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Chapter Six
Fred R. Coulter
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I want to cover a few things on the chapter of 'porneia.' Here's an editorial from the Vacaville Reporter (thereporter.com): Tell the Truth about Death Toll from AIDS
I just read this morning that in the morgue in Miami, Florida, that they are running blood tests on all corpses brought into the coroners office. He says that he feels he can do it because you can't jeopardize the rights of the dead. But they are finding a 1% AIDS infection, just in the random general population coming in. That was on 1300 corpses.
In San Francisco they're running 2.5% with AIDS infection. Those coming to the blood bank in San Francisco who are turned away from giving blood is running 3%. That's getting significant when you figure a population in San Francisco is 650,0000—you're looking at 20,500 just based on that 3% figure walking around with AIDS that come into the blood bank.
Tell the Truth about Death Toll from AIDS
Some doctors write misleading death certificates to protect the privacy of AIDS victims. A process made easier by the complex nature of the disease, but one that produces a false view of the proportion of the epidemic.
Some physicians and public health officials contend that death certificates do not endanger public health as long as doctors obey laws requiring them to report live AIDS cases to health agencies.
The whole sum of it is, they should report all of it.
Then there is a thing here about putting cloak of natural causes over the death of those who die with AIDS.
Well, it's going to come. I remember one of the things that literally would scare the liver out of you was reading the book 1975 in Prophecy. All the pictures by Basil Wolverton of people starving to death and plagues. It may not have happened in 1975, but Paul was off by 2,000 years. I don't see anyone walking around saying, 'Down with Paul.
Then we had this thing on Stanford campus where they ran around passed all these condoms around. That's not going to work. There's nothing that human nature is going to be able to figure to do that is going to be right. There is a way that seems right to a man, but the ends thereof are the way of death! That's just the way it's going to be.
- No one is going to stop it!
- No one is going to turn it back!
- No one is going to change it!
There comes a time when God is going to do what He's going to do and all our prayers is not going to change His mind. God said, 'Do not even pray for this people' (Jer. 7). I tell you with behavior like this, with passing all these things around and everything is going to be hunky-dory, I think they're coming really close to provoking God to anger. If you provoke God to anger, that's something else!
Wellness Letter from Berkley:
Myth: AIDS virus is something new; probably a product of lax sexual morals in modern times.
I don't believe that it's something new. I believe what Solomon said, 'There's nothing new under the sun' and I think this is just a repeat when it reaches a certain stage and God lets these things come.
Stop and think about this: If you were a modern scientific investigating team of doctors and you happen to be in Jerusalem when David sinned after numbering the children of Israel, and he chose to have the plague brought upon himself and the people for three days—70,000 died of the plague. You could send your teams out there, just like in this Sweetwater thing up in Nevada where all the fish and birds are dying because of something in the water. You can analyze it all day long.
Same way if you had a medical team back then when the plague came on the people because of David's sin, you can analyze it all day long and you'd be amazed. It struck all of a sudden, now it's over and it's gone. Same way with AIDS. We go along and think it's something new. No! It's just something that God has used before and is using again.
Our knowledge of the AIDS virus is new, but retro-viruses are part of the natural world and are no more likely to manifest Divine wrath than any other infectious agent.
Well, Who is the Creator of all things? Who said, 'I create good and I create evil'? God does!
As early as 1910 an American scientist isolated and studied a retro-virus that causes cancer in chickens. Dr. Robert C. Gallo, head of the team that discovered the first human retro-virus—the agent responsible for a form of leukemia—theorizes that it may have originated in Africa centuries ago and may have spread around the globe by slave trade and other commercial ventures from the period after the discovery of America.
Nor are sexually transmitted diseases anything new; they've been carried around the world for centuries.
That's because sin and human nature are nothing new. It's been here ever since Adam and Eve decided that they would reject God.
I just want to mention here a couple things concerning disfellowshipment that I didn't cover in part 10 of this series. We have to understand that the way that it is done.
1-Corinthians 5:3: "For I indeed, being absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged concerning him who has so shamelessly committed this evil deed as if I were present: In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you… [the congregation] …are gathered together, and my spirit, together with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh…" (vs 3-5).
