Letter to Corinth

First Letter to the Corinthians

Taking Care of the Body

Intro: When our kids were younger we would watch the latest cartoon movie, like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda or some of the other ones. And every time they would watch them they would pick which character they would be and then they would act out the movie or make new adventures.

Think back to your childhood and think about the stories you grew up on. Who was your favorite character? This is an interactive part so you can just yell it out and if you are online, feel free to type it out and I can review them later or we can have someone who is monitoring call them out.

So think about what you picked that person. What traits did you want to have or see yourself having that made you look up to the character? Was it the hero, the sidekick, the damsel, the smart one, the trickster, the goofy one, or the bad guy?

Did you act like the character, and now that you are grown up, do you look back and see that you developed some of the characteristics of those people?

Paul wants the Church at Corinth and really every church, to emulate and look like Christ. So he gets the reports via letters or friends and then he writes back to them with instructions on things they need to do in order to be, not just look like or act like, Christ.

Read Verses: 1:1-3, 10-19

Main Point: The church exists to glorify God and Tell the World the Good news and to strengthen each believer.

Intro: Corinth is in Greece on a small isthmus that connects the Peloponnesus with the rest of Greece it is an important route for north-south trade. After the Romans destroyed the original city in 146 Bc, the Romans rebuilt it, made it the proconsul seat of the region and populated it with people from all over the empire. So you have Greeks,Romans, Jews, and other nationalities that the Romans brought back with them from the other parts of the empire.

On top of that, the city and region was a crossroads of trade with sailors and merchants coming through the city. With all of this, you had a confluence and a mix mash of different religions, cuts, and gods and goddesses. A lot of the ancient goddes had to do with fertility and sex an that was also big business and a way of life for any. The people of the church that Paul was writing to the Church at Corinth with a few major points in mind,

1. They must leave their Old Lives

2. They must mature In Christ

3. They must Work Together

4. They Must Stand firm in the Faith

I. Christ Calls The Church (Ch 1-3)

Paul give his customary greeting and thanksgiving and then jumps into his message.

Paul explains that inverse 9 that through everything they experience, God is faithful, by whom you were Called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Given that a lot of other religions or cults are based on works, offerings and trying to please the god or goddess to give you something you want, Christianity works completely differently. While the Greek world androan worl put a lot of stock into wisdom and knowledge, or philosophy, which means “the love of wisdom”

God uses his True wisdom and power to shape the world: Through His power and wisdom

Paul says in 1:17 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.

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Worldly wisdom is Folly

The world asks and I know I asked at one point, how does one man bring sin into the world and then how does the death of one man fix it all?

Because to the world, that makes no sense.

In chapter 2 And Paul goes further stating that he didn’t use eloquent speeches which was a common route. Use a lot of words to make everyone think you are really educated,when a lot of times, you are not saying anything. istead, Paul says I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

The Gospel message is simple: Jesus was sent to fulfill the law, be the sacrificial lamb and he was crucified on the cross. Which he was humiliated on and took God’s wrath so the elect would not have to on the last day. Furthermore, He was resurrected from the grave, he beat death in order to raise those of us that have been called on the last day and afford us eternal life.

We have been called to live with God for eternity, for no other reason that God’s grace toward us. That is folly to many because the grace s something that can't be bought or earned and it seems complete unfair that Someone else would pay for your sins. Because that is not how gods and goddesses work. Or that is not how God the father would treat his son. Or that Jesus could be resurrected from the head. It all seems too crazy to believe.

But that is what we are called to. We are called out of the world we are set apart. Once you become a Christ follower, you are now different.

I want you to either underline this or write the verse down 3:3. 3 because you are still worldly. For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? The King James Version says that you walk as men. Paul seems to imply that you have now become different and we are no worldly or fleshly anymore. You are now children of Go and not children of Satan.

Like the fables and Grimm fairy tales you learned and taught to your kids, they are simple enough to tell a story and an important lesson. And part of that lesson was to make sure you were not worldly. That you valued hard work and not hubris What does the tortoise and hare teach us? Be fast or do things right? Or don’t stop and don’t be overconfident. The rabbit was worldly, acting in a manner that earned accolades and won races and reputation and he could beat anyone, especially a slow tortoise. But in the end his pride and so called wisdom is his downfall.

