204
The Acts of the Apostles
instruction. Even though injustice may have been done, the follower of
the meek and lowly Jesus will suffer himself “to be defrauded” rather
than open before the world the sins of his brethren in the church.
Lawsuits between brethren are a reproach to the cause of truth.
Christians who go to law with one another expose the church to the
ridicule of her enemies and cause the powers of darkness to triumph.
They are wounding Christ afresh and putting Him to open shame. By
ignoring the authority of the church, they show contempt for God, who
gave to the church its authority.
In this letter to the Corinthians Paul endeavored to show them
Christ’s power to keep them from evil. He knew that if they would
comply with the conditions laid down, they would be strong in the
strength of the Mighty One. As a means of helping them to break away
from the thralldom of sin and to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord,
Paul urged upon them the claims of Him to whom they had dedicated
their lives at the time of their conversion. “Ye are Christ’s,” he declared.
“Ye are not your own.... Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify
God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
The apostle plainly outlined the result of turning from a life of
purity and holiness to the corrupt practices of heathenism. “Be not
deceived,” he wrote; “neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
... nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extor-
tioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” He begged them to control
[307]
the lower passions and appetites. “Know ye not,” he asked, “that your
body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have
of God?”
While Paul possessed high intellectual endowments, his life re-
vealed the power of a rarer wisdom, which gave him quickness of
insight and sympathy of heart, and brought him into close touch with
others, enabling him to arouse their better nature and inspire them to
strive for a higher life. His heart was filled with an earnest love for the
Corinthian believers. He longed to see them revealing an inward piety
that would fortify them against temptation. He knew that at every step
in the Christian pathway they would be opposed by the synagogue
of Satan and that they would have to engage in conflicts daily. They
would have to guard against the stealthy approach of the enemy, forc-
ing back old habits and natural inclinations, and ever watching unto
prayer. Paul knew that the higher Christian attainments can be reached