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The study of the Book of 1 Corinthians chapter 7
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we study the Book of 1 Corinthians chapter 7.
7:1, 2.Now concerning (Gr. peri de; see also v. 25; 8:1; 16:1, 12): This recurring formula indicates that Paul is dealing in turn with the issues the Corinthians had raised in their letter. Good (“morally good,” cf 9:15; Matt. 17:4): That the apostle does not intend to teach that marriage is morally wrong as compared with celibacy is clear from verses 2, 7, 9 and 26. See also Genesis 2:18; Romans 7:4; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:28-33; 1 Timothy 4:3.
7:6 Commandment: The apostle does not take sides with the extreme Jewish view that held that if was a sin if a man reached 20 without being married. Instead, he regards the matter as optional.
7:7 Myself: Paul wished his readers were content, not necessarily single. He himself was probably a widower. But that is not the point here. The point is that every man hath his proper gift of God (cf vv. 17, 20, 24 and 27). Both marriage and celibacy are gifts of the Holy Spirit.
7:10, 11 Not I, but the Lord: no doubt the apostle has in mind explicit instruction of our Lord recorded in Matthew 5:32; 19:3-9; Mark 10:2-12; Luke 16:18.
7:12, 13 Not the Lord: This is not to be taken as marking a contrast between inspired Scripture and what Paul is about to say. On the contrary, while on the earth the Lord explicity gave instructions about marriage and divorce. However, He did not make any special reference to the case of a mixed marriage. Thus it is incumbent on the apostle Paul, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to give additional instructions regarding this kind of situation.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
The study of the Book of 1 Corinthians chapter 6 part 2
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we study the Book of 1 Corinthians chapter 6 part 2.
6:13,14. Paul’s use of the pronoun us shows that his use of the term body goes beyond its normal usage to signify the whole man. (Note also it s connection with the second personal pronoun in verse 19.) On the destiny of the body, see also 15:15, 20, 35-56; Romans 8:11; 2 Corinthians 4:14; Philippians 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:14.
6:15,16. The verb joined is used in Genesis 2:24 of the relationship of husband and wife. It is also used of man’s relationship to God (Deut. 10:20; 11:22; Jer. 13:11).
6:17 One Spirit suggests the highest possible unity between the believer and the Lord. The sheep may wander from the shepherd, the branch may be cut off from the vine, the member may be severed from the body, the child alienated from the father, and even the wife from the husband, but when two spirits blend in one, nothing can part them.
6:18 The present tense of flee in Greek denotes standard procedure for Christians: “Always flee fornication” or “Make it your habit to flee fornication.”
6:19 Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost: Not only is the local church a temple of the Holy Spirit (cf 3:16), but the individual believer’s body itself also is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
6:20 Bought with a price: The blessed fact that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit has two sides: one, that He is ours; the other, that we are His. The believer was purchased on Golgotha’s hill. The price paid was the blood of God’s only Son (Acts 20:28). This has profound significance for the believer (cf 1 Tim. 4:10; 1 Pet. 2:9).
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
The study of the Book of 1 Corinthians chapter 6.
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we study the Book of 1 Corinthians chapter 6.
6:1 The terms unjust and saints are generic, referring to unbelievers in general as opposed to believers as a group. How incredible that the just should go before the unjust for justice!
6:2, 3 The saints shall judge the world: See Daniel 7:22; Matthew 19:28; Revelation 2:26; 3:21; 20:4. We shall judge angels: See Isaiah 24:21; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6.
6:4 Set them to judge who are least esteemed: In the Greek, this may be taken either as imperative or interrogative. If it is the former, Paul is being sarcastic: “If you are going to go to a civil court, you might just as well appoint your least qualified members as jurors.” If it is a question, it is emphatic, “Are you setting them to judge who are least esteemed (i.e., the heathen) in the church?” This would elicit expression of shock and surprise that they were doing such a thing. The latter seems more in keeping with the context.
6:9, 10 The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God: There were evidently some in the Christian assembly who had professed Christianity as a system of doctrine, but not as a rule of life. The apostle warns that this is a fatal mistake. Be not deceived: No one who can allow himself the indulgence of known sin in his life can be saved. This passage proves that Paul and James are in basic agreement. Both affirm that genuine faith produces good works (Ephesians 2:8-10), and that the absence of good works indicates the absence of saving faith (James 2:14-16).
