I Corinthians 1:1-31For the next 10 weeks we’ll be studying I Corinthians.
The major themes of I Corinthians are: Church Unity; Church Leaders; Christian Morality; What Christian Should Do; What You Can Do; Expressing Love; and The Resurrection.
The Verses
01. 1-3 Paul introduces himself and establishes his authority. He addresses the First Baptist Church of Corinth as the sanctified and holy ones. He tells them they are included with Christians world-wide. He wishes them God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense, tells them that it comes from the Father and equates God and Jesus.
02. 3-9 Paul expresses gratitude to God for the Corinthian church. He refers to them as “enriched” in their speech and knowledge. Paul’s testimony about Christ is confirmed in them. Is his testimony about Christ confirmed in you?
Questions: How do you know that you repented unto salvation years ago? Because you continue to repent today. How do you know that you believe unto salvation years ago? Because you continue believing today. How do you know that God had an encounter with you years ago? Because He continues having an encounter with you today. The evidence of salvation is not only that He changed your life, but that He continues to change your life.
Paul promises strength to endure and great reward at the finish line (Heaven). He proclaims the faithfulness of God.
YouTube.com: The True Gospel (Paul Washer @ VCY America Conference)
03. 10-12 Paul establishes the first theme of I Corinthians: Unity in the church. He stresses that there be no divisions. We are not to follow Paul, Apollos, Calvin, Wesley, Sturgeon, R.G. Lee or any other theologian, we are to follow Christ.
04. 13-17 Christ is unified: with Himself; with God and with the Holy Spirit. Our job is not to baptize, although we should baptize as many as will receive Christ. Our primary job is to preach Christ, crucified for the remission of sin.
The cross divides the saved from the unsaved, but it should not divide the saved. It should unite them.
05. 18-25 To the unsaved person, the message of the cross doesn’t make sense. The message of the gospel (Christ crucified for the remission of sin and raised from the dead) is just too “out there” to grasp. Muslims can’t accept the “God killed His Son” thing; Jews want to please God by obedience to the Law (See Romans for a refutation of this concept). We don’t live by signs and wonders, we live by faith, without which it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6)
06. 26-29 Before any of us was saved, we were just like the rest of the world, impressed by our own wisdom. God chose the simplicity of the gospel to reveal to us His plan for His creation: that al who confess Jesus is Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead will be saved (Romans 10:9)
07. 30-31 Since we have no righteousness of our own, and since we can never achieve righteousness, Christ did not give us His righteousness, He IS righteousness for us. Therefore, there is no room for pride in the Christian life. If we boast, it must be about, and only about, what Christ has done for us in His death, burial and resurrection (Ephesians 2:4-9)
5 comments:
Joe - Of the seven major themes that you mention in the lesson on Corinthians, I would pick Church Unity as a tough one to accomplish.
I know that some churches do well with this, yet a church always has to be on the lookout for those who want to lead the way when it is not for them to choose that path.
We had a nasty problem a few years back with one of the members attacking the assistant pastor. It took quite some time for things to be patched up. During the problem, one of our leading couples left our church but now are back.
Is there evidence of these problems in the early church? I can't recall.
sue: Unity requires that one "die to self." This is a phrase the Apostle Paul uses many times, especially in Romans.
Most of us (including too many church members) have the attitude of "if it ain't my way then it couldn't be God's will."
We have to learn that Christianity is not in the least about us, it is all about Him.
You are quite right. It is tough. And there are many wolves in sheeps' clothing in our churches.
sue: Oh! And the book of I Corinthians was written to correct exactly these problems in the early church.
joe - Thanks. I like to think of this blog as a sort of Bible study.
sue: Well good! And thanks. The Biblical studies are the outlines of my weekly Bible study class.
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