1 Corinthians 15:33-34 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” 34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
Paul continues to add further supports for his central thesis that the true teaching is there is indeed resurrection of the dead, and the Corinthians must believe in this doctrine. The next for of proof Paul uses is a quotation. It appears that Paul is using a well known statement from the Athenian dramatist Menander. The statement had become a form of cultural proverb by the time of Paul. The logic of it is obvious. If a person hangs out with bad people, these people will be a negative influence and lead the person to adopt the behavior of these bad people. That is why it is important for people to choose their friends carefully lest they be negatively influenced (see 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1). That does not mean that we should not hang out with non-believers. Paul is not thinking missionally here but ethically.
Verse 34 has strong words addressed to the Corinthians. This verse indicates that their problem was not simply wrong doctrine but also wrong behavior. One’s eschatology will influence one’s behavior. If one believes that this life is all there is, then that may lead to certain sinful behaviors that satisfy the desires of the deceived and selfish flesh. Those Corinthians who thought that the body does not matter, as taught in some philosophies of the day such as the growing Gnosticism, were badly mistaken. Paul claims that the body does matter. The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and can be sanctified to the Lord for his purposes (Romans 6:1-14; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 5:23). Their wrong thinking was like living in a drunken stupor where they ethically wandered with no clear target. Paul give them the target and determine the clear direction for them in this chapter and throughout the letter. They needed to sober up and not wander around in immorality and others sins like drunk people. They needed to stop sinning. A clear faith in resurrection should influence how they lived. Belief in resurrection should result in righteous living.
The problem with so many people who live without any clear moral guidelines is that they are ignorant of God. They do not know God personally and do not know God’s commands. They have no clear standard of living except to please themselves and the distorted desires of the flesh. Knowledge of God should result in righteous living. The Corinthians were ignorant of God. Paul has made this claim in different ways throughout this letter. They did not have the mind of Christ because of their fleshly living. They claimed knowledge, but it was all driven by self and not love. Paul wants them to have knowledge of what matters: love and holiness. These will be taught by the Holy Spirit as they commit themselves fully to the lordship of Jesus Christ.
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