and God-honouring. Around seventy women attended, many of whom were not believers. Together they represented many different nations and backgrounds. Several shared remarkable stories of how God had led them to the retreat, and one woman from Christ Church Amsterdam told me that our Women's Day is the highlight of her year. The food was abundant and delicious, the workshops were led by skilled and knowledgeable presenters, and our prayer room provided a quiet place for reflection, prayer, journaling, and personal ministry. Several women made use of this space throughout the day. I would especially like to thank the planning team, the many volunteers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, and all those who donated food, funds, and practical help. We are deeply grateful." As we reflect on the past months, we are conscious of both the challenges and opportunities the Lord continues to place before us. We remain thankful for the many ways God is at work through Christ Church Heiloo and through the wider ministries with which we are involved. Thank you for standing with us. Your prayers, encouragement, and partnership continue to strengthen us and make this work possible. Please continue to pray that we would have wisdom, endurance, and faithfulness for the tasks God has entrusted to us. As ministry opportunities continue to expand, we remain deeply grateful for those who partner with us through prayer, encouragement, and practical support. With gratitude in Jesus, Johann and Louise Support Us Johann and Louise spent two years helping to develop the St. Frumentius Seminary in Gambella, Ethiopia. They then worked in Southern Africa, serving in seven southern African countries, while continuing to work with the Diocese of Egypt, North Africa through engaging in a disciple making movement in order to grow the body of Christ. They are now serving in Heiloo, the Netherlands. We are sent  through the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders, a missionary sending community, engaging in building relationships with the worldwide church to experience the broken restored, the wounded healed, the hungry fed, and the lost found through the love and power of Jesus Christ.  Support SAMS

Copyright © 2016 Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders, All rights reserved. www.sams-usa.org      Our mailing address is: PO Box 399 Ambridge PA 15003 Attention to: Johann and Louise van der Bijl Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Practical Principles for Present Crises

Psalm 84:8-12                               1 Corinthians 7:1–40                        Matthew 6:25-34

Practical Principles for Present Crises

Few chapters in Scripture have generated more confusion, misuse, defensiveness, and anxiety than 1 Corinthians 7. Entire traditions have treated marriage as spiritually inferior sparking enforced celibate priesthoods and strict monastics movements. Others have reduced marriage to little more than a legal arrangement for sexual fulfilment or procreation. Some have twisted Paul’s words into a defence of passivity in the face of injustice, while others have ignored his urgent pastoral concern altogether.

Yet beneath all the debates stands a remarkably practical and deeply compassionate chapter.

Paul is not writing abstract theology detached from real life. He is writing to believers living under pressure. Corinth was in distress. There were food shortages. There was economic instability. There was social stratification…the hierarchical division of society into classes based on socioeconomic status, wealth, or power. And these things were raising their ugly faces within the church of God in Corinth. So as in the case of the poorer believers, marriage carried unbelievable financial burdens. Families were strained. Did you really want to risk another unwanted pregnancy when you were struggling to feed the children you already have? 

And so the believers in Corinth were navigating difficult relationships, financially strained marriages, along with questions of divorce, social status, slavery, singleness, widowhood, and this thing called sexuality.

And into that confusion Paul does not offer simplistic rules. He offers gospel-shaped wisdom.

This chapter is about how Christians are to live faithfully in difficult times. It does not deal with how to escape difficulty or how to gain financial freedom or how to manipulate circumstances, but how to belong wholly to Christ in whatever condition we find ourselves.

And that makes this chapter intensely relevant to our own age.

As humans often do, we too are tempted to define ourselves by our status, our relationships (the more big names we can drop in one conversation the better we feel about ourselves), our sexuality (whatever that means in this age of bizarre and phantasmagorical redefinitions), our achievements, our economic security, or our sense of superiority. 

And like the believers in Corinth and doubtless throughout time, we also constantly think: “If only my circumstances changed, then I could finally serve God faithfully.”

In reply to these types of thoughts and anxieties Paul says something profoundly liberating: your usefulness to God is not suspended until your life becomes ideal. Did you hear that? Your usefulness to God is not suspended until your life becomes ideal. God didn’t choose you to be his child because you are someone special or someone important or influential or whatever…he chose you because he loves you and he loves you because he is love.

So, having this reality as our baseline, let’s unpack what the Holy Spirit has to say through Paul.

