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First Corinthians

Background Information

•Paul is the author.

•He wrote it in 55 A.D. three years after his first visit to Corinth.

•Paul spent 18 months in Corinth.

•He supported himself by tent making.

•The church was founded on his second missionary journey

Background Information

•Paul reasoned with the Jews in the synagogue.

•Read Acts 18.4-5

•The Corinthian Church was probably at first a synagogue congregation.

•Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue was Paul’s first convert.

•Read Acts 18.8

Background Information

•The Jews got hostile with Paul and rejected the message.

•Sosthenes, one of the chief rulers of the synagogue was publicly flogged by a Greek mob.

•Read Acts 18.7

Background Information

•On his third missionary journey, Paul stayed in Ephesus.

•Read Acts 19.1

•Ephesus was only eight days journey by to the city of Corinth.

Background Information

•While in Ephesus, Paul got bad news about the church in Corinth.

•The bad news was that the church in Corinth was divided and broken into factions.

•There were quarrels and differences of opinion at the church in Corinth.

Background Information

•Due to the situation at Corinth, Paul decided to write a letter to the Corinthians.

•According to R. Dykes Shaw, the letter has three outstanding features.

–Warning against a factious spirit.

–Rules for a Christian conscience.

–The exaltation of the cross.

Background Information

•Corinth was a Greek city-state.

•Corinth is located 50 miles west of Athens.

•Corinth was a great commercial center.

•Corinth had a port on the east and one on the west.

Background Information

•Corinth was a prominent religious center with many temples.

•The most popular temple was in honor of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

•The worship of Aphrodite fostered immorality.

Background Information

•Due to its strategic location, Corinth acquired the best and worst of both Roman and Greek cultures.

•Corinth was a center for arts, crafts, and trade of every kind.

•Corinth was frequented by prostitutes, thieves, adventures, vagrants, and religious cultists.

Background Information

•Corinth was known as “sin city.”

•To act as a Corinthian was a synonym for gross immorality.

•To be “Corinthianized” was to be in the lowest state of moral corruption.

Open Your Bible to I Cor.

•Read I Corinthians 1.1-3

Discussion Question

•Why do you think Paul is mentioning his apostleship?

Paul the Apostle

•Paul mentions his apostleship to establish credibility and acceptance for his teaching.

•Paul’s apostleship is unique.

•Due to Paul’s apostleship being unique, it may have been questioned by some.

What is an apostle?

•Apostle comes from the Greek word apostello.

•Apostello means “a person sent.”

•The term apostle was used to refer to the 12 who followed Jesus.

What is an apostle?

•To be an apostle the following requirements needed to met:

–Been with Jesus

–Seen the risen Jesus

–Commissioned by Jesus

Discussion Question

•What do you think should be the requirements for becoming an ordained minister?

Sosthenes

•Read Acts 18.17

•The Sosthenes in Acts 18.7 is probably the same as the one joining Paul in writing the letter to the Corinthians.

•He was probably a Jew who converted to Christianity.

Sosthenes

•Paul calls Sosthenes brother.

•By calling him brother, Paul is probably giving the Corinthians a gentle reminder that the church needs the unity of a family.

Discussion Question

•How do you feel about calling others in the church brother or sister?

Discussion Questions

•How do we show each other that we are a family at Union Church?

•In what ways do we show the world around us that we are a family?

To The Church of God in Corinth

•The Greek term for church is ekklesia.

•An ekklesia in secular usage was an assembly or meeting of citizens gathered to decide matters of public interest.

•The term is used in the LXX (Greek translation of the Hebrew OT) for the “congregation of Israel.”

To The Church of God in Corinth

•Ekklesia as used in the NT always refers to people and not to a building.

•The early Christians did not have buildings.

•Buildings did come about until the fourth century AD.

To The Church of God in Corinth

•This phrase is probably establishing a connection of the local body of believers in Corinth with other believers in the church outside Corinth.

•It refers to the church universal.

To Those Sanctified in Christ Jesus

•Sanctification is the process of God setting us apart and makes us holy.

Called to be Holy

•Translated “called saints”

•Saint means “holy one”

Together with all those everywhere who call on the name

•With what should this phrase be connected?

–The sender?

–The recipient?

–The greeting in verse 3?

One Commentator’s Opinion

•It is best to identify it with verse 3

•“If he wishes grace and peace for the church at Corinth, so he does for believers elsewhere.”

Who Call on the Name?

•Read Romans 10.12-13

•Joel 3.5

Who Call on the Name?

•To call on the name is to put trust in that person.

•Example: I bought a H.P. laptop computer because I put trust in the name of H.P.

Grace and Peace

•Paul uses this same verse in his letters to the Galatians, Ephesians, and Romans.

•Read Ephes. 2.14

•Read Romans 5.1

Grace and Peace

•Grace is the foundation of our Christian experience.

•Peace is the outcome of God’s redemptive work on the cross.

•The source of grace and peace is God the father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Question

•How do you think an unbeliever would respond if you used the phrase “grace and peace” in your greeting in a letter, phone call, or personal conversation?

I Cor. 1.4-9

•After giving a greeting, Paul in his letters usually finds something to be thankful for.

•Paul is thankful for the people, the believers at Corinth.

Question

•If Paul were going to write a letter to Union Church, what do you think he would give thanks for at Union Church?

Prayer Life

•Verse four tells us about Paul’s prayer life.

•He regularly interceded for the believers at Corinth.

Question

•Other than Sunday morning, is there a time set aside for regular intercession for the friends and members of Union Church?

Rich

•Verse five can be translated as “made rich” or “enriched.”

Question

•In what ways do you think a believer is rich?

Read

•Read Rom. 2.4; 10.12; 11.33

Gifted People at Corinth

•Some people at Corinth were gifted in the area of speaking.

•Some people at Corinth were filled with knowledge.

•Knowledge refers to a body of Christian doctrine.

Preaching and Enrichment

•The little word “as” ties preaching and enrichment together.

Question

•In what ways do you find enrichment through hearing the Word preached?

Testimony of Christ

•The testimony of Christ refers to the gospel.

•Testimony means bear witness.

•The gospel bore witness to the deity of Jesus, his messiahship, and his death and resurrection.

Confirmed

•“Confirmed” means to establish.

•The gospel was established at Corinth in the hearts of the people who became believers.

•The believers were living proof of the reality of the gospel.

Gift

•The problems at Corinth were not due to a lack of spiritual gifts.

•It was the misuse of gifts that was the problem at Corinth.

Gift

•The Greek word translated as gift is “charisma.”

•“Charisma” means a gift freely given-one that was not deserved.

Gift

•“Charisma” may refer to spiritual gifts or it may refer to the gifts of God in general such as His love, kindness, and grace.

Waiting For Jesus

•Waiting for Jesus to be revealed.

•One commentator said: “The earnest expectation of the Lord Jesus became one of the marks of early Christian piety.

•Read John 14.3; Acts 1.11; II Pet. 3.12 Rev. 22.20-21

Be Revealed

•Be revealed means a disclosure, an unveiling of Christ.

•Christ will be revealed as Lord and as Judge of the world when he returns.

Day of the our Lord Jesus

•The day of our Lord Jesus is similar to the day of the Lord in the OT.

•Read Amos 5.18

Strong

•He will keep you strong.

•Strength comes from God and not from ourselves.

Question

•Think about a crisis or a difficult moment in your life.

•In what ways did God keep you strong through the crisis or difficult time?

Verse 9

•Compare verse 9 with Phil. 1.6

Effectual Call

•The Shorter Catechism: what is effectual calling? (Question 31)

•“the work of God’s Spirit whereby convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered in the gospel.”

Fellowship with His Son

•To be partakers with the Son in his feelings, his sufferings, and his glory.”

•Read I Pet. 4.13; Rom. 8.17; Matt. 19.28; John 14.19

Perseverance of the Saints

•This verse teaches the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.

•This doctrine tells us that our faith can withstand anything.

Blameless

•The Greek word for “blameless” does not mean perfect.

•It denotes those whom against whom there is no ground of accusation.

•Compare verse 8 with Ephes. 5.37

Question

•In what specific ways has God shown His faithfulness in your life? At Union Church?

Compare

•Compare with Phil. 1.6

Effectual Calling

•What is effectual calling?

•From the Shorter Catechism Question 31

•“the work of God’s Spirit whereby convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered in the gospel.”

Fellowship With His Son

•To be partakers with the Son in his feelings, his sufferings, and his glory.

•I Pet. 4.13

•Rom. 8.17

•Matt. 19.28

•John 14.19

I Cor. 1.10-17

•“I  appeal” or “I beg” or “I beseech”

•Calvin says: “acting like a good experienced surgeon, who touches the wound gently when a painful remedy must be used, Paul begins to handle them more severely.”

In the Name of our Lord Jesus

•Matt. 7.22

•Phil. 2.9-10

•To appeal to the name of Jesus is to use the authority of Jesus

•Matt. 28.18

Brother

•By using the word “brother,” Paul is softening the rebuke.

•The rebuke comes not from vengeance, but it comes from love.

•The use of the word brother suggests how wrong their dissensions and divisions were.

Agreement

•Paul is seeking for the believers at Corinth to find agreement and stop their schisms.

Agreement and Calvin

•Calvin says: “For the most important principle of our religion is this, that we be in concord among ourselves. Moreover, on this agreement the safety of the church rests and depends.”

•Question: Do you agree or disagree?

United

•Paul asks for them to be united or knit together.

•The Greek word is a medical word for the joining together of bones that have been fractured or joints that have been dislocated.

Question

•Does being united mean that we agree on everything?

Chloe

•We do not know how Chloe was.

•Apparently, some members of Chloe’s household were believers.

•They traveled from Corinth to Ephesus.

Four Groups

•Paul identifies 4 groups or factions.

•Paul, Apollos, Cephas, Christ.

•The groups were using these names.

•The individuals had nothing to do with the quarrels.

•The names were used without the knowledge and consent of that person.