It is not a secret, behind the scenes thing. It is something that is done openly before the whole congregation. That way the whole congregation knows at the same time what is happening, what is being done, rather than just stand up there and make some shocking announcement. Let's see how this is supposed to work, the mechanism by which they should be done.
Disfellowshipment is not something that can be arbitrarily done because the minister is angry, or because someone has someone has some honest and legitimate questions that they want to have.
If there are doctrinal strifes and divisions, you're to mark them and have no company with them. But that has to do with the true doctrine in the Bible. That doesn't have anything to do with the doctrines of men. The problem is that disfellowshipment is a proper and useful thing under the right circumstances. But in so many cases it has been misapplied simply because there has been the threat to the hierarchy or there have been people who have wanted to learn more in the Bible, but since the hierarchy would not accept any new 'Truth'—and as I've been told in the past—new Truth will only come out of headquarters.
Matthew 18:15: "So then, if your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault between you and him alone…." That means don't go tell anybody else first. Or don't be discussing it with other people and say, 'Hey, what do you think?' Go to him alone!
"…If he is willing to hear you, you have gained your brother" (v 15). This is the best and the most logical and loving thing to settle a problem at the lowest level first, right where it occurs; the easiest way to do it. So, that if there's any difficulty that you have one with another, you go see each other and work it out. It's simple. It might not be very comfortable; it's never very comfortable trying to work out a difficulty. It may be a little awkward and maybe there will be a little temper flurry here and there and maybe a little upset, whatever.
Just like a husband and wife. If they have set their minds to be married to each other and live with each other as husband and wife all their lives, you know there is bound to be a trouble come along—or two or three or four, or maybe quite a few. But if they've really set their minds to work it out between themselves, it will be worked out.
I'll guarantee what happens: You will do what is called 'mellowing.' You will understand each other more, and you will mellow because you have worked out your difficulties face-to-face.
In Worldwide [Church of God] and with the Jehovah Witnesses, yes, even the Catholic Church when it gets down to their things—I think we would be surprised how many church organizations operate in the same way—instead of going to each other alone they would go to the minister or the priest. Then one day you get a phone call and the minister says, 'I need to stop out and visit you; when would be a good time.' Immediately people would get scared and wonder why he's coming and wanting 'to see me. What have I done!' I've been through these kinds of things.
I'll have to say that while I was in Worldwide I did, on a few occasions, tell them that 'if you want to tell me, go tell them.' I did believe what was in the Bible. I've had that exercised upon me, so I know what that is like. If you have something to settle, settle it between yourselves, I don't even want to know. I don't want to hear about it.
Same way with husband and wife things. I know there were times in Worldwide when homes would be divided—same way with other churches—divorces would be instigated because either the husband or wife would run off to the minister to build their case in what they were going to do to their spouse. That's not right.
Verse 16: "But if he will not listen, take with you one or two others, so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he fails to listen to them, tell it to the Church…." (vs 16-17). The Church is the assembly, the 'ecclesia.' It becomes a congregational matter.
"…But if he also fails to listen to the Church, let him be to you as the heathen and the tax collector. Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on the earth will have already been bound in heaven…" (vs 17-18)—concerning the matter of the action that the Church would take, which includes the members and the ministers.
"…and whatever you shall loose on the earth will have already been loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you on earth shall agree concerning any matter that they wish to request, it shall be done for them by My Father, Who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there, I am in the midst of them" (vs 18-20).
Now, this is a broad and generalization here. You can say that when two or three people are gathered together to study and worship God's Word, that Christ would be there. Also, what are the two or three talking about right here in context? To solve a problem, work out differences between themselves, to establish every word. Christ will be in the midst to help resolve it.
Maybe that's why some problems have never been resolved. Maybe that's a little bit different than what you have understood in the past, but if you read exactly what it says, it says 'take two or three with you'; 'where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of you.' So, when you get together and try and solve a problem, then it certainly do it with some kind of prayer, because you're there in the name of Christ.
Verse 21: "Then Peter came to Him and said, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Until seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you until seven times, but until seventy times seven" (vs 21-22). I suppose married people understand that more than anybody else, especially if they have a commitment to live together. That's the way that it is.
- that's how you build love
- that's how you build understanding
- that's how you overcome problems
Let's see another way not to disfellowship, which we have also seen. That is through political strife and political power within a church organization.
