Apostle Paul, after telling the Corinthian believers, “The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already.” (7a) Then, he defines the wicked, something he did in 5:9-11. Here, he lists sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prospitutes, homosexual offenders, thieves, greedy, drunkards, slanderers, and swindlers. Paul identifies three kinds of sexual immoral persons. (Also see Romans 1:26-27)
The wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God (9), a fact repeated often in the Bible. They will be filled with remorse, weeping a river of tears. (Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28)“Do not be deceived,” he begins his warning (9).
The good news is there is hope for the wicked. As long as we breath, there is hope for the sinner. Some of the Corinthian believers were locked in one or more of the wicked ways of life before they came to believe in the saving and redeeming power of Jesus, the Son of God (11). They were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Chirst by the Spirit of God. Now the Kingdom of God is theirs. They have a wonderful inheritance that will never fade, spoil, rot, or be boring. They were born again.
The time to decide is now Jesus is waiting for your positive reply.
The disputes Apostle Paul addresses are civil matters, not criminal. If it were criminal violations, the Roman state would be involved. (Romans 13:3-4) Also, Paul’s declaration, “Why not rather be cheated?” (7), also indicates that the disputes were civil matters involving money and property. The Romans allowed Jews (Christians were still considered a Jewish sect) to settle their own property disputes according to Jewish law.
Now, in my sixty-plus years, I do not remember any Christians being close enough to have a dispute over money and property, except for one area, inheritance. A human constant seems to be the sudden sibling relationship change upon their parent’s passing and the inheritance split. I first encountered this with my grandparents’ death, on both sides. I found it rather shocking to see siblings that I thought had a good relationship suddenly change into strong, bitter disputes.
When I asked those older than I about this, they said, “Yes. Sibling cheating and wronging happen most of the time regarding inheritance. Buried past wrongs come to life. Greed comes from the cave of selfishness.” Now that I am older, I can testify that this is true. The more possessions and wealth involve the longer the sibling has been planning and conceiving.
Make the decision now if you have siblings, “Why not be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?” Do not make an enemy of blood now, only to bleed grief into your old age. My grandmother chose to marry one of the poorest men in the town over family wealth because she considered love and happiness worth more than the wealth of her family. As years pass, that sibling will be more of a comfort than money and wealth.
Apostle Paul addresses two more problems in the Corinthian congregation in chapter 6. First, lawsuits against others in the congregation, and second, employing a prostitute. The points are rather straightforward. Yet, some good truths are also revealed within.
First, if there is a dispute between two believers, they should settle it among themselves (1-8). The Corinthian believers were going to court against each other. If the brothers and sisters cannot settle their differences on a one-to-one basis, another member of the congregation should intervene. Paul said it is very important to settle disagreements between brothers and sisters in the Lord. The same is true between husband and wife, and between parents and children. Jesus also taught peace and love to the disciples, who often argued about who was the greatest. (Mark 9:33-37)
Secondly, I am the temple of God, and my wife is the temple of God. Therefore, I should honor God with my body sexually (12-20). Sex is God’s great gift to a married man and women only. When any man and a woman lie together, no matter the circumstances, they become one flesh. (16b). “One flesh” means one in body, mind, soul, and spirit. This union is sacred, designed by God (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5; Mark 10:6-9).
God’s design through sex is for the married and united couple never to be united with another, neither in body, mind, nor heart. The couple is to continually engage in building each other up in this sacred union blessed by the Holy Spirit. Looking at marriage statistics, couples I know, and my own life, I know this is truly great and yet takes effort, a determined will, and passion.
Because of the blessing of marriage and the sexual union, Paul emphasises, “Flee from sexual immorality.” (18) Self-control is a gift of the Holy Spirit we can choose to exercise. (1 Corinthians 7:5; Galatians 5:23; 2 Peter 1:6) All Christians have been given a gift to stay true to their spouse, whether married, engaged, or still waiting for the Lord Jesus to introduce them to the one whom He will unite them. Therefore, God has given us the ability to control our bodies, including keeping the marriage bed only with the one God unites us to. (Hebrews 13:4)
Apostle Paul lists Christians not to associate with. They call themselves a brother or sister in Christ Jesus, but continue to apply these six. They are sexual immorality, greed, idolatry, slander, drunkenness (substance addiction), and swindling (11). The confessed Christian knows these are sins, but does not resist committing them. The 5 Biblical sexual immorality were listed in the previous BDBD titled, “Chapter 5 Overview”.
Greed is an excessive or reprehensible desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth. In short, greed is covetousness (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21, 7:25; Hebrews 13:5;1 Timothy 6:9; Matthew 6:20).Hebrews 13:5 instructs, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'”
Apostle Paul includes idolatry in the list of six sins that a person who calls themselves a brother or sister continues to commit, which I must avoid. Yes, idolatry. According to Colossians 3:5 and Ephesians 5:5, a greedy person is an idolater. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Matthew 6:2) What do I desire more: God or money?
