1 Corinthians, Chapter 1
© Copyright 2002 Darroll Evans, all rights
reserved
Paul begins his letter to the Corinthians with a
familiar proclamation.
He declares that he is an Apostle of Jesus
Christ!
That may be obvious to us, but at the time,
Paul was not universally accepted.
The doctrine of salvation by grace without
works was much disputed.
Paul declares that he is an Apostle
"through the will of God!"
All that are called to serve Christ Jesus are
called through the will of God!
There are not exceptions to that rule!
Many times, Timothy joins Paul in the
greeting.
This time he points to a Jewish co-worker, Sosthenes.
According to Acts 18:17, Sosthenes was a leader in the Synagogue who was beaten by
his fellow Jews due to his work for Christ.
Apparently Gallio,
the Proconsul of Achaia, knew about this beating and did nothing to remedy the
outrage.
This matter happened as Paul was on his way
to
In
Some teach that Paul was arrested, and bound
by chains.
Since it was illegal to bind a Roman citizen,
it is highly unlikely that he was taken to
The Captain of the Roman Guard that saved
Paul's life in
Acts 22:29---“Then straightway they departed from him which should
have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he
was a Roman, and because he had bound him.”
Such indiscretions were not taken lightly!
The story of Paul’s roman captivity
completely ignores the Bible!
Acts
28:30 And Paul dwelt two whole years
in his own hired house, and
received all that came in unto him,
They may say that Paul was chained to a roman
guard is, again, completely wrong, because of the law against binding a roman
citizen!
This letter is addressed to the
Yes this wild Church was filled with
sanctified saints.
As we look back on the
However, the calling and the gifts of God are
irrevocable (Romans 11:29)!
Finally, Paul gets to his "normal"
greeting.
He writes, "Grace be
unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ."
Grace and peace are not from Paul.
They are from God our Father, and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
"God our Father"---There are some
that believe that God is the Father of all.
That belief is not biblical.
God is the Creator of all!
However, He is the Father of only those that
have been adopted into His family by faith in Christ Jesus.
Speaking of those that do not trust in the
Savior----Jesus said, "They have not known the Father nor Me" (John
16:3/NKJV).
Spiritual adoption is the only way provided
for us to become children of God.
"The Lord Jesus Christ"---Let me
depart from accepted notions, and say the Jesus is now Lord of your life---even
if you do not acknowledge Him.
You will not
receive the full benefits of His Lordship UNTIL you bow to Him
and (from the heart) proclaim "Jesus is Lord."
By virtue of His resurrection, He has become
Lord of all creation.
Your rejection/acceptance has absolutely
nothing to do with His power as Lord!
This wild, embarrassing Church belonged to Christ.
He died for them!
Christ accepted those wild Corinthians into
the fellowship of the saints.
Paul thanked God for them, and for the grace
that was given them in Christ Jesus.
Without God’s grace we do not have life.
Without Christ’s life at work within us, we
are dead in trespasses and sins.
Grace from the Father provided in the Son and
administered by the Holy Spirit enriches our manner of living.
Is the testimony concerning Christ Jesus
confirmed in you?
Do you live as He leads, or do you live as
the world leads?
In verse 5, Paul asks that in all things
Christ may enhance and enrich the Corinthians.
"Enriched" speaks of both monetary
and spiritual wealth.
Paul qualifies his prayer by saying, "in
all utterance, and in all knowledge; even as the testimony of Christ was
confirmed in you."
Most Christians do not understand that in
Christ we lack nothing!
We are not to look to society for the things
of life.
How can those that are dead in trespasses and
sins give us life?
It is Christ, through the Holy Spirit that
confirms or keeps us until the day of His return.
That is done so that we may be
"blameless" before God.
In Verse 8, the Greek word translated
"blameless" implies that no criminal charge may be against us in a
civil court.
Why would God want us to be blameless?
In Revelation 12:10, Satan is referred to as
the "accuser of our brethren is cast down."
It is the Father, through the Holy Spirit
that shall confirm us as blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ’s
return.