3-John 5: "Beloved, you are faithfully practicing whatever you have been doing for the brethren and for strangers, who have testified of your love before the Church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God; because for the sake of His name they went forth preaching, taking nothing from the Gentiles. For this cause, we are personally obligated to receive those who do such service, in order that we may be fellow workers in the Truth. I wrote to the Church, but Diotrephes, the one who loves to be chief among them, does not accept us. Because of this very thing, if I come, I will call him to account for the actions that he is practicing with evil words—maliciously berating us; and he is not satisfied with these things, for he himself neither receives the brethren, nor does he permit those who wish to receive the brethren, but he forbids them and casts them out of the Church" (vs 5-10).
And we've seen that happen, too. That's not the way that it should be done. That is purely a political thing, turning the Church of God into a political machine for control. That should not be! So, you have the two extremes on this thing. Those are not the way that it should be done; same way with disfellowshiping.
Can people build up a case politically against others to get rid of them? Sure they can! That's what the whole story of the Inquisition was about with the Catholic Church. They built up their cases politically, went after them and they got them. Regardless of what they said, they did it.
This also ties in with disfellowshipment, 2-John 6: "And this is the love of God: that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, exactly as you heard from the beginning, that you might walk in it, because many deceivers have entered into the world—those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. This is the spirit of the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out for yourselves in order that we may not lose the things we have accomplished, but that we may receive a full reward. Anyone who transgresses and does not continue in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. But the one who continues in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house, and do not say to him, 'Welcome!' For anyone who says, 'Welcome!' to him is partaking in his evil works" (vs 6-11).
There is the way to protect yourself against false doctrine. But every one of these things can be twisted and turned in a political way against people if a person so desires to do so. Out of the deceptiveness and the evilness of their own heart, or being zealous for a wrong cause. All those can be twisted and turned so as not to become protection for the Church, disfellowshipment then became a use and device to maintain power. That's not what God wants.
Disfellowshipment is a tool to maintain purity of the doctrinal Truth of the Bible! That's what it's for, and to maintain purity of conduct among those who are in the congregation! That's what it's for, not for any other thing.
It's never been done as Paul did it, presenting it before the congregation, and then the congregation—unanimously—says, 'According to God's way you're out, goodbye. When you repent, and we've seen that you repent, come back.' We've never seen it done that way in the Church of God.
If there are strifes and things like that, separate yourself from them. That's the way it should be. I tell you what, if that were really the way that it was done, you would have so few disfellowshipments it would be incredible. That's why it's designed that way.
If it can be done in a corner, sin allowed in a corner—and if it's not taken care of—it will continue. 'A little leaven leavens the whole lump.' Or if you have a disfellowshipment done over here in a corner and you have power and authority, and you tell that person 'don't you dare contact anyone. If I hear of you so much as calling anyone…' That's not right. Then you never know the truth of it. There were occasions where you would know someone and you would know that was not true. However, there are cases where people occasionally do go off the deep-end with things. They really do.
With divorce and remarriage—which we will cover in 1-Cor. 7—when they had it that they would separate the families because of a previous understanding of marriage and divorce, that created one set of problems, then after they said that if it's been in the past then it's covered with your baptism and so forth, 'we will allow you to stay married with the one you're presently married to.' Then it swung to the other side.
I had one fellow that I baptized in Boise, Idaho, in 1966. He's married and had five children. He and his wife had some marital difficulties, but nothing really very serious. Then in 1974 when this divorce and remarriage thing was changed, he called me and said, 'I want to ask you a question.' What's that? 'Before I was baptized I was planning on divorcing my wife. Can I leave her?' I said, 'You've got to be crazy to even call and ask such a question. If you were planning to leave before you were baptized and you're both baptized, and you've forgiven each other and you have accepted Jesus Christ, you are bound before God. There's no way! Besides you weren't divorced or in the process of divorcing, you were thinking of it. Then you changed your mind when you came into the Church—right?' Right! 'Well, what makes you think you can change your mind now because you want to get rid of her like an old shoe and you come to me and ask if you can get a divorce.'
He was really mad at me, because he wanted me to say, 'Yeah, do it; do anything you want.' What he did, he shopped around and found another minister, moved into that church area and told the story to that minister. By that time, he modified just enough so he knew what to tell him. So, he divorced his wife. Since then, that man's gone out and just become a whoremonger and miserable.
