1 Corinthians Introductions
Outline:
I. \\#1:1-4:21\\ In Answer to Chloe’s Report
A. \\#1:1-9\\ Introduction
1. \\#1:1-3\\ Greetings of Grace
2. \\#1:4-9\\ Prayer of Thanksgiving
B. \\#1:10-13\\ Report of Divisions
C. \\#1:14-4:21\\ Reasons for Divisions
1. \\#1:14-3:4\\ Misunderstanding of the Gospel Message
a. \\#1:14-17\\ The Gospel Message is not BAPTISM.
b. \\#1:17-2:16\\ The Gospel Message is in the PREACHING.
(1) \\#1:17-22\\ It is not the preaching with wise
words.
(2) \\#1:22\\ It is not the preaching with signs.
(3) \\#1:23-31\\ It is the kind of preaching "we"
do.
(4) \\#2:1-5\\ It is not preaching with "eloquent"
words, "excellency of speech."
(5) \\#2:6-8\\ It is preaching with the wisdom of
Christ.
(6) \\#2:9-16\\ It is preaching anointed with the
Holy Spirit.
I. \\#1:1-4:21\\ In Answer to Chloe’s Report of Divisions
A. To understand why the outline would contain such a reference,
we must start our study in verse 11.
1Co 1:11 For it hath been declared unto me of
you, my brethren, by them which are of the house
of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
1. Who is Chloe?
a. Most likely a Christian and a resident of Corinth, but
we don’t know for certain.
b. This is the only reference to Chloe in the Bible, but
obviously he was concerned about some things going on
in the city of Corinth and communicated them to the
Apostle Paul.
c. His concerns were legitimate and his action
spiritually sound; so much so that Paul did not
hesitate to name him as the source of his
information.
(1) We do not know that it was Chloe’s intention for
Paul to write to Corinth.
(2) It may be that Chloe in his travels might have
met Paul and wanted his own questions answered;
and that Paul, upon hearing the questions
decided to write a letter to the whole church.
2. This first section of the book deals with the issues that
Chloe inquired concerning.
B. \\#1:1-9\\ Introduction
1. \\#1:1-3\\ Greetings of Grace
a. \\#1\\ Paul
(1) Paul, the author of the epistle
(a) It is interesting that neither Silas or
Timothy are mentioned at this time.
(b) By not being mentioned, it seems likely they
were busy elsewhere when Paul wrote this
epistle.
(2) Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ
(a) Paul was stating his credentials.
(b) While I know of no doubt expressed by
Corinth as to Paul’s apostleship in
1 Corinthians, there is in 2 Corinthians,
at least as to whether Paul was one of the
"better" apostles.
2Cor 11:5 For I suppose I was not a whit behind
the very chiefest apostles.
b. Sosthenes
(1) The chief ruler of the Jewish synagogue when Paul
first came to Corinth was Crispus, but he was
soon saved.
Acts 18:8 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the
synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his
house; and many of the Corinthians hearing
believed, and were baptized.
(2) Crispus was replaced by Sosthenes who seems to
have lead the fight against the gospel and the
Apostle Paul:
Acts 18:17 Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes,
the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him
before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for
none of those things.
(3) But from this reference, it would appear that
Sosthenes was also saved before Paul left
Corinth and perhaps even travelled with Paul
for a time or met up with Paul as he wrote this
epistle.
2. \\#1:4-9\\ Prayer of Thanksgiving
a. \\#4\\ Paul was grateful to God for the grace God had
given to the people of Corinth.
b. What had that grace accomplished?
(1) \\#5\\ It had enriched them.
(2) The word means "to make rich."
(3) God though grace had made them rich.
c. In what ways had God made the Corinthians rich?
(1) "in all utterance"
(a) They had been given the gift to speak for
Him in every way that God desires a
Christian to speak for Him.
(b) That is not to say that they did not have to
work to recognize, develop, and use their
gift; but it was there if they would.
(2) "in all knowledge"
(a) They had been given the gift to know in
every way that which God desired them to
know.
(b) Like utterance, all gifts likely need to be
developed but the gift was theirs if they
would use it.
d. \\#6-7\\ How real and evident will these gifts be to
the church at Corinth?
(1) The Potential:
1Cor 1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift…
(a) There is literally no limit to what God’s
people can be or do for Christ.
(b) The church had the potential to have every
gift God offered available and evident in
their midst.
(2) The Perceivable:
1Cor 1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ was
confirmed in you:
(a) It would be as much as the testimony, the
witness in their lives, that Jesus is their
Christ.
(b) For the church at Corinth, carnality and
willful sinfulness would greatly impeded
their ability to use or to make use of
their spiritual gifts.
(c) Although all of the gifts are ours, our
ability to use the gifts comes in direct
relationship to the witness of our lives
that Jesus is our Lord.
e. \\#7\\ What do we do while we make use of these gifts?
We work and wait for Jesus to return.
1Cor 1:7 …waiting for the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ:
f. \\#8\\ What will Jesus do while we work and wait?
1Cor 1:8 Who shall also confirm you unto the
end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
(1) He will "confirm" us, i.e. stabilize us, establish
us, until the end.
(a) The end of what?
(b) Since nothing specific is mentioned, it
means until the end of everything!
(c) We are in the care and keeping of Jesus.
(2) "blameless" - And He will make us to be blameless
in "the" day of the Lord Jesus Christ, i.e. the
day of judgment.
g. \\#9\\ Why would God do all of this for us?
1Cor 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called
unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our
Lord.
(1) Because God is faithful!
(2) God’s good actions toward us are not based on our
goodness but His!
C. \\#1:10-13\\ Report of Divisions
1. \\#1:10\\ Paul’s Request - In a single word, UNITY
a. "ye all speak the same thing"
(1) Since what we say is an outflow of the heart
\\#Matt 12:34\\, what we say is less the cause
of the problem and more the symptom of a
divided church heart.
(2) But since what we say can ignite "a great
matter" \\#James 3:5\\, what we say can
certainly create more problems.
b. "there be no divisions among you"
c. "ye be perfectly joined together in"
(1) "the same mind" - That you think the same way
about sin, salvation, and the Savior.
(2) "the same judgment" - That you be agreed on the
same ways of dealing with the problems within
the church.
2. \\#1:11\\ Paul’s Source and Corinth’s Situation
a. Paul’s Source
(1) Chloe
(2) A lady inside the church who either sought Paul
out or "bumped" into Paul while traveling.
b. Corinth’s Situation
(1) "Contentions" - Meaning divisions, strife,
debates
(2) It sounds like the church may have been feuding
with one another.
3. \\#1:12\\ Paul’s Example
a. This was just an example for the remainder of the book
will show more situations.
b. Corinth had become a church of "people" followers.
(1) "I am of Paul"
(2) "I am of Apollos"
(a) Apollos came through Corinth AFTER Paul
\\#Acts 18:24\\.
(b) Aquila and Priscilla, who Paul had worked
with while at Corinth \\#Acts 18:2-3\\,
mentored him in the "whole" gospel.
(c) Apollos was a gifted orator \\#Acts 18:24\\
who made a large impact on the people at
Corinth, being mentioned 17 times in this
book alone.
(d) Although the people used Apollos to divide
themselves, Paul and Apollos continued to
work together for the cause of Christ,
having no divisions among them
\\#Tit 3:13\\.
(3) "I of Cephas" - Peter
(a) Although I know of no indication that Peter
ever even pass through Corinth, he had
followers in Corinth.
(b) It was not necessary that Peter visit
Corinth to have followers for the gospels
were being written and shared as the
church continued to spread.
(c) That Peter was being followed may be another
indication that some at Corinth we already
dismissing Paul as an apostle.
(4) "I of Christ" - Of all to follow, following Jesus
was the only right One; but even to do right
with the wrong motives makes us guilty of doing
wrong.
4. \\#1:13\\ Paul’s Correction
a. "Is Christ divided?" - The primary problem was not WHO
they respected as a leader. The problem was that
they were divided. There should be no divisions in
the body of Christ for even when we do not all
believe the same things, we are still brothers and
sisters in Christ.
b. "was Paul crucified for you?"