Paul begins with marriage and sexuality because the Corinthians themselves raised the issue. Apparently, some believers had concluded that abstinence within marriage was spiritually superior…perhaps because they viewed physical desires as inherently inferior…or perhaps they were concerned because of the current crisis…or perhaps because of ascetic philosophical influences.

Whatever their reasoning may have been Paul responds carefully.

Later in verse 26, he acknowledges the underlying anxiety behind these issues…they were experiencing some “present distress”…but notice that he refuses to treat marital intimacy as something unclean or spiritually lesser. Instead he says: “The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband.”

Now while this may not sound revolutionary to you, that statement was astonishing in the first century.

In Jewish society, while wives possessed certain protections under Mosaic law, divorce largely remained in male hands, and the reasons could be as arbitrary as her serving him tasteless or burnt food…an interpretation based on Deuteronomy 24:1 which states that a husband can divorce his wife if he finds "some unseemly matter" in her. 

In Greco-Roman society women possessed somewhat greater legal flexibility, yet the culture remained deeply patriarchal and sexually exploitative. Men frequently exercised unilateral authority. Sexual double standards were normal.

But Paul does something radical. He speaks of mutual authority within the marriage. Not merely the wife’s obligation to her husband. But the husband’s obligation to his wife. “The wife does not have authority over her own body,” he says, “but the husband does; likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.”

This is not tyranny. This is not coercion. This is not ownership. It is reciprocal selfless giving and receiving.

As you all know, the curse introduced distortion into male-female relationships. Instead of a mutually cooperative relationship, men and women strive to rule over each other…we seek to establish some form of self-centred dominance in the relationship. But in Jesus, the pattern of Eden begins to re-emerge; complementarity, dignity, mutual honour, and covenant faithfulness. A man leaves his parents and cleaves to his wife and the two become one flesh…and only people with severe trauma issues or mental challenges treat their own body disrespectfully or poorly.

Paul’s vision of marriage is profoundly countercultural because it destroys selfishness and self-centredness. In his understanding, marriage is not a relationship between two autonomous people negotiating competing rights or one in which one partner uses or abuses the other. No, marriage is a relationship between two believers who are both learning how to serve the other better.

And notice something else. Paul refuses extreme ideas. While on the one hand he rejects sexual immorality, on the other hand he rejects hyper-spiritual denial within marriage. Abstinence may occur, he says, but only for concentrated prayer and only by mutual consent and only temporarily. 

Why? Because, as we have already seen, Christianity does not treat our embodiment as evil. God made us embodied creatures. And therefore, as marriage is a covenant made between two embodied people, their physical intimacy is good and pure and holy.

One of the reasons why some marriages collapse is not because of sudden conflict, but rather through a slow process of selfishness. One spouse withdraws emotionally…another weaponizes affection…another becomes cold and indifferent…another treats intimacy as leverage.

But Paul calls Christian marriage back to mutual service. He flips the question from “what can I get out of this relationship” to “what can I give to this relationship…how may I love faithfully?” And that transforms everything.

Then secondly, in 7:6–24, Paul tells us that faithfulness matters more than status. As the discussion unfolds, Paul addresses singles, widows, married couples, mixed marriages, slaves, Jews, and Gentiles…almost every social category imaginable. And he speaks about these categories because the Corinthians were obsessed with status.

In first-century society, marriage carried status just as freedom carried status and ethnicity carried status. Obviously, upward economic mobility carried status and respectability carried status.

Corinth was a culture obsessed with climbing the proverbial ladder, but Paul dismantles the entire system.

“Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what matters.”

Again, to us that doesn’t really leave much impact, but in their situation in life, that statement is extraordinary. Remember, circumcision had once marked covenant identity itself. Yet Paul now says external distinctions no longer define spiritual worth because Jesus has fulfilled what circumcision pointed toward. The stripping off of the flesh through the shedding of blood. 

Likewise, slave and free stand equal before Christ. Of course, this does not mean slavery was good as some have argued in the past. In verse 21 Paul explicitly says slaves should gain freedom if possible. But he refuses to allow worldly hierarchies to define Christian identity.

The Church was revolutionary precisely because it created a community where worldly status lost ultimate significance. Imagine the scandal of master and slave sharing the Lord’s Supper together as equals.

