SPRing Bible Studies for Life. Herschel THE HOBBS COMMENTARY

SPRing 2010 Bible Studies for Life Herschel THE HOBBS COMMENTARY

Ross H. McLaren Lead Content Editor Carolyn B. Gregory Production Editor Alan Raughton Lead Adult Ministry Specialist David Apple Adult Ministry Specialist Send questions/comments to Editor, The Herschel Hobbs Commentary One LifeWay Plaza Nashville, TN 37234-0175 Or make comments on the web at www.lifeway.com Management Personnel Bret Robbe, Director Leadership and Adult Publishing Ron Brown, Ron Keck Managing Directors Leadership and Adult Publishing David Francis, Director Sunday School Bill Craig, Director Leadership and Adult Ministry Gary H. Hauk, Director, Publishing LifeWay Church Resources ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We believe the Bible has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter and that all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. The 2000 statement of The Baptist Faith and Message is our doctrinal guideline. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. This translation is available in a Holman Bible and can be ordered through Lifeway Christian Stores. Quotations marked ASV are from the American Standard Version. Copyright 1901 by Thomas Nelson & Sons. Scripture quotations identified as CEV are from the Contemporary English Version. Copyright American Bible Society 1991, 1992. Used by permission. Quotations marked ESV are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. This translation is available in a Holman Bible and can be ordered through Lifeway Christian Stores. Quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version. This translation is available in a Holman Bible and can be ordered through Lifeway Christian Stores. Quotations marked Moffatt are from The Bible: A New Translation by James Moffatt. Copyright 1935 by Harper-Collins Publishers. Passages marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. Quotations marked NEB are from The New English Bible. Copyright The Delegates of the Oxford University Press and the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press, 1961, 1970. Reprinted by permission. Quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. Quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982. Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers. Reprinted with permission. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Quotations marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Quotations marked REB are from The Revised English Bible. Copyright Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, 1989. Reprinted by permission. The Herschel Hobbs Commentary (ISSN 1550-719X; Item 005075032), Bible Studies for Life, is published quarterly by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, Tennessee 37234; Thom S. Rainer, President, LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention; Copyright 2009 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. All rights reserved. Single subscription to individual address, $22.35 per year. If you need help with an order, WRITE LifeWay Church Resources Customer Service, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, Tennessee 37234-0113; For subscriptions or subscription changes, FAX (615) 251-5818 or E-MAIL subscribe @lifeway.com. For bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address, FAX (615) 251-5933, E-MAIL orderentry@lifeway.com., or write to the above address. Please allow six to eight weeks for arrival of first issue. Printed in the United States of America. ii

Contents Study Theme Church Gone Wrong... 6 March March March March April 7 When Members Won t Get Along (1 Cor. 1:10-15,26-29; 3:1-4)... 7 14 When Immorality Comes to Church (1 Cor. 5:1-2,9-13; 6:15-20)... 17 21 When Members Insist On Their Way (1 Cor. 8:1-4,7-13; 10:31-33)... 27 28 When Worship Dishonors God (1 Cor. 11:17-34 ).......................... 37 4 When Easter Becomes Just Another Holiday [Easter Coordinated Evangelism Lesson] (1 Cor. 15:1-4,12-19,54b-58)... 47 Ministry Done Right...57 April April 11 The Right Stuff (2 Cor. 2:14-17; 3:4-5,18; 4:1-2,5-6,16-18)....... 58 18 The Right Motivation (2 Cor. 5:9-21)............................. 68 iv

Contents April 25 The Right Support (2 Cor. 8:8-15; 9:6-11)... 78 I (Still) Do...87 May May May May May 2 In the Presence of God (Gen. 1:26-28a; 2:7,15-22)...88 9 I Take You (Gen. 2:23-25; Mal. 2:13-15; Matt. 19:3-12)...97 16 To Love and to Cherish (Eph. 5:21-33; 1 Pet. 3:7)... 107 23 I Pledge You My Faithfulness (Matt. 5:27-30; Prov. 5:15-21; 6:25-32)......... 116 30 From This Day Forward (Ps. 51:6-10; Song of Sol. 2:15; Acts 18:24-26; Rom. 16:3-5a)............................ 127 Preview of Next Quarter s Studies... 137 v

