Chuck Smith points to a grammatical construction that would be different if this trumpet were the trumpet of Revelation 11. iii. Third, hold this world with a loose hand. This should make us steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord! Paul praises God for their positives, and expresses confidence that God will take care of their weak points, and, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, i. ii. . II. This is not to say the other apostles were lazy (although some of them may have been), but that Paul was an exceptionally hard worker. Paul will not allow this. Understanding the tension between the, Those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called, : Paul continued his description of the Corinthian Christians. ? Because it was becoming a divisive issue, Paul was therefore grateful that he had not baptized very many in Corinth (lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name). At these meetings He ate with them, comforted them, commanded them to preach the gospel, and told them to wait in Jerusalem for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit after His ascension. : A resurrected body is not a resuscitated corpse. Whether there are degrees of glory, as it seems probable, so we shall certainly know, when we come to heaven. (Trapp). We are no longer subject to the penalty of the law (death), and we are set free from sin. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. Jesus gave him the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and hes our man. Paul uses this exact phrase five other times in the New Testament. g. So this corruptible must put on incorruption: Resurrection is a must for the Christians destiny. The doctrine of Christ's death and resurrection, is the foundation of Christianity. This may seem like a small distinction to us, but it must be an important distinction to God. This isnt the gathering of the world, but, iv. ii. It was founded on a promise of God, when He said for I have many people in this city (Acts 18:10). b. It is a mysterious passage, and there have been more than thirty different attempts to interpret it. Finally, have all your affairs in order so that you are ready to die. Even more foolish than dividing Jesus is to center parties in the church around men. Our resurrection body will be a heavenly (celestial) body, suited for life in heaven, not only life on this earth. i. Paul doesnt only consider believers in Corinth to be. But God cannot be found through human wisdom, but only through the message of the cross. Everything good the Corinthian Christians have from God has come to them by grace. These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God: Paul is not saying, material things cannot inherit the kingdom of God, because Jesus resurrection body was a material body. This previous letter is lost. But all that is temporary. d. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory: Some take this to mean there will be different degrees of glory for believers in heaven. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. d. Those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved: The verb tenses of are perishing and are being saved are significant. We write a letter by saying who the letter is to first, and we conclude with writing who the letter is from. i. righteousness and sanctification and redemption, . So, preaching a high moral standard is not preaching the gospel, preaching the universal fatherhood of God is not preaching the gospel, and preaching the universal brotherhood of man is not preaching the gospel. Finally, one could only read, , and the church also just became another social gathering place, all about, To the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, ; perhaps this is better understood as an, . ii. We write a letter by saying who the letter is. There is nothing more uncomely, unlovely, and loathsome than a dead body; but it will not be so when it shall be raised again, then it shall be a beautiful, comely body. The plain fact is that Paul did not know when these events would take place, and nowhere does he claim to know. Pauls third proof for the resurrection in this section is also compelling. Death has no power over the person found in Jesus Christ. These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. The Corinthian Christians are, , but this was not based on the outward performance of the Corinthians. Ironside says that the last trumpet was a figure of speech that came from the Roman military, when they broke camp. c. The world through wisdom did not know God: There is a constant tendency to think that the smartest and wisest humans will know the most about God. Specifically, they wanted the sign of a miraculous Messianic deliverance. The Greeks regarded Christ crucified as foolishness. a. Therefore be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord: Because we know death is defeated and we have an eternal, resurrected destiny with Jesus Christ, we should stand firm and unshakable all the more for Him right now. They are shown to have, at times, morality problems, doctrine problems, church government problems, spiritual gift problems, church service problems, and authority problems. i. Of the apostle's doctrine not a trace can be found in all the teaching of philosophers. Paul says, Go ask these people who saw the resurrected Jesus. They were not the spiritual achievements of the Corinthians, but the work of the grace of God in them. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. The Corinthians were, ii. Which is at Corinth: Corinth was one of the great cities of the ancient world, and a community very much like Southern California. Jesus does not belong to any one party. These cliques ignore the truth of unity over all diversity in the church, even if they were all in the name of spirituality. Jesus is both their Lord and our Lord, and because they share a common Lord, they share an essential unity. Paul will often (more than 17 times in the letter) refer to Jesus as. ? Verse 1 Corinthians 15:3. You see that the mark of a child of God is that by the grace of God he is what he is; what do, His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, : Though grace made Paul what he was, Paul still, i. 2018 David Guzik No distribution beyond personal use without permission. body, suited for life in heaven, not only life on this earth. Everything good the Corinthian Christians have from God has come to them by. First Corinthians 15 is a great way to open discussions about the historical shape of early Christian confession and faith. c. To put to shame the wise: This explains part of the pleasure of God described in 1 Corinthians 1:21. a. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It was bad enough that these associations had affected their thinking on an important matter like the resurrection, but this evil company could corrupt far more. It was bad enough that these associations had affected their thinking on an important matter like the resurrection, but this. ii. . The growth of the ivy, covering the message, showed the spiritual decline. It was founded on a promise of God, when He said, : In his first few words, Paul lays the foundation for a fundamental issue he will address in this letter: Christian unity, based on the common Lordship of Jesus Christ. ii. Famous athletic contests known as the Isthmian Games second only to the Olympian Games were held at the temple of Poseidon in Corinth every two years. He is describing them as they appear to the perishing man, the wise man of this age. For some, this would just be spiritual sounding talk, which showed more pride than humility. figuratively, in reference to his violent and wild human opponents (as he faced at Ephesus in Acts 19:21-41). They were, is mere flattery, Pauls way of preparing them for coming rebuke. b. 1 Corinthians 1:14-17 INTRODUCTION 1. All flesh is not the same flesh explains why animals do not rise in the resurrection. It is one thing to prefer one minister to another, but we cannot divide into cliques behind one minister or another. Click to enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie. Their idolatry was to conceive of God as ultimate Reason, meaning of course what we deem to be reasonable. (Fee). Before that he served as director and teacher at Calvary Chapel Bible College, Germany, following more than 20 years of pastoral ministry. a. This isnt the gathering of the world, but of God. Were the ones really right with God!, vi. They were not the spiritual achievements of the Corinthians, but the work of the. i. Jesus plainly spoke of both, i. When Paul looked at the Corinthian church, he could say: These people proclaim Jesus, they know about Jesus, there are the supernatural gifts of God among them, and they are excited about Jesus return. Whatever problems they had, these are some pretty impressive strong points. Crucified meant weakness, defeat, and humiliation. See passages such as Numbers 16:3, Numbers 20:4, Deuteronomy 23:1, and 1 Chronicles 28:8. was a secular term (referring to the gatherings of the citizenry in a city-state to discuss and decide on matters of public interest [Mare]), Paul calls the gathering of Christians in Corinth, . ii. i. Barclay on joined together: A medical word used of knitting together bones that have been fractured, or joining together a joint that has been dislocated. , Paul may mean that he did not have a three-year gestation period as the other apostles; he came on the scene suddenly. : At the outset of the letter indeed, the very first few words Paul fearlessly declares his apostolic credentials. The good news or euangelion, rests on just such a confession which Paul first proclaimed at Corinth and by which they were in the process of being . Knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord: Even if your labor is vain to everyone else, and everyone else discounts or doesnt appreciate what you do for the Lord, your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Encouraging and getting others to study, believe, and rely on God to be real. 1. Conceivably, if Paul had not worked as hard as he did, the grace of God would still have been given to him, but in some measure it would be given. : Its hard to understand what our resurrection bodies will be like, so Paul will use, Raised in incorruption raised in glory raised in power. He speaks of utterance and knowledge. The Lord Jesus Christ: Paul will often (more than 17 times in the letter) refer to Jesus as the Lord Jesus Christ; it is well to recall what the title means. (10) Initial plea: dont be torn apart, but joined. There is no real, resurrected Jesus whom they serve. And so it is written, The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam, , gave us one kind of body. how God's power is perfected in our weakness. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, it (and not from man, but from Jesus Christ, according to Galatians 1:11-12), and Paul. For I delivered unto you first of all . Were the ones really right with God!, : There was the Apollos Party, who declared We are following in the footsteps of a man who is great in power and spiritual gifts, and an impressive man. Yes, but only broken that it may be re-formed. Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits. Where did the Corinthian Christians get their strange ideas about the resurrection, ideas Paul spent this chapter trying to correct? Paul doesnt only consider believers in Corinth to be the church of God. Jesus work for us didnt just come out of thin air; it was planned from all eternity and described prophetically in the, iv. Many Christians struggle at this very point. 3. I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. They could not have known this unless God revealed it to them. iii. No. Paul uses this exact phrase five other times in the New Testament. In the ancient culture of Paul, a letter began with writing who the letter is from, and then stating who the letter is to. c. To us who are being saved it is the power of God: Though it is a strange message, and regarded as foolish by the perishing, to those who trust in it and are being saved, this message of the cross becomes to them the actual power of God. i. Verse 1. "Love is patient, love is kind" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) is a favorite Bible verse about love.It is used often in Christian wedding ceremonies.In this famous passage, the Apostle Paul describes 15 characteristics of love to the believers in the church at Corinth.With deep concern for the unity of the church, Paul focuses on various aspects of love between brothers and sisters in the body of . c. He who glories, let him glory in the LORD: Paul uses this reference to Jeremiah 9:23-24 to show that God did it all this way so that God would get the glory.