Today’s passage: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Helpful thoughts:

• There is a time to feed the people of God spiritual milk and then, as they grow, move on to solid food.
  • Paul informs the church at Corinth they are not yet ready for solid food.
• The immaturity of the people was not evidenced in their ability (Or lack thereof) to articulate biblical concepts, but in their tendency toward jealousy and strife.
  • Maturity is not equal to a large theological vocabulary.
  • Maturity is equal to growth in Christ-likeness.  Joyful obedience and spiritual fruit.
• As an example, Paul reminds the church that he is nothing, only a servant.  He and Apollos were not competing with one another for attention or acclaim.  They were serving their Lord by sewing seed in the field (Verses 5-9).

Questions to consider:

1. What would be the response of a member of the church at Corinth if they were humbly receiving this information from Paul?  What if they were being prideful?  If a person refuses milk when they still need it, when will they become ready for solid food?  How could they even discern what solid food actually is?
2. What types of biblical concepts and truths would you consider to be “solid food?”  What truths are “milk?”  How would Paul’s example of immaturity in verse 3 help us to define those differently than what we might expect?
3. Who is the giver of growth (Verses 6-7)?  How should this truth affect our prayer?  How should this truth affect our view of other people?  How should this truth affect how and what we teach and preach?

Today’s passage: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Helpful thoughts:

• Those who were prone to be enamored with the celebrity and gifting of Paul were considered, “immature.”  Those who were ready to dig deep into God’s word and be more impressed by God than by Paul were considered, “mature.”
• We are able to understand the Word of God and how it applies to our lives today because the Spirit of God is in us!  God Himself, who knows exactly what He has been doing throughout the history He created and shaped, is in us, giving us understanding and relationship with Him.
• People who do not have God (Who are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit), do not understand.  The work of the Spirit is required to bring life (And therefore, understanding) to a new believer (John 3:6-8).

Questions to consider:

1. What are the implications of verse 8?  What had to be true in order for Jesus to be crucified and die in our place?  How does this bring into account what we read in Romans 9:21?  In what way is Paul an example of a man who was used by God to scatter the church (Thereby fanning the flame of the spread of the gospel – Acts 8:1-4) but then also being converted and spreading the gospel willingly?
2. Why isn’t intelligence a substitute for spiritual maturity?  What does a person need if they are going to understand the Word of God, believe, and grow?
3. Unless the Spirit of God intervenes, what will anyone you share the gospel with think about it and about you (Verse 14)?  In whom MUST you place your confidence when you share the gospel with them and hope for fruit?

Today’s passage: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Helpful thoughts:

• The Greeks loved rhetoric.  The art of making a case and speaking intelligently, presenting an argument was highly sought after and respected.
  • Because this was true, Paul purposefully kept his presentation of the gospel simple and to the point.
• As tempting as it might have been for Paul to gain a following, Paul could be nobody’s savior.  They didn’t need Paul!  They needed Paul to point them to Jesus!
• Power does not proceed from eloquence.  The Spirit of God does not need fluidity of speech to supplement His strength.
  • God is the possessor and creator of all power.
  • Therefore, the simple proclamation of the gospel conveys the power of God.

Questions to consider:

1. What is the gospel?  How does the gospel reveal the power of God (Romans 1:16-17)?
2. If the gospel reveals the power of God, if proclaiming the gospel demonstrates God’s power, what wrong thinking causes us to fear other people’s responses?  Can the response of man ever overwhelm the power of God?
3. Who would you like to share the gospel with next?

Today’s passage: 1 Corinthians 1:18-30

Helpful thoughts:

• The power of God is communicated to the people of God when the gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed.
• Paul calls on the members of this church to remember who they were in society (In the world’s eyes) when they became Christians.
  • God did not value them more highly (Or lowly) because of their social status.  We have no reason to be respecters of persons in the church.
• We have no reason to boast in ourselves or on any man.  We have every reason to boast in the Lord.

Questions to consider:

1. Why would the crucifixion of Jesus look so foolish and weak in the world’s eyes?  What kind of leader and champion would they be looking for?
2. Why is the crucifixion of Jesus so wonderful and powerful?  What was accomplished at the cross?
3. In keeping with the “solas” of the reformation:  Our salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to the Scriptures alone, to the glory of God alone.  How does the Gospel message level the playing field for all people and their “prospects” of being saved?  Why can we confidently share the Gospel with anyone and everyone?  How does the Gospel message resound to the praise of our Lord alone?

 

Today’s passage: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Helpful thoughts:

• Because Paul was fearing God and not man (Not scared of what people would think of him), he was able to say some things in these verses:
  • The church was to agree and share the mind of Christ for God’s sake…not to save Paul’s church planting reputation.
  • He named Chloe’s people as the ones who alerted him.  There was no need for secrets (e.g. “People have been saying lately that…”)
  • If people started saying, “I follow Christ” more, they would say, “I follow Paul” less.  This is a good thing.
  • He was able to adamantly declare the lack of power in his speaking skills in contrast to the massive power in the truth of the Gospel message!
• Baptism does not save people.  But, saved people get baptized.
  • Paul was glad that others had done the baptizing so that the ministry could be spread among other servants.  It wasn’t about him!

Questions to consider:

1. What are the dangers of a ministry leader desiring the adulation of people more than desiring the glory of God in their church/ministry?  What are the dangers of Christians idolizing a communicator of the truth instead of worshiping the Author of the truth?
2. In what ways can the fear of man show up and cause division or stunt growth in the church today?  If a pastor was writing this kind of letter to a church in our culture today, how might it have been worded?  How can these things distract us from our mission?
3. What might Chloe have felt when her name was read out loud in front of the church?  Why should she NOT have been concerned about it?  What did her willingness to stick her neck out and be identified do for the church in Corinth and the rest of the church throughout history?

Today’s passage: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9

Helpful thoughts:

• Paul introduces some of the content this letter will cover:
  • Speech (Verse 5)
  • Knowledge (Verse 5)
  • Spiritual Gifts (Verse 7)
    • Speech, knowledge and gifts were utilized by God’s grace to win these people to Christ.
    • Speech, knowledge and gifts were given by God’s grace to these new believers to carry on the mission.
• Our faithful God promises to sustain His people to the very end.
• Our merciful God promises to count us guiltless at the judgment.

Questions to consider:

1. How has God used the gifting of speech and knowledge in others to bless you with knowledge to know Christ and His Word?  Why is it right to acknowledge God as the one who gifted those people, and us, with these blessings?
2. Though the people in the church in Corinth had been “enriched,” who is the One who appears to be doing all the heavy lifting in these verses (And into eternity)?
3. How was the grace of God given to us “in Christ?”  What was the cost (To Him) of God’s grace so that we could receive that grace and salvation freely?  How does this knowledge reorient our view of what we live for, who the church is for, etc.?

Today’s passage: 1 Corinthians 1:1-3

Helpful thoughts:

• Paul wrote this letter to the church at Corinth from Ephesus around A.D. 53-55.
  • Corinth was a Roman colony which contained much idolatry, business, and entertainment.  The people of the city were highly interested in promoting themselves: their quality of life and social status.
  • Paul (Among other believers) had spent 18 months in the city in the early 50s planting and establishing the church there.
• Paul was called to be an apostle.  He did not choose this for himself.  God chose him (Acts 9:1-9).
  • An apostle is a man who saw the resurrected Christ and was chosen by Him to go and establish the church.  They were given the authority to speak and to write the Word of God.
    • Paul was the final apostle chosen by Christ (1 Corinthians 15:8-9).  Therefore, anyone who calls themselves an apostle today should be considered dangerous to the faith and avoided.
• The members of the church at Corinth were also to see themselves as called by God from out of the world.  They were one church among many all over the world who are the people of God.
  • They had not become Christians because they had a higher level of awareness or intelligence than other people.
  • Of all the churches in the world, theirs was not superior compared to the rest.

Questions to consider:

1. To whom did the church at Corinth belong (Verse 2)?  By whose grace did it come into existence (Verse 3)?  By whose will did each individual in the church become a member (Even Paul – Verses 1 & 2)?  How should we also see ourselves as individual Christians and as a part of our church (And THE Church)?
2. In what ways can we already see Paul working to shape the church’s thinking away from the self-help and personal promotion culture they had been saved out of?  How might we describe the self-help and personal promotion mindset with the activities of our own culture?  In what ways is the description of the city of Corinth strikingly similar to where we live today?
3. In a culture infatuated with “self,” how is peace defined?  When is a person described as “at peace” in our culture today?  What peace did God bring through the shed blood of Jesus Christ?  Why does peace with God require grace from Him as opposed to personal reflective thinking?