GRINDIT podcast

Paul refers to people who have not given their lives to Jesus and have not been filled with his Spirit as “pagan”. These pagans put their faith in idols, false gods, that couldn’t even speak, they could not communicate with the very people that were serving them. The pagans worshipped these false gods, carved idols in a certain image of these gods, would burn incense, make sacrifices, even sacrificed their children to them in extreme cases! Paul says, “Once were some of you but now you are Temple of God, His dwelling place, filled with His Spirit, and He has a relationship with you and has given you specific gifts to help the body function properly.” Are you a pagan? Or are you filled with the Spirit of God? If so, are you a part of the body of Christ? Are you meeting together with the believers when they assemble? You are badly needed!

Paul uses a person’s body to explain how the body of Christ is to function. He says we are one body that serves the same Lord, worships the same God, and is filled with one Spirit, the Holy Spirit that comes from the One True God we worship! He uses the foot, the hand, the ear, the eyes, and the nose to prove his point. What’s his point? That each body part is necessary for the body to function properly. If a foot is missing, it’s harder to walk; if an hand is missing, it’s harder to grasp things etc. each person in the body of Christ has been given a gift, or gifts, by the Holy Spirit and it is crucial for them to be present when the church meets to function properly. When one suffers, we all suffer. You have a gift the I do not and vice versa. We need each other, to encourage one another to continue in our walk with Jesus. We work together, not against one another. The body is not divided, like the church at Corinth, but it was designed to work together, to produce nutrients and waste. Noi matter how insignificant you seem to feel, you are needed in the body of Christ!

As we have seen from the previous chapters, there was division in this church. It was made of three different cultures: Jew, Greek, and Roman. Trying to get Jews and Gentiles to mesh together and be one was very challenging for Paul, especially when he was away from the congregation. One would think when the church came together to take Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, they would be unified, but they were far from it. The rich were far from it as they hoarded the food and got drunk off the wine while the poor people in the church were left completely out! The issue is their heart. Their heart is focused on themselves and not Jesus and Paul is writing to correct this matter.

Paul tells the men they should not wear a head covering while telling the women to wear one. Then he says the women have long hair for a covering and men should not have long hair. Is this even an issue in the church for today? Is this a “culture” thing? We like to say it is because in our western church culture in 2026, this is not an issue. Very few women wear a head covering and when they do, it’s a hat. With men, some wear hats during services, including preachers and worship leaders, and some men have long hair which goes totally against what Paul says! So, what is the deal? And how can we pick and choose what is cultural and what is not? For example, Paul says a woman is not permitted to speak yet even in this chapter he is talking about women praying! We discuss it all in this episode...

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Paul tells the men they should not wear a head covering while telling the women to wear one. Then he says the women have long hair for a covering and men should not have long hair. Is this even an issue in the church for today? Is this a “culture” thing? We like to say it is because in our western church culture in 2026, this is not an issue. Very few women wear a head covering and when they do, it’s a hat. With men, some wear hats during services, including preachers and worship leaders, and some men have long hair which goes totally against what Paul says! So, what is the deal? And how can we pick and choose what is cultural and what is not? For example, Paul says a woman is not permitted to speak yet even in this chapter he is talking about women praying! We discuss it all in this episode...

Paul is going to bring order to the chaos at the church in Corinth. Since we started studying this letter, we have seen all kinds of chaos in this church and it is going to get worse before it gets better. Paul begins to instruct them how to conduct themselves as they come together as one body and he immediately establishes the order of authority which tells me there were some women who were out of order and dishonoring the authority God has set in place. Any time this takes place, chaos ensues. Paul goes back to Creation when God created the human race, the order He created male and female and how He created male and female. God created the male human being then placed him in the Garden of Eden. Then He took a rib from the male human being, and created a female human being. This is why Paul says God is the ultimate authority, man is next in authority, then the female. In today’s society, we try to re-establish authority and it does not line up with God’s will, whether we like that or not.

Paul says to the church at Corinth, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” The word in the Greek is where we get our word “mimic.” Paul is saying that he has such a close relationship with Jesus that he mimics him in everything he does and therefore, he can say to the believers, “Y’all mimic me because I am mimicking, I am acting just like Jesus.” Can we say that? Are we acting just like Jesus? What if someone was to follow your lead? Where would you lead them? To Jesus? Away from Jesus? Is your walk with Christ like a rollercoaster, up and down, turning all around, then back to the station? Or is it solid, trustworthy, stable, steady so that you can lead others to the immovable stone, the solid rock, Jesus?

The believers at Corinth believe that since they have decided to follow Jesus and he has given them freedom from the bondage of sin, they can do whatever they want. In their culture, just like ours, temptation is all around them, everywhere they go. Temples with prostitutes are seen from any direction, meat sacrificed to idols is being sold in restaurants and marketplaces, and with their freedom they have in Jesus, they tend to give into temptations and sin. Paul says, “Yes, you have freedom in Christ, but not all freedoms are beneficial. The King James Version says they are not all expedient and edifying. Yes, we have been set free from sin by Jesus, but there are other people to think about, and this is what Paul is saying. Don’t let your freedom cause others to sin!

Paul tells the believers in Corinth, “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.” Why does he say this? Because some of these believers think they have a ticket to do anything they want since they started following Jesus but what Paul is emphasizing to them is this is not the case! They must stop sinning which is what he will plainly tell them later on. He tells them here that God makes a way of escaping temptation. You can so no and flee! Get out of there, out of the situation that has led you to be tempted! Being tempted is not a sin for Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan but he never sinned, and this same Jesus who overcame the enemy and his temptations, has defeated him, and he lives in us through the Holy Spirit! Go and sin no more!

The church at Corinth was filled with people who loved sin yet they had said “Yes!” to Jesus and Paul calls them holy. This entire letter is Paul answering questions for them that tries to correct their sinful choices as they continue to give into temptations. The believers in Corinth were very prideful and arrogant, they were products of their culture, yet they are full of the Holy Spirit and should have a change in their behavior that is opposite of their culture. They all believed they were in good standing with God even though they were living in sin so Paul tells them, “Take heed” or “Pay close attention...” because if you don’t, you are going to fall.