Written by: Andrew Burrows - Salvation Army
1 Corinthians 1 v 1-3
From Paul. God called me to be an apostle of Christ Jesus because that is what
God wanted. Also from Sosthenes, our brother in Christ.
To the church of God in Corinth, to you who have been made holy in Christ Jesus.
You were called to be God's holy people with all people everywhere who pray in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ - their Lord and ours:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Notes
"Holy" is one of those - well, holy! - words that can easily be misunderstood.
If a person is referred to as holy, some people take it to mean that they consider
themselves better than most (as in the expression "holier-than-thou")
or especially loved and blessed by God. But that isn't at all what the word means!
Holy people are not Christians who set themselves above others; they are people who set themselves apart for God, who know in their hearts that the grace of God has transformed their lives and who choose to be fully committed to Him (see Deuteronomy 6 v 5). And actually, this often means that "holy" people often set themselves below others as they serve in God's name!
Paul rejoiced in his calling to be set apart as an apostle. Despite the hardships he often encountered, for him the joy of knowing Jesus was never overshadowed (see Philippians 3 v 8 and 4 v 12-13). Paul often began his letters by reminding his brothers and sisters in Christ that this wonderful gift of holiness has been given to them freely. If you have entrusted your life, your future and your heart to Jesus Christ - then rejoice! In Him you are a holy person!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I am so grateful for that moment in my life when I realised how
much I mean to You. It is overwhelming for me to think that You see me as
holy, despite all my imperfections. Please continue to give me daily grace
to live as You have called me to live. Amen
1 Corinthians 1 v 4-9
I always thank my God for you because of the grace God has given you in Christ
Jesus. I thank God because in Christ you have been made rich in every way,
in all your speaking and in all your knowledge. Just as our witness about
Christ has been guaranteed to you, so you have every gift from God while
you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come again. Jesus will keep you strong
until the end so that there will be no wrong in you on the day our Lord Jesus
Christ comes again. God, who has called you to share everything with his
Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Notes
In 1 Corinthians 1 v 1-3 we sense the specialness of being holy in God's sight.
Now Paul tells us how the life of the one who is set apart for God is bursting
with blessing! We who are "in Christ", says Paul, feel the impact
in our lives of his grace in a number of ways. We are "rich in every
way", because we now know the truth that underpins our existence - that
Jesus is Lord and Saviour - and we can speak about it! Here also we find
God's promise that we shall have all we need (although perhaps not all we
want - there is a difference!) to sustain us in all circumstances of life
and to equip us for the life God has designed for us. And if there should
be any lingering doubt about these gifts, Paul reminds us that not only is
God able to do this (see Ephesians 3 v 16-20), he is always true to his word.
It is these kind of promises that are able to give us strength and resilience and, yes, excitement as we live by our faith. Why? Because we can always be confident that we do not have to rely on inadequate human abilities to somehow get through life as best we can. God's gifts are constantly with us. He has promised them!
Prayer
My Father in heaven, I have come to realise that, in my own strength, I do
not have the ability to live this holy life of which Paul speaks. But I praise
You for Your precious gifts to me of strength and inspiration that will never
fail. Help me, Father, to rely on Your promises for every aspect of my life,
for the whole of my life. Amen
1 Corinthians 1 v 10-17
I beg you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that
all of you agree with each other and not be split into groups. I beg that
you be completely joined together by having the same kind of thinking and
the same purpose. My brothers and sisters, some people from Chloe's family
have told me quite plainly that there are quarrels among you. This is what
I mean: one of you says, "I follow Paul"; another says, "I
follow Apollos"; another says, "I follow Peter"; and another
says, "I follow Christ." Christ has been divided up into different
groups! Did Paul die on the cross for you? No! Were you baptised in the name
of Paul? No! I thank God I did not baptise any of you except Crispus and
Gaius so that now no one can say you were baptised in my name. (I also baptised
the family of Stephanas, but I do not remember that I baptised anyone else.)
Christ did not send me to baptise people but to preach the Good News. And
he sent me to preach the Good News without using words of human wisdom so
that the cross of Christ would not lose its power.