You can bring things upon yourself by forcing your own will. God is not going to stop anyone from forcing their own will, if they want to force it. Lots of times we ask: What will God allow? God will allow anything but destroy the world! Read through the Bible: He's allowed murder, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, idolatry, sacrifice of children. People will say, 'Surely if there's a God He wouldn't allow that.' God has left it to be 'free choice.' Everyone of these things can be taken and twisted. That's why it has to be in the right way with the right spirit.
Who takes care of the ministry for disfellowshipment? I would have to say that it should be the ministers who should take care of a situation like that if it involves a minister. But if it also involves a congregation, then it has to also involve the congregation at the same time. I don't know any other way to handle it. That would stop an awful lot of things, too, if it were handled that way.
I was disfellowshipped from Worldwide, after I resigned! As a matter of fact, when I was in Worldwide, if it would have gotten down to the congregation, they would have said 'no, we're going to keep him.' There has been abuse of disfellowshipment down through the ages.
1-Corinthians 5:11: "But now, I have written to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother, if he be either sexually immoral, or covetous…" Covetous is really something—think about that for a minute—that is out for grasping greed to take advantage of other people.
I never will forget, there was a minister—a friend of mind—pastoring in the Midwest and he came to the Feast at Squaw Valley and we were in Salt Lake and we all went over to Squaw Valley at the same time. He came by, stopping at our place, and we went off the way of the Salt Flats over toward Nevada. As soon as you get through the Salt Flats on the west side of Utah, you enter into Nevada. As soon as we got there, he pulled over and stopped and said, 'Come on, let's go in this restaurant.' He was almost shaking to get to that slot machine. I will never forget that! He stood there playing all these slots. It just registered in my mind that I don't think we should be playing slot machines and gambling and stuff like this.
I can't see Christ preaching in Reno and say, 'Let's go over here and we'll throw a few slugs down this slot machine, let's see if we can win a little money to pay our way around Galilee.' I can't see that!
Some people might call me 'straight laced' because I don't gamble. I remember when Gerald Waterhouse was stuck trying to preach that it was okay because one of the leading ministers would always run up to Reno and gamble. I guess he got called on the carpet for preaching against gambling. Then the word came out that if you took a little money and used it for recreation—not much different than golf and spending a couple hundred bucks—and play the slots and cards.
Of course, Gerald Waterhouse was one who would tell us what it was going to be like in the world tomorrow, who's going to rule this, do that, and do the other thing. He was in trouble and he couldn't get after me. He came to check on me and as we were driving I said, 'Yeah, Gerald, that's right. What you're telling me is right and when Jesus Christ returns that He is not going to destroy Reno, Nevada, and Las Vegas, and all these other gambling places, because you have to have someone who knows what their doing and in charge to run it right. He's not going to destroy the mafia because they know how to do it better than anybody else.'
He was so mad! You could just see it! He just about crunched his teeth right off his jaw! But he didn't say a word.
"…or an idolater…" (v 11). What is an idol? This is talking about a spiritual brother, people in the Church. What did they do in the Worldwide Church of God? They made an idol out of the man! How long is God going to put up with that?
"…or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a person you are not even to eat" (v 11).
Let's get it in perspective, v 9: "I wrote to you in an epistle not to associate with the sexually immoral; and yet, you can not altogether avoid contact with the sexually immoral of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world" (vs 11-12). We're talking about people within the Church. Those people not in the Church, you can't get away from them. Even within the Worldwide Church of God, they created a lot of alcoholics, because they condoned excessive drinking. You can't have that either. We're to have temperance in whatever we do. If a person cannot control their alcohol or liquor, don't drink—it's that simple!
Verse 10: "And yet, you can not altogether avoid contact with the sexually immoral of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world." That's a true statement! When Paul is talking about 'not to keep company' he's talking about those not in the Church.
Verse 11: "But now, I have written to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother… [spiritually in the Church] …if he be either sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a person you are not even to eat. For what responsibility do I have to judge those who are outside the Church?…." (vs 11-12).
This is where we're getting into judgment. We cannot judge those without; it's none of our business to judge those without. I think we'll understand a little bit more about judgment when we understand this: the basic question is: If you make a judgment concerning someone, is it your business or authority to do so? If it is, then you can! If it isn't, then it's none of your business.
I think that becomes very clear. You can't judge those out in the world. There's no way you can judge them. You do not know their heart. I do not know their heart. I cannot read their mind. I don't know if they're extortioners or adulterers. I can tell some who are homosexual, but I can guarantee you can't tell all who are homosexual. You don't know who is a liar or cheat. You can have one of the finest clerks you ever met checking out your groceries, and you may pick up the paper one day and read that he has stolen, embezzled…. You can't judge their heart, you don't know.
"…Are not you yourselves to judge those who are within?" (v 12). Yes! When it comes to the congregation called together to make a judgment to put someone out because of sin.
Verse 13: "But God judges those who are outside. So then, put the wicked person out from among yourselves."
1-Corinthians 6:1: "Does anyone among you who has a matter against another dare to go to a court of law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?" This tells you something else—doesn't it? Here they were suing each other. If you've ever had to go to court because of being sued, what happens? You have the plaintiff and you have the defendant and there are barriers and bitterness between the people! Obviously, that would carry over into the Church, wouldn't it?
Verse 2: "Don't you know that the saints shall judge the world?…." Now, think on that statement for a minute. It does not say, 'do you not know that the ministers shall judge the world?' It does not say, 'don't you know that Christ only is going to judge the world.' He says here, "Don't you know that the saints shall judge the world?…." When is he referring to this? He says, 'don't judge the world, because those who are without God judges.' He's saying in v 2 about a future time when we're ruling with Christ.
We will see when that is given. We'll see later that he says 'judge nothing before the time.' Revelation 20:4: "And I saw thrones; and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given to them…" That's when we're going to judge the world, not before then, but when judgment is given unto to you! If you were a judge in the world, and a member in the Church and someone was brought before you in a judgment and you sentenced him, then you have the authority to judge that one who is without, because you are also a judge of the world, and a judge of the world is also a part of the system that God has set up in the carnal world.
I know that it gets a little 'ticky-tacky'; it would be very difficult. I might say that that would only be a theoretical thing, because I know of no one in the Church who is also a judge sitting on a bench actively judging right now. It's kind of like: How do you keep the Sabbath in the North Pole? Theoretical question. I know of no one trying to keep the Sabbath at the North Pole.
1-Corinthians 6:2: "Don't you know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you unworthy of the most trivial of judgments?" He's saying that if the world is going to be judged by you—obviously, when you inherit the Kingdom of God—are you able to judge even the smallest matter even now within the Church. That's what Paul is saying. That's what he means by that statement.
Verse 3: "Don't you know that we shall judge angels?…." I don't know what that is going to consist of, brethren. I don't know of any place in the Bible that tells us anything about judging angels with the exception of this one verse. What does it mean? Stick around for the resurrection and we'll find out! I don't know. I'm not even going to attempt to answer the question.
"…How much more then the things of this life? So then, if you have judgments concerning the things of this life, why do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the Church?" (vs 3-4). What does this tell us about a church member? A church member is to have:
- a spirit of understanding
- a spirit of fairness
- a spirit to be able to make a judgment on how to settle disputes
Not like church members are suppose to be 'dumb sheep' sitting quietly doing nothing. That's quite a responsibility—isn't it? If you had difficulties and problems between yourselves and it became so bad that you had to say, 'Hey, we need to solve this with the Church.' "…if you have judgments concerning the things of this life, why do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the Church?"
Verse 5: "Now I say this to your shame…." He's trying to shame them with these contradictions. What he's saying in so many nice words, is 'Look, you're a bunch of sinning, fighting, squabbling dodos. That's what he's saying nicely.'
"…Is it because there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who is able to decide between his brothers? Instead, brother goes to a court of law with brother, and this before unbelievers" (vs 5-6). If you read this little report, there's still one going before the unbelievers—right? And a problem of disfellowshipment and slander—right? Yes! And it started way back in 1979. Isn't it a shame that you have stand up and show how evil the other person is, before the unbelievers!
- What do the unbelievers think of God?
- What do the unbelievers think of Christians?
