THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
(Chapters 1-2)
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Timothy Sparks and Ben Bailey.
Ben Bailey:
“Now I plead with you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be completely joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10). I am Ben Bailey.
Timothy Sparks:
And I am Timothy Sparks. Welcome to our study of the Book of 1 Corinthians. This lesson is brought to you by individuals and congregations of the churches of Christ. We hope that you will visit the churches of Christ in your area and let them know how much you appreciate their support of this broadcast. We also hope that you will visit us on our website at www.thegospelofchrist.com, where you will find both streaming audio and video lessons that you can download and study. We also are making available CDs and DVDs of these broadcasts. We will be glad to send any of these to you free of charge. We won’t even charge you for the postage.
As we begin our study of First Corinthians, we see that 1 Corinthians 1:10 is the thematic statement. It is the theme and thesis of the Book of 1 Corinthians, where Paul pleads for the Christians in Corinth to be united and have no divisions. They should be completely joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. We are going to see throughout 1 Corinthians that the church at Corinth had a lot of problems. Paul pleads for them to resolve these difficulties, and prescribes the means by which they can do so. And so, as we look at 1 Corinthians, we always need to keep in mind 1 Corinthians 1:10. Ben, tell us more about 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and Paul’s dynamic message.
Ben Bailey:
In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul valiantly pleads for religious unity. God never intended for our religious world to be so divided over one Bible, one Lord, and one Savior. God wants us all to be unified. The psalmist says in Psalm 133:1, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” God longs for His people to be one, and to be united in every way. Paul said in Ephesians 3:4 that we are to endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Paul is reiterating this idea to the Corinthians, who were very divided, and who were very immature in many ways. And he says that this is the main problem. In verse 11 he says, “It has been reported to me by those of Chloe’s household that there are contentions or divisions among you.” Some were saying that they were “of Paul.” Others were saying they were “of Apollos,” “of Cephas,” or “of Christ.” Paul basically asks such questions as, “Is Christ divided?,” “Were you baptized in the name of Paul?,” “Did Paul die for you?” These rhetorical questions are to be answered, of course, with a “no.” Jesus is the only One Who died for them. Although these Corinthian brethren claimed to be a part of that one body, they actually had become members of the sect of Apollos, or the sect of Cephas, or of the sect of Christ. Yes, they were all still believers; but their favorite preacher, or their favorite religious leader, was the one they followed. Here is the important point for us today. We must make sure that our faith is based on the Bible, not on some great leader, no matter how much good he has done. We can’t follow him. We must be united by the Bible as God’s Word. This type of division has inflicted a great deal of damage on the church, and to the religious world in general —so much so that unbelievers sometimes tend to look at Christianity as just another sect.
Timothy Sparks:
As we look at this passage where Paul is telling us that some were saying, “I’m of Paul,” “I’m of Apollos,” or “I’m of Cephas,” Paul seems to be saying that he himself is “of Christ,” and that is the kind of unity for which he is pleading. Yet there are many divisions in the religious world today. Paul insists that we all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among us. But that’s only going to be possible by coming to the Word of God to see where unity is found. We are to “endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). The word “endeavor” means that we are to make every legitimate effort. We are to spare no expense. But even so, we are not the ones who will establish unity; rather, we will maintain and keep the unity that God has already established! In 1 Corinthians 1:14, Paul says, “I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius.” Some people use this verse to suggest that baptism is not essential for salvation. But Paul is not saying that baptism is not essential. Rather, he is saying that he did not want other people to brag and boast by saying, “I was baptized by the apostle Paul.” Paul made it clear that Christians are not baptized “in the name of Paul.” He told the Christians at Galatia that they had been baptized “into Christ.” “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Gal. 3:27). Over and over throughout the New Testament, we learn that baptism is essential for salvation. So do not let anyone tell you that 1 Corinthians 1:14 is a statement in the Bible that says that baptism is not essential. Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mk. 16:16). We learn from Acts 2:38 that we are to repent and be immersed in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. We learn from 1 Corinthians 12:13 that we are baptized into the one body by one Spirit. Romans 6:3-4 says that we are buried with Christ and then raised with Christ. That’s the point at which we become Christians. We learn from 1 Peter 3:21 that baptism does save us, so over and over throughout the New Testament, baptism’s essentiality is stressed. Paul is not going to contradict what he said elsewhere, and he certainly will not contradict what the Lord said. So in 1 Corinthians 1:14, Paul is simply saying that Christ did not send him “just” to baptize. Rather, his purpose was to preach the Gospel to people who were willing to hear, heed, and obey it. Then they will be baptized. But the person who is doing the baptizing is insignificant. Keeping the commands of God, and obtaining salvation, are the things that are important.