Group One

•Paul

•Probably a Gentile party using their Christian faith to turn liberty into license.

•Probably used Christianity as an excuse to do whatever they liked.

Group Two

•Cephas

•Probably Jews who were teaching that believers had to observe the law.

•Legalists

Group Three

•Apollos

•Eloquent Acts 18.24

•Jew from Alexandria

•Alexandria was the center of intellectual activity.

•Probably intellectualized Christianity

Group Four

•Christ

•Probably a group that was self righteous

•Probably claimed they were the only true group of Christians

Cause of Divisions

•Don’t know for sure.

•Probably personality cults

•Preferences for one preacher over another

Questions

•Is it good to show preferences?

Christ Divided

•If the church is divided, then Christ is divided.

•Divisions tear up the body of the church thus they tear up our Lord.

Question

•How would Paul have responded to all our denominations?

Paul Crucified

•Was Paul crucified for you?

•Obvious answer is “no.”

•Paul uses his name to make his point. He does not use the name of Apollos, or Cephas.

Baptism

•Baptism was not done in Paul’s name.

•Baptism is done in the name of Jesus.

•Acts 2.38; 8,16

•Baptism is done under the authority of Jesus. In baptism, we come under the authority of Jesus and property of Jesus.

Baptism

•Barclay says: “This phrase ‘into the name of’ implies absolute and utter possession.

Paul and Baptism

•Paul is glad that he only baptized a few people at Corinth because it would have given them a greater opportunity for misunderstanding which would cause more divisions.

Paul and His Calling

•Paul points out that his calling was not about baptism.

•The chief aspect of his calling was to preach.

Paul and Preaching

•Preaching was not to be done with eloquent words, but in simplicity under the power of the Holy Spirit.

•The cross is at the center of Paul’s preaching and ministry.

Eloquent Words

•If Paul would have preached with eloquent words, it would have diminished the power of the cross.

The Cross and Eloquent Words

•Barclay says: “To decorate the story of the cross with rhetoric and cleverness would have been to make men think more of the language than of the facts, more of the speaker than of the message.”

I Cor. 1.18-25

•The cross is at the center of Christianity.

•The message of the cross is foolishness in the eyes of the world.

•The Greek word for foolishness is “moros” from which we get our English word moron or moronic.

The Cross and Jews

•The cross is foolish in the eyes of Jews because anyone who died on a tree was accursed of God.

•Deut. 21.23

•Jews did not think of a suffering messiah.

The Cross and Jews

•The Jews were looking for a messiah that would deliver them from the Romans.

•Jesus did not seek to deliver the Jews from the power of Rome.

The Cross and Greeks

•The cross was foolishness to the Greeks.

•The Greeks saw God as “apatheia.”

•“Apatheia is more than apathy. It refers to the inability to feel.

•God must be incapable of feeling so that none may ever affect Him.

The Cross and Greeks

•A God who suffers is a contradiction in terms for a Greek.

•The idea of God in the flesh (incarnation) was revolting to the Greeks.

The Cross and Greeks

•Greeks seek wisdom.

•Christianity did not fit the mold for Greek understanding of wisdom.

•Preachers did not use eloquent words.

Two Groups

•Group One: those on the way to destruction who find the cross foolish

•Group two: those on the way to salvation who find the cross to be God’s power

•Rom. 1.16-17

Verse 19

•Read Isa. 29.14

•Paul uses the OT to show how wrong it is to accept the world’s view of the cross.

•The opinion of the world counts for nothing in the eyes of God.

•God will destroy the so called wisdom of this world

Verse 19

•Calvin says: “Paul makes use of this testimony of Isaiah’s in order to prove that the wisdom of this world is useless and valueless, when it lifts itself up against God.”

Verse 20

•Paul is taunting the notion that wisdom can be found in the world through the leading spoke persons of the world (the wise man, the scholar, the philosopher or debater)

Wise Man, Scholar, Philosopher

•Wise man: refers to the Greeks

•Scholar: Jewish teacher of the law

•Philosopher: one who uses human reason alone to discover God. Refers to bo

World’s Wisdom

•The world’s wisdom is really foolishness in God’s eyes.

•We can’t find God’s wisdom by going to the world.

•The wisdom of God is released in Christian preaching.

•The world calls preaching foolishness.

Who Switched the Price Tags?

•What the world counts as wisdom is really folly in God’s eyes.

•What the world counts as foolishness is really wisdom in God’s eyes.

Jews and Signs

•Jews seek signs.

•Read Mark 8.11-13

•Israel tempted the LORD

•Read Num. 14.11, 22

Question

•What is wrong with asking God for signs?

Greeks and Wisdom

•Greeks seeking wisdom means they seek out those who speculate about God through human reasoning.

•Christianity is not people speculating.

•Christianity is revelation: God in the flesh in Jesus Christ.

The Jews

•The Jews were looking for a messiah that would conquer the Romans.

•The Jews were looking for a messiah that would do spectacular things.

Christ Crucified

•The idea of a suffering messiah who dies on a cross was inconceivable to the Jews.

Stumbling Block

•That which causes one to stumble

•Often large stones were found on public roads and paths that caused people to stumble and fall.

•It might be like driving in PA and all our pot holes. 

•Stumbling block applied to Jesus Rom. 9.32-33; I Pet. 2.7-8

Christ Crucified

•To the Jew Christ crucified was a stumbling block.

•To the non Jew (Gentile) Christ crucified was foolishness.

•Crucifixion was reserved for the guilty and the lowest of criminals.

Jesus as a sacrifice

•The idea of Jesus as a sacrifice for sin was not something the Greeks could grasp.

•Despite these problems, God has his “chosen ones” in both categories (Jews and Gentiles).

Chosen Ones

•In the eyes of the chosen ones, Christ is the power of God.

•The Greek word for power is dunamis from which we get our English word dynamite.

•Christ is also the wisdom of God.

Verse 25

•“What Paul means is that God’s smallest, least significant thought is more worthwhile than the wisest plans of mankind. And God’s seemingly insignificant expression of his creative and providential power is greater and more effective than the mightiest thoughts and acts of men. He has complete control

Verse 25

•And fully accomplishes his purpose while the power, acts, and thoughts of men are in comparison nothing.”

Read I Cor. 1.26-31

I Cor. 1.26-31

•Verse 26 Paul speaks about the circumstances under which God has called his people.

•Not many were from the intellectual philosopher class

•Not many were from the politically powerful class

•Not many were from the upper level of society

Corinth and the Lower Class

•The church at Corinth included many from the lower class.

•There were 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire.

Corinth and the Lower Class

•“There is no doubt that Christianity spread rapidly among the lower classes and that this was part of its offensiveness.”

Question

•Why do you think Christianity spread rapidly among the lower class?

Verse 27

•God chose what appears to be foolish in order to shame what appears to be wise in the eyes of the world.

Verse 28

•Paul is referring to the lower level of society-the lower class.

•In the eyes of the world, slaves appear to be nothing.

The things that are

•The things that are or the people who appear to be important are nullified.

•Those who appear to be important can accomplish nothing for their own salvation because their wisdom, power, and importance are ineffective.

Boasting

•Instead of personal boasting, the chosen one must realize that salvation is all of God’s grace.

•All credit or praise belongs to God.

•Christ is true wisdom

•Wisdom is not found in eloquence or speculation. Christ is our true wisdom.

Christ

•Christ is also our righteousness.

•Read II Cor 5.21

•The idea is of a court room. The sinner is arraigned in God’s court and is unable to satisfy the law or the judge.

•Faith counts as righteousness Rom. 4.3 for the sinner

Christ

•Christ is our sanctification or holiness.

•Holiness does not come from ourselves. It comes from Christ.

Redemption

•The sinner can have wisdom, righteousness, and holiness because of redemption.

•Redemption involves paying a price.

•Christ paid the price by his death on the cross

Boasting

•Because God did it all for us, all praise must go to God.

•Paul quotes Jer. 9.24

Question

•What are some appropriate ways to boast in the Lord?

Read I Cor. 2.1-5

Verse One

•Verse One: Paul is referring to his initial trip to Corinth recorded in Acts 18

•He did not depend on oratory skills or philosophical arguments.

•He came preaching the testimony of God.

•Some translations put it “mystery of God.”

Paul’s strategy

•Paul’s strategy was to focus on the death of Jesus

Paul’s Desire

•Paul’s desire was to know the crucified Christ.

Question

•What are some ways that we too might know the crucified Christ?

Fear and Trembling

•Calvin “he was surrounded by many dangers. He was in perpetual fear and constant anxiety.”

•Paul might also have been overwhelmed by the task of evangelizing the city.

•Paul felt vulnerable.

Question

•Are there times when you feel weak and afraid and vulnerable?

Preaching

•Paul did not use clever techniques when he preached.

•Paul simply preached the cross and trusted in the work of the Holy Spirit.

•The evidence Paul was looking for that the Holy Spirit was at work was changed lives.

Faith and Foundation

•Paul wanted the faith of the Corinthians to rest not upon the wisdom of men.

•He wanted it to rest on the power of God.

•The faith Paul preached was not man centered. It was God centered.

Read I Cor. 2.6-10

•The gospel is not devoid of wisdom.

•It involves a wisdom discernible by the mature.

•Some in the faith are infants and some are mature. Read I Cor. 3.1-2

Question

•What do you think is the difference between an infant believer and a mature believer?

Wisdom of The Gospel

•The wisdom of the Gospel does not have its origin in the world nor in the rulers of the world.

Wisdom and Mystery

•The wisdom Paul is referring to is contained in a mystery.

•This mystery began before time began (eternal).

•It is the plan of salvation.

•The plan was not fully understood in OT times.

Wisdom and Mystery

•The full understanding of the mystery comes in the revelation of Jesus Christ.

•Verse 8 none of the rulers understood the plan. Otherwise, they would not have crucified Jesus

•By rulers Paul is referring to the Sadducees, Pharisees, teachers of the law, Herod, and Pilate.

Question

•Why do you think the rulers were so blinded to the plan of salvation?

