i. Were the ones really right with God!, vi. ii. Yet in the first chapter of Acts, Jesus brothers are among the followers of Jesus (Acts 1:14). We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. Their problem with the resurrection also indicated the source of many of their moral problems. Their desire for wisdom was not bad, but their rejection of Gods wisdom was. The great Roman statesman Cicero said: The cross, it speaks of that which is so shameful, so horrible, it should never be mentioned in polite society. If we were witnesses to the trial of Jesus when the crowd was shouting out Crucify him! But death is an enemy nonetheless. Although Jesus bore the full wrath of God on the cross, iii. I will not fear thee, death, why should I? Paul knows that he is not one of the twelve apostles, but he is on par with them because, like them, he is chosen by God. (Robertson), An apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, : With this, Paul emphasizes his point and already begins contending with the Christians of Corinth. : Jesus made a special resurrection appearance to Peter (Luke 24:34). (30-31) True wisdom belongs to the believing. those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. He writes of the constant imminent danger to his physical life. iv. Where is your scribe? Spurgeon gives seven steps to dying daily in a sermon titled. It was bad enough that these associations had affected their thinking on an important matter like the resurrection, but this evil company could corrupt far more. It wasnt so much that they thought Apollos was great, but that they were great for following him. ? As is evident from 1 and 2 Corinthians, Pauls standing and authority as an apostle were not appreciated among the Christians of Corinth. Paul may be changing the names to protect the innocent, or to show mercy to the guilty. Paul tells them just what kind of apostle he is, a called apostle. Each of us is definitely moving in one of those two directions. b. Paul praises God for their positives, and expresses confidence that God will take care of their weak points, and, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, i. By man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead, : Here, Paul communicates the same ideas found in Romans 5:12-21. 4. He would gladly say, i. a. Paul made it clear that to be, ? . I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. : In a single moment, Jesus will gather His people (both dead and on the earth) to Himself, for resurrection. For Jews request a sign: In Pauls day, the Jewish world was looking for a sign. Sharing the Word of God with passion for Christ. Where is your disputer of this age? This the church of Corinth was famous for. The Corinthian Christians are, , but this was not based on the outward performance of the Corinthians. . And if one lets go of the gospel, all their. (5-8) Concrete evidence of Jesus resurrection. A thousand times no. While therefore it is unscriptural to make baptism essential to salvation or a certain means of regeneration, it is nevertheless a dangerous act of disobedience to undervalue or neglect it. (Hodge). So, even though our resurrection bodies come from our present bodies, we should not expect that they will be the same bodies or just improved bodies. (12-13) The resurrection of Jesus proves there is a resurrection. a. I thank my God always: Paul will later spend most of this letter rebuking sin and correcting error, yet he is still sincerely thankful for Gods work in the Corinthian Christians. He will. Corinth had a rich ethnic mix, and it was a center for sports, government, military, and business. Thy teeth are broken, oh old lion, wherefore should I fear thee? If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. d. Those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved: The verb tenses of are perishing and are being saved are significant. iii. The weight of the body, pulling down on the arms and shoulders, tended to fix the respiratory muscles in an inhalation state, and hindered exhalation. This is not Pauls gospel in the sense that he created it or fashioned it; it is Pauls gospel in the sense that he personally believes it and spreads it. 4. We might also think saying called saints is mere flattery, Pauls way of preparing them for coming rebuke. It might be easy for us to think they werent even saved! The gospel, Those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved. i. However, we never speak of the physical sufferings of Jesus to make us feel sorry for Jesus, as if He needed our pity. By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. The name Joshua means, Yahweh is salvation.. The work of God in the Corinthian Christians could be seen by what they said, by what they learned, by a supernatural element in their lives, and by their expectant anticipation of Jesus return. I know thou art no more able to destroy me, but thou art sent as a messenger to conduct me to the golden gate wherein I shall enter and see my Saviours unveiled face for ever. : When you plant a wheat seed, a big wheat seed does not come up. The pursuit of human wisdom may bring an earthly contentment or happiness (though this is rare), but in itself, it can never bring the true knowledge of the true God. through the pride and cleverness of men! How can Paul be confident of this when the Corinthian church has so many problems? Yet not it, but the grace of God which was with me. : In Pauls day, the Jewish world was looking for a, . As Paul said to Agrippa in Acts 26:8, This may be a foolish question (Paul calls his imaginary questioner , Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. viii. also implies there were some people or some things which might want to snatch the true gospel away from the Corinthian Christians. The first trumpet meant, strike the tents and prepare to leave; the second trumpet meant, fall into line; the third and last trumpet meant march away. This last trumpet describes the Christians marching orders at the rapture of the Church. I thank God Christ did not send me to baptize, : For Paul, preaching was more important than baptizing, though he was certainly not opposed to baptism. But that the, : It would be strange and inappropriate for us to receive resurrection before Jesus. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory, : Some take this to mean there will be different degrees of glory for believers in heaven. For the unbeliever, this life alone gives them any chance at pleasure, and whatever happiness they can find now is all the happiness they will ever know. Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. Someone once said to him, Well, what church are you in now? He said, I am in the true church at last. How many belong to it? Just my wife and myself, and I am not sure about her sometimes.. (58) Final application: how our destiny of resurrection means we should stand fast for the Lord right now. Einstein thought that their estimate was a little generous, but he replied: Is it possible that God exists in the 95% that you dont know?, d. Through the foolishness of the message: The Corinthians wanted to believe that the gospel itself was a sublime form of wisdom, as the Greeks considered wisdom (sophia). Certainly, this meeting of the resurrected Jesus with His brother. b. These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. i. Paul had an extensive history of contact with the city of Corinth, beginning with when he established the church in Corinth, coming there after Athens and staying a year and a half (Acts 18). ii. we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, mean that Paul predicted Jesus would come in his lifetime? is a softer way of describing the death of a believer, Paul tells us that not all Christians will die, but there will be a final generation who will be transformed into resurrection bodies at the return of Jesus before they ever face death. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory., O Death, where is your sting? You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. We dont find freedom by focusing on ourselves, because Jesus became for us redemption. means good news. As the word was used in ancient times, it didnt have to describe the message of salvation in Jesus Christ; it could describe any good news. But he had no desire to compete with other apostles for the Most Valuable Apostle award. iii. A truly Christian minister will seek much more to do spiritual good to men's souls, than to get the greatest applause to himself. The phrases foolishness of the message and foolishness of God do not mean Paul actually considered the message and God foolish. The problem is addressed. Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. i. He recognizes that the gifts were not the problem, but wrong attitudes and beliefs about the gifts. The cross was a time of victorious death, a, is part of the gospel. Paul uses this exact phrase five other times in the New Testament. Yet He was no phantom; He had a real flesh and bone body. He specifies utterance and knowledge, v. 5. Rather, He is saying that the worlds wisdom and education does not bring us salvation in Jesus Christ. Some of them denied the reality of resurrection, while believing in a resurrected Jesus. Gods wisdom is not mans wisdom multiplied to the highest degree. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. God raises the dead. But the best news ever is that we can be saved from the punishment we deserve from God because of what Jesus did for us. Verse 1. Nederlandstalige Bijbelstudies door Stan Marinussen, : The apostle Paul follows the normal pattern for writing a letter in ancient times. He knew that he was forgiven; yet he remembered his sin. It is significant that often the most educated people have the least regard for God. What of the dead in Christ before that day? . i. Paul faced all this for the sake of the resurrection of the dead, both Jesus resurrection and the believers. c. Since we will bear the image of the heavenly Man, the best example we have of what a resurrection body will be like is to see what Jesus resurrection body was like. He is, b. i. Those who believe that Jesus gathers His people after He has poured out His wrath on a Jesus-rejecting world sometimes argue that it is the last trumpet of judgment, cited in Revelation 11:15-19. e. Both theirs and ours: In his first few words, Paul lays the foundation for a fundamental issue he will address in this letter: Christian unity, based on the common Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is truly the, i. Paul reminds us of something important: death is an, . The. ) 1 CORINTHIANS - PROBLEMS OF A LOCAL CHURCH Click chart to enlarge Charts from Jensen's Survey of the NT - used by permission. 