He says:
Greetings,
This Bible study explores the authentic interpretation of 1 Corinthians 6:1-11, emphasising Paul's rebuke of Corinthian believers for resolving internal disputes in secular courts. Drawing on historical context, the author argues that early Christian communities, modelled after first century synagogue structure, incorporated impartial judicial systems (bet din) for civil matters which is essential for righteous Biblical governance. The study critiques modern abuses in Churches—such as bias, slander, and perjury—highlighting the absence of neutral panels and courts, which forces members to secular recourse despite Paul's ideal of internal arbitration by "wise" saints destined to judge the world and angels.
Commentaries from scholars are surveyed, affirming the passage's focus on civil (not criminal) disputes. Basic principles advocate Matthew 18 conflict resolution, forgiveness, and Godly mediation, but permit legal action for serious abuses like defamation, victimisation or harassment when church mechanisms fail or are corrupted by bias and slander. A proposed tiered court system—local, regional, and top-level—with neutral, diverse juries, training, appeals, and anti-perjury safeguards is outlined to ensure justice, impartiality, and adherence to Biblical mandates. Ultimately, the study calls for restorative processes to prevent flock scattering, affirming secular courts' legitimacy (per Romans 13).
Nobody wants to go this far, but there are times people being harassed and intimidated have to pursue their God-given rights when the internal system of the group breaks down and there is bias, prejudice and beliefs that ministers have always have to win, no matter the consequences such as the scattering of the flock.
In the Bible study What is Justice? it was demonstrated that impartial courts are found throughout the Bible, but this principle has been sadly lacking in the Churches of God.
In this follow-up Bible study, we explore the necessity of having courts in fulfillment of the Scripture under discussion (I Corinthians 6:1-11).
Feedback direct to me is appreciated.
Regards to all,
Craig
The pdf article is here: The Real Meaning of I Corinthians 6:1-11
What is your opinion on this?
23 comments:
Thank you Craig for this post.
My two cents worth is that the Armstrong movement is beyond help. Nothing will change. The very best outcome is for the members to leave this toxic environment and embrace Christ fully without the ‘handlers’, the ministry of the Armstrong movement being the stumbling blocks they are. The other day ucog posted a video on YT about BI. Simply an introduction to their booklet Britain and USA in Prophecy nonsense. Comments for said video was turned off. Like the ministry. No alternative dialogue is wanted that may expose the huge shortcomings in this flawed theology. They will not change, for that will open up dissent. My advice is LEAVE. And I acknowledge that there are many who may well be perfectly happy within this movement. Such is the human condition. Our liberty is in Christ, in that let’s rejoice.
5.52 PM, Scout just had an article on scientific evidence that is problematical for British-Israelism. Why wasn't your complain about BI posted there? The frequency of posters ignoring the topic and bringing up BI is off-putting.
You are off putting you miserable troll. Anonymous 5:52 was talking about what the COG’s do as a whole by not allowing open dialogue, the point wasn’t to try and start another thread about BI. For a blog that supposedly offers a space for COG’ers current and former to see the flaws of Armstrongism there sure are a lot of bitter ex members that just want to be angry at anyone or anything. Get a life loser. Maybe try moving out of your mom’s basement and see what the world has to offer.
7:51 People can post wherever they want to post. It's interesting to know that now many of the ACOGs are shutting their ears of the proof. But when it comes time for the end, we will see. For me, I am glad that I left because I was able to see the scriptures in a different light.
These individuals in ACOG land haven't even repented of the first thing which is Matthew 3:9 and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
After John the Baptist and the baptism of repentance, then the gospel is preached by Christ. These individuals can't get past BI (Abraham as our father), therefore they embrace their "birthright blessings" over Gods spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3), they look toward the British throne ignoring the mayhem that they have caused, instead of the throne of Christ and His soon coming kingdom. Again, in the end the people who are living will see.
Comment to UCG that they're talking about "British Israelism" and they'll deny it. Strongly. They rephrase it as "promises to Abraham" or something close.
Church members have never had an avenue of internal dispute resolution. It has always been the minister's way or the highway. Not all ministers were capable or even desired to be agents of reconciliation, or had a desire to be an arbitrator. Church government trumped any member's rights, and those above you were given the power to destroy lives with impunity, and many reveled in that. PCG and RCG were quite adept at doing that.
