I Corinthians 1 – 3

Famous as a great commercial center, Corinth was also infamous for its immorality and paganism. But in spite of great obstacles, Paul planted a Christian church there on his second missionary journey. Though gifted and growing, the church was plagued with problems; moral and ethical, doctrinal and practical, corporate and private.
The church was in trouble. The problems did not stay within the church family; they were known by the unbelievers outside the church. It was a DEFILED CHURCH. Some were guilty of sexual immorality, some got drunk; still others were using the grace of God to excuse worldly living. It was a DIVIDED church, with at least 4 different groups competing for leadership 1:12. A DISGRACED church…instead of glorifying God it was hindering the progress of the Gospel.
This happened because the members of the church permitted the sins of the city to get into the local assembly. Corinth was a polluted city, filled with every kind of vice and worldly pleasure. About the lowest accusation you could make against a man in that day would be to call him “a Corinthian.” People would know what you were talking about.
Corinth was a proud, philosophical city with many itinerant teachers promoting their speculations. Unfortunately, this philosophical approach was applied to the Gospel by some members of the church and this fostered division. Different schools of thought were in the midst rather than being united behind the Gospel message.
When you have proud people depending on human wisdom, adopting the lifestyle of the world, you are going to have problems.
Paul writes this letter to deal with some of the disorders, and to answer questions which the Christians at Corinth had raised. While Paul was ministering in Ephesus, he received this disturbing news from the house of Chloe. The Corinthian church was experiencing problems so severe that its testimony was being undermined. In the first six chapters of his letter to the Cor. Paul addresses the major problems of division, immorality and legal abuses.
Man-exalting schisms in the assembly – Paulinians (championed Gospel freedom – Paul founder of the church), Apollonians clique (intellectuals), Cephasites (Judaistically inclined)…and the “Christ party” which would imply the inferiority of all others. They were playing off against each other…serious rivalries which threatened a fatal disruption of the church. Paul shows that man-exalting schisms are wrong because salvation by the Cross sets aside human wisdom altogether; shows that they are wrong because the true wisdom is imparted by the Spirit, not by man; wrong because human teachers are only stewards and the real power is of God. Paul likens human leaders/teachers SERVANTS 3:5, FARM HANDS V.6 BUILDERS V. 10-15 and subordinates 4: 1. Paul clarifies that it is the Lord that gives every man, God who gives the growth, Jesus is the Foundation, Christ is the Director. Human leaders are stewards while the real treasure is OF GOD!
Even today, soundly evangelical preachers criticize each other. Nothing but harm…a poisonous weed which springs from jealousy. Dishonor to Christ and a grief to the Spirit. Let us learn not to lean unwisely on human leaders. They were meant to be LEARNED FROM, not LEANED ON! A “clean and close” leader lives so close to the Lord that he can counsel his hearers not only to “Do as I say, but “Do as I DO!” Paul often refers to himself – always incidentally, to illustrate or press home some truth – he is writing to people who knew him well. Paul indeed was the PATTERN PREACHER.
Born agains have 2 crises through which we must pass in one way or another if we are to be powerful and prevailing preachers: intellectual crisis. In the oratory and philosophy struggle, our attempt to enhance the testimony of God is like holding a candle aloft to help the sun. It is like trying to silver the stars, or paint the petals of a rose. Our intellect must be subordinated to His divine message. “Nothing save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Second crisis: spiritual. The message must be right, but the method as well. The Christ of Calvary must be preached in the power of Pentecost. There is no spiritual effect in the hearer except by the Holy Spirit. Many a preacher/teacher preaches Christ, is bravely prepared to preach but is not prepared to give up his own way of doing it. There is to be absolutely no reliance on anything of self, or anything human. There may be a place for cultivated speech, organizing, advertising and other means; but the minute one relies upon these for spiritual results, it is fatal. Utter abandonment to the Holy Spirit – that is the only Power in the preacher. The Holy Spirit is the invisible connection between the teacher and the student. Paul had come to the end of himself that the Holy Spirit could use all that he was…Oh, for more such weakness and fear and trembling in our pulpits today. “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” 2:1-5
Why does the Lord choose to use the foolish? The weak? He prefers these; for all human boasting is excluded and all the glory is His. Tho’ naturally brilliant, Paul chose to be one of the Lord’s fools, one of His weak ones. HAVE YOU BEEN THINKING YOU WERE TOO WEAK FOR Christian service and witness? Christ is everything: wisdom…to the fools; power – to the weak; righteousness, sanctification and redemption - to the base, the despised and the nobodies.
