Part 2: EPISTLE TO CORINTHIANS

SAILORS, SOLDIERS & SLAVES

1 Cor 1:26-28 “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. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,”

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PRAY

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Epistle opener last week. We began a new series called EPISTLE: LETTER. and our New Testament is filled with LETTERS and God would have it that it would be VIA EPISTLES, Letters of Communication that he would FOUND The CHURCH and ALSO SHAPE AND MOULD THE CHURCH Through CORE DOCTRINES.

Remember the New Testament has:

The Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke & John

Acts of the Apostles

Then the LETTERS: which are MOSTLY PAUL 13 (I am going to talk about Paul today).

Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthan’s, Galatians, Ephesians, Phillipian’s, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon.

Then the general epistles: 8.

Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, 1,2,3 John, Jude

Then Revelation.

Last week we studied GALATIANS:” You are FREE from the Past”, “Popelled into a Glorious Future” & “Saved to Bear one another’s burdens” and do the work Christ has for you in this life. Thats Galatians.

This week: SAILORS, SOLDIERS & SLAVES: EPISTLE to the Corinthians.

We are going to cover some GROUND in this message, and following each Sunday message we’ll have a devotional that you can on your own time, in your quiet time - Study the EPISTLE. I want you to DIVE INTO it and let it DIVE INTO YOU.

PROFILE ON THE APOSTLE PAUL (Image of Paul)

Who was Paul? Paul was a zealous, passionate, well trained, well educated, smart Jewish boy who was PURE in his OWN EYES. He studied under a famous rabbi in the rabbinical schools. That Rabbi was Gamaliel

He was born in Pharissee in Tarsus, the southern coast of what is now modern day turkey.....He was unique because he was a Jew, he was born also a roman citizen.

He understood the culture extremely well.

TO UNDERSTAND PAULS LETTERS ITS GOOD TO UNDERSTAND SOME ABOUT PAUL

He would’ve seen as a young boy the way his people the Jewish people were being led away from being as pure as they used to be by the Greek Cultural influence, but also the Roman Occupation: this would be the very thing that God would use to DEVELOP a passion in Him for the things that Make him passionate.

QUICK FACT: God didn’t change his name: Saul of Tarsus / Paul the apostle.

He didn’t have a name change BTW ( Saul was his Jewish Name, Paul was his greek name)

But God would use his PEDIGREE to be the BRIDGE to take the GOSPEL to the Gentiles… to the nations.

Some more things about Paul:

He was the preeminent apostle of the new testament - The Majority of the times the word apostle is used in the NT its referring to PAUL.

he was not one of the 12. His apostleship came later, but still came directly from Jesus.

Acts 9 is when he was saved / this is we almost seeing the pinnacle of the persecution of the church, :Paul is in a leadership Role taking letters to go and reprimand and perscute christians and followers of the way. He was Nationalistic, He was Zealous, He was Devout - He had an SHARP EYE and a SHARP INTELLECT for the JEWISH faith..

So what did God do>?

He blinded him.

acts 9:3-9 “3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”

So this was His conversion moment - His Blinding REVELATION of the TRUTH OF JESUS as the MESSIAH:

But i want to show you something maybe youve never seen here before:

acts 9:3 “3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.”

he was on HIS way

and His was wasn’t workin.

Isn’t that JUST LIKE you and I.

Then he because a follower, and then THE LEADING apostle of “THE WAY”.

SO LETS Breakdown & STUDY 1st & 2nd Corinthians:

1st Letter: 16 CHAPTERS ....Chapters 1-8 / Deals with the mess in the church. Especially Sexual sin. also factions. in the church. Chapters 9-16 / Dealing with more spiritual things. Ignorance because of a lack of spiritual maturity. Children need to be taught and these young christians need to be given basic instructions.

in the 2nd LETTER: 13 Chapters -Paul Defends his apostleship, His ministry by SHOWING his love for the Church there. HE also brings the church encouragement in this EPISTLE around GIVING and how THEIR giving would impact the Church in Jerusalem. Here is a well known verse we get from the 2nd Epistle:

2 Cor 9:6-7 “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Purpose of the EPISTLES TO THE CORINTHIANS.

To write to the church that was founded by PAUL but to handle the issues of the CHURCH (like any church) the right way. Gods way: Through Wisdom and Spiritual maturity. To flee from pagan ideals and idols and to embrace the Holy Spirits role in their lives.

CENTRAL THEMES: CHRISTIAN UNITY, CHRISTIAN LOVE, ORDER IN THE CHURCH

LOVE & ORDER

(CHRISTIAN UNITY, CHRISTIAN LOVE, ORDER).

SO WHAT WAS GOING ON IN CORINTH AND WHY WAS AN EPISTLE NECESSARY!

CORINTH WAS A CONNECTION POINT: located was on a 2 mile strip like a peninsula that was strategically located in a great spot between the north and south. (SHOW MAP)

Corinth was a notorious port town located on a peninsula which meant that it was strategically located between the North Mediterranean and South and instead of GOING Around the HEADLAND or POINT so to speak - it was easier to DOCK on either side of the peninsula and move your goods from one side to the other making this a strategic location for a town.

(SHOW IMAGE OF THE OLD ROAD)

In the 100 years prior to Paul writing Corinth empty but Caesar began sending ex military to it to build it up as a retirement spot (much like Phillipi in a sense)

Corinth was a HAPPENING place

CORINTH was full of ex soldiers, newly free slaves and sailors who was passing through or staying for a short period waiting for the next shipment or vessel. It was a transient place but it was a bustling PORT town where ex-roman soldiers were given opportunity to go there and make money, and enjoy living in a great place.

It was full of WILD LIVING.

To Call something “Corinthian or Corinthianze” meant & still means now a wild way of life or a promiscious way of life.

There was Veterans, There were Feed men & women, There were Sailors. ALL WITH MONEY TO SPEND!

Corinth was a place where people would say “the voyage to corinth is not for every man” or in other words you might get swept up in Partying, :Prostitution, gambling and crime.

THIS IS ANCIENT CORINTH IN THE TIME OF PAUL

SO GET THIS: So YOU HAVE A BOOMING CONNECTION POINT TOWN, A TRANSIENT GENTILE CULTURE FULL OF PEOPLE WHO HAVENT THE FAINTEST CLUE WHO JESUS IS.... SO WHY CORINTH? Paul being from Tarsus, having all the greek understanding HE KNEW THIS WOULD BE AN AMAZING PLACE FOR A CHURCH: many scholars believe it was Paul knowing the potential influence that Corinth could have decided to plant churches there. Paul was a strategic missionary - he understood this stuff so he was able to think about how this could be an amazing HOTSPOT & connection POINT for the church to be located.

BUT THIS WAS A YOUNG CHURCH - AND LIKE ANY YOUNG CHILD, A FATHER HAS MUCH WORK TO DO TO HELP THEM FORM AND CORRECT AND LOVE THEM TO WHERE THEY NEED TO BE!

THERE WERE MASSIVE ISSUES IN THIS YOUNG CHURCH

PAUL WAS RESPONDING TO THEIR QUESTIONS AND TO THEIR ISSUES: HE BELIEVES ITS HIS RESPONSIBILITY AS AN APOSTLE TO THIS CHURCH - AND TO BRING TRUTH AND LOVE, WHICH IS THE MAJOR THEME:

TRUTH WITH LOVE / ORDER WITH LOOVE / SOUND DOCTRINE AND THE CORRECT VIEW OF GOD.

SO WHAT WAS PAUL SAYING TO THE CORINTHIANS IN THE EPISTLE: THE TAKEAWAYS FROM 1 CORINTHIANS & 2ND CORINTHIANS

1.FOLLOWING THE WAY, MEANS CHANGING YOUR WAYS.

HOW YOU LIVE MATTERS

1 Corinthians 1:22-25 “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

1 Cor 5:6 “6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?”

Christ the POWER of God brought you in, and it’s HIS WISDOM which allows you to be here:

EUGENE PETERSON: “When people become Christians, they don’t at the same moment become nice. This always comes as something of a surprise. Conversion to Christ and his ways doesn’t automatically furnish a person with impeccable manners and suitable morals.

Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), 1 Co.

SO THE APOSTLE PAUL WILL DEAL WITH BEHAVIOURS

HE WILL DEAL WITH QUESTIONS about things (this is a response)

HE WILL REVEAL TO THE CHURCH - THE WAY YOU LIVE MATTERS!

YOU PERSONAL LIVES MUST AT SOME POINT REFLECT THE CHANGE THAT HAPPENED IN YOUR LIFE:

Truth: WHATS HAPPENED ON THE INSIDE, WILL BECOME VISIBLE ON THE OUTSIDE

This is why the CHURCH exploded at Corinth.... Because it was a GODLESS place. But had many idols. It was Full of Immorality and Sexual living outside of marriage and without a second thought. It was full of immorality: it was known for promiscuous living & INDULGING THE FLESH.

1 Cor 6:16 “Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.””

prosititution was rife in Corinth. And PAUL HAD TO CLEARLY DEFINE WHAT SEXUAL immorality was, so that there would be NO WAY anyone could get it wrong -it was CLEARLY laid out.