(1) But the problem of "people" following or "hero
worship" was real within the church of Corinth
and needed to be handled.
(2) While more will be said about it, the few words
Paul wrote here should have been enough to
correct them.
(3) None died for us but Jesus, and He is the One to
whom we are loyal.
c. "were ye baptized in the name of Paul?"
(1) Paul, still pointing out that Jesus alone is
worthy, pointed out that Christians are baptized
into no one else’s name; but in doing so, his
words on baptism deemphasize the role of
baptism in salvation.
(2) Although I do not believe that it was Paul’s
intentions to do so, the fact that Paul went on
to minimize his role as a baptizer and to
emphasize his role as a preacher, to argue that
baptism has no role in the salvation of a soul.
D. \\#1:14-4:21\\ Reasons for Divisions
1. \\#1:14-3:4\\ Misunderstanding of the Gospel Message
a. \\#1:14-17\\ The Gospel Message is not BAPTISM.
(1) \\#14\\ "I thank God that I baptized none of you"
Paul was very thankful he had NOT baptized many
at Corinth, perhaps now ashamed of the way some
were acting.
(2) But Paul did baptized a few.
(a) Paul deemphasized the importance of baptism
with that statement. (i.e. If baptism was
part of salvation, Paul would have baptized
many.)
i. There are a few verses that if they
were the only verses in the Bible or
were taken out of context, might teach
baptism is essential for salvation.
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall
be damned.
1Peter 3:21 The like figure whereunto even
baptism doth also now save us (not the putting
away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer
of a good conscience toward God,) by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ:
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and
be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on
the name of the Lord.
ii. In my opinion, some of the "proof"
texts do not justify the belief that
baptism saves.
aa. They just mention baptism and
salvation together, then the
reader joins them together in
their own mind (i.e. Mark 16:16).
bb. If verses that mention salvation
and baptism are proof baptism
is required for salvation, then
all the verses where salvation
is mentioned without baptism
would also be proof that baptism
is not essential to salvation.
cc. Neither is actually the case.
iii. But then again, John told us what
really washes away our sins, and it is
not water.
1John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is
in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin.
iv. Although Paul was not saying that
baptism does not save (that thought
probably never entered his mind), his
wording here does minimize the baptism
and does magnify preaching.
1Cor 1:14 I thank God that I baptized none
of you….
1Cor 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel….
v. And I believe Phillip also deemphasized
baptism to emphasize faith when he said
to the eunuch:
Acts 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest
with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he
answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God.
(b) \\#14\\ Paul remembered baptizing only a
few:
i. Crispus - \\#Acts 18:8\\ The man who
was chief ruler of the synagogue when
Paul first came to Corinth.
ii. Gaius - It is likely that there were
three Gaius mentioned in the Bible,
although some may have been the same
person.
aa. Paul mentioned a "Gaius of Derbe"
in \\#Acts 20:4\\. It is not
known whether this is the same
or a different man. The Gaius of
Derbe traveled with Paul
\\#Acts 19:29\\.
bb. Paul also spoke of a Gaius being
his "host" while he was a
prisoner in Rome \\#Rom 16:23\\.
cc. \\#3John 1:1\\ John wrote to a
man named Gaius.
iii. \\#16\\ Stephanas’ family
aa. There is no other record of
Stephanas.
bb. It appears that Paul may have
forgotten Stephanas’ family at
first as they are separated from
the first two mentioned.
cc. That is further evidenced by Paul
acknowledging that there may
have been others that he did not
presently recall, i.e. "know."
(3) Reasons Paul only baptized a few
(a) \\#15\\ To keep people from saying Paul
baptized in HIS name.
i. In other words, to keep what was
happening at Corinth from happening.
ii. Paul either anticipated man’s
sinfulness or had run into this
situation before.
(b) \\#17\\ Because Christ did not send Paul to
baptize.
1Cor 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but
to preach the gospel…
i. Again, Paul was deemphasizing baptism.
(i.e. If Baptism was essential for
salvation, Paul would have baptized
just as much as he preached for he
wanted to get souls into heaven!)
ii. But Paul emphasized preaching!
aa. Paul preached because preaching
produced salvation:
1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to
them that perish foolishness; but unto us which
are saved it is the power of God.
1Cor 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified…
24 …Christ the power of God, and the wisdom
of God.
1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep
in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye
have believed in vain.
bb. Paul did not baptize much—not
because baptism is not important,
but because it does not produce
salvation.
b. \\#1:17-3:4\\ It is the PREACHING. Paul will mention
a variety of thoughts in this section, but they will
all emphasize the essential role of preaching in
bringing the lost to Jesus.
1Cor 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but
to preach the gospel…
(1) \\#1:17-22\\ It is not preaching with wise words.
1Cor 1:17 …not with wisdom of words, lest the
cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
(a) \\#17\\ Using too many words might detract
from the cross of Jesus.
i. The cross is focal point of the
message, not the delivery.
ii. Paul does not say that he could not
speak with eloquent words but that he
did not. \\#1Cor 2:1\\
(b) \\#18\\ The cross sounds foolish to the lost
but the PREACHING of the cross is "the
power of God" that bring salvation. (It’s
the preaching not the baptizing.)
1Cor 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the
wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the
understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where
is the disputer of this world? hath not God made
foolish the wisdom of this world?
(c) \\#19-20\\ "For it is written" - The
previously written part is in verse 20.
i. This verse MIGHT come from
\\#Isa 33:18\\.
ii. Verse 19 was Paul’s explanation of what
Isaiah 33:18 meant, namely that God
would destroy the wisdom of this world
and do something that seemed to man to
be foolish.
(d) \\#21\\ And God was exalting something deemed
foolish to man in exalting the preaching of
the cross.
(2) \\#1:22\\ It is not preaching with signs.
(a) This verse was just a side not.
(b) While Paul was mentioning what the Gentiles
sought after (wisdom), he decided to
mention what the Jews sought after (signs);
but he did not elaborate on it.
(3) \\#1:23-31\\ It is the kind of preaching "we" are
doing.
1Cor 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto
the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks
foolishness;
(a) \\#23\\ "But we" - We not being me, but Paul
and those like Paul.
(b) "preach Christ crucified"
i. Paul was keeping the message simple
because what Jesus did was simple,
i.e. He died for us.
ii. Comprehending God, His love for us, and
the sacrifice He made for us may be
very complicated; but what He did is
not.
iii. Paul did not want anything to take away
from the kind and merciful act of
Jesus’ death.
(c) For the Jews, preaching Jesus is a
stumblingblock, i.e. it trips them up. They
can’t handle it.
(d) For the Greeks, preaching Jesus is
foolishness, i.e. it makes no sense to
them. The notion of one God, made into
flesh to die FOR us.
1Cor 1:24 But unto them which are called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and
the wisdom of God.
(e) \\#24\\ But for us—Jews and Greeks—the
preaching of Jesus is:
i. The power of God
ii. The wisdom of God
(f) \\#25\\ Why would God use something that
seems foolish to men?
1Cor 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is
wiser than men; and the weakness of God is
stronger than men.
i. Because the foolish things of God are
smarter than the wisest things of men.
ii. Because the weakest things of God are
stronger than the strongest things of
men.
(g) \\#26-28\\ An Example - US
1Cor 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how
that not many wise men after the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the
world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the
things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things
which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and
things which are not, to bring to nought things
that are:
i. \\#26\\ Most are not wise by man’s
definition.
ii. Most are not mighty or noble.
iii. \\#27\\ God’s way is to do choose the
things that to man seem:
aa. foolish
bb. weak
cc. \\#28\\ base - meaning unknown or
unspectacular
dd. despised
ee. Non-existent - The evolutionists
are actually correct. Something
did come from nothing, but only
because God made it happen!
(h) \\#29\\ And why would God do this?
1Cor 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his
presence.
(i) \\#30-31\\ But look what God has done!
i. \\#30\\ He has put you "in Christ
Jesus."
ii. And Jesus is "wisdom, and righteousness,
and sanctification, and redemption."
iii. \\#31\\ So if we are going to glory,
glory in Jesus!
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