“United Through Christ, Bound to Each Other” Lesson Three

Lesson Three: Freedom in Christ

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 5–6

I wonder, which part of Lesson Three’s scripture provoked the greatest reaction from you?

Did you wish you knew more of the story behind the man who was allegedly living with his father’s wife? Or maybe, about the people who reported him to Paul? Do you think they sincerely believed they had his best interests at heart, or do you suspect this report was one more installment in a long-running feud?

What about the Corinthian Christians who were suing fellow members of their congregation? Did their actions strike you as egregious, or was it Paul’s condemnation of these lawsuits that surprised you?

Maybe the “vice list” in the letter’s sixth chapter caught your attention. Maybe it sounded familiar from twentieth- and twenty-first-century church debates about sexuality. Maybe it offended you personally. Maybe you heard something new in it, something that led you to consider which behaviors might or might not keep someone from “inheriting the kingdom of God,” as Paul says.

Different members of your group will likely have different responses. Regardless of which passage from today’s lesson made the deepest impression on you, I suspect we can all agree that, to better understand chapters five and six of this letter, you and I have to try to put ourselves in the place of the first-century Corinthian church. We need to try to understand what Paul is teaching them in their own context—which is so different from our own in many ways. And then, as is always the case when studying the Bible, you and I need to try to figure out what gospel truth is contained within these words, and how to embody it in our own lives.

A common thread I see in Paul’s rebukes of his friends in Corinth, in this part of the letter, is his implicit warning against abusing one’s power. For example, Paul has a problem with some Christians suing other Christians. In his context, only wealthy people could afford to argue their case before the courts. If a wealthy sibling in Christ sued a poorer one, they would be taking advantage of their class priviledge.

Just as much of a problem for Paul, I think, was the fact that these courts were pagan by definition. For Paul, it was unthinkable that a person who had been united with Jesus Christ and with all other believers through their baptism, would appeal to a court system that was based in a pagan religion and imperial politics.

Today, you and I live with a different reality. Sometimes, secular courts can play a helpful role in holding Christians accountable for how they treat other people, including fellow Christians. For example, we have seen this dynamic in lawsuits holding Christian leaders accountable for sexual abuse. This means that specific instructions about how to live faithfully in the first century might not be valid in our own time—or not in every case, anyway.

One takeaway for me is that when Christians are discerning which actions to take, we should consider the power dynamics involved. I might ask myself, whom might my various possible courses of action affect, and how? Am I in danger of exploiting someone without realizing it? What are my options? If none of them is purely harmless, which is the least harmful? Have I fallen into habits that I now feel called to change, since I’ve become more aware of the power dynamics involved?

Whom can I ask to help me sort through these questions? Who might help me pray for guidance?

I think those last two questions are especially important. Disciples of Jesus Christ have been trying, together, to figure out how to live faithfully since even before Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. The Corinthians debated together about what faithful actions—a recognizably Christian life—might look like. They sought Paul’s advice because he had taught them the faith and because he had been practicing it longer. Even when they didn’t like what Paul had to say, they knew his words were worth considering. You and I still need each other, fellow members of the body of Christ, to help us discern how to live lives that reflect Christ’s saving, healing love.

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This blog is the third in a series of nine blogs.

United Through Christ, Bound to Each Other is the Presbyterian Women in the PC(USA), Inc. Bible study for 2026–2027. Go to presbyterianwomen.org/bible-study/united to find more resources and copies for you and your group to study along with us. Call 800/533-4371 or order online.