1 Corinthians: 1 Corinthians Chapter 1

1 Corinthians
Above image from https://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-pauline-epistles/first-corinthians

(1) This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes.

Paul ... chosen ... an apostle:

From www.gotquestions.org/apostleship.html: This epistle begins with an emphasis upon his apostleship because false teachers in Corinth challenged Paul's apostolic authority because he had not been part of the original twelve disciples. Some were wondering if he were even a false apostle as some even today believe. Some believers today think Paul replaced Judas as one of the 12, but he was not qualified. Peter (per Acts 1:12–26) said that the Judas’ place among the apostles had to be filled and he laid out the qualifications for who could replace Judas to complete the 12 again. Candidates needed to have been with Jesus during the whole three years that Jesus was among them. That is, he needed to be an eyewitness of Jesus’ baptism. He needed to have heard Jesus’ teachings and been present to see His healings and other miracles. He needed to have witnessed Jesus sacrifice Himself on the cross and to have seen Jesus walk, talk and eat among the disciples again after His resurrection. These were the pivotal facts of Jesus’ life, the heart of the message they were to teach, and personal witnesses were required to verify the truth of the good news. The prayer group in Jerusalem nominated two who met these qualifications for apostleship: Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias. Then the disciples asked God to guide them to know which one was to fill the post. Using a method of determining God’s will that was common at that time, they cast lots, thus giving God freedom to make His choice clear. The lot fell to Matthias, and he became the twelfth apostle. Months later, Saul, one of the Pharisees, was trying to stamp out the new “cult” of Christianity by killing and jailing some of Jesus’ followers. While Saul was on one of his deadly errands to Damascus, the living Jesus personally appeared to him. This encounter with the resurrected Lord revolutionized Saul’s life. In a vision to another believer in Damascus, Jesus said that He had chosen Saul “as My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15; 22:14-15). Following his conversion, Paul spent some time in Arabia, where he was taught by Christ (Galatians 1:12-17). The other apostles recognized that Jesus Himself had appointed their former enemy to be one of them. As Saul went into Gentile territories, he changed his name to the Greek “Paul,” and Jesus, who gave Paul his apostleship, sent many messages through him to His churches and to unbelievers. It was this apostle, Paul, who wrote over half of the books of the New Testament. In two of his Epistles, Paul identifies the office of apostle as the first that Jesus appointed to serve His churches (1 Corinthians 12:27-30; Ephesians 4:11). Clearly, the work of apostleship was to lay the foundation of the Church in a sense secondary only to that of Christ Himself (Ephesians 2:19-20), thus requiring eyewitness authority behind their preaching. After the apostles laid the foundation, the Church could be built. While Paul never claimed to be included among the original twelve, believers have recognized that Jesus appointed him as His special apostle to the Gentiles (Galatians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 9:1; Acts 26:16-18). There are others in the early church referred to as “apostles” (Acts 14:4, 14; Romans 16:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:6), but only in the sense that they were appointed, authorized, and sent by churches on special errands. These individuals bore the title “apostle” in a limited sense and did not possess all the qualifications of apostleship that the original twelve and Paul did. No biblical evidence exists to indicate that these thirteen apostles were replaced when they died. See Acts 12:1-2 about the death of James, for example. Jesus appointed the apostles to do the founding work of the Church, and foundations only need to be laid once. After the apostles’ deaths, other offices besides apostleship, not requiring an eyewitness relationship with Jesus, would carry on the work. The apostolic gift died out in the first generation. There was no provision for successors. It is not passed on though the laying on of hands, there is no such thing as apostolic succession. That term was originally used in the next century, the second century; but at first it did not refer to a succession of individuals, that was the perversion of it as it came down into the Roman Catholic church. It wasn't a succession of individuals but a succession of doctrine. You were a successor of the apostles if you taught the same doctrine the apostles taught.

It seems evident from the Scriptures that the gift of apostleship was limited to the first-century church. Apostles were distinguished from prophets and teachers in 1 Corinthians 12:28. During the apostolic period they had unusual authority and were the channels of divine revelation. Often they had the gift of prophecy as well as that of working miracles. Generally speaking, those who were in the inner circle of the apostles were eyewitnesses of the resurrection of Christ or, like Paul, had seen Christ subsequent to His resurrection.
Acts 1:21-22: “So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus - from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”
Acts 9:15: But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.
Acts 22:8-15: “‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. “And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are persecuting.’ The people with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice speaking to me. “I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ “And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do.’ “I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions. A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus. He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And that very moment I could see him! “Then he told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him speak. For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard.
Acts 26:16-18: Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future. And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’
Romans 1:1: This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News.
Galatians 1:1,11-12: This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. ... Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 9:1-6: Am I not as free as anyone else? Am I not an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus our Lord with my own eyes? Isn’t it because of my work that you belong to the Lord? Even if others think I am not an apostle, I certainly am to you. You yourselves are proof that I am the Lord’s apostle.
1 Corinthians 15:7-10: Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me - and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.
2 Corinthians 10:8-10: I may seem to be boasting too much about the authority given to us by the Lord. But our authority builds you up; it doesn’t tear you down. So I will not be ashamed of using my authority. I’m not trying to frighten you by my letters. For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!
2 Corinthians 12:1-4: This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know - only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.

Christ Jesus:

The fact that Paul referred to "Jesus Christ" (or "Christ Jesus" or "Lord Jesus Christ" or "Christ" or "Jesus Christ our Lord") nine times in these first nine verses shows the central place that the Lord Jesus occupied in the apostle's thinking and writing that follows.

Sosthenes:
- Per Acts 18, Sosthenes was a ruler of the Corinthian synagogue and was brought before Gallio's judgment seat and beaten. Apparently, Sosthenes became a Christian and was Paul's amanuensis (scribe) in this letter.

(2) I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

God's church:

He calls it so notwithstanding its many blots.

To be:

"to be" is not in the original and the KJV translates holy people (hagios) as "saints." So, this more properly should be made saints by God"! Sainthood is our unalterable position without the pope declaring us to be saints - in fact we don't even have to die to be called saints! We are not merely called saints, but by the Blood of Jesus and the grace of God we are saints. The word means morally holy and consecrated or make acceptable to God and for service to Him.

God's church in Corinth:

Not the Baptist, Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Christian, Church of Christ, Methodist or any of the other hundreds of denominational churches - simply the God's Church in Corinth!
Most people today associate the word church with a building where Christians meet. But the ancient Greek word for church (ekklesia) was a non-religious word for an "assembly" of people, typically gathered together for a specific purpose.

Called by God:

“Called” is a reference to their point of salvation. When they were “called” to receive the offer of salvation none of them were called because they deserved it. “Called” is from the word kaleo. The root word is ka which means “to call anyone, to invite, summon”. But, throughout scripture and history men and women have rejected God’s call.

Holy people (sanctified, sacred):

Hagios means “consecrated to God, sanctified, holy, sacred" almost always used in the plural; often translated "saints" or "God’s people" or "believers."

They were separated from the mass of heathens around them, are made holy - consecrated to God as his peculiar people.
Paul's message is this: Jesus Christ made you holy, now BECOME what you are! Your walk should match your position!
At the instant of salvation, we are positionally sanctified (made a "saint") or set apart for the service of God and are designated saints. Being a saint has nothing to do with one's life style or morals; it has everything to do with who you are in Jesus Christ. This is indicated by the fact that he says this to the Corinthians who were engaged in every kind of sin. Then he adds "with all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours." This last phrase is added in order to emphasize that the Corinthians are not any special group.
In Roman Catholic theology, the saints are in heaven. In the Bible, the saints are on earth. In Roman Catholic teaching, a person does not become a saint unless he or she is “beatified” or “canonized” by the pope or prominent bishop. In the Bible, everyone who has received Jesus Christ by faith is a saint. In Roman Catholic practice, the saints are revered, prayed to, and in some instances, worshiped. In the Bible, saints are called to revere, worship and pray to God alone. God has sanctified us, another form of the same Greek word; He has set us apart and made us holy.
Deuteronomy 7:6: For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.
Deuteronomy 26:19: And if you do, he will set you high above all the other nations he has made. Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown. You will be a nation that is holy to the Lord your God, just as he promised.”
Romans 1:7: I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Romans 16:2: Welcome her in the Lord as one who is worthy of honor among God’s people. Help her in whatever she needs, for she has been helpful to many, and especially to me.
2 Corinthians 1:1: This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. I am writing to God’s church in Corinth and to all of his holy people throughout Greece.
Ephesians 1:3-4: All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
Ephesians 4:12: Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
Ephesians 5:3: Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.
Philippians 1:1;4:21: This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons. ... Give my greetings to each of God’s holy people - all who belong to Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you their greetings.
Hebrews 10:14: For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.
1 Peter 1:15-16: But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
Jude 1:3: Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.

Call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ:
- To call on the name of Jesus as Lord is to worship Him.

(3) May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Grace and peace:

The greeting including grace and peace is typical of Paul's letters, and draws from both Greek and Jewish customs. Paul uses this exact phrase five other times in the New Testament.
Lenski: "Grace is always first, peace always second. This is due to the fact that grace is the source of peace."

(4) I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus.

I always thank my God:

1 Thessalonians 5:18: Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 5:20: And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Gracious gifts:

They had the gifts of miracles, the healings, teachings, tongues and interpretation of tongues, knowledge and leadership. God's church in Corinth did not lack a single one of the gifts of the Spirit.

(5) Through him, God has enriched your church in every way - with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge.

Eloquent words (logos):

By "words" or "speech" (NASB) or "speaking" (NIV; Greek logos), the apostle meant eloquence, the ability to express their "knowledge" (Greek gnosis) fluently and effectively. As we shall see, knowledge and eloquence were two things the Corinthians valued very highly. These characteristics appear, by their usage in this letter and in 2 Corinthians, to have been common buzzwords in Corinth. Logos occurs 26 times in 1 and 2 Corinthians, compared to 58 times in Paul's other epistles, and gnosis appears 16 times in these two epistles, but only seven times in all of Paul's other writings.

(6) This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true.

Confirms:

Mark 16:20: And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.
Hebrews 2:4: And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.

(7) Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual gift:

