Written ~ 08-02-2024
Read 1 Corinthians Chapter One
1 Corinthians 1
Today’s Bible Study starts us off in a new Book of the New Testament. This is the first letter Paul wrote to the church in Corinth which is located in Greece… he greets them with these words…
1 Corinthians 1:1-3…
1 “This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes.
2 I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be His own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as He did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.”
In most of Paul’s letters he emphasizes that by God’s Will he was chosen to be an apostle. I was curious about that statement, especially since it shows up so frequently in his greetings, so I researched the reason why he started off most of his letters in that way.
This is what I found in “The Expositor’s Bible Commentary:”
- Characteristically, Paul begins by naming himself and by identifying his position as an apostle of Jesus Christ. He stresses his apostleship because his authority has been challenged. He makes it clear that he is an apostle by divine calling through God’s sovereign will. The word “apostle” means “a sent one” and connotes a commissioned delegate.
Looks to me like there was debate whether or not Paul was qualified to give guidance and insight through his teachings and writings. So by beginning each letter the way he did, Paul is making it quite clear that he is not preaching or ministering to the church by his own strength or will, but that it was God who chose him for this purpose. Also in this letter Paul is recognizing Sosthenes, it was possible that this man was helping Paul in his ministry, since Paul names him as a brother, it’s made certain that Sosthenes is a believer and is making an impact alongside Paul.
As we delve into this letter, keep in mind how it applies to us as well. These may be Christians from the first century, but we serve the same God and we have the same Savior.
Paul goes on to express his thankfulness to the Lord for the church at Corinth, because of their good works it is confirmed in their actions that they are living by the truth of Jesus Christ. He also makes note that the Lord will keep them strong and that He will remain faithful to them.
But soon after Paul gives these believers accolades, he reprimands them for allowing divisions in the church.
1 Corinthians 1:10-17…
10 “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 11 For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. 12 Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.”
13 Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 for now no one can say they were baptized in my name. 16 (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.) 17 For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.”
The church at Corinth had been divided into four factions, those who followed the teaching of Paul, those who preferred Apollos, those who favored Peter and finally those who chose only Christ. And it actually caused notable divisions in this church. Paul had to make it very clear that Jesus Christ was the only one who should be followed. None of the other men, himself included, were worthy of that kind of devotion. Jesus is the only one who died on the cross and rose again, and Jesus is the only one who saves us from our sin. What Paul is pointing out can be said of the church today! With so many churches, so many denominations, so many belief systems… where does Christ fit into all of it? All of us have different tastes when it comes to a particular way a pastor preaches the Word of God. It’s easy to see how each of us are drawn to different churches because of the diversity in teaching and worshiping styles. But where Paul is warning us here, we should not be exalting the pastor above Jesus. No matter what style of preaching, no matter the congregation, no matter the size of the church building, it is the message of Jesus Christ alone that should matter. I don’t believe the problem is from an individual having a favorite preacher, the problem lies when debate and division arise when someone else doesn’t think the same way you do. As long as the truth of the Scriptures is being preached and it is not deviating in any way from the truth of who Jesus is, that right there is what we all should agree on and follow. Check yourself, make sure who it is you are following, is Jesus alone.
With almost an abrupt turn, Paul diverts our attention to the foolishness and the wisdom of the cross…
Let’s see what he says next…
1 Corinthians 1:18-19…
18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.
19 As the Scriptures say,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” (Isaiah 29:14)
When the Good News of Jesus Christ is being preached, its message can fall on deaf ears. While it is possible they hear the words of the Lord, even contemplate them, but in the end, they choose to believe that the Gospel is just plain foolishness. They take the power of the Scriptures and consider everything written in it to be completely absurd. When a heart is riveted to the things this world offers, it says in verse 1:18 that those who see the Gospel message as foolishness rather than truth… that heart is headed for destruction. They believe the wisdom of the world as truth and their intellectual minds get warped into believing anything other than the Scriptures as being what is sound and true. As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we have found power in God’s Word and we have chosen to believe it is the only truth. And those who are recognizing the Word of God as being truth, are being saved.
1 Corinthians 1:20-23…
20 “So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in His wisdom saw to it that the world would never know Him through human wisdom, He has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.”
Salvation is a matter of the heart. It’s true that intellectuals, philosophers, scholars and brilliant debaters can come to know the truth of Jesus Christ. But sadly, so many are so deeply drenched in their own wisdom that many will miss the call of Jesus because their hearts are not fully engaged.
I love what Paul says next…
1 Corinthians 1:24-25…
24 “But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.”
Is Paul saying here that God is foolish and weak? Absolutely not.
What I found in the “Expositor’s Bible Commentary” will help us understand what Paul is saying here…
- What Paul means is that God’s smallest, least significant thought is more worthwhile than the wisest plans of ALL humankind.
It says in Isaiah 55:8-9…
8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so My ways are higher than your ways
and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
Mankind can believe they are wise, but we can’t come to any type of infinitive conclusion that will show, in any way, that we are as wise or wiser than God, but some do try, don’t they? It’s sad though, isn’t it? That because of the world’s wisdom there will be multitudes of people who will miss out on the Glory of God because they won’t see past their own wisdom. And because they won’t see past their own wisdom, they see the believer as foolish for putting their trust in God. Some will look at believers as weak and insignificant because we put our faith and trust in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29…
26 “Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And He chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.”
I love the way “The Message Version” (MSG) interprets these verses…
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (MSG)…
26-29 “Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God.”
Let’s clarify… it is not God who thinks of us as “nobodies” it is the world at large who perceives us to be “nobodies.” It is God who chose us for His purpose. He created us specifically for His purpose. Unfortunately, there will be those who can’t see the purpose God has for their lives so they pursue the knowledge and the wisdom of the world, so, they either can’t or won’t see that our faith in the Lord is truth. There will always be “somebodies” who look down upon the “nobodies” and try to discredit them. But the Almighty God has chosen us to rise above that “nobody” status and become His children, joint heirs with Christ. That’s something we can shout from the rooftops! “We are children of God!”
1 Corinthians 1:30-31…
30 “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; He made us pure and holy, and He freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”
Becoming a believer and follower of Jesus Christ does not give us reason to exalt ourselves as better than anyone else. We are to place all the attention back on Christ, because if it weren’t for what He did on the cross, Salvation would not be possible.
As believers, our constant prayer needs to be for those who can’t see Christ because of their worldly wisdom. We must pray that they lower the intellectual guard they have placed all around themselves so the message of Salvation can pierce their hearts. Let’s have it be our mission to turn a bunch of “somebodies” into “nobodies.”
~AMEN ~