The vast majority of Church members across the various COG organisations do not require an 'avenue for internal dispute resolution'. Because in the vast majority of problems in churches the root cause is NOT the members but the ministry.
How many churches have splintered, disputed, gone to war ect over members versus members causng it ???? Hardly none. All church splits, problems and issues are from the ministry.
Yes, the vast majority of problems are caused by the ministry, and that is exactly who needs to be addressed when it comes to members having their voice heard. There is no neutral system in the COG that allows members to have their voice heard. Apparently, you never bothered to read the article or the comments.
Anon, Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at 7:56:53 AM PDT, replied to 7:51 by writing:
"...People can post wherever they want to post. It's interesting to know that now many of the ACOGs are shutting their ears of the proof. But when it comes time for the end, we will see. For me, I am glad that I left because I was able to see the scriptures in a different light.
These individuals in ACOG land haven't even repented of the first thing which is Matthew 3:9 and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
After John the Baptist and the baptism of repentance, then the gospel is preached by Christ. These individuals can't get past BI (Abraham as our father), therefore they embrace their "birthright blessings" over Gods spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3), they look toward the British throne ignoring the mayhem that they have caused, instead of the throne of Christ and His soon coming kingdom. Again, in the end the people who are living will see."
******
It's interesting, because I wondered if the topic was Cog lack of resources, or the true meaning of I Cor 6:1-11? Meanwhile comments by fellow-posters bring up other related things such as gospel, Abraham, etc.
I looked at the United Ass's Doctrinal Study Paper on "Preaching the Gospel" and I wondered what resources they may have used, and discovered their paper never even mentioned Abraham and the gospel he was aware of. Instead, the United Ass has ideas about other gospels, or aspects of the gospel, and Abraham was never even mentioned.
For example, there was no mention of the following verses, which I would think would be significant if one is going to go about Preaching the Gospel:
"And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, [saying], In thee shall all nations be blessed." Galatians 3:8
Not only did the United Ass. apparently not study and include that verse about the "gospel unto Abraham," but they apparently chose to ignore the following words of Abraham (aka Abram, in case those who wrote that Doctrinal Study Paper were confused and didn't know about the name change, and maybe are too focused on that BI stuff):
Genesis 12:2 "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
Perhaps the United Ass. may want to re-write their Study Paper and explain how the gospel of the Kingdom of God will not become reality until "all families of the earth be blessed," and that will not occur until some time after Satan is loosed from that pit for a short/little time/season.
If the United Ass. cannot find the resources to include in their paper something like Gen 12:3 and Galatians 3:8, then it is very possible that they may be driven by another spirit, preaching another Jesus along with another gospel: one that Abraham, aka Abram, knew nothing about.
Will those leaders in the United Ass., and perhaps other xcogs headed up by such folks as Flurry, Pack, Franks, Weston, Weinland, Coulter, Winnail (Dad and son), repent, and all preach the same gospel that God inspired Abram to be aware of, or will they continue to be somewhat lukewarm in their understanding and remain in their scattered condition…and continue preaching another gospel, another Jesus?
Time will tell...
John
NO2HWA, Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at 9:57:52 AM PDT, wrote:
Church members have never had an avenue of internal dispute resolution. It has always been the minister's way or the highway. Not all ministers were capable or even desired to be agents of reconciliation, or had a desire to be an arbitrator. Church government trumped any member's rights, and those above you were given the power to destroy lives with impunity, and many reveled in that. PCG and RCG were quite adept at doing that.
******
NO2HWA, what you wrote is true overall; however, I can think of some few, very few, who were part of the United Ass. who learned something significant from a member of that manmade association, that e.g. Jesus Christ was/is not the God of the Old Testament, became so convicted about it that he gathered more evidence from scriptures of the Bible, and gave numerous sermons explaining it.
This particular minister, and there are few others just like him, did not take glory to self, but gave credit to the member, became ostracized enough from the United Ass. Leaders and he gave up his position(s) in the organization, even sacrificed his pension, etc.
It appears the hirelings of the United Ass., could not, and would not, repent/change, but remained stuck in 16 January 1986 thinking and earlier years...and very little "growth in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ" to show for it, but...
Time will tell...b/c it appears that the majority of those xcog hirelings of the former WCG with their differing doctrinal studies are just like airplanes "stuck" spinning their wheels" around in the air, like an aircraft circling an airport waiting for some unyielding thick fog (as if in some "blackness, like a blindness") to lift enough so that they can safely land their aircraft before it runs out of fuel.
John
P.S. In case I be accused of writing about something off-topic in my previous post: that United Ass. Study Paper on Preaching the Gospel also did not even include the following verse found within the topic of I Cor 6:1-11.
"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind," I Cor 6:9
If this verse is part of the gospel of the Kingdom of God, then why would the United ASS. ignore writing about it as part of their Study Paper?
Perhaps those writers of the United Ass. could explain who "the unrighteous" are, because Abram knew that a Day was coming when in Abram, aka Abraham, shall: "...all families of the earth be blessed," and that time will not occur before Satan enters that pit, or the Bible lied to us.
Who is excluded? Who shall not enter the Kingdom of God?
Time will tell...
John
Yea buddy, yea buddy John. You have to pair it, you have to pair it.
Genesis 12:2-3 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Pair it With:
Galatians 3:8-9 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
And if they don't want to pair it, then they have a different spirit.
And John, you taught and emphasized to us this:
Acts 3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus,
Gal 3:28 also sounds like Acts 3:25-26
Acts 3:25-26 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
You have good timing John.
The go-to principle I've always heard is, "We have to trust that Jesus Christ is leading His church". UCG officially says the church is "the body of baptised believers, the spiritual body of Christ". But when this phrase is used, it means people believe Jesus Christ operates through a church organisation in hierarchical fashion, and the closer you are to the top, the more reliably right you are. To summarise: you must respect the church hierarchy.
One would think that this principle would be reconsidered considering the history of UCG, with the 1995 heresy taught right from the top; the COGWA split caused by ministers jostling for control; all the other WCG splits instigated by ministerial ambition. But no, we carry on with the idea that whenever there is a dispute, the proper resolution is simply to consult the hierarchy chart.
Apparently you jump to conclusions. Must be ministry.
I did read the article. The ministry require much more robust accountability from ministerial services. In my opinion modern technology should be used better, cctv or dash camera footage style recording should be used on every congregation, focusing on what the ministry are saying and doing.
The operating of such technology should be independant from the minister and their appointed cronies.
Most WCG ministers, past and present are apostates. That's not name calling, they literally are. 'Gawds ministers' are apostates.
Its all about control for the purpose of gain. Nothing to do with Yeshua or His teachings but manipulation of Scripture to control those who are gullible.
Correct 5:17, it's the "top" that has caused all the splits. So why should we follow them? However when it comes to our New Testament, God and Christ are not working through an org. He chooses Philip, Ananias who baptizes Saul (Paul), uses Apollos. People are connected through the Spirit not some organization. Especially not some organization that keeps splitting and holding reference to a man who has passed 40 years ago.
John are you referring to Mark Mickelson? If so I listened to some of his sermons as my church group—which sadly is no more—were fans of his especially when he went to Pacific and got them convinced to use Yehovah as God’s name. I admit I was more cautious about his “new truth” since I knew of Ken Westby and his “One God” seminars in the 1970s and 1980s unlike some in my church group who were more captivated by what he was preaching. I remember one girl who would listen with us at times noticed like I did that he was shouting a lot, which she found off putting. Those in our group who were enamored by what he was saying now keep Passover at the same time as the Jews and I believe eat lamb as well. They also believe the Father will come when Jesus returns. They also were passionate about the series “The Chosen” probably due to its more apparently Jewish leanings. Me personally I still keep an early 14th Passover with unleavened bread and wine. And re the traditional Armstrongist view that Jesus was the “God of the OT” I’m of the view He was the Angel (or Messenger) of the LORD which appeared in the OT numerous times and is God (but not the Father). I don’t subscribe to their belief that the Father will come with the Son at JC’s return. I believe the Father will come with the New Jerusalem.
Exactly. The ACOGs teach that God leads members exclusively through the ministry. Yet personal experience is that God leads members individually.
It's ironical that "fake" televangelists like Joyce Meyer and Kenneth Copeland teach that Christ addresses and leads Christians individually, yet HWA denied this, as do his splinters.
Herb's ministers covet Christ's role, plus they don't want an outside influence that can challenge their comfortable blend of truth and error.