Paul exhorts the Cor. Believers to go on to maturity in the faith, “that you will be counted free from all sin and guilt on that day when [Christ] returns.” 1:8
I Cor. is an eloquent reminder that the Christian life is not a parade but a battle in which the enemy (Satan) is seeking to discredit the Gospel in any way possible. If he can get the “soldiers of the cross” to shoot at one another, so much the better! Divisions, pride, immorality and anger are just a few of his many devices for derailing the church. How can you hope to handle his clever and persistent attacks? - By appropriating the resources of your salvation! In the first nine verses of his letter, Paul lists at least ten assets of the Cor. Believers to help them cope with the disorders in their assembly. How many can you find?
Being a peace BREAKER is always easier than being a peace MAKER, but God has promised a special blessing if you make peace one of the passions of your life.
Special and important insight: There are 2 Greek words for “temple”. The 1st NAOS refers to the central sanctuary, the “Holy Place” – the 2nd HIERON refers to the whole temple complex. Paul carefully used NAOS 3:16 and 6:19 to show the Cor. that they are containers of God’s Spirit, just as the Holy Place was in Solomon’s temple. (Born again status!)
Paul is reminding the church of their CALLING: *CALLED TO BE HOLY – set apart, enriched by His grace, expecting Jesus to return and depending on God’s faithfulness…v. 1-9 *CALLED INTO FELLOWSHIP – Christ is not divided 10-13, not baptized in the name of Paul, Paul was not crucified for you…ONLY CHRIST…fellowship because of our union with Jesus Christ. *CALLED TO GLORIFY GOD – Paul reminded of what they were v.26, why God called them 27-29 and of all they had in Jesus Christ v. 30-31
They were a defiled, divided, and disgraced church but before we pass judgment on them, we should examine our own church and our own life. Are we/you living up to your calling?
Men were mixing philosophy (man’s wisdom) with God’s revealed message, and this caused confusion and division. Avoid doctoring God’s Word with worldly thinking!!!!
The Gospel is still God’s power to change men’s lives Rom 1:16. Winning someone to Christ does not depend on our arguments or persuasive gimmicks, but on the power of the Spirit of God at work in our lives and through the Word that we share.
THE GOSPEL IS REVEALED BY THE SPIRIT THROUGH THE WORD: 2:10-16…4 IMPORTANT MINISTRIES OF THE Holy Spirit - * the Spirit indwells believers *the Spirit searches *teaches *matures the believer 3:1-2
Paul introduces a 3rd kind of person “the carnal man”…immature Christian, childhood level because he will not feed on the Word and grow.
To have “the mind of Christ” does not mean we are infallible and start playing God in the lives of other people. Rom. 11:33-36 mind – to look at life from the Savior’s point of view, having His values and desires in mind. Think God’s thoughts and not think as the world thinks. The unsaved person does not understand – they can see and point out flaws in the believer’s life, but cannot penetrate into the full understanding of what the Christians’ life is all about.
The Cor. believers were so wrapped up in the miraculous gifts of the Spirit that they were neglecting the basic ministries of the Spirit. Blessed are they who understand and share “all the counsel of God”. Acts 20:27
In Ch.3 Paul has 3 pictures of the church…FAMILY – goal MATURITY 3:1-4, FIELD – QUANITY 5-9, TEMPLE – QUALITY 3:9
Build on the right Foundation – Jesus Christ!
Build with the right materials 12 -17!
Build according to the right plan 18-20! Cannot manage a local church the same way you run a business. Good business principles…YES, but the operation is totally different. The world depends on promotion, prestige, and the influence of money and important people – the church depends on prayer, the power of the Spirit, humility, sacrifice and service. Though the church must be identified with the NEEDS of the world, it must not imitate the WISOM OF THE WORLD!
Build with the right motive – to glorify God. Paul points out that each believer possesses all things in Christ. We must not permit our personal preferences to become divisive prejudices. How rich we are in Christ. Paul is saying “get your eyes off of men…keep your eyes on Christ and work with Him in building the church! I have all things in Christ, but I must not become careless or use my freedom unwisely. Liberty and responsibility…we need both to build a church that will not turn to ashes when the fire falls.
Paul cried, And who is sufficient for these things…our sufficiency is of God!