Philippians 1:6 "He who has begun a good work in you will
complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (NKJV).
It is not our job to with gain or maintain our salvation.
That falls under Christ Jesus’ job
description.
Gal 2:16 Knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus
Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by
the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the
law shall no flesh be justified.
Let me tell you the best kept secret in all
Christianity.
"God is faithful!"
He has no other choice!
He must be faithful!
The Father’s faith is demonstrated in His
Son, Jesus Christ.
Our salvation is predicated on just one
thing----our relationship with Christ Jesus.
Where there is no intimate relationship with
Jesus, there is no salvation.
Paul encouraged the Corinthians.
He called them "brethren."
Do you consider those from Churches that do
not practice Christianity in "your style" as brethren?
Relationship to the Pope is not a litmus test
for Christianity.
An order of worship is not litmus tests for
Christianity.
Trust in the Savior is the only test of
Christianity!
A few years ago I sang for a wedding in a
Roman Catholic Church.
A Priest came to the music practice and sang
with me on a few numbers.
He had a very good voice.
The groom was a Methodist.
At one point in our conversations about the
songs, he spoke of making allowances for "our lost brethren."
I told him that I understood his position,
but I was one of those "lost brethren."
I have often thought of him and prayed that
he would come to Christ alone without reliance on Mary or the Pope.
Mary is not a co-mediator with Christ Jesus!
There should be "no divisions"
among Christians.
But, I must explain.
Having no divisions does not mean that we kiss the ring of a man just to have unity within the Church.
Christ is the head of the Church!
The Holy Spirit is His number one
representative on Earth.
"Saint" is the greatest calling
among men.
Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and
Teachers are the servants of the Church.
They are not overlords of the Saints!
Paul told the Corinthians that he had been
made plain to him that there was a problem in
They were not living in unity.
Clone is not a biblical word. Unity is
biblical! Unity does not mean sameness.
God has called us to various jobs within His
body.
Our basic mannerisms may look the same, but
we will vary in non-basics due to our job description within Christ.
Apparently, Chloe, a woman Pastor, was the
head servant in one Church.
Within that Church there were contentions.
Women are not to be excluded from
service.
Paul never holds Chloe up to any
ridicule.
Apparently he accepted her role within the
Church.
That points us to something that not many are
willing to address.
The vast majority of Church splits take place
under male leadership!
Satan does not respect gender.
His job is to cause trouble whenever and
wherever.
1 Corinthians 1:12-19
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I
am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus
and Gaius;
15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine
own name.
16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas:
besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with
wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that
perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring
to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
The major problem facing the Corinthians was
based in denominationalism.
Some said that they followed Paul’s
teaching.
Others followed Apollos,
while others followed Peter (Cephas).
It does not matter what teacher you like.
If you do not follow Christ Jesus, you are
lost (period).
Paul asks, "Is Christ divided?"
The answer is, No!
However, Churches are divided.
In centuries gone by, men of less than
honorable intentions have hijacked the institution of the Church and led in
into disarray.
The first major break came around 1054 AD
when an anti-Christian Roman Pope excommunicated the Orthodox Patriarch of
Constantinople.
To explain the spiritual ignorance, stupidity
and arrogance involved in the concept of excommunication would take several
volumes.
The concept of excommunication came from the
evil within the hearts of pretenders that took over the Church and to this day
run it as their own private club!
Baptism is part of Christian unity in shared
experiences.
Immersion is the only valid biblical form of
physical baptism.
Some teach that without baptism we cannot be
saved.
That teaching comes from Mark 16:16---"He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall
be damned."
John the Baptist said, "I indeed baptize
you with water; but One mightier than I is coming,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit and fire" (Luke 3:16/NKJV).
Ceremonial washing through immersion in water
is an ancient Hebrew practice.
That was John’s baptism unto repentance.
Although he practiced baptism by immersion,
Paul was not overly concerned with immersion in water.
He told the Corinthians that he was not
crucified for them, nor were that baptized in his name.
Baptism is a ceremony that indicates and
inward change.
