1 Corinthians 1 (TNIV)
Posted by plantedtrees on July 13, 2007
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
A Church Divided Over Leaders
10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas [a]“; still another, “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into [b] the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
anakainosis said
v.2: those sanctified in Christ and called to be his holy people. we’re made holy, and called to BE holy. together with all who call upon the name of the Lord… is that a separate population? no, but it’s a different identity for the same people, i think. “all who call upon the name of the Lord” is supposedly a really specific phrase, something that resounds throughout Jewish literature and is written across the Old Testament. i don’t know enough to provide a full story, but i know this: i want to be part of those countless generations of people who called upon the name of the Lord.
v. 4-6: Christ is proving Himself and the worthiness of putting faith in Him by the way He is blessing people and equipping them (and actually, who He chose). Paul is exhorting them to prove their faith by showing the gifts that come from the Lord who owns the faith.
v. 7-9: asking for spiritual gifts, therefore, is NOT a non sequitur. it’s asking for God to continue to prove His faithfulness, the fact that He invests into the people who choose Him as their Lord.
v. 10-16: i think there was a cultural element here too. i think that Jewish culture had it so that people associated themselves with a certain teacher, like gangsters. Paul here is saying that CHRIST is the head, not any person, and the baptism did not come from any of the teachers (i.e. they never had the power to purify anyone from sin), but from Christ and His Holy Spirit.
v. 17: wow! NOT preach the gospel with wisdom and eloquence? this is really powerful. i mean, WOW. compared to today’s era that is so focused on gospel presentation methodology and evangelism strategy, the greatest missionary in the history of the Church is humble to the power of the gospel. this, just after he talks about how gifts are the evidence of a faithful God.
this guy really understands how God works: in the unexpected, humble ways that are focused on HIM, not distracted by how good a speaker the one delivering the message is.
i’m going to apply this to myself. may i not be a distraction by trying to be eloquent or come off as really wise all the time, but simply sing out an old message of good news.
jlimgarfield said
new format, will give this a try..
v.1 “called… by the will of God”
a topic of much debate out here: is there such a thing a unique “will of God” for each individual Christian beyond a generalized plan for the entire Body of Christ? Many have a psuedo-Deist view of this question but I personally disagree with them. I do believe that God does work individually in each of our lives uniquely so that we can be used for a greater purpose in His plan, and that He gives each one of us unique individual gifts and strengths to this end.
v.7 God enables us to participate in His spiritual work
v.10-17 If I remember correctly, the church in Corinth was a previous church plant of Paul’s during one of his missionary trips. after he had left for other destinations, the believers split into various factions for various reasons (egos, ambition, ulterior motives, etc) and resulted in disunity among the believers there.
v.10 “be perfectly united in mind and thought” – this isn’t unity just for the sake of being united. this is about a collective single focus in heart and mind towards Christ
Is my local church “united in mind and thought”? Or is everyone so spiritually disjointed in that the church fails to be an effective body of believers and is unable to grow spiritually and be used in the communities for His glory? I remember the saying, “Revival starts right here, first with me”. Am I growing and constantly being filled with the Spirit in a way that encourages others to grow and be filled with the Spirit? How am I a spiritual encouragement and blessing to my own church?
v.17 “not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power”
an interesting line. It appears that Paul refrains from depending on himself (his oratory skills) and depends on God instead during his preaching. rather than trying to use his own skills and effort to move people with preaching, he lets God speak through him to let Him move the people’s hearts.
reminds me of a clip that I saw during one of the Hillsong United concerts, and Darlene Zschech was talking with the band right before the stage. she basically shared with them that God had given them all great musical talents, but now was the time to “surrender” those talents and not depend on them during the worship hour so that the Holy Spirit would be free to move through the band and minister to the people. wow. and I’ve certainly found the Hillsong music ministry to be quite powerful indeed.
am I learning to depend on God daily in my ministry to others? or am I constantly trying to depend on my own efforts or meager skills to produce results? Let go and let God…
yoober said
v.2 We are a holy people because of Christ and that is one of the callings that God gives us. The interesting thing is that this is not an individual task, but a collective work as Paul mentions, “together with all those who call on the name of Jesus.” Holiness is pursued in the midst of community. The community aspect is really apparent in Japan. The community is more prized than individuality.
v.5 What does it mean to be enriched in every way? Surely Paul is not talking about material riches or good health. This may be true in a limited sense, but I think Paul is talking about how Christ’s work manifests in our lives through the renewing of our minds and what we talk about with others.
v.7 The mentioning of spiritual gifts may address one of the issues in the letter as people were comparing their gifts.
v.8-9 God is the one who keeps us in following Christ. There are some amazing truths to ponder here if we feel our faith faltering at times.
v.10-13 It seems that the key to maintaining unity among the church is to keep the focus on Christ, not on personalities.
v.17 The message that the church is to broadcast is the good news. Not having to worry about whether I presented it in a persuasive manner, but sharing the message and allowing God to do the work of bringing people to Him.