1 Corinthians 1:17-2:16 - Part A

I love first Corinthians, because it's so practical. It deals with problems in the church.

It deals with the problem of spiritual growth or standard spiritual growth deals with the problems of divisions between groups in the church deals with the problem of sexual purity picture to deals with marriage and divorce. The church God's church is made up of people stumble NASA today on connect with Skip Skip shares of the gospel transforms a life like this can give you hope before we begin to let you know about a resource that will help you enjoy studying your Bible is your personal Bible study time, frustrating direction.

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We have trouble with certain parts of the Bible. Sometimes it's tough, but exposure to the Bible consistent exposure to the Bible. I would add on a daily basis with the consistent desire to obey it will do more for you than any other thing that I can think of? Take the mystery out of studying Arabic testers to provide a joint $25 and Bible teaching ministry to my path to you don't have to be afraid. Enjoy it. I think online securely/often accompanied hundred 90 okay let's dive into today's teaching will be in first Corinthians chapter Skip Heitzigs and begins the church at Corinth was a relatively new congregation. It was a growing fellowship new in their faith, but facing some old enemies facing the philosophies of Greece was a Roman colony but it was in the Grecian mindset with all of the philosophical background and baggage that came with not only that, but it also was in competition to many of the worship systems around it so I've been a couple times the current that I've seen the ruins of this large and imposing Temple to Apollo 1 of the chief gods in the Greek pantheon and then adjust above was the acro Corinth that hill that I told you about last time we were together. The acro Corinth or that hill on the southern part of Corinth had a temple on top to Aphrodite also worshiped and Aphrodite was well. It was a very active worship system that included a thousand prostitutes.

They call themselves priestesses, but they would come down from that hill. Every night into the city of Corinth. They would ply their prostitution trade and thereby getting money to support the temple of Aphrodite, so there were different competitive belief systems, as well as the wisdom of the Greeks that this church was was sort of in competition, you might say ideologically with well with that. With a growing young church with all of the worldliness that surrounded it.

Paul found it necessary not to write one not to write to, but at least three letters in first Corinthians.

He refers to a former letter and elsewhere. He calls it the severe letter. So Paul wrote some kind of a letter, one that we either don't have or some believe it was actually incorporated into the writing of Corinthians itself, but then he wrote the first Corinthians in second Corinthians 20 Road first Corinthians. It is because somebody in the congregation named Chloe ratted on the congregation actually just informed called rightfully so.

The church that he founded, letting him know that there were some divisions that there were groups emerging within the Corinthian church that were at odds with each other that were rallying around the teaching style of a 4 L three human leaders in one divine. Later, the Lord Jesus Christ, but then also the church at Corinth itself had written to Paul and inquiring of some problems, issues, questions, and so Paul writes first Corinthians 2 address some of these issues. It really is a letter I love first Corinthians, because it's so practical.

It deals with problems in the church.

It deals with the problem of spiritual growth or standard spiritual growth deals with the problems of divisions between groups in the church deals with the problem of sexual purity in the church. It deals with the problem of marriage and divorce within the church. It deals with the problem of personal liberty. What I can and can't do as a Christian, am I allowed to do this, but not that certain gray area practices.

It deals with public worship problems in public worship deals with the abuse and use of spiritual gifts in the body of Christ, and it deals with the doctrinal issues, especially of the resurrection.

So I'm glad honestly that Corinth went through the problems it went through in the Paul addressed it because we have by the spirit of God this incredible book that is so practical and dealing with some of these issues.

So basically we are dealing with the church.

Like any church, a church that has problems. Have you ever found a perfect church know you, you can say known and go to this church know you will never find the perfect records you heard that before that if you ever find a perfect church it's too late because you found it, and you'll go to it and then you you ruined it by if you ever find a perfect church you've Artie ruined it because there's no such thing and end the idea behind that is that this in the gospel attracts sinners and you know some people feel all you know there's hype hypocrisy within the church and that proves that the gospel is real. Actually I think approves the gospel Israel I think approves of the gospel attracts the needy centers of this world. Paul said I'm the chief of sinners himself. Every person has failures, foibles, and the gospel takes them in and transforms them. But it doesn't transform us overnight. We are in the process of sanctification, which means will be a good one day that the next day will sign one day not so bright. The next day, etc. as we mosey our way make our way toward the eternal kingdom so it's imperfect anyway. We left off last time where they were dividing between 4 L sunset. I'm of Paul sums that I'm of a policy that really eloquent speaker. Some, like the blue-collar preaching of Peter the fisherman from Galilee. They like to style how they heard of Peter exactly.