Week of March 7 When Members Won t Get Along Background Passage: 1 Corinthians 1:1 3:23 Focal Passages: 1 Corinthians 1:10-15,26-29; 3:1-4 What This Lesson Is About This lesson is about the things that divide a church. How This Lesson Can Impact Your Life This lesson can help you understand causes of disunity in the church and decide on actions you will take to prevent or to correct divisions in your church. This is a CONNECT lesson. Problems in the Corinthian Church The church at Corinth had problems. They argued about who was the best leader. Their members were influenced by the sexual immorality in the city. They had differences of opinion about what was right or wrong. They had worship disagreements about the Lord s Supper and about spiritual gifts. They had questions about the meaning of resurrection. Paul addressed each of these in 1 Corinthians. God thus used the problems in the Corinthian church to provide answers to similar situations in churches today. First Corinthians is the source for our information about the nature of the problems and the inspired way to deal with these issues. Word Study: Divisions The word divisions in 1 Corinthians 1:10 translates the Greek word schismata, from which we get our word schisms. The word is usually translated divisions, but it also can be translated as dissensions. Some feel divisions implies a more serious situation than dissensions. There can be dissension among a group without dividing into more than one group, based on the kind of dissensions that led them apart. In other words, if dissensions are present and growing stronger, the group 7

When Members Won t Get Along may divide. The Corinthians definitely had dissensions, and some of these were leading toward dividing into separate groups. Other people feel that divisions can refer to strongly held differences of opinion even though the group has not yet divided into more than one group. v Search the Scripture Paul had received reports about the Corinthian church. The reports focused on several problems. The first problem Paul dealt with was church dissension. Four church segments praised their preference for a certain leader. In so doing, they showed their selfish pride. Paul reminded them that they were from the people with little status in the eyes of the world. They had no reason for selfish pride. Paul rebuked the church for spiritual immaturity and called for them to turn from envy and strife. Misplaced Loyalties (1 Cor. 1:10-15) What had been Paul s previous history with the church at Corinth? How did Paul find out about the problems in Corinth? What divisions were in the church? Why were such divisions wrong? Why was Paul grateful that he had not baptized many in the church? Is the validity of your baptism based on who baptized you? How do these verses point to the basic problem of the church in Corinth? 1:10-15: Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now this I say, that everyone 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. Paul s first visit to Corinth is recorded during his second missionary journey in Acts 18:1-17. He stayed in the home of two people who became lifelong friends Aquila and Priscilla. Paul worked as a tentmaker to support himself as he preached and taught for one year and six months. On his third missionary journey he spent most of his time in Ephesus. While he was in Ephesus, he had some contacts 8

Week of March 7 with people who had been to Corinth and knew what was happening. Corinth and Ephesus were not that far apart by water, so Paul kept in touch with what was going on in Corinth. Paul mentioned his source for information as them which are of the house of Chloe ( members of Chloe s household, HCSB). We are not told who Chloe was and who came from her household. It could have been family members or servants. She may have been a member of the Corinthian church or a visitor. There were also others who also kept Paul in touch with events in Corinth (see 16:17-18). By the time Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, the first of the many problems he addressed was the divisions in the church (see the introductory Word Study on divisions ). Paul also called the problem one of contentions ( quarrels, NIV, HCSB). The Greek word is eris, which describes the kind of wrangling that is the mark of sinful people. For example, Paul listed it as one of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:20 (KJV = variance ). The Greeks named their goddess of war Eris. Paul appealed to them by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. If they responded to this, instead of quarrels and wrangling they would be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment ( be united with the same understanding and the same conviction, HCSB). According to Paul s sources, the church was divided into four groups, based on professed loyalty to four leaders. Each group championed the cause of their choice for leader. Verse 12 is the list of leaders and how each group expressed loyalty and support. The four leaders were Paul... Apollos... Cephas... Christ. Apollos was from Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures (Acts 18:24). While Apollos was in Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly (v. 26). Apollos went to Achaia, the province in which Corinth was located. He apparently preached in Corinth and left a band of zealous followers who claimed him as the best leader. They may have been impressed by his eloquent preaching. Paul and Apollos had no doctrinal or personal differences between them. Paul later referred to how God used both one to sow the seed, the other to water the growing plants (1 Cor. 3:4-9). Cephas was Simon Peter, whom we know well from the Gospels and the Book of Acts. He and Paul were not rivals, nor did they disagree about doctrine. Those who were fervent about Peter probably were those who were most impressed by the man himself but who also preferred to emphasize the Jewish background of their faith. At the 9