Spiritual gifts, such as "speaking in tongues" do not automatically lead to spirituality. No church in the New Testament had such an abundance of gifts as the Corinthian church, yet no other church was so filled with sin and divisions.
These miraculous gifts were a Divine confirmation of the earthly kingdom testimony during the Acts period. They do not belong to the present age when the earthly kingdom people Israel are laid aside in unbelief. Peter declared that the Second Advent of Christ only awaited the repentance and conversion of Israel, (Acts 3:19-26). No one knew whether Israel would obey, but by Acts 28:28, the Jews had rejected their Messiah, God set aside Israel and God brought in a new program for the Gentiles, labeled the mystery.
No one was more “charismatic” than the Apostle Paul - he said he spoke in tongues more than all of them (1 Corinthians 14:18)! Yet, the Lord revealed to him that those sign gifts were going to cease: "Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!" (1 Corinthians 13:8). Here Paul writes of the gift of tongues, the gift of prophecy and the gift of knowledge (see 1 Corinthians 13:1-2) and states that the Lord Jesus had revealed to him that a time was coming when these sign gifts were going to cease to operate. During this time in the Book of Acts, the Lord revealed to Paul that the sign gifts were going to cease (1 Corinthians 13:8-12). The gifts were all in operation all through the Book of Acts period and are mentioned in the letters written during that time, but the Lord had revealed that the sign gifts were going to cease at some time in the future. Now, when we turn to the prison epistles, the four letters written shortly after the end of the Book of Acts, while Paul was a prisoner in Rome - Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon and Philippians, we find that there is not one word about tongues or the gift of healing. Even where we might have expected Paul to write of tongues in the passage about being “be filled with the Holy Spirit” in Ephesians 5:18, he has nothing to say about tongues. And as for the gift of healing, we read of a co-worker of Paul’s, Epaphroditus, who fell seriously ill during this time (Philippians 2:25-30) and Paul no longer had the gift of healing, and was no longer able to heal as he did only a few years earlier in Acts 28:9. The sign gifts were no longer operating at the time that Paul wrote the Prison Epistles. It is clear that the gift of healing has ceased because, as in Philippians, Paul was no longer able to heal, even his co-workers. Timothy was suffering stomach problems and frequent infirmities (1 Timothy 5:23) and Paul can’t heal him, doesn’t recommend that he go to a healer in the church, doesn’t send a prayer cloth or a bottle of anointing oil (remember the miracles of some 8 years earlier in Acts 19:11-12). Likewise in 2 Timothy 4:20, Paul has to leave behind his co-worker Trophimus who had fallen sick on the last journey. Paul’s gift of healing (Acts 28:9) was no longer operating in Philippians 2:27, 1 Timothy 5:23 and 2 Timothy 4:20. The sign gifts, tongues, prophecy, the gift of healing, etc. were operating all through the Book of Acts, and these gifts are mentioned in the letters that Paul wrote during the Acts period. But when we turn to the letters written after the Book of Acts - the 4 Prison Epistles, and the 3 Pastoral Epistles, we find that the sign gifts either aren’t mentioned at all or we see - as with the gift of healing - that they were no longer operating in Paul’s life. What he could do in Acts 28, he could no longer do in Philippians, or in 1 and 2 Timothy. He could heal all the sick on the island in Acts 28:9, but he couldn’t heal any of his closest co-workers - Timothy, Epaphroditus, Trophimus - after the close of the Book of Acts. Why? These "signs" were for the Jews. In Rome, meeting with the Jewish leaders there, Paul says in Acts 28:25-28 (KJV): "And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it." And so, the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, in Israel, in Samaria, in Asia, in Greece and now finally in Rome had rejected the Messiah. As a result, Israel has been set aside for 2000 years during this age called the Mystery. Yet, Paul said that all Israel will be saved at the end of this age - Romans 11:25-26: "I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved."

1 Corinthians 13:1-2: If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:8-12: Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
1 Corinthians 14:18-19: I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you. But in a church meeting I would rather speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language.

Ephesians 5:18: Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,
Philippians 2:25-30: Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need. I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him - and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another. So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you. Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve. For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away.

1 Timothy 5:23: Don’t drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often.

2 Timothy 4:20: Erastus stayed at Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.

Wait for the return of our Lord:
- "Return" is not the Greek word parousia but the Greek word apokalupsus (apocalypse) which means unveiling, when He is manifested before the whole world. When He shall be manifested in glory, then we shall be manifested with Him. This arrival of the Lord Jesus on the earth, called the Second Coming, had been clearly described by Him in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. It was to be a visible bodily return which the Book of the Revelation describes as being a time when "everyone will see him - even those who pierced him" (Revelation 1:7). This should not be confused with the Rapture. This return of the Messiah is the hope of Israel and the primary theme of the Book of Acts. The early Christians awaited His return eagerly.

(8) He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.

Strong to the end:

He would preserve them, so that at the coming of the Lord Jesus they might be found blameless. This is one of the many places which express the strong confidence of Paul, that those who are true Christians shall be preserved unto everlasting life:

Philippians 1:6: And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Free from all blame (blameless, guiltless):

The words rendered “free from all blame” (anegklhtouv) do not mean perfect, but rather “unimpeachable”, “unaccusable”, declared innocent.
When we stand at last at the judgment seat of Christ, God Himself is going to see to it that no charge can stand against any believer, because the Lord Jesus Christ has atoned for all our sins with His own precious blood. Every failure in life will be dealt with there, and all the wood, hay and stubble will be burned in the fire of that day. But, it does not imply that at the judgment seat of Christ there will be complete equality among believers (cf. 3:10-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Moreover, it does not mean that once God regenerates a person, that individual never sins again (cf. 1 John 1:6-10). It means that every Christian will stand before the Lord guiltless, unimpeachable, because God has imputed the guilt of our sins to the Savior (cf. Romans 5:1; 8:1).
There is a difference between being blameless and being sinless. None of us Christians will ever reach a place where we don’t sin (1 John 1:8-10: If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.).
Romans 5:1, 8:1, 8:33: Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. ... So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. ... Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one - for God himself has given us right standing with himself.
1 Thessalonians 3:13, 5:23: May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen. ... Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
Colossians 1:22: Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

On the day:
- On the Day when the Lord Jesus shall come to judge the world.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:10: When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people - praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.
- Ephesians 4:30: And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
- Philippians 1:6: And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

(9) God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

He is faithful:

