Paul’s Use of the Law in 1 Corinthians 9

Many of us view God’s Law as something harsh and terrible. Our minds have become blinded to the truth because we have listened to teachers who have not understood God’s Law. We ourselves have failed to correctly apprehend this doctrine from our own faithful study of God’s Word. Thus we became convinced that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ meant an end to all application of God’s Law. We, like so many others, have believed a lie. Thus Paul, speaking by the Holy Spirit’s knowledge of this future heresy, presents us with doctrinal truth concerning God’s Law as a premier example of “food sacrificed to idols” (God’s truth sacrificed to the idols of our heart)

In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul applies specific Old Testament laws to particular New Testament circumstances. Be sure to review 1 Corinthians 9 again to see this. He applies the Law to New Testament doctrine. The Law clearly, then, does not end in Jesus. Rather, it reaches its goal, or fulfillment, in Jesus. Most of us have, for some reason, never realized nor understood this. Our minds have been blinded to the truth of what Paul does in this chapter because we have eaten food sacrificed to idols all of our lives. We have believed the doctrine of demons that says, “adherence to and/or application of God’s Law is legalism and to be avoided by the devout Christian,” or “the Law is symbolized by the Genesis Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and is, therefore, an evil thing that Christians should avoid at all costs.” Paul’s many writings, including his application of the Law here, conclusively prove the grievous error of such common views.

Here Paul takes two specific Old Testament laws and applies the principle of each to a New Testament matter. First he uses the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” to teach that ministers of the gospel should be paid in the natural for their spiritual work. (vss. 7-11) Second he shows that the law which provided food from sacrifices to the Levite priests establishes the principle that “those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.” (vs. 13-14) These two examples alone conclusively prove that Old Testament laws still apply during New Testament times. We do, however, need to seek God’s wisdom concerning their applications because often we would be in error if we simply started doing them in some vain attempt to show God that we really love him.

In verses 19 to 22 Paul declares that he is even willing to live under Old Covenant ceremonial practices if it will help to win Jews to Christ. He also says that he is willing to live without any of these if it will help win the Gentile. He makes it clear, however, that although he may live as a Gentile “without the law,” he never lives as one “without law toward God,” but always lives “under law toward Christ.” (vs. 21) The meaning of this phrase has become another one of God’s many mysteries in these latter days.

Paul’s Advice to Timothy Concerning the Law

{1} Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, {2} To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. {3} As I urged you when I went into Macedonia; remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, {4} nor give heed to fables and endless \genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. {5} Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, {6} from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, {7} desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. {8} But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, {9} knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, {10} for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, {11} according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. (1 Tim 1:1-11)

Paul begins his first letter to this true son, Timothy, with a command to teach “no other doctrine” than that explained to him by Paul himself. He begins his explanation of this doctrine with the purpose or goal of the gospel and the Law. The goal of the “commandment” or gospel is love. This Godly love proceeds from “a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith.” This corresponds to what we know to be the greatest commands given by Christ, (1) to love God and (2) to love men. Jesus tells us that all of the Law and the prophets are summed up in these two commands. (Mat. 22:37-40) Since these two commands “sum up” the Law, this means that the two commands are defined by the Law and the prophets. Otherwise the phrases “love God” and “love men” have no meaning. We simply could not know what “love” means without the instructions of the rest of the Bible.

In this passage Paul tells Timothy exactly who is under the Law. He lists fourteen specific sins and then adds the sin of “any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.” First, see that each of these listed sins constitutes what Paul calls “sound doctrine.” Thus he is defining sound doctrine as teaching that corresponds to the truth found in God’s Law. Paul tells Timothy that the Law is for every single person who commits any of the fourteen specific acts he mentions and for anything else a person does that is contrary to sound doctrine. Paul, therefore, teaches that if any Christian commits any of these fourteen acts or any other sin that is contrary to sound doctrine, then the Law is for that Christian. According to Galatians, the Law will then act as a tutor to lead one back to Christ and a Spirit-led life.

Understanding the Book of Galatians

 But, how can the Law still be relevant? Is it not true that Galatians says, “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:2-3)

Thus we see that the Law never does make us perfect. Why, then, is it still important? Galatians answers all these questions. First, we see that the Law “was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Gal. 3:24) Proper teaching of God’s Law brings an unbeliever (including unbelieving Christians) into the knowledge that he has sinned by breaking God’s Law. This leads him to seek forgiveness by believing in the work of Christ which brings him justification by faith. This is the way that anyone becomes a Christian. The Holy Spirit in His grace convicts a man of sin and then gives him the faith to believe that Jesus atoned for that sin. See Ephesians 2:8.

The problem with most Christians, however, is that they do not perfectly hear the Holy Spirit after they first believe and, therefore, are not led by the Spirit. Paul tells us a little later in Galatians that “if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Gal. 5:18) This directly implies that if one is not led by the Spirit, then he comes back under the Law. We need simply look to our own lives and the sins that we have committed and then been convicted of by the Holy Spirit and we will see this is true. The working of the Law and the conviction of the Holy Spirit in the life of a sinning Christian brings personal conviction of sin. The Law itself defines sin according to Romans 7:7. No one could even identify particular sins if not for God’s Law. The Holy Spirit brings conviction of law-breaking according to John 16:8. The Holy Spirit’s Law-based conviction leads a Christian back to a healthy relationship with Christ through repentance and forgiveness. This is true so long as he does not harden his heart toward God. If a sinning Christian will at least read or hear some of God’s Word, then the written word, the Law, can still stir his heart and cause repentance and faith to spring up once again. Remember how the Levitical sacrifices themselves prophesy this truth. (See Part I of my book When We Awake for a full exposition of the Levitical sacrifices)

Every Christian needs to come to an understanding that it is Christ in him, i.e. the Holy Spirit in him, that will first convict him of sin and then empower and enable him to keep God’s commandments. Yet, this occurs only if we develop a desire to keep Christ’s commands. God’s Word, so long as we attempt to hear it, continues to convict us of certain areas in our lives that do not line up with Christ’s life. This is the “fiery law” of Deuteronomy 33:2 that burns our flesh, our sinful nature. The Law through the convicting and changing power of God’s Spirit purges our dross, and conforms us to Christ’s image. For our part, we must never make the mistake that we, in our own power, conform ourselves into the image of God. God works through His Law and Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and lead us to Christ. With broken, mournful hearts we fall before God and beseech Him to change our hearts, to write His laws on them, so that we may do His will from our hearts and not our heads. Our hearts (souls) must change. The Law helps us to understand that and the Holy Spirit prosecutes and persecutes us until we either do change by God’s power, or utterly rebel against God.

Thus, when Paul asks, “Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” we answer, “No. We will not become circumcised in our flesh in order to be justified before God to have fellowship with Him. Neither will we, by the power of our flesh, perfectly obey God’s commands so that we become sanctified, holy and have fellowship with Him. Rather, we will believe Jesus and enjoy fellowship with Him. We will then learn to honor and love God’s Law. We will allow Him to write that Law on our hearts so that we can obey Him by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.”