Paul knew what the Christians at Corinth needed to hear. Paul keeps them on track with God’s wisdom – the gospel.
1 Corinthians 1: Greeting
1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,
5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge---
6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you---
7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Divisions in the Church
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarrelling among you, my brothers.
12 What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ."
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.
16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Christ the Wisdom and Power of God
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
31 so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
1 Corinthians 2: Proclaiming Christ Crucified
1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,
4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Wisdom from the Spirit
6 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.
7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"---
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.
16 "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
Things to think about…
1. Paul had various travelling companions as he preached and established Gentile churches. Silas, Barnabas and Timothy are often mentioned, but here in 1Cor 1:1 a man named Sosthenes is listed with Paul as the one accompanying his letter to the Corinthians. A Sosthenes is listed as a synagogue ruler in Acts 18 when Paul was at Corinth. It seems he was appointed as synagogue ruler after Crispus, the prior synagogue ruler who got converted by Paul’s preaching. Sosthenes then stirs up the crowd and persecutes Paul. At the trial before Gallio the city council, Sosthenes is beaten. We are not told why. It may have been that he was unsuccessful in getting Paul convicted, or that the Corinthian Greeks were unhappy with Sosthenes because he was a Jew. The other possibility is that during the proceedings he also got converted and also believed Paul’s message. We are not sure. We don’t know if this is in fact the same Sosthenes of Corinth, but it would be wonderful to think that it is the same man and that it affirms the transforming power that happened among religious Jews including Paul and Crispus at Corinth.
2. Look at Paul’s opening statements, 1Cor 1:1-9. He gives thanks to God for the church and praises God for His grace to them. But Paul is also about to deal with divisions in the church. Let’s remember to give thanks for each other and acknowledge God’s grace over our lives even when we know things aren’t always perfect in the church. Following a particular name or personality is a misplaced identity within Christianity. We worship the Person of Jesus Christ. Preachers and prophets come and go, but Christ remains. He alone is worthy of worship.
3. Who do you follow in the church? The Corinthian church was divided and had split loyalties, 1Cor 1:10-18. Some followed, Paul, some Apollos, some Cephas (Peter). The more enlightened followed Christ. We all know the answer that we should follow Christ alone. When we take our eyes off Him and look at the leaders in the church and exalt them above Christ, that’s when problems start and divisions occur. Let’s acknowledge we all have different gifts and encourage one another to use those gifts and not exalt one gift, person or ministry over another.
4. The gospel is so easy to understand that even the most mentally challenged can understand who Christ is at the most fundamental spiritual level, 1Cor 1:18-31. It is a different story for people like Richard Dawkins, David Attenborough and Sam Harris. While these men are wise in the world’s eyes, creation and Christianity are things too absurd for them to consider. Praise God that our Lord chose the simple to shame the wise. But let’s not boast in ourselves, but rather take Paul’s advice and only “boast in the Lord”, vs 31.
5. As a preacher I sometimes get advice on how I should pastor or preach. I don’t mind – I am called to be accountable, but ultimately the message and the ministry should be easily understood and be with “a demonstration of the Spirit and of power”, 1Cor2:4. Beware of any ministry that exalts knowledge over love and eloquence over truth.
6. True wisdom comes from God. The world has no understanding of the gospel because it is only able to be understood by having the Spirit of God, 1Cor 2:6-16. Let’s never get caught up in arguments with people who are clearly not wanting to hear the truth; Jesus says this is like throwing pearls before pigs, Mt 7:6. Turn your conversations towards spiritual matters but discern whether people have a desire or otherwise to hear spiritual truth. Spiritual truth for the natural person, “they are folly to him…because they are spiritually discerned”, 1Cor2:14. Challenge people by all means, but Paul’s counsel is to firstly discern whether the spiritual lights are on or off before proceeding.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. 6:30pm every Wednesday. 5:30pm prayer.
Young adult Life group – This week – how do we know the bible is God’s word?
Prayer Points
1. Pray for the work we have going on with site development and TMR.
2. Pray for Helen who has badly damaged her meniscus. She is recovering at home.
3. Keep praying for Anna and the PlaygPatch on Fridays, pray for more families to be reached.
4. Pray for Chaplaincy and Kids Hope at Karalee State School. Training happened this week
5. Pray for peace over the US elections
6. The ongoing conflicts in Israel and Ukraine.
7. Church finances to continue to grow and expenses to be more than met.
8. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
9. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:30pm at church. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
10. Pray about the possibility and planning of a Farmers Market at Chuwar Baptist Church once a month on Saturdays. Anastasia taking the lead on this. Pray for us as we plan
11. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
12. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for all the work done at the working bee on Saturday. Great effort.
2. Praise God for our Bean Redeemed Café team! Serving you every week
3. Reconciliation beginning in some areas in estranged families
4. Worship team did a great job.
5. Praise God for young people stepping up in a number of ministries.
6. New people helping with Playgroup.
7. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Ron Naylor – Creation Ministries International coming to CBC on the 18th Aug 6pm
2. Members meeting 25th Aug after morning tea.
3. Monday and Wednesday evening prayer at church 5:30-6:30pm
4. Life Group Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for July...
Q. 22. What is Sin? A. Sin is any transgression of the law of God.
Bible References – 1Jn.3:4; Rom.3:20; James 2:9-11
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
