Podcast Introduction

Our reading today is 1 Corinthians 1-2, and I’m calling the episode “Too Smart By Half”

Comments on 1 Corinthians 1-2

Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 1

1 Corinthians is actually the Apostle Paul’s *second* letter to the church at Corinth (In 1 Corinthians 5:9, Paul mentions his “previous letter”.  This letter has been lost.), he opens chapter 1 by identifying himself, and he declares that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ *by the will of God*. 

We haven’t talked about what an apostle is yet on this season of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. Paul talks about it in 1 Corinthians 15, but let me quickly give you the meaning. The Greek word *apostolos* means “a special ambassador”. What is an ambassador? According to Merriam-Webster it is “a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his or her own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment.”

The eleven disciples (remember Judas was out of the picture at this point) became apostles when Jesus told them to “…go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have told you to do…” just before he ascended into heaven.

Paul’s apostleship does not come from the fact that he was one of the 11, because he wasn’t. It comes from the fact that Jesus spoke to him after His death and resurrection, and after His ascension, while Paul was traveling to Damascus. (Acts 9) (If you’re not familiar with this part of the history of the early church, we won’t get to Acts 9 until July of next year so you might want to go read it now.) So Paul is saying that God called him to be an apostle.  

He is establishing his credentials, his authority, because he has some important spiritual matters to take up with them.  

After his introduction and giving thanks to God for those in the Corinthian church, we learn that even in the very early church, some division had crept in. Which confirms once again the verse from Ecclesiastes 1:9, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”

As a race, people don’t really change. Even today, divisions happen within churches. Factions form. Disagreements happen. Preferences clash. Listen, people are people. These unfortunate things happen in any organization that has more than one person in it, don’t they? My goodness, even in my own one-man business I have disagreements with myself!

There are many reasons that divisions and disagreements are not good, but the main reason that Paul points out is that the central idea of the church gets lost. Paul says, “…by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, I beg all of you to agree with each other. You should not be divided into different groups. Be completely joined together again with the same kind of thinking and the same purpose.”

He says it in a nice way, but in essence he gets out the big stick when he says, “by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.” It is as if the Lord  (which means The Big Boss, The Master) Himself is telling them this. And Paul says, “Get it together, folks. Focus on the Main Thing.”

What is the main thing? He tells us in verse 23: But this is the message we tell everyone: Christ was killed on a cross.

The full meaning of that phrase is that Jesus purchased their salvation by shedding His blood for them. It is the message of salvation. And that should be our only focus. 

We should not be separated by the kind of music we sing, the kind of clothes we wear, whether someone has tattoos or, dare I say it? One’s vaccination status, or anything else. When we focus on those things, people who don’t yet know Jesus see nothing different about us than any other organization. Except perhaps it’s even worse when they see division in the church, since they know that we are *supposed* to represent a loving God. They say, “What a bunch of hypocrites” or “Why should I join them? I can fight at work or at home or on social media.”

Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 2

Corinth was in Greece. At that time, the people of Greece honored intellectual pursuit above all else. They thought that man could answer or reason the mysteries of the world. 

And so, when Paul opens chapter two by saying that when he first came to them with the simple message of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, he was saying, “I didn’t present the message in a way that you are used to, with big words and complicated reasoning.” Paul wanted the message to be simple, so that the power of God would be the object of their faith, not Paul’s skills of oratory or reasoning.

And he told them that even the simple message of the Gospel could not be understood by even the smartest individuals unless the Holy Spirit revealed it to them.

And this is something that we need to keep in mind even today. When I hear of debates between atheists and Christians, I have to admit that I’m amused. It’s a lesson in futility. The idea that an intellectual debate will persuade anyone to change their mind about who Jesus is is just ludicrous. The only way a man or woman realizes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He was born to a virgin, lived a completely sinless life, was put to death on a Roman cross for my sin and yours, was laid in a tomb, came back to life on the third day, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father, and will one day come back to planet Earth to reign as King for a thousand years, and then create a new Heaven and a New Earth where believers will reign with Him for eternity…the only way anyone comes to believe that is if the Holy Spirit breathes spiritual life into him or her and gives them the faith to believe it. All the arguments in the world cannot do that. Expecting someone who has not experienced that spiritual quickening to understand or embrace that is the same thing as expecting the family dog who brings in the newspaper to understand what is written in that paper. It’s not going to happen.

One of the things we hear often today is, “It’s science!” “Believe the science!” “Science proves this. Science proves that!” Wonderful. In its proper place, science is great. I have a scientific background. I have a degree in biology. I know the scientific method. And that piece of paper that proves my scientific study is worthless in the eyes of God. It wasn’t science that brought me to the cross of Christ. It was the grace of God. It was the realization, deep in my heart, that I needed God to forgive me of my sins. 

Beloved, I’m not saying that we should not engage people in conversations about why we believe what we believe. But I am saying that unless God reveals His truth to the heart of the listener, you can talk until you have no more words, and they will still not believe. Any such conversation must be done with a lot of prayer. Paul said in verse 3 of chapter 2, “When I came to you, I was weak and shook with fear.” Come to the conversation with humility, not with arrogance. Ask God to go before you and prepare the heart of the one you will be speaking to, and prepare your heart with love.

Sometimes it’s not easy, but that’s a topic for another time. Just know that it is possible when you see your opponent through the eyes of Jesus.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 5-6 GNT

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The Team

Transcript Correction: Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Denise
Podcasting 2.0 Chapters: Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Sean of San Pedro and Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Michael Haner
Show Art: Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Scott Snider and Lifespring Family Berean Jason Paschall
Newsletter Publisher: Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Brittaney

Transcript

Transcript not corrected.