Verse 9

•Paul quotes Isa. 64.4

Verse 10

•The gospel is revelation given by the Holy Spirit

•The Holy Spirit has a ministry related to the Scriptures II Pet. 1.21 and related to believers (Ephes 1.17-19)

Read I Cor. 2.11-16

•Paul is making an analogy.

•The human spirit or inner person knows the thoughts of that person.

•In the same way the Holy Spirit knows the thoughts of God (wisdom).

Verse 12

•A believer has received the Holy Spirit

•The purpose of having the Holy Spirit is to “understand what God has freely given to us.”

Verse13

•Paul in his ministry did not speak in human wisdom.

•Paul spoke in words given by the Holy Spirit

Verse 14

•People without the Spirit do not accept the things of the Spirit.

•Such a person considers the things of the Spirit to be foolish.

Verse 15

•The spiritual person can make spiritual evaluations.

•That person can discern truth from error and decide what to follow and what to avoid.

The Spiritual Person

•The spiritual person is not judged because he or she has the Spirit

•The Word can withstand any judgment of man.

Verse 16

•Paul quotes Isa. 40.13

•Man (unbeliever) can not know God’s wisdom, but the Christian does.

Mind of Christ

•To have the mind of Christ, is to know and understand spiritual truths in a way similar to the way the Lord knows them.

Question

•As believers we have the help of the Holy Spirit, but does this mean that we are always right?

Read I Cor. 3.1-4

Spiritual Person

•Paul makes a distinction between the person who is spiritual and the person who is fleshly or worldly.

•The spiritual person is the one who understands spiritual truths.

•The person who is worldly can not grasp anything beyond the earthly and physical.

Worldly or fleshly

•Paul accuses the Corinthians of still being at the worldly or fleshly stage.

•This means they were dominated by worldly or fleshly desires.

•The flesh is that part of us that gives into sin and keeps us apart from God.

Infants

•Paul also calls them infants or babes.

•Many of the Corinthians had just started out on their journey of faith and lacked maturity.

•The evidence that they were infants was their constant quarrelling.

Question

•What qualities do you think make for a mature Christian?

Food

•Due to their lack of maturity, Paul was not able to feed them solid food.

•The solid food was the complete wisdom of God-the deeper doctrines of the faith.

Food

•Instead of solid food, Paul gave them milk-the basics of salvation.

Verse 3

•Paul gets specific and points out the sin of jealousy and quarreling as evidence of their worldliness.

•The Corinthians were jealous of one another’s spiritual gifts.

Verse 4

•The factional spirit prevailed at Corinth.

•Paul did not want believers to think about following him.

•Rather, he wanted them to think of following the Lord.

Read I Cor. 3.5-9

•Verse 5: How then should Paul and Apollos be viewed?

•Answer: servants

•As servants, God used them to bring belief in the lives of the Corinthians.

•Servants are not to be idolized.

Verse 6

•Paul and Apollos worked together in evangelizing the Corinthians.

•The real credit goes to God who brought the growth in the lives of the Corinthians.

•The real importance is in the growth which only comes from God.

Question

•In what ways has God used servants in your life to bring about belief or to strengthen it?

•In what ways has God brought growth in your life?

Verse 8

•Paul and Apollos worked together in evangelizing the Corinthians.

•They were allies not rivals.

•Paul needs to stress the unity of the church to deal with the divided church at Corinth.

Pay

•The pay for the labor might be a reference to a recompense in heaven or to the immediate satisfaction of seeing spiritual growth.

Verse 9

•Again Paul stresses the he and Apollos are fellow workers.

•They are not in opposition to one another.

•They are colleagues.

Two Metaphors

•Paul uses two metaphors in describing the church.

•The first one is an agricultural metaphor.

•The church is like a field and the servants are cultivating the field.

Two Metaphors

•The second metaphor is that of a building.

•Paul develops the architectural metaphor.

•He said he laid the foundation.

•In other words, he made the first converts.

•Paul’s work was followed by others who built upon the foundation.

Verse 11

•The only foundation that can be laid is Jesus Christ.

•If Christ is not the foundation, then it is not the church.

Verse 12

•Another way a builder might go wrong is by using inferior materials.

•Inferior materials will be exposed.

Verse 13

•“The Day” is like the “Day of the Lord” in the OT.

•It is a day of judgment.

•On the great day of judgment, God will judge the secrets of all persons.

•Shoddy workmanship can not be concealed.

Fire

•The day of judgment will involve fire.

•The fire is not for retribution.

•The fire is for testing.

•The quality of each person’s work will be revealed.

The Test by Fire

•If the work withstands the test by fire, then a reward will be given.

•Those whose works do not stand the test will be saved but will not have any reward.

The Temple

•The temple is not bricks and mortar.

•The believer is the temple.

•The temple is the place where God and people meet.

Warning

•Paul issues a warning that any attempts to destroy the temple will invoke the wrath of God.

•The two things that threaten to destroy the temple are heresy and a factious spirit.

Read I Cor. 3.18-23

•Paul warns against self deception.

•Those who think themselves to be wise are in reality deceiving themselves.

•The test of wisdom is whether the standards of this world are used or the standards of God.

•The way to true wisdom is to be foolish by the standards of this world.

Verse 19

•What is considered wise in the ways of the  world is really foolishness with God.

•Human wisdom and divine wisdom are direct opposites.

Caught by God

•God catches the wise (by this world’s standards) in their own craftiness.

•Like a beast, the wise of this world are caught by God.

Verse 20

•God is all knowing.

•God knows that those who consider themselves wise this world’s standards are really thinking vain thoughts-thoughts that are futile.

•Paul quotes Psalm 94.11

Verse 21

•The boasting in men is precisely what the Corinthians were doing in their party spirit.

•One group boasted in Paul, another in Cephas, another in Apollos.

Verse 22

•Paul, Apollos, and Cephas are said to be theirs in that Paul, Apollos, and Cephas are servants of God.

World, life, death

•The world life, death, and things present and things to come are also theirs because Christ is sovereign.

•The church is in Christ and Christ stands as lord over life, death, things present and things to come.

Verse 23

•The source and center of everything is Christ.

•The believer must never forget that he or she fully belongs to Christ and Christ fully belongs to God.

Read I Cor. 4.1-5

Paul’s Self Concept

•Paul sees himself as a servant.

•Servant is different from a slave in that he is a free man who freely subjects himself to the master.

•Paul also uses the word “doulos” or slave to describe himself in other letters.

Servants not sects

•Paul wanted the Corinthians to think of him as a servant belonging to Christ and not as a person who is the head of a particular faction or party within the church.

Stewards

•Paul also sees himself as a steward.

•NIV translates it “those entrusted…”

•The steward was in charge of the whole household.

•The steward was still under the authority of the owner of the household.

The Secret Things of God

•The mysteries of God.

•This pertains to the plan of salvation.

•These truths can not be discovered by human wisdom.

•Paul uses these mysteries in his ministry.

Responsibility

•Verse two makes it clear that Paul is answerable to God.

•Paul has to prove that he is faithful as a steward of the secret things of God.

Question

•What do you think might happen if church leaders were not held accountable to anyone?

Human judgment

•Paul is answerable to God and not to human courts.

•Paul does not even judge himself.

•Paul leaves the judgment up to God.

The Return of Christ

•At the return of Christ all believers will have their works judged. (II Cor. 5.10).

•Because this is true, Paul asks the Corinthians to hold off on any judgments about his ministry.

Bring to light what is in the dark

•At the judgment God will bring to light the motives of people.

•This can mean that people will receive praise from God at judgment day.

Question

•What kinds of things do you think God will praise at judgment day?

Read I Cor. 4.6-13

•Paul applied the concept of final judgment to himself so that the Corinthians would follow in his example.

•In other words, he did not want the Corinthians judging each other. Rather, the judgment should be left with God.

Question

•Do you think that a teacher should also teach by example?

What is written

•What is written refers to the teachings of the OT.

•By learning from the OT, the believers at Corinth should be able to treat one another equally and not be conceited.

Boasting

•Paul is saying that everything the Corinthians have comes from God.

•Boasting is not appropriate because God gave them everything they have.

Verse 8

•The Corinthians think that they have all they need.

•They are wealthy and live like kings.

•Corinthians thought that they were in a position to rule and reign with God.

•Paul’s desire is that they walk humbly with God.

“It seems to me”

•Paul is expressing his opinion.

•The apostles are not in a ruling and reigning position.

•The opposite is true.

•The apostles are displayed and led to the arena.

•The reference to the arena is the coliseum.

Arena

•In the arena, believers were tortured and exposed to wild animals.

•The apostles are seen as despised before the whole world and even before the angels.

Triumph March

•When a general won a victory, he held a parade.

•The victorious army came first in the parade.

•At the end of the parade were those who were captured.

•The captured were doomed for death in the arena.

Irony

•Wise Corinthians                   Foolish Paul

•Strong Corinthians    Weak Paul

•Honored Corinthians Dishonored Paul

The Hardships of Paul’s Ministry

•Physical: hunger and thirst

•Clothing: rags

•Home: Homeless

•Social: brutally treated

The Hardships of Paul’s Ministry

•Cursed:                      Blessed

•Persecuted:    Endured

•Slandered:     kindness

Scum and Refuse

•Scum: people who were made into a scapegoat for communal guilt.

•Refuse: valueless members of society who were sometimes offered as sacrifices to the gods. Derelicts

•Both terms are basically used to describe dirt.

Question

•How do you think the world views Christians today? Are we viewed like scum and refuse?

Read I Cor. 4.14-21

•He writes this letter not to bring shame on the Corinthians. Rather, he writes it to warn them about the seriousness of their problems of division and pride.

Guardians or Trainers

•The Corinthians had many trainers, but only Paul was their father.

•Greek work for guardians or trainers is paidagogoi.

•Paidagogoi were slave who escorted boys to and from school and were in charge of their conduct. They were like instructors.

Paul as father

•He has begotten them. Therefore, he is their spiritual father.

•As their spiritual father, the Corinthians should listen and respond to him.

•This was a unique position

Imitate me

•What things do you think Paul wanted the Corinthians to imitate from his life?

Timothy

•Notice how Paul refers to Timothy as his son. He also begat Timothy. (spiritually)

•Timothy was sent to help the Corinthians reflect on all that Paul said and did at Corinth.

Paul’s Trip

•Some in Corinth were arrogant and acted as though Paul should not come.

•These were the false teachers who tried to undermine his authority and his message.

•Paul plans to come to Corinth and confront the false teachers.

Talk vs. Power

•The gospel is not just words.

•The gospel is life changing.

Question

•In what ways have you experienced the gospel not just as words but as power?

Discipline or love?

•Shall I come to you with a rod? (punishment)

•Some see this as a threat of excommunication. Calvin gives it a wider application to include discipline of a stern nature.

Stern and Gentle

•Paul can be stern and use discipline whenever the situation demands it.

•Paul can also be gentle and loving.

Question

•How do we know when we should be stern and when we should be gentle?

Read I Cor. 5.1-5

Immorality

•Sexual immorality existed at Corinth.

•The most severe form of immorality was found at the church.

•A man formed a union with his step mother.

•OT law forbids this. Lev. 18.8

Immorality

•The woman might have been divorced from her husband.

•We can assume that the woman was a pagan because Paul does not seek to discipline her.

Immorality

•The sin itself was a shock.

•But what was even more shocking was the attitude of the Corinthians toward the situation.

•The reaction of the Corinthians was pride.

•The proper response should have been to mourn and to put the man out of the church.

Paul’s Answer

•The man needs to be disciplined.

•Discipline needs to be undertaken by the congregation with the authority of Christ.

•Discipline needs to be undertaken to awaken the man to his condition.

•Discipline needs to be undertaken in love.

Hand over to Satan

•Probably means that the man is to be handed back over to the world where Satan rules. John 12.31 Acts 26.18

•It is hoped that such an action will lead to a deep and genuine repentance.

Question

•Under what circumstances do you think that a person should be disciplined by the church?

Read I Cor. 5.6-8

•Leaven is a symbol of evil or corrupting influence.

•For the Passover preparation, the Jews had to remove all leaven from their homes.

•By leaving the situation of immorality alone, it was like letting leaven spoil the bread.

Read I Cor. 5.9-13

•Paul wrote a previous letter to the Corinthians. We do not have that letter.

•In the previous letter, Paul warned them not to associate with immoral people.

•Obviously some did not listen to Paul’s advice.

The sins present in the church

•Immorality

•Greedy

•Swindlers

•Idolaters

•Slanderers

•Drunkards

Question

•What particular sins do you think are present in the church today?

Question

•Paul said “with such a man do not even eat.”

•Do you agree with his counsel?

Judgment

•The Corinthians were inactive in judgment on the sins because they felt that they had no right to make such judgments.

Church and the world

•How can the church keep the world out and not permit sin to flourish within?

•In what cases do you think church discipline should be taken?

Read I Cor. 6.1-6

•Christians were bringing lawsuits against each other.

•The lawsuits were going to pagan judges.

•Paul thinks that first Christians should not have any lawsuits against each other.

•Christians should be able to settle their differences.

Question

•Should a Christian today bring a lawsuit against another Christian? Why or why not?

Question

•What does Paul say that Christians should do about lawsuits?

•It should be brought to the saints for review.

•Do you agree or disagree?

Saints judging the earth

•Gods’ people will participate in the judgment of the earth at the last day.

•Matt.19.28

•Luke 22.30

•Rev. 20.4

Judgment and the last day

•Argument: if we are to be as judges at the last day, then we can certainly be judges on earth here and now.

No right to plead unworthy

•Christians are worthy to serve a judges.

•Christians are competent.

•Judgment will include angels and everyday affairs.

I Cor. 6.7-8

•The presence of disputes shows that the Corinthians were still thinking in an ungodly way.

•Love is not operating in the hearts of the Corinthians.

•Selfish desires are controlling the Corinthians.

Current views of Sexuality

•What is the world’s view of living together before marriage?

•What is the world’s view of adultery?

•What is the world’s view of homosexuality?

Suffer from wrong

•Paul thinks that rather than bringing lawsuits the Corinthians should just suffer from wrong.

•Do you agree with this?

•Should Christian stand up for their rights? When?

The kingdom of God

•Do not be misled.

•Deception is the key work of Satan.

•The list of those who will  not inherit the kingdom: fornicators, idolater, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers.

Such were some of you

•Why do you think Paul reminds the Corinthians that some of them were on that list?

Freeing power of the gospel

•The Corinthians have been freed from the power of those sins.

•The Corinthians were acquitted.

•A new life has been given to them.

Question

•Would you feel uncomfortable being in fellowship with former prostitutes, homosexuals, adulterers etc?

Conversion

•Due to their conversion, many of the Corinthians were rescued from sinful lives of immorality, adultery, and homosexuality.

I Cor. 6.12-20

•All things are permitted: probably a quote from a gnostic party within the church.

•It means that nothing done in the body really matter. Therefore, anything can be done.

•The body is perishable and its acts are irrelevant is the argument.

Paul refutes the argument

•Paul says that true Christians do have freedom. It is not like Judaism based on law.

•The real question is about the acts being beneficial. 

•Christians have freedom, but they also have to behave in a responsible way.

Freedom

•I will not be overpowered by them.

•Christians should not fall under the power of anything or anyone other than God.

•To engage in those sins, is to come under their power.

Christian liberty

•How far can a Christian go with his or her freedom?

Christian liberty

•Christian liberty is not a license to do whatever we want.

•That is not true liberty.

Dietary laws

•True God did away with the dietary laws in Christianity.

•The argument of some Corinthians was that in the same way they are not restricted in their sexuality.

Food-Yes; Body-no

•The belly and the body are different.

•The body belongs to God.

•The libertines will not win.

•The body is sacred. The argument does not apply about food laws.

The Body

•No valid argument for the use of the stomach for digestion and the use of the body for immorality.

•The body is intended for the Lord’s service. (Rom. 6.12-13; 12.1)

The Body

•Because the body will be raised up, it is not meant for fornication.

Question

•Do you think that Christians today are recognizing the sacredness of the body?

Bodies as members of Christ

•Each one body (the believer’s body) is a member of Christ’s body.

•There is only one body of Christ (the church).

•Our bodies are meant to respond to what Christ wants for us.

Prostitute’s Body

•It is outrageous to think of Christ’s body being united to a harlot.

•In sexual intercourse the two become one flesh.

•To indulge in immorality is to make a one flesh relationship between Christ and the prostitute.

Appeal to Scripture

•Paul refers to the OT to give evidence for his position.

•Paul quotes Gen. 2.24

•One plus one equals one.

Flee from Fornication

•“Temptations to fornication were so common in Corinth that mere disapproval was likely to be inadequate; strong evasive action would be necessary.”

Positive

•Paul tells them what not to do (fornication).

•Now Paul gives them a positive and tells them what to do.

•Glorify God in your body.

Every sin outside the body

•Probably there was a slogan of the Corinthian libertines that “every sin is outside the body.”

•Paul refutes this slogan by stating that fornication is a sin against the body.

Question

•What are some other sins that are against the body?

What is at stake

•The body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.

•What is at stake is the purity of the church.

Question

•What about the argument that it is my body and I will do with it what I want?

Bought with a price

•Ransom: comes from the OT

•Ex. 6.6; 13.13

•The transaction of buying us has been complete.

•Freedom is gained by being bought with a price.

•The freedom gained is used to serve God.

Question

•In what ways can we glorify God in our bodies?

Read I Cor. 7.1-7

•Paul has been discussing sexual ethics.

•Now he moves to a related topic-marriage.

About the things you wrote

•It is very likely that the Corinthians wrote to Paul asking him various questions.

•We don’t have a copy of that letter, but we can reconstruct some of it by looking at Paul’s responses.

Question

•How can we relate Gen. 2.18 with what Paul says in I Cor. 7.1?

Unmarried state

•“The unmarried state is for a number of reasons of a pragmatic kind, a very fine thing, and happy are they who can maintain it. But marriage is at worst troublesome and is no way wrong. It is a divine institution.”

Question

•What are the advantages of being single?

Good

•“For Paul the issue is one of expediency; good is not used in a moral sense.”

immoralities

•There must have been many cases of immorality in the Corinthian Church.

•Sexuality is to be expressed within the institution of marriage.

Question

•Why is it so common that couples live together today before getting married?

Question

•Why would you advise against living together before getting married?

Sexuality Within Marriage

•Some at Corinth thought that married couples should abstain from sexual relations in order to be true to their faith.

•Others might have thought of the body as being evil as well as all of its desires.

Marriage as Partnership

•Paul refutes the ideas that married couples must abstain from sexual relations.

•Paul sees marriage as a partnership.

•The husband can not act independently of his wife, nor the wife independently of her husband.

•They must act together.

Mutuality

•Self gratification is not to rule.

•Mutuality is to rule.

•Both are to find satisfaction of their desires.

Mutual Agreement

•In a time of special discipline during prayer time, the couple can set aside bodily desires.

•Must be mutual and only for a limited time.

Paul’s Personal Life

•William Barclay  says: “We may be fairly certain that at some time Paul had been married.”

•As a rabbi, Paul would have sought to fulfill the duties, laws and traditions of Judaism.

•Judaism said that if a man did not marry and have children, he was said to have slain his posterity.

Paul’s Marriage

•William Barclay said: “it is in the highest degree unlikely that so devout and orthodox a Jew as Paul once was would have remained unmarried.”

More Evidence

•Paul was probably a member of the Sanhedrin. Acts 26.10

•It was a regulation that members of the Sanhedrin must be married men.

•Why? It was thought that married men were more merciful.

Paul’s Wife

•It may be that Paul’s wife died.

•Another possibility is that Paul’s wife left him and broke up the home after Paul was converted and became a Christian.

•If this is true, then Paul never remarried.

“to be as I am myself” (v.7)

•“What he wishes cannot be mere celibacy in itself, but only that all might posses the capacity for resistance to sensual allurements, such as he indicates that he enjoyed for himself, and made it possible for him to live without marriage.”

Both Marriage and Celibacy

•Obedience can be expressed in marriage as well as in celibacy.

•One expresses obedience by marriage. Another expresses obedience by remaining single.

Read I Cor. 7.8-24

To the unmarried and widows

•“remain as they are, as I do myself”

•Others would do well to imitate Paul.

Question

•Why do you think Paul gave the advice to the unmarried and to the widows to continue to remain unmarried?

Question

•Some list celibacy as a spiritual gift. Do you agree or disagree?

Better to marry than to burn

•To burn does not mean to actually flare out in lustful acts, but to be consumed with inward desire, even if one does not yield to it.”

Married who do not want to remain married

•What about those who are married and feel that they do not need marriage?

•Should they dissolve the union and live separately?

Dissolving a Marriage

•Paul states his authority. “It comes from the Lord.”

•Paul prohibits separation.

Separation

•Paul prohibits separation. Yet he acknowledges that it does take place.

•If separation does take place, Paul urges the woman to remain unmarried or to be reconciled with her husband.

Mixed Marriages

•What about a marriage between a believer and an unbeliever?

•If a brother (believer) has an unbelieving wife, he should not divorce her.

•If a believing woman has an unbelieving husband, she is not to divorce him.

Sanctification in Mixed Marriages

•To be holy or sanctified is the distinguishing mark of the Christian.

•The presence of the believer in the marriage has the effect of sanctifying the relationship and the unbelieving partner.

Calvin Comments

•“The godliness of the one does more to sanctify the marriage than the ungodliness of the other to make it unclean.”

Mixed Marriages

•“Mixed marriages are essentially Christian marriages, and are not to be broken by Christians.”

Unbeliever Separates

•When the unbeliever separates, the believer can let him or her go.

•God has called you in peace. It is the will of God that men and women should live in peace.

More reasons to stay together

•Save your husband-save your wife.

•Save in this sense means to bring to participation in the Christian faith.

•It happens by witness (spoken and lived).

•The Christian should stay in a mixed marriage because of the possibility of the unbeliever coming to faith.

Mixed marriage

•“Thus to retreat from a mixed marriage would be to withdraw from a missionary situation in which at least a reasonable possibility existed of achieving the salvation of another.”

Circumcision

•For those called into the Christian faith who were circumcised do not need to undo their circumcision.

•For those called into the Christian faith who were not circumcised do not need to get circumcised.

Each obey his calling

•Each must obey his calling as it comes to him whether it is circumcision or uncircumcision.

•What matters most is the obedience.

Slaves

•Many believers in the Corinthian Church were from low social standing.

•Emancipation from slavery was possible.

Slave who has been called

•The slave who becomes a Christian has become free from the bondage to sin, death, and the evil powers of this age.

•The slave owes his freedom to Christ.

The Free Man

•The free man who becomes a Christian has been bought by Christ and thus becomes Christ’s slave.

Rank in Society

•Paul is trying to show that our rank in society is irrelevant.

•What matters most is our relationship to Christ-our standing with Christ.

Bought with a Price

•Sometimes free men sold themselves into slavery.

•To do this would be to shirk Christian responsibility. It would hide the fact that the Christian was set free by Christ and owes absolute obedience to Christ alone.

Read I Cor. 7.25-40

Instructions to the Unmarried

•Paul’s advice can be trusted.

•The advice can be trusted even when he has no direct command of the Lord to quote.

Quoting words of the Corinthians

•Paul is quoting words of the Corinthians.

•He does not disagree with them. But he qualifies the words.

•A change of state is likely to bring more trouble than happiness.

The Necessity

•Paul is referring to the impending woes over the world and the anticipated sufferings of Christians.

•In other words, Christians have enough troubles and don’t need to make changes. (single to married; married to single)

Marriage is not a sin

•Paul’s advice is to remain in their current state and not make changes.

•But, if they do marry they do not sin.

Paul’s Motive

•Paul’s main motive in dissuading the unmarried to marry is to spare them hardship and suffering.

•The hardship and suffering comes from times of trouble and persecution.

Question

•Do agree with Paul’s advice to the unmarried not to marry? Why or why not?

The time is short

•This could be a reference to the second coming of Christ.

•It could also be a reference to the idea that soon persecutions will be coming.

Live as if they had none

•Paul is not saying that they married should divorce or cease to live with each other.

•Paul is saying that a time is coming when in the heavenly kingdom there is no marriage.

•Soon there will be a new order and couples should prepare for that new order.

Live in Service

•Paul wants the Corinthians to live in detachment from the things of the world and live in service to God.

The World is Passing Away

•Don’t get hung up on the things of the world.

•If sadness comes, live beyond it.

•If joy comes, don’t be engrossed by it.

•If material things come, don’t cling to them.

•The material is passing away.

Free from anxiety

•If you are bound by the things of this world, then it will produce anxiety.

•Paul desires to see the Corinthians free from anxiety.

Unmarried

•The unmarried are concerned about the affairs of the Lord.

•A married man is concerned about the affairs of the world and pleasing his wife.

•The implication is that married people might be apt to neglect Christian duty and service.

Question

•Are there times when being married prevents believers from serving the Lord?

Why did he give the advice?

•Paul give the advice for the benefit of the Corinthians. He does not want to see them restrained. He desires to see them in complete and undivided devotion to the Lord. (v.35)

•He does not wish to put a noose around their necks.

Complete Dedication

•If you avoid marriage, you can devote yourself completely to the Lord without additional problems and anxieties which happen in marriage.

Honorable Treatment

•The virgin must be treated with honor whether she marries or not.

•If the virgin is getting along in years and it seems unfair to marry, then she should get married.

•There is no sin in getting married under these circumstances.

Not marrying the Virgin

•In contrast, the man who has made up his mind not to marry has also done the right thing.

•To marry is to do right.

•To not marry is to do even better.

Nature of Marriage

•V. 39 Paul gives his view of marriage as a lifelong commitment.

•The marriage is to last until death.

•After death of a spouse, the partner is free to remarry.

•But if she remarries, it needs to be to a believer.

Happier Not to Remarry

•Paul’s view is that the widow will be much happier not to remarry.

•He qualifies his view by stating that he has the help of the Holy Spirit.

Read I Cor. 8.1-3

Meat offered to idols

•“Now about…” Paul is responding to another question asked by the Corinthians.

•Idolatry permeated all levels of Corinthian society.

Meat Offered to Idols

•There were three types of meat offered to idols.

•One portion was burned up as a sacrifice.

•A second portion was given to the priest.

•A third portion was given to the one making the sacrifice.

Meat Offered to Idols

•If the priest did not use his portion, it was taken to the public market to be sold.

•A large portion of meat offered to idols ended up in the public market.

•The meat would then be served at the tables of pagan neighbors and at festivals.

Meat Offered to Idols

•The issues raised are: Is the meat contaminated? Did the pagan god have an effect on this meat? Does eating the meat give credibility to the false god?

Knowledge Puffs Up

•Knowledge can be limited.

•Dependence on self sufficient knowledge can lead to knowledge being puffed up.

Love and Knowledge

•Knowledge needs love. With love knowledge is tempered and made the right kind of compassionate knowledge.

Read I Cor. 8.4-6

The Idol and the god

•About meat offered to idols- Paul says the idol and the god are nothing. By nothing, he means there is no personal reality and no power.

One God

•Even if these so called gods existed, they are all subject to the one true God.

•The one true God is the source of all things.

•The believer lives for the one true God.

•Why be concerned with idols or meat offered to idols?

Read I Cor. 8.7-13

Weak Conscience

•In their former unsaved state, many ate meat offered to idols.

•They got so used to eating meat offered to idols, that now when they eat it they only think of it as meat offered to idols and not as food provided by God.

•Because they can not discriminate, they have a weak conscience.

Food and Idols

•There is nothing inherently wrong with meat offered to idols.

•Eating the food does not enhance our standing before God.

•Eating the food does not minimize our standing before God.

•Eating the food is not a matter of spiritual importance.

Stumbling Block to the weak

•Christians have the freedom to eat meat offered to idols.

•However, in the exercise of this freedom, it can offend another believer.

•By eating the food, you can weaken the faith of another.

Paul’s View

•V.13- If eating the meat causes his brother to stumble, then he will not eat the meat.

Question

•How can we apply what Paul says about eating meat offered to idols to our Christian living in the church?

Read I Cor. 9.1-12

Christian Freedom

•The reference to freedom leads Paul to apply the freedom we have in Christ to other areas.

Four Questions Asked

•Verse One- Paul asks four questions. The expected answer to all four is “Yes.”

Apostleship

•Paul saw the risen Lord.

•Paul worked signs and wonders.

•Paul’s labors produced spiritual results.

•Paul expected the Corinthians to accept his apostleship even though some others did not.

•The Corinthians were proof of his apostleship.

Paul’s Defense

•It is like Paul is on trial. He needs to make his defense.

Rights of an Apostle

•The right to food and drink-probably means at the expense of the church.

•The right to have a wife go with him on missionary journeys.

•The right to be financially supported by the church.

Illustrations

•The illustrations support the rights afforded  to the apostle.

•The soldier gets paid.

•The vineyard keeper eats of the grapes.

•The shepherd drinks of the milk of the flock.

Argument From Scripture

•Paul quotes Deut. 25.4

•The plowman and thresher work together expecting to share in the crop.

Expecting the harvest

•Those who sowed spiritual seeds at Corinth, can expect a harvest.

•The material needs will be met.

Supporting Paul

•If the Corinthians supported others in their work at the church, should not  the Corinthians support Paul?

Read I Cor 9.12-18

Rights not Exercised

•Paul will not exercise all his rights.

•He did this so that he would not hinder the gospel.

illustration

•Paul uses the experience that the Corinthians had in pagan worship.