If there is not change within, baptism has no
effect---other that getting you wet.
Paul was adamant!
Christ did not commission him to baptize, but
to preach.
He preached to gospel of grace to many, and
baptized a few.
Why didn’t Paul baptize (Gr. baptizoo-baptizw) those who accepted his message of the risen Christ?
It may have been that he did not want any to
say that they were baptized into Paul.
The water baptisms on Acts were administered
in the name of Jesus.
But there was more than water baptism.
Acts
19:1-6
1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at
Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and
finding certain disciples,
2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And
they said unto him, We have not so much as heard
whether there be any Holy Ghost.
3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye
baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying
unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him,
that is, on Christ Jesus.
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and
they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
The cross is the great divide.
If you accept what was accomplished on the
cross, you are in God’s family.
If you reject it, you are not a child of God,
no matter what your physical pedigree!
To those in the rejection camp, the gospel of
grace is foolishness.
To us the gospel of grace is a reflection of
God’s power.
God declared that He would destroy the wisdom
of the humanly wise, and invalidate the understanding of those that are only
humanly learned.
Individual human learning, acquired
knowledge, is not to be devalued, but unless it is mixed with God given
spiritual discerning it will lead to evil.
God uses many well-educated people to bring
us the gospel.
Paul asks a series of rhetorical questions:
Where is the wise?
Where is the scribe?
Where is the "disputer", or
educated disputant of this world age?
Instead of going to the wise of the age, God
has allowed those considered uneducated to carry His message of grace.
Years ago, I saw a man that started preaching
when he was functionally illiterate.
He bought a picture Bible and preached
grace.
Many were saved, because salvation is the
exclusive domain of Christ Jesus.
Educational level and income do not determine
who is and who is not a Christian.
The rich and well-educated come to Christ in
the same manner as all others.
Salvation is by the grace of the Father
through the faith of the Son!
The chosen of the world are not often the
chosen of God.
If the choice were yours, how would you
present salvation to the world?
God chose the foolishness of preaching.
Various societies look to differing
methods.
The Jews looked for a sign of the Messiah.
When they were given the sign of Jonah, most
denied it.
The Greeks searched for wisdom.
When they were given the wisdom of the ages
in their own language, most rejected it.
To tell another that Christ is the only way
requires a boldness that is missing in many.
Let us remember that He is the stumbling
block, we are not!
When the lost reject Him---they reject
Him---not us!
When others think us to be fools because of
our trust in Christ, we need to remember that they cannot believe if God has
not opened their eyes to the Truth.
Those that are called through the power of God
are from all races and social backgrounds!
We are called to reject sin and follow Him.
Paul contrasts men and God.
In all such comparisons, man comes out on the down
side.
The true church is not made up of spiritually arrogant
folks.
The body of Christ is made up of those that have been
called to show forth the glory of Christ Jesus.
Recently I had a meal with a
multi-millionaire.
He was active in the Church and had helped
the Pastor to restore unity within the Church.
Among other things, we discussed his wife’s
first tomatoes of the year in her garden.
His wealth was never apparent, but his
humbleness before God was.
God has chosen those that will lay aside
their agendas to serve His Son, Jesus Christ.
A Literal rendering of verses 27 and 28 might
be that God has chosen the morons of the world to dishonor the wise, the feeble
to disgrace the mighty.
He has chosen those of questionable parentage
and the utterly despised.
He has chosen the "are nots" to render ineffective those that
"are."
Why would God do all that?
When you understand grace, you will
understand why.
None of us has been called to boast except in
what Christ Jesus has done!
It was the Father that gave you to Christ Jesus for
salvation.
It is the Holy Spirit that keeps you until
the day of His return to claim His possession.
Christ Jesus is our wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption.
We do not work for any of those. Be it sanctification,
righteousness or redemption! In each of
those areas we have the benefit of them being imputed to us by Christ!
Gal 2:16
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have
believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works
of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Even the faith to believe is imputed to us!
It is in Him, and
Him alone, that we boast!