In the book of 1 Corinthians there are many feathers, and there is a great deal of skin. But in our spiritual cooking we need to pay more attention to the meat. Most readers of 1 Corinthians 5 pay attention to an uncomely feather, the case of the sinful brother who committed incest. In reading this chapter we cannot avoid this matter. But this is not the only matter covered in this chapter. In verses 7 and 8 Paul says, “For indeed our Passover, Christ, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore keep the feast....” Paul’s word about the Passover and keeping the feast is not skin or feathers—it is meat. Here Paul indicates that we are keeping the feast of unleavened bread. Christ is our Passover and our feast of unleavened bread. We can enjoy Him and feast on Him throughout our Christian life.
The feast of unleavened bread lasted for seven days. These seven days typify the entire course of our Christian life. Therefore, during our whole Christian life, Christ is our feast, our unleavened bread. The more we feast on Him, the more we become unleavened.
By comparing the meat in 1 Corinthians 5 with the feathers, we learn the proper way to study the Bible. As we read the Bible, we need to pay attention not only to the feathers and the skin, but much more to the meat. I hope that this word concerning the feathers, the skin, and the meat will be helpful to us in our reading of the Word of God.
In the foregoing message we pointed out that Paul is a pattern of a person who lives Christ for the church. Now we must go on to ask what kind of person Paul was as such a pattern. The answer to this question is that Paul was an attached person, a person attached to Christ, the anointed One. In 2 Corinthians 1:21 Paul says, “But He Who firmly attaches us with you unto Christ and has anointed us is God.” Anyone who is not attached to Christ, any unattached person, cannot live Christ for the church. If we would live Christ for the church, we must learn of Paul as our pattern to be a person attached to Christ.
According to 1:21, those who are attached to Christ are anointed by God. Hence, one who lives Christ for the church must be an anointed person. It is not sufficient to be educated, instructed, or trained; we must be anointed. If we are not anointed, we cannot live Christ for the church. We all need to be anointed.
In 1:22 Paul goes on to say that God “has also sealed us and given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts.” One who lives Christ for the church is also a person who has been sealed by God. To be sealed by God means to be owned, possessed, by Him. If we have not been sealed by God, we cannot live Christ for the church.
In 2:14 Paul says, “But thanks be to God, Who always leads us in triumph in the Christ, and manifests through us the savor of the knowledge of Him in every place.” As we have pointed out, the verb “leads us in triumph” means to lead a man as a captive in a triumphal procession. Therefore, in this verse Paul refers to being captured by Christ. According to the human concept, it is not a good thing to be captured. No one wants to be a captive. But we need to be captured by the Lord so that we may live Christ for the church.
We also need to be subdued. However, neither the brothers nor the sisters like to be subdued. It is surely very difficult for a young woman to be subdued by her husband. Rather, her attitude may be that even though she married her husband, she has no intention of being subdued by him. Naturally speaking, none of us likes to be subdued. For us, it is humiliating to be subdued. Nevertheless, if we would live Christ for the church, we must be subdued. It is not humiliating to be subdued by the Lord—it is glorious.
Finally, if we would live Christ for the church, we must be led by Him. We need to be captured, subdued, and led. We, however, prefer to lead others, not to be led by someone else. If we would live Christ for the church, we all need to be led.
Concerning living Christ for the church, we have listed six matters: attached, anointed, sealed, captured, subdued, and led. As we shall see in the next message, all this is that we may scatter the incense of Christ.