The Roman world had never seen anything like it. And Paul keeps repeating the same principle: remain faithful in whatever state God has called you.

Again, this does not mean that Christians must never seek to change or better their circumstances. Paul is not condemning marriage, freedom, or improvement in this chapter. Rather, he is attacking the restless belief that spiritual worth depends upon external advancement.

That temptation still dominates modern culture. “If only I had more money…” “If only I were married…” “If only I were single…” “If only I had another career…” “If only my social standing improved…” Then I would finally matter.

But identity rooted in status always enslaves. While the world constantly urges us to become more, the gospel says that we have everything we need because we already belong to Jesus who is the sovereign king over all things.

And therefore Paul says: “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” That applies far beyond literal slavery. Many people today are enslaved to approval or to image or to ambition or to romantic fantasy or to social comparison.

But Christians belong to another kingdom. Our worth was settled on the cross. God demonstrated his love for you by paying a penalty that was not his to pay, but yours.

Then thirdly, in 7:25–31Paul speaks about the present form of this world that is passing away. Now, this section is often misunderstood.

Some imagine Paul expected the physical end of the universe within months. But the context points more naturally toward a present historical crisis affecting Corinth…a period of severe instability and suffering which Paul believed God would mercifully shorten. Now, after saying that he believed the time of distress has been shortened,  he offers them some startling advice: “Those who have wives should live as though they had none… those who mourn as though they were not mourning… those who buy as though they possessed nothing.”

What on earth does he mean? Well, I don’t believe that Paul is calling believers to emotional detachment or abandonment of responsibility. I think that he is speaking about perspective. He is saying that as every earthly structure is temporary, none of them are ultimate. Marriage, though it matters deeply, it is not ultimate. While sorrow is real, it is not ultimate. While possessions are useful, they are not ultimate. Because the present form of this world is passing away. Everything in creation is moving towards a new creation where the temporary will be discarded for the eternal.

You see, Paul wants believers to live free from total absorption in temporary realities. That is as desperately needed today as it was in the first century. Modern society teaches us to absolutize temporary things.

Politics, romance, career, possessions, personal fulfilment…these things are all presented to us as ultimate…and when temporary things become ultimate things, they crush us.

But followers of Jesus must live differently within the world.

Of course we date, we get engaged, and we marry…we work, we grieve, we rejoice, we buy, we sell…but we hold all these things with open hands, because our citizenship lies elsewhere.

But unfortunately, some believers are spiritually exhausted because they are trying to extract eternal meaning from temporary things.

Finally, in 7:32–40, Paul summarises everything he has said by urging undistracted and undivided devotion to the Lord.

His final concern is not anti-body or anti-marriage. It is undivided devotion.

Of course the unmarried believer possesses certain freedoms for ministry that married life naturally limits because marriage brings legitimate responsibilities, concerns, and obligations.

But Paul is not criticising those responsibilities. He is simply being realistic given their present circumstances. While marriage is glorious, it is demanding.

But notice that he also says that singleness is not deficiency. Now, while our culture does not frown on singleness, Roman society strongly incentivised marriage and often penalised lifelong celibacy socially and economically. Voluntary singleness was unusual unless tied to some philosophy or religion.

Yet Paul says Christianity honours both marriage and singleness, because neither state determines spiritual worth. Marriage is good. Singleness is good. Neither is ultimate because only Jesus is ultimate.

And that means every believer…married or unmarried…must ask this simple question: “How may I serve God most faithfully in my present calling?”

You see, at the heart of 1 Corinthians 7 lies a single, liberating truth: followers of Jesus do not belong to themselves. They belong to God.

And that changes the way we view marriage, singleness, giftedness, suffering, status, and ambition because following Jesus ultimately changes our identity.

In this chapter, Paul is teaching believers how to live faithfully during unstable times without being consumed by instability itself.

The Corinthians feared scarcity, uncertainty, and social pressure. And I think we do too. But Paul keeps redirecting our eyes away from panic or self-preservation, toward faithful devotion. We are to serve faithfully in whatever state or circumstance that God has placed us because we do not belong to ourselves…we have been bought with a price and that defines who we are in the present form of a world that is passing away.

So here is the great comfort of the chapter: Because Christ reigns, believers are free. Free to marry without idolising marriage. Free to remain single without shame. Free to serve faithfully even in hardship. Free from slavery to status. Free from the exhausting need to prove themselves.

