1Crinthians 1A (2013) Crinth was a mixture f New Yrk, Ls Angeles, and Las Vegas in the ancient wrld It sat n the isthmus f Crinth, a narrw strip f land that cnnected nrthern Greece with the suthern Pelpnnesus It was a crssrads f the ancient wrld And it was a land bridge with tw castal prts The city s prts cnnected the western Med with the Aegean Sea in the East These prts were the basis fr cmmerce in the city Bats were ff laded, carg transprted ver land Smaller bats mved entirely Later a canal was dug started by Ner and finished in 1893 As thse bats arrived, they brught sailrs Sailrs brught pagan traditins and vice f all kinds Aristphanes in 400BC cined the phrase krinthiaz, which means t act like a Crinthian, as in t frnicate Perhaps the mst licentius city in the Rman Empire The city was als incredibly wealthy due t the trade there Anther ppular phrase was nt everyne can g t Crinth, Which meant nt everyne was wealthy enugh t live in the city Finally, the city was a center fr wrship f Apll at the Temple f Aphrdite The temple was manned by the prstitutes f Aphrdite This is why the city was a favrite fr men wh wished t wrship 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 1A (2013) 2 f 13 Yu can t verestimate hw pervasive sexual perversin was in this city It was the riginal Sin City Paul has an extensive relatinship with the city Paul first traveled t Crinth in abut AD 51 (less than 20 years after Christ s death) This was the first majr church Paul established in the Greek wrld As was his practice, Paul initially went t the synaggue, but was sn rejected S then he went t the huse next dr and reached his first Gentile cnvert, and frm there began the Crinthians church There he met Pricilla and Aquila (Acts 18) And lived amng them fr 18 mnths in his first visit At that pint, Paul left fr Ephesus taking Priscilla and Aquila with him Later in abut AD 54, Paul hears disturbing news abut the church in Crinth In particular, the church is engaging in a many f the immralities f the surrunding culture, and plluting church practice and dctrine Remember, nne f the fur gspels have been written and distributed by this time Virtually nne f the letters f the New Testament have been authred The church has the Old Testament and the teaching f Paul and its ther leaders S in the absence f such grunding and discipleship, the church was highly susceptible t wrng teaching and unhealthy practices What kind f bizarre practices wuld invade ur church were it nt fr the wrd f Gd? In fact, we d see exactly the same tendency in the church tday 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 1A (2013) 3 f 13 Where the wrd f Gd and the dctrines f the church are nt taught, the practices f the faithful quickly begin t deviate and becme crrupted S in AD54 Paul writes his first letter t the city warning abut vice and immral cnduct That letter n lnger exists (1Cr 5:9) But it must have begun the discussin f hw the church was t crrect these practices Later Paul hears f factins develping within the church And he receives a letter frm the church asking him t settle sme disagreements (7:1) The disagreements revlve arund hw the church shuld practice marriage, divrce, idls, spiritual gifts, giving t the pr in the church and ther issues The delegatin carrying the letter t Paul (headed by a man named Stephanus) elabrated n the prblems in the church S abut AD 56, Paul writes his secnd letter t Crinth t address the things he s heard and and t answer the questins psed t him in their letter That secnd letter frm Paul is the ne we hld in ur hands, the letter we call First Crinthians In this letter, Paul says he knws there are thse in the church wh have disputed Paul s teaching and are claiming equal authrity with Paul And it was because f these false teachers that many f the disputes and bad behavir had develped in the church Since there is n written NT scripture at this pint, this church had nly Paul s wrd as an Apstle t guide them Furthermre, this is a Gentile church, made up f frmer Greek Pagan wrshippers with n prir experience in Jewish teaching r practice S they had n backgrund in the teachings f the OT and n written guidance fr NT practice 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 1A (2013) 4 f 13 The cnduct and future directin f this church depended n wh s cunsel and directin they held as authritative This is why Paul s ability t perfrm miracles and prve his authrity by the HS was s imprtant Paul culd back up his teaching with real spiritual pwer, which he received frm Jesus directly And in this letter we ll see Paul demand that his detractrs d the same Finally, Paul later made a painful visit (as he called it) t Crinth in AD 58, prbably because his letter hadn t succeeded in crrecting their sin It was during his secnd stay in the city that Paul sat dwn t write Rmans I wnder if seeing Crinth running wild gave Paul