Introduction: Two weeks ago we learned that we need to have unity
with God by having the Holy Spirit live in our minds. This allows
us to live a Spirit-led life. Last week we learned about spiritual
discernment, judging whether the spirit speaking to us is God or
demonic. If we have these two things down, that we invite God’s
Spirit every morning to live in us, what is next? We need to do
something, right? What is it that we need to do? That is our topic
this week. Let’s dive into our study of the Bible and find out!

  1. Temple


    1. Read 1 Corinthians 3:16-17. What should the Holy Spirit
      living in us cause us to do? (Pay attention to our
      temple.)


      1. What do you think that means?


    2. Context is always important. Read 1 Corinthians 3:10-15,
      the verses that immediately proceed the reference to our
      temple. A temple is a building, what kind of building is
      discussed here? (A spiritual building.)


      1. What does this suggest about the meaning of the
        “temple?” (That Paul is speaking of our spiritual
        being – the life of our mind.)


    3. Read Matthew 15:10-12. How does this fit into the idea of
      preserving our temple? (We are not talking about what we
      eat.)


    4. Read Matthew 15:16-20. If our temple is not a reference
      to diet and health, what does this teach us about keeping
      our temple in good order? (We need to have right
      thoughts.)


      1. Let’s stop a minute here. I thought the Holy Spirit
        produced right thoughts. How can we say that having
        right thoughts produces a proper place for the Holy
        Spirit to live? (We choose whether or not to live a
        life in accord with the Holy Spirit.)


    5. What do these verses teach us about reformation? (An
      important aspect of reformation is having a suitable
      place for the Holy Spirit to dwell.)


  2. Secret Things


    1. Read 1 Corinthians 4:1. Why are God’s things “secret?” I
      thought He wanted everyone to know about the gospel?


    2. Let’s go back and read some verses we skipped. Read 1
      Corinthians 3:18-20 and 1 Corinthians 1:18. What does the
      world think about the Christian approach to life? What
      does God think about the world’s approach to life?(They
      are kingdoms on a collision course. The world thinks the
      gospel is foolishness and God tells us that the wisdom of
      the world is foolishness.)


      1. In light of this, what do you think God means by the
        “secret” things of God? (They are secret because
        only the followers of God really want to know them.)


    3. Now that we have worked through the “secret,” let’s go
      back and continue with 1 Corinthians 4:2-4. What does it
      mean to be proven “faithful” with the “secret things” of
      God? (This is the reformation part of things. If we have
      this link with God: we understand through the power of
      the Holy Spirit God’s view of things. That knowledge
      causes a change in us – which starts with cleaning up our
      temple.)


    4. Read 1 Corinthians 4:6-7. What part of the proper
      building of our temple is “don’t go beyond what is
      written” in judging others? (We sometimes take and give
      credit for things that God gave us: wisdom, good-looks,
      and good parents. We need to have God’s view in
      evaluating everyone. Deuteronomy 4:2 tells us that we
      should not add or subtract from God’s rules. Going
      “beyond what is written” also means that we should not
      condemn others based on our rules and not congratulate
      them based on our rules either.)


    5. What do these verses teach us about reformation? (We need
      to use the correct standard, God’s standard, to judge
      whether reformation (and proper temple building) is
      taking place.)


  3. Dealing With Sin


    1. Read 1 Corinthians 5:1. Obvious sin occurs in the church,
      what should you do as part of reformation?


    2. Read 1 Corinthians 5:2. Why would these people be proud
      of sin? (Is it possible that they took pride in not being
      judgmental?)


      1. Is the right response to sin to kick obvious sinners
        out of church?


      2. Notice the “filled with grief” part. What does that
        suggest? (We are sad about the situation, and not
        anxious to be judges.)


    3. Read 1 Corinthians 5:4-5. Who should lead in church
      discipline issues? (The Holy Spirit.)


      1. What is the goal for this sinner? To be handed over
        to Satan?


      2. How will Satan destroy the sinner’s sinful nature?
        (Satan does not fight against Satan. Rather, the
        idea is that the man will come to his senses when he
        is not longer “approved” by the church.)


      3. Do we all need a “wake-up call” from time to time
        when it comes to sin?


    4. Read 1 Corinthians 5:6. To what “boasting” is Paul
      referring? ( 1 Corinthians 5:1-2, the people are “proud”
      about the sexual immorality in the church.)


      1. Aside from giving God a bad name, what is the
        problem with this pride? (It influences others. It
        represents bad temple-building.)


    5. Read 1 Corinthians 5:9-10. We just considered a difficult
      situation in which church members were asked to be
      “judgmental.” How do these verses clarify the nature of
      our judgment? (We are not called upon to judge the world.
      Rather, we are only called to make judgment on those who
      claim to be Christians.)


    6. Every church has people who are involved in sexual sins.
      Should we toss out every one of them? (Look again at the
      context in which Paul writes. This church takes pride in
      sexual sin. Paul’s instruction is about the church and
      not the world. The concern is about the influence of the
      sin. Before we start tossing people out of church, we
      need to consider the impact on the church. People who are
      involved in sin, but have one foot outside the church,
      and who have no influence over the members, don’t seem to
      fit the “boot them out” advice very well.)


    7. Read 1 Corinthians 6:18. Are sexual sins in a special
      category? (Apparently.)


    8. Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Have we have come back to the
      “temple” issue? Are sexual sins especially important
      because they are an attack on the body in which the Holy
      Spirit is supposed to dwell?


    9. Read 1 Corinthians 6:15-17. How does this help us to
      understand the special nature of sexual sins? (Having sex
      with someone forms a special bond that goes beyond the
      sin. God tells us to form that special bond with our
      spouse and with Him through the indwelling of the Holy
      Spirit.)


    10. Consider these verses and what they say about
      reformation. Is reformation about rooting out sexual
      sins? (No. God is concerned about bringing disrepute upon
      His church. He is concerned about our temple-building
      influence on others. He is concerned about us breaking
      our bond with Him and our spouse by forming bonds through
      sin.)


  4. Temple Building


    1. Read Romans 8:1-3. What does Jesus have to do with
      reformation? (Jesus fulfilled the obligations of the law
      by dying in my place.)


      1. What does it mean that Jesus “condemned sin in
        sinful man?” (He showed us the true nature of sin.
        Sin kills God. Sin is the enemy of God so it should
        be our enemy as well.)


    2. Read Romans 8:4. Jesus is the One who allows the
      “righteous requirements of the law” to “be fully met in
      us.” That sounds like reformation! How does that happen?
      (It happens to those who live in accord with the Spirit
      and not their sinful nature.)


      1. Is this a works requirement? We have to live a
        certain way to be saved?



    1. Read Romans 8:5-9. We started out talking about how
      important our temple was because it is where the Holy
      Spirit dwells. What do you think is the key to
      reformation? (Setting our mind on what the Holy Spirit
      desires. This is proper temple-building. This is the key
      to reformation, making a daily choice to ask the Holy
      Spirit to lead us into truth and help us to live in such
      a way that we give glory to God.)


    2. Friend, will you ask the Holy Spirit to dwell in you?
      Will start down the road to reformation by asking the
      Holy Spirit to build your temple to give you unity with
      God and a sensitivity to God’s will for you?


  1. Next week: Reformation: The Willingness to Grow and Change.