Slander is speaking critically of another person with the intent to hurt and to give false testimony. (Leviticus 19:16; Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy) Slander is as habitual as the other five sins. “Every careless word said will need to be accounted for on judgment day,” so said Jesus (Matthew 12:36).
Swindling (extortion, rapacious) is to cheat or defraud of money or property and to obtain by fraudulent means. I cannot think of one company that hired me that did not keep to what we negotiated, and many of them went to a congregation.
The often proclaimed Christian have heard that these six are sins, but do nothing to resist them in their hearts and minds. In their stubborn refusal, they resist the work of the Holy Spirit that desires to make them like Christ Jesus.
In my six decades, I have seen men and women who remain trapped by these sins, and yet remain popular in congregations because they are rich and pleasing to look at. While the righteous autistic and “strange person” cry lonely tears because they are isolated. I even heard a pastor say more than once that he told college students they do not have to associate with people they consider weird, even though they attend the same congregation as them. Are we not guilty too? (Matthew 18:10)
Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is the third-earliest letter that we have today, 1 & 2 Thessalonians being earlier. In verses 9-10a, Paul has them recall an earlier letter that we do not have. That letter stated, “Donot associate with sexually immoral people.” He adds here, “…not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters (He’s defining unbelievers.).” (9)
However, in many other later letters, Paul writes the same thing as here: stay away from sexual immorality (i.e., 6:9; Ephesians 5:5; 1 Timothy 1:10; Hebrews 12:16, 13:4; and John’s Revelation 21:8, 22:15).
Also, all the apostles, as is recorded in Acts 15, during the council in Jerusalem, gave only these restrictions to the gentile believers, “Abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.” (Acts 15:28-29) Paul keeps reminding his fellow believers in Jesus and me of the same thing – avoid sexual immorality and don’t place myself into temptation by associating with the believer who is sexually immoral, greedy, an idolater, or a slanderer, a drunkard, or a swindler (11).
Understanding the Biblical Holy Week (aka Passover Week) helps in understanding Paul’s analogy. (Exodus 12:1-30, Leviticus 23:4-8; Deuteronomy 16:1-8; John 13:1-2, 18:27, 19:14)
Preparations were needed before Passover began. According to tradition, cleaning the location of any yeast was first. “Get rid of the old yeast,” Paul repeats the Mosaic Law (7). Yeast is usually a symbol of sin in the Bible. (Matthew 16:11-12; Mark 8:15; Galatians 5:7-9)
After this, before Passover began, the Passover lamb was killed and prepared (7). Then, Passover began with the meal the evening before Passover day. The Passover lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread (without yeast) were eaten that evening. Passover Day continued until evening the next day.
Jesus is our Passover Lamb who takes away sin. (7, John 1:29, 36) In his death on the cross, Christ fulfilled the true meaning of the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb (Isaiah 53:7). Jesus takes away yeast (sin).
The “Festival” is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which follows Passover. It lasts for the remainder of the week, symbolizing living the Christian life in holy dedication to God (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:5) and not getting involved in such sins as malice and wickedness and incestuous marriages. We are to remain without sin.
Thus, Apostle Paul uses these Mosaic Feasts, just as John the Baptist did, to reveal God’s plan for the church. We are to remain without sin (yeast).
Apostle Paul addresses another problem at the Corinthian congregation, their handling of a member who is engaging in sexual immorality of a kind that does not occur even among pagans (1). The woman involved, according to the phrase the apostle used, “father’s wife”, suggests that the woman was his step-mother. Some commentators have suggested that his father had passed and his son married her. However, that is unimportant, for it is not mentioned by Paul in his letter (though, perhaps in 2 Corinthians 7:12). The Old Testament prohibited such a marriage (Leviticus 18:8; Deuteronomy 22:30, 27:20).
The church leadership, if they had one at this time, had done nothing about the ongoing sin. In fact, the congregation was proud of their liberty, a distortion of grace (2). Not even the pagans had tolerance for the disgrace of a father’s bed. The Roman orator Cicero states that incest was practically unheard of in Roman society.
Some modern congregations are betrothed in the distorted grace of another type of sexual immorality, which I will not address, for BDBD is intended to be a personal devotional.
So, considering tolerance with the continued sexual sin of even a casual friend, it is best to take Apostle Paul’s direction, and meet with them in the name of your Lord Jesus,and as the power of our Lord Jesus is present. Hand this person over to Satan, that is,tell them you no longer consider them a friend because of their continuing in a sexual immorality that cannot be tolerated, especially since you will not live with a distorted grace. This seems harsh, for it is. Pray for them for quite some time, and you will see that distorted grace burns both.
Some avoid this chapter because some could be offended. I do not mean to offend. I am looking at Paul’s instructions here to understand and thus to have hope, faith, and love to continue in my life.
Paul addresses sexual immorality in the congregation. Incest is specifically mentioned in 1 thru 5. He says that the man doing this should be put out of their fellowship. He equated it to handing the man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. (Lev. 20:11 says put him to death.) Yet, the man would be saved, for we are saved by grace through faith. In 2 Corinthians 2:5-11, Paul said to forgive him, love him, and bring him back into the fellowship because he stopped.
Paul then states that they were not to associate with believers who continually engage in 6 actions. He makes it clear that he is not including unbelievers. The actions are sexual immorality, greed, idolatry, slander, alcoholism, and swindling. I do not believe Paul is introducing the law. Rather, he is giving direction to help the congregation from falling into destructive yeast that would cause them to fall into harmful practices.
Sexual immorality is defined in Leviticus 18, 19:20-22, and 20 as 5 actions. Sexual immorality is defined as incest, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality, and during periods.
I am to help people, but only if they want to be helped. I am not and cannot force change on anyone. Forcing someone to stop a bad and even harmful habit when they have no desire to is a common mistake. Some who want change go through a 12-step program, good tool God uses. I know that I continually need to check my motives and actions to see if I am guilty of any of these, for I am tempted to fall into some of these harmful actions from time to time. Resist the devil, and he will flee.
The Kingdom of God is stated nearly 300 times in the New Testament. The Old Testament consistently foreshadows the Kingdom of God. Paul states that the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power (20). Jesus is the King. He is power and coming in power (Revelation 1:10, 12-18, 4;1-6, 5:6-8).
God’s present reign in the lives of his people – that dynamic, peaceful, loving new life in Christ (3; John 14:27; 2 Corinthians 5:17), the power of the new birth (John 3:3-8), showing itself in a humble life, dedicated to Christ and his church – that reign is the kingdom of God in all is power and glory.
To the arrogant in Corinth, Apostle Paul says, “I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out… what power they have.” Paul, full of the Holy Spirit, will come in power, if the Lord wills it, to the congregation the Lord Jesus led him to found. He will not come with shouts. He will not yell. The presence of power was enough to bring armies down in silence.
The power that raised Jesus from the dead is within his people, for that power is the Spirit of God, who hovered over the formless dark deep in the beginning (Genesis 1:1-2). The genuine power of the Holy Spirit is ever present; sadly, it can be denied, as some arrogant people in the Corinthian congregation did. I should not be a subject of the Kingdom who rejects the Kingdom’s power.(Acts 7:55)
Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15) Here, Paul instructs the congregation in Corinth, “I urge you to imitate me… my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” (16, 17b). Later in this letter, he will repeat, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)
So, I ask myself, “Do I obey Jesus’ command whether people see it or not? Is my lifestyle worthy of following? Would I want my children, whether I have children or not, to do as I do and say as I say?” Parents are often shocked and embarrassed when their toddler repeats in public what they do within the confines of their homes.
How shocked and embarrassed will I be when on judgment day, what I thought, the motives of my heart, will be exposed for all to see? I do not want to be shamed then. Therefore, I will work at changing my ways now to imitate my Father and Master, Christ Jesus. Change the way I think for what I think affect what I say and do.
Why does one have more than another? We usually compare ourselves with those who have more and desire to be like them. Who compares themself to someone who has less and more hardship and say, “I want to be like them?”
Apostle Paul contrasts the Corinthian congregation with the apostles, something not hard to do. The gap between have and have not, as well as life condition were great. He does this as a wake-up call.
Wanting a better life is not wrong. However, being content with where God put us and what God has given us is what is expected. Paul accepts that he is a fool for Christ, a fool by worldly standards.
An old hymn says, “The way of the cross leads home.” When Jesus invited people with, “Follow me,” he was saying just that. Are you following Jesus by carrying your cross? Are you a fool for Jesus? A popular Christian album is titled, “Jesus Freak.” The world will agree. Only a freak will carry a cross as they go to their eternal home.
“I have made myself.” These four words are one of the main causes of divisions. Using one word instead of four would be “pride”. “Do not take pride in one man over against another,” Paul told the congregation at Corinth. “Over and against another” is division caused by pride.
Everyone has opinions. Truth is truth. Yet, truth for mankind is mostly like the wind. We either cannot grasp the truth or we go about our lives ignoring it till it blows hard into our face. When truth evades the proud, an opinion is presented as truth. A pair of prides presenting their opinions as truth is an argument that causes division.
Paul repeats to defeat their pride. “You received it. Why do you boast as though you did not?”
Pride is a snake hiding in the tall grass of my soul, all coiled up, ready to strike and infect me with its poison. Everyone has a snake in the grass of their soul. If you believe you do not have the pride snake in your soul, then that is pride telling you so. Do not idolize anyone. Catch the wind today.
The point is clear. A judgment is coming. All will be judged, a judgment that Apostle Paul does not exclude himself from. If the man God chose to write a large section of the New Testament is going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ Jesus, then which person who considers themselves a Christian has the audacity to consider themselves free from a cross-examination from their Master?
