1 Corinthians 1

Monday, 10 March 2014

…even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you… 1 Corinthians 1:6

This verse, like the previous one, is continuing on from verse 4. The grace of God was given to the Corinthians by Christ Jesus. Because of this they “were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge.” This leads to him saying that this was “even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you.” The Pulpit Commentary says that “the genitive is thus objective (about Christ), not subjective (the testimony borne by Christ).” In this manner then, the Christian testimony was, in fact, confirmed in those in Corinth.

The apostles, particularly Paul, passed on the message of Christ through preaching and instruction to the Corinthians and it was confirmed through signs. However, we will see in the chapters ahead that they abused the signs and made what was given in honor to look childish and demeaning. Because of this, Paul had to give explicit instructions concerning gifts, particularly the gift of “tongues.” To this day, charismatic and Pentecostal churches continue to demean these gifts, ignoring the very instructions breathed out by the Holy Spirit through Paul.

As God will never contradict Himself, then any supposed gift which doesn’t correspond to the instructions He has given in His word cannot be a “gift” from the Holy Spirit at all. We must pay particular heed to the instructions concerning these things as they come in the chapters ahead. Christianity is to be a “Christ-centered” religion, not a “look-at-me-centered” one. He is Lord, we are His subjects.

Life application: What change was wrought in you when you came to Christ? Hopefully you will remember that He is the one who deserves the glory for having saved your soul and confirmed it through a noticeable change in you. Remember to always glorify His great name in all you do.

Heavenly Father, from time to time I get feeling pretty great about “me” and the things I do… and then I remind myself that there is no thing that I own, no accomplishment I have achieved, and no honor I have received that didn’t originally come from You. It truly is all by Your grace and so to You alone goes the credit for all that I am. Help me to remember this as I walk along life’s road… it is all about You. Amen.

Sunday, 9 March 2014

…that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge... 1 Corinthians 1:5

This verse carries on from the previous one where Paul thanked God continuously for the grace He had bestowed upon the Corinthians. This grace, given by Christ Jesus, was endowed so that they would be “enriched in everything by Him.”

The knowledge of Christ is an exceedingly great knowledge, granted by grace. It enriches our lives in every way and is what leads us to the greatest knowledge of all, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. These are available to us through the teachings of the apostles who were under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as they uttered out the words of the Bible. Paul and the other apostles gave their instructions to the churches directly; now we have the Bible which serves this purpose. In the Bible then is “everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge.”

God has spoken by Christ everything we need for our spiritual life and practice. This verse, among many others unfortunately, leads folks to believe that because they have accepted Christ, they have all knowledge and all discernment in Christ. Relying on “Holy Ghost” power and instruction, they actually delude themselves and others into accepting whatever nonsense they utter at any given time – prophecies, teachings, proclamations, etc. But this isn’t how things work. The apostolic instruction has been given and it has been recorded. Now, in order to understand “all utterance and all knowledge” we actually have to open our Bibles, read, study, and apply.

This is hard work and that is tedious to many. How much easier it is to simply pull out individual verses and misapply them to life’s momentary trials or victories. But the Bible, and all it contains, is God’s word and demands that we keep it in context as we study it. Through this precious word we are edified, built up, and given our proper knowledge.

Life application: To fully understand God’s intentions for us is a long and difficult task. The first thing we need to do is to get right with Christ, receiving Him as Savior. After that, we should actively seek Him out through His superior word. Take time, every day, to read and study this infinitely precious treasure.

Lord God! How I treasure every new discovery in Your word. I revel in it and love to see its deep riches unfold before me. And thank you for others who have so diligently studied it, finding patterns, parallels, and precious pearls of wisdom. When I read the things others have discovered, it reminds me that there are so many faithful people pursing Your wondrous gift to us. Thank You for Your great word, O God. Amen!