If you're supposed represent Christ, and supposed to love each other…
(go to the next track)
{vs 7-8 are cut off from the recording; added in because of the comment }
Verse 7: "Now therefore, there is altogether an utter fault among you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? Instead, you are doing wrong and defrauding, and you are doing these things to your brethren" (vs 7-8).
'Hey I don't know anything about this. Don't bother me, I don't want to hear it. It must have been something to walk into that Corinthian congregation.
Verse 9: "Don't you know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor abusers of themselves as women, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the Kingdom of God" (vs 9-10). Nothing needs to be said to elaborate on that; that is clear as can be.
Verse 11: "And such were some of you… [past tense; before conversion] …but you were washed… [How is that? With the blood of Jesus Christ!] …you were sanctified… [How is that? With your calling and the Holy Spirit!] …you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." That's as clear as can be.
I don't know how anyone can read the Bible and have—especially here in the United States with metropolitan churches. Do you know what a metropolitan church is? A church that is run for and by homosexuals—male and female! And a lot of the Universal Churches are the same way. I don't know how they can claim to do anything toward the people of God when you read this.
Verse 12 is a very 'ticky-tacky' verse, and it's almost universally true that someone who does not know the Bible goes here and tries to justify almost anything they do.
Verse 12: "All things that are lawful are permitted to me…" That's quiet a statement—isn't it?
- Therefore, I can be a robber—correct? Therefore, I can be an adulterer—correct?
- Therefore, I can be an extortioner—right?
- Therefore, I don't have to keep the Sabbath—right?
- Therefore, I can eat unclean foods—right? It says,
"All things that are lawful are permitted to me…" NO! That' isn't what it means! It means all things are lawful are lawful unto me! Not unlawful things. Obviously, 'sin is the transgression of the Law.'
"…but all things that are lawful are not beneficial…" (v 12). Was is lawful for Paul to take the tithes and offerings of the Church? Yes! He said that he had the authority (1-Cor. 9). Did he take it? No! He thought he would do them more good by not taking it. Later he apologized for it; he said, 'I shouldn't have done it because I did you wrong. Forgive me this wrong.'
"…all things that are lawful are permitted to me, but I will not be mastered by anything" (v 12). In other words, he's not going to make a little pet cause out of some little thing. That's what a lot of religionist do, they take one little thing and make a pet cause out of it. He's not going to be brought under the power of any.
Verse 13: "Foods are for the belly, and the belly is for foods; but God will destroy both it and those. Now, the body is not for sexual immorality…" It gets into the realm of sex and the proper use of sex.
Some people go around an say, 'The human being is a sexual creature; so therefore, any expression of this is good.' But that's not the way it works! The body is not for fornication. The body is not some sort of sexual apparatus designed strictly for sensual pleasure.
"…but for the Lord…" (v 13). That's really a profound statement. Your mind, your whole body, was made for the Lord. When we understand that we are made after the image of God; when we understand the tremendous blessing that God has given to us to be able to re-create ourselves through our own children, and to be able to have the creative powers that human beings have, and that God made this to be a receptacle for His Holy Spirit, that's really something to think about.
The body was made for the Lord, "…and the Lord for the body" (v 13). You can also allegorize this:
- the Church is the body
- the body of the Church is going to be Bride of Christ was made for the Lord
You can read it both ways and be absolutely true. Your physical body and everything about you as an individual is made for God; and God for you, to put His Spirit in you; same way with the Church. The Church was made for God; and the body of the Church belongs to the Lord. This also helps us understand a little bit more how the Church should be handled.
Verse 14: "And God has also raised the Lord from the dead, and will raise us by His own power. Don't you know that your bodies are members of Christ?…." (vs 14-15). See how the analogy fits right in there.
- if you're the member of Christ
- if you have the Holy Spirit of God
"…Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? MAY IT NEVER BE!" (v 15). That is in an individual sense, an individual member, or on a church basis. What is the great false religious system called? The great whore! The harlot! (Rev. 17).
Verse 16: "WHAT! Don't you know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body?…." People have misunderstood this Scripture, too. Does that mean that if you marry an adulteress or an adulterer, you're bound to them for life? No! That means that during the act of sex you're of one body. That's what it's talking about.
"…For He says, 'The two shall be one flesh.' But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (vs 16-17). That's why God doesn't want all this inner mixing of all this strange religious doctrine.