Notes
What's this? After the powerful words of Paul's greeting to the Corinthians
(1 Corinthians 1 v 1-9), some of these holy, grace-filled people were falling
out with each other! The cause of the arguments seemed to be over the question
of who was the best church leader. Was it Paul himself, Apollos, or maybe
Peter? From what Paul says, it seems that each had his following, although
if there was any difference in their teaching (which is rather doubtful)
it must have been slight. In any case, Paul pointed out how pointless and
potentially destructive such arguments are. What does it matter which church
leader each member felt closest to - the important thing is that our eyes
are on one person above all others - Jesus Christ (see Hebrews 12 v 2).
Today, in our churches, there is still much damage done by those who don't seem to grasp the importance of behaving in a way that builds our Christian fellowships rather than damages them (see Galatians 5 v 22). There may be people you know who seem more concerned with the politics of the church than its mission. Let's make sure we're not distracted from the power of Christ which builds the kingdom of heaven in our lives, in our churches and beyond.
Prayer
Father, I pray today that You will help me as I try to keep my eyes fixed firmly
on Jesus Christ as my example and my inspiration. I know that there may be
times when my attention is drawn away from my Lord by church politics, but
I ask that Your Holy Spirit will always prompt me to be an agent for harmony
in my church. Amen
1 Corinthians 1 v 18-25
The teaching about the cross is foolishness to those who are being lost, but
to us who are being saved it is the power of God. It is written in the Scriptures:
"I will cause the wise men to lose their wisdom;
I will make the wise men unable to understand."
Where is the wise person? Where is the educated person? Where is the skilled
talker of this world? God has made the wisdom of the world foolish. In the
wisdom of God the world did not know God through its own wisdom. So God chose
to use the message that sounds foolish to save those who believe. The Jews
ask for miracles, and the Greeks want wisdom. But we preach a crucified Christ.
This is a big problem to the Jews, and it is foolishness to those who are not
Jews. But Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God to those people
God has called - Jews and Greeks. Even the foolishness of God is wiser than
human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
Notes
In today's reading, Paul returns to the theme of how "holy" people
are different. In addition to all the other gifts of grace (see 1 Corinthians
1 v 7), the Christian is given the wisdom to see the truth about Jesus Christ.
In an age where skilful debate and intellectual reason were considered to be
the only means of discovering the deepest truths of the universe, the story
of a small-time Jewish rabbi who died meekly on a cross in a small corner of
the Roman Empire could not possibly hold any significance. Before such people
would believe, they needed proof. The religious Jews wanted visual proof of
God's activity, and the Greeks demanded inspired logic. They would get neither,
because the wisdom of God has ruled that faith is a gift to those who open
their hearts to the word of Christ (see Romans 10 v 17).
Where those who are indifferent to the claims of Jesus see only a story of a fairy-tale birth, a ministry of charity, a shameful death and the legend of a miraculous rising, the Christian sees the powerful initiative of a God whose deepest desire it is to draw all people into His eternal love.
Take a moment sometime today to reflect on this. The cross, to some merely the symbol of the death of Jesus of Nazareth, is to the Christian the symbol of eternal life!
Prayer
Father God, I praise You because, in Your infinite wisdom, You have made it
possible for me to see beyond the limitations of human reasoning. In the
life of Jesus I see the wisdom that guides me for life here and now. In his
death and resurrection, I see wisdom that will guide me one day into eternal
life. I am so grateful. Amen
1 Corinthians 1 v 26-31
Brothers and sisters, look at what you were when God called you. Not many
of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had
great
influence. Not many of you came from important families. But God chose the
foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and he chose the weak things
of the world to shame the strong. He chose what the world thinks is unimportant
and what the world looks down on and thinks is nothing in order to destroy
what the world thinks is important. God did this so that no one can brag
in his presence. Because of God you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for
us wisdom from God. In Christ we are put right with God, and have been made
holy, and have been set free from sin. So, as the Scripture says, "If
someone wants to brag, he should brag only about the Lord."
Notes
In today's passage of Scripture, Paul continues to demonstrate how the wisdom
of God reduces the so-called wisdom of the world to foolishness! Just as
the cross on which Jesus died has become a symbol for the power of life,
so those who respond to the gospel - however weak and insignificant others
may consider them to be - are transformed into symbols of divine strength.
