READING 1CORINTHIANS, CHAPTER 1

Friday, October 13, 2023

 INTRODUCING 1 CORINTHIANS, CHAPTER 1 

First Corinthians begins Paul's letter to the Christians in Corinth, a big, bustling city on a major trade route. Paul knows them well, having spent a year and a half leading people to Christ and establishing the church there. He writes from Ephesus to correct some of their wrong attitudes and behaviors and to answer some of their questions. First, though, he thanks God for His grace to the Corinthians, knowing they will stand blameless before Him on the day of the Lord. Still, they must stop being divided and unite in and around Christ. (https://www.bibleref.com/Romans/2/Romans-chapter-2.html)

1)Greetings & Thanksgiving, Verses 1-9, JEANNIE

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. 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.

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What do you think verse 5 means?

2. How can we be blameless on the day Christ returns? (V.7-8)

Thought Questions:

1. What were the components of the blessing Paul spoke over the Church in Corinth in this section?

2) A Church Divided Over Leaders, Verses 10-17, DESTINY

¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,^[a] 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^[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.” ¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in 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 in 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.

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What is the first problem being identified in the Corinthian church and what was Paul asking the church to do? (V.10)

2. What is causing the division? (V.11-12)

2. What does Paul mean by what is being said in verse 13?

3. What was Paul's mission? (V.17)

Thought Questions:

1. What are examples of this type of division which are apparent in the Christian church today?

3) Christ Crucified Is God's Power & Wisdom Verses 18-31, MRS. ELNORA

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” ²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. ²⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What is the message of the cross to Believers? (V.18)

2. What did God make the wisdom of the world? (V.20)

3. Why was the preaching of Christ crucified a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles? (V.22-23)

4. Review this verse 25.

5. Why did God choose the lowly and despised things of this world to nullify the things that are? (V.28-29)

Thought Questions:

1. How would you explain verse 21? "in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God...?"

2. Why do you think is Christ identified as a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks?

3. Verse 27 says "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;" What are some examples of the "foolish things of God? (Gideon fighting Midian with 300 men, Joshua and the battle of Jericho, etc.)

4. What are the things that are not in verse 28?

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A Prayer Confession for 1Corinthians, Chapter 1: 

Father God, we confess that we could not draw another breath without Your strength. Thank You that You have covered us with the robe of Christ's righteousness, for His name's sake, and have promised to keep and sustain us through every season of my life, until we stand in His presence and are presented to You as blameless. Enable us to finish the work You have given us to do, for Your praise and glory. Heavenly Father, forgive the times when we have allowed foolish pride or a careless attitude to cause disunity to fester within our hearts towards our brothers and sisters in Christ. May we be of one heart and mind with other believers, knowing that we are all one in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the Scriptures and the many lessons we can learn from Paul's corrective teachings in his various epistles. we pray that the Body of Christ may become increasingly united in these difficult and dangerous days in which we live. Help us to hold fast to the truth of the glorious gospel, and may we all be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in our churches and in our fellowship together, for Jesus' name's sake. 

Heavenly Father, thank You that in Your goodness and grace, You opened our understanding to the glorious gospel of God and brought us into Your family, by grace through faith in the simple message of the Cross. Use us, we pray, to be channels of blessings to others who are still in darkness. We pray that the stumbling block for many in Israel would be removed and that those who have rejected the gospel because of arrogance, pride, self-confidence, and self-sanctification, would have the eyes of their heart opened to see that Christ crucified as their only hope. In Jesus' name we pray, AMEN.

Source: https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/1-Corinthians