A very curious verse
1) One of the strangest verses in the book of First Corinthians is 1 Cor. 11:19.
2) This verse occurs just prior to Paul’s discussion about the Lord's Supper.
3) We have been asked to keep this passage so let’s read it now – READ.
4) One of the first words that stands out is the word “ must.”
a) This term has the sense of a “logical necessity.”
b) If we want to create a triangle, it must have three sides.
c) We cannot have a two sided triangle.
d) This is the force of the thought in 1 Cor. 11:19; Paul said something absolutely must exist.
5) What is the subject under consideration in this verse?
6) The subject occurs in the first part of the text: “factions” (division, differences, dissension).
7) The church at Corinth was dived in various ways.
8) The church was split due to personality conflict. There were also doctrinal differences.
a) The word “faction” or “heresy” has been well defined by various sources.
b) One author says it means “dissensions arising from diversity of opinions and aims” (Thayer).
c) Another says it denotes “obstinate persistence in self-opinionated views contrary to revealed truth.”
9) Both these definitions may be simplified to say this:
10) God allows religious differences to exist for a reason.
11) This reason is at the end of verse 19: That the “approved” the saved) might be “made manifest.”
a) God allows truth and error to exist because these two items separate people.
b) Right and wrong doctrine are, as it were, a type of test to determine who should be saved and who should not.
c) At Corinth, this principle was used within the local congregation.
d) Diversity existed in this congregation to separate people into one category or another.
e) 1 Cor. 11:19 deals with the church on its most basic level (an individual congregation).
12) That is a startling truth.
13) If truth and error is a means of division in the local church, what about the world in general?
14) If God uses this technique with the lesser, we would expect Him to use it with the greater.
15) Jesus once spoke about how the truth “frees” people.
16) If the truth frees people and folks do not take and embrace this freeing truth, they are shackled.
17) At Corinth Christians had to determine if they would follow the factions or Christ.
18) They had to determine if they would follow the moral error in 1 Cor. 5 or the Lord.
19) A decision had to be made about doctrinal issues such as the Lord's Supper in 1 Cor. 11.
20) What people chose helped identify who was on the side of right and who was on the side of wrong.
IN THIS SINGLE VERSE PAUL TAGUTH A POINT THAT IS EXPRESSED ELSEWHERE IN THE New Testament: GOD IS A GOD WHO BELIEVES IN THE SEPARATION OF PEOPLE. IN SOME CASES THIS SEPARATION IS BASED UPON MATTERS OF DOCTRINE. MANY SAY THAT DOCTRINE IS NOT IMPORTANT (IT DOES NOT MATTER), BUT GOD SAYS IT IS SO IMPORTANT IT DIVIDES PEOPLE INTO EITHER THE SIDE OF THE SAVED OR THE SIDE OF THE LOST.
a) I remember a grandmother who seemed to have a favorite Bible verse.
b) When she was around her grandchildren she quoted this passage again and again.
c) If her grandchildren knew no other verse, they knew this one—1 Cor. 15:33.
d) This verse says, “be not deceived, evil companionships corrupt good morals.”
e) What Paul said has been applied to about everything we can imagine.
f) 1 Cor. 15:33 has been used to condemn drinking parties and even joining gangs.
g) There is a context to this passage just like any other Bible verse.
2) The context goes back to verse 12 where Paul said “some among you.”
3) There were Corinthians who were denying the future resurrection.
4) This was a doctrinal error. If someone says there is no future resurrection they are telling a lie.
5) Paul told the Corinthians this was an error and he added, “do not be deceived.”
6) In 1 Cor. 15:33 “deceived” means “do not be careless and inattentive about sound doctrine.”
7) Paul told the Corinthians, “Get out the Word of God and get the truth on this point.”
8) “Do not be led astray by any error” and false teachers.”
9) Not only did the Corinthians need to know what the truth was, something else was required.
a) Paul said there are “evil companionships.”
b) If you have the KJV verse 33 says “communications” and this sounds like speech.
c) The precise thought is found in the ASV; friends, associates, the people with whom we associate.
d) Paul said that having contact with the wrong folks does something; it creates a consequence.
e) The evil in the context is not drinking parties and drug use.
f) The primary meaning of the text relates to people who taught spiritual information that was false.
g) Today we speak of someone having a “bad influence” on someone.
h) This is what the apostle meant.
i) Associating with false teachers will “corrupt good manners” (KJV).
j) In the ASV the word “morals” is used.
k) “Morals” does not have the typical sense that we associate with it.
l) Instead of corrupting one’s personal morality, the corruption is doctrinal defilement.
m) A person who has the truth can and will be negatively affected by someone who does not.
10) We have seen young people with good morals “fall into the wrong crowd.”
11) Again and again we have seen young people swept out into the ocean of sin.
12) God says the same thing can and does happen in the spiritual realm.
13) If we expose ourselves to doctrinal error like a young person exposes himself to sin, we are in danger.
14) As people get sucked into the world, we can be taken into spiritual apostasy.