1 Corinthians 5 - Confronting Immorality in the Church A. 1 Corinthians 1:14-17 INTRODUCTION 1. As is evident from 1 and 2 Corinthians, Pauls standing and authority as an apostle were not appreciated among the Christians of Corinth. He regarded himself as. (54-57) Resurrection is the final defeat of death. Get Prayer Requests and Updates from David Guzik . : Our resurrection body will be glorious! Which is at Corinth: Corinth was one of the great cities of the ancient world, and a community very much like Southern California. Einstein asked them, how much of all the knowledge in the world they had amongst themselves collectively, as a class. (14-17) Paul is grateful he did not happen to baptize more people in Corinth and thereby add more fuel to the partisan debate. Were the ones really right with God!. Death has no power over the person found in Jesus Christ. But God did not respond to the polling data. In the ancient culture of Paul, a letter began with writing who the letter is from, and then stating who the letter is to. If there is no resurrection, and no future judgment, then we may as well have the best time we can right now and Paul was a fool for putting himself in such discomfort and danger for the sake of the gospel. : A title designating not only master and boss, but also the, : The given name of the son of Mary, and adopted son of Joseph, which is the Greek pronunciation of, : This is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew word for. Save your pity for those who reject the complete work of Jesus on the cross at Calvary, and save your pity for those preachers who do not have the heart of Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:23, when he proclaimed the center of the Christian message: ? ii. c. Enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and in all knowledge: This was the effect of grace in the life of the Corinthian Christians. i. Philippians 3:21 repeats Pauls theme: Who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. You must not only work, but you must labour put forth all your strength; and you must work and labour in the Lord under his direction, and by his influence; for without him you can do nothing. (Clarke). He kept to His gospel, because for those who believed it (. There is much in 1 Corinthians that is unflattering to the Christians of Corinth. Each of us is definitely moving in one of those two directions. Declare that His solutions prepares another generation for life. There may have been many more meetings that are not described in the gospels. b. How do some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? Significantly, Paul did not say, we baptize for the dead, but asked, . See passages such as Numbers 16:3, Numbers 20:4, Deuteronomy 23:1, and 1 Chronicles 28:8. was a secular term (referring to the gatherings of the citizenry in a city-state to discuss and decide on matters of public interest [Mare]), Paul calls the gathering of Christians in Corinth, . How different for the Christian! It is certain that a blind man is no judge of colours, a deaf man is no judge of sound, and a man who has never been quickened into spiritual life can have no judgment as to spiritual things. (Spurgeon). There is much in 1 Corinthians that is unflattering to the Christians of Corinth. i. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. The answer is, Yes! God does it and we do it. We work in a partnership with God, not because He needs us, but because He wants us to share in His work. Later in this letter, Paul writes that he transferred to himself and Apollos what applied to others (1 Corinthians 4:6). There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. b. The idea is that we have been purchased to permanent freedom. is the other head of the human race, and Jesus brings resurrection to all that are under His headship. 1. i. Paul came to Corinth from Athens, where he contended with the great philosophers of the day in terms they could understand (Acts 17:16-34). You dont understand the tension between, iii. They are shown to have, at times, morality problems, doctrine problems, church government problems, spiritual gift problems, church service problems, and authority problems. Finally, one could only read we, and the church also just became another social gathering place, all about we and not about God. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. iii. 1 Corinthians 15:1-19 - The Gospel of Jesus Christ 1 Corinthians 15:20-58 - The Glory of the Resurrection 1 Corinthians 16 - A Collection and a Conclusion 1 2 Bible Commentary Quick Navigation Start Here! I am not an apostle through the appointment of the other apostles. is simply a thing to be understood by spiritual, rather than by merely human perception. Many things made Corinth famous. It was founded on a promise of God, when He said, : In his first few words, Paul lays the foundation for a fundamental issue he will address in this letter: Christian unity, based on the common Lordship of Jesus Christ. On all counts, the resurrection body wins! Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. i. (33-34) Knowing the truth about our resurrection should affect the way we live. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. The Corinthians were called saints, not called to be saints. Though the idea of glorying in the death of a Savior seems foolishness to the world, it is salvation to those who will believe. It was common in the ancient world to dictate a letter to a scribe who would write it all down. Grace means that God gives freely, for His own reasons. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. ! Angels and human beings denote the universe, as gazing upon the conflicts and struggles of the apostles. As horrible as the physical suffering of Jesus was, this spiritual suffering the act of being judged for sin in our place was what Jesus really dreaded about the cross. Crucify him! if we had our wits about us, we would have shouted back, Dont crucify Him! To remain willfully ignorant of the truth is. You dont understand the tension between Christ and crucified. iv. iv. His replacement was a man named Sosthenes, who was beaten by the Roman officials in a bit of anti-Semitic backlash against the Jews who tried to persecute Paul. We are fools for Christ's sake; such in common account, and we are well content to be so accounted. (22-25) The wisdom of God, though foolish to the world, triumphs. The gospel is the message of the cross. Was Paul crucified for you? (11-13) Paul exposes the foolishness of their divisions. after His death. Encouraging and getting others to study, believe, and rely on God to be real. i. Righteousness means that we are legally declared not only not guilty, but to have a positive righteousness. For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Click to enable/disable _gid - Google Analytics Cookie. Though at the time of his writing 1 Corinthians it was still in the future, Pauls whole arrest, imprisonment, and journey to Rome as done for the sake of the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6, 24:15, and 24:21). Barclay says yes, and simply points out that Paul was dead wrong here. He had the right, and the authority, to command the Corinthian Christians in these matters. When Paul looked at the Corinthian church, he could say: These people proclaim Jesus, they know about Jesus, there are the supernatural gifts of God among them, and they are excited about Jesus return. Whatever problems they had, these are some pretty impressive strong points. b. i. Paul expressed the same idea again in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. We dont need to waver, we dont need to change direction, we dont need to fall, and we dont need to quit. 5. Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. Jesus burial is also important because it fulfilled the Scriptures which declared. iv. Should it not show us that gifts are nothing, unless they are laid on the altar of God; that it is nothing to have the gift of oratory; that it is nothing to have the power of eloquence; that it is nothing to have learning; that it is nothing to have influence, unless they all be dedicated to God, and consecrated to his service? (Spurgeon). We are no longer subject to the penalty of the law (death), and we are set free from sin. The Corinthian Christians are called saints, but this isnt exclusive to them. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. True wisdom isnt about getting smart. Gods wisdom is received in and through the person of Jesus. So also is the resurrection of the dead: Its hard to understand what our resurrection bodies will be like, so Paul will use contrast to help us, giving four contrasts between our present body and our future resurrection body. Barclay says yes, and simply points out that Paul was dead wrong here. Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? i. Their problem with the resurrection also indicated the source of many of their moral problems. a. But God cannot be found through human wisdom, but only through the, : The Corinthians wanted to believe that the gospel itself was a sublime form of wisdom, as the Greeks considered wisdom (. Knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord: Even if your labor is vain to everyone else, and everyone else discounts or doesnt appreciate what you do for the Lord, your labor is not in vain in the Lord. The atoms in the body are taken up in grass and eaten by a steer, and the steer is slaughtered and another man eats the meat and takes the atom into his body. It wasnt so much that they thought Apollos was great, but that. He, from this truth, sets himself to refute those who said, There is no resurrection of the dead, ver 12-19. The changed character of the apostles, and their willingness to die for the testimony of the resurrection, eliminate, For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. The Gospel of Matthew; The Gospel of Mark; The Gospel of Luke; The Gospel of John; The Book of Acts; The Book of Romans; The Book of 1 Corinthians . iii. After what has been said about the value of love only one admonition is in place: "Pursue love!" The church also had even lost Jesus in the message, preaching religious platitudes and social graces. Youre no great bargain. There were, not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, i. After that time, there will be a final, Satan inspired rebellion (Revelation 20:7-10), which Jesus will crush and finally and forever, is an Old Testament figure for total conquest. (Mare), The last enemy that will be destroyed is death, : Death will be present during the millennial reign of Jesus (Revelation 20:9 and Isaiah 65:20), but afterward, death will be abolished. a. But they still were known as. isnt detailed in the gospels, but is suggested by Matthew 28:10 and 28:16-17. What message does a cruel, humiliating, unrelenting instrument of death have? As Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica. He kept to His gospel, because for those who believed it (both Jews and Greeks), Christ crucified is the power of God and the wisdom of God. ( 1 Corinthians) Lenski - The transition is simple and perfect. All the more, this is why they had to hold on! Expiring saints have often said that their last beds have been the best