I Corinthians - Lesson 3 BE UNIFIED
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Learning Experience (about 20 minutes)
BE UNIFIED
Learning Experience (about 20 minutes)
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10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Ø Q: How does Paul describe the situation in the Corinthian church?
§ A: There are divisions among them according to who had baptized them, which may indicate divisions between the first converts when Paul was there and later converts who came under the teaching or influence of others.
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1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
Ø Q: What types of sinful behavior does Paul say are taking place in this division?
§ A: Jealousy and quarreling.
Ø Q: From what Paul says in what can we learn about how to approach church problems today?
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
§ A: Try to draw from the class such observations as these:
· Paul begins with an appeal for unity in the name of the Lord Jesus,
· Paul states clearly the goal toward which he calls them-that all will agree, that there will be no divisions and that they will be perfectly united in mind and thought.
· Paul stated the facts in the case and the source from which the information came-he was not dealing in rumors;
· Paul deals with the problem directly and openly. In such things he set us a good example in dealing with church problems.
v From chapter 1 through chapter 4, Paul makes his call for unity among the quarreling brethren in Corinth. Let’s study some passages in which he makes his case and recognize the various appeals he makes.
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23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
Ø Q: To what does Paul call them in this verse?
§ A: Paul calls for the Corinthians to focus on the most important thing and one on which they all could agree-Christ and Him crucified-and not on their differences.
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26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
Ø Q: What appeal does Paul make in this verse?
§ A: Paul calls for the Corinthians to remember what Christ has done for them-they were of little account and now they are the people of God. In verse 31, Paul says this is what they should be most proud of-not something about which they are quarreling.
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13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
Ø Q: What appeal does Paul make in this verse?
§ A: Paul calls on the Corinthians to recognize that the message he and others inspired by the Holy Spirit have brought them is in “words taught by the Spirit.” They should heed what he had taught them and will teach them because the message is from the mind of God revealed to His prophets through the Holy Spirit.
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1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.
Ø Q: What appeal does Paul make in these verses?
§ A: Paul calls the Corinthians to rise above worldly thinking and to be spiritually mature. Worldly people fight over which preacher is greater or which of God’s servants presents the best message or can do the greatest miracles. They must recognize, however, that individual workers in the kingdom are nothing-all are working together to serve God.
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9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
Ø Q: To what does Paul compare the church?
§ A: The temple of God.
Ø Q: In what ways is the church like a temple?
§ A: It really is God’s building; it belongs to Him. The Spirit of God dwells in it. It is sacred.
Ø Q: How will God treat one who would destroy His physical temple?
§ A: God will destroy him.
Ø Q: What happens, then, to one who destroys the church, also God’s temple.
§ A: He will be destroyed.
Ø Q: How would one destroy the church today?
§ A: By sowing division and discord among brethren over matters that are not of ultimate consequence. Of course, one should always stand for the gospel, but no one should bring discord in the temple of God, the church, over matters that are not about eternal salvation.
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1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
Ø Q: To what conduct is Paul calling the Christians here?
§ A: He is asking them not to pass judgment on others in regard to eternal salvation, but to leave that to the Lord.
Ø Q: Does Paul ever call on Christians to “judge” others in some sense?
§ A: Yes. He says they should judge the immoral brother in chapter
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13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
Ø Q: Does Paul violate his own command about judgment in what he says about these false teachers?
§ A: No. Paul uniformly condemns false teachers, those who would lead Christians into apostasy.
Ø Q: What has love to do with this?
§ A: Love calls us to treat everyone fairly and kindly, even those with whom we may disagree seriously. We still might, after exercising other options, have to discipline a brother or sister who is in sin or who gives false teaching, but even then our action would be taken for his/her benefit and not out of anger toward them.
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14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
Ø Q: What appeal does Paul make in this verse?
§ A: You are my children. We are a family. Let’s act like a family and be united.
Application: (about 15 minutes)
v Let us suppose that a controversy has arisen in a congregation about a fifty-five year old elder who some say has been visiting at length in the home of a widow who is fifty.
Ø Q. How might Paul’s advice help with this situation?
§ A:
· Other elders should quickly determine the facts in the case.
· They should visit with the elder and ask for his comments. If he says he has committed no immorality but that he realizes he should not have been there by himself, this information should be made known. If, on the other hand, he plans to continue such visit seven if they will create problems, then the other elders will have to decide the best action to take. He should be reminded that it is a very serious matter to create discord in the church even if he has not sinned with the woman.
· If the matter is widely known already, it should be dealt with directly and openly.
· All must be done in love for the widow, for the elder, and for the congregation.
Ø Q: From Paul’s message to the Corinthian church, what suggestions do you have for our congregation about unity and how to have it?
§ A: The class should come up with suggestions like:
· We should help people realize that the most important thing is our ultimate salvation in heaven and controversies over things that do not affect this are not worth creating problems in the church.
· We should teach about the importance of unity even in times of peace.
· If we deal with each other in love and humility rather than pride or jealousy or selfishness, then we can reduce the amount of friction that will arise.
· We need to have trust in each other because everyone cannot know about everything going on in the congregation.
Assignment:
1. Read , , and all of chapter 14 for next week.