Meditations on the Excellencies of the Word of God

א ALEPH

Stewards of the Mysteries of God

4 Let a man so consider us, as ^(A)servants of Christ ^(B)and stewards of the mysteries of God. ² Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. ³ But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human ^[a]court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. ^5 (C)Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to ^(D)light the hidden things of darkness and ^(E)reveal the ^[b]counsels of the hearts. ^(F)Then each one’s praise will come from God.

Fools for Christ’s Sake

⁶ Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be ^[c]puffed up on behalf of one against the other. ⁷ For who ^[d]makes you differ from another? And ^(G)what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸ You are already full! ^(H)You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you! ⁹ For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a ^(I)spectacle ^[e]to the world, both to angels and to men. ¹⁰ We are ^(J)fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! ^(K)We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! ¹¹ To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. ^12 (L)And we labor, working with our own hands. ^(M)Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; ¹³ being defamed, we ^[f]entreat. ^(N)We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.

Paul’s Paternal Care

¹⁴ I do not write these things to shame you, but ^(O)as my beloved children I warn you. ¹⁵ For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for ^(P)in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. ¹⁶ Therefore I urge you, ^(Q)imitate me. ¹⁷ For this reason I have sent ^(R)Timothy to you, ^(S)who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will ^(T)remind you of my ways in Christ, as I ^(U)teach everywhere ^(V)in every church.

^18 (W)Now some are ^[g]puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. ^19 (X)But I will come to you shortly, ^(Y)if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. ²⁰ For ^(Z)the kingdom of God is not in word but in ^(AA)power. ²¹ What do you want? ^(AB)Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

Immorality Defiles the Church

5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even ^[h]named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s ^(AC)wife! ^2 (AD)And you are ^[i]puffed up, and have not rather ^(AE)mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. ^3 (AF)For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. ⁴ In the ^(AG)name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, ^(AH)with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^5 (AI)deliver such a one to ^(AJ)Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord ^[j]Jesus.

^6 (AK)Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that ^(AL)a little leaven leavens the whole lump? ⁷ Therefore ^[k]purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed ^(AM)Christ, our ^(AN)Passover, was sacrificed ^[l]for us. ⁸ Therefore ^(AO)let us keep the feast, ^(AP)not with old leaven, nor ^(AQ)with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Immorality Must Be Judged

⁹ I wrote to you in my epistle ^(AR)not to ^[m]keep company with sexually immoral people. ¹⁰ Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go ^(AS)out of the world. ¹¹ But now I have written to you not to keep company ^(AT)with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—^(AU)not even to eat with such a person.

¹² For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? ¹³ But those who are outside God judges. Therefore ^(AV)“put away from yourselves the evil person.”

Do Not Sue the Brethren

6 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the ^(AW)saints? ² Do you not know that ^(AX)the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? ³ Do you not know that we shall ^(AY)judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? ⁴ If then you have ^[n]judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? ⁵ 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? ⁶ But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!

⁷ Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. ^(AZ)Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? ⁸ No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! ⁹ Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. ^(BA)Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor ^[o]homosexuals, nor ^[p]sodomites, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were ^(BB)some of you. ^(BC)But you were washed, but you were ^[q]sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Glorify God in Body and Spirit

^12 (BD)All things are lawful for me, but all things are not ^[r]helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of ^[s]any. ^13 (BE)Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for ^(BF)sexual immorality but ^(BG)for the Lord, ^(BH)and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴ And ^(BI)God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up ^(BJ)by His power.

¹⁵ Do you not know that ^(BK)your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! ¹⁶ Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ^(BL)“the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” ^17 (BM)But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

^18 (BN)Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins ^(BO)against his own body. ¹⁹ Or ^(BP)do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, ^(BQ)and you are not your own? ²⁰ For ^(BR)you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body ^[t]and in your spirit, which are God’s.