they have ever slept upon. (Spurgeon), iii. a. Jesus, who became for us wisdom: Jesus perfectly shows us, in His teaching and life, Gods wisdom. Paul isnt condemning all learning or education; he merely says that by themselves they are useless for obtaining spiritual wisdom. Death is defeated by resurrection. d. Lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect: Paul makes it clear that it is possible to preach the gospel in a way that makes it of no effect. Were the ones really right with God!, : There was the Jesus Party, who declared You all are so carnal, following after mere men. With enemies like that, no wonder Paul could say, , ii. The words message of the cross sound kind of noble and religious to our twentieth-century ears. i. Christ (Messiah) meant power, splendor, and triumph. And so it is written, [verse 1 Corinthians 15:45 ,] The first man Adam was made a living soul; but the last Adam [Jesus Christ] was made a quickening spirit ( 1 Corinthians 15:45 ). Certain divines tell us that they must adapt truth to the advance of the age, which means that they must murder it and fling its dead body to the dogs which simply means that a popular lie shall take the place of an offensive truth. (Spurgeon). : This was doubtless some very religious matron at Corinth, whose family were converted to the Lord; some of whom were probably sent to the apostle to inform him of the dissensions which then prevailed in the Church at that place., : The Corinthian church suffered under quarreling and conflict. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. This remarkable, instant gathering of Christians unto Jesus in the clouds has been called the rapture, after the Latin word for caught up in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. ii. : Even if your labor is vain to everyone else, and everyone else discounts or doesnt appreciate what you do for the Lord, . If you are an unbeliever, death is not your friend; it is your enemy. We dont need to waver, we dont need to change direction, we dont need to fall, and we dont need to quit. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Corinth was a major city of business, especially because of its location. Instead, with loving heart, he begs them he pleads with them to be unified as believers. The really significant background, though, is its use in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to render the divine name, Yahweh Christians who used this as their Bible would be familiar with the term as equivalent to deity. (Morris, in Romans), ii. ii. When we understand what Paul meant when he wrote, , If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable, , then we understand what a difficult life Paul lived. This should make us steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord! : We dont often think of the burial of Jesus as part of the gospel, but it is. Unfortunately, many of them never communicate any encouragement with their correction and advice. is perhaps mentioned in Acts 18:17, as the head of a Corinthian synagogue who was beaten because he protected Paul. As the chief things, or matters of the greatest importance; fundamental truths.. That which I - received By revelations from God himself, and not from man.. That Christ died for our sins The death of Jesus Christ, as a vicarious sacrifice for sin, is ; among the things . Enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and in all knowledge, : This was the effect of grace in the life of the Corinthian Christians. But resurrection means, that your labor is not in vain in the Lord, steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. : The book of Acts does not record an occasion when Paul faced wild animals in an arena. If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage. Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? The disunion is unnatural and must be cured.. Finally, one could only read, , and the church also just became another social gathering place, all about, To the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, ; perhaps this is better understood as an, . d. That no flesh should glory in His presence: This is the end result. Whatever the preacher may mean in his heart, he will be guilty of the blood of souls if he does not clearly proclaim a real sacrifice for sin. (Spurgeon), vi. There is inherent power in the preaching of the true gospel, when it is received with faith. Were the ones really right with God! (Acts 18:24-25), iii. b. Their idolatry was to conceive of God as ultimate Reason, meaning of course what we deem to be reasonable. (Fee). Session 3: Superiority of the New Covenant. 2. : As Paul describes the gospel in the following verses, it is important to notice that this gospel is not insightful teaching or good advice. They were not the spiritual achievements of the Corinthians, but the work of the grace of God in them. This Pauline letter is one of earliest writings in the New Testament, alongside his Thessalonian correspondence. The plain fact is that Paul did not know when these events would take place, and nowhere does he claim to know. , and the church also started preaching Jesus the Great Man and Jesus the Moral Example instead of Christ crucified. It is wisdom of a different order altogether. As through the sin of the first Adam, all men became mortal, because all had from him the same sinful nature, so, through the resurrection of Christ, shall all who are made to partake of the Spirit, and the spiritual nature, revive, and live for ever.