When Members Won t Get Along Jerusalem Conference, Peter supported Paul s mission and approach to the Gentiles (Acts 15:7-11). We know of course what Paul championed the acceptance of believing Gentiles without them becoming Jews by circumcision and keeping the law. Based on 2 Corinthians, there is reason to believe that a number of the Corinthians disliked Paul. But others recognized him as a good leader. The most difficult group to identify are the ones who called themselves followers of Christ. Scholars debate the nature of this group. On the surface it would seem reasonable to identify these as people who resented the divisions based on any leader other than Christ. But this group may have claimed the name of Christ to give sanction to their views. Some Bible students believe they were a group of early Gnostics. According to this theory, these gnostics professed a superior wisdom, a deeper spirituality, and a more profound knowledge of Christ than others possessed. It was as if they had said, I belong to Christ in a way that you do not belong to him. 1 One reason for the latter view is that Paul rebuked members of all four groups including those under his name and those in the fourth group. The zealous members of each group used the same formula. Each began with the Greek word ego, an emphatic use of the word I. Each group claimed the group for himself. This shows that the important thing about my group is that I am in it. Less important than the group I choose is the fact that I chose it. The important thing to note is that church members based their choice of leader not so much on the person s qualifications as on the fact that I chose him. It was as if a follower of Paul boasted. I myself am a follower of Paul, and you re not. Paul tried to get the Corinthian believers to see that they were dividing the body of Christ. Addressing the people who said they followed Paul, he asked, Was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? Paul then added: I thank God that I baptized none of you. If we did not have these words in this context, we might think that Paul was saying that baptism is not important. Baptism is important, but Paul did not want anyone to say, I was baptized by Paul; therefore, I choose him instead of the others. He named the couple of persons he personally baptized Crispus and Gaius (v. 14) and the household of Stephanas (v. 16) but his point was that he baptized them into Christ, not into Paul. Baptism recognizes a unique relationship between the one baptized and Christ, not between the one baptized and the person who baptized him or her. 10

Week of March 7 What are some lasting truths in 1 Corinthians 1:10-15? 1. Members of a church should not divide the church by their quarrels. 2. Arguing about leaders is often the cause of strife. 3. Such arguments dishonor the Lord and separate brothers and sisters in Christ. 4. Believers should share the mind of Christ rather than be contentious and quarrelsome. Human Pride (1 Cor. 1:26-29) What is in 1 Corinthians 1:16-25? From what social class did the early Christians come? What message should this have for believers and unbelievers? Why is everybody somebody with God? How does this passage reinforce the point in 1:16-25? Why is selfish pride the basic human sin? 1:26-29: For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 that no flesh should glory in his presence. Paul said that God sent him to preach the gospel, not to baptize. The subject of preaching the gospel led Paul into a contrast between preaching the gospel and having the wisdom of the world. Preaching Christ means preaching the cross and resurrection. Non-Christians had trouble with both these gospel facts. Their problems with the resurrection come up in 1 Corinthians 15, but their prejudice toward the cross is dealt with here in verses 23 and following. The self-giving of Jesus was offensive to Greeks and to Jews. Neither could believe that God would let His Son be crucified like a criminal of the worst kind. Paul said that such rejection of the cross is an example of the wisdom of the world, which worships power and success. The cross represents the wisdom of God. But God used the seeming foolishness of the cross to save those who believe. Paul saw a parable of this truth in the kind of people who believed in the gospel of the cross. In their culture they represented the lower class of people. Paul asked his readers to consider the kind of people 11