Ben Bailey:
In 1 Corinthians 1:18, Paul tells us that God chose “the foolishness of preaching the cross.” In verse 21, we see that such preaching is designed to save those who are lost. Unity must be founded on the central message of the cross of Jesus Christ—not just the cross as a symbol, but the cross as an embodiment of God’s plan of salvation, and everything God was looking forward to accomplishing from the beginning of time. You see, God chose the preaching of the cross (i.e., preaching of the Word of God). In 2 Timothy 4:2, we are told, “Preach the word. Be instant in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and teaching.” Titus was encouraged to “speak the things that are proper for sound doctrine” (Tit. 1:2). So how do we establish unity? When we preach the cross, and when we preach what the Bible says, unity will be the end result. There are a lot of things that man may say, of course. In fact, Paul is going to deal with this more in chapter 2 where man’s reasoning is discussed in light of God’s revelation (and how God’s revelation is superior to man’s reasoning). We must realize that although we may have some good ideas and good opinions from time to time, when it comes to religious matters, we must have a “thus saith the Lord.” Paul asks the question in Romans 4:3, “What does the Scripture say?” That same question is a question that each of us must ask every time we come to a religious discussion. Consider the question that the evil king asked in Jeremiah 37:17. He said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Friend, there is word from the Lord on every subject. God has spoken, and He has revealed to us in His Word how we should live and what we should do. By doing that, He has clearly revealed to us that the denominational division that exists in our world today was never His original plan. We must strive to keep the unity of the spirit—just as the Christians in Corinth were commanded to do. Timothy, tell us a little more about the period in which the Corinthian believers lived. There seems to have been a lot of human reasoning at work—reasoning that was being hailed as the greatest thinking of the day. How does God feel about that?
Timothy Sparks:
In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul says that he came to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He came not with flowery words of wisdom, but in simplicity and in truth. It is evident from Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 2:2 that his purpose was to preach Christ and Him crucified. He didn’t have to present a message that only the intellectual elite of his day would be willing to hear and accept. The Gospel of Christ is a simple message. Paul focuses on this in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25. Many of the Jews knew the Hebrew Bible quite well. Yet the cross of Christ and the preaching of the Gospel became a stumbling block to them because they refused to believe. To the Greeks, it became “foolishness.” But the simple fact is: it is the wisdom of God! Paul came to preach and to teach that Jesus is the Christ. When we preach that Jesus is the Christ, we will do just as Philip did in Acts 8. Philip came to the Ethiopian nobleman, and from the very passage where the nobleman was studying (Isaiah 53), Philip “preached to him Jesus.” So Paul came to preach the Gospel of Jesus. The Old Testament says that Christ is coming. The New Testament says that He has come, and that He will come again. God has a plan of salvation. May we prepare our hearts to “receive with gentleness the engrafted Word which is able to save our souls” (Jas. 1:21).
Ben Bailey:
In 1 Corinthians 2, we come to a pivotal section. Paul is trying to impress upon the minds of those in Corinth that man’s reasoning is not where they need to look. Man’s ideas and thinking, no matter how great they may be, pale in comparison with God’s Word. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:13, “These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” Today, if we want to be smart in God’s Word—if we want to be intellectually in touch with God —then we must make sure that we are studying the Bible. The only place we can look for instruction in spiritual matters is God’s Word. Many are claiming today that they have received a modern-day revelation, and that “God has whispered in their ear in the dark of the night,” so to speak. I am reminded of the words of Hebrews 1:1-2—“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us through His Son.” What we have in the Bible is what God has given us to use as a pattern for our lives. Friend, that is all God says we need. Peter discussed the idea of the completeness of God’s Word: “God has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through knowledge of Him who called us” (2 Pet. 1:3). In the Bible, I’ve got everything I need to be a godly person. So I must look to God’s inspired Word. When we approach the Bible, let’s not approach it as a 2,000-year-old book written by men who may have been “inspired” just like Shakespeare was inspired. The Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God. As such, it is infallible and inerrant. This is what Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration.” The word “inspiration” means “God-breathed.” “All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God might be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” From Genesis to Revelation, holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. As we look at 1 Corinthians 2, we learn that our minds must not be in tune with man’s thinking, but instead with the Word of God.
