Week 19

Monday, May 5

1 Corinthians 2

         

Commentary

Paul continues the sentiment he closed the last chapter with – God saves believers despite their foolishness and the lost world’s inability to understand the gospel. The great orators (public speakers) of Paul’s day gave speeches with lots of fluff and little substance. In contrast, Paul simply preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ, and does so in great weakness, so that those who hear him would rest their faith in Christ alone rather than his fancy words or charisma. As Thomas Schreiner explained, “Paul certainly desired to persuade the Corinthians to believe, since he preached so that they would put their faith in Jesus Christ as the crucified and risen one. He was concerned, however, that they would rest on human wisdom, which refers here to the artistry and virtuosity of human beings, particularly in their amazing rhetorical feats which could sway crowds. Instead, faith needs to rest on God’s power, and power refers here, as in the previous verse, to the proclamation of Jesus Christ as the crucified one (cf. Zech. 4:6).”^[1]

The gospel will inevitably be unattractive to the lost. Consider this from the perspective of someone who knows nothing of God and his Word – how would you like to hear that you are God’s enemy and that nothing you could do on your own can make that right? Further, since by nature we are enemies of God and infatuated with sin, we will not want to understand the truth of the gospel. The only way in which we can understand these spiritual matters is through the Holy Spirit’s help. He moves in our hearts and our minds, helping us understand the gospel and drawing us to God the Father in repentance and faith.

 

Application/Discussion

1. Have you ever felt insufficient to share the gospel or give godly encouragement? How does our passage today address such sentiments?

2. If the natural man, a person without the Holy Spirit’s help, cannot understand the gospel, our evangelism can feel pointless. However, we do not have a God’s eye view of the hearts of men, we never know who God will draw to faith through our sharing of the gospel. Share faithfully, fervently, and frequently and trust God to make your evangelism fruitful.

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for his wisdom and truth and for the Holy Spirit’s help in understanding this truth.

2. If you still have not truly repented of your sin and turned to God for salvation, pray for God’s Spirit to move in you and bring you to faith. If you have repented of your sin and trusted in Christ, thank God for his salvation and pray he would save someone in your family in the same way.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help to give you a great passion for evangelism, a great trust in and reliance on God’s power, and ample opportunities to share the gospel.

Tuesday, May 6

1 Corinthians 3

 

Commentary

          Paul again returns to the subject of favorite teachers in this chapter. He explains that the Corinthians were and persist in immaturity in the faith and that regardless of who someone’s favorite teacher may be, God is the one who creates and grows faith in the heart. Thus, believers should not fight over their pet teachers or divide into frivolous factions. Instead, we should recognize that all (true) teachers of the Word are our fellow servants and saints and look to God himself. The church is built on, centered on, and in service of Christ himself. We should remember this vital focus rather than getting caught in the weeds of our favorite preachers, our local church, or our faith tradition.

          One question that comes to mind with a passage like this is, if we should be unified in the same God and the same gospel, why are there so many different Christian groups? While many Christian denominations, organizations, and individual churches exist, all truly Christian groups indeed share the true gospel and true faith delivered to the saints. Here is a good set of tests for what groups are truly Christian and what is not – do they believe in the Trinity, the perfect truthfulness of God’s Word, that Jesus is the only way to God, and that salvation comes through God’s grace and not our works? While Christians often disagree about issues such as baptism or church government, any disagreement about Jesus being God has always been immediately seen as a departure from the Christian faith. Different Christian denominations and individual churches arise in large part from differences on secondary doctrinal issues, but also from simple differences in time and place. The United States has an especially strong diversity of Christian traditions – Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, and so on – and many of these entered and flourished here with different groups of settlers and immigrants. Paul’s words in our passage today offer us great wisdom as we consider this unity in essentials and diversity in secondary issues – we ultimately love and serve the same God, not our faith tradition or local church.

 

Going Deeper

Albert Mohler helpfully explains what marks true Christianity and where we can respectfully disagree with fellow believers in this article:

·      https://albertmohler.com/2005/07/12/a-call-for-theological-triage-and-christian-maturity/

 

Application/Discussion

1. While we should not inappropriately elevate any one teacher above others, the pastors and other teachers of our local church should be the most influential teachers in our lives. After all, they know us, see us, and pray for us – your favorite preacher on TV or YouTube does not. Listen to them, encourage them, and pray for them!

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for his glorious gospel and perfect Word.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in understanding and obeying God’s Word and seeking unity in mission with all his people.

3. Pray for the pastors and teachers of your church to teach and live out God’s Word faithfully.

Wednesday, May 7

1 Corinthians 4

 

Commentary

As Paul continues this letter, he reminds the Corinthians that he and Apollos and other teachers are servants of God and of theirs; they are not gods or idols or superheroes. As we’ve seen in these opening chapters, factions and fanboying were a great problem for the Corinthian church. Thomas Schreiner wisely summarized, “Paul returns to the responsibilities of ministers and how they should be estimated. They are Christ’s servants and managers of God’s mysteries. As managers they are required to be faithful. Paul is not concerned about how the Corinthians assess him, remarking that he is not even qualified to assess himself… he is not aware of any unfaithfulness in his ministry. Still, he is not acquitted on the basis of his own self-assessment. The final judge is the Lord himself. Therefore, no-one should pass judgment on how effective anyone is before the Lord returns. When the Lord comes, he will assess each person’s life, uncovering what is hidden and disclosing the motives of the heart.”^[2]

In the rest of the passage, Paul admonishes the Corinthians to spiritual maturity. Paul is distraught that they have been so lax and immature in their faith. He encourages them as a spiritual father, one who invested much of his time and labors and prayers in their growth in Christ. He promises that he will visit the Corinthians one way or another, and it is up to them if Paul will come to commend or to rebuke. This is a picture of a larger spiritual truth – all of us in Christ have God as our Father, and we will face him at our death or Christ’s return. Will be ashamed of how we have lived and what we have done with our salvation, or will we be commended for our faithfulness? Our salvation does not rest on our works, but our joy and our fruitfulness do depend on our effort. Further, if we do not strive for godliness, we should wonder if we have really been saved and transformed by God in the first place.

 

Application/Discussion

1. Paul says the kingdom of God consists of power, not mere words – godliness is more than lip service or half-hearted “good” intentions. In what ways does your living not line up the Scriptures? How can you pursue greater faithfulness?

2. Fellow believers are not perfect, but can be helpful examples of godliness. Who do you look up as a godly example? Consider sending them an encouraging note or giving them a call this week.

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for his salvation, his sanctification, and his certain return and reward.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help for you and your church to pursue spiritual maturity and fruitfulness.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s work in the heart of a lost friend or coworker and for opportunities to share the gospel with that person.

Thursday, May 8

1 Corinthians 5

 

Commentary

In this chapter, Paul addresses some of the sexual immorality in the church at Corinth. He remarks that some of it is so bad, even the pagans would cringe at it! Someone in the church is sleeping with his stepmother and Paul alludes to others who live in rampant, unrepentant sexual sin that the Corinthians still welcome as brothers. Paul is not telling the Corinthians to simply exclude and disregard people struggling with sin. If that was his intention, he would not have written this church in the first place! Instead, Paul is urging the Corinthians to keep the church pure – not completely free of sin or sinners, but free of the influence of people who are deep in unrepentant sin and will be a harmful influence on the rest of the church. 

In 5:13, Paul uses language from Deuteronomy 13 about purging evil and removing evil influences from the church. In the Deuteronomy passage, Moses says the Israelites must not tolerate those who claim to speak for God but are liars because such persons will influence others and lead them astray. Similarly, Paul tells us that the church cannot have boldly, unrepentantly sinful people in the church. In both cases, the Bible is not telling us to never associate with the lost or deluded, but we should not treat such persons as regular brothers and sisters in good standing and fellowship with the church. They need to know the severity of their sin and feel the severity of their sin through the discipline (exclusion) of the church.