Or perhaps some say, “Oh, I know I will stand before my Lord Jesus as he sits on the Bema Seat. But all he will say is, ‘Well, done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things.'” Yes, Jesus said this in a parable. (Matthew 25:21, 23; Luke 19:17) However, can we be so relaxed and confident that we are doing what has been planned for us? Are we obeying, “Love one another as I have loved you?” and “Love your enemy?”
Even Apostle Paul, in humility, wrote, “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent.” When he wrote, “Judge nothing before the appointed time,” more than anything, he means do not be conceited into a high and mighty opinion of yourself. “Judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes.”
The motive is what matters. (5) Why did I help that person? What was in my heart when I prayed for that person? Why did I say that? Why did I respond that way? Why was I giving? What was my heart when I served? At that time, each will receive his praise from God. (5) Or perhaps there will be a sharp rebuke. Why not examine my heart motive now and repent and make amends?
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them,” so begins Jesus Parable of the Talents. (Matthew 25:14-30) Actually, the main issue Paul has been addressing for three chapters, Jesus cleverly presents in one brilliant easy to grasp parable.
Apostle Paul concludes his theological dissertation, “So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.” (1) Paul again calls himself a servant entrusted by God with secret things. He first wrote of this in 2:6-10.
The mysterious secret is the gospel which God made known through the Spirit to the apostles and the prophets that the Gentiles would be saved along with the Jews through Christ Jesus (Romans 16:25-26; Ephesians 3:4-6; 1 Timothy 3:16). This is what God entrusted to all of his people, the message of Christ Jesus, the Savior crucified, died, buried, and risen from the dead.
Filled with the Spirit, Paul’s next statement is important for the church to heed: “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful,” for it is also the conclusion and warning of Jesus’ parable, “For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'” (Matthew 25:29-30)
The apostles lived a hard life. They were poor. They endured persecution. All but John were killed. They had no home. They were ridiculed. They did not have fine clothes. They went without food and drink.
People who have often poorly judge those who have not. Wise people often poorly judge those who are not. Strong people often judge those who are not. The poor and strong judge the rich.
I have heard messengers state that God intends us to be rich. If that was true for all Christians, then why wasn’t it true for the apostles? Why did Paul write, “For it seems to me that God has put us, apostles, on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena? We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings.” The truth is, some will be rich, and some will be poor.
I have very little in this world. I am not rich. It’s easy to envy and covet. Yet, Jesus and Paul did not. They helped all kinds of people, no matter their life circumstances.
Apostle Paul concludes the matter, “No more boasting about men! All things are yours…” (21). When stating “all things are yours,” he is saying that God supplies many things, including people, the world, life, death, the here and now, and the future, to teach and equip his people. God gives all things for good and righteous purposes and plans he has in store for us.
Christians are not the servants of our teachers and shepherds. Jesus taught us that it is the other way around. Our teachers and shepherds are to serve us for the benefit of the church and those who will come to believe and the glory of God.
If we are teaching others, we should not deceive ourselves into thinking we are better than others. Rather, I need to remember that I have only what God has given me, not for my benefit and glory, but for others’ benefit and the glory of God. I am of Christ and Christ is of God, and Christ is subject to his Father, and I am subject to all.
God’s temple is God tangibly being with his people. Apostle Paul, in the previous paragraph, uses an illustration of a building, such as a temple, to describe God using him to establish God’s tangible presence with a group of people in Corinth. They were God’s temple, a people with whom God interacted continually.
God’s Spirit lives in God’s people. Collectively, we are a temple. Paul does not mean here that each of his readers is a temple of the Holy Spirit. He says, “You yourselves (plural) are God’s temple (singular).” In 6:19, he speaks of each Christian as a temple of the Holy Spirit. But here he is speaking of the congregation as a collective whole because some were dividing the congregation with creative false teachings.
The teachers were sincere, but sincerity does not guarantee that the facts presented are true. The false doctrine, though persuasive, was dividing the congregation, destroying God’s temple. Paul warns that God will destroy the membersof the church who are dividing God’s temple, for God’s temple is sacred (17).
My takeaways are many, but one thought lingers- beware of every teacher. Apostle John wrote, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
Apostle Paul expands upon another of Jesus’ teachings as he explains his point that the Corinthian congregation needs to stop arguing and idolizing human teachers. Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” God dwells in the believers’ souls. We are like the temple of God.
When Paul first arrived in Corinth, he laid the foundation of Christ and him crucified (2:2). Others like Apollos, through sound doctrine, continued the work of building them up, just as a good mason and carpenter build floors, walls, and ceilings. Sound doctrine and righteous living were like using gold, silver, and costly stones.
However, others were not teaching sound doctrine. They were twisting the gospel. They countered Jesus’ teachings like, “If a person follows me, they must carry their cross.” The false builders were teaching the prosperity gospel. They did not deny themselves. They were building with wood, hay, and straw, which will burn on the day of divine judgment (13). Paul is writing only to Christians.
Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthian congregation, will make this point clear again, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
Teach truth and be rewarded. Teach half-truth, which is not the truth, and lose the reward. “He will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames” (15). Jesus said similarly about losing one’s intended reward, “Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.” (Matthew 25:28) Sincerity does not verify doctrine, but it saves the man.
Apostle Paul pulls examples from some of Jesus’ parables concerning seeds and plants to help the Corinthians congregation understand what he is saying concerning a man’s place before the Lord Christ Jesus. Jesus taught that the word of God is like seed which a man took and planted in his field. The field had four different types of soils. Only one produced a crop.
Jesus, in another parable, said that unless a seed falls to the ground and dies it remains only a single seed. But if it dies it produces many seeds.
Apostles Paul, building on these seed parables and illustrations as examples, says he only planted the seed and Apollos only watered the seed, but God makes it grow. God made the complicated DNA inside the seed that instructs it how and when to grow. Also, God designed the delicate and sophisticated photosynthesis process that enables the seed to change into a seed producing plant. Also, consider how the stem of the plant pulls water up to the flower. Finally, consider how plants turn to obtain the most sunlight possible.
How amazing are all these designs! Compare planting the seed and watering the plant. Those are nothing compared to how God makes the seed change, grow, and reproduce. No wonder Paul says that he and Apollos are nothing.
Paul’s illustration applies to all of God’s chosen. We are only co-workings doing what we are taught and told. God is really the one who does all the work. My labor is small. I do not deserve praise. I have only done my duty. This is what Paul is teaching.
Apostle Paul presents to his brothers and sisters in Christ at Corinth self-examination questions. Are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? Doesn’t your pledged loyalty to a human instead of Christ Jesus show you are mere human beings? The answer to all these is yes. They were worldly, mere humans. Paul calls them infants in Christ.
Christians are called by God to be more than mere humans. How? We are to “live by the Spirit” (1). Living by the Spirit has become a modern Christian clique sometimes heard in mostly Pentecostal congregations. Yet, many who attend those congregations are guilty of the same faults found in Corinth in Paul’s day.
So, what is living by the Spirit? Living by the Spirit is living in obedience to the will of God. Elsewhere, it is defined as the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:19-23), and the greatest of the fruits is love. So, when the Corinthians argued and divided, they were not living in love. They were not living by the Spirit. They were carnal, mere humans. Be like Jesus means as Jesus himself said loving others as he has loved us, self-deny. Die as a kernel of wheat so that others may live by the Spirit.
In ancient times people did not go to an institution, school, college, nor university to get an education. Rather, they went to a person and asked them if they could become a disciple. If a Jew wanted to learn about God the same was true. They went to a prominent rabbi to be trained as a disciple.
Proper Jews went to the synagogue every Sabbath to worship and hear the Bible since most did not and could not have a copy at home. They did not go to synagogues to learn as some Christians do today. For small congregations, a prominent visiting rabbi would speak. But that was the exception, not the norm.
God was doing something different in the early church. What he was doing in the church had never been done before in antiquity.
Jesus taught that we should not call a person rabbi nor father. Instead in Christ, people were a community. Everyone had different functions and gifts. Different people preached and taught at different times, taking turns as the Holy Spirit prompted and equipped. No one was a disciple of someone else. That is what Paul is rebuking the Corinthians about in this chapter. They were calling themselves disciples of a human.
Some in the Corinthian congregation were still thinking and doing as others did. They followed people and became their disciples. Paul said, “No. Don’t say ‘I follow Paul’ nor ‘I follow Apollos’.” This was not the way the Holy Spirit is working amongst them. The same is true today.
I go to and lead Bible studies, talk to other Christians, read books, and study the Bible. The Holy Spirit slowly reveals to me as I pray and humbly submit to him. I have had to change my understanding of truths along the way. I am grateful for the ways of God. No human is my rabbi nor shepherd. I am not a sheep to men. I am God’s sheep. I thank God for all the people he leads into my life to show me the truth and the way. Yet, I know it’s not them that changes me in character and thought. Its God, my one and only Father.
Apostle Paul is still redressing the Corinthians Christians, who are proud of the gifts of knowledge and teaching, the gifts they were given upon receiving the Holy Spirit when they first believed. Paul introduces the topic of the office and work of the Holy Spirit in verses 10-16, which he will maintain and build upon in the rest of the letter.
Jesus’ words to the knowledgeable Jewish rabbi Nicodemus, “Israel’s teacher”, are related to those of Apostle Paul in these verses, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:6-8)
God gives us the Spirit, which communicates to us spiritually, “that we may understand” by experiencing God through Him, “what God has freely given to us”, that is God, the very essence of the eternal most high God, within and a part of ourselves. “We had the mind of Christ.” (16)
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus gave us this promise, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you… When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.” (John 14:26, 15:26) Read also John 16:5-15.Believe Jesus when he says the Spirit within us, testifying spiritually to us, is a very good thing, though it his hard to understand.
Solomon, imprinted by the Holy Spirit, was gifted with God’s wisdom as the Corinthians were gifted with knowledge and speech. However, wisdom can be flawed and misguided when based on improper morality and ethics. When one’s concept of right and wrong is not based in absolute truth, then the wisdom that comes forth, though it may temporarily show gain, will lead to nothing in the end. Such flawed wisdom led to the crucifixion of the Lord of glory (6-8).
The same Spirit that imprinted Solomon and Apostle Paul was gifted to all those who call on the name of Jesus and he has imprinted a divine message in our soul (10). The Holy Spirit knows the heart of God and reveals the heart of God only to those who he dwells in. The Spirit does not dwell in an unbeliever. The Holy Spirit lives only in us who call on Jesus’ name (9-12).
The Spirit has revealed to us a secret message of wisdom. Jesus taught the message. The apostles, including Paul repeated the secret message, and the Holy Spirit testifies to our soul that the message is true.
John 7:37-39 record Jesus saying, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” (See also John 14:26)
The Spirit of God was promised and still is promised to be the means by which a person comes to faith in Jesus. Wisdom and elegant words were not promised and is not promised to be the means.
One of the reasons believers in Jesus give for not witnessing to their faith in Jesus is they are afraid that they will say things that will drive people away from faith in Jesus. The simple fact is that most likely they are just afraid for themselves.
When Paul arrived in Corinth, he kept his witness concerning Jesus simple. He states, “I resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Paul made it all about Jesus.
The Spirit works in and through us according to his good work. All I need is a willing heart to share. Pray to be used to deliver the message of Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Paul was highly educated for his day. Yet his human education led him to false beliefs that were reinforced by an impure spirit and mind. Knowledge is one thing, wisdom another, and the truth is absolute. Paul did not know the truth. This leads him to cruel and evil acts. He persecuted Christians.
God’s wisdom and truth are not human wisdom and truth. Before I came into a personal relationship with God through Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, I was educated but did not know God’s truth. This like Paul, I sinned. Slowly God is revealing his truth to me through His Spirit. So that now I am known by God and am knowing God and his will for me.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. The Spirit reveals these to me so that I may understand what God has freely given me. (12) I am thankful he brought me out of foolish and dark thinking.
Mature Christian questions examine and apply what the Holy Spirit reveals. An unbeliever cannot judge and understand the believer’s spiritual nature. (15) From the soil comes pure white flowers.
Many reasons can be found to boast in me and my abilities. Yet none are valid for God makes them all possible. God supplies the ability. God supplies the health. God supplies the environment. God supplies the skills. God supplies the resources. God supplies the proper weather. God supplies the food and water. God supplies the resources in people and money. God supplies the time. God supplies the wisdom. These are all worldly.
Spiritually God is all in all for the believer. He is our righteousness, holiness and redemption. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the first and the last. He is the beginning and the end. He made the way. He is the way. It is because of God that I am in Christ Jesus. God set the plan, and the plan is Jesus. So, what reason can be found to boast in me and my abilities since he has and will do it all? Whatever I have he has supplied.
Take a self-assessment is the theme of these verses. The congregation at Corinth had become conceited. God revealed truth to them, and it boosted their pride. They began thinking too much of themselves. They forgot who they were when God called them. They forgot God was the one who built them up.
Not many were wise by human standards (26). Not many were influential. Not many were of noble birth. Paul sums up their social status prior to a relationship with God as foolish, weak, and despised (27, 28). Why? So that we cannot boast before him.
I always need to remember who I am before God. I need to remember where God called me from. God reminded King David when he was called from, a shepherd, the lowest in his family. Humility is important, especially before God.
A person will experience God’s miracle and then foolishly ask for a miracle as proof that God’s miracle is true because the ego loves power and the praise of men more than God. A person can hear pure wisdom and unfutable knowledge and refuse to concede to them because pride loves imperfection and insanity more than truth.
Jesus came full of grace and truth (John 1:14, 17), performing many miraculous signs before and among many people, including the Jewish religious leaders (John 4:48, 7:31, 9:16, 11:47, 12:37). Similarly, the apostles performed miraculous signs (Acts 2:43, 5:12, 14:3). Still, many refused to believe, though a few did.
Jesus sent his apostles, including Apostle Paul, with the message of the gospel. Apostle Paul’s customer was to go into the synagogue and reason with them from the Scriptures, “explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. ‘This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,’ he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded…, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.” (Acts 17:3-4) Still, many refused to believe.
To those whom God has called, both Jews and Gentiles (Corinthian Church had both), Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. The foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. Therefore, I will always remember to preach Christ crucified, died, buried, rose from the dead, and he will come again soon… very soon.
Ask people on the street, scroll through social media, and talk with anyone on a college campus about God, and you will find a wide range of ideas and understandings about God. The types of people and their comments about God would not be much different from the ideas people had in Paul’s time, 2,000 years ago. I know because I have done this.
The “wise man” is a Gentile philosopher in general. The “scholar” is the Jewish teacher of the religious law. The “philosopher of this age” is the Greek skilled in elaborate and devious argumentation who engages in long and subtle disputes (sophist).
Paul, in verses 18, 20-21, is quoting Jesus, and he quotes Isaiah 29:14 in verse 19. Luke 10:21 states, “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.'”
Elsewhere, Paul instructs Timothy and Titus to learn so they may have a good understanding of the faith they believe in (2 Timothy 3:14-17; Titus 2:1). However, here he tells the Church in Corinth that the basis of the faith we share is found in the message and action of the cross of Christ. Let go of that, and I am letting go of the fundamental message of my Lord Jesus Christ, who teaches, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
Apostle Paul supports his call for unity with two basic concepts given by Jesus Christ: the cross of Christ and baptism in the name of the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:11, 28:19; John 1:25-33, 14:26). The church of God in Corinth would have known both from the very beginning of their walk with Jesus.
Apostle Paul asks questions, a common teaching method in ancient Greece, to help them logically come to the proper conclusion about why they should remain united. Christ is not divided. Jesus is the only one who was crucified for our salvation. Jesus was the only one they were baptised into.
When Paul arrived in Corinth, he preached the gospel, which they received and on which they took their stand. He did not employ human wisdom, which many in the congregation took pride in. He taught the cross of Christ simply and sweetly. By this gospel they were saved, if they hold firmly to the word. What is the gospel? Paul will repeat the gospel in detail in chapter 15. Here are verses 3-4, “…Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…”
Apostle Paul addresses the first problem amongst the believers in Jesus Christ at Corinth, divisions and quarrels. I believe the meaning of divisions here is “the condition of being divided in opinion, which leads to separate meetings and isolation of groups and individuals.” All suffer with divisions and quarrels, especially the weak and vulnerable. But none more than Christ Jesus, who commanded, “Love each other as I have loved you. By this all may know that you are my disciples, and that I sent you.” (paraphrased from John 15:12, 17, 12:34-35)
The Corinthian Christians began following Christian teachers and Christian doctrine. Apostle Paul thanked God for the gifts they received, especially speaking and knowledge in verse 5. They could cite their belief and proof of what they believed. Facts, figures, numbers, verses, and cite quotes from their favorite writer and speaker. What is the motive? Is their love in it?
The Holy Spirit, through Paul, made it clear in prior verses that each member of the young congregation was sanctified and called to be holy because of their faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit did so by giving them gifts to be used for the benefit of others. Collectively, they did not lack any spiritual gift (7).
Apostle Paul ends verse 7, “as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” The members of the church were actively working in the church. However, their eager hope was for Jesus to come again. Jesus’ parables teach us to keep our lamp burning as we await his coming as king. The things in this world do not compare to the coming king and the kingdom he will set up. That is why we are eager. We believe.
Even though the church at Corinth will be rebuked in this letter, the Holy Spirit makes it clear that God will keep them strong to the end (8). They will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus appearing (8). God is faithful (9).
What he started in us, he will complete. He calls us into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (9). God the Father loves the Son (9). Jesus, the Son, loves us. The Father loves us as the Son loves us. We are one. We are weak. He is strong. God, the Father, will complete the new covenant made in the blood of his Son. This is God’s promise to us because of his love for the Son and for us.
The Apostle Paul had visited the city of Corinth around two years earlier, sharing his testimony about Christ. The congregation listened and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s grace in the form of spiritual gifts confirmed that the good news was received. They were enriched in every way -especially with the gifts of speaking and knowledge. Paul, speaking in general terms, thanked God for this grace to the Corinthian congregation in Christ Jesus.
However, in highlighting these two gifts with thanksgiving, Apostle Paul proposed to dwell on the abuse of their speech and knowledge later in the letter, especially since the Corinthians prided themselves on their speech and knowledge (1:20, 3:18, 4:19, 13:1-14:40).
God confirms, or rather gives effect to the gospel in his congregation by our accepting it and setting our seal to the gospel’s truth, through the inward power of his Spirit, and the outward gifts and miracles accompanying it. The gifts, however, can be abused.
The gifts of God, given by the grace of God, that confirm the gospel of Christ when we believe, are many and great, far beyond the lists the apostles give in other letters, just as knowledge is not in any of those lists. Some have but one gift their entire earthly life. Others have more gifts and/or the gifts they have change as they age. Whatever gift is given, whenever it is given through the Holy Spirit, is to be used in humility and fear to edify the church and those who will someday believe. When pride sets in, all is lost, and much harm is done in the end, just as happened to King Saul, who lost the crown and died a humiliating death.
Greeks’ traditional religion did not see its gods as their fathers. When a Greek became a Christian, they accepted that the One and Only Supreme God was their Father.
The pronoun “from” which is applied to “God our Father” is also implied to be with “the Lord Jesus Christ”, so that it would also read, “from the Lord Jesus Christ”. Grace and peace come from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The grace and peace I receive through the Holy Spirit is a gift of the Father and Son.
