Focus Mislaid

The divisions were killing the church

Why?

The Church was out of Focus

The Corinthians were torn along party lines

Satan had their attention diverted and perverted

Paul needed to get them refocused on what was true and correct

Church, we need to get our focus centered today on what is correct!

What really mattered was/is the gospel!

Choose Your Words Wisely!

•Corinth was a Greek city, much like Athens

The Greeks were known for their intellect

Intellect can be a great hindrance to the gospel

Intellect searches for something deeper, something more

The gospel is designed by God to be simple!

Notice Paul says that God called him to preach the gospel, not with “big words”

We can use big words, right?

The Tendency:

Justification = great word, it means that when you get saved is it is as if you never sinned

Redemption = teaches that when Jesus died, He paid the cost of your sin

Sanctification = teaches that when you are saved, God has set you apart for a special purpose

All these are words we love to talk about as Christians, but they do no good to discuss with a lost person

The need…

Just preach the gospel

Paul was saying:

Forget about me

Forget about Peter

Forget about Apollos

Just preach the Word!

How great a need it is!

Verses 18-31 deal with

Read these verses with me!just how great a need the gospel is!

The Cross is…

Foolishness to the unsaved

Foolishness = stupid. That is the literal meaning

The Cross is…

Powerful to the saved

To the Corinthians who had trusted the gospel, they understood its power!

The gospel has power to save from sin

The gospel has power to change lives

The lives which have been changed by the power, have the power to change the world!

Talk About Division?

The gospel is the great divider!

Those who believe it will be saved by it

Those who reject it will be bound to hell for eternity

That is not God’s doing, but their own

God’s plan, God’s desire is for them to be saved!

The Problem in Paul’s Day…

Men knew too much.

The Greek culture boasted of its knowledge and wisdom

Unfortunately, this was man’s wisdom, read verses 19-21…

Paul here quotes Isaiah 29:14…

It was nothing in the Greek mind for God to come down to earth

Their gods all did that!

But for God to become a man, then to suffer and die on the cross…Impossible!

There must be some better way!

The Problem of Our Day…

Men still think they know too much, or that they know better than God!

Paul asks, “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Etc.”

Simply put, he was asking in his day what we can ask in ours: Who is wiser than God?

To those who are wise in this world’s wisdom, the cross is foolishness (stupidity)

Keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing!

The Corinthian church was so focused on itself, and its divisions, that they had lost sight of what was important: The Gospel!

While they were arguing over who was the best, most important teacher, and bragging about their allegiance to them, they were neglecting their mission!

Does it make sense?

Nope.

But God has chosen those things which the world deems foolish, to upset those things the world calls wise!

Consider the following:

God’s Wisdom…

The Messiah, the Creator of the universe would be born in a stable

The Messiah would call uneducated fishermen to be leaders in His absence

The Messiah would be executed like a common criminal

Man says:

Greek – “This is stupid!”

Jews – “This is impossible” (stumbling block)

God Says:

“My ways are not your ways”

“My thoughts are not your thoughts”

Paul Says:

1 Corinthians 1:27 KJV 1900

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

While the Jews are seeking a sign, and the Greeks are debating “some new thing”, God is showing His power in saving men through the confusing message of a crucified and living Savior!

1 Corinthians 1:26 KJV 1900

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

Know what he was saying to this church?

“You’re not some prize catch! You are proof God doesn’t choose the noble and strong of this world!”

Let us be Thankful!

Be thankful that God does not choose the best, but the worst…

“For all have sinned and come short the glory of God”

There is not a one of us who deserves the grace of God!

Read the last verses with me…

Let us Give Glory to God

1 Corinthians 1:31 KJV 1900

That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

The message to Corinth was an admonition against divisions

The message to Corinth was a reminder to be focused on what was truly important, the gospel

The message to us today is that we do not fall into the same trap as the Corinthians

How to Avoid the Trap:

Be Christ-centered, not man centered

When the church has its eyes on Jesus, the church can and will thrive

What are you focused on today?