You see, the Christian life is not about constructing the perfect earthly existence. It is about wholehearted devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ in whatever circumstances he has appointed. And then one day, when the present form of this world finally passes away completely, those who belong to Christ will discover that none of their faithfulness was wasted.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2026

Cleansing God’s Community

 1 Peter 1:13-16                   1 Corinthians 5:1–13 & 6:1-11 & 6:12-20

Cleansing God’s Community

One of the most frightening things that can happen to a church is not that it becomes small…or that it becomes poor…or even that it becomes unpopular. No, the most frightening thing that can happen to a church is when it loses the ability to blush. 

When sin no longer grieves us, when compromise no longer shocks us, when holiness becomes negotiable, and when obedience is treated as extreme, the church has already begun to rot from within.

That is precisely the situation in Corinth. 

The Corinthians were proud of their spirituality. They boasted in wisdom, gifts, freedom, and knowledge. Yet while they congratulated themselves on being enlightened, educated, and mature, gross immorality had settled comfortably into the church itself.

And Paul does not tip-toe around the issue nor does he soften the language of rebuke. He does not hide behind ambiguity. He does not fear offending the culture. Because when the holiness of God and the purity of Christ’s church are at stake, silence becomes betrayal.

These two passages from 1 Corinthians confront three great corruptions threatening the church:

1. Tolerated immorality within the church body.

2. Worldly legal systems being used by believers against other believers.

3. Sexual rebellion against God’s original creation design.

And behind all three stands one central truth: The church belongs to God, and therefore the church must reflect the holiness of God.

Paul opens with shocking words: “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you of a kind not even tolerated among the pagans!”

Now, the word Paul uses here is porneia…a broad term referring to sexual activity outside God’s ordained covenant of marriage. In this particular case, a man is involved sexually with his father’s wife, something explicitly condemned in the Law of God. (Leviticus 18:8)

But what is astonishing is not only the sin itself. It is the church’s response…or to be more precise, their lack of response. Not only did they do nothing to prevent this sin, but they also seemed to have accepted it.

In addressing this unthinkable and unacceptable reality in the church of God in Corinth, Paul says: “And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn?”

And that, dearest beloved brethren, is the true scandal.

The church was proud when it should have been ashamed.

As Paul rightly alludes to, even the pagan world recognised incest as shameful. Greek mythology itself treated such relationships as catastrophic violations that brought pollution and judgement upon entire cities. Roman law prohibited incest. Yet this church…people who claimed to follow a holy God…had become more tolerant of sin than the surrounding culture.

Dearest beloved brethren, this remains one of the great dangers of modern Christianity. We live in a culture that increasingly treats sexual autonomy as sacred. The highest moral good today is not holiness but self-expression. 

The world says: “Your body belongs to you.” “Your desires define you.” “Love is love.” “What consenting adults do privately is nobody’s business.”

But Scripture never speaks that way.

The body of believers belongs to God. We are his holy Temple…as I said last week, we are sacred space…we do not belong to ourselves. We belong to God.

And therefore the church cannot bless what God forbids simply because the culture celebrates it.

There are churches today that proudly affirm what Scripture clearly condemns. Churches that apologise for biblical teaching. Churches that treat holiness as intolerance. Churches that fear social rejection more than divine judgement. Churches that boast that they are “all inclusive”.

Paul would say to such churches exactly what he said to Corinth: “Your boasting is not good.”

So Paul commands the church to remove the unrepentant man from fellowship. Now, that may sound harsh to modern ears because modern Christianity often confuses love with permissiveness, but biblical love is not the removal of moral boundaries.

Biblical love seeks restoration through truth and therefore Paul says: “Hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”

This is not a call for violence like stoning or flogging or burning at the stake. Nor is this vengeance or cruelty. No, this is the removal of the man from the covenant protection and fellowship of the church so that he might be awakened to the consequences of sin and be led to true repentance.

You see, Church discipline is restorative and healing more than it is punitive.

While it most certainly says: “You cannot persist in rebellion while claiming fellowship with Christ” it also says that the goal of Church discipline is that the sinner might be saved….“that his spirit may be saved.”

Divine discipline is driven by divine mercy and divine love.