•By working in the temple, they got their food from the temple.

•In the same way, those who preach should earn their living from the gospel.

•See Matt. 10.10 and Luke 10.8

Did not use privileges

•Paul has not used these privileges.

•Paul’s claim is that he is unselfishly serving the Corinthians.

•God placed on him the responsibility of preaching.

•Woe would come on him if he did not preach.

Preaching

•Preaching freely and voluntarily has a reward.

•He can then boast to the Corinthians that he is preaching to them without charge and not making use of his rights as a minister.

•Paul wants to prove the genuineness of his ministry.

Read I Cor 9.19-27

Free But a slave to all

To the Jews, Paul became a Jew

To the Gentiles, Paul became one.

To the weak, Paul showed his weakness.

The Weak

•The weak are those believers not yet fully liberated from the legalism.

•Paul wants to win them from inadequate Christianity to adequate Christianity.

Motive

•Paul’s motive was to win some (save some.)

•He also said he would share in the blessings.

Sports Analogies

•Run in the race in such a way to win.

•Running takes discipline.

•There is a reward-the crown.

•Paul follows the principles of spirituality that will lead to success.

Boxing

•Paul does not contend like an undisciplined runner or boxer.

•He aims his blows against his own body, beating it black and blue.

•Ancient boxers beat another with knuckles bound and leather thongs.

•By conditioning his body, Paul enslaves it in order to gain the prize.

Stay in shape

•Paul is saying that he must stay in shape so that he is not rejected.

•The battle against sin is a reality that must be faced in the Christian life.

•Disciplined living is a necessity in the Christian life.

Question

•Paul said he became all things to all people to win them for Christ.

•In What ways should we become all things to all people in order to win them for Christ?

Read I Cor. 10.1-13

I do not wish you to be ignorant

•He reminds them of what they should have known and were in danger of forgetting.

Our Fathers

•By use of “our fathers” Paul is referring to OT roots.

•The problem is that many of the readers were Gentiles.

•Perhaps he thought of the Gentile believers as so integrated into the people of God, that they also shared in the Jewish history.

Under the Cloud And Passed through the Sea

•Paul is referring to the story of the Exodus.

•Under the cloud, refers to the glory cloud which guided the Israelites in the wilderness.

•Passed through the sea refers to the parting of the Red Sea and the safe passage of the Israelites to the other side.

Baptized into Moses

•The Israelites were brought into union with God under the leadership of Moses.

•“They were united to God and to his servant Moses. The cloud is a representation of God in his glory. The sea represents God’s redemption.

Food and Drink

•The food and drink were spiritual.

•“He may mean that they (food and drink) had a further significance in addition to their material function as food and drink for the body. They were symbolical or typical of the Christian sacrament.”

•The food and drink conveyed spiritual as well as material sustenance to the Israelites.

Food and Drink

•The physical food and drink were means of God’s grace.

•The food and drink were typical of the true bread and drink to come in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.

The Rock

•Paul is praising the grace of God because he commanded the water which is brought out of the rock to flow wherever the people journeyed.

•Christ was the source of their supply.

•It is Christ who gives life to the people of God in the OT and in the NT.

God was not pleased

•Israel’s privilege did not guarantee Israel’s moral or religious security.

•Despite the fact that God was providing for them physically and spiritually, the Israelites fell into sin.

•They perished in the wilderness and were not permitted to enter the promised land.

Warning

•The Corinthians need to take this as a warning.

•If God did not spare the Israelites, he will not spare the Corinthians. For the same situation exists at Corinth as it did in the wilderness.

Examples

•Paul explains that all these things were examples for us to think about, lest we who have also received the covenant blessings should become displeasing to God by lusting after evil things as Israel did.

Idolaters

•Many became idolaters.

•Ex. 32.1-6 Israel had Aaron make the golden calf.

•Ex. 32.6 is quoted to tell how Israel ate a sacrificial meal in dedication to the calf and then got up to play.

•To play means to dance in ceremony as pagans do before their gods.

23,000 die in one day

•23,000 died on one day. More died later

•This refers to the Moabite women who led Israel into fornication and idolatry.

•Numbers chapter 25

Test or Try the Lord

•The people tested the Lord by challenging his ability to provide food. They did not wait in faith for God to provide.

•Numbers 21.6

•The evil was that they were impatient and did not want to be under God’s direction. They expected God to fall under their demands.

Question

•Are there times that we expect God to fall under our demands?

Grumbling

•The people grumbled against the Lord for bringing them out of Egypt. Num. 21.6

•The people grumbled against the Lord wishing they had died in the wilderness or in Egypt. Num 14.2

•The people grumbled about eating only manna.

Question

•In what ways do people grumble today?

•How can we deal with grumbling?

Ends of the World

•Verse 11 the phrase “ends of the world” indicate that Paul thought the Corinthians were living in the time of the second coming.

Thinking You are Secure

•The Israelites considered themselves secure. But they were not. They fell into sin.

•Some of the Corinthians consider themselves secure. But they are not.

•The Israelites were lured away into fornication and idolatry. This could happen to the Corinthians.

Temptations

•Temptations are unavoidable.

•God is there even when we are tempted.

•A way out of the temptation is always provided.

Question

•What positive results can come in the life of a believer who has resisted temptation and found the way out of temptation?

Read I Cor. 10.14-22

Idolatry

•Paul applies the example of Israel’s idolatry to the Corinthians.

•There is the danger of going beyond just eating meat offered to idols.

•There is the danger of joining the pagans in their sacrificial feasts in the pagan temples.

Flee Idolatry

•It is not enough to express disapproval of idolatry; the Christian must run away from it.

•The Corinthians must avoid occasions that would bring them into direct contact with idolatry. (pagan feasts)

Speaking to Sensible Men

•The Corinthians prided themselves on their common sense.

•Paul appeals to their sensibility.

•Paul is appealing to reasoned argument.

The cup of Blessing

•Paul is referring to the Lord’s Supper.

•The cup of blessing is the cup of wine drunk at the end of a meal as its formal close.

•In the Passover Meal, it was the third of the four cups to be drunk.

The cup of Blessing

•Over the cup a thanksgiving was given.

•“Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, who givest us the fruit of the vine.”

The Cup of Blessing

•The cup of blessing brings us spiritually into participation in the blood of Christ.

•By participation in the cup of blessing, there is participation in the death of Christ.

The Bread

•Breaking bread was common at any Jewish meal and especially in the Passover Meal.

•The sharing of the bread is taken as a means of sharing in the body of Christ.

•To eat the loaf is to share in union with Christ.

One Loaf

•One loaf represents the one body of Christ.

•Paul is encouraging the Corinthians to find unity.

Question

•In what ways do you discover unity in the church when we have communion?

OT Sacrifices and Pagan Offerings

•When the people of Israel sacrificed at the altar and ate the sacrifice, they participated in the sacrificial system and worship of God.

Sacrifice to Demons

•The sacrifices to the gods are really sacrifices to demons.

•The idol was a block of wood or stone.

•The unseen reality behind the idol is demonic forces.

•This is evil because it takes away the worship that belongs to the one true God.

The Evil

•The real evil of idolatry is not so much the eating of the food sacrificed to the idol. Rather, the evil was in submission to the evil demonic power behind the idol.

Pagan Meal and the table of the Lord

•Paul is teaching that a Christian can not at the same time participate in the meal to a pagan god and the meal at the table of the Lord.

•It is not possible to participate in idolatry and still be a believer because of the unique relationship a believer has with Christ.

Read I Cor. 10.23-33

•Meat eaten at an idol feast is contaminated because it is associated with the pagan god and demons.

•Meat sold in the market place has lost its religious significance and it all right to eat.

Situations

•If a believer goes to an unbeliever’s house for dinner, then it is OK to eat.

•However, if at the meal someone points out that the meat was offered to idols, then the believer should refrain from eating the meat.

•The reason is to not have Christian freedom condemned from another’s view.

Protect Your Right to Eat by Not Eating

•The believer has freedom to eat. But it may not be the best thing to eat the meat.

•So, by not eating the believer protects his right to eat.

Glory of God

•The glory of God must be the objective of the Christian in everything.

•Doing all for the glory of God, means that you will be considerate of others. We must not cause others to stumble.

•Paul’s motive is to do good for others and to bring them to salvation.

Read I Cor. 11.1-16

Paul’s Example

•11.1 goes best with what comes before rather than what comes after.

•Paul sees himself as one whose conduct should be imitated.

•The responsibility came from being an apostle.

•Paul imitates Christ, so it is safe to imitate Paul.

Traditions

•The traditions were the central truths of the Christian faith handed on from Paul to the Corinthians.

Head Coverings

•The order of authority is that the man is under the authority of Christ.

•The woman is under the authority of her husband.

•The man demonstrates his authority by keeping his head uncovered.

•If a woman is in worship with her head uncovered, it is if her head is shaved.

Creation Order

•Man was made prior to woman and he is in the image and glory of God.

•But the woman is in the glory of man.

•Man’s authority is established on the basis of the order of creation.

•Woman came from man, so she was made for man’s sake.

Covering Her Head

•By covering her head in worship, the woman shows respect to the angels.

•Paul might be mentioning angels here to remind the Corinthians that angels are present in worship and angels are interested in the salvation of God’s people.

Equality

•Verses 11 and 12

•Paul wants to show he is not demoting women.

•Paul argues that men and women are equal and mutually dependent.

Uncovered Head

•The Corinthians are to see that the woman should not pray with her head uncovered as a man does.

•In Paul’s thinking a man with long hair is a disgrace.

•The glory of a woman is found in her hair.

The Practice in the Church

•The churches all follow the principles Paul has been discussing.

•To disagree would be to be contentious.

•“We” refers to Paul and the other apostles.

Question

•Why do you think that churches no longer practice placing a covering on a woman’s head?

Read I Cor. 11.17-34

No Praise For You

•The community is not worthy of praise.

•In fact, it is to be blamed.