The church cannot effectively train disciples or evangelize the lost if people from within its congregation dwell in sin without any desire to improve or change. The outside world will look in the church and believe its teachings must not be taken seriously or must be unimportant, and the believers in the church will be discouraged and possibly tempted to join an unrepentant sinner in his rebellion. We must be firm in resisting sin, correcting sin, and, when necessary, exercising church discipline – all for the building up of the saints in their faith and for the reaching of the lost with the gospel.

 

Application/Discussion

1. Have you seen sin run rampant in someone’s life, even when they knew better and were encouraged to take the right path? How did this person’s sin affect the people around him or her? How can this kind of persistent sin impede evangelism and discipleship?

2. Paul uses the same principle of Deuteronomy 13 for the practice of church discipline. What does this tell us about the Law and its application for Christians today?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for the instructions, warnings, and reminders he gives us in his Word.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in living out God’s Word and helping others live out God’s Word.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help for the saints in your church to be encouraging examples for each other and for the lost in your community to see the godly example of your church and desire to follow Christ.

Friday, May 9

1 Corinthians 6

 

Commentary

In our reading today, Paul reminds the Corinthians of what they ought to be as believers. They should be reasonable and respectable people, settling any disputes against each other in private or simply forgiving and forgetting their disputes. The Corinthians picked up a lot from their culture: a love for fancy orators, sexual immorality, chaotic worship, and, in this case, a propensity to sue for petty reasons. Paul uses the topic of public, frivolous lawsuits to launch into a wider discourse about all kinds of sin. The list of sins in verses 9 and 10 is extensive – we can probably find our own sins in there quite easily, and even if we cannot, we know from the rest of the Bible that there are even more sins than what Paul lists as an example here.

If we just read (or share on Facebook) verses 9 and 10, we will not find any gospel hope, only condemnation. Verse 11 is essential to Paul’s meaning in the preceding two verses. Although the Corinthians were marked by these sins, their lives were radically changed by the redeeming power of Christ. Now, instead of being known by their sins, God knows them by the justification provided to believers through Christ. For believers, God does not see our sins when he looks at us, he sees our redemption. Friends, we must certainly share the truths of verses 9 and 10, but never forget that lawful condemnation of sin must be accompanied by gospel hope for someone to come to Christ. Just knowing we are sinners is not enough to save us – we all know that deep down anyways – we must also know about Jesus the Savior.

For believers, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and we should worthy of our calling to be God’s holy (set apart from sin) temples. We were bought with a price – the blood of Jesus – and thus we should honor Christ by using our lives and our bodies for godliness. Remember this truth when you are tempted to sexual sin, to harm yourself, or to drown in doubts. If you have come to Christ in repentance and faith, God knows you and will keep you until the day you see him face to face. In the meantime, we are to live as God’s holy people and point others to him.

 

Application/Discussion

1. Have you had a conflict with a fellow believer? How did you resolve it? What do you think is the godliest way to deal with that kind of dispute?

2. Do you see yourself in verses 9 and 10? How do you feel knowing that, through Christ, God will not judge you based on your sin but based on the sinless work of Christ? How does this motivate you to praise? How does this motivate you to obedience?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for sending Jesus to die so that we could be forgiven of our sins and for sending the Holy Spirit to live inside and guide us when we come to Christ.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in resisting sin and honoring God with your body and life.

3. Pray for the salvation of two lost people you know well and for opportunities and boldness to share the gospel with them.

Saturday, May 10

1 Corinthians 7

 

Commentary

In this chapter, Paul addresses sexual sin and how to avoid it in more detail. The Corinthian church had been told by false teachers that believers should abstain from sexual relations. Paul explains that, in its proper place, between one man and one woman in marriage, sex is good and God-glorifying. Thus, if we have sexual passion, we should seek a godly marriage in which we can express it. Spouses should respect each other’s desires and sexually fulfill each other so that neither partner will give in to temptations to seek sex elsewhere. This sentiment, as you well know, is not popular today. We must be careful not to define our understanding of sex and marriage in either tradition or modern culture – neither is God’s inerrant (without error) Word. God made us and knows how we will best function, and he has every right to tell us how to live. Because of sin, none of us naturally has our desires rightly ordered. We all need God’s help to put sex, marriage, money, talents, aspirations, and more in the proper place.