Timothy Sparks:
Paul stated it perfectly when he said, “Your faith should not stand in the wisdom of people, but in the power of God.” Our faith should not rest on what people say, regardless of who the person may be. Our faith should stand on the wisdom of God since, “in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Cor. 1:21). That reminds us of the thematic statement of Romans. In Romans 1:16-17, Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” Our faith must be grounded in the Word of God. We learn from Romans 10:17 that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” The way we hear the Word of God today is by opening our Bibles and listening to the Word of Christ. We are to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16). God will grant to us wisdom by coming to His Word. Then, we must act upon that Word. As we do, we will be blessed. Do you remember the blessing and cursing system from Deuteronomy 27 through 30, in which Moses reminded the Israelites that if they obeyed the Word of the Lord, they would receive a blessing, but if they disobeyed, they would receive a curse? Paul is giving us instructions very similar to what we’ve seen throughout the Old Testament. Continue to be faithful. Continue to hold fast to the Word of God. It is the only means by which we can be delivered from sin. Keep in mind the people to whom Paul is writing. The type of environment in which they lived might remind us of the environment and society in which we live today. One historian wrote, that among the Corinthians, sexual immorality was as natural as breathing. But when the Gospel goes to even such a wicked place as that, it is God’s power to save. And as such, it can deliver our souls, regardless of the age in which we live.
Ben Bailey:
Paul closes 1 Corinthians 2 (his discussion on religious division and man’s wisdom versus God’s revelation) by saying that Christians “should have the mind of Christ.” Here is one of the best solutions to religious division—we must focus on the Word of God, and we must have the mind of Christ. Paul said in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation.” The text goes on to tell us that Christ came in the form of a servant, and even died on the cross for us. There is the mind of Christ. When I think I’m better than others, when I think I hold the truth to all knowledge, when I think I’ve got it figured out and I decide to become divisive, I should ask myself—Would Jesus have done that, or would Jesus have taken the necessary steps to promote unity? Today, we desperately need—in our religiously divided world—to look to the example of Jesus. We are taught in 1 Peter 2:21 that we are to walk in the steps of Christ, that we are to follow in His footsteps. Remember what the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me, as I imitate Christ.” For us to follow in the footsteps of Christ and imitate Christ does not at all mean that we accept every new-fangled doctrine that comes along. Jesus was very clear in His denunciation of error, but He also had a great love of the truth. Jesus focused His mind and His life on the Word of God. I think one of the clearest pictures of this can be found in Matthew 4 and His temptation by Satan. When He was tempted, He responded very clearly by saying, “It is written.” If we’re going to have the mind of Christ, when it comes to religious matters, we need to look to the Bible and do only what the Bible says. Regardless of what great leaders have said, regardless of what the preacher or someone else says, let’s allow the Bible to be our only guide. And friend if we do that, we will be surprised at the amount of unity the Bible itself will create.
Timothy Sparks:
On this same topic, the mind of Christ, we see that another fascinating and marvelous passage is Philippians 2:5-11, in which Paul says,
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
We see from Philippians 2:5-11 that the mind of Christ is a submissive mind, it’s a humble mind, it’s an attitude of emptying oneself. Christ was willing to leave Heaven to come to the Earth. He was willing to go to the cross, and from the cross to the grave. Therefore, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Remember Acts 2:36, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” So we have to have the mind of Christ—to be humble, to be submissive, to be obedient. Look what Jesus has done for us in making the plan of salvation available for us today. The mind of Christ is one that will cause us to reflect upon all that God has done for us, and realize that if we are saved at all, we are saved by the grace of God. We can’t earn or merit our salvation. Yes, in obedience to the Gospel, we do have a part. We have faithfulness—that’s our part. We are “saved by grace through faithfulness” (Eph. 2:8). Ben, tell us more about this concept as we examine how Paul stresses faithfulness in these first two chapters.
