I
Cor. Chapter 1:1-31
Memory
verses for this week: 1 Pet 2:15 For so is the
will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the
ignorance of foolish men:
Introduction:
We
begin a new study on the book of I Corinthians this week.
This is a great book containing the first of the two letters
Paul wrote to the church there in Corinth.
This church was known for some good traits, but overall was a
carnal church. This
letter was written to encourage the church to correct the problems
and to move forward for the Lord.
Paul had began this work (see Acts 18) and preached and
taught there for 1 ½ years. Corinth
was one to the largest cities in the ancient world.
During this time, Corinth’s population exceeded 700,000
people, and was known for the people worshipping the goddess
Aphrodite. Aphrodite
was the Greek name for the same god Venus that the Romans
worshipped.
I.
The Believers Position in Grace
1 Cor 1:1 Paul, called
to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and
Sosthenes our brother,
In the letter to Thessalonica,
Paul just identified himself and says he is writing unto the church.
Here, he first identifies himself as an apostle of Jesus
Christ through the will of God. Someone had thought to undermine Paul’s influence by
denouncing his apostleship.
1 Cor 9:16
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of:
for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not
the gospel!
1 Cor 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in
every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs
and ours:
1 Cor 1:3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from
the Lord Jesus Christ.
While addressed to the church
there in Corinth, Paul meant it to a greater audience as he says to
“them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus… in every place”.
Each of us should take this a personal letter and realize the
teachings are relevant to all of us.
The warnings are still valid to all of us today.
Paul identifies those who had this letter written to them as
those that are “sanctified” and “saints.”
Sanctification has several biblical significations:
i.
Primarily it means to set apart
ii.
In one instance, the word “sanctification” is
used as an equivalent of regeneration. (I Peter 1:2)
iii.
The third sense is limited to what is called the
doctrine of sanctification is distinguished from justification and
regeneration. In
this doctrinal aspect, it is the progressive work of making
completely holy that new life which commenced at regeneration.
II.
The
Thanksgiving
1 Cor 1:4
I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God
which is given you by Jesus Christ;
Paul
give his thanks to God for the good that there is in the church
before he deals with the evil.
While they may have had problems, be sure God was using the
good to accomplish His will. Paul
thanked the Lord for the grace of God that had been given the church
by Christ Jesus.
1 Cor 1:5
That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance,
and in all knowledge;
1 Cor 1:6
Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
Paul
thanked God that this church had been enriched in everything. All of us receive special blessings from the Lord when
we are saved, and all those in true churches of the Lord are blessed
for following God’s will. After
salvation, the first command we have is to follow our Lord in
spiritual baptism. This
baptism is the entry way into membership of the church.
1 Cor 1:7
So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of
our Lord
Jesus Christ:
1 Cor 1:8
Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be
blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God
had blessed many of the members, and they came behind no church in
gifts from the Lord. While
they had many spiritual gifts, they did not use them to become a
spiritual church that was known for its faithfulness to God’s
commands. Christ was
the one who would confirm them unto the end.
It is He who will present us spotless from sin before God one
day.
III.
A
Threefold Unity
1 Cor 1:9
God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship
of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Cor 1:10
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no
divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the
same mind and in the same judgment.
God’s
desire for every church is that they speak the same thing and have
unity in belief. Secondly,
He desires that there be no divisions among them.
We should have the same mind, with both unity in purpose and
unity in action. The
mind we should have is the mind of Jesus Christ.
IV.
Contentions
Among the Church at Corinth
1 Cor 1:11
For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by
them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions
among you.
1 Cor 1:12
Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul;
and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
Paul
had heard of the problems that had befell the church by one of the
faithful members, those of the house of Chloe.
It appears that many were divided in leadership, with many
following Apollos while others followed Cephas. (others Paul.)
Apparently, Apollos could speak with eloquent words and was might in
the Scriptures. In
comparison, Paul was criticized for his manner of ability.
Acts 18:24
And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an
eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
Acts
18:25 This man was
instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit,
he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only
the baptism of John.
2 Cor 10:10
For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his
bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.
1 Cor 1:13
Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye
baptized in the name of Paul?
1 Cor 1:14
I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and
Gaius;
1 Cor 1:15
Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
1 Cor 1:16
And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I
know not whether I baptized any other.
1 Cor 1:17
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel:
not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of
none effect.
Paul
condemns these factions and questions “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?”
Paul had not baptized very man of these Corinthians and he
was glad that he had not lest they should say Paul baptized in his
own name. We are to
baptize in the name of God, the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost.
Mat 28:18
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of
the world. Amen.
V.
The
Preaching of the Cross
1 Cor 1:18
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1 Cor 1:19
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and
will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
1 Cor 1:20
Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer
of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
1 Cor 1:21
For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew
not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them
that believe.
1 Cor 1:22
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after
wisdom:
1 Cor 1:23
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a
stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1 Cor 1:24
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
1 Cor 1:25
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the
weakness of God is stronger than men.
To
those who reject Christ and perish, the preaching of the cross is
foolishness unto them. God
could have chosen any way He wanted to save the lost, but He chose
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
It was by the cross that Paul had been crucified unto the
world.
Gal 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave
himself for me.
Gal 6:14
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I
unto the world.
Paul
said that we would have God forbid that he should glory in himself,
but his glory was to be in the cross of Jesus Christ.
VI.
The
Corinthian Believers were not of the Wise
1 Cor
1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men
after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1 Cor
1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to
confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world
to confound the things which are mighty;
1 Cor
1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised,
hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought
things that are:
1 Cor
1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1 Cor
1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us
wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1 Cor
1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him
glory in the Lord.
These Corinthians had the
wrong opinion about wisdom and its purpose.
Worldly wisdom will never save one individual.
Only the blood of Jesus can save a lost soul. God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the
wise so that no flesh might glory in His sight.
J. Vernon McGee had this to say about these verses.
“Paul is not saying the
people in the church were weak, but in their estimation of the world
they were weak. This is
God’s method. He even
chooses the base things of the world to accomplish His ends.
We have nothing to glory about.
Oh my friend, He is everything that we need.
I wish I could get that over to you.
He has been made to us wisdom.
He is our righteousness.
He is our sanctification and our redemption.
Whatever it is that you need today, you will find it in Him.
Our glory should be in the Lord.
We should glory in
the Lord Jesus Christ today. Let
me ask you, what do you glory in?
What are you boasting of today?
Are you boasting of your degrees?
Of your wisdom? Of
your wealth? Of your power? Are
you boasting today of your position and your character? My friend, you don’t have a thing of which you can
boast—and I know I haven’t.
But we can boast of Christ.
He is everything. He
is everything that we need.”
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Practice
Random Acts of Kindness. Each
act spreads, and many will be blessed.