Paul begins addressing a serious issue in the Corinthian church - a man who has carried on an adulterous relationship with his step-mother. Rather than deal with this grievous sin, the church had taken no action, choosing to celebrate their tolerance. Paul has no desire for tolerance concerning sin! He commands the church to deal with sin as the serious and sobering offense against God that it is. This church member needed to demonstrate with his life that God had made a difference. In this specific area, God's glory was not being seen and he needed to bring his actions in line with God's commands.
Others in the church were using the state legal system to resolve their conflicts with one another. Paul was aghast; certainly those who have experienced God's reconciliation should be able to mirror that grace and mercy to others. Just because they could use the legal system does not mean that they should have been using it for those purposes.
Paul addresses marriage issues within the church. Those who were married were to stay married; those who were single and happy to be so should stay single; those who were single and wanting to marry should marry. God has called each person to their marital status and each should rejoice in that without making those of other marital statuses feel lesser.
The matter of conscience is also addressed. Matters in which differing opinions exist should be handled in such a way that neither side becomes a distraction to the character development of the other.
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