Indeed a church that never disciplines serious unrepentant sin does not love sinners. Rather it abandons them to self-deception.

However, it is equally true that the church as a body is in danger if habitual, serious, and unconfessed sin is either tolerated or even condoned. To illustrate this Paul uses the image of leaven. “A little leaven,” he says, “leavens the whole lump.”

You see, sin has a tendency to spread. Unchecked compromise never remains isolated. What one generation tolerates quietly, the next generation celebrates publicly.

That is true in families as it is true in nations. And it is also true in churches.

Like leaven, unchecked corruption in the church cannot be contained. Indeed, unchecked corruption is contrary to what we ought to be as the Church.

Why? Because the Church is meant to be an unleavened people, because we are a Passover people. “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” Here Paul reaches back to the Exodus. At Passover, Israel removed leaven from the house as an image of repentance, sanctification and renewal, because their holy God had redeemed them from slavery and brought them to himself.

In the same way, Christians are redeemed people. Christ has delivered us from slavery to sin. Therefore the old leaven must be removed. We have been saved from sin and therefore we must show our saved status by living lives that mirror the one who saved us…if we don’t, we deny our own confession.

However, at this point, Paul offers a corrective. This disassociation or disfellowship is only applicable within the confines of the covenant community. Indeed, if we disassociate from those of the world, how will they hear or see the Gospel? Besides, Jesus associated with sinners, tax-collectors, prostitutes, outcastes and the like because they needed a Saviour. So, Paul teaches us to let God judge those outside the Church…Church discipline is for those in the Church. “For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside?” Pauls asks. “Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges.”

And so, Paul now turns to lawsuits among believers.

Apparently, Christians in Corinth were dragging one another before pagan courts and Paul is horrified. “Do you not know,” he asks, “that ultimately the Church will judge the world? “So, if you have judgements concerning this life, why do you seek judges who have nothing to do with the Church?” 

You see, the Church is meant to display a completely different kingdom. The world operates through power, pride, self-interest, and revenge. The kingdom of Christ operates through obedience, humility, holiness, mercy, self-sacrifice, forgiveness, reconciliation, and truth.

And here Paul says something astonishing: “Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?”

The modern world cannot understand those kinds of statements. Our culture is obsessed with rights. My rights. My body, my choice. My way or no way.

But Christians follow a crucified Messiah. Jesus was wronged. Jesus was slandered. Jesus was falsely condemned. Jesus suffered injustice without retaliation.

And Peter tells us: “When (Jesus) suffered, he did not threaten but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23)

The Corinthians wanted revenge through lawsuits. Paul wanted holiness through obedience to the law of Christ.

There is a profound difference.

The courts of the day were presided over by the unrighteous…those who neither knew God nor upheld his moral code of ethics. These are people Paul says that will not inherit the Kingdom. So why seek “right” from the unrighteous? 

Paul gives us one of the clearest moral warnings in this letter. “Do not be deceived…”

These words matter because people are often deceived even those who call themselves believers. Many imagine they can persist in their own ways and yet still inherit the kingdom of God, but Paul says otherwise.

And he lists a number of examples of things that disqualify us from the kingdom: sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, greed, drunkenness, theft, same-sex practices, slander or gossip, and swindling.

Now this is by no means an exhaustive list, but I do want you to notice something important: Paul does not single out one sin as though others are less serious. Sexual sin – sexual immorality, adultery, and same-sex practices – these are not the only damning sins. Greed is listed here. Drunkenness is here. Stealing. Slander or gossip. And cheating. Paul includes them all as behaviours that may disqualify those who practice them from inheriting the kingdom of God. 

And herein lies a very important lesson. The church must never become selective in its outrage against sin by making one sin worse than another…damning one while overlooking ther other.

But neither may the church erase nor ignore what Scripture plainly says.

For instance, same-sex practices have become an unmentionable or taboo subject in many churches today, but in this list here, Paul explicitly includes both participants in same-sex acts among those practices that may bar someone from inheriting the kingdom. 

However, it is important to note in terms of Church discipline or judgement that his previous rule about the acts of those outside the covenant community applies here. What unbelievers do is beyond the judgement of the Church. God will judge them as he sees fit. What we ought to be focussed on is sin within the Church that must be addressed and dealt with.