6:12 Paul’s principles may be summarized in three words: Lawful, expedient, and power. The first is the principle of liberty. When Paul says “all things,” we cannot take this in an absolute sense. Obviously, what God forbids can never be allowed. Rather, it refers to those things about which the Scriptures are not explicit. Such matters are left to the Christian’s own judgment. The apostle is careful not to weaken the important doctrine of Christian liberty be leading these people back under Judaistic legalism. Rather, his intent is to circumscribe its application through proper restrictions. These are expressed in the principle of “expediency.” Not everything is beneficial. A second restriction is expressed in the words, I will not be brought under power of any. This is the principle of self-control. Certain forms of indulgence become wrong when they bring the person into bondage.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
The study of the Book of 1 Corinthians chapter 5
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we study the Book of 1 Corinthians chapter 5.
5:1 Have his father’s wife: One of the members of the church had taken his stepmother (Leviticus 18:8) and had married her (the expression to have a woman always means “to marry,”) Matthew 14:4; 22:28; 1 Corinthians 7:2, 29). Hence, this man’s crime is worse than adultery. It is incest.
5:3-8 Discipline in the early church was perhaps administered in the following manner. The congregation was called together, with an apostle presiding if available, and the person accused was arraigned before them. After the evidence had been heard, and the accused had given a defense of himself, the judgment of the congregation was pronounced. Paul, though absent in prison, yet pictures himself present and presiding in spirit, and he leaves them in no doubt concerning the proper verdict: the offense should be condemned and the offender excommunicated.
5:5 To deliver…unto Satan: Several observations must be made concerning this difficult and obscure passage. (1) It involved excommunication from the church (verse 2). (2) It involved the chastisement of the man. The reference seems to be to the destruction of the physical appetites that prompted this gross immorality. (3) Paul has the ultimate restoration of the offender in view, that the spirit may be saved. This last purpose shows that the phrase destruction of the flesh cannot mean that the person could be brought to death. God does not want him killed; He wants him restored.
5:6 A little leaven leaveneth the whole: No sin can be considered an isolated event. Just as with the sin of Achan (Joshua 7), the sin had to be purged, or else it would contaminate the whole lump. The stress is on the church as a unity.
5:7 Here the old leaven does not signify the sinful man as such, but evil of any kind. The background for this metaphor is Exodus 12:19 and 13:7. The larger scope of the apostle’s imagery here is that he sees Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Passover foreshadowed Christ’s vicarious death on behalf of mankind. He is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The Feast of Unleavened Bread accompanied the Passover. It involved a period of seven days during which no leaven was to be found in the homes of the Israelites. This was symbolic of the holy life that was to accompany partaking of the Paschal lamb.
5:8 Keep the feast (lit., “go on keeping”): Not surprisingly, the apostle uses the Passover as an illustration here. First Corinthians was written just before the Passover (16:8), and the celebration of the feast is on Paul’s mind.
5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle: This is the “previous epistle.” This letter is now lost, but we know that at least one subject discussed in this letter was that they were not to keep company with fornicators.
5:1 Not to keep company: The term translated “to keep company” is found only here, in verse 9, and in 2 Thessalonians 3:14. It is a compound of three Greek terms, and means “to mingle together with.” It has the idea of close, habitual association.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
My subject today is the Birth of Christ. According to the Book of Luke chapter 9, verse 58 Jesus said unto him "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hast no where to lay his head."
As I reflect on the Word of God, one particular passage of Scripture found in the Book of Genesis, that God created the heaven and earth, and the earth without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, etc. (Genesis chapter 1)
We know that when God created the heavens and the earth, Christ was there. When He made man, and said "Let us make man in our image, and after our likeness," Christ was there. But through sin, man lost dominion over the earth, and satan took over. Murder entered into the world, adultery, fornication, lying, and all manner of rebellion against God.
God said "We must redeem man," and He began to look to see where Christ could be born. He looked among the prophets, He looked among the kings of the earth, and there was none without sin. God took a virgin and endowed her with the Spirit of the Living God, and she brought forth the Manchild. The Bible tells that there was no room in the inn for Christ to be born, even today there is no room for Christ to be born among men. Only, those that are endowed with the Spirit of the Living God will Christ be born. He is not born in the politicians, He is not born in the bureaucrats, He is not born in every doctor, or every lawyer, or every judge, or every fireman, teacher, preacher, etc. Christ is born into every sinner that repents and by His grace are we saved.
We need to stop fooling ourselves, everyone that cries "Lord, Lord" is not of God. Has Christ been born in your heart?