the inspiratin t write such a pwerful letter f thelgy As he came t understand hw essential gd dctrine is t the cnduct f gdly church life That is a truth that has been set aside in many churches again tday That is the central theme f the letter: hw t live ut a gdly (spiritual) life If Rmans can be cnsidered the preeminent letter n Christian thelgy Then 1Cr is the NT s principle letter fr the pastral applicatin f thelgy in everyday church life This is a letter that demnstrates hw imprtant thelgy is t the prper cnduct f Christian life, particularly the life f the gathering The letter reads with tw discrete sectins: First, Chaps 1-6 addresses all Paul has heard abut the gings n in the church The factins The false human wisdm 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 1A (2013) 5 f 13 The carnal cnditins The lack f rder and discipline and respect fr the Apstles authrity The secnd sectin in chapters 7-16 is where Paul s answers the questin psed in the letter he received This explains why the letter reads a little like a laundry list f issues Less dctrine, mre practice Therefre, this letter is utterly cntemprary and highly applicable t ur day The same issues Paul addressed in Crinth cntinue t weigh n the church tday The celebrity status f church leaders and the factins that develp arund them? The manner and surce f ur salvatin? Divrce and remarriage? Cnfusin ver the purpse and use f spiritual gifts? The integratin f the pagan practices in the church? The rle and place f wmen in the church? This letter may have been written nearly 2,000 years ag, but it may as well been written yesterday! 1Cr. 1:1 Paul, called as an apstle f Jesus Christ by the will f Gd, and Ssthenes ur brther, 1Cr. 1:2 T the church f Gd which is at Crinth, t thse wh have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all wh in every place call n the name f ur Lrd Jesus Christ, their Lrd and urs: 1Cr. 1:3 Grace t yu and peace frm Gd ur Father and the Lrd Jesus Christ. Immediately in the pening f the letter, we see the issue f authrity taking the center stage Paul reminds the church f his surce f his authrity As an Apstle, Paul was the Apstle t the Gentiles, a man wh s wrd and teaching carried real authrity fr the church 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 1A (2013) 6 f 13 Apstle was and still is an unique title in the church Men cannt assign this title t themselves r ne anther Only the Lrd Jesus Christ may appint an apstle, as demnstrated here by Paul s statement Paul was called t be an apstle by the will f Gd This ffice is s special and unique in the church that nly Gd may appint this psitin directly And He did s thrugh His Sn, Jesus Christ The ffice f Apstle was awarded nly thrugh a persnal appearing f Jesus Christ And the ffice carried special and unique signs and pwers, which validated smene s claim t being an apstle In 2Cr 12:12, Paul mentins that he perfrmed the signs f a true apstle when he visited the church We see accunts f Apstle perfrming these signs elsewhere in scripture, particularly in Acts, including raising men frm the dead, healing and even bringing men t death But tday in the church, we d nt have true apstles The ffice ended when the last f the 12 died, fr the ffice had met it s purpse in the establishing the church Secndly, Paul says the believers in Crinth were likewise called by Christ int the faith they shared This cncept, that we are in faith by an act f Gd and nt an act f men, if Paul s first line f defense against the false teachers in Crinth Paul wanted the church t understand that they did nt we their salvatin t any teacher r even t an Apstle And they certainly culdn t credit their wn wisdm and intellect as the surce f their salvatin Instead, they were called by Jesus Christ, and the rest f the first and secnd chapters will develp this pint further 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 1A (2013) 7 f 13 1Cr. 1:4 I thank my Gd always cncerning yu fr the grace f Gd which was given yu in Christ Jesus, 1Cr. 1:5 that in everything yu were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knwledge, 1Cr. 1:6 even as the testimny cncerning Christ was cnfirmed in yu, 1Cr. 1:7 s that yu are nt lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelatin f ur Lrd Jesus Christ, 1Cr. 1:8 wh will als cnfirm yu t the end, blameless in the day f ur Lrd Jesus Christ. 