I'm not sure. And then there were those super hyper spiritual group. He said you know we don't identify with any Berkeley leader bro. We just follow Christ and a Paul said you're all carnal you're all you're all dividing in the nieces was Paul crucified for you. You are baptizing my name I didn't baptize people when I went to court except for a few people.

Christmas day is the health of households to fondness the size that order. If I baptize anybody else.

So it was a problem of division and that is why the letter was written to Paul to inform him of this problem and Paul took it upon himself to address all the other problems that I just mentioned there were divisions another still are divisions I can because we are where people and I get all the time.

Have you heard the preaching of this guy and I listen and follow bad guy and we all have our favorite radio people that we like. But even before there was radio people letters. The church is been divided.

Some people divide over the doctrine of John Calvin and how he articulated predestination others like Jacobowitz Arminius and and and many others and and so they call themselves in Arminians or the call themselves Calvinists. With all due respect to Calvin and Arminius. They're both dead. Who cares Jesus Christ is alive follow him and I discovered the more spiritual a person becomes the last denominational, that person becomes less divisive that person becomes so he is been writing about that and then at the end of verse 17 or verse 17 for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with the wisdom of words now is going to introduce this idea of wisdom because that was really important of these Greeks, not with the wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect for the message of the cross, the word message is could be translated for the word of the cross. The Greek word is law Goss for the law Goss of the cross word of the cross message is translated here. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.

Every now and then you'll find tomatoes all this whole concept of Jesus dying in my place is ridiculous.

I had a gal that I worked with years ago when in the hospital. She was sharing the gospel with her and she just laughed that concept to scorn the whole idea. She said of Jesus dying for me in my place is ridiculous. When I was a dead giveaway that she was perishing when somebody thinks it's nonsense.

It's ludicrous.

It's an indication that person is a person who is spiritually separated from God and talking about well for that person there perishing message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to source being saved it is the power of God for it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. We in our modern Western mindset find it difficult to understand just how reproachful the idea of a crucified Savior was to the Roman mind the Greek mind and for that matter the Jewish mind of the first century, the idea that we would follow an unemployed carpenter who grew up in Nazareth and then died a shameful death. It's like who would do that.

That's a dumb message, they didn't get it.

It was nonsense to the Roman mind was nonsense to the Greek mind and it was a stumbling block. You will say to the Jewish mind was you bringing this up one of the things he just been talking about is unity how people divide into four different groups and I was in a talk about those who are perishing and and the worldly wisdom so one of the reasons that you and I shouldn't fight each other. One that one of the reasons that we should flatter Bibles next swordfights with our spiritual sword.

The Bible is because people are perishing, there's people who need to hear the gospel and for using our words to fight each other and divided into little camps were not those who work less words were using to share the gospel with so because people are perishing.

It's one of the should be one of the motivations for our unity message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Now today the cross everybody in the world knows the cross represents Christianity but go back 2000 years.

The idea but cross nobody would wear a cross. In those days around her neck.

Nobody would do that it would get a little piece of jewelry cross like a little iron cross, nobody would do that that would be like somebody wearing a mushroom cloud of of an atomic blast in Japan it would be like somebody decorating their their building in a Jewish neighborhood with motifs from the concentration camps of World War II is such an offense was an offense. Cicero, one of the Roman writer said even mention the cross as an offense. This is why Roman citizens if they were they could prove Roman citizenship could not be crucified.

Paul didn't get crucified because he could prove Roman citizenship they set up leaving him on the cross to suffer in agony for hours or days.

Did the merciful thing. They beheaded him cut off his head was a quick, easy death, where is the wise verse 20 where is the scribe. Where is the disputer of this age has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world. For since in the wisdom of God the world. True wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe the Greeks spoke much about wisdom and they prided themselves in wisdom, they boasted that they had wisdom that was passed down to their philosophical constructs and so they glorified almost wisdom self fee is the Greek word for wisdom and somebody who is a lover of wisdom is a philosophy.

Philosophy means lover of wisdom. Somebody loves wisdom. The Greeks believed that true human wisdom they could explain the meaning of life just to the natural process of human reasoning, we can explain life even though there was much of life. They could not understand. They believe that they could at least get their minds adequately around an explanation. And so the Greeks would look at the universe. They look to life on earth and the biosphere. They looked at the heavens what it was they could see of it and they noticed that there were patterns of life that existed every day there were four seasons that the day was so many hours long, etc. they they saw that there was a predictable pattern, and they sought to come up with an answer.