          While marriage and sex are good, they are also not ultimate – you can live a perfectly fulfilled, joyful, and godly life without marriage. Paul is an excellent example of this – and Jesus is an even better one! Marriage can be a distraction from godliness, as it is easy to make your spouse the person you love and aim to please more than anyone, including God. Thus, Paul advises that, for those who can control their desires, singleness is a wiser choice. Paul also says that believers who are married or engaged to unbelievers should continue in the marriage and hope for their spouse’s salvation, but to accept the separation if the unbelieving spouse leaves. This problem would be especially common in places like Corinth, where the gospel was spreading for the first time. Whatever state of life you are in, Paul’s exhortation to you is to honor God in that state – married, single, servant, free, whatever and wherever you are, serve the Lord!

 

Going Deeper

If you would like to learn more about why the Bible teaches that sex and marriage should only be between one man and one woman, see this article on homosexuality on the Family Bible Reading blog:

·      https://familybiblereading.blogspot.com/2025/02/does-bible-really-condemn-homosexuality.html

 

Application/Discussion

1. Why are our feelings an inadequate guide to sexual expression? How does God’s Word help us to put sex in its proper place?

2. If you are single, how can you pursue contentment in the Lord? If you are married, how can you make your marriage about God and not about each other?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for making us male and female and giving us the gifts of community and marriage.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in living as a godly man or woman and putting sexual passion in its proper place.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s conviction and correction for someone you know who lives contrary to the Bible’s teaching on sexuality.

Sunday, May 11

1 Corinthians 8:1-9:14

 

Commentary

Paul now moves on to discuss the issue of food sacrificed to idols and the doctrine of Christian liberty. In places like Corinth, the meat that was offered to idols in pagan worship would sometimes be sold at a discount. Some Christians felt it would be wrong to eat such meat because it was used in false worship. Others saw no problem with eating this meat because the idols were not real and the meat was still just meat. Paul says that whether you do or do not eat, your relationship with God is the same. However, we should not exercise our freedom to do morally neutral things, often called Christian liberty, in such a way that it bothers the consciences of others. If we know something we do is likely to make another believer uncomfortable or feel like he is participating in sin, it is sinful for us to act anyway and prize our freedom over a brother’s conscience.

Paul explains that if anyone has Christian liberty, it is certainly himself, an apostle. Yet he does not use his liberty selfishly or to the detriment of others’ consciences. Instead, he uses his freedom to serve others. Paul and the other apostles are free to work and make a prosperous living rather than rely on the charity of the churches and wander like vagabonds, yet they choose to serve the churches throughout the Roman Empire rather than settle down for a more comfortable life. They are free to marry, yet they choose to remain single so that they can better serve the churches. The apostles are a great example of using your freedom to serve others because they were looking to the ultimate example of humble service, Christ himself. He laid down his very life to save us, and he calls us to follow him in that kind of love and humility.

 

Going Deeper

The articles below give helpful definitions and guidelines for Christian liberty:

●       https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/4-principles-exercise-christian-liberty

●       https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-liberty.html

 

Application/Discussion

1. What issues of Christian liberty do you commonly encounter? Perhaps you or someone you know are especially sensitive about worldly music, unhealthy foods, or the use of alcohol. How can you ensure your conscience is in line with God’s Word on these issues?

2. How do you serve and encourage others? Do you have opportunities you are not taking to pray with your church family or serve the vulnerable of your community? Consider asking your pastors how you can follow the example of Christ in serving your church.

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for Jesus’ humble, sacrificial servanthood in laying down his life for our salvation.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit to help you see where you can be serving others and how you can be a greater example of godliness.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit to unify your church in humble service to God, each other, and your community.

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^[1] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries vol. 7 (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2018), 78.

^[2] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries vol. 7 (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2018), 98.