I heard another new one from out of the Church of God that New Jerusalem is not going to come down to the earth, but it's going to hover 150 miles above the earth. It says in Zech. 14 very clearly—you read it—that Jesus, when He returns, 'in that day His feet shall stand above the Mt. Olives 150 miles. If he's going to come to only 150 miles above the earth, He would have to say that—right? But it doesn't! They're being crossbred with all kinds of false doctrine. That's what it means.
1-Corinthians 10:19: "What then am I saying? That an idol is anything, or that which is sacrificed to an idol is anything? But that which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God; and I do not wish you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and the table of demons. Now, do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?" (vs 19-22).
Here's the same statement, v 23: "All things that are lawful are permitted to me, but not allthings that are permitted are profitable. All things that are lawful are permitted to me, but all things that are permitted do not edify." Every time these two instances are used, Paul uses it right in connection with something that he has previously stated that is wrong.
1-Corinthians 6:17: "But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit…. [That's what we should be together as a congregation—one spirit!] …Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man may commit is outside the body… [every other sin] …but the one who commits sexual immorality is sinning against his own body" (vs 17-18).
They finding that Alzheimer disease and Down Syndrome gene is chromosome 22. They also show that Down Syndrome children have three chromosome 22 instead of two.
Fornication and idolatry go hand-in-hand. The second commandment says that those who bow down to idols, worship and serve them, that they will be cursed to the third and fourth generation. The only thing I can say is, brethren, that if there is righteousness—which there is; and if God is righteous—which He is; then somehow there's got to be a standard, that is a living standard, that God has set in motion to uphold His Word. God is not going to be mocked in anything.
I can see that more and more. I can understand that more and more. Just like I saw a program 'Let's pass out condoms to the whole world and stop AIDS,' and one woman stood up and said, 'Why can't you just say no!' She's the only one I heard with any sense. All the others were just blithering!
I think, brethren, that we need to understand the tremendous blessing that God is giving us being in His Church. We need to press upon our children the blessing that they have received being of a family that is in the Church and having God's blessing. Don't take your blessing—as I've told my children—of health, sound mind, sound body, ability and the fact that you do have any attractive countenance and think you're some 'gift to the world' and go out here and become vain and stupid and blow it by taking drugs. I say:
'What you need to think about is how you're going to multiply this blessing and pass it on to your children. Just think what your children will be with God's blessing upon you and then double that on your own children.' That will be fantastic! That's what needs to be taught to these kids. Even kids in the world, God would bless kids in the world if they just keep themselves clean. He would bless them physically, because God is no respecter of persons. Anyone who does righteousness will be blessed (Deut. 28). That is so!
And get to the point where God blessed all of Israel at the beginning of Solomon's reign. Half way through the Queen of Sheba came up and she just couldn't stand it. It took her spirit away. Everyone was handsome and beautiful, everything was gorgeous, and the wealth and plush and marvelous, and it just took her breath away from her.
That's the way it should be with human beings if they would just follow God. 'Oh no, we have to have freedom of choice.' That's the way it is. If you told people what God was going to stop and shut down and what He is going to teach, you would have people ready to fight Christ right this minute.
Verse 18: "…Every sin that a man may commit is outside the body, but the one who commits sexual immorality is sinning against his own body"—the next generation.
Dr. Cameron—the one who is against AIDS and homosexuality—said, 'It is very tragic! Homosexuals are on a destructive course for their own bodies, minds and lives. When they get old there's nothing! They end! Where, if you're married and you have children, part of you continues in your children.' If you sin against your own body now, then you're also sinning against your own children in the future.
Verse 19: "WHAT! Don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, which you have within you from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (vs 19-20).
All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version by Fred R. Coulter
Scriptural References:
- 1 Corinthians 5:3-5
- Matthew 18:15-22
- 3 John 5-10
- 2 John 6-11
- 1 Corinthians 5:11, 9-13
- 1 Corinthians 6:1-2
- Revelation 20:4
- 1 Corinthians 6:2-17
- 1 Corinthians 10:19-23
- 1 Corinthians 6:17-20
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Jeremiah 7
- 1 Corinthians 7; 9
- Revelation 17
- Zechariah 14
- Deuteronomy 28
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 4-7-13