(chapter 7)THIS IS CLEAR BIBLICAL TEACHING ON THE POWER OF HOW WE LIVE LIVES WITH BODIES & OUR SEXUAL NATURE:..... INSIDE THE CONFINES OF THE COVENANT OF MARRIAGE: PAUL SAYS OUTSIDE OF THIS IS THE WRONG WAY, CHANGE YORU WAYS!

HOW YOU TREAT AND TAKE CARE OF OWN BODY MATTERS: AND IT MATTERS TO GOD HIMSELF! BECAUSE HE GAVE IT TO YOU

He uses the town itself and some of the things there to develop his teaching so there would be NO WAY the corinthians wouldnt understand what he was talking bout:

Why? There was a temple in Corinth, a well known one

1 Cor 6:18-20 “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

CORINTH HAD THE TEMPLE OF APHROPDITE: which was an attraction point for wandering people, especialy sailors and ex soliders with money - but also freed men and women.....

it was written about as having 1000 prostitutes there:

Paul used this as an illustration of the temple being our own bodies given over to not a God - BUT THE GOD.

1 Corinthians 6 (The Message)

13 You know the old saying, “First you eat to live, and then you live to eat”? Well, it may be true that the body is only a temporary thing, but that’s no excuse for stuffing your body with food, or indulging it with sex. Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him with your body!

14 God honored the Master’s body by raising it from the grave. He’ll treat yours with the same resurrection power. 15 Until that time, remember that your bodies are created with the same dignity as the Master’s body. You wouldn’t take the Master’s body off to a whorehouse, would you? I should hope not.

16 There’s more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, “The two become one.” 17 Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever—the kind of sex that can never “become one.” 18 There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for “becoming one” with another. 19 Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. 20 God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.

WHAT WE BELIEVE ON THE INSIDE WILL BE REFLECTED ON THE OUTSIDE - AND PAUL IS TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND

ITS NOT ABOUT WHOS EATING WHAT - HONOR GOD

ITS NOT ABOUT MISSING OUT ON A PROMISCOUS LIFE - REMEMBER YOU HAVE FOLLOWED HIM NOW SO YOU

ITS NOT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO - ITS BECAUSE OF JESUS, YOU’LL WANT TO.

2.ITS NOT ABOUT ME, ITS ABOUT HIM.

PAUL WILL LOVINGLY LIKE A FATHER MEET THE QUESTIONS< THE PROBLEMS< THE ISSUES LIKE A FATHER. HE WAS AN APOSTLE, HE WAS A THEIR PASTOR - HE LOVED THEM.

But he says:

1 Cor 1:11-13 “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?”

Then again in cghapter 3

1 Cor 3:5-9 “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.”

GOD is the one who brings the increase, not me - not apollos.

ITS NOT ABOUT ME GUYS

ITS NOT ABOUT APOLLOS

ITS NOT ABOUT A MAN

ITS ABOUT GOD

Its not even about my leadership or apostleship (2nd Letter) // Where Paul vigorously defends his apostle ship, his love and care for this church

HE SAYS GUYS - YOUR MISSING IT!!!

Its about GOD and the main deal here is that God is the one who brings about the increase, the good work, the

GOD IS STILL TEACHING THE CHURCH THIS RIGHT NOW - THROUGH THESE LETTERS:

A WORD ABOUT YOUR PASTORS.

Jill and i we love you

and we hope that you will love us - that would be nice.

It would even be nice if you appreciate what we do!!!

it would be nice if you appreciate what Jeremy and Katie and our whole staff & team does...

but you know whats MORE important to us?

That you love, you notice and you appreciate GOD.

Hes the one that MUST be FIRST

and any GOOD pastor worth their SALT will BE MORE INTERESTED in their CHURCH being all about GOD then THEM!

You cant PLEASE GOD AND MAN. You cant have two masters

But LETS NEVER MAKE IT ABOUT A MAN.

(or a woman… or Jills singing or my LACK OF ELOQUENT PREACHING)

lets UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS ALL GOD WORKING THROUGH HIS PEOPLE!

I wanna be like PAUL

SAYING TO EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO WALKS IN THE DOORS OF COLONIAL CHURCH THIS IS A HOUSE NOT BUILT ON MATT & JILL - NOT ON BOB - NOT ON ANYTHING BUT JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF!.... THIS IS A HOUSE DEVOTED TO FOLLOWING AND WORSHIPPING AND DECLARING THE NAME THAT IS ABOVE EVERY OTHER NAME: JESUS CHRIST!

3.ORDER IS IMPORTANT, AND SO IS LOVE.

people were caught up in sin - someone is sleeping with another member of their own family

people were suing each other - Lawsuits were happening

There was INFIGHTING,

There was DISORDER....

PAUL ATTEMPTS TO, AS A LOVING FATHER, to BRING UNITY and ORDER THROUGH LOVE to the church.

1 Corinthians 4 (ESV)

14 I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me. 17 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.

PAUL WILL TELL HIS BELOVED CHURCH IN CORINTH: DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

]DO WHAT YOU SHOULD DO THE RIGHT WAY

BUT THE VERY BEST WAY IS LOVE!

1 Corinthians 13:1-7 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

THE VERY BEST WAY TO BUILD THE CHURCH IS THE BUILD IT IN LOVE.

We are ALL Called to SPIRITUAL maturity and to HELP each other bring it about in a way that is LOVING, and GRACIOUS and ENCOURAGING,

THATS THE EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS!

IF THERES NO LOVE IN THE HOUSE. THEN GOD ISNT HERE

1 John 4:8 “8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

NOTES

this is the part where we pick up 2nd corinthians.

The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language 2 Corinthians

The Corinthian Christians gave their founding pastor, Paul, more trouble than all his other churches put together. No sooner did Paul get one problem straightened out in Corinth than three more appeared.

For anyone operating under the naive presumption that joining a Christian church is a good way to meet all the best people and cultivate smooth social relations, a reading of Paul’s Corinthian correspondence is the prescribed cure. But however much trouble the Corinthians were to each other and to Paul, they prove to be a cornucopia of blessings to us, for they triggered some of Paul’s most profound and vigorous writing.

The provocation for Paul’s second letter to the Christians in Corinth was an attack on his leadership. In his first letter, though he wrote most kindly and sympathetically, he didn’t mince words. He wrote with the confident authority of a pastor who understands the ways God’s salvation works and the kind of community that comes into being as a result. At least some of what he wrote to them was hard to hear and hard to take.

So they bucked his authority—accused him of inconsistencies, impugned his motives, questioned his credentials. They didn’t argue with what he had written; they simply denied his right to tell them what to do.

And so Paul was forced to defend his leadership. After mopping up a few details left over from the first letter, he confronted the challenge, and in the process probed the very nature of leadership in a community of believers.

Because leadership is necessarily an exercise of authority, it easily shifts into an exercise of power. But the minute it does that, it begins to inflict damage on both the leader and the led. Paul, studying Jesus, had learned a kind of leadership in which he managed to stay out of the way so that the others could deal with God without having to go through him. All who are called to exercise leadership in whatever capacity—parent or coach, pastor or president, teacher or manager—can be grateful to Paul for this letter, and to the Corinthians for provoking it.

NOTES:

Corinth was a notorious port town located on a peninsula which meant that it was strategically located between the North Mediterranean and South and instead of GOING Around the HEADLAND or POINT so to speak - it was easier to DOCK on either side of the peninsula and move your goods from one side to the other making this a strategic location for a town.

Paul also knew this & many scholars believe it was Paul knowing the potential influence that Corinth could have decided to plant churches there. Paul was a strategic missionary - he understood this stuff so he was able to think about how this could be an amazing HOTSPOT & connection POINT for the church to be located.

It wasn’t without its problems though. The city blew up in the 100 years before Paul’s writing so it was a fairly new place

people were coming in and developing it up. It was exploding with people. It rebounded hard with ex soldiers and slaves who became freedmen.

marine trade / supporting businesses to grow

TEMPLE OF APHRODITE. Serviced by 1000 Prostititues.

there are slaves who never had freedom and never had money - So now they can do whatever they want and they have nothing to worry about anything except making rich!

There was no aristocracy/ it was too young for that.

WHATS PAUL WRITING FOR: A CHURCH IN NEED OF ORDER AND SOUND DOCTRINE.

Theme is CHURCH ORDER: Dealing with some problems in the church. Whenever something is new, things have to be ironed out, order needs to come - it takes time. a Child growing is a slow process. as maturity comes things come into order.

Paul as a father is aRAISING a child in the Church

Body -44

Spirit - 41

Wisdom -31

Toungue - 22

Really the topics are so diverse because th rpoblems are all over the place. He had to start somewhere but he MAKES it ALL WORK but theological issues everywhere but there is a bueaitful ORDER that comes through it all.

Key Verses:

Why order? LOVE

1 Corinthians 13:1–13 ESV

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

2 Corinthians Key verses:

2 Cor 4:7 “7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

2 Cor 5:21 “21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

2 Cor 6:2 “2 For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”