1 Corinthians 10:13: The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
2 Thessalonians 3:3: But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
2 Timothy 2:13: If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.
Hebrews 10:23: Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
1 John 1:9: But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Partnership (Greek - koinonia - "fellowship"):
- Ray Stedman: "What was wrong? Well, what was wrong was the Corinthians lack of understanding of what it meant to have Jesus Christ living among them. I have been traveling widely these last few weeks. I have been up and down the West Coast and back into the Middle West, to Chicago, Dallas, Peoria, and Denver, and up to Washington and down to Southern California, and, in all these places, almost everywhere I have gone, I have found that the major struggle of churches is right at this point. They have lost the sense that Jesus is among them, that they have an individual relationship to the Lord of glory himself. They no longer live their lives in the awareness and the excitement that they are PARTNERS with Christ in everything they do. When that begins to fade from the Christian consciousness, all these troubles that the Corinthians were experiencing begin to crowd in, and press in upon us. Therefore, this letter is written to call these people back, as it is written to call us back as well, to an awareness of what it means to have fellowship with Christ."
- J. Vernon McGee: "This is without doubt one of the greatest privileges that is given to us. If you are in Christ, if you have come to Him and accepted Him as your Savior, then you are in partnership with Christ. He is willing to be our partner. Therefore this means an intimate relationship to Christ. ... The marriage partnership means different things. It means having mutual interests. I'm in that kind of partnership with the Lord Jesus, too. Christ is interested in me and I am interested in Him. That carries it to a pretty high plane, you see. Also, we have a mutual devotion. His resources are mine, and mine are His. He doesn't get very much, but He owns me. I have presented my body to Him. Now that answers quite a few questions for me about where I can go and what I can do. Do you see that our decisions are made on a higher plane than simply "Dare I do this?" or "Ought I do that?" We belong to Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ belongs to us."
- Dr. Bob Utley: "Believers' lifestyles after they meet Christ are evidence of their salvation (cf. the NT books of James and 1 John). They are saved by grace through faith unto works (cf. Ephesians 2:8-9,10)! They are saved to serve (cf. Rom. 6:11)! Faith without works is dead, as are works without faith (cf. Matthew 7:21-23 and James 2:14-26). The goal of the Father's choice is that believers be "holy and blameless" (cf. Ephesians 1:4; Matthew 5:48). Paul was often attacked for his radically free gospel because it seemed to encourage godless living. A gospel so seemingly unconnected to moral performance might lead to abuse. Paul's gospel was free in the grace of God and the finished work of Christ and the wooing of the Holy Spirit, but it also demanded an appropriate response, not only in initial repentance, but in ongoing repentance. Godly living is the result, not lawlessness. Good works are not the mechanism of salvation, but the result. This paradox of a completely free salvation and a cost-everything response is difficult to communicate, but the two must be held in a tension-filled, paradoxical, dialectical balance. One dare not separate justification and sanctification."

(10) I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

Paul now dispenses with the "niceties" and gets down to the reason he wrote the letter. In the original, this verse begins in the with the Greek word de indicating an antithesis, a contrast, an opposite or a change of subject. In this case, he's introducing an opposite to being partners with Christ - in fact, a contrast to what he had written in verses 1:1-9.
I appeal:

The word in the Greek is parakaleo, which carries with it the meaning of one who comes along side to encourage you with comfort and good advice. Paul would use parakaleo again translated as urge in:

1 Corinthians 4:16 – “So I So I urge you to imitate me. to imitate me.”

1 Corinthians 16:15-16 – “You know that Stephanas and his household were the first of the harvest of believers in Greece, and they are spending their lives in service to God’s people. I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, to submit to them and others like them who serve with such devotion.”

Live in harmony:

This solution he gives in verse 10, which was a mandate to unity, to not divide up according to personalities, is not ecumenicalism. Ecumenicalism is unity despite doctrinal differences. In all ecumenical systems, you basically ignore all doctrinal distinctions.
Romans 15:5-6: May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 13:11: Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.
Philippians 1:27;2:2: Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. ... Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

Divisions:
- Greek - schismata, often translated division, rent, torn. The "divisions" of verse 10 becomes the “quarrels” between people in verse 11.
- Spurgeon: "I bless God that there are so many denominations. If there were not men who differed a little in their creeds, we should never get as much gospel as we do ... God has sent different men to defend different kinds of truth; but Christ defended and preached all ... Christ's testimony was perfect."
- Romans 16:17-18: And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.
- 1 Corinthians 11:18: First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it.
United:
- Greek katartizo - "united", a surgical term for setting bones that are broken and out of place. This word is used in Mark 1:19 to refer to the mending and restoring of nets. The general meaning would appear to be "put the broken unity back together".

(11) For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters.

Chloe's household:

Chloe was probably a member of the church at Corinth, some of whose family had been at Ephesus when Paul was there, and had given him information of the problems in the church in Corinth.

Quarrels:
- The root of all contention is pride. Proverbs 13:10 warns: “Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.” (KJV)

(12) Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.”

Paul reprimands them for their immaturity and points to God as the one who deserves glory, not His servants:

1 Corinthians 3:1-7,21-22: Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world? After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building. So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you - whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you,

I am a follower of Paul:

Those who claimed to follow Paul were probably mostly Gentile converts - men brought up free from the bondage of the Mosaic law, and free from the influence of Jewish ideas and usages. Their background was one of gross sin.