If there is constant evidence that your church runs over members roughshod, produces bad fruits in the ministry, and makes your life a misery rather than a joy, perhaps it's time to consider the possibility that you are part of a toxic church, one with which the members of the deity have nothing whatsoever to do.
Look at all the failures over the past decades! Armstrongism could surely not profess that they were being abundantly blessed! They are, rather, trapped in a force field of non-growth, invisibility, and rat-tank misery. Their prophecies continue to fail, and the micro-splinters are even in trouble and splintering.
Time for new solutions, people. The cliches they taught you just don't cut it anymore.
With their Old Covenant approach to Christianity (along with their 1950's Modus operandi), then this is what leads them to having the hierarchical organizational fashion. They not only covet Christ role, but they want Moses's role, Elijah's role (Elijah to come), David's role (Key of David) etc. Those ACOG leadership denies the power of the men found in the scripture. Let me know when they receive visions, dreams, get an angelic correspondence and if miracles begin working within them, through God's Spirit, then we shall heed them.
Si, Senor! Here is a new vocabulary word for Armstrongites:
Pragmatism: The quality of dealing with a problem in a sensible way that suits the conditions that really exist, rather than following theories, ideas, or rules.
Example: "The council has operated much more effectively since pragmatism replaced political dogma."
~American Cambridge Dictionary
Anon, Thursday, October 23, 2025 at 6:08:33 AM PDT, wrote:
"John are you referring to Mark Mickelson? If so I listened to some of his sermons as my church group—which sadly is no more—were fans of his especially when he went to Pacific and got them convinced to use Yehovah as God’s name. I admit I was more cautious about his “new truth” since I knew of Ken Westby and his “One God” seminars in the 1970s and 1980s unlike some in my church group who were more captivated by what he was preaching. I remember one girl who would listen with us at times noticed like I did that he was shouting a lot, which she found off putting. Those in our group who were enamored by what he was saying now keep Passover at the same time as the Jews and I believe eat lamb as well. They also believe the Father will come when Jesus returns. They also were passionate about the series “The Chosen” probably due to its more apparently Jewish leanings. Me personally I still keep an early 14th Passover with unleavened bread and wine. And re the traditional Armstrongist view that Jesus was the “God of the OT” I’m of the view He was the Angel (or Messenger) of the LORD which appeared in the OT numerous times and is God (but not the Father). I don’t subscribe to their belief that the Father will come with the Son at JC’s return. I believe the Father will come with the New Jerusalem."
******
Anon, you asked if I was referring to Mark Mickelson, and the answer is: "Yes." He currently is undergoing a serious health issue, but he has done an excellent job/work of exposing "The God" of the Old Testament as being the One we know of as the Father, something I've been aware of since about 1998 as I began listening to sermons created in the 1996/7 time frame.
Rick Railston learned that truth from Mark Mickelson, who became aware of it from a member, not a minister, of the United Ass.; however, very few from United had the eyes/ears to see/hear that truth, so far. A day is coming when all shall know the LORD, but that is going to be some time way off yet. Numerous places in the OT say: "...know Me..." The word "Me" is not plural.
We've all been scattered to one degree or another, as part of God's Plan, and lots of people have so many different ideas...and life goes on as we all to one degree or another learn to hate evil.
For example, I noticed that those who are associated with Mark Mickelson observed the Passover, Festivals and annual Holydays this year 1 day later than I/(you too?) did, but that's okay.
We don't wrestle flesh and blood. Jesus told us to "love one another," but acknowledge the works/fruits caused by the principalities: God's real enemies, by design, and they will yet be taken and destroyed...eventually. God's vengeance is for them: not human beings, and time will tell. It is Satan who strives to convince us that the battle is between God and humans, but it has always been God vs. His enemies: Satan and his angels, and God has a plan for them (Matthew 25:41, 46; Ezekiel 28:19, etc.).
The Word was part of the Godhead, but he was not "The God." There were no other gods beside The God; however, the Word was being trained by the Father to accomplish God's perfect Plan to save humanity, and subsequently destroy Satan and his devils.
When Jesus comes to gather the sealed Firstfruits in clouds, He will lead them to the Father (Rev 14/15), who eventually will put all enemies under Christ's feet and yes, will be with His/our Father when the new Jerusalem is established on earth.
But, anyway, people may believe whatever they want. Thanks for your response. Time will tell...
John
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