1Cr. 1:9 Gd is faithful, thrugh whm yu were called int fellwship with His Sn, Jesus Christ ur Lrd. As is typical fr Paul, he mves ut f his salutatin and directly int a prayer f thanks fr the Crinthian church This church was the first Greek church Paul planted after wrking his way thrugh Asia Minr Befre reaching Crinth, Paul had spent sme time preaching in Athens But as yu may knw frm Acts, Paul failed t gain much f a fllwing in Athens He must have left that city in a bit f despair and discuragement But when he arrived in Crinth, he was met with an almst immediate Gentile respnse In the 18 mnths Paul lived in Crinth, he saw many cme t the Lrd This must have been a tremendus encuragement t Paul Especially in a city f s much immrality Paul s experience in mving frm a fruitless Athens t a fruitful Crinth reminds us that ur evangelist results lie entirely in Gd s hands It s clear that Paul made equal effrt in bth cities And in Gd s eternal purpse, it was necessary that Paul visit bth places Yet it s als clear that in Gd s eternal purpse, Paul was intended t see meager respnse in ne city but great respnse in the ther 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 1A (2013) 8 f 13 Had Paul stubbrnly remained in Athens, assuming he culd vercme their bjectins and eventually achieve results, he wuld have been wrking against the purpses f Gd N man can turn meager respnse int great respnse in his wn pwer If we persist in labring utside Gd s will, we increase ur wn frustratin and discuragement And we may miss the pprtunity t reach peple in the city dwn the rad Paul walked in the Spirit, mving frm Athens t Crinth s that he culd labr in the field Gd had prepared fr him Lk at hw Paul entered the city Acts 18:8 Crispus, the leader f the synaggue, believed in the Lrd with all his husehld, and many f the Crinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. Acts 18:9 And the Lrd said t Paul in the night by a visin, D nt be afraid any lnger, but g n speaking and d nt be silent; Acts 18:10 fr I am with yu, and n man will attack yu in rder t harm yu, fr I have many peple in this city. Gd tld Paul that he had many friends in this city after nly ne husehld had been cnverted In ther wrds, Gd already intended t bring Paul a great harvest, and the Lrd described these future cnverts as if they were already believing Because in light f Gd s svereignty, they were All that was left was fr Paul t reach them, and that was the Lrd s calling fr Paul In Paul s statements f thanks, we can als see the beginnings f his first cncern fr this church Paul says that this church already had everything they culd hpe t receive frm their faith in Christ First, and fremst, they had received Gd s unmerited favr in Jesus Christ 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 1A (2013) 9 f 13 This is the basis fr every gd thing that wuld fllw Withut having received grace thrugh faith in Christ, n ther benefit f the Bdy f Christ is available Secndly, they were made rich in Jesus Christ Nt just in the sense f ur eternal inheritance But als in speech and knwledge The believer has access t all the wisdm f Gd and the ability t carry that truth t the wrld in a pwerful way Just as the Gspel testimny Paul delivered t them wrked pwerfully t cnvert Crinth Thirdly, the church in Crinth was nt lacking in any spiritual gift The Spirit was alive in the church and with Him cmes access t every spirit gift Finally, they have the assurance f their salvatin and the glry t cme The church culd be assured that they will be blameless in the end when they stand befre Jesus Christ Nthing else was required fr the church t receive all these blessings...everything Paul listed was their s already by virtue f grace alne Why has Paul started his letter in this way? Because the church was shwing evidence they did nt understand what they had btained thrugh faith alne The believers in Crinth were prducts f their culture, just as every believer is a prduct f his r her wn culture Crinth was quintessentially Greek: priding itself n its wealth, wisdm, sphisticatin and ratry And s the church in Crinth reflected thse pridefully qualities When the faith first arrived in the city, the new cnverts were equals in Christ 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 1A (2013) 10 f 13 But sn they began t cmpare themselves t ne anther seeking ways t re-establish rank and privilege Because this was the way f the Greek culture But the shame was that their pride was actually causing them t stumble s that they were less than they shuld be They valued wisdm and knwledge They admired elquence in speech They respected wealth and prestige, as did all Greek culture But Paul says they have already btained everything in these areas by their faith in Christ N ne was superir t anther And they need nt seek fr smething greater than they have already btained in Christ In their searching fr greater prestige and hnr, the church had begun t find it by assciatin They had begun t argue fr a greater hnr n the basis f wh cnverted them Irnically, they had lst sught f wh they truly were in Greek culture While they argued fr wh had greater hnr and chased after greater frms f wisdm, they neglected t ntice hw the rest f the Greek sciety viewed the church S nw Paul begins t address the first serius prblem in the Crinthians church life: their desire t create factins and credit themselves by assciatin 1Cr. 1:10 Nw I exhrt yu, brethren, by the name f ur Lrd Jesus Christ, that yu all agree and that there be n divisins amng yu, but that yu be made cmplete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 1Cr. 1:11 Fr I have been infrmed cncerning yu, my brethren, by Chle s peple, that there are quarrels amng yu. 1Cr. 1:12 Nw I mean this, that each ne f yu is saying, I am f Paul, and I f Aplls, and I f Cephas, and I f Christ. 