As we grow up the simple message stays the same, it’s just we gain the understanding to see the same lessons in more complex stories.

We are overseers and stewards of the Gospel message and we must work together to keep and spread the message.

II. Christ Makes The Church Work Together (Ch 4-12)

The Corinthian church was made up of different people groups and so that meant they came in with different information and presuppositions and so when you overlay the Gospel message it creates problems. Add to that they must have heard other preachers and teachers. Like everyone, you had different teachers and some you liked and some you didn’t and some were just there. So instead of hearing the Gospel of Jesus they turned it into the gospel of Paul or the Gospel of Apollos.

Liberty and Responsibility

And so it created divisions but Paul admonishes them that they should be teaching and boasting in Christ and not men.

Chapters 5-11 Paul Gives church the ways they need help most in growing up or to take care of the body. Because if they are still acting like mere mortals or mere humans, ten the Gospel message loses credibility with any potential new members.

They must put away the childishness of sexual immorality, infighting like little kids, marriage or celibacy instead of promiscuity, Utilizing self control not being black and white about food matters but also knowing when your behavior may cause your brother or sister in Christ to stumble. Here paul uses the sacrificial meat that gets placed on an altar but since those Gods aren’t real, it really has been sacrificed for anything. So one hand, it doesn’t really matter, but on the other hand if it causes someone else some trouble and they haven’t learned that yet, then you need to go back to the basics for them and suspend your hunger and get some different meat that is prepared So it maybe that you like

Application: Our newfound freedom in Christ comes with responsibilities. This is the sanctification process where you are being transformed into Christ’s image. And one big reason is that we are different members with different roles. Chapter 10:31 sums this lesson up as So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God. So what does that mean? Are you glorifying God in your actions and what you choose to do and not do.This is not pandering to many so you can’t do something. But it is being mature in your Christian life and applying the teachings that you hear or read.

Charles Spurgeon and another well known contemporary of his, G.F. Pentecost, were sharing the pulpit at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. Spurgeon preached against the danger of sin, and Pentecost was invited to make the application. During his time Pentecost preached vehemently against smoking tobacco, and cigars in particular. After he concluded Spurgeon stood before the congregation and said,

Well, dear friends, you know that some men can do to the glory of God what to other men would be sin. And notwithstanding what brother Pentecost has said, I intend to smoke a good cigar to the glory of God before I go to bed to-night.

If anybody can show me in the Bible the command, 'Thou shalt not smoke,' I am ready to keep it; but I haven't found it yet. I find ten commandments, and it's as much as I can do to keep them; and I've no desire to make them into eleven or twelve.

It is about differentiating real sin and perceived sin. Take the opportunities to explain the difference to both to those younger in the faith. But you must make sure you understand them first. And help them understand that perhaps just because you can, does not mean you should.

In Chapter 10:23 Paul says Everything is permissible, but not everything is profitable.

Different Members, Different Roles

Paul uses the metaphor of the body because it works best as a visual. Imagine if your whole body was all hands or all eyes? It would look really weird and wouldn’t work well. We are all given specific gifts to perform speech functions Some are glamorous and some not so much. But all are important to the function of the body. This is why the story analogy works well. Not everyone is a main character, but the characters that make it in the story play some kind of role.

Christ came to die for the sins of the world. There is no one else that needs to or can complete the same function. And so there is no one else that can perform the job specifically like you do or I do. And that is ok. Just like people were arguing over Paul or Apollo. Possibly because they liked one’s. Teaching over another, it. Doesn’t matter because they are both teaching the same message.

They are preaching Christ. The church is concerned with telling the gospel message.the goodness that there is hope in this world, the sinner can become the saint and they don’t have to fear the day of the Lord. But they have to repent and stop sinning and grow up.

III. The Church Tells the World about Christ (Ch 13-16)

Act in Love

Chapter 13 is said by some commentators to be the “greatest, strongest, deepest thing Paul ever wrote. Paul tells the church that they can be the best Teachers, preachers, evangelists or even speak in tongues or anything else, but unless you do all things motivated and grounded in Love then they don’t mean anything. Love never ends, love bears all things. This is the “more excellent way’ that Paul references at the end of chapter 12.

