"Each has His Own Gift from God" -- 1 Corinthians 7:1-16

The Twelfth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

From a Christian perspective, paganism often leads to some form of self-indulgence.  But paganism can also lead people to reject things which God ordains, and which are intended for our use and enjoyment.  If the soul is pure and trapped in the prison of the body, as the Greek pagans were teaching, then the body is the source of both physical desires and sinful urges.  And if the body is bad, then people will either indulge its every urge (as many in Corinth were doing), or else deny it any pleasure–even when that pleasure is ordained and blessed by God.  This too is a problem in Corinth, especially when it comes to marriage, of all things.  The Corinthians are confused about this and have written to Paul about asking for clarification.  Which he does.

As we continue our series on Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, we now move into that section of the letter in which Paul addresses some of the specific subjects about which the Corinthians had written Paul requesting additional information and clarification (7:1).  The first of these matters concerns marriage (chapter 7), before Paul turns to the subject of idolatry, beginning in chapter 8.

As we have seen, the Greco-Roman world was thoroughly pagan in terms of the prevailing sexual mores.  Denial of the biblical ethic usually took one of two directions.  The first direction is toward sexual promiscuity (including fornication and adultery).  Not only was it common for men to keep mistresses, concubines, and engage in adulterous behavior (7:2), it was not uncommon for people to procure the services of temple prostitutes.  Paul has already addressed this topic in chapter 6, urging all Christians to flee from sexual immorality, and he has urged the Corinthian church to discipline those who engage in such behavior, but who refuse to repent and in doing so bring scandal to the church.

Another issue associated with pagan sexuality is asceticism and the denial of sexuality.  Celibacy was stressed in certain quarters in the Greco-Roman world because it was thought that those who mastered all bodily urges were able to keep their souls pure from earthly defilement.  This is typical of pagan dualism.  It is easy to see how this would be an attractive option for Greeks who converted to Christianity, only to discover the biblical prohibitions against sexual immorality.  This was clearly an issue among the Corinthians and, apparently, a number of them had questions about how celibacy relates to the biblical sexual ethic.  Complete celibacy–even in marriage–was pushed by some as the norm for Christians.

Paul informs the Corinthians that while celibacy is “good” under certain circumstances, and while there are certain advantages to remaining celibate, according to 1 Corinthians 11:11, marriage is the normal human condition.  Marriage can bring greater completeness while removing certain temptations.  In 1 Corinthians 7:26, Paul speaks of the great distress in the church due to rampant sexual immorality, as the current climate in Corinth only exacerbated sexual temptation for those who were struggling.  As Paul sees it, celibacy is a gift from God and is one way of dealing with the pressures coming from pagan immorality.  While Paul prefers to remain celibate himself–he is probably widowed by this time–he does not command celibacy, but recommends it for those whom God has called to this status in life.

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"You Were Bought With A Price" -- 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

The Eleveneth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

No question, it was very difficult to be a Christian in First Century Corinth.  No question, it is very difficult to be a Christian in Southern California.  Corinth was a highly sexualized, promiscuous, and litigious society.  So is ours.  The Corinthians loved pagan wisdom, celebrity athletes, superstitiously sought the blessings of the “gods,” and were prone to depreciate the body because of a pagan conception of the soul.  Pretty much the same is true in modern America.  Apparently, the Corinthians were clear about how sinners were justified, but they weren’t very clear about the fact that Christians need to stop thinking and acting like pagans once they came to faith in Christ.  That is probably true of our age as well.  Paul’s solution to all of these matters is for Christians to think about all of these issues in light of the cross.  If we are were bought with a price–the blood of Jesus–then we cannot do and think as we please.  We now belong to a risen Savior, who not only purchased us, but will raise us bodily from the dead.

We return to our series on Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.  We have made our way as far as the closing section of chapter six wherein Paul is addressing a number of serious issues that had been reported to him by members of Chloe’s family (or others).  These include a man who had taken his father’s wife creating a huge scandal (chapter 5), Christians suing each other in secular courts (chapter 6:1-11), as well the misuse of Christian liberty so as to indulge the flesh (chapter 6:12-20).

As we have seen throughout our series so far, Paul is writing to people whom he knows well.  These are relatively new Christians struggling to learn how to think and act like Christians.  In a city with many pagan temples and guild halls known for their prostitutes and partying, with graphic sexual imagery found in homes, in public buildings and baths, and in a culture steeped in Greek and Roman paganism, it was difficult for these new Christians to begin to leave pagan religion behind, adopt a life-style of chastity and moderation, and to serve as witnesses to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Paul has instructed them in many of these matters, but the Corinthians are not moving on to maturity, and many are still acting like the pagans they recently were.  While staying in the city of Ephesus, Paul received word of this conduct going on back in Corinth–which is the reason Paul writes this letter.

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"And Such Were Some of You" -- 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

The Tenth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

Only Americans could love Judge Judy–the uni-mom, as I call her, because of her matronly ability to make grown men look like disobedient children.  Yet I’m sure that if the Corinthians had the technology we have, they would love Judge Judy also.  The public airing of personal disputes makes for great theater.  This explains Judge Judy’s huge audience in contemporary America.  In Corinth, legal disputes were aired in large public buildings known as basilicas which were part of the city’s forum.  Whenever the court met, the public gathered around to take in the spectacle of well-known townsfolk accusing each other of all kinds of wrong-doing before the court, while a leading citizen who served as judge made his ruling.  Although the public airing of personal disputes attracted large audiences in cities like Corinth, the Apostle Paul sees this as yet another manifestation of the wisdom of this age.  Christians are to settle their disputes based upon the wisdom and power of God as revealed in the cross.  Those who will judge the world, need to learn to settle their disputes in a God-honoring manner, and not resort to a public spectacle like that in the courts of Corinth.

We are continuing our series on Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.  We have made our way through the first five chapters of this letter in which Paul is dealing with a number of problems facing this congregation.  Because of their lack of maturity and love of Greek wisdom, the church has divided into factions.  Paul reminds them that the wisdom and power of God is revealed through the message of Christ crucified, even though the Greeks regarded this message as foolishness.  Paul has told them that the foundation of this church is the gospel, and that the members of the church compose a living temple in which dwells the Spirit of God.  This is why the church must not be torn apart by divisions, and explains why those who are engaging in scandalous behavior–like the man who has his father’s wife–must be removed from the church.

Yet another indication of the spiritual immaturity within the Corinthian church can be seen in the fact that members of this congregation were taking each other to court to engage in civil litigation.  Having spoken of the judgment to come upon those excommunicated in the previous chapter (v. 12), this brings to the apostle’s mind the situation reported to Paul by members of Chloe’s family (or others) regarding the fact that church members were suing each other in the city’s courts.  In verses 1-6 of chapter 6, Paul rebukes the Corinthians for this immature behavior, while reminding them that Christians ought to be able to settle their own disputes without such litigation.  Paul then goes on to point out in verses 7-8 that church members were actually defrauding each other and cheating, a practice which Paul says must stop.  Finally, in verses 9-11, Paul sets forth that conduct which excludes people from the kingdom of God so as to contrast that prior conduct with the current status of sinners who are trusting in Jesus Christ.  Once again, it is important to note that Paul does not focus upon the particulars of these lawsuits, nor does he name any of the individuals involved.  In fact, the focus really hasn’t changed much from chapter 5.  The issue in chapter 6 is still the failure of the Corinthian church to be the church.

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"God Judges Those Outside" -- 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

The Ninth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

Reformed Christians consider church discipline to be one of the three marks of a true church.  The reason for this insistence upon church discipline as a mark of the church is found in our passage, where Paul commands the Corinthians to remove (excommunicate) a man from their midst who was professing faith in Christ, while at the same time, openly engaging in an activity which even the pagans regard as shameful.  While the church is to be a hospital for sinners, and while there should always be sufficient grace for anyone struggling with sin, those who insist upon living as a law unto themselves, and who harden their hearts and are unrepentant when confronted, must be removed from the church.  Yet, in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul does something quite unexpected.  He cautions the Corinthians not to judge the pagans outside the church (the world)–because they don’t know any better.  At the same time, he warns those who profess faith in Christ that once they trust in the Savior they cannot live as they did when they were pagans.

We have completed the first four chapters of our study of 1 Corinthians.  We have looked closely at Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians to leave behind the worldly wisdom of first century Corinth, and instead to begin evaluating things–including Paul’s ministry–in the light of the revelation of God’s wisdom in the cross of Jesus Christ.  Having established the foundation of this church through the preaching of the gospel, and stating that the members of this church were the living temple of the Holy Spirit, Paul now moves on to discuss specific issues.  As we saw last time, Paul speaks to the members of this church as his spiritual children, rebuking the immature among them and refusing to allow those still holding on to the wisdom of the world to divert him from his divinely-appointed mission.

In chapter 5, Paul now takes up a series of things going on in Corinth which had come to his attention and which are causing serious problems in the church.  The first of these is the case of a man in the Corinthian church who is co-habiting with his father’s wife (his stepmother).  Somehow word had gotten to Paul that this was going on, and that no one in the church was doing anything about it.  As we work our way through Paul’s discussion of this deplorable situation, it is important to notice that Paul speaks much more sternly about the church’s lax attitude toward the issue, than he does about the guilt of the individual offender, who is never named even though presumably, everyone knew who this was.  What Paul condemns in the passage is the conduct of the church–the elders have failed to discipline the offending party.  The fact that Paul says nothing about the woman involved may very well mean that she is not a Christian, and not a member of the church, or else she too would be subject to discipline.

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"Through the Gospel" -- 1 Corinthians 4:1-21

The Eighth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

One of the vivid memories that many of us share from our collective childhoods is that of our exasperated mother telling us “wait till your father gets home.”  In our text we have the apostolic equivalent.  “Wait until your apostle returns.”  Paul is in Ephesus when he writes his first letter to the Corinthians.  Although in the providence of God, Paul never did return to Corinth, nevertheless he considers himself to be the father in the faith of the Corinthian church because of the gospel he has preached to them.  So Paul can admonishes the Corinthians to imitate him because Paul does not seek favor with men, but from Christ, who is Lord of his church.  As the spiritual father of this church, Paul hopes to return to Corinth to see his spiritual children.  When he returns, the apostle hopes that the immature who are acting arrogantly will have humbled themselves and that he will be able to come in a spirit of gentleness.

Having wrapped up Paul’s discussion of true versus false wisdom in the first three chapters of 1 Corinthians, we now turn to Paul’s discussion of the nature and authority of his apostolic office in chapter four.  Up until now, Paul has been speaking in rather general terms.  Now he gets very specific.  The pastoral gloves come off.  In the first five verses of chapter four, Paul confronts those who have been judging him using the standards of worldly wisdom discussed in previous chapters.  In verses 6-13, Paul addresses those in the church boasting about their own false perception of their own wisdom and stature.  Paul then speaks fondly as a father speaking to his children in verses 14-17, before closing out the chapter with a very stern warning to those who reject the authority of his apostolic office.

In this chapter we see a rare picture of Paul–the apostle is a bit sarcastic as he scolds the church in Corinth which he helped to found.  Paul has suffered greatly.  He has sacrificed much.  No question that he hates to see this congregation facing division and schism, fighting among themselves, solely because they have not been able to leave pagan wisdom and categories behind.  And so in this chapter, Paul sounds very much like an disappointed father getting word that his children are misbehaving, and then warning them that he is coming home after work, to either punish or commend them, depending upon how they behave.  Paul is clearly vexed and more than a little frustrated.

So, having wrapped up his discussion of true and false wisdom, and having told the Corinthians that the time has come for them to move on to maturity, Paul turns his focus to the way in which God vindicates Paul’s ministry.  He is a servant of Christ, not just another faction leader.

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"You Are God's Temple" -- 1 Corinthians 3:16-23

The Seventh in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

Growing up in fundamentalism, I recall hearing a number of sermons stressing the fact that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit.  While this was the reason usually given us as to why we shouldn’t smoke cigarettes or drink alcoholic beverages, we were never told what it means to be the temple of the Holy Spirit, nor were we told how this doctrine should inform our view of the church.  But for Paul, the fact that Christ’s church is the temple of the Holy Spirit (who indwells each one of us) should be fundamental to our conception of the nature of the church.  This is why the divisions and factions in the Corinthian church were so destructive.  To divide Christ’s body (God’s spiritual temple indwelt by the Holy Spirit) is to attempt to destroy that which God is building through the preaching of Christ crucified.  Paul must warn the Corinthians of the serious consequences of tearing apart that which God is building in their midst.

We return to our series on 1 Corinthians, and we are discussing this very important letter to a church struggling with a multitude of problems, many of which are facing the church again today.  Most of the members of the Corinthian church were recent converts to Christianity.  They were struggling to leave behind pagan ways of thinking and doing.  The Corinth of Paul’s age was a city with a Roman ethos, a Greek history, and dominated by pagan religion.  Although they had come to faith in Christ, the Corinthians faced their pagan past on a daily basis.  Paganism was everywhere they went.  Under these conditions, no doubt, it was very difficult for the Corinthians to learn to think and act like Christians.

As we have seen in previous sermons, Paul has been using irony to make a point.  The Greeks think Paul’s message of a crucified Savior is only so much foolishness.  The cross makes no sense to someone steeped in Greco-Roman culture.  Yet Christians know that Christ’s cross is the power of God unto salvation.  In the preaching of Christ crucified–a message which the Greeks regard as foolishness–the wisdom of God is revealed.  And this revelation of God’s wisdom exposes the so-called wisdom of the pagans for what it truly is–foolishness.  In making this point, Paul has skillfully exposed the fact that the Greek quest for wisdom is not a quest for wisdom at all.  Rather, the philosophers, prophets and sages reject the very wisdom they claim to be seeking.  While they mock God, God mocks them.  They claim to be seeking the truth.  Yet, they are suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.

The new Christians in Corinth must understand that God’s wisdom is revealed through the proclamation of the cross, even though that message offends Greek sensitivities.  Paul sees the root of the problem in the fact that many of the Corinthians were still devoted to the worldly wisdom of their recent past.  It was this typically Greek love of celebrities, entertaining public speakers, and philosophers who had all the answers, which led the Corinthian Christians to devote themselves to those individuals in the church who had taught them when they first came to faith (Paul, Apollos and Peter).  

Sadly, the Corinthians quickly divided into cliques centering around these teachers–even though those who taught them would never have encouraged the mantras being heard in the Corinthian church.  “I follow Paul.”  “I follow Peter.”  “I follow Apollos.”  According to Paul, this mind-set demonstrates the sad fact that even though the Corinthians may have thought themselves to be mature and making good progress in the Christian life, the reality is that this only demonstrates their spiritual immaturity and shows how deeply pagan ways of thinking and doing still dominate this church.

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"The Foundation" -- 1 Corinthians 3:1-15

The Sixth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

Even though Greeks see the cross as foolishness, and Jews stumble at the thought of a crucified Messiah, Paul has made his case that the cross of Jesus Christ is the revelation of the wisdom of God as well as a demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power.  In chapter 3 of 1 Corinthians, Paul now moves on to address the specifics of what is going wrong in the church in Corinth.  The Corinthians still rely on human wisdom instead that of wisdom revealed by God in the preaching of the gospel.  And this reliance on human wisdom has led to a host of problems in this church, beginning with the formation of various factions.  As Paul points out, the sole foundation of church has already been laid through the preaching of the gospel.  The question the apostle now puts to the Corinthians is “what kind of church are they building on that foundation?”

We are in the midst of a series on Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church.  We have completed the first two chapters of this letter in which Paul has diagnosed the first in a series of problems plaguing the Corinthians–division and schism within the church.  Paul now explains why this problem exists in this particular church.  As good Greeks, the Corinthians love human wisdom.  And while the Corinthian Christians seem to understand the gospel, there is an intellectual struggle going on in this church as these new Christians are slow in learning to think like Christians, while at the same time they are having trouble leaving their pagan ways behind.

Having spelled out that the fact that true wisdom is revealed in the cross, Paul now makes his case that the Corinthians are immature.  And so in chapter 3, Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for this lack of maturity.  To make his case, Paul uses two vivid metaphors:  adults (mature) v. infants, and solid food (meat) v. milk.  Paul uses these familiar figures of speech to illustrate the false assumption on the part of the Corinthians that they were making real progress in the Christian life, when the fact of the matter is that they were not any progress at all.  The behavior of many in this congregation demonstrates that they are anything but mature.  The reality is the Corinthians are behaving like infants.  The wisdom of God has not sufficiently informed their thinking, nor their conduct.  They may think of themselves as mature, but Paul must point out to them that they are but infants.

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"The Spirit of God" -- 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

The Fifth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

If people are dead in sin, and the message of Christ crucified comes to them as either foolishness or a stumbling block, why is it then that the Apostle Paul insists so strongly on the proclamation of the cross?  The reason is simple.  Paul knows that it is through the preaching of Christ and him crucified that God the Holy Spirit calls those whom God has chosen (whether they be Jew or Greek), creates faith in their hearts and then unites them to Christ.  Although this message confounds Jews and stumbles Greeks, it is through the preaching of Christ crucified that we see the demonstration of the wisdom of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we continue our series on Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church we are wrapping up chapter two and Paul’s discussion of human (or “worldly”) wisdom, in which the Apostle contrasts with God’s wisdom as revealed in the gospel.  As we have seen in previous sermons, Paul insists that the gospel is not based upon human wisdom or power.   The great paradox laid out by Paul is that what the world regards as wisdom, God regards as foolishness.  And what the world regards as foolishness is the same message through which God reveals his wisdom and power!

This is why a huge gap exists between Christian and non-Christian thinking, and helps us understand why it is that God must grant us understanding of spiritual things.  If not, the cross will remain foolishness to us.  This is why a true understanding of the gospel must be revealed by God, since the gospel can never be discovered by human wisdom.  And, as Paul reminds us, if the Corinthians fail to see this, the church in Corinth will continue to struggle with kind of issues now facing them: schism and division, sexual immorality, lawsuits, improper conduct in worship, etc.  

We now come to the key issue raised by Paul in the closing verses of 1 Corinthians 2.  If true wisdom comes from God, and yet is seen by Greeks as foolishness, how is it that people come to faith in Jesus Christ?  This, Paul says, is the work of the Holy Spirit.

In verses 6 and 7 Paul writes, “Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.  But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.”  Paul is making a contrast between the wisdom of men, and true wisdom, i.e., that which comes from God.  When Paul speaks in verse 6 of the wisdom of this age (true worldliness), he ties it to the rulers of this age.  What does Paul mean?

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"Jesus Christ and Him Crucified" -- 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

The Fourth in a Series on 1 Corinthians

Greeks (like those living in first century Corinth) love wisdom.  They see Paul’s gospel of a crucified messiah as nothing but so much foolishness.  Those Jews living in Corinth could not understand how God’s Messiah must suffer and die for our sins–when the Messiah was expected to be an all-conquering king who would lead Israel back to its former greatness.  Therefore, for Jews, Paul’s gospel of a crucified Messiah as a stumbling block.  Yet, according to Paul, the cross of Jesus Christ is the revelation of both the wisdom and power of God.  And it is through the preaching of the cross that God is pleased to call elect Greeks and Jews to faith, while at the same time the cross exposes human wisdom for what it is–human wisdom.  It is the cross which stumbles a Jew, confounds a Greek, but which is the message through which God saves sinners.

As we continue our series on Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, we are in that section of the first two chapters in which Paul explains why the Corinthian church has been plagued with division–the Corinthians are still thinking like pagans.  At this point in their history, apparently, the members of this church are clear about the gospel.  They understand that God saves sinners by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone, apart from good works.  Although false apostles will soon disrupt this church (something Paul will address in 2 Corinthians 11), at this point in their history, there was no organized group of false teachers distorting the gospel, as the Judaizers had done in the churches of Galatia.    

The problem in Corinth is that this was a relatively new church–Paul had first preached Christ crucified to the Corinthians several years earlier.  The members of this church were new Christians.  Many in Corinth had responded to Paul’s preaching of the cross with faith, they were baptized and were now participating in the life of the church.  But as new Christians in a new church with so much Christian doctrine still being new to them, the Corinthians were still thinking and acting like the Greek pagans they had been until quite recently.  Although saved by the wisdom and power of God as revealed in the cross of Jesus Christ, the Corinthians still loved Greek wisdom, they still think like Greeks, and therefore they are still acting like those dependant upon human wisdom apart from the revelation of the wisdom of God.

Because the Greeks loved wisdom (or as we might call it “worldly” or “human” wisdom), they devoted themselves to various teachers within the church (including Paul, Peter, Apollos, and even Jesus) causing factions to form.  “I follow Paul.”  “I follow Peter.”  “I follow Apollos.”  There was even a faction contending that “we don’t belong to any faction, we follow Jesus.”  Greeks loved the wise old sage, the clever spinner of tales, as well as the philosopher who apparently had all the answers to the questions of life.  Just as the Corinthians were devoted to their favorite local philosopher or rhetorician (who was known for eloquence in public speech), they had become devoted to that Christian teacher (or leader) who had baptized them, even though that teacher would have frowned on this kind of devotion.

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"The Wisdom of God" -- 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

The Third in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

When we hear someone who claims to be an evangelical state that understanding Christ’s cross as a sacrifice for sin is in reality a twisted form of cosmic child abuse–because it teaches that the death of Jesus is an act of a vengeful God pouring out his anger on his innocent son–we are shocked.  While the sentiment is shocking, we shouldn’t be surprised that people think like this.  It is the apostle Paul who tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:18 that the cross is folly to those who are perishing.  The message of Christ crucified was foolishness to ancient Greeks, and a stumbling block to Jews.  The cross is both to modern Americans.  While sinful men and women mock the cross because they claim to wise, God, in turn, mocks them, because from God’s perspective, human wisdom is nothing but sinful folly.  If you’ve ever wondered why Christianity is so difficult for non-Christians to understand and accept, well then, Paul has your answer.

As we continue our series on Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, and we take up the subject of God’s wisdom and human folly, or as non-Christians see it, our folly and their wisdom.  As we saw last time, factions had formed within the Corinthian church as people claimed to be followers of Paul, Apollos, Peter and even Christ himself.  In verse 10, Paul exhorted them “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.”  Factionalism had become a cancer in this church, and Paul wants it stopped.  The Corinthians are to be united around their common faith.

As we continue to follow Paul’s response to the factions which had formed in Corinth, we quickly learn that the divisions within the Corinthian congregation reveal a much deeper intellectual problem than people merely over-identifying with the person who baptized them.  The divisions within the Corinthian church stem from the fact that people are placing far too much confidence in human wisdom (sophia) instead of the gospel, which is centered upon the preaching of the cross.  Over-reliance on human wisdom was a serious problem throughout the Hellenistic (Greek-influenced) world.  Paul’s response to this problem is to remind the Corinthians that the wisdom of God is revealed in the message of Christ crucified.  This revelation of God’s wisdom stands in complete opposition to the so-called wisdom of the Greek philosophical tradition which regarded the preaching of the cross as utter foolishness.

In many ways, this is the same issue we face as Christians today–self-centered, prosperous, and technologically advanced Americans are very much like the Hellenized citizens of first century Corinth.  Both find the preaching of the cross either irrelevant or offensive.

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