Unity in the Church Sexual Immorality The city of Corinth had a real issue with sexual immortality. The bible tells us that "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and the kind of sexual immorality that is not even tolerated among the Gentiles— a man is sleeping with his father's wife" (1 Cor. 5:1, Christian Standard Bible). Paul was astonished to get a report of incestual acts and went as far as to say that even the Gentiles would not tolerate such actions. The church was in trouble, and "this lack of concern for the church seems to have permeated the Corinthians, and appears as a unifying theme throughout the entire letter" (Pratt & Anders, 2005). Sleeping with their father's wife was not the only sexual immortality seen in Corinth. In the next chapter, Paul begins to address prostitution. Paul appears to some degree, angry as he reprimands the church, reminding them that their bodies were members of Christ. 1 Cor. 6:15 is worded in many ways throughout several translations I looked at. The one translation that caught my attention on the wording was the Christian Standard Bible (CSB). The last two words in verse 15 are simple "[…] Absolutely not!" (1 Cor. 6:15). Paul had every right to be angry at how the church of Corinth was acting. In verse 18, Paul tells the church to "Flee sexual immorality! […]" (1 Cor. 6:18). The use of the exclamation points drives home his feelings towards what he has heard. 1 Corinthians 5:5 offers the resolution that Paul recommends for the issues of sexual immorality. One thing I have noticed is that commentaries disagree on the meaning of this verse vastly at times. Some feel this entails ex-communication with the church. Some believe delivering the person to Satan would cause a true believer pain and suffering to the point of repentance. Some went as far as to say that the Apostles back then had a special gift or power to deliver people to Satan. I would hate to see humanity today if that power still existed, or possibly, we would be living in a much more harmonious society. My interpretation agrees with ex-communication. Once excommunicated, the person or persons would have time to reflect on their transgressions. If they were devout believers in Christ, they would feel the call to repent. Once true repentance had happened the church would welcome the person back with open arms. However, to even keep from getting into that position, the members should just follow Joseph's lead and flee. Lawsuits amongst the believers             The people of Corinth were bringing lawsuits against one another. Paul called the courts "unrighteous.", I have seen the courts called pagan and merely secular. Paul was not happy once again with the church in Corinth. Paul intentionally seeks out to bring shame to them in verse five of chapter six. "I say this to your shame! Can it be that there is not one wise person among you who is able to arbitrate between fellow believers" (1 Cor. 6:5)? Paul's ultimate goal was not to bring shame to the members of the church, but he wanted them to think things through and change their behavior and their perceptions (Pratt & Anders, 2005). Paul had little to say about litigation amongst brothers and sisters, but the little he did say was said with conviction and power. The solution that Paul offers is simple, accept the wrong or the cheat instead of wronging a person back. The old adage two wrongs don't make a right holds true with Paul's solution.   Pride and Arrogance             The sexual immorality, the lawsuits against one another, the several other issues Paul addressed in the book of 1 Corinthians, can all come back to one issue. "The Corinthians had departed from Paul's instruction, apparently because ideas current in their own social setting appeared to make better sense" (Elwell & Yarbrough, 2013, p.274). It appears that the people of Corinth had a pride issue or an arrogance issue. They didn't need to do things how an outsider instructed them to do things. Paul informs the people of Corinth to hold on to the gospel message that he had brought to them. By continuing to believe they will be saved unless they believed in vain. Paul is reminding them of the resurrection story and getting their heads straight. In Chapter 16, Paul lets the church of Corinth know that he will be coming to visit and spend some time. Almost to say, have things right when I get there. Separation in Churches Today             Today's church has separation in a multitude of ways. In my experience, politics have always been a driving force of church separation. The most significant issues I see coming about are issues that revolve around homosexuality, should we marry them or not, should we love them or not. The Brethren Church is on the verge of a massive split due to this very subject. The idea of women in a leadership role causes issues and separation. I personally left the church for numerous years, and the reason why was due to judgment and condemnation. I watched a pastor stand in the pulpit and call a member of the congregation out and judge and condemn them to hell right there in the middle of his service. This was in 1992 or so, just the other day I was speaking with a close friend in whom I had fallen away from and she had a similar story. She was accosted by this pastor, and he told her she was going to burn in hell because she was getting a divorce (from an abusive man).     References Elwell, W. A., & Yarbrough, R. W. (2013). Encountering the New Testament: A historical and theological survey (3rd ed). Baker Academic. Pratt, R. L., & Anders, M. (2005). Holman New Testament commentary: NIV based. Vol. 7: I & II Corinthians (Nachdr.). Holman Reference.