The One Year Bible Club with Teaching
Commentary by Nick Boork
August 4
1 Corinthians 1:1-17
Commentary by Nick Boork
August 4
1 Corinthians 1:1-17
| august_4_one_year_bible_club.m4a |
August 4 ~ 1 Corinthians 1:1-17
Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. 16 Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
The letter of 1 Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul to believers in the Church at Corinth. He planted this church on his second missionary journey and stayed with them for a year and a half teaching the word of God and establishing them in the truths of the gospel. He was writing this letter in response to news he had received about what was happening in the church after he left to continue his apostolic traveling ministry. Paul deals with several issues that we’re going on in the church.
This local church was developing all kinds of contentious groups loyal to personalities rather than following Jesus Christ. Paul gives his instructions on how to properly deal with open sin in the fellowship. He answers several questions sent to him about going to court against another believer, virginity and marriage, eating meats offered to idols, financial offerings, his apostolic ministry, the Lord’s Supper, Spiritual gifts and ministries in the Body of Christ. Additionally, false teachings concerning the resurrection are straightened out. For this reason, 1 Corinthians is also known as the book of correction and New Testament church order.
In this first portion of the letter Paul greets all of the believers warmly. He immediately begins to deal with the most important issue affecting the church which was disunity. What happened was that several traveling preachers visited the church and each one of them appealed to various individuals and groups within the church. Some liked the apostle Peter others were impacted by the teaching ministry of Apollo’s. Others were loyal followers of the apostle Paul. There was even another group that said we just follow Jesus Christ and nobody else but the attitude was obviously carnal and divisive because it did not seek to reach out in love and embrace the rest of the believers.
Paul knew that this contentious attitude needed to be corrected immediately so he begins to get everybody on the same page around the gospel of Jesus Christ and the cross that brought us redemption. If Paul could get these Christians to see that the gospel was the common denominator he would be able to unify the church. This is why he says that Christ did not send him to baptize but to preach the gospel. Obviously water baptism is important because Christ commanded the apostles to baptize those that believe in him but some in this church were using water baptism as a badge of authenticity saying the apostle Paul baptize me! Paul saw through this and humbled himself by saying look guys it’s really not important if I baptized you or not what’s important is that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross!
Paul wanted to take the focus off from himself and the other traveling ministers and get it back where up along on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why he said that Christ sent him to preach the gospel “not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.” When he said not with wisdom of words he meant it was not the power of my words or the persuasion of any of the preachers that came to town that caused you to believe and be saved. No, It was the power of the Holy Spirit that caused you to believe the message of Christ and be born again. In other words, it wasn’t any of the preachers own wisdom or the teachers eloquence or the leaders great charisma that caused you to be saved but it was what Christ did on the cross and only the Holy Spirit was able to make that real to you to the point of having faith in being saved! So, let’s become united around the one that saved us and not around His messengers!
WHAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) The letter of first Corinthians is a treasure of knowledge and wisdom that answers so many questions about the Christian life.
2) Jesus Christ must be the unifying force of any local church and not man!
3) Division in the church needs to be confronted quickly. Everybody should get on the same page of loving God and one another and not following personalities.
4) Jesus Christ death on the cross is the cornerstone of our salvation. He alone is our only Savior.
5) It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit making the message of Christ real to us that we believe, repent and are saved.
Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. 16 Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
The letter of 1 Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul to believers in the Church at Corinth. He planted this church on his second missionary journey and stayed with them for a year and a half teaching the word of God and establishing them in the truths of the gospel. He was writing this letter in response to news he had received about what was happening in the church after he left to continue his apostolic traveling ministry. Paul deals with several issues that we’re going on in the church.
This local church was developing all kinds of contentious groups loyal to personalities rather than following Jesus Christ. Paul gives his instructions on how to properly deal with open sin in the fellowship. He answers several questions sent to him about going to court against another believer, virginity and marriage, eating meats offered to idols, financial offerings, his apostolic ministry, the Lord’s Supper, Spiritual gifts and ministries in the Body of Christ. Additionally, false teachings concerning the resurrection are straightened out. For this reason, 1 Corinthians is also known as the book of correction and New Testament church order.
In this first portion of the letter Paul greets all of the believers warmly. He immediately begins to deal with the most important issue affecting the church which was disunity. What happened was that several traveling preachers visited the church and each one of them appealed to various individuals and groups within the church. Some liked the apostle Peter others were impacted by the teaching ministry of Apollo’s. Others were loyal followers of the apostle Paul. There was even another group that said we just follow Jesus Christ and nobody else but the attitude was obviously carnal and divisive because it did not seek to reach out in love and embrace the rest of the believers.
Paul knew that this contentious attitude needed to be corrected immediately so he begins to get everybody on the same page around the gospel of Jesus Christ and the cross that brought us redemption. If Paul could get these Christians to see that the gospel was the common denominator he would be able to unify the church. This is why he says that Christ did not send him to baptize but to preach the gospel. Obviously water baptism is important because Christ commanded the apostles to baptize those that believe in him but some in this church were using water baptism as a badge of authenticity saying the apostle Paul baptize me! Paul saw through this and humbled himself by saying look guys it’s really not important if I baptized you or not what’s important is that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross!
Paul wanted to take the focus off from himself and the other traveling ministers and get it back where up along on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why he said that Christ sent him to preach the gospel “not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.” When he said not with wisdom of words he meant it was not the power of my words or the persuasion of any of the preachers that came to town that caused you to believe and be saved. No, It was the power of the Holy Spirit that caused you to believe the message of Christ and be born again. In other words, it wasn’t any of the preachers own wisdom or the teachers eloquence or the leaders great charisma that caused you to be saved but it was what Christ did on the cross and only the Holy Spirit was able to make that real to you to the point of having faith in being saved! So, let’s become united around the one that saved us and not around His messengers!
WHAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) The letter of first Corinthians is a treasure of knowledge and wisdom that answers so many questions about the Christian life.
2) Jesus Christ must be the unifying force of any local church and not man!
3) Division in the church needs to be confronted quickly. Everybody should get on the same page of loving God and one another and not following personalities.
4) Jesus Christ death on the cross is the cornerstone of our salvation. He alone is our only Savior.
5) It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit making the message of Christ real to us that we believe, repent and are saved.
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today and get access to our free and pay as you go courses. http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today and get access to our free and pay as you go courses. http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll