Week 30: Church Problems

Opening Question

Think about a time when a community you belonged to – a church, a team, a family – had to confront a difficult internal problem. What happened? Was the outcome constructive or destructive, and what made the difference?

Review of the Week’s Readings

Core Discussion Questions

1. Church Discipline (Chapter 5)

Paul confronts the Corinthians not only for the sin in their midst but for their arrogance about it. He says they should have been “filled with grief” (v. 2) rather than inflated with tolerance.

• Why is it easier to ignore sin in a community than to address it?
• What safeguards are needed to ensure that discipline is genuinely redemptive rather than punitive or self-righteous?
• Paul distinguishes between judging those inside the church and those outside it (vv. 12-13). How does this distinction apply to the way churches engage with cultural moral issues today?

2. The Body as Temple (Chapter 6)

Paul argues that the body is not spiritually irrelevant (the Greek philosophical view) but is the very dwelling place of God’s Spirit, purchased by Christ’s blood, and destined for resurrection.

• How does the Greek dualism that devalues the body show up in modern culture or even in church culture?
• “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” What areas of life does this claim extend to – beyond sexuality?
• How does the promise of bodily resurrection change the way you think about your physical life right now?

3. Marriage and Singleness (Chapter 7)

Paul treats both marriage and singleness as gifts from God, and his counsel on marriage is marked by a striking mutuality between husband and wife that was counter-cultural in the first century.

• Why do many churches inadvertently treat singleness as a problem to be solved rather than a calling to be honored?
• Paul distinguishes between “command of the Lord,” “apostolic counsel,” and “personal opinion” in this chapter. How does this hermeneutical transparency help us read and apply Scripture wisely?
• “The appointed time has grown very short.” How should the brevity and urgency of life shape our priorities?

4. Freedom and Love (Chapters 8-9)

The idol-meat controversy may seem remote from modern life, but the underlying principle – how to exercise freedom in a way that does not harm others – is perennial.

• Can you think of a modern equivalent of the idol-meat issue, where a practice that is morally neutral for one person could be spiritually harmful for another?
• Paul says his reward is “presenting the gospel free of charge” (9:18). How does self-interest compromise the credibility of Christian witness?
• “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” Where is the line between cultural adaptation and compromise of conviction?

Deeper Dive

Paul uses the phrase “Do you not know…?” ten times in chapters 5-6 alone. Each instance introduces a theological truth the Corinthians should have understood but were failing to live out.

• List some of the things Paul says they should have known (e.g., “your bodies are members of Christ” – 6:15; “you will judge the world” – 6:2).
• What does this repeated pattern tell us about the gap between theological knowledge and practical obedience?
• Is there a “do you not know” truth that you already believe intellectually but struggle to live out practically?

Application

Paul models in chapter 9 the very principle he teaches in chapter 8: he surrenders his legitimate rights for the sake of others.

• Identify one specific right, freedom, or preference you could voluntarily surrender this week for the benefit of someone else in your community.
• Consider one relationship where you need to prioritize building up (oikodomeo) over being right.
• Reflect on Paul’s athletic metaphor: what is one area of spiritual discipline you want to strengthen?

Memory Verse

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Alternative:

“I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” – 1 Corinthians 9:22

Closing Prayer

Father, this week we have seen ourselves in the mirror of the Corinthian church – spiritually gifted yet spiritually immature, knowledgeable yet lacking in love, free yet failing to use our freedom for the good of others. Forgive us for our arrogance, our selfishness, and our failure to take seriously the holiness to which you have called us. Teach us that our bodies are temples, that our rights are tools, and that our knowledge means nothing without love. Make us a community that disciplines with mercy, worships with our whole bodies, honors both marriage and singleness, and gladly surrenders every privilege for the sake of the gospel. In the name of Christ, who surrendered everything for us. Amen.