I follow Apollos:
- Since Apollos was an Alexandrian Jew, distinguished for literary culture and eloquence, it is probable that the more highly educated among the Corinthian Christians were his peculiar followers. Apparently, Apollos arrived in Corinth when Paul was still there - Acts 18:24-26: Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately
- 1 Corinthians 4:1,6: So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries. ... Dear brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another.
- 1 Corinthians 16:12: Now about our brother Apollos - I urged him to visit you with the other believers, but he was not willing to go right now. He will see you later when he has the opportunity.
I follow Peter:
- Those who "followed Peter" were probably the Jewish legalists who followed the Jewish law and the link with Jerusalem. They were determined opponents of the Apostle Paul. These contentions were fomented by false teachers (2 Corinthians 11:13) who were Jews (2 Corinthians 11:22) and worked to undermine the authority of Paul as an apostle.
I follow only Christ:
- The "Christ followers" may have been those who took the attitude only the words of Christ spoken when on earth counted and ignored what Jesus had instructed the disciples including Paul after His ascension - much like those today who believe only what is in red in their Bible counts!
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, tells of a dream that he once had in which he was transported to the gates of hell. He stood there and called out: "Are there any Roman Catholics here?" "Yes," came the reply. "Are there any Presbyterians?" "Yes," was the answer. "Any Congregationalists?" "Yes." "Are there any Methodists here?" "Yes," came the reply. As Wesley thought on this last answer, he was suddenly transported to the gates of heaven. Once again, he called out: "Are there any Roman Catholics here?" "No," came the reply. "Are there any Presbyterians?" "No," was the answer. "Any Congregationalists?" "No." "Are there any Methodists here?" "No," came the reply. Puzzled, he asked, "Well then, who is here?" The answer came back, "Christians." There is coming a day when all of the party denominations and separations will be done away, because we will have all truth and discover where we were wrong.
95 A.D., 40 years after Paul wrote this letter, Clement of Rome in his letter to the church in Corinth says that these cliques and these divisions were still in the church.
Lucian, the unbelieving Greek writer, observed the Christians around him and the fellowship that they had one for another, and he wrote this: "It is incredible to see the fervor with which the people of that religion help each other. In their wants they spare nothing."
1 Corinthians 12:12-13: The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

(13) Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!

Factions:

Calvin's translation: “Now I say that there are contentions, because you are ranged under different leaders,” etc."

(14) I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,

Crispus:

Crispus had been the chief ruler of the synagogue at Corinth (Acts 18:8).

Gaius:
- Gaius resided at Corinth, and Paul resided at his house when he wrote the Epistle to the Romans (Romans 16:23). It is also possible that the Third Epistle of John was directed to this man (3 John 1:1).
- Romans 16:23: Gaius says hello to you. He is my host and also serves as host to the whole church. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you his greetings, and so does our brother Quartus.
- 3 John 1:1: This letter is from John, the elder. I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth.

(15) for now no one can say they were baptized in my name.

(16) (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.)

Stephanas:

1 Corinthians 16:15: You know that Stephanas and his household were the first of the harvest of believers in Greece, and they are spending their lives in service to God’s people...

(17) For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News - and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

The occasion for their quarrels and division was baptism, that they were looking upon whoever baptized them as some sort of leader-celebrity that they were associated with. What caused them to think that the person who baptized them was someone they ought to ally themselves in some sort of personality cult or association? What caused that mindset, that mentality? Then Paul moves from talking about lining themselves up with different leaders to the gospel. He focuses on that here in verse 17.
Baptize:

This is a very important statement by the Apostle Paul that reveals a lot about the way he viewed water baptism. If he had deemed water baptism necessary for salvation, as some people proclaim today, he would never have made a statement like this. Just as with Peter, when he argued for the conversion of the Gentiles before the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, Paul did not consider baptism a requirement for salvation.
When you trusted Christ as your savior, probably all you knew at that time was that Jesus died on the cross as a substitute for your sins - if even that much! In fact, my wife did not understand what had happened when she was a child when she accepted Jesus as her savior until she watched salvation being explained to little neighborhood kids at a Child Evangelism class held in our home! After you were saved, you did not know exactly what happened to you at the instant you put your faith alone in Christ alone. You didn’t realize that at that instant you were baptized into Christ, that you were identified with His death, burial and resurrection and seated with Him in heaven. You did not know at that instant you were indwelt by God the Holy Spirit and that your body became a temple of God.
Larger evangelical churches have their weekly brag-fest from the pulpit equating the number of baptisms to number of conversions. No true church should pour all their focus on numbers. If number of conversions is the measure of success for a church or a preacher, then Jesus, Paul, Peter and so many others were failures! Some churches are fixated on numbers, not on preaching the whole word of God. If they did that, their number would go down because some may be offended. True growth is seeing new members stay because they are fed the word properly. Prosperity Gospel preacher Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas is the largest church in the USA, averaging 43,5000 in attendance - but what "gospel" does he actually preach? One of the worst plagues to hit Israel came about when David numbered his troops, taking pride in his military might. For all the external, visible signs of success David could see and count, only God could knew the true condition of Israel. Widespread spiritual decay would soon divide David’s kingdom and eventually expel the people of Israel and Judah from the land of promise.
Baptism, like circumcision, was a physical rite, and seemed to give the flesh a place before God. The entire tenor of Paul's commission was against this. He draws a sharp line between baptizing and evangelizing.
Ephesians 4:4-6: For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

What is this "one baptism?"

1 Corinthians 12:13: Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
David Guzik: "For Paul, preaching was more important than baptizing, though he was certainly not opposed to baptism. Yet, we can see by this that baptism is not essential to salvation. If it were - if the teaching of baptismal regeneration were true - then Paul could never thank God that he baptized so few in Corinth, and he, as an evangelist, could never say Christ did not send me to baptize."

Preach the good news:
- Notice how he addresses this problem of interpersonal quarrels. He moves from the problem and its solution to focusing on the cross. He was sent to proclaim the gospel, and there we have the Greek verb kerusso which means to proclaim and it is related to the function in secular culture of a secular herald or announcer who was sent out from the court. The verb kerusso and the noun kerux, for a preacher or proclaimer, always seems to be associated with a particular content in the Scriptures, and that content always seems to be about giving the gospel.

