i. At some point before He died, before the veil was torn in two, before He cried out, ii. Thy teeth are broken, oh old lion, wherefore should I fear thee? As much as Paul was once offended by a crucified Messiah, so the Greeks thought a message of salvation through a humiliating instrument of death foolish. We know that Peter had a wife, because . But dont expose Him to the horror and the humiliation of hanging on a cross. But God wanted, , and if we dont embrace the cross, even with all its strange contradictions and demands, then we are. They were not the spiritual achievements of the Corinthians, but the work of the. Pauls third proof for the resurrection in this section is also compelling. Specifically, they wanted the sign of a miraculous Messianic deliverance. Were the ones really right with God!, vi. the gospel Paul preached to them. It wasnt because the Corinthian Christians did not believe Jesus rose from the dead. He did not or will not rise at some general resurrection of the dead. They have not been chosen because, That no flesh should glory in His presence, : This is the end result. If Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins and remove our guilt, then why is the resurrection of Jesus so important? A distinction may be made between the trumpet of an angel and the trumpet of God. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory., O Death, where is your sting? Where is the disputer of this age? The destruction of death was shown at the resurrection of Jesus, when, But when He says all things are put under Him, it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted, : Paul reminds us that the Son will not someday be superior to the Father. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. The Corinthian Christians are called saints, but this isnt exclusive to them. Now I say this, that each of you says, I am of Paul, or I am of Apollos, or I am of Cephas, or I am of Christ. Is Christ divided? ii. However, we learn something just from the meaning of the ancient Greek word " apostolos ," which has the idea of "a special ambassador." Paul was a "special ambassador" of Jesus Christ to the world and to the church. This is proving himself the servant of Christ. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? : The cumulative testimony of these witnesses is overwhelming. is perhaps mentioned in Acts 18:17, as the head of a Corinthian synagogue who was beaten because he protected Paul. In this emphasis on Jesus, Paul promotes the sure cure for the problems of the Corinthians: getting your eyes off self and on Jesus. All rights reserved worldwide. ii. i. Paul expressed the same idea again in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. Death has no power over the person found in Jesus Christ. In light of all this, how could the Corinthian Christians let go of such an important truth? i. How can Paul be confident of this when the Corinthian church has so many problems? It is important to understand that when Paul says, . b. (24-28) The resurrection of Jesus leads to the resolution of all things. One minister of Christ may be justly preferred to another. If it were if the teaching of baptismal regeneration were true then Paul could never thank God that he baptized so few in Corinth, and he, as an evangelist, could never say Christ did not send me to baptize. Otherwise you will be prompted again when opening a new browser window or new a tab. iv. The growth of the ivy, covering the message, showed the spiritual decline. Answer: First Corinthians 13:8-10: "Love never fails. How sobering this is! How can Paul be confident of this when the Corinthian church has so many problems? Click to enable/disable Google Analytics tracking. Grace isnt given because of any works, past, present or promised; yet it is given to, iii. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. As Paul said to Agrippa in Acts 26:8, Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead? For Jews request a sign: In Pauls day, the Jewish world was looking for a sign. : This refers to a few different meetings, such as in John 20:26-31, John 21:1-25, Matthew 28:16-20, and Luke 24:44-49. g. So this corruptible must put on incorruption: Resurrection is a must for the Christians destiny. You dont understand the tension between Christ and crucified. We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Enduring Word Info This may be a foolish question (Paul calls his imaginary questioner Foolish one in 1 Corinthians 15:36), but it is a question Paul will answer. if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! i. Angels and human beings denote the universe, as gazing upon the conflicts and struggles of the apostles. Paul replies, how foolish can you get? b. i. Paul faced all this for the sake of the resurrection of the dead, both Jesus resurrection and the believers. In His work, He communicates three things to those who are, means that we are legally declared not only not guilty, but to have a, speaks of our behavior, and how the believers are to be separate, by focusing on ourselves, but on Jesus, because Jesus, is a word from the slave trade. . 2. a. The disunion is unnatural and must be cured.. d. That no flesh should glory in His presence: This is the end result. i. iii. Those baptized by the great apostle Paul had no advantage over those baptized by some unknown believer. 1 Corinthians 15 In this chapter the apostle treats of that great article of Christianitythe resurrection of the dead. How different for the Christian! For those who are not in Jesus Christ, death still has its sting. 2 Corinthians 4:10, Galatians 6:17. and (concrete, of felt necessity: , 50, abstract, of general principle) relate, as in 1 Corinthians 15:42 ff., to the present, living . He was a changed man, forgiven, cleansed, and full of love when he used to be full of hate. They could not have known this unless God revealed it to them. Paul thought, with all I have endured for Jesus Christ, if there is not a resurrection and a heavenly reward beyond this life, I am a fool to be pitied. Can we, in our super-comfortable age, say the same thing? On all counts, the resurrection body wins! If you are an unbeliever, death is not your friend; it is your enemy. The Corinthians boasting about their party leaders was really boasting about themselves. a. If there is no resurrection, then there is no future judgment to consider. Surely, Paul remembered his converts, but the issue of baptism, though important, was not, , it is impossible to claim that Paul was a sacramentalist. For it is written: In this quotation from Isaiah 29:14, Paul shows that in spiritual matters, God opposes the wisdom of man. Their idolatry was to conceive of God as ultimate Reason, meaning of course what we deem to be reasonable. (Fee). . Paul says, Go ask these people who saw the resurrected Jesus. b. It is truly the, i. Paul reminds us of something important: death is an, . What of the dead in Christ before that day? An objection commonly raised concerning the necessity of baptism is based on Paul's statement to the church at Corinth - cf. So he was fired from or quit his job as ruler of the synagogue! But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changedin a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. It was founded on a promise of God, when He said for I have many people in this city (Acts 18:10). And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour? also implies there were some people or some things which might want to snatch the true gospel away from the Corinthian Christians. has Old Testament associations, especially in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament). Corinth had a rich ethnic mix, and it was a center for sports, government, military, and business. Let every pulpit rightly say, we preach Christ crucified! A strong church once inscribed these words on an archway leading to the churchyard. For others, there is resurrection and eternal life, but unto damnation. How are the dead raised up? (14-17) Paul is grateful he did not happen to baptize more people in Corinth and thereby add more fuel to the partisan debate. 1 Corinthians 1:14-17 INTRODUCTION 1. b. c. Sosthenes our brother: This man Sosthenes is perhaps mentioned in Acts 18:17, as