This is the application to our Daily life. We have a choice to make.We can show love and patience or we can show hate and impatience. James says be quick to listen slow to speak and slow to anger.

When you listen to others, you are showing them love. When you

John 3:16 says for God so loved the world. That was his motivation. It wasn’t to gain glory, although he is glorified in his action but he loves his creation so much that he sent Jesus to spend 6 hours on the cross paying the price for our transgressions or sins against God.

Tell the Gospel, include the Resurrection

It’s not just important to say that God sent his son to die for our sins in order to justify us to His Holiness, but we have to tell the whole story. It's to just that God was incarnated and lived as fully God and fully man, and he went to the cross an innocent, silent lamb, as the prophecies said he would.But also as Jesus himself. Foretold, he would rise again in three days.

How do we grow in Christianity and your faith? By learning more about theology and how one man’s death fixes your sin. As Paul says it is still a mystery, but there is a lot that explains How the Old Testament foretells Christ’s coming and the need for Christ. How there is grace in the Law. We also learn how God demonstrates grace and love to His chosen people, the Israelites. Then in the Gospels we see the arrival of Jesus and his ministry on earth. And we see how Paul instructs the new churches how they fit into God’s plan. Lastly all of this fits into the eschatological plan of the last days. And how God will remake the world and restore it back to His perfect garden again and so the story ends like it begins. With mankind enjoying and being surrounded by God’s presence.

Application:

Growing up is a lifelong event. Our society sets milestones to indicate you are grown, bu ti never really stops. 16 to drive a car, 18 to vote or serve in the military, 21 to drink alcohol, 25 and your insurance goes down. 55 and you can eat off the senior menu at Denny’s. But people grow at different rates, and people are reborn at different ages. Some people are saved when they are 5 and others at 85.

Knowledge is not Maturity Paul says knowledge puffs up, but love bulbs up. This does not mean to say you stay ignorant to what th eBible says, but you know how to use the knowledge properly.

Truth and Grace are both important.

Carey neiuhof says in an article, You cannot separate grace from truth anymore than you can separate truth from grace.

It is an incredibly difficult line to find, but we must find it.

Grace without truth isn’t maturity any more than truth without grace is truth.

Clearly, we need a Saviour on this issue. And it’s a good thing for us, He embodies both.

Your story is important—Your place in the greater story of God is important to others who want to know here they might fit in. Its one thing to just tell facts and dates about an event, but it is quite another to read about the people in the events.

It is one thing to hear about how Jesus died for the world and it is another how Jesus saved you. and that is more important to others because the other people know you, they don’t know the world. They may be more interested in your story and who this person, God works to save you. God th eFather Sent the Son. Jesus, God the Son stepped out of heaven to save a wretch like me or you. and God the Holy Spirit convicted you of your sins and made you repent of those sins against God. Oh what Amazing Grace that must be.

Conclusion

Paul says faith hope and love abide these three but the greatest is love. That is because it is God’s love that shows through to the world in the Gospel message.

The church is entrusted teaching both the Christians how to grow up and apply they scripture to their lives. and also the basic, entry level stories in their basic form or the main story line. If you have seen most film adaptations of the Three Musketeers, you get the author’s main story line of D'artagnan earning his place as a musketeer, and battling the evil cardinal Richelieu to save the king. But if you read the book, there are several other story lines happening in the very large book.

The Bible works the same way. You can easily and happily focus on the Gospel, and we should, but it is important to learn why we need the Gospel message in the first place.

That is the church’s job. To teach both levels of the story and all the while growing up and taking care of the body and have each person become more and more Christ-like.

This is Paul’s chief concern for the church at Corinth.

Next week we will look at Paul’s second letter to the same church. They were written about 12-18 months apart

I will leave you with these words from Charles Spurgeon "Look, sinner, to the bleeding Savior, and as you feel the attraction of His love, run to His arms, and you will be saved." —Charles Spurgeon