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“Do you not know?” - Part 2
“Do you not know?” - Part 2 By Derek Long
In our bulletin last week, we began looking at times where the question, “Do you not know?” is asked in the Bible. The question, “Do you not know?” is often asked in the Bible to point out how one should know a certain fact and from that fact draw a certain conclusion or take certain actions. We will continue to look at instances where this question is asked in the Bible and hope to learn some lessons from these various verses. Romans 7:1 asks the question, “Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?” (NKJV). A point is being made here about us no longer being under the Old Testament Law. A law has dominion over a person only while the person lives is the fact we need to know (Romans 7:1). An illustration of this principle is given with the marriage relationship where a person is bound by God’s law to their spouse as long as they live (Romans 7:2-3). After the death of a spouse, one is free to be married to another. The point is since Jesus died and released us from the Old Law (Romans 7:4-6) we are now free to be married to Him or serve under the New Covenant. It is sad many people fail to realize we can no longer be bound to a law which has been removed. Instead, we are now free to serve “in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter” (Romans 7:6, NKJV). Romans 11 is part of a section in Romans dealing with the fact many of the Jews ended up rejecting Christ and were lost. Questions are addressed such as whether God is being unfair to the Jews, whether God’s plan had failed, etc. Romans 11 begins by saying, “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, ‘Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life’?” (Romans 11:1-3, NKJV). Paul is reminding these individuals God has not cast away or rejected every Israelite because Paul himself was an Israelite. Instead, we have a situation similar to what existed in Elijah’s day. Elijah felt as if the whole nation had rejected God but a remnant was left (Romans 11:4-5). Paul reminds us God still has a remnant. Knowledge about what happened in the days of Elijah enables one to understand how God was acting toward the Jews in the first century and following. 1 Corinthians 3 has depicted the church as a building built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:9-15). An application is draw from the fact they were God’s building using the question, “Do you not know?”. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (NKJV). A person who would destroy the temple of God, which in this context appears to refer to a local congregation, will experience the judgment of God. If we view the local congregation as the temple of God and a place where the Spirit of God dwells, we will be diligent to maintain the purity and unity of the local congregation. 1 Corinthians 5 deals with a situation in Corinth where a brother had his father’s wife (1 Corinthians 5:1) and gives instructions for how the church at Corinth should handle such. In explaining why such an individual needed to be dealt with according to God’s instructions the following point is made, “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” (1 Corinthians 5:6, NKJV). A fact about leaven is used to illustrate the point sin which is not dealt with in the life of one member will have an evil influence in the lives of other members. When local churches do not deal with members in sin according to God’s instructions, they are acting as though they are ignorant of the fact a little leaven leavens the whole lump. 1 Corinthians 6 begins by addressing the subject of lawsuits among brethren. At least two times the question, “Do you not know?” is asked in this section. 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 says, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?” (NKJV). If these Christians recognize saints would judge the world and angels, they would see how inconsistent it is to go before the world to resolve issues (like lawsuits) between brethren. Let’s not act in such a way which conveys we are ignorant of these facts but rather act in accordance with the things we ought to know and understand.
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