And please note that Paul is not referring to temptation here. Rather he is describing settled, habitual, unrepentant practices and an identity formation rooted in rebellion against God’s created order. And this matters because modern culture insists that affirming behaviours contrary to what Scripture teaches is compassion.

But the church cannot redefine holiness in order to gain cultural approval.

If God created humanity male and female, if marriage between one man and one woman is rooted in creation itself, if Christ affirmed that design, then the church has no authority to rewrite what God established.

But here is the glory of the gospel: Paul says, “And such were some of you.” “Were”, but not “are.”

The church of God in Corinth, like most churches in the Greco-Roman world, included former idolaters, former adulterers, former sexually immoral people, former thieves, former homosexual practitioners, former drunkards.

You see, in the face of human depravity, the Gospel proclaims human transformation.

Paul says: “You were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified.”

The gospel does not merely speak of forgiveness. It speaks of a new creation…it speaks of a new people.

And because of this, Paul now confronts the Corinthians’ distorted theology of freedom.

Apparently, some were saying: “All things are lawful for me.”

In other words: If I’m saved by grace through faith, what I do with my body no longer matters…I’m going to discard this body anyway…this is an anti-body ideology based on some Greek philosophical thought.

But Paul answers with devastating clarity. “I will not be dominated by anything.”

You see, Christian freedom is not freedom to sin. It is freedom from slavery to sin.

While the modern world defines freedom as the absence of restraint, the Bible defines freedom as joyful obedience to God. A train is most free on the train tracks. A fish is most free in water. Human beings are most free when living according to the purpose for which they were created.

And Paul says here that the body was created “for the Lord.”

And that changes everything. Your body matters to God because God created it and because God indwells it and because God will raise it. The body…your body and what you do with your body is important.

Christianity is not anti-body. The resurrection proves the opposite. We are not destined to be disembodied spirits. Our bodies are to be raised and glorified.

 But at this point, Paul says something profoundly important: He says sexual sin is never merely physical. Sexual union is never merely biological.

Quoting from Genesis Paul reminds us that “the two shall become one flesh.” You see, God designed sexual union as covenantal, spiritual, and personal.

While the modern world treats sex recreationally, Scripture never does because sex joins persons.

That is why sexual sin wounds so deeply.

It takes something designed for covenant faithfulness and tears it from its created purpose.

Paul therefore says: “Flee sexual immorality.” Not manage it. Not negotiate with it. Not flirt with it. Now, flee from it.

Joseph fled Potiphar’s wife because some temptations are not meant to be debated but escaped.

And then Paul reaches the climax of the chapter: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?”

Now, think about how staggering that is. The God who created all things and sustains all things…the God who once manifested his presence in the Tabernacle…the God who filled Solomon’s Temple…this God now dwells in believers. This God now dwells in you.

And therefore Paul says: “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.” And that price was the blood of Christ. The cross forever destroys the myth of personal autonomy. You are not self-owned. If you belong to Christ, your body belongs to Christ. Your sexuality belongs to Christ. Your desires belong to Christ. Your relationships belong to Christ. Your private life belongs to Christ. Everything belongs to Christ.

In short, we are to be a holy people in an unholy world because we belong to a holy God.

Corinth was a sexually confused, morally compromised, spiritually arrogant city. And the church was in danger of becoming indistinguishable from it.

Now we live in a world that is slowly becoming very much like the Greco-Roman world of Paul’s day…a world that celebrates what God condemns and mocks what God calls holy. But the solution to this dilemma is not retreat from the world nor is it surrender to the world.

The solution is faithful holiness within the world. We must endeavour to live lives that show that while we might be in the world, but we are not of the world.

The Church must once again become a people who tremble at God’s Word more than public opinion. A people who love sinners enough to tell them the truth. A people who understand that grace is not permission for rebellion. A people who remember that Christ died not merely to forgive us, but to make us holy and to conform us to his image…to make us like him. And perhaps above all, a people who remember this: “You are not your own.”

That is either ludicrous or glorious.

If Christ is not your Lord, it is ludicrous.

But if he is your Saviour, then it is glorious beyond words. Because the One who owns you is the One who died for you. The One who commands holiness is the One who purchased you on the cross. The One who calls you to purity is the One who gives you his Holy Spirit.

And therefore the final command of this passage becomes the calling of every believer in Jesus: “Glorify God in your body.”

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2026