Ben Bailey:
Friend, we are making a passionate plea with you today: if you are not a Christian—if you have never obeyed the Gospel—God wants you to be united with Him. Amos asked a rhetorical question in Amos 3:3 that is very relevant here: “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” The answer, of course, is “No.” If Timothy and I don’t agree, we then won’t walk down the same path. More important, if a person doesn’t agree with God, he is not walking hand in hand with God. Ask yourself today if you have been a part of religious division, if you are following men rather than God. If so, come back to the Bible and become just a New Testament Christian. This is the plea in the churches of Christ—to leave the world behind and come back to God’s Word to be Christians and nothing more. We find in Acts 11:26 that “they were called Christians first at Antioch.” Today, you can become a child of God, leaving behind religious division by simply obeying the New Testament plan of salvation. It’s not a difficult plan. God is not trying to confuse us. It is very simple. You must hear God’s Word, submit to His authority, and accept His Word as the final standard. After hearing the Word, you must believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus said in John 8:24, “Unless you believe that I am He, you will surely die in your sins.” If we don’t believe in the Lord, we are going die in our sins. I must hear, and I must believe. But I also have to repent. If there is one thing that the Bible teaches, it is that when we become Christians, we have to change our actions. In Luke 13:3, Jesus said, “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Repentance means making a change that leads to a permanent change in my life. I change the way I think, and then I change the way I act. Once I’ve repented, then I also must confess Jesus as Lord. Paul said in Romans 10:10, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” I confess Jesus as the Son of God. But it doesn’t stop there. The Bible also teaches that we must be baptized. Jesus said in Mark 16:16, “He that believes and is baptized will be saved.” It is our plea with you today that if you have not come to the New Testament with the mindset to do only what it says, we urge you to leave the teachings and ideas of men behind and become a New Testament Christian. In the churches of Christ, we often use the statement that “we speak where the Bible speaks, and we are silent where the Bible is silent.” That is so true. If there is not a book, chapter, and verse, we don’t do those things.
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1. What chapter and verse in 1 Corinthians can be considered as the “thematic statement” of the entire book?
2. What was occurring among the Christians in Corinth that caused Paul to write them about issues of unity? What was Paul’s solution?
3. Paul commented in 1 Corinthians 1:14 that he was glad he had not baptized many of the people in Corinth. Does this suggest that baptism is not essential for salvation? If not, why not?
4. Unity, according to Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 1:18, can be established by concentrating on a central element of Christianity. What is that element?
5. In 1 Corinthians 2:13, Paul addressed how man’s reasoning should factor into Christianity. What was his conclusion?
6. When Paul wrote the Christians in Rome, he made the point that “the just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-17). How does a person obtain faith? How is faith increased?
7. Paul urged the Corinthian Christians to “have the mind of Christ.” Compare that statement to what Peter said about “walking in the footsteps” of Christ (1 Pet. 2:21), and explain the thrust of the statements by the two apostles.
8. When Jesus was tempted by Satan (Matthew 4), how did He resist the temptation? What is the message of this text for us today?
9. What does the text found in Philippians 2:5-11 tell us about “the mind of Christ”? What is the message of this text for us today?
10. In Amos 3:3, the prophet asked, “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” How does this rhetorical question impact the concept of religious division—in the first century, and in the twenty-first century?
11. Peter taught in Acts 2:38 that we should be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ.” Why are we baptized in Christ’s name, as opposed to Paul’s name, Peter’s name, or someone else’s name?
12. What did Paul mean by the phrase, “the foolishness of the cross” (1 Cor. 1:18)?
13. In Romans 4:3, Paul asked the question, “What does the Scripture say?” How does that question apply to the situation of religious division?
14. When Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, he told the young preacher that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16). What does the word “inspiration” mean? What was Paul’s point in stating that “all Scripture” is inspired?
15. Christians are commanded: “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col. 3:16). What does that mean?
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