Both defy human logic and wisdom!
One of the wonders of the love of God is that the Father never differentiates between those who have and those who have not. In fact, says Paul, it is sometimes easier for people who have no influence or status to understand that the things of eternal value are not the things that people seem to value in our world today. There are no self-made men in heaven! (See Matthew 6 v 19-21). In God's eyes, cleverness, power and social position count for nothing; the fact that true inner strength and wisdom come not from these things but from God alone means that even the most lowly person in the world can be lifted up to the highest position in the kingdom of heaven (see Mark 10 v 31).
Whatever your background or social standing, however weak you may feel when compared to those around you or in the face of life's difficulties, be confident that His power within you will outlast the fragile and passing resources this world considers so important. Let us praise God that it is His wisdom that really counts!
Prayer
Father God, I thank You that I am precious in Your sight. I am so grateful
that my value to You is not in what I have or what I can do, but what I am
in Christ. Amen
1 Corinthians 2 v 1-5
Dear brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I did not come preaching God's
secret with fancy words or a show of human wisdom. I decided that while I
was with you I would forget about everything except Jesus Christ and his
death on the cross. So when I came to you, I was weak and fearful and trembling.
My teaching and preaching were not with words of human wisdom that persuade
people but with proof of the power that the Spirit gives. This was so that
your faith would be in God's power and not in human wisdom.
Notes
A couple of months ago in the UK we experienced an event that comes along
only every four or five years - a general election. In the weeks before election
day, thousands of hopeful politicians tried their best to convince the general
public that their political party would do the best job of running the country
and would improve society and the individual lives of the voters. They used
the wisest words they could think of, and presented themselves as strongly
as possible in order to persuade us to decide in their favour.
Paul, despite all his natural intellect and strength of character, did not attempt to do these things. Instead, when he first went to the city of Corinth to tell its residents the story of how Christ lived, died and conquered death, he realised that there was nothing he could do to make the message of salvation more powerful than it already is. The gospel is its own power because it is eternal, life-giving truth - not because it is convincingly described by clever preachers! People are persuaded to believe and receive the story of salvation not, as Paul puts it here, by "fancy words or a show of human wisdom" but by the power of the Holy Spirit who reveals all truth to the one who truly desires to know.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I am thankful that the message of the gospel does not depend on
the skills and abilities of the messenger! This day I remember with a grateful
heart those through whom the message of Your love came to me. Amen
1 Corinthians 2 v 6-9
However, I speak a wisdom to those who are mature. But this wisdom is not from
this world or from the rulers of this world, who are losing their power.
I speak God's secret wisdom, which he has kept hidden. Before the world began,
God planned this wisdom for our glory. None of the rulers of this world understood
it. If they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as
it is written in the Scriptures:
"No one has ever seen this, and no one has ever heard about it.
No one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."
Notes
Again Paul contrasts the futility of the false wisdom of the world and its
authorities with the everlasting wisdom of God. Jesus Christ came to us out
of love for humanity, to blaze a trail to God the Father which we could follow
all the way to heaven. These are things that those who are open and sensitive
to God can grasp, but which escape the understanding of even the wisest secular
minds.
We end this week's studies with some wonderful words that Paul paraphrases from the prophet Isaiah - words which hint at the unknown and indescribable beauty of the life that awaits those who love Him. We may be able to grasp the divine wisdom that forgives our sin and restores us in God's sight; but the experience of heaven is beyond the perception of our senses. I find that there is a meaning in these words that goes beyond the words themselves. It is as if the promise of heaven is personally addressed to the reader, that the Father is overjoyed at the prospect of one day welcoming each one of "those who love him". So read the words slowly, take them in - they are directed at you!
Prayer
Father in heaven, thank You for your promise that You have made such a wonderful
provision for me in eternity. Although I cannot even imagine what heaven
is like, it is enough to know that it is Your destination for those who love
You. With the prospect of heaven in view, may my life here and now be a testimony
to Your goodness and life-redeeming power. Amen
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes