133. Beginner Bible Course: Paul's first letter to the Corinthians

EPISODE 133:  PAUL’S FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

He was an emphasis building up the Jews and Gentiles all over Asia was not Paul's only activity. He was also writing letters. Two of these letters were to the church. He planted in Corinth on the second missionary journey. He was there in Corinth with a varsity team, Timothy, Silas, Priscilla, and Aquila. He spent 18 months there leading these people to Jesus and helping to start the process of sanctification. We learned sanctification means God slowly over the course of our lives, washing the dirt off us, precious little pig pens, and the Corinthians had plenty to wash off as we'll see many of the same things that were going on in Corinth are the things that are going on today.

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The things Jesus needs to wash off us, you ask what kind of issues? Well, I wrote down 18. There are probably more, let me list them for you for simplicity. I'm going to call the followers of Jesus. Those who go all in Christians. That's what they were called in Antioch. So let me use that term issue. Number one, Christians who have their celebrity Bible teachers, writers, and leaders. In other words, Christians forming into cliques or camps. Number two, how come the scripture makes sense to some people while other people reading the same passages conclude that Christians don't have a single working brain cell.

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Why is that number three? Why do some Christians seem to grow like weeds while others are babies who never seem to get out of their spiritual Pampers? Number four? Why do some Christians have an attitude of superiority and a habit of going around judging other people? Number five, how should Christians treat fellow Christians and non-Christians who are living in clear, overt disobedience to God's standards? Should that behavior or attitude be addressed or tolerated or perhaps even celebrated. And should we treat non-Christians any different than Christians regarding these behaviors?

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Number six, what should you do when your Christian landlord keeps your damage deposit, unjustly or ABA auto sales run by a guy in your church. Fraudulently sells you a lemon. Number seven. How should a Christian view being single, being married, getting divorced or remarried, and what should a Christian do if they're married to a non-Christian number eight, since we are saved by grace, through faith in Jesus alone and not by what we do, what activities are okay for Christians to do. Number nine, what should I do in a hypersensitive Christian take issue with an activity I do that I feel is okay for me to do.

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I mean, some Christian somewhere in my life is going to have a problem with everything I do, unless I'm always just sitting there reading my Bible. Number 10, what rights do Christian leaders have in terms of their income and support from Christians? What about their lifestyles? Should we hold Christian leaders to a higher standard than regular Christians? Is that right? To view them as our models? Number 11, why can't Christians agree on the most basic worship practice, communion, Catholics, think it means one thing, Presbyterians another and evangelicals, something else. What does it really mean?

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And how should we do it? Number 12. What does the Bible say about how men and women function together in the home, the church and the marketplace, number 13, what does the Bible say about spiritual gifts? Those special abilities I've heard about that. God gives Christians. What are these gifts? What's their purpose are all the gifts identified and do they all still exist? Number 14, if somebody asked me what the gospel teaches, what are really the essentials I need to share? 15. Why is the resurrection of Jesus so important to Christians? Anyway, can I be a Christian and not believe in the literal resurrection of Jesus, number 16, if we are to be resurrected, what's that all about?

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What can we expect in a resurrection and a resurrected body? How is this different than reincarnation? For example, 17, is there any more to the good news that Jesus died in our place is that the whole gospel is this as good as it gets and 18, what does God expect from me in terms of giving to meet the needs of the church or other Christians in need or non-Christians in need. So is there anything in those 18 questions that peak your interest? Would you like to hear some of Paul's answers as he was carried along by the Holy spirit?

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Well, I hope so because I'm going to give some of those answers. Anyway, Paul answers the first one about the divisions among Christians, regarding who their leaders and teachers are. Some in Corinth, followed a Polis, the eloquent scholar. I mean, he could preach others, followed Paul saying, he's the one that led us to Christ. Still others said we follow Peter. He was the rock. He's the one that got the church started and others still the really pious one said, we follow Christ. Paul's response. What's up with that? Me Peter apologists. We're all just messenger boys.

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I planted Apollos watered, but God causes the growth. Stopped dividing up into camps. We're all in this together to the question, why some Christians seem to grow like weeds and the others never seem to get out of Pampers. Paul replies. The issue is fertilizer. It's an issue of feeding. If you want to grow as a follower of Christ, you need a primary diet of God's word and Jesus himself added to that heart of obedience to obey what God's word reveals. Paul moves to Christ's followers, tendency to have an attitude of superiority and its kissing cousin, the judging of others.

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Paul's pretty terse. God alone knows people's hearts. So knock off this judgment, judge yourself against who God is. That'll humble you. Then Paul reminds them every single thing. You have both material things in this world and the grace God has given you through. Jesus was handed to you from God. Why would you break your arm, patting yourself on the back for all the things you've done and achieved. Next, Paul moves on to how Christians should treat fellow Christians or non-Christians who are overtly disobedient to God. Paul goes on to describe an issue in chapter five, that was going on in the church in Corinth.

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Paul says, I can't believe it. Some man among you has his father's wife. The more shocking thing is how the Christians in Corinth were responding. They not only tolerated this, they were actually celebrating this perhaps saying isn't God's grace. Amazing. He looks past even things like this. Paul pretty much comes on glued, wake up people. What's the matter with you. I personally have turned this man over to Satan to be disciplined so that perhaps he'll wake up repent of this gross sin and his soul will be preserved. He instructs the Corinthians to Jack this brother up.

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And if he doesn't listen to put him out of the church, but Paul is quick to follow this up and say, I'm not talking about non-Christians people. Those on the outside don't expect people without wings to fly. Treat those on the outside differently. Yes, it's still God's law, but they don't have the Holy spirit. Therefore the ability to follow God's law from the heart, I should mention quickly about treating Christians who are in clear disobedience in Galatians. Paul had written, we should have the attitude of restoration with Christians that fall into, or perhaps intentionally walk into gross sin in Galatians.

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Paul had said, be ready to restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness, restoring such a one is a medical term. It's used of a doctor resetting a bone gently correctly. And for the purpose of making it well again, perhaps even stronger than before Paul moves on to the question, what should you do when your Christian landlord keeps your damage deposit or a guy in your church sells you a car, a lemon Paul's response is don't Sue them in civil court. Certainly you can find a Christian who's wise to arbitrate and worst case scenario.

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If you have to give up the deposit or live with that lemon, do it. God knows how to hold that landlord or that shifty car dealer accountable, taking it to civil court is already a lose lose between two Christians. Paul moves on to the question about Christians and being single, married, divorce, and remarriage. Paul says this we're mammals. Most of us need to mate. And if that's you find a mate and stick with him or her, if you're not wired where you need to mate, that's great. Stay single Paul adds in light of the present situation. It's actually better to be single.

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That way you can have undivided devotion to Jesus. You don't have to think of the spouse or the kids, but if you're burning with desire, find a mate. Paul moves on to address what to do. If a Christian is married to a non-Christian, he says, stay in it. Christians are actually a force of righteousness to that non-believing spouse. And certainly to the children, they have. Paul goes on to say, if that non-believer leaves, it's okay to let him or her go. Jesus had given us an exception, allowing divorce. That was the violation of a marriage covenant through adultery. Paul just adds a second abandonment.

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If an unbelieving spouse or some would add a believer, who's living like an unbeliever, refuses to stay in the marriage. It's okay to let them go. You can find many new Testament scholars who will discuss what falls under abandonment. Some limited to physically walking out others suggest it's abandoning your marriage vows to provide physical financial or emotional safety within that relationship. As for remarriage, Paul urges us on the side of caution. It's in this discussion first Corinthians chapter seven, that Paul uses the word opinion twice.

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He says, Jesus never talked about this, but I give my opinion before you grab onto this and say, Paul is writing his own view rather than being carried

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On by the spirit of God. As he writes,

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You need to read the last statement of first Corinthians chapter seven. He says, and I believe I also have the spirit of Jesus. At the very least. Paul is saying my opinion I've shared here, I believe is consistent with view on the matter to the question, what can Christians those saved by grace do in terms of activities. This revolves around things. We normally call gray areas, behaviors, not expressly addressed in scripture with the Corinthians. Paul uses the example of meat that was sold that had been offered to idols in our day. And example might be drinking alcohol can a Christian drink Paul's response to the Corinthians on gray areas is the question shouldn't be, can I, it should be, should I, Paul lays down some principles before we do that thing in the gray area and asked for the question, what should I do?

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If a sensitive Christian takes issue with an activity I feel is okay for me to do Paul's response is defer to the weaker one. Err, on the side of the week in chapter 10 and 11, Paul replies to the communion or Lord's table problem, they really had a problem in Corinth. They had a potluck dinner and then at the end they would celebrate the Lord's table. The quick story is all the rich people who didn't have to work would come early. They'd eat and drink way too much. All the poor Christians who had to work all day on the first day of the week would get there at dusk.

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They'd bring what they could contribute to the potluck. And when they arrived, the rich Christians were sleeping off a food coma or a hangover. And that's what communion looked like in Corinth. Paul really lets them have it. There love, feast, run a muck. He reminds them what communion or sharing is all about. He warns them to examine themselves so that their love fees wouldn't actually destroy each other and wound the heart of God and be blasphemous. Even Paul then talks about how men and women should function together in the home, in the church and in the marketplace, particularly in this area, you need to ask yourself, are the instructions being given by Paul descriptive of the time or prescriptive?

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For example, it's in these passages where Paul talks about women in church with their heads covered some groups even today, take these instructions as prescriptive for our time while most take it as descriptive of something Paul was addressing at that time, as you read Paul's instructions about how men and women are to work together in the home church and marketplace read these instructions in light of the entire new Testament, we move on to spiritual gifts. What does the Bible say about them? A whole industry is developed around spiritual gifts, discovering yours and using them in the church, spiritual gifts, our abilities given by God to all believers, to build up the body of Christ and the use of these gifts are to be fueled by love.

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I can't emphasize that enough. The word picture I use for spiritual gifts with my students is God is an artist. He has a pallet in front of him and a blank canvas, which represents your local body of believers on this canvas is a sketch. God has drawn the mission of your local church. It's a paint by number sketch God. The artist takes dabs of primary colors. They're listed in first Corinthians and Romans chapter 12, things like leadership, teaching, serving mercy hospitality for each believer in the church. He takes dabs of primary colors and mixes up their own unique colors.

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That unique color, a mixture of gifts is a color for each believer to be applied to their local canvas. Paul goes on to describe these gifts are never to be used for ourselves, but for others they're to always be driven by love or they're being misused in Corinth. There were some serious gifts in this church, but serious misuse of these gifts. They were also lauding certain kinds of gifts, speaking, prophesizing healing, and they were downplaying other sorts of gifts, serving mercy hospitality. Paul tells them to stop this nonsense.

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That's not building up the church and to wake them up to how important the quote lesser gifts are. He gives them some serious instruction. I communicate Paul's instruction with my students this way. I tell them I'm now going to make all of you vote. You have a choice. You can either have your dominant hand amputated or you can lose your anal sphincter muscle. No, I really say this your dominant hand amputated or remove your anal sphincter muscle. So here's the deal. You can lose your dominant hand and learn to use your non-dominant hand the rest of your life.

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Or you can lose that sphincter muscle at the bottom and wear an external bag. The rest of your life. This is my 11th year of teaching middle schoolers. I think every single middle school student has voted to lose their dominant hand. Hey, that's what Paul says. The quote lesser gifts unquote are really the most important ones in the church for building up the body of Christ to the question. What are the essentials of the gospel of grace? Paul answers this and chapter 15 Christ died for our sins. He was buried meaning, Oh yeah, he was really dead. He was raised on the third day and that he appeared resurrected as the victorious Lord going all in on this Jesus as our substitute sin bear is what God requires to make us right with him to the question.

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Why is the resurrection of Jesus so important to believe if Jesus was not raised from the dead, we won't be either. And if Jesus is still dead, we Christians who believe in him as, as our hope of eternal life are the most pitiful people on earth as to their question. Is there any more to the good news? All? Yes. Jesus still plans to do that whole reign as King thing. That's gospel good news. And Paul ends addressing them taking a collection for needs. He gives some guidelines for giving in general purpose ahead of time in your heart. It should be a part of your budget. Don't do it under compulsion, do a cheerfully and three give generously.

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I hope with that summary, I primed your pump to hover over and dive deep into Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. These are God's beloved little kids who really need some serious parenting and Paul's parenting. Isn't finished shortly after this. He's going to write to them a second letter, a follow-up and we'll look at that second letter to the Corinthians and to us in our next wordpicture.