(18) The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

Message:
- Greek logos (word). The topic of 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5 is "Human wisdom versus God's wisdom".
The cross:

Ray Stedman: "Paul is going to show us clearly, in a very profound passage, what the cross does in human thinking and in human affairs. The cross, of course, has become the symbol of Christianity today. Ladies wear it on chains around their necks; we use it as decorations in various places. We have become so familiar with the cross in those terms that we have forgotten much of the impact it had in the 1st century. It was, for these early Christians, and for those among whom they lived, a horrible symbol. If you had used it then as a symbol it would have made people shudder. We would get much closer to it today if we substituted a symbol of an electric chair for the cross."
Ray Stedman: "What is meant by this verse, primarily, is a reference to the judgment that the cross makes upon human life. That is where we run into what Paul calls later "the offense of the cross." When you say that Jesus was crucified you are saying that when the universally acknowledged finest man who ever lived takes the place of any one of us, or any person who has ever lived, he deserves nothing but the instant judgment of God, and death at God's hand. That is a judgment on all of us. That is what people do not like about the cross. It condemns our righteousnesses. It casts aspersion on all our good efforts, wipes them all out and says they are totally worthless. A single individual yielding to the God who made him, and filled with the power of God designed for him, is worth far more than all the created universe, but man without God is a totally worthless being whose only value lies in the possibility that that divine life can be reinstated in him. That is the word of the cross, and that is what Paul means when he speaks of the cross as the symbol of the Christian life."
David Guzik: "Though the word gospel isn't in this verse, it is in the previous verse. For Paul, the message of the cross was the gospel. It was impossible for the Apostle to preach the gospel without presenting the message of the cross. So, preaching a high moral standard is not preaching the gospel, preaching the universal fatherhood of God is not preaching the gospel, and preaching the universal brotherhood of man is not preaching the gospel. The gospel is the message of the cross."
David Guzik: "Let every pulpit rightly say, "we preach Christ crucified!" A strong church once inscribed these words on an archway leading to the churchyard. Over time, two things happened: the church lost its passion for Jesus and His gospel, and ivy began to grow on the archway. The growth of the ivy, covering the message, showed the spiritual decline. Originally it said strongly, we preach Christ crucified. But as the ivy grew, one could only read "we preach Christ", and the church also started preaching "Jesus the Great Man" and "Jesus the Moral Example" instead of Christ crucified. The ivy kept growing, and one could soon only read, "we preach". The church also had even lost Jesus in the message, preaching religious platitudes and social graces. Finally, one could only read "we", and the church also just became another social gathering place, all about we and not about God."
Dr. Erwin Lutzer (Moody Church - Chicago) points out that the cross offends modern men and women in three ways. First, it offends our pride. The cross was and is a sign of weakness in the eyes of many people because it was a method for executing criminals. Only the worst of the worst, the dregs of society, so to speak, or the worst enemies of the state, were crucified. And we are called to follow a man who died on a cross! The thought is revolting. Yet that is exactly what God asks us to do, which in the mind of some people is like being asked to follow a loser. Second, it offends our wisdom. The cross spells an end to salvation by education, as if we could gain merit with God by sharpening our intellect so that we can answer the cosmic questions. This offends certain people who prefer to believe that the problem today is not sin, but ignorance. But they are wrong. Education is good and necessary, but it can never open the door of heaven. God purposely made the way of salvation simple so that even young children could believe it. Third, the cross offends our values. It extends an equal invitation to the powerful and to the weak, it welcomes the flight attendant and the aborigine, it transforms the drug addict and the debutante. Everyone is invited into God’s family on exactly the same basis. There are no favorites and no special deals for those with money or power or worldly position. Those things that matter so much to us simply don’t matter to God. This is a shocking affront to the way the world does business, but it is also the way of the cross. After 2,000 years the cross still sparks controversy and opposition because it points to a truth that many people do not want to hear. This is what Paul means in verse 25 when he speaks of the “foolishness of God.” Christians worship a God who died on a cross. How can this be? When a familiar gospel song speaks of the “old rugged cross, so despised by the world,” it is sober truth and not mere sentiment. If we dare to venture beyond the stained glass, we discover that not everyone views the cross of Christ with favor. During a debate between a Muslim and a Christian (Josh McDowell), the Muslim apologist tried to ridicule the Christian faith by saying that Christians are riding on the back of a crucified man. The Christian gave the proper response: “You’re right. We’re riding on the back of a crucified man and he is going to take us all the way to heaven.” That illustrates a crucial difference in perspective. To the world the cross is a symbol of shame; to those who believe it is a symbol of salvation.
For “the Lord of glory” to die on a cross was inconceivable and intolerable to all the inhabitants of the Roman world in the first century. Even Mohamed could not come to terms with this; so he wrote in the Quran that Jesus’ crucifixion was an optical illusion. God changed the face of Judas, commentaries to the Quran state, so that Judas was accidentally crucified instead of Jesus, who was taken up in heaven.
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."
It is the preaching of the cross that saves. That is what guilty sinners need. A brutal, awful death was experienced there on that cross. The death Christ died on the cross was one of absolute torture.
Psalm 22:1,12-18: My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? ... My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls; fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in! Like lions they open their jaws against me, roaring and tearing into their prey. My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat. They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing.
Isaiah 50:6: I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting.
Isaiah 52:13-53:12: See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about. Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm? My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected - a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.
Zechariah 12:10: “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.
Acts 2:23: But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.
Galatians 6:14: As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.
Hebrews 12:2: We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Foolish:

The preaching of the cross is the doctrine of salvation through substitutionary death of Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for our sins. Most who listen to the messages on the cross think it is foolishness and perish. However, those who put their trust in Jesus Christ experience the power of God and are saved.
Five times in eight verses, Paul uses a form of the word “foolish.” The basic Greek word is moria. In verse 25, it appears as an adjective, moros, from which we get the English word “moron”. What Paul is saying is that most people believe that only morons would believe the message of the cross! The cross offends our pride. Everyone comes to God through faith, based upon the work of Jesus Christ. This offends man’s pride. While the unbeliever considers the cross utter nonsense, the Christian sees it as “the power of God.” The cross is everything to the Christian. Unfortunately, many Christians also must consider the cross of limited value since they believe it's not enough to save us - we must put in our little bit, works, such as baptism, church attendance, "being good", etc.