Think about it.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Discovered Being Ministry, Incorporated cordially invites you to be with us as Bishop William B. Caractor brings the Sacred Message at the Men's Day Service on October 11, 2009 at 4:30 pm. The service will be held at New Jerusalem Church of Christ located at 904 Nassau Road, Uniondale, New York 11553.
On October 25, 26, and 27, 2009, Discovered Being Ministry, Incorporated will hold its Fall Revival. The guest speaker will be the Reverend Robert Butler from Bethlehem Baptist Church located in Edgefield, South Carolina. The service will begin Sunday the 25th at 4:30 pm. The 26th and 27th, the service will begin at 7:30 pm. The revival will be held at New Jerusalem Church of Christ located at 904 Nassau Road, Uniondale, New York 11553, where Elder Ada V. Jones is the Host Pastor.
We are looking for God to richly Bless us throughout these services. If you are unable to attend, please send a donation to enhance the work of God.
For driving directions, visit www.mapquest.com.
May God Bless you.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we will study the Book of 1 Corinthians chapter 5
5:1 Have his father’s wife: One of the members of the church had taken his stepmother (cf. Lev. 18:8) and had married her (the expression to have a woman always means “to marry,” cf. Matt. 14:4, 22:28; 1 Cor 7:2, 29). Hence, this man’s crime is worse than adultery. It is incest.
5:3-8 Discipline in the early church was perhaps administered in the following manner. The congregation was called together, with an apostle presiding if available, and the person accused was arraigned before them. After the evidence had been heard, and the accused had given a defense of himself, the judgment of the congregation was pronounced. Paul, though absent in person, yet pictures himself present and presiding in spirit, and he leaves them in no doubt concerning the proper verdict: the offense should be condemned and the offender excommunicated.
5:5 To deliver…unto Satan: Several observations must be made concerning this difficult and obscure passage. (1) It involved excommunication from the church (v.2). (2) It involved the chastisement of the man. The reference seems to be to the destruction of the physical appetites that prompted this gross immorality. (3) Paul has the ultimate restoration of the offender in view, that the spirit may be saved. This last purpose shows that the phrase destruction of the flesh cannot mean that the person could be brought to death. God does not want him killed; He wants him restored (cf Matt 18:15, 2 Cor. 2:1-11; Gal. 6:1).
5:6 A little leaven leaveneth the whole: No sin can be considered an isolated event. Just was with the sin of Achan (Josh. 7), the sin had to be purged, or else it would contaminate the whole lump. The stress is on the church as a unity.
5:7 Here the old leaven does not signify the sinful man as such, but evil of any kind. The background for this metaphor is Exodus 12:19 and 13:7. The larger scope of the apostle’s imagery here is that he sees Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Passover foreshadowed Christ’s vicarious death on behalf of mankind. He is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away this sin of the world” (John 1:29). The Feast of Unleavened Bread accompanied the Passover. It involved a period of seven days during which no leaven was to be found in the homes of the Israelites. This was symbolic of the holy life that was to accompany partaking of the a Paschal lamb.
5:8 Keep the feast (lit., “go on keeping”). Not surprisingly, the apostle uses Passover as an illustration here. First Corinthians was written just before the Passover (cf. 16:8), and the celebration of the feast is on Paul’s mind.
5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle: This is the “previous epistle.” This letter is now lost, but we know that at least one subject discussed in this letter was that they were not to keep company with fornicators.
5:11 Not to keep company: The term translated “to keep company” is found only here, in verse 9, and in 2 Thessalonians 3:14. It is a compound of three Greek terms, and means “to mingle together with.” It has the idea of close, habitual association.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we study the Book of 1 Corinthians chapter 4.
4:1, 2 Ministers (lit., "a subordinate," or "servant"): This term is used only here in Paul's epistles. It differs from the word translated "ministers" in 3:5 in that it has the idea of an attendant or helper who assists a master. The apostle or minister of Christ is simply an attendant of Christ. He takes orders and executes them.
4:4 I know nothing by myself (lit., "I know nothing against myself"). This sort of total commitment gave Paul the authority to make such a statement as "be ye followers of me" (1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1).
4:6 Not to think...above that which is written is a proverbial expression. Paul is telling the Corinthians not to go beyond Scripture. In other words, learn to live by the Book, and stop following men.
4:9 Spectacle (Greek theatron, lit., "a theater"): The apostles were like exhibits in a sideshow. Notice the verb form of this term in Hebrews 10:33.
