1 Corinthians 1
July 27
Reading: 1 Corinthians 1
1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge-- 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you-- 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 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? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
18 For the word of the cross is folly 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,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
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, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
Paul wrote many letters, 13 of which are included in the New Testament. Of these, some are mostly theological, and others are largely situational. 1 Corinthians is the most situational of all of Paul’s letters, meaning that he is writing to address situations, problems, and conflicts that have arisen in the Corinthian church.
Corinth was a city in Achaia, southern Greece, and it was a major trade center. It was also a center for the worship of the Greek gods and filled with all kinds of immorality, prostitution, and pagan sorcery. We find in Paul’s letter of 1 Corinthians that these practices had infected the church.
Paul begins with his usual greeting and thanksgiving for those to whom he is writing. (vss. 1-9) In so doing he reminds his readers that they are “those who have been made holy in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together…” (vs. 2) In these opening verses he reminds them of what is true about them in Christ. Then he gets right to exhortation and rebuke.
The first issue that he addresses is their disunity. These people have a problem called arrogance. They are divided into factions and are fighting with one another. (vss. 10-17) This is tempting, even for us today. We like to be right and when we fight against others, even in the body of Christ, we can make ourselves feel very right indeed. But we are wrong. We are wrong because we are not obeying Christ by seeking agreement with our brothers and sisters in His family. (vs. 10)
Paul then reminds them of the central truth that we are to agree upon and around, “the word of the Cross.” (vs. 18) This gospel truth, that Jesus died on the Cross for our sins according to the Scriptures, is foolishness to all those who do not believe, but it is the wisdom of God for those who are called by God. (vss. 18-25)
Why does God set things up this way? Why is the truth like this? It is so that each of us will seek God in proper humility and not think too highly of ourselves. The gospel truth is meant to humble us and force us to boast only in the Lord. (vss. 26-31)