Headed for destruction (are perishing KJV):

The Greek word that was translated “headed for destruction” is the word “Apollumi,” and it means “to destroy fully (reflexively, to perish, or lose)” - Strong’s Concordance. This same word is translated “perishing” in 2 Corinthians 4:3, “If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.” Therefore, Paul was referring to those who have not been born again through faith in Christ as their Savior.
Those headed for destruction are making daily choices that will lead them ultimately to that state.

Being saved:

The verb tense being saved describes a work in progress.
It is impossible to determine whether someone is in the process of "being saved." They have not yet been glorified; they are in process. Yet there is an incredible difference, a clear line of demarcation between those two categories of people. Although that is not obvious by outward appearances, the fact remains that, according to Scripture, there are only two kinds of people:

a. Those headed for destruction.
b. We who are being saved.

2 Corinthians 4:3: If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.

Power of God:
- Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes - the Jew first and also the Gentile.

(19) As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

As the Scriptures say:

Ray Stedman: "Paul quotes the words of God from the book of Isaiah, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart," (Isaiah 29:14). If you look that up in the book of Isaiah you will find that it came at a time when Judah was being confronted with an invasion. The northern borders of the land were being attacked by the Assyrian army, and all the statesmen and politicians of the day, including King Hezekiah, were trying to find a way out of this dilemma. (It reads very much like the present day crisis in the Middle East.) They were trying to find a way by human ingenuity and political scheming to either make a mutual defense treaty with Egypt, or somehow turn off the wrath of the Assyrian army and escape imminent invasion. But God spoke through the prophet Isaiah and announced that he would deliver his people without any help from the politicians. This is the way he put it, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart," (Isaiah 29:14). The book of Isaiah goes on to record how God did that very thing, (Isaiah 37). The Assyrian army came right up to the gates of Jerusalem and surrounded the city. King Hezekiah could see the hordes of Assyrians, their tents surrounding the city, mocking and taunting the Israelites. Their leader, Sennacherib, sent a letter to the king ordering him to surrender, but the king spread it out before the Lord and prayed over it. And God answered. He sent an angel who in one night slew 185,000 of the Assyrian soldiers. (History says that a plague broke out in the Assyrian camp and overnight 185,000 died. The Authorized Version puts it in a rather remarkable way: "When they woke up in the morning, behold, they were all dead," (Isaiah 37:36 KJV).) God did exactly what he said he would do. He did not ask for any human help. He did it, and the land was delivered."
Job 5:12-13: He frustrates the plans of schemers so the work of their hands will not succeed. He traps the wise in their own cleverness so their cunning schemes are thwarted.
Isaiah 29:13-14: And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote. Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites with amazing wonders. The wisdom of the wise will pass away, and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.”
Isaiah 29:13 makes it clear why God is going to bypass the wisdom of mankind. It is because they were only going through the motions of serving God; their hearts were far from Him. They knew about God intellectually, but they didn’t know Him personally. This would be true today too of so many churches, especially the Roman and the orthodox churches with all the rituals and the "main stream" Christ-denying preaching.

(20) So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.

The scribes and Pharisees had head knowledge of God and His teachings but they missed the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah, because they did not understand the things of the Spirit. You cannot figure out God. You must believe as Abraham did, and it was counted unto him as righteousness.
Paul was paraphrasing Isaiah 19:12, where the prophet was referring to the wise men of Egypt who promised, but never produced wisdom.

Isaiah 19:12: Where are your wise counselors, Pharaoh? Let them tell you what God plans, what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is going to do to Egypt.

(21) Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.

His wisdom:

Wisdom is using the “power” of the Spirit to see life and the world from the divine perspective.

Know Him:

Most of the people in most cultures are at least a little "religious". Paul is not saying people do not know God exists. Paul is saying once people recognize God though natural means they cannot simply “know” God or understand his ways and his plans. After recognizing God’s existence it is up to man to pursue God for his revelation:

Romans 1:17-28: This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.

Human wisdom:
- Human wisdom could never discover the method of salvation. Lost sinners are saved not because they are wiser, better or distinguished in some way, but simply because God first chose them and called them by His Spirit. God's purpose of saving sinners by grace through faith in Jesus Christ was so He would receive all the glory (verse 31). If you have anything to glory in, let it be in the LORD. Wisdom that comes from God leads to man's salvation. Preaching and teaching must always be centered in God's wisdom. Human words will not glorify the cross of Jesus Christ. Humanism mixed with Christianity is nothing more than human wisdom devoid of God's saving grace. God cannot be found through human wisdom, but only through the message of the cross.
- One day, students in one of Albert Einstein's classes were saying they had decided that there was no God. Einstein asked them, how much of all the knowledge in the world they had amongst themselves collectively, as a class. The students discussed it for a while and decided they had 5% of all human knowledge amongst themselves. Einstein thought that their estimate was a little generous, but he replied: "Is it possible that God exists in the 95% that you don't know?"

(22) It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom.

Jews:

To the religious Jew with his idea of a conquering Messiah who could rid them of the Roman yoke, the cross was repulsive - it was a "stumbling block". The Jewish person thinks that it is incredible for a person died a criminal's death on a cross could possibly be the Anointed Messiah of the God of the Old Torah. They turn to Deuteronomy 21:23, "anyone who is hung is cursed in the sight of God." But that is the whole point; Jesus Christ was cursed of God because of our sins. The idea of a suffering Messiah as the Suffering Servant of the LORD in Isaiah 53 was a scandal to them. However, the true Messiah came as a meek and lowly Servant of Yahweh. The idea of God dying for their sins was unthinkable. The whole purpose of animal sacrifices and confession of sin dealt with that issue. What they failed to grasp is they had to do those rituals over and over again, as opposed to the concept of those rituals pointing to God Himself eventually paying the price for our sins. When the Temple was destroyed and animal sacrifice ceased, religious Jews had to develop a new version of Judaism absent sacrifice. Of course, most Jews today are secular (non-religious), are not looking for a Messiah but believe mankind will continually evolve to a better state. Don't forget, most founders of communism were secular Jews!
They have, therefore, usually called the Lord Jesus, by way of derision, "תלוי Tolwiy - the man that was hanged," that is, on a cross; and they have called Christians "צבדי תלוי 'Abday Tolwiy - servants of the man that was hanged."
Romans 9:33: God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said, “I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
1 Peter 2:8: And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.”

