Seekers for Jesus: 3rd Quarter 2014

By D. B. Jones

Seekers for Jesus is a quarterly written especially for young people ages 12-14. In addition to introductory material and biblical exposition, each lesson contains a section to help students apply the lesson to life. Questions are interjected to gauge the student’s understanding of the presentation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Apr 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781589428386

Book preview

YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Background Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 6:12—7:9

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WORD UP!

lesson exposition

In the Mix

SIDELINE QUESTION: How do your decisions affect others?

TODAY’S LESSON

Have you ever read a letter or note that was intended for someone else? Did you understand it? In order to understand someone else’s mail, it helps to know the writer, the recipient, and the background of whatever was written within the letter.

Reading the letters to the Corinthians is no different. Knowing about Paul helps us to know what he might say to Christians. Knowing something about the church in Corinth also helps. While we have some good information about Paul—about his upbringing and background as a scholar in the Law, about his dramatic conversion, and about his mission to preach the Gospel to Gentiles—most of what we know about the Corinthians comes from history and from Paul’s letters themselves. The way Paul writes to the Corinthians, who were mostly Gentiles, is different at times from how he might write to a group of Jews.

This background is good to keep in mind for the first nine lessons of this quarter. Consider as you read the verses each week: what was going on in Corinth? What did Paul think the problem was? How did Paul want to see the church react to the problem? How do Paul’s answers help the church become more Christlike?

I. A Corinthian Proverb (1 Corinthians 6:12-14)

Paul begins this section by quoting a proverb that the Corinthians themselves might have taken as biblical truth: ‘All things are lawful for me’ (1 Cor. 6:12, NRSV). The Christians in Corinth were familiar with certain parts of Paul’s teaching, especially when he said that food was not unclean on its own and that circumcision was not necessary for Gentile believers. From these truths that Paul taught, the Corinthians assumed that they could do whatever they wanted with their bodies.

The Corinthians were probably also heavily influenced by many different philosophies. Some of these philosophies considered the body as of no importance. Because of this, what was done with the body was not considered important. Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians about this assert how seriously God takes people as embodied beings. We are not mere spirits, and God does not treat us as only spirits.

God’s concern for our bodies is seen especially in Jesus’ resurrection. He was not raised from the dead as a spirit or a ghost. Instead, Jesus was raised in His body. This is why Paul says that our very bodies belong to God. He cares about what we do with our bodies, so we should not engage in sins that are harmful to our bodies. It matters what food we eat, if we hurt ourselves or others, and all other sorts of