Paul, in verses 1 and 2, uses the title “Jesus Christ” from the Greek “Iesous Christos” (and vice versa). Here, Paul uses the phrase “Lord Jesus Christ” from “Kyrios Iesous Christos”.
Greek culture traditionally did not believe any of their pantheon of gods were lords, let alone a Supreme Lord. They believed their gods were subject to fate just as humans were. Greeks did not worship a god as Christians and Jews do. Rather, they believed their gods had powers and abilities that humans do not have, but none of them were the creator of the cosmos (universe). The Greeks attempted to win the favor of one of their gods to convince that god to grant them a gift and/or favor with their unique power, not much different from the comic book group of heroes today. Which god they sought favor from depended on the special power the god had.
Christianity teaches the truth through the Holy Spirit. A Supreme God exists for eternity and beyond, God the Father. He has an eternal Son who is Lord of all, creator of all, including all humans. Jesus is the name God the Father, through the Spirit, gave to him when he came to the earth in the form of a human to redeem His people from sin and death. Through grace, not merit, Lord Jesus Christ, and God the Father give peace of soul.
Apostle Paul is writing to “the church of God.” The Greek word for church can be better translated as “congregation” due to the many modern-day uses of the English word “church”. The meaning behind the Greek word for “church” implies that God called people to come to His community of believers from among the people of that ancient Greek city with commanding authority.
God’s congregation is defined in three ways. First, we are sanctified in Christ Jesus. The original Greek verb for “sanctified” means “set aside and made holy for a special purpose.” Sanctification is the process of being made holy, resulting in a changed lifestyle for the believer in Jesus Christ. More than that, God has a set purpose for each of his people.
Second, God calls his congregation to be holy. The original Greek word for “holy” can also be translated as “pure”, as Jesus is pure. God’s people were impure. When God called us, he made us pure through the blood of Christ Jesus. Corinth was known for the immorality of religious prostitution throughout the Greek and Roman world. God called some, made them pure by grace through faith in Jesus, and enabled them to leave that lifestyle.
Third, God’s community calls on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. God calls us to have an active relationship with Him, every day, every hour, every moment.
The amazing fact of these truths concerning the congregation at Corinth is that Apostle Paul, in this letter, finds many faults with the young church. Still, he states all these things to be true. However, this is not so amazing because the truth in them is not based on us. Rather, they are based on God’s work in and through us. God sanctifies me. God makes me holy. God makes the relationship with me so I can have communion with him.Not “what I did”, its “what God has done for me”.
Apostle Paul’s defined himself with, “called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God”. Apostle means sent on a mission with full authority of representation; an ambassador. Jesus chose twelve to be his apostles during his earthly ministry. (Mark 3:13-19) When Judas betrayed Jesus another was chosen to take his place. (Acts 1:12-26) Then Jesus called Paul, the fourteenth apostle. (Acts 9:1-30) Silas and a few others were also apostles. Apostles are the only ones that display all the gifts of the Holy Spirit in order to support the mission that God has given them. Apostles were personally sent by Jesus, learning directly from Jesus.
How we see ourselves is important. Do we see ourselves in the eyes of others, in our own eyes, or the eyes of Jesus? If we see ourselves in the eyes of Jesus, he will help us understand ourselves more when we study the Bible and pray.
After Jesus came to Paul and called him as an apostle, and after he changed his name (originally Saul), he saw himself in the eyes of Jesus. He later confessed, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7-11)
Wondering who you are? Trying to seek your true self? Not measuring up to how others define you? See how God sees you? Pray. Ask God to reveal him to you so you can see yourself in him. Read the Bible. See what he has already said about you.
Paul wrote this letter in 55 or 56 AD while he was at Ephesus during his 3rd missionary journey. Paul is dealing with problems concerning the young congregation as a whole and also with personal problems.
The first issue makes it clear that Jesus is the head of the church. I belong to him. I follow him. He was crucified for me. I was baptized into his name. I should not turn another into a kind of living idol.
I did not know God. I could not have known God unless he reveals himself to me. (21) Even if I were to study and learn from the wisest and most published person, I would not know God. The world through its wisdom cannot know God.
I am saved through the cross of Christ. The cross of Jesus is foolishness to mankind. The cross of Jesus is a weakness to mankind. Mankind is wrong in both. The cross of Christ is God’s strength and God’s wisdom.
Christ crucified is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Some have said I know a lot and am well studied. The more I study the more I see that I know little nor have much wisdom unless God reveals it to me. That what I don’t know or understand I study a lot to learn a little more in hopes to understand that which I don’t understand. Once I learn something it brings more questions and things that I do not understand. So more study, prayer, and thought is needed. Yes, I accept all I know has been revealed to me by God through his Spirit.
I am not strong physically even though I jog and go to the gym. I am not strong mentally nor emotionally though it may appear to be so from the outside. When trouble and problems come I try to face them with faith. Yet I worry and am concerned.
So, for wisdom and strength, I go to God. I am weak. He is strong. I am not wise. He is all wisdom.