15) We can be sucked in just as easily and quickly as the world will grab a decent young person.
a) “Corrupt” in 1 Cor. 15:33 is a verb, and it is a present tense verb.
b) It reminds us of a young person who goes to his or her first party.
c) That first party might not corrupt the young person.
d) Then there is a second, a third, a fourth, and finally that on-going process is the way he goes.
e) A person can follow this same process in regard to doctrinal error.
f) They expose themselves a time or two and do not feel affected.
g) A third time comes, a fourth time comes, and then there are times 5, 6, 7, and 8.
h) By now things do not look all that bad so soon truth has been exchanged for error.
i) In the church we have examples of preachers who have done this.
j) There have been cases where elders and deacons have fallen prey to it.
k) We have lost Bible class teachers and a whole host of others.
l) A failure to separate oneself from spiritual error often leads people into error.
A MESSAGE FROM 1 COR. 11 AND 1 COR. 15 IS THIS: BE AWARE OF DOCTRINAL ERROR AND BE SEPARATE FROM IT. IDENTIFY IT AND STAY AWAY FROM IT.
a) If we do not do this, we will not be saved.
b) Someone may say, “that is pretty bold; how can you say that type of thing?”
c) We may say this with all boldness because of what the Bible teaches.
d) Jesus said He is the “truth” (Jn. 14:6); Jesus did not say He is “the error.”
e) Jesus said truth “frees us” – what does error do?
f) Jesus said lying (and this includes false ways) is from Satan, Jn. 8:44.
2) In Eph. 5:27 there is a prediction.
3) Paul said Christ will one day “present the church to Himself.”
4) This passages makes sense because this same book says Christ is the head of the church.
5) In the opening words of Ephesians (1:22-23), Christ is put at the front of the church as its head.
6) The church Christ will present to Himself will be “holy” (Eph. 5:27).
7) It will, according to the apostle, be “without spot, have no wrinkle, blemish or any such thing.”
8) Error defiles and destroys. It does all the things that Christ said His church cannot have.
9) Error and false ways are described in 1 Cor. 11:19 as a means of identifying who should be lost.
10) When Christ comes, He will be coming for those who found and clung to the truth.
a) The apostle John understood this point and he commented about it.
b) In Jn. 4:1 the apostle said “believe not every spirit.”
c) Paul spoke about not associating with error and John added to the thought.
d) John said just because someone teaches something, do not accept it as true.
e) Rather than just accept what some say, “prove the spirits.”
f) Stated another way, “check out the information and see if it is accurate.”
11) Why do that John? An answer is given at the end of the first verse.
12) 1b says, “because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
13) Error was in the world and that was a concern to John. Error still exists and it should concern us.
14) Why be worried about false teaching? Because we are to separate ourselves from it.
15) At the end of verse 6 in 1 Jn. 1 John spoke of the “spirit of truth” and the “spirit of error.”
a) There are only two ways.
b) In life we may hear about “half truths.”
c) Sometimes a half truth may hurt and sometimes it may not.
d) In the spiritual realm, there is no eternal value in half truths.
e) Yet, this is the way that most of the religious world operates and thinks.
16) Rather than speak about truth and error, most suggest something like, “we agree on the basics.”
17) Lots of religious people think if they have just part of the truth that is good enough.
18) Folks, the “basic information” we need is truth; the gospel as God has given it.
19) When people are not involved with the truth, we are to avoid them.
a) If our brethren choose to not stay with the truth, we avoid them.
b) We have no business fellowshipping any religious group that does not abide by the truth.
c) Two passages in this regard stand out as much as any others in the New Testament.
d) These verses are found in Rom. 16 and Mt. 15.
e) In Rom. 16 we have a large number of people listed.
f) To all these people Paul sent various greetings.
g) This section of the letter might be viewed as “very friendly.”
h) Then the apostle thought about some people who were not on good terms with him.
i) Paul did not hate anyone, but he knew some people were not teaching the truth.
j) It appears these people were somehow tied in with New Testament Christianity.
k) Here is what he said in verses 16-17 – READ.
l) The word “mark” has the sense of “note/identify/mark someone.
m) These were people involved with doctrinal error and Paul said “turn away from them.”
20) This is pretty specific. This is not a hard passage to understand.
21) Jesus was even more to the point in Mt. 15.
a) Jesus spoke of incorrect religious practices in this chapter.
b) He made his point very strongly and perhaps even dramatically.
c) All we want to call attention to consists of three very simple words.
d) These words are in verse 14 – READ.
22) Let them alone. In the NIV the text reduces the thought to two words “leave them.”
23) Our world says “fellowship religious people; develop relationships.”
24) Jesus Christ, the Son of God, said, “leave them alone.”
25) When people are not willing to believe and practice the truth, let them be.
26) If people are involved in religious error and they want to persist in it, we have no religious dealings w/them.
27) If we do not do that, we will not be part of that spotless church described in Eph. 5:27.
28) How can we flirt with and accept doctrinal error when the God who calls us is a God of truth?
29) Separation in this regard is not popular. Most will say it sounds harsh and radical.
30) Jesus said if we love Him we will obey Him. Jesus said concerning religious error, leave it alone.
31) Do we love the Lord enough to obey this commandment and all others?