•Their assemblies did not build up the community. Rather, they damaged the community.

Divisions among you

•“The divisions that make themselves manifest at the Supper are in part at least, the result of class distinction between rich and poor.”

•It is also possible that the Jewish Christians may have insisted on kosher food separating themselves from Gentile believers.

I believe it in part

•He believes because his sources are credible.

•Yet, he only believes it in part. The reason is that it is so scandalous.

Factions

•There are significant divisions among the Corinthians.

•The factions show that there are some genuine believers who behave properly.

Supper in honor of the Lord

•The supper was to be in memory of the Lord or under the authority of the Lord.

•The supper was not bringing honor to the Lord.

The Failure

•The failure of the Corinthians was that they fixed an unloving act with the Lord’s Supper.

•Therefore, Paul will not offer praise to the Corinthians.

•The Lord’s Supper must be done in love.

How Paul deals with the situation

•Paul will handle the situation by recalling the words of Jesus.

•“I received from the Lord…”

•This could mean that Paul got it directly from the Lord Jesus.

•Or it might mean that he got it from the oral tradition of the words of Jesus being passed on.

The Lord’s Supper

•On the night Jesus was betrayed or handed over. This is the night before his death on the cross.

•“What Jesus is here related to have done would have been done at any meal by the head of any Jewish household.”

The Blessing

•A blessing or thanksgiving was offered over the bread.

•“Blessed are thou, O Lord our God, King eternal who bringest forth bread from the earth.”

•The commonplace acts in the meal get their significance from the words that follow.

This is my Body

•Roman Catholics believe in transubstantiation. This means that the bread is changed in substance from bread to the literal body of Christ.

•Lutherans believe in consubstantiation. This means that the bread remains bread but the body of Christ is among and with the bread.

This is my body

•Presbyterians do not believe in transubstantiation or consubstantiation.

•We do not hold or confine the presence of the body of Christ to the bread. Rather, we see it as a spiritual presence.

•We do believe in a real presence of Christ in the sacrament. But, we do not limit that presence to the elements.

Which is for you

•This probably refers to the act of deliverance. The Passover was a festival of deliverance.

•The death of Jesus would bring deliverance from sin.

In Remembrance of Me

•The Passover was a memorial rite. It did not recall a person but an act of deliverance.

•The Lord’s Supper recalls an act of deliverance. But it also recalls the person of the Lord Jesus.

The Cup

•The cup of blessing was drunk after the meal had been eaten.

•The shedding of Christ’s blood inaugurated a new covenant between God and man.

•Jeremiah 31.31-4

The New Covenant

•The Old Covenant was centered in animal sacrifice.

•The New Covenant was centered in the sacrifice of Christ.

•To drink of the cup is to enter into the new covenant.

Do this

•Jesus does not say how often communion should be held.

•He suggests that it should be periodic.

•“As often as you drink…”

Question

•How often do you think the church should celebrate the Lord’s Supper?

Proclaim the Lord’s death

•Proclaim means to announce.

•“When Christians held a common meal they recalled aloud the event on which their existence was based.”

Until He Comes

•“There is little doubt that Paul when he wrote I Corinthians expected that he would live to see this event.”

•The Lord’s Supper would be a link between the first coming of Christ and the future coming of Christ.

Eating and drinking unworthily

•What Paul means by unworthily is explained by verse 21.

•He is thinking of the factions and greed which marked the Corinthian assembly.

Guilty of the Body and Blood

•To eat and drink unworthily is to contradict the purpose of Christ’s offering and thus to place oneself among those who were responsible for the crucifixion.

•The Corinthians were guilty of this.

Question

•The Corinthians were guilty of the body and blood because of their unloving ways.

•Do you think it is possible today to be guilty of the body and blood of Jesus?

•What specific sins can bring the charge of eating and drinking unworthily?

Test Himself

•To test is to examine the heart.

•Is the outward and inward in line with the spirit of the Lord’s Supper?

•Paul does not require that a man be morally faultless before he takes part in the meal; he does require that he should be applying moral scrutiny to his life and behavior.

Slides out of place

•The next three slides belong to the previous discussion and are out of order.

The Problems

•In the meal some were going hungry.

•The rich were eating their own food and not sharing with the poor.

•In the meal some were drunk.

Houses for Eating and drinking

•If the rich want to eat and enjoy better and more food than the poor, then the rich can do this in the privacy of their own homes.

•The Corinthians should keep the common meal free from practices that bring discredit upon it.

Put to shame the poor

•The poor can bring very little to the common meal. The poor will feel shame when they see the rich eating more and better.

•The actions of the rich are not controlled by love.

•This is despising the poor and bringing contempt on the church.

Distinguish the body

•To distinguish means to mark out one as different from others. It means to pick one out as right and the other as wrong.

Distinguish the Body

•Possible meanings:

–Distinguish the body of Jesus from common bread

–Distinguish the assembly as the body of Christ

Judgment

•Those who abused the Lord’s Supper were exposing themselves to sickness and even death.

Judgments and Discipline

•The goal of punishment is not destructive, but remedial.

•Those whom the Lord loves he disciplines.

•Hebrews 12.5

•The purpose of judgment is to bring the person to repentance.

Wait for One Another

•First a proper distribution of food should be made.

•Then all should eat together.

If anyone is hungry

•The hungry who can not wait should eat at home before coming to the meal.

Other Matters

•There were other problems at Corinth in worship but Paul did not wish to deal with them here.

Question

•In the past, churches had preparatory services before taking communion.

•Why do you think they were dropped?

Read I Cor. 12.1-11

Now About

•Now about- this shows that Paul is responding to another question asked by the Corinthians.

•The subject is now spiritual gifts.

Remain in ignorance

•The Corinthians were unaware of the spiritual gifts.

Led Astray

•In moments of heathen worship, people are led astray.

•The idols are dumb. They can not speak. They are lifeless.

•Yet, Paul does recognize the influence of demons over idols.

Twofold Test of The Holy Spirit

•Negatively, no person can curse Jesus.

•Positively only by the Spirit can a person testify that Jesus is Lord.

When Would Someone Curse Jesus?

•Christians were brought for trial before the courts for confessing Jesus is lord.

•It might be in the synagogue.

•It might be in heathen worship.

Distributions of Gifts

•Gifts are shared. Yet, all do not have the same gift.

•The one source of the gifts is the Holy Spirit.

Distributions of Services

•Gifts are opportunities to serve.

•They are not opportunities to boast.

Mutual Profit

•All the gifts are given for the profit of the church as a whole.

•The gifts are not meant for private use. Rather, they are intended for the common good.

A Word of Wisdom

•Wisdom was the theme of chapters 1 and 2.

•The message of wisdom is the mind of Christ shown in the preaching and application of the gospel.

•Calvin: wisdom including insight, by their unveiling into things of a more secret and lofty nature.

Word of Knowledge

•Calvin: I take knowledge to mean an understanding of holy things.

•“In the context of this letter, the word of knowledge can hardly be the gift of discerning what illness or problem a member of the congregation needs to be healed from. It is more likely that it means a Christ-centered understanding of the OT with the ability to explain this and Christian Traditions.”

Faith

•All believers posses saving faith, but Paul appears to be describing here a special gift for a specific circumstance or special service.

•There is a faith which can move mountains. I Cor. 13.2

Healing

•Paul had the gift of healing.

•Read Acts 19.11-12; 28.7-9

Miracles

•The word translated as miracles means literally “acts of power.”

•Jesus worked miracles. Acts 2.22

•The apostles also worked miracles. Acts 2.42

Calvin comment on Miracles

•“I am inclined to think that it is the power which is exercised against demons, and also hypocrites. Thus when Christ and the apostles subdued demons or put them to flight that was miracles effective working.”

•Calvin gives examples: Paul brought blindness upon the magician Acts 13.11; Peter caused Ananias and Sapphria to fall dead Acts 5.1-11

Calvin comments

•“Therefore the gifts of healing and miracles are both channels of God’s goodness to us; but in his severity He uses miracles for the destruction of Satan.”

Prophecy

•“an ability to give insights into and to convey the deeper meanings of God’s redemptive program in his Word.”

Calvin comments on prophecy

•“I take the term prophecy to mean that unique and outstanding gift of revealing what is the secret will of God, so that the prophet is, so to speak, God’s messenger to men.”

Another View on Prophecy

•“It is clear from chapter 14 that this prophecy involves Spirit-inspired speech that was basically spontaneous, understandable and orally delivered in the assembly for the purpose of encouraging and building up the gathered believers.”

Distinguishing of Spirits

•This gift seems to be related to the gift of prophecy.

•This is the ability to discern what comes from the Spirit of God and what comes from demonic sources.

•Prophecy must be evaluated. This gift enables a person to truly evaluate prophecy.

Calvin Comments

•Refers to it as a form of spiritual judgment  that enabled the person to not be deceived by lying faces or false airs, “but to enable them to make out the difference between the true ministers of Christ and the false, as if they had marks to distinguish them.”

Various kinds of tongues

•Two views offered

•First view: “speaking in ecstatic, humanly unintelligible utterances.”

•Second view: the ability to speak in different kinds of languages (foreign languages) Acts 2.7-11

Interpretation of Tongues

•Two views

•First view: if tongues is ecstatic, unintelligible utterances, then interpretation is explaining or giving the message of the utterances

•Second view: if tongues is the ability to speak in foreign languages, then interpretation is related. See Calvin’s comments

Calvin Comments on Interpretation

•“The interpretation of tongues was different from the knowledge of tongues, for those who had the latter gift often did not know the language of the people with whom they had to have dealings. Interpreters translated the foreign languages into the native speech. They did not at that time acquire these gifts by hard work or studying; but they were theirs by a wonderful revelation of the Spirit.”

Verse 11

•The Spirit is the source of the gifts.

•The Spirit is the one who distributes the gifts.

•It is not for Christians to dictate to the Spirit what gifts they should have.

•The Spirit chooses what gift shall be given to each Christian.