Saturday, 8 March 2014

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus… 1 Corinthians 1:4

Paul’s introduction and greetings are friendly and filled with encouragement. His closing statements will likewise be uplifting and attentive to the building up of his recipients. However, in the main body of the epistle, Paul is going to address, rather directly at times, many hard issues. Some of these issues may be found offensive in today’s climate of “tolerance,” but these are things which are important to God and which He expects us to pay heed to. We are saved by grace through faith, but we are expected to live out our salvation in holiness and right living.

Before addressing the difficult issues which much be addressed though, he first ensures those at Corinth that they are dear to him and ever on his mind. He states, “I thank my God always concerning you.” One can just picture him walking along the road to his next destination and recalling the people and experiences there at Corinth. As they came to mind, he probably uttered such thoughts out loud… “Yes Lord, thank You for those in Corinth. Thank you for Mikeopolus, Lisatha, and Philipherous. And Lord, you know how good Kristiniki was to me while I was there. Thank you for these folks, and all of those I’ve come to know.” It is Paul who wrote to the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and he certainly did this himself in such a manner.

Next he explains why he was so thankful to God for them. It was based on “the grace of God which was given to you.” Grace is unmerited favor. It cannot be bought, it cannot be earned, it is completely undeserved. But at the same time, it isn’t forced upon us by God. Grace is bestowed upon us when we submit to Him properly. And this grace is “by Christ Jesus.” He did the work; through Him we receive God’s grace.

Upon receiving this grace, many benefits are available to the believer. Paul will continue with his thought in the coming verses concerning this, but then his writing will also cover those things that the Corinthians were engaged in which imposed upon God’s grace. We will see that such behavior is not what God intends for His children. Let us pay heed to the words of 1 Corinthians. It is a classic example of a church in crisis and needing sound theology, proper doctrine, and right direction.

Life application: God’s grace is sufficient to cover all our sins – past, present, and future. But He does not intended for this grace to be abused. We are saved in order to be holy and glorifying of Him, not to continue to participate in the sins of the flesh.

Lord God, I know that Your grace is sufficient to cover all my sins, but I would rather that the future be free from such things. May I never presume upon Your favor by living in a manner contrary to the high-calling I have received through the shed blood of Your precious Son, my Lord Jesus. Be with me, strengthen me, and help me along this rocky path of life. To Your glory I pray. Amen.

Friday, 7 March 2014

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.1 Corinthians 1:3

After identifying himself, his calling, who was accompanying him, and who the letter is directed to, Paul now gives the standard greeting which is found in most of his epistles, “Grace to you and peace to you.”

Grace is unmerited favor which cannot be earned. This is the common greeting among the Greek people. Peace however is the common greeting among the Hebrew people. In their language, the word is shalom. This is more than a greeting for calm or quiet, but is a state of wholeness and completion in all ways. Paul unites the two terms just as the church is being united between Jew and Gentile during his time. This grace precedes the peace because only after receiving the grace of God can a person experience the peace of God.

Paul extends this wonderful blessing to them “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” It is a greeting from the eternal God – both the unseen Father and His Son who reveals the Father to us. Rather than being an argument against the divinity of Jesus Christ, it is an argument for it. He is tying the two in as one – Jesus being a member of the Godhead. He is not making some type of great division, but a harmonious blending of the two.

Throughout Paul’s letters, as with the entire Bible, the deity of Jesus Christ is a concept and a precept which simply can’t be missed. It is the very heart of what God has done for the reconciliation of the people of the world.

Life application: Outside of God’s creation, which reveals Him in a general way, we cannot comprehend Him except through His special revelation. One way we receive special revelation is through the mouths of His prophets. But these prophets all testified to the same thing – Jesus Christ (John 5:39). The most magnificent special revelation of God that we have received is the incarnation of Jesus. But for us, even this isn’t sight, it is found in the testimony of those who have recorded what they knew into the New Testament. So, in order to understand God, one must know Jesus Christ, and one cannot understand Jesus Christ unless they know their Bible. Today’s life application…. know your Bible.