A reason for this predictable pattern, and they called that reason, the law Goss the word, the message so it's interesting that Paul says for the law Goss or the message of the cross. The real explanation of salvation through Christ and the meaning of life based on that is foolishness to them and this is why John begins his book the Gospel of John. In the beginning was the law Goss the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Nothing was made that he didn't make.

He begins with the mindset of that of the Greek way of thinking. Paul asked where is the wise, and in the wisdom in wisdom and the wisdom of God the world. True wisdom did not know God and he's in a tell you why it please God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believed for the Jews request a sign, but the Greeks seek after Sofiya wisdom, the Jews did demand a sign when Jesus was doing his ministry when he was up in galley up in Capernaum, where he headquartered his ministry for 3 1/2 years, the Jewish leaders came to him one day and they said Rabbi we want you to show us a sign that we may believe they just came right out and say we seek a sign we want to believe, but we need you to approve that you're the Messiah, and here's why they believe the Messiah was coming, but the Messiah they believed in was a conquering Messiah, a conquering hero wife because their Old Testament predicted that in the messianic era earth would be made knew there would be longevity that the that the animal kingdom would be tamed today, etc. etc. just an entire kingdom age is predicted, but the Old Testament also predicted a suffering aspect to the Messiah. Isaiah 53 Psalm 22 and so what happened one of two things happened as Judaism came into being in the New Testament there was a school of thought.

In Judaism that either spiritualized the suffering aspect of the Messiah.

Isaiah 53 Psalm 22 said it must refer to Israel not to the Messiah, not to a person, but there was another school of thought that believed that there would not be one, but two messiahs there would be a suffering Messiah, then there would be a glorious Messiah.

And so there was a division in Jewish thinking at the time of the New Testament in Judaism as to which this was so, we who are New Testament believers, we believe that Jesus will fulfill both into Cummings. He came wants to deal with sin will come again to rule and reign with those who have been saved and forgiven of sin. That's how we see it, we we can we get that picture but the Jews of Jesus time were expecting a conquering Messiah, so they wanted a sideshow is a sign you the Messiah. Fear the guy shows a sign and it's interesting that Jesus at a wicked and adulterous generation seek that seeks after a sign no sign will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights. The Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights that your sign death, burial and resurrection. Of course they didn't understand that at the time the two's request to sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block stumbling block is because they expect a conquering Messiah. A king who will set up the kingdom will overthrow the yoke of Rome and let the Jews be predominant in preeminent in the world and to the Greeks foolishness.

The idea that you would follow a God who came down to die for people. The Greek ideology of the gods is that they were capricious, powerful true tantrums of follow the same lusts as humans do, and you had to appease them. So the idea that God would humble himself and become a person and die humans is like the was foolishness. They didn't get no wisdom to them and that at all but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God because the foolishness of God is wiser than men in the weakness of God is stronger than for you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called we're getting into my what I call my life verse I get asked what is your life.

Verse I always have difficulty with that one because I base my life on all of the verses or many of them not one of them, but this comes pretty close. I remember when I first discovered this section. It was so freaking to me. First was look around brethren. You see your calling brother.

Not many wise how many mighty, not many noble after the flesh recalled and is true the majority of the people who were saved in Corinth, the Christians of Corinth were probably either slaves or what they called freed men former slaves who had been made free.

They they were not highborn people. They were not of the Roman nobility. So you see your calling. You can look around your church in Corinth, brethren, not many mighty, not many wise, not many noble, are called and we look around some of us are are some of yours really supersmart in advance. I get all that but then there's the rest of us just we just simple people and I think if you look throughout church history you find there are exceptions to the rule. There are some noble, some mighty some really brilliant people I've known a few Paul the apostle certainly was a bad bill for the most part people that get saved are plain old Joe's people like us then wraps up skipping six message from the series expound first Corinthians you Skip to tell you, you can keep encouraging messages like this 1 Coming Your Way to help connect others to God's will. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the message that opens the doors of heaven to all people, and today you can help share that message with many others so they can live boldly for Christ knowing they'll be with him for eternity. Your gift is so important to keep these teachings coming your way on the air and going out to connect others to the gospel so I hope you'll give as generously as you can to make that possible. Here's how you can give online@connectwithskip.com/donate. That's connectwithskip.com/donate or call 800-922-1880 809 two 218. Thank you tomorrow Skip Heitzigs of shares incredible insight with about the wisdom of God.

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