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 1A (2013) 11 f 13 1Cr. 1:13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was nt crucified fr yu, was he? Or were yu baptized in the name f Paul? 1Cr. 1:14 I thank Gd that I baptized nne f yu except Crispus and Gaius, 1Cr. 1:15 s that n ne wuld say yu were baptized in my name. 1Cr. 1:16 Nw I did baptize als the husehld f Stephanas; beynd that, I d nt knw whether I baptized any ther. Paul begins with the first thing he s heard - there are dissensins and factins And as Paul begins t crrect them, he reminds them f his authrity t crrect them while describing the sin in the church Paul says these things t bring them t shame But then he will ffer a crrectin And he will end with an encuraging wrd t mve them ahead in the right manner This is the pattern Paul will fllw thrughut the letter Paul says that all in the church shuld agree and that there be n divisins The wrd in Greek (auts) means t be ne-minded Paul is insisting the church perate as ne, nt as divisins And he says they are t be cmplete, in the same mind and judgment The wrd cmplete (katartiz) means t mend, as in t mend nets (Mark 1:19) The church shuld be knitted tgether, nt pulling apart The spilt in the Crinthians church was the result f church members aligning themselves with certain leaders The members f each grup began t hld that their status in the bdy - and even their salvatin itself - was determined n the basis f these affiliatins Specifically, they began t claim they were f Paul r f Aplls r f Cephas Lking at these three men, we knw each was imprtant in his wn way 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 1A (2013) 12 f 13 Paul was the funder f the church Aplls was a gifted ratr wh als evangelized the Greek wrld Peter was the funder f the Jewish church Peter never visited Crinth as far as we knw But sme Jewish believers had prbably migrated int the city In crrecting the church, Paul asks can Christ be divided? Obviusly nt. Christ s literal bdy culd nt be divided int parts Neither can the spiritual Bdy f Christ be divided Fr we are all ne by the same Spirit Wh indwells us all But the Crinthian church was nw placing an emphasis n their affiliatin with a certain Apstle mre than with their identity in Christ Paul demands that the church avid these divisins, but when Paul says agree, he desn t mean that the church can t have disagreements Paul didn t want divisin, but that desn t mean he wished the church wuld cmprmise n the truth In fact, disagreements are inevitable when the truth f Gd s wrd is at stake There d cme times when we must stand up fr the truth Ntice in v.12 there were sme saying they are f Christ This was the crrect viewpint These Christians were saying the crrect thing, the same thing Paul Himself is abut t teach But because thers had established incrrect thinking, a divisin between right and wrng had develped in the church Here we see hw thelgical errr creates divisin in the church The divisin begins when sme in the church leave the truth and begin teaching errr 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 1A (2013) 13 f 13 Then thse wh hld t the truth are frced t be divided We cannt recncile truth and errr The slutin t divisin in the church has always been the same: sund dctrine and sund teaching When the church emphasizes crrect Bible teaching, then the Bdy as a whle can grw in the grace and knwledge f Christ But when teaching and sund dctrine are lst, divisin arise Fr his part, Paul s says he did nthing t encurage these divisins Paul asks was he the ne wh died n the crss? Were they baptized in the name f Paul? Paul didn t teach that he was central t faith and salvatin He taught that Christ was central Paul adds that he was thankfully he didn t baptize many because he didn t want t encurage this nnsense This is an imprtant principle fr the church then and tday Pastrs, teachers, evangelists shuld never encurage their audiences t see themselves as attached r aligned with the individual Our nly identity is in Christ In the end, we must be careful nt t repeat the mistake f the Crinthian church And as members f the Bdy, we shuld take every pprtunity, (shrt f cmprmising n the truth) t recncile divisins in the church We are nt Baptists, Presbyterians, Methdists We are nt cnservative r charismatic We are nt refrmed r dispensatinal We are Christians r we are nt 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.