When Members Won t Get Along in the church. As they looked at themselves, they saw not many wise men after the flesh. The Greeks especially honored the wise philosophers, but not many philosophers were believers. The Jews also respected wise men, who were counselors to kings. Notice Paul said not many; he did say not any. In every age some truly wise people come to faith. Some of them in turn become effective apologists and witnesses for Christ, especially to the intellectual world. Paul also said that not many mighty (dynatoi, powerful, HCSB; influential, NIV). The power-brokers of the day were generally not in the church. These would be the people who exercised political or economic power in society. And Paul added that there were not many noble ( of noble birth, NIV, HCSB). The Greek word is eugenes (literally, well-born ). This word is used of the nobleman in Jesus parable of the pounds (Luke 19:12). We have no noble class in our land, so to whom could this apply? What we do have is a nobility of sports and entertainment. When occasionally one of them is converted, it makes the news. Just as God used the gospel of the cross, which is foolish to the world, so also He chose people who were from the lower ranks of society. Verses 26-29 is a condemnation of human pride, following up on the point made in verses 10-12. The divisions highlighted in the four groups were guilty of divisiveness and strife, but back of these sins is the basic human sin pride. God uses the lower status of church members to confound ( shame, NIV, HCSB) the wise. God has chosen the world s insignificant and despised things the things viewed as nothing so He might bring to nothing the things that are viewed as something, so that no one can boast in His presence (1:28-29, HCSB). The results of God s actions are always congruent with His purposes, and the judgment of God continually falls on men of pride. At any rate the meaning in the context is clear. Even if the Corinthians actually were wise, powerful, somebodies in the eyes of the world they would be nobodies in the presence of God. Indeed, only by renouncing these claims to worldly pride and prestige can men receive the redemptive deed of God. Lowliness is the way of God s work; His power is the weakness of the Cross. 2 When I think about this passage, I think of a friend s experience. He lived in an upscale neighborhood. One popular entertainer lived in the same area. Tourists often drove through the area just to see where the popular star lived. One day while my friend walked his dog, a car stopped beside him. A woman asked for directions to the entertainer s 12

Week of March 7 house. My friend told her how to find the house. The tourist thanked him and began to drive away. Then my friend saw her brake lights come on, then the car s back-up lights. When the tourist was again beside my friend, she looked at him and asked, Are you somebody? The tourist obviously believed that there are two kinds of people; most of us are nobodies but a few are somebodies. By worldly standards, only the wise, powerful, and noble are the somebodies, but by God s grace the nobodies of the world can become somebodies in the kingdom of heaven. A striking confirmation of the low social status of church members is this notation from Celsus, one of the foes of Christianity. He wrote these words about the Christians of his day: Their injunctions are like this, Let no one educated, no one wise, no one sensible draw near. For these abilities are thought by us to be evils. But as for anyone ignorant, anyone stupid, anyone uneducated, anyone who is a child, let him come boldly. By the fact that they themselves admit that these people are worthy of their God, they show that they want and are able to convince only the foolish, dishonorable and stupid, and only slaves, women, and little children. 3 Paul and Celsus agreed that first-century Christians represented the lowly status in society, but they drew different conclusions from that fact. Celsus believed that it showed how ridiculous believers were. By contrast, Paul insisted that it showed that grace is the basis of God s acceptance of sinful humans. This in turn shows how utterly false the world s standards of greatness are. The very people who are wise, powerful, and noble by worldly standards often feel no sense of their need for God and His grace. Pride has them in its icy grasp. The message of verses 26-29 is climaxed by these words: no flesh should glory in his presence. In many ways, pride is the basic human sin. There are two expressions of sinful pride. For one thing, it puts self at the center of life and responds to God with boasting and self-righteousness. Second, pride considers self as superior to other people. What are some lasting truths in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29? 1. The lowly social status of church members reinforces the wisdom of God in the cross. 2. By God s grace the nobodies by earthly standards can become somebodies in God s eyes. 3. Pride is the basic human sin. 13

When Members Won t Get Along Spiritual Immaturity (1 Cor. 3:1-4) How does chapter 2 link together 3:1-4 with 1:6-29? What two kinds of church members are in 3:1? What are babes in Christ? Why did Paul consider them to be spiritually immature? How does this passage compare with Hebrews 5:12-14 and 1 Peter 2:2? How does 1 Corinthians 3:5-23 wrap up the section on division in churches? 3:1-4: And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? In 1 Corinthians 2 Paul continued the theme of the contrast between God s wisdom and the world s wisdom. Recalling his own preaching in Corinth, Paul preached not in the style of worldly wisdom but in the plainspoken wisdom of God. This wisdom is not a natural endowment but a result of the work of the Spirit. But many who were in the Corinthian church showed little evidence of being spiritual people. Instead, they lived as though they did not know the Spirit. Chapter 3 picks up at that point. Paul made a bold statement. He said that when he dealt with them, he could not speak unto them as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal ( people of the flesh, HCSB; worldly, NIV). Keep in mind that Paul used the word flesh to describe people who live by the world s standards and are not led by the Spirit. This was a serious charge. It came close to saying, You re not a Christian. It did say, You are not acting like Christians. When I was young, my dad sometimes took me to see a Saturday afternoon movie, usually a Western. Often two of my friends went along. As the movie began, the younger of the two brothers asked my dad about each actor, Is he the bad man? After identifying the bad man and the hero, he was satisfied. Most of the time he would curl up and go to sleep. In those days you generally could distinguish the hero from the villain. Theoretically, you should clearly distinguish a follower of Christ from someone who is not, but in reality that often cannot be done. Paul s words in these verses show that this clear difference is not always obvious. One reason many people are turned off by Christianity is because of the unworthy way many church members live. 14

Week of March 7 Why is this true? It is true because many people are spiritually immature. Paul said that in the early days with them, he fed them with milk, and not with meat. He did this because they were babes ( babies, HCSB; infants, NIV) in Christ. That was appropriate for new converts. Peter wrote, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby (1 Pet. 2:2). But the problem was that the Corinthian believers were no longer new converts, and Paul still could feed them only milk, not with meat. First Corinthians 3:1-4 has much in common with Hebrews 5:12-14. Each passage is addressed to people who had been Christians long enough to show spiritual maturity but were not mature. The author of Hebrews said his readers were still in the kindergarten stage of growth. They ought to be teaching others, but they were mature only enough for the basics. Paul wrote to tell the Corinthians that when he was in Corinth, he had to feed them milk, not meat. And he added that this was still true. Three times in the Greek text of 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 Paul called these professing believers carnal (people who live according to the flesh, not the Spirit); he could not call them spiritual (people whose are led by and follow the Spirit). Paul used a different Greek word for the word carnal in verse 1 (sarkinos) than he did in verse 3 (sarkikos). Both terms made the same basic point. Leon Morris saw a slight difference. The difference between sarkinos and sarkikos is like that between fleshy and fleshly. Sarkinos is the more thoroughgoing word, but there is no blame attached to it as applied to those who are young in the faith. But sarkikos, characterized by flesh, when used of those who have been Christians for years, is blameworthy. The mature believer is pneumatikos, characterized by Spirit. To be characterized instead by flesh, as the Corinthians were, is the very opposite of what a Christian should be. 4 Paul made clear that his reason for such strong condemnations of them was because of the divisions in the church. He accused them of envying and strife. Envying (zelos) refers to jealousy. The word strife is eris, which was so prominent in Paul s descriptions of the divisions in the church (1:11). The strife over leaders was like the kind of strife that is practiced by worldly people who do not know God s Spirit. Although Paul called them brethren, he said they were acting as if they had never known God s Spirit. But lest he be misunderstood, Paul again referred in verse 4 to the debate about leaders. He quoted only what was said by those who claimed I am of Paul and those who claimed I am of Apollos. This ties together the issues being dealt with in 1:10 3:4. 15

When Members Won t Get Along Many of us have seen churches develop dissensions that became divisions. What effect does a church fight have on its testimony in the community and on the church itself? People inside become discouraged, and people outside turn away from such a church. If you are tempted to act in selfish pride in your church, you need to take this lesson seriously. What are some lasting truths in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4? 1. Ideally there should be a clear difference between believers and unbelievers. 2. Some church members act as if they are unbelievers. 3. Such persons are at best spiritually immature. 4. Spiritually immature believers sometimes participate in actions that threaten the church s oneness of Spirit. v Spiritual Transformations A church that is one in the Spirit is a miracle of God s grace and evidences a patient, loving spirit among the members. Such a church is what God wants in every congregation. However, there are sinful tendencies of people even church people that work against such an ideal fellowship. Many expressions of divided churches involve how a leader or leaders are perceived. The Corinthian church was beset by factions based on professed allegiance to different leaders. This divisiveness was the result of the selfish pride of the people in each group. Many of these divisions were expressed in strife. People who participate in church fights are accountable to God for their sin. A sin against the church is a sin against God and against other believers. What can you do to ensure and enrich the fellowship of your church? If your church is having problems, what can you do to help your church be what it should be? Prayer of Commitment: Lord, help me do my part to maintain the oneness of Spirit in my church. Amen. 1 Robert J. Dean, First Corinthians for Today [Nashville: Broadman Press, 1972], 30. 2 William Baird, The Corinthian Church A Biblical Approach to Urban Culture [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1964], 47-48. 3 Quoted by Origen, Contra Celsus, III.44, cited by Dean, First Corinthians for Today, 40. 4 Leon Morris, The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, in the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries [Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970], 63. 16