Question

•Do you think that the gifts of the Spirit were only for the apostolic age and not for the church today?

Question

•What if the Spirit gives a gift to a Christian and he or she refuses to use it?

The Church as the body

•Verse 12 The implication of using the analogy of the body for the church is that Paul wants the Corinthians to recognize the value of one another’s gifts and use them for the common good and live in harmony.

Baptized

•Some see this as a specific reference to the sacrament of baptism.

•If it refers to the sacrament of baptism, it implies the common experience of dying and rising with Christ.

Not the sacrament

•Some explain this in terms of a spiritual baptism and not the sacrament.

•The word baptism simply refers to the start of the Christian life.

•The Spirit performs the baptism and the believer is immersed in the Spirit.

Spirit as drink

•Some see it as a reference to the Lord’s Supper.

•Others see it as spiritual drink.

The Body and its parts

•Paul portrays the body with different parts talking to each other claiming to be superior.

•“The Corinthian Christians who regarded tongues as the mark of spirituality probably looked down on other Christians not possessing that mark.”

Claim to superiority

•“Nothing can be more destructive of the unity of a church, or more hurtful to individual Christians, than for one Christian to claim superiority over another Christian and his or her gifting.”

Key Lesson

•“The key lesson is that all church members are necessary to the proper functioning of the body. We must honor gifts which might be easily overlooked.”

Question

•What should you do if you see superiority being displayed within the body of Christ?

Apostles

•Apostles were called by Christ, sent by Christ, and witnesses of his resurrection.

•There were false apostles who claimed to be apostles of Christ but were in truth angels of Satan. II Cor. 11.13

Prophets

•Those who had the gift of prophecy.

•“The prophets of that chapter are local, not traveling Christians inspired to address the Word of God to the church, and at least on occasion to non-Christians also who might be converted by their speech.”

Teachers

•“Teachers were mature Christians who instructed others in the meaning and moral implications of the Christian faith; they expounded the Christian meaning of the O.T.”

Gifts of support

•“Those able to help others.”

•Probably refers to those who helped with the poor and the sick.

Gifts of Direction

•Literally it means steering-the steering of a ship.

•Translated as gifts of administration.

•The ability to govern and manage the affairs in the church.

Rhetorical Questions

•The obvious answer to all these rhetorical questions is “no.”

•“The lesson the Corinthians had to learn was that the church was a whole, a body. No one member of it could exercise all the necessary functions. Each depended on the ministries of the rest, and there was in this no ground for discontent, no ground for a feeling of superiority.”

The Greater Gifts

•The Corinthians valued too highly what Paul regarded as one of the lowest gifts, that of speaking with tongues.

•The Corinthians might seek other gifts which would enable them to make a maximum contribution to the life of the church.”

Question

•How do you think we should go about seeking spiritual gifts as Paul indicates that the Corinthians should be doing?

 A More Excellent Way

•This probably belongs to what comes in chapter 13.

•Paul discussed the building up of the church through the use of gifts.

•Now he wishes to show them something of still greater value.

•Everything must be put to the test of love.

•The most excellent way is when love controls all our actions.

Love

•Love provides the scale by which all gifts may be tested and measured.

•Love is the means of the unity of the body.

•Love is expected of all Christians.

Read I Cor. 13.1-13

First Person

•Paul will use the first person to make his points about love.

•“If I…..”

Tongues of Men and of Angels

•The tongues of men refers to human languages.

•The tongues of angels refers to the language of heaven.

•“Angels were believed to have their own heavenly language that could be spoken by human beings by means of the Spirit.”

Tongues of Angels

•“Some at Corinth apparently felt they had arrived at the ultimate spiritual condition already; they were like the angels in heaven, so they spoke in the tongues of angels.”

Tongues and Love

•No matter how exalted the gift of tongues a person possesses without love he or she is like a gong or clanging cymbal.

•The gong and clanging cymbal were used in pagan cults.

•To not have love even though you have tongues means that you are just like the pagans.

Other Gifts and Love

•If someone has the full range of spiritual gifts, but should fail to be truly loving, that person would be as “nothing.”

Question

•What do you think Paul means by the phrase “I am nothing?”

Good Deeds

•Selling all one’s property to feed the poor recalls the words of Jesus. Read Matt. 19.21

Deliver My Body to burned

•Three possible explanations:

–Branding: slaves were sometimes branded, but not usually;;

–Self-immolation: burning of self in suicide; Why would Paul approve of suicide?

–Martyrdom: the problem is that the killing of Christians by fire does not take place until the Emperor Nero persecutes Christians. Paul is writing before this time.

Deliver My body to be burned

•This refers to an extreme form of martyrdom.

•Calvin comments: “At that time the kind of punishment which he mentions was not the one usually inflicted upon Christians. For we read in those days tyrants who aimed at the destruction of the church proceeded against them with sword rather than fire, with the exception of Nero, who in his madness also resorted to burning. But the Spirit seems to have been predicting the persecutions that were to come.”

Love is Long-suffering

•The word denotes slowness to anger. It means patient endurance and forbearance.

•It is opposed to passionate expressions and thoughts to irritability.

•It can bear long when oppressed and when one seeks to injure.

Love is Kind

•The word denotes to be good natured, gentle, tender, affectionate.

•The idea is that under all provocations and ill-usage it is gentle and mild.

•It means to desire to do good to someone even when mistreated.

Love is not envious

•Love is defined in the negative-what is not.

•This word means to be against someone.

•“To envy is to feel uneasiness, mortification, or discontent at the sight of superior happiness, excellence, or reputation enjoyed by another.”

•“to repine at another’s prosperity”

Love does not envy

•“The word envy suggests that fellow believers should not be rivals for position or influence in the church, like perhaps, some who stood against Paul as his rivals. It may also point to the jealousy of those who did not have the more extraordinary gifts.”

Love Does not brag

•The idea is that of boasting, bragging, and vaunting.

•It proceeds from the idea of superiority over others.

•Paul might be targeting those with the higher gifts or he might be targeting his rivals.

Love is not puffed up

•The word means to blow, to puff, to pant.

•It refers to inflating with pride and vanity.

•It perhaps differs from the proceeding inasmuch as that word denotes expression of the feelings of pride and vanity and this word denotes the feeling itself.

•Paul has already applied this word to the Corinthians 4.6; 5.2; 8.1

Does not behave unseemly

•The word means to conduct improperly or disgracefully or in a manner to deserve reproach.

•There may be included in the word also the idea that it would prevent any thing that would be a violation of decency.

•This may be a reference to the disorderly conduct at worship referred to in chapter 11 and 14

Love does not seek its own ends

•It is not selfish. It does not seek its own happiness exclusively.

•True love will prompt us to seek the welfare of others with self denial and personal sacrifice.

Love is not easily angered

•One translation: “Love is not touchy.”

•The word refers to being easily provoked to anger.

Love is not easily angered

•“Too many of us are touchy, almost waiting for someone to do something to us, real or imagined, at which to take offence.”

•“Just as God in Christ does not count our sins against us, so we are not to keep a file of personal grievances, bearing grudges and reacting in light of such things when any fresh problem occurs.”

Does not delight in evil

•Another translation: “does not put evil down to anyone’s account.”

•Another translation: “does not plot evil against no one”

•Another translation:  “thinketh no evil”- does not impute improper motives to others.

Does not rejoice at unrighteousness

•Love does not take delight when others are guilty and fall into sin.

•It does not find pleasure in hearing about the sins of others.

Love rejoices in the truth

•Love does not rejoice in the vices of others. Rather, it rejoices in the virtues of others.

•Love is pleased  and rejoices when others do well.

•Love does not seek out what is wrong; it gladly seeks to identify what is right and will rejoice in what is right.

Love bears all things

•Another translation: Love covers all things.

•If this is correct, then the meaning is that love hides and conceals the faults of others and does not seek to give undue publicity to them.

Love Bears all things

•The word may also mean to forbear to bear with others and endure.

•It is related to the idea of love being patient and not easily angered.

•It means that when the faults of others are showing, love patiently bears through the faults of others.

All things

•Private matters as well as public matters.

•Indicates a disposition not to make public or to avenge the faults committed by others.

Believes all things

•Does not mean that the believer does not use discrimination in regards to things believed.

•Does not mean he will believe falsehoods.

•Rather, it means that in regard to the conduct of others there is a disposition to put the best construction on it; to believe in the good motives of others and they intend no injury.

Hopes all things

•Hopes that all will turn out well.

•It refers to the conduct of others.

•It means that however dark may be appearances, there is a hope.

•The hope is that the difficulties will clear up and the conduct of others will be fair and pure.

Endures all things

•No hardship can stop love.

•Bears up under times of hardship.

•“bears all that may be laid upon us in the providence and by the direct agency of God.”

Love Never Fails

•The word denotes fall out or fall away from.

•Here it means to fall away, to fail, to be without effect, to cease to be in existence.

•It might mean love will be adapted to all circumstances or it may mean love will continue to all eternity.

Love never fails

•Other endowments of the Holy Spirit will cease to be valuable, but love will abide and always exist.

•The argument presented is that the Corinthians should seek what is of enduring value and love should be preferred over the gifts of the Spirit.

Prophecies will fail

•Prophecies: either forth telling the truth of God’s word or foretelling the future.

•Some day the gift will be abolished.

•The day is coming when this gift will not be needed in God’s glorious kingdom.

Tongues will cease

•Tongues: the ability to speak foreign languages or the ability to speak in an unknown language.

•Some have interpreted this to mean they will cease after the gospel is taken to other nations. But, it most likely means the future life in heaven.

Knowledge will cease

•“All the knowledge which we now possess, valuable as it is, will be obscured and lost, and rendered comparatively valueless, in the fuller splendors of the eternal world; as the feeble light of the stars, beautiful and valuable as it is, vanishes, or is lost in the splendors of the rising sun.”

Know in part

•“in part” means imperfectly

•“Our knowledge here is imperfect and obscure. It may therefore all vanish in the eternal world amidst superior brightness.”

When the perfect comes

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