4:10-13 We are fools for Christ's sake [lit., "on account of Christ"], but ye are wise: The apostles are considered fools because they knew and preached nothing but Christ. On the other hand, the Corinthians used their Christianity as another philosophy to extend their reputation as wise and enlightened people.
4:15 I have begotten you: I is emphatic, producing the thought, "I--rather than your ten thousand instructors--am responsible for the beginning of the Christian assembly." The term begot does not not so much denote the conversion of these people, but that Paul laid the foundation (3:10). Through the gospel: Their salvation was not through the power of Paul's personality, or through his sagacity, but through the gospel of Christ and Him crucified (2:1-5).
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we study the Book of Corinthians chapter 3.
3:1-3 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: In the case of newborn babies, this would be natural and to be expected (1 Peter 2:2). But it is embarrassing at this stage in their development. Milk figuratively stands for elementary Christian instruction, and meat refers to advanced doctrine. Carnal (lit., "fleshly"): The warfare between the flesh and the spirit receives continual emphasis in Paul's writings (Romans 7:14-8:13; Galatians 5:17). The factions that have destroyed the unity in Corinth indicate that these believers were not walking by the Spirit, but were allowing the flesh to direct their behavior.
3:4 Carnal: A number of early manuscripts read "men." In such a case, Paul is saying, "Are you not mere men?"
3:8, 9 We are laborers together with God (lit., "God's fellow workers") is the key to this chapter. This, in effect, restates the phrase in verse 8, he that planteth and he that watereth are one.
3:13 The day is the day of the judgment seat of Christ (4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Fire is figurative for judgment, more specifically, the absolutely righteous judgment of God. Fire is used here to denote, not enlightening power, but consuming power. Of the six types of material mentioned, three are combustible and three are incombustible. See also Deuteronomy 4:24; Malachi 3:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Hebrews 12:29.
3:14 Reward (lit., "wages," 3:8): Of course, even the "wages" mentioned here are entirely a gift of grace ( 1 Corinthians 9:17; 2 John 8; Revelation 11:18).
3:15 Saved: Such a one does not suffer the loss of his salvation, but the loss of reward. The stress in this entire passage in not on a person's relationship to Christ, but on service to Christ.
3:16 Temple of God: The temple here is the local church, not the individual believer (2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:21). But see the note on 6:19.
3:17 Destroy is a stronger expression than "suffer loss" (verse 15). Paul seems to have in mind unsaved people who may or may not be in the assembly, but who are in fact false believers. The prospect for such a one is fearful.
3:21, 22 For all things are yours: The one who belongs to Christ is a child of God, and his Father will do anything for him. The absurdity of their division over allegiances to any of these men is that God gave them "all" to the Corinthians.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we will continue to study the Book of 1 Corinthians chapter 2 part 2.
2:13 Comparing spiritual things with spiritual: the term comparing occurs only here and in 2 Corinthians 10:12 where the meaning is clearly “compare.” However, in classical Greek the term was always used in a sense of “to compound” or “to interpret.” Probably the most satisfactory interpretation is “combining spiritual things with spiritual words.” After speaking of spiritual “things,” (vv 11-13), Paul now speaks of the “forms” in which they are conveyed. Spiritual truth is conveyed in language that is given by God’s Spirit.
2:14 Natural man (lit. “unspiritual man”) is unreceptive. He does not admit the truth into his heart (cf. Luke 8:13; Acts 8:14; 11:1; James 1:21). As spiritual discernment is generated only by the Holy Spirit, the capacity to know spiritual truth is beyond the innate powers of the natural man. Spiritually discerned: The fundamental idea of discerned is that of “examination” or “scrutiny.” It is used only by Paul and Luke, and mostly of “judicial examination” (cf. Luke 23:14; Acts 4:9; 1 Cor. 9:3; 10:25, 27). On the spiritual plane, the natural man does not have the ability to sift the facts.
2:15 The difference between the natural man and the spiritual man is primarily that the spiritual man has founded his faith on God’s revelation. He can judge now both earthly and heavenly things. He can discern what is and what is not of the gospel and salvation, and whether a man truly preaches the truth of God.
2:16 We have the mind of Christ means that Christians possess the Lord’s own understanding, that is, His thoughts, opinions, judgments, plans, and so on. This answers the question that Paul puts in the same verse, Who hath know the mind of the Lord? The answer is, “We do!” The term we includes the apostle Paul and to some extent all true believers, though believers today are prudent to acknowledge the superiority of apostolic insight into spiritual matters to that of their own.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