Heavenly Father, how grateful I am that I can fellowship with You personally. I can read Your word and know who You are. I can have personal talks with you as I pray in a quiet place or on a bustling city street. And I can feel Your presence as I attend church and fellowship with others as we praise You and give You thanks for Your wonderful care of us. Thank You for allowing us to fellowship with You, O God. Amen.

Thursday, 6 March 2014

To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: 1 Corinthians 1:2

After his introduction, Paul makes his addressees known by starting with, “To the church of God which is at Corinth.” Corinth is on an isthmus and its location was on a very narrow portion of it. Because of this, a “highway” was forged from one side of it to another and boats were literally dragged across it to save them the time of sailing all the way around the land. Because of this strategic location, Corinth became a well-known and valuable city in the Roman empire.

“The church of God” is a term which implies that this was an established church, founded on God’s working in and through the Person of Jesus Christ. It was Paul who established the church as is noted beginning in Acts 18:1. He preached his message and those who received it are “those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus.” This means that they were set apart from those around them as holy. Being “sanctified” in this way means that they secure in Christ and have received their heavenly position. Ephesians 2:4-6 explains this –

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…”

Regardless of our earthly walk after salvation, we have been set apart by God because of our simple and heartfelt faith in the work of Christ Jesus. Our heavenly position is settled. Because of this, we have been “called to be saints.” Being called “saints” is tied directly to “sanctified.” It is the work of Jesus Christ which grants sainthood; not a church or denomination. The abuse of using this title for some people within the church while not using it for all is certainly to be condemned. If a person is a true believer in Jesus Christ, they are a saint. The “litany of the saints” is a long and wonderful list which includes all who have called on Him, not a select portion who are then elevated above the rest. Paul explains this again many times, such as in these words in 2 Timothy 1:9 –

“…who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”

As Paul notes to Timothy, it is “not according to works.” Instead it is exactly as he states both to Timothy and to those in Corinth. It is an honor for “all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.” To “call on the name” means to invoke the name for the purpose of worship. One doesn’t “call on the name of Jesus” and then revert back to the name of “Jehovah” of the Old Testament (as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other aberrant cults do). It is the recognition that Jesus is, in fact, the Lord Jehovah who was manifest in the flesh. It is His name alone by which men must be saved (Acts 4:12).

In finishing up this verse, the words “both theirs and ours” is given to imply that sainthood and acceptance of Jesus Christ isn’t limited to a location (such as Corinth) nor a denomination (such as Roman Catholicism). Nor is it limited in any other way except in the calling on of Jesus Christ as Lord. Anyone, of any race, place, culture, or individual church who calls on Him is a saint and his name is written in heaven – Jew or Gentile, male or female, all are one in Him.

Whether this letter was intended as an encyclical or not, it is a timeless letter. Because it is in the Bible, it wasn’t just intended to be read by one (or all) the churches in the area and then stored away. Rather God has used it to provide doctrine to all churches in all ages. However, the contents of the letter seem so targeted to Corinth and their many flaws that it would seem they wouldn’t want the letter circulated, thus embarrassing them. But when thoughtfully considered, the same problems arise again and again in all churches at one time or another. This is why reading and contemplating the words of Scripture are so very important.

Life application: The Bible and its books, especially Paul’s letters, give us direct guidance for the many issues which are bound to arise within the church. Church tradition, although welcoming and comforting to congregants, is never to be used as a substitute for adherence to the Bible. If your church has more tradition than Bible… time to move from your church. Stick to the Bible and be instructed by God.

Yes Lord God! How wonderful it is to know that when problems arise in our church, we don’t need to guess about what to do, nor do we need to seek out a fallible preacher, pastor, priest, bishop, or pope. Instead, we just need to turn to Your word and find the remedy there. You have addressed those things which are important to You in Your word and so we will stick to it like glue. Thank You for Your superior word. Amen!