“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, ‘He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS’; and again, ‘THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.’ So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.”

---End of Scripture verses---

Paul had described the church of Jesus Christ as God’s “building” in verse 9. Now he goes as far as to call it God’s “temple” (verse 16). There are two Greek words that are translated “temple”. The first is “hieron” and it refers to the entire (Jerusalem) temple complex with its various courts, porches and structures. The second word is “naos” which refers to the sacred inner sanctuary. “Naos” is the word that Paul uses here to describe the church. It is the “holy of holies” in which the “Spirit of God dwells.” Later in chapter 6 Paul will describe the physical body of the Christian as the temple of God. Here he is referring to the church (the body of Christ) as His temple.

“If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him” (verse 17). The people who were responsible for causing “divisions” (chapter 1 verse 10) within the body of Christ, were actually “defiling” or “destroying” the temple of God. This may have seemed like a harmless thing, but it incited the wrath of God. If anyone is brazen enough to “desecrate” God’s dwelling place, “God will destroy him.” All preachers and teachers must make certain that they are building on the right foundation (verse 11). Every individual must take care to follow Jesus Christ and His doctrine (2 John 1:9), and not the men who proclaim the message. And all must strive for unity within Christ’s church (God’s inner sanctuary).

“Let no man deceive himself” (verse 18). The kind of “worldly wisdom” that divides people into factions and keeps them distracted in frivolous pursuits is self-deception. Worldly wisdom and spiritual wisdom are like oil and water in Christ’s church. They simply don’t mix together. To be wise before God is to appear as fools to the worldly minded people. To be wise in the eyes of the world is to stand as a fool before God. CHOOSE WISELY! We can only impress people for a short while, but we will all soon stand before the Judgment seat of God who will determine our eternity! Beware of purely worldly philosophy and human innovation! There is no place for it in the church of Jesus Christ!

Please come worship HIM with is in spirit and in truth today at the Taylorsville Road church of Christ. 

We teach and practice the pure wisdom of God, and worship Him only in the ways that He sanctions.

3741 Taylorsville Road. 9:30 AM Bible class. 10:30 AM worship period. 5:00 PM worship period.

Please read 1 Corinthians 4:1-7 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day!

- Louie Taylor

“According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

---End of Scripture verses---

Okay so Paul identified the problem in verses 1-9: his Corinthian brethren in Christ were immature and “fleshly”. In verses 10-16 he informed them on how to fix the problem. We actually dealt with this some in yesterday’s write-up, but Paul tells them here to focus on the “foundation” (verse 11). The congregation in Corinth was started right. Paul laid the “firm foundation” of the truth and faith of Jesus Christ (verses 10-11). He did this is a “wise” or “master builder”. He was a very experienced worker in the kingdom of God, actually commissioned and inspired the Holy Spirit to preach truth with precision.

By the way, this passage shows us clearly that the Apostle Peter was not the “rock” that Jesus said He would build His church upon, as many people mistakenly claim that He said in Matthew 16:16-18. Paul wrote in verse 11 that “no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” If Peter was the foundational “rock” of the church then Paul would likely not have had a problem with some of the brethren there saying they were “of Cephas” (chapter 1 verse 12). But there is obviously only one foundation and that is the very One who died for the church and that cannot be divided (chapter 1 verse 13).

Since Paul built very skillfully upon the proper foundation, then he was not the source of the division that had taken place in the church in the city if Corinth. The problem was that other people were “building” upon the firm base that Paul had laid, and they were not being “careful” how they did it. In this instance they were building up the builders and choosing sides, instead of committing themselves to the only foundation and source that could build them up to maturity.

Paul changes imagery in verse 12 to the various types of materials that can be used for building. Gold, silver, and precious stones are superior materials, while wood, hay and straw are inferior. Wood is certainly a great building material, but not for withstanding fire, and that’s the point Paul is making in verse 12-15. When Jesus returns with His angels in “flaming fire” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8) on that great and final “day” (verse 13), the fire will test each “builder’s” work.