Signs:

God came into the world that He made. Born of a virgin of the Tribe of Judah of the nation Israel, Jesus Christ was a direct fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. The Jews said “give us a sign” - and Jesus was that sign. They had more than enough signs!
Matthew 12:38-40: One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.” But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
Matthew 24:3: Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”
Mark 16: 17-20: These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.
John 4:48: Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?”
Acts 1:6: So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, "Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?"
Acts 2:22 (Peter speaking): “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know.
Hebrews 2:4: And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.

Greeks:
- Herodotus says, “All Greeks were zealous for every kind of learning.”
- Paul found that the Greeks sought after wisdom, when he was ministering in Athens. This was thought to be one of the foremost areas for learning in the world at that time. They were constantly analyzing every new thing that came along.
- To the Gentile, the idea that a dead Jewish outlaw hanging on a Roman cross could meet all their needs was foolishness to them. The concept of resurrection was strange.
- Most today still consider the Gospel of Jesus Christ foolishness. Most believe "science" not the Bible. Most believe that morals are relative, not absolute. Most find no problem with abortion. Most worship success, money, fame, position, power. Nothing has really changed in 2000 years except which idols are worshiped. Even the Jews have succumbed to this, where even in Israel, most are secular.

(23) So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

Preach that Christ was crucified:

1 Corinthians 2:2: For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.
If you have been saved it is only because you chose to believe in the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. There is no other way to be saved. The cross of Jesus Christ is still a stumbling block to anyone who wishes to be saved any other way. The Judaizers in the early church at Galatia would have accepted the cross with circumcision, but not the cross instead of circumcision. Is there something that you want to add to the cross of Jesus Christ in order to be saved? Baptism by immersion, or sprinkling, church membership, good works, faithful church attendance, etc. will not save you.

(24) But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Wisdom of God:

Spurgeon: "It is certain that a blind man is no judge of colors, 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."
Christ is wisdom - Just read Proverbs chapter 8 and substitute "Jesus" for "wisdom". God’s wisdom is revealed to the foolish, weak and common; that is, those considered nothing by the elite.
Proverbs 9:10: Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
Isaiah 55:8-9: “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
Romans 11:33-35: Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back?
1 Corinthians 2:1-5: When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness - timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.
Ephesians 1:8: He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
Colossians 2:3: In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 3:16-17: Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

(25) This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

(26) Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you.

This verse reflects that there were few in the Corinthian assembly who came from the higher intellectual and influential levels of their society ("few ... wise" or "powerful" or "wealthy"). The names of early converts to Christianity indicate that the majority of them were either slaves or former slaves).
Few ... wise:

James 2:5: Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?
“Few” is not exclusive but it is limiting. There were among them some considered by the world to be wise, influential, wealthy and noble.
Paul’s point was that it did not take special qualifications to receive the call to the gospel.
Why do most Christians come from the ranks of the foolish and the weak and the base and the despised? Karl Marx suggested that it was because the oppressed classes and the weak turned to religion as a crutch to hold them up and to stabilize them. Paul says that the reason Christianity is filled with the foolish and the weak and the base and the despised is because GOD HAS CHOSEN those kinds of people to be in His kingdom.

Powerful or wealthy:
- Powerful is the word for power “dunamis”.
- Queen Elizabeth called Jesus Christ 'the King she Serves' in her 90th Birthday Book.
- Jeremiah 9:23-24: This is what the Lord says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!

(27) Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.

Chose:

Three times in 1:27-28, Paul writes that “God chose.” This is the doctrine of sovereign choice - the Biblical doctrine of election.
God chose you. His choosing you took place before the Creation (Ephesians 1:3-5,11). God chose you before the world began. Since the beginning of creation, you have been in the plan of God. God did not choose use according to any merit or action on our part. He did not choose us on the basis of our faith. His choice of us did not depend upon us. His choice was on the basis of His own will.
Imagine the gates of heaven with a sign over it reading, “Whosoever will may come.” As you pass through those gates, you look back and the sign reads “Chosen from before the foundation of the world.” I think there is good biblical balance in that illustration. We are not called to “reconcile” predestination and free will. Only God can do that. Let us preach the gospel with confidence knowing that anyone who trusts in the Christ who died on the cross and rose from the dead will be saved.

Jeremiah 1:5: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
Romans 8:29: For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Ephesians 1:3-5,11: All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. ... Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
Ephesians 2:8-9: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Foolish:

"Foolish" refers to those who lacked formal education, rank, wealth and power, and who were considered as fools, and were despised by the rich, power and the great.

(28) God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.

Nothing at all:
- Romans 4:17: That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.

(29) As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

Boast:

Jeremiah 9:24: But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!

(30) God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.

Holy:
- 1 Corinthians 6:11: Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
- Hebrews 10:10,14: For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. ... For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

(31) Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

NEXT STUDY: 1 Corinthians 2: When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness - timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God - his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

NOTES:

Except otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
Disclaimer: Source material for this study has been gleaned from many different sources. If you want further study, I have attempted to acknowledge these sources at http://1corinthiansblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/1-corinthians-references.html
Index to all our 1 Corinthian studies are at 1corinthiansblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/index-to-1-corinthians.html
Index to all our studies are at oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/

1 Corinthians

Friday, March 4, 2016

1 Corinthians Chapter 1

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