What this teaches us, I believe, is that the preachers and teachers of God’s word are responsible for how they live their lives and for the how they handle the word of truth. But they can be saved even if some of the people that they help convert are eventually lost (verse 15). The materials spoken of here obviously represent the quality of the people being taught and not the content of the message being taught. No preacher or teacher can possibly be saved if he doesn’t teach the truth (1 Timothy 3:15; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Peter 2:1-3).

So what are you made of? Gold? Silver? Precious stones? Or wood, hay, straw? If we receive, believe, love and practice the truth, then God will purify us by the fiery trials that we incur on earth. And He will spare us from the ultimate fiery retribution to be meted out on the Last Day upon “those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thessalonians 1:8).

Please read 1 Corinthians 3:16-23 for tomorrow.

Have a fantastic day!

- Louie Taylor

“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not mere men?

“What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.”

---End of Scripture verses---

Paul had wisdom to impart to the brethren in the church at Corinth, but they were just not ready for it. It was a wisdom for the mature (chapter 2 verse 6), and unfortunately these brethren were still “infants in Christ” (verse 1). They had been stuck in spiritual infancy since their conversion, and even worse, they were “still fleshly” (verse 3).

They were not quite as bad as “natural men” (1 Corinthians 2:14) because they had actually “spiritually appraised” the value of Christ and “the things of the Spirit of God.” But unfortunately, they were still “walking like mere men” (verse 3). Their manner of life was not following suit with their spiritual conversion.

The main source of the problem is that they were focused on the “servants” of the Lord and not on the Master (verse 5). They were aiming their devotion to Paul and Apollos, who were mere workers in the kingdom, and not to the King of kings and Lord of Lords. This misaimed devotion was causing “jealousy and strife” among the members of Christ (verse 3), and Jesus died to save and unify His body.

Because they were focusing on human beings and not on their Creator, they were not growing spiritually. The reason for this is that preachers and teachers of the Gospel “plant” and “water” the seed of the word into human hearts, but “it is God who causes the growth” (verse 7). No matter how skilled or devoted or beloved a human teacher is, God is the only source of faith, salvation and spiritual growth.

It is our responsibility to plant the seed and water the seed, and those are vitally important jobs. But we must remember that it is God who gave us the “word implanted” that transforms human hearts (James 1:21), and only a heart centered and focused upon God can garner the growth that only He can impart.

So, if we are stuck in spiritual neutral, we really just need to center our focus upon Christ again (or for the first time if necessary). What “fleshly” (verse 3) things are robbing our attention away from the spiritual pursuits that are the most important? Our job? Our hobbies? Sports? Recreation? Worries? People? Let’s focus on “serving the Lord” (verse 5), and not the worries of this world.

Please read 1 Corinthians 3:10-16 for tomorrow.

God bless your Friday!

- Louie Taylor

“For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.”

---End of Scripture reading---

You really never know what is going on inside another person’s mind unless they tell you what they are thinking. That is the implication that Paul is making when he says that no one can know “the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him” (verse 11). A person’s thoughts are his own internal possessions unless he decides to make them known to other people.

In the same way, no one can possibly know the thoughts or mind of God unless He chooses to express His will by purposeful revelation. Paul’s point is simply that God has chosen to reveal His will so that the people He created can know about Him, learn His desires for them, obey Him and draw close to Him. And God has chosen to declare His special revelation for mankind, directly through the Holy Spirit and directly to the Apostles of Jesus Christ (John 16:12-15).

This is what set the Apostle’s teaching apart from all the doctrines and philosophies of all other human beings. They spoke and wrote under the direct guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and with all the authority of Almighty God. Paul said that he and the other Apostles “have received…the Spirit who is from God,” so that they could “know the things freely given” to them by God (verse 12). Then they, in turn, freely “taught” this inspired revelation to the world by spoken and written “words” (verse 13).

Direct revelation from the Holy Spirit was specifically promised to the Apostles by Jesus (John chapters 14-16), and they received this unique promise of power and authority (Acts 1:8) on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts chapter 2. But, even though God no longer reveals His will to people directly and personally, we still have access to freely receive “the things of the Spirit of God” (verse 14) even today.

God recorded and preserves His will to us through the messages spoken and written by the men He inspired all those centuries ago. When we read and study our Bibles, and listen to truthful sermons and lessons from faithful preachers and teachers of God’s word, we can learn all the “thoughts of God” that He wants us to know. He guided the Apostles into “all the truth” (John 16:13), and they relayed this inspired truth through the written word, which has been preserved in the New Testament (2 Peter 1:3).

And listen…we can completely trust our Bibles when we read them (although some “versions” are actually “perversions”). Every spiritual “thought” and “word” recorded in its pages has been inspired by God (verse 13). Both the language and the content comprise God’s “verbal inspiration”. He has held nothing back from us but has “freely given” us all things necessary for salvation; “everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).

But, reader beware! “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God” (verse 14). The “natural man” is really the opposite of the “spiritual” person (1 Corinthians 3:1). He or she is a person given over to natural urges and impulses, influenced by human motives and emotions, and directed by purely human reasoning. In fact, the natural person “cannot understand them.” But it’s not that God won’t allow that person to understand. It’s just that God’s spiritual riches are “spiritually appraised” and therefore “foolishness” to such a fleshly-minded person.

Thank you all for your interest in all things spiritual, and your willingness to learn and receive “the mind of Christ” (verse 16)!

Please Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 for tomorrow.

Blessings!

- Louie Taylor

“And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, ‘THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.’”

---End of Scripture verses---

I must admit that I am impressed by clever speakers who really have a way with words and a mastery of the English language. I find it enjoyable and enriching when “wordsmiths” utilize creative wordplay and colorful illustrations, and preach the truth in ways that really stimulate my mind and bring the word to life. But the inspired Apostle makes it clear in today’s passage that it is the CONTENT of the message that is of ultimate importance and not the MANNER in which it is presented.

The manner in which Paul spoke was not with superior rhetoric and “impressive words” (verse 4), and the content was not worldly wisdom and human philosophy. Paul unashamedly proclaimed “the testimony of God” (verse 1). He related facts about Jesus and His sacrifice and His teaching that his audience needed to hear in order to make and keep their lives right with God. Don’t get me wrong. Paul was a master wordsmith himself and he often utilized his skills well (at least in his written discourse). But “superiority of speech” will never be enough to save our souls. We all need to hear and learn the plain, simple truth!

“For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (verse 2). When Paul was teaching in the city of Corinth, he wasn’t thinking about anything but Christ. His whole mind was all wrapped up in and consumed by one thought—Jesus! Certainly he told them about all the good things that Jesus did and taught, and how that He is our perfect example to follow. But he really honed in on the redeeming power of Christ’s sacrificial death. God loves the people He created so very much that He came to the Earth in the form of a human being for the very purpose of dying for them! Just let that sink in! Is it any wonder that Paul’s mind was fixated on the wonder of such incalculable love?!

It is very interesting that Paul simultaneously preached the word “in weakness and fear” (verse 3), and also “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (verse 4). Paul understood his own human frailty and the magnitude of the calling to help save immortal souls, so he did not speak with the arrogance of most human philosophers. At the same time, he was confident in God who empowered him to preach the truth under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and in demonstration of the apostolic authority endowed to him. Paul had a very good grasp of the weakness of his own flesh and the power of God’s Gospel (Romans 1:16).

Our faith must not “rest in the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (verse 5). Paul is not condemning true wisdom, only the so-called wisdom that is based upon fickle feelings and human speculation and childish self-will. There is power and prudence and safety, however, in God’s wisdom that produces spiritual maturity (verse 6). God has prepared more spiritual blessings that He wants to bestow upon us than we could ever possibly imagine (verse 9). They are all made available through the cross of Christ and the Gospel of salvation.

Please read 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 for tomorrow.

Hope you have a great day!

- Louie Taylor

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. it is written, ‘I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.’ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, ‘LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.’”

---End of Scripture verses---

Paul is arguing in this section that the Gospel is not just another human philosophy (verse 22). The message of a crucified Savior is utter foolishness to the world, so it only stands to reason that it didn’t originate from purely human, worldly wisdom or reasoning. Paul said that “not many wise,” in terms of worldly wisdom, are called by the Gospel, because it is just not something that is appealing to a purely secular worldview. Paul’s teaching is different in every way than that which originates from human reasoning. Paul did not come to them in “cleverness of speech” (verse 17), but with the power of “the word of the cross” of Christ Jesus (verse 18).

Christ’s death on the cross is the central theme of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 2:2). There would be absolutely no “Good News,” no redemptive power, no hope for eternity without the Cross of Christ (Romans 5:6-8). Without this life-saving message, people “are perishing” (verse 18). Sin is a spiritually debilitating disease, and without Jesus and His saving power in our lives, we would be dying spiritually. Worldly living destroys people’s lives—presently, continually, eternally. We all need to continually hear, believe and obey the Gospel to cure the greatest ailment of our existence. When we choose to live our lives by and in accordance with the Gospel, we are accessing its power and “are being saved” by the blood that Christ shed on that rugged cross.

We cannot even “come to know God” without appealing to His revelation and coming to Him on His own terms (verse 21). Most of the people in the world only have the vaguest notion of who God is, and what His attributes are, and what He expects and demands of His creation. Most people’s understanding of God is what they “feel” about Him—what they think He would and would not do, and what they think He would and would not have them do. It is the height of foolishness to think that you can come to know and understand God without appealing to His chosen means of revealing himself. Three times in today’s reading Paul stressed that “God has chosen” unorthodox means to achieve His will (verses 26-28). God is the Creator and Ruler over all His creation and we can only come into His presence and His will on His terms.

Let’s make certain that we have not created our own image of God in accordance with our likeness. It is impossible to “think” and “feel” our way into heaven. Our thoughts and feelings amount to purely human reasoning and that holds no sway over the God of heaven (Proverbs 14:12). Let’s determine to read and study our Bibles daily, and to do our very best to believe what He wants us to and obey what He commands us to. Only then can we know we are “being saved” (verse 18; 1 John 5:13).

Please read 1 Corinthians 2:1-9 for tomorrow.

Have a great day!

- Louie Taylor

Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, ‘I am of Paul,’ and ‘I of Apollos,’ and ‘I of Cephas,’ and ‘I of Christ.’ Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.”

---End of Scripture verses---

Paul “exhorted” his brethren to stay united “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 10). He appealed to the “authority” of Christ when he appealed to His “name,” that they focus their attention on unity of mind and judgment. This is only what Jesus Himself demands of His disciples and that He prayed for in “The High Priestly Prayer” recorded in John chapter 17. “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20-21).

Paul’s exhortation was that they “agree” or “speak the same things.” This is a political expression that means to “be at peace,” like a nation united in its efforts to promote the best interests of its citizens (wow would that be nice?!). As fellow citizens of the kingdom of heaven, Christians should expend great energy and effort to maintain peace in the body of Christ.

Paul also encouraged them to have “no divisions among” them. The word for division is the Greek word “schisma” and it was originally used to describe a torn garment. The members of Christ’s body should understand that they have all been “cut from the same cloth,” spiritually speaking. We should all share in Christ’s love, care and compassion, and emulate His obedience, righteousness and holiness in our efforts to maintain unity in His spiritual family.

Paul completed this plea by urging them to be “made complete” or “perfectly joined together.” This expression extends the metaphor of the torn garment to making reparation, and means to mend a piece of ripped material or fabric. The idea of Christ’s physical body being chopped up into pieces is a ridiculous prospect (verse 13). In just the same way, it is of the utmost absurdity for the members of His spiritual body to be splintered or fractured into pieces (verse 11).

Some people were claiming to follow the teaching of Paul, while others were claiming to be adherents to Cephas’ (Peter) or Apollos’ doctrine (verse 12). These immature “Christians” still hadn’t come to the proper understanding that these men were not rival philosophers, but fellow servants of Jesus their Master. They were all teaching the same things and only interested in promoting the cause and the truth of Christ, and not their own, personal interests.

The idea of “unity in diversity” is not only a foreign concept to inspired Scripture, it stands in opposition to it. That’s not to say that there is not a large diversity of personalities and temperaments and abilities and skillsets residing within a local congregation. But there can be no room for diversities of doctrines. All churches of Christ should teach and believe the same thing—“The doctrine of Christ” (2 John 1:9). To not teach this doctrine is to not have the Father or the Son, according to the Apostle John’s second epistle.

Brethren in Christ are to be so focused on having New Testament authority for everything they do in their work, worship and service to Christ, that they actually share an agreement of both “mind” and “judgment” (verse 10). They must strive to arrive at the same way of “thinking” and “discerning” in consideration of divine revelation. That’s not to say that there is no room for “judgment” in the areas where God has granted us “freedom” or “liberty” for differences of viewpoint in the Bible. But we must make certain to not let these matters of judgment lead to rifts or divisions in the body of Christ. And we must strive to keep unauthorized innovations out of the Lord’s authorized work and worship that will inevitably cause divisions in the church that Christ died for.

I’ll add as well that the Bible nowhere authorizes the idea of “denominations” or “denominationalism”, but actually condemns it. This passage, along with multiple others, condemns the idea that there are several different “types” of churches that practice and teach a variety of different doctrines, all under the “umbrella” of Christ’s church. God only recognizes and approves of “one body” and “one faith” according to Ephesians 4:4-5.

Paul said in verse 14, “I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius;” and again in verse 16, “Christ did not send me to baptize". Whatever he meant to imply by these statements, he was certainly not intending to undermine “The Great Commission” of Christ. Jesus told His apostles to go and make disciples of peoples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, and for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16). God has not changed His method of making disciples of Christ, and Paul, in no way, was speaking against the commands of Jesus.

Paul is not emphasizing or downplaying the purpose or significance of baptism here. But baptism must be a critical issue or there wouldn’t have been such a problem in this situation. Some people were obviously claiming to have been baptized into Paul instead of Christ (verse 13), and Paul is certainly denouncing such an absurd assertion, and the division that such a declaration would produce. Paul’s point is simply this: Christ was crucified for them, it was into Christ that they were baptized, and it is to Christ that they owe their complete allegiance (verse 13).

Please read 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 for tomorrow.

Have a great Monday!

- Louie Taylor

"Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

---End of Scripture verses---

Paul addresses this letter to “the church of God which is at Corinth” (verse 2). It is obviously very appropriate to refer to the universal or a local “body of the saved” as “the church of God”. That is an entirely biblical name and God, of course, owns everything. But more specifically, the member of the Godhead that defeated death to establish His church is Jesus (Matthew 16:18). Paul specified in Acts 20:28 that Jesus was the “purchaser” of the church of God. “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

The church is made up of “those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus” (verse 2). The word “church” means “called out,” and the word “sanctified” means “set apart”. Jesus calls us, through His Gospel, to come out of the world (2 Thessalonians 2:14), and into His “sanctified” body. When we respond favorably and obediently to this Gospel calling, when we repent of our sins and are baptized to have those past sins forgiven, we are “set apart” to live holy, godly, dedicated lives devoted to His service.

Paul expressed this idea in Titus 2:13-14. “Looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” He goes on to say to the Christians living in Corinth that some of them were once the vilest of sinners, but they had since been redeemed and purified by Christ, and that they should live like it. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:11, “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

Paul wrote in verse 5 that the Corinthian Christians were “enriched” in “everything”. Through God’s “grace and peace” they had been endowed with the greatest and truest of all riches—the spiritual and eternal kind in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 8:9). He went on to say that they had been specifically enriched “in all speech and all knowledge.” This is likely a reference to many of the blessings that they had received through the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. The church in Corinth was blessed with just a wealth of talented people. Many brethren were blessed with the power of eloquent speech and miraculous spiritual knowledge and discernment (1 Corinthians 12:8).

So, we learn early on that the abuses of these gifts that Paul addresses toward latter chapters of the letter are really inexcusable. Their problems did not stem from “ignorance” but from “arrogance”! Paul wrote in verse 6 that “the testimony of Christ was confirmed” in them. The “testimony of Christ” had been “confirmed” or “validated” so thoroughly that they “were not lacking in any gift” (verse 7), and there could be no doubt about the divine origin of the message they had received and were teaching. The very purpose of miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit was to confirm and validate the truth of the Gospel (Mark 16:17-20; Hebrews 2:3-4), so these brethren had no good reason to have gone so awry in their use of these blessings!

God is always faithful in his dealings with His covenant people (verse 9), so He fully expects faithfulness from the privileged “saints” that have been “called into fellowship with His Son.” The word “saint” literally means “holy one”. Christians have been sanctified by the Gospel and the blood of Christ, set apart as holy vessels to the service of the Holy God. Now, God is telling us, LET’S LIVE LIKE IT!

Please read 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 for tomorrow.

Please come worship God with us at the Taylorsville Road church of Christ today.

3741 Taylorsville Road. 9:30 AM Bible class. 10:30 AM worship period. 5:00 PM worship period.

Hope you all have a blessed Lord’s Day!

- Louie Taylor

Let’s take a brief look at Paul’s trip to Corinth and the events that occurred while he stayed there in the city:

After Barnabas and Paul went their separate ways, Paul took Silas and embarked upon his second preaching journey (Acts 15:39-40). They picked up Timothy (Acts 16:3) and Luke (Acts 16:11) along the way, and after they received “the Macedonian Call” (Acts 16:6-10), they all sailed to Neapolis, and then to Philippi. In the city of Philippi, a prominent woman named Lydia was converted (Acts 16:14), and also a very grateful “jailer” (Acts 16:33), along with other people.

From there, Paul and Silas went on to Thessalonica, passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia (Acts 17:1). They taught the Gospel for three Sabbath days in the synagogue at Thessalonica and many converts were made before the Jews became envious and ran Paul out of town (Acts 17:5). He and Silas then travelled to Berea (Acts 17:10-15), where Timothy rejoined them. Paul was soon driven out of Berea as well, and he went alone to the city of Athens in Greece and taught in the synagogue, in the agora and on Mars Hill (Acts 17:16-34).

From Athens Paul travelled to the nearby city of Corinth (Acts 18:1), and established the church in that city. He said in 1 Corinthians 3:10 that he had “laid the foundation,” and that he was their “father through the gospel” (1 Corinthians 4:15). When he arrived in the city he met up with Aquila and Priscilla, two Jewish Christians who had been forced to leave Rome, and he stayed with them (Acts 18:2-3). They were actually with Paul in the city of Ephesus when Paul wrote the epistle we call “First Corinthians”. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 16:19 that “Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.”

Paul taught in the synagogue every Sabbath day, and when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul gave up tent-making and began to devote himself fully to preaching the Gospel (Acts 18:4-5). When the Jews resisted, Paul focused his attention more heavily on the Gentiles of the city (Acts 18:6). He taught regularly in the house of a man named Justus who lived next door to the synagogue (Acts 18:7). He obviously did not completely give up on his Jewish kinsmen because he converted a man named Cryspus who was a leader of the synagogue (Acts 18:8).

We read in Acts 18:9 that the Lord Jesus appeared to Paul “in the night by a vision” and encouraged him. The Lord said to him, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city” (Acts 18:9-10). Paul had been met with a lot of resistance and opposition on this journey, and specifically in the city of Corinth, and became troubled and frightened. Just because Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit and specially commissioned by God to preach the Gospel, he was not some sort of superhero. He was a human being just like you and me, and he needed encouragement and strength from the Lord to continue on.

Paul continued to work in Corinth for eighteen months and preached with great success with help from the Lord (Acts 18:11). After a man named Gallio became proconsul of Achaia, the Jews brought charges against Paul (Acts 18:12). Gallio was not the slightest bit concerned about the issues of Jewish law that were brought before him, and he dismissed the whole matter (Acts 18:13-16). After the ensuing ruckus calmed down, Paul stayed in Corinth for an unspecified “many days longer” (Acts 18:18), and then left for his home base in Syrian Antioch, thus ending his second journey (Acts 18:18-22).

Paul wrote the letter of 1 Corinthians from Ephesus (16:8), in the late spring (5:7; 16:8), around 55 or 56 AD.

Please read 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 for tomorrow.

Hope your Saturday is blessed!

- Louie Taylor

The city of Corinth was located on the isthmus that bridges mainland Greece to the Peninsula of Peloponnese. Whereas Athens was the educational capital of Greece, Corinth served as its commercial capital. The city was geographically suited for strong defense, being protected by water on 2 sides, and by the Acrochorinth (the monolithic rock overseeing Corinth serving as the city’s citadel) that rose 1800ft above sea level.

Geographically speaking, the city was perfectly suited for vast commerce. Its physical position allowed Corinth to control land traffic and commerce between Greece and the Peloponnesus, and sea traffic between Italy and Asia. Quite often boats were pulled across the isthmus (5-6 miles) rather than sail the 200-300 miles around lower Achaia.

Corinth had been destroyed 146 BC, and in 44 BC Julius Caesar rebuilt it made it a Roman colony. It was heavily populated by freed men and ex-soldiers. In the first century it boasted a population of at least 500,000, and became capital of Achaia and the most important city in country.

Corinth also became notorious for its vice and immorality. To “Corinthianize” was a term that was coined to describe a life dedicated to drunken depravity. Paul penned his epistle to the Romans from the city of Corinth and he may have had the city in mind when he wrote Romans 1:28-32.

“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

We will have one more day of introduction for tomorrow Lord willing.

Have a great day!

- Louie Taylor

The Apostle Paul’s letter that has been entitled “First Corinthians” shows us clearly that it matters what you believe, how you live and how you worship. This really wasn’t the first letter he had written to this troubled church. In chapter five and verse nine Paul stated, “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with immoral people.” He had obviously written to them previously about some issues that they had been dealing with.

Just a brief chapter breakdown:

In chapters 1-4 Paul stridently opposes sectarianism or divisions in the body of Christ, and shows us that there is no room for rivalry in the church that Jesus died for in order to purchase and unify.

In chapter 5 he shows us how to deal with a brother who is caught up openly in unrepentant sin.

In chapter 6 he shows us that brothers and sisters in Christ should work out their differences without suing one another in courts of law.

In chapter 7 Paul discusses various marital issues and conjugal obligations.

In chapters 8-10 he deals with the proper use of our liberties, and how we should forgo our rights for the good of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

In chapter 11 Paul deals with issues of submission and also issues concerning the Lord’s Supper.

In chapters 12-14 he covers proper use of spiritual gifts, and proper attitudes and behaviors in worship services.

In chapter 15 Paul gives the most extensive inspired discourse about the resurrection on record.

In chapter 16 Paul wraps up the letter with some instructions for a congregational collection, and some final greetings and exhortations.

We will have some more introductory remarks tomorrow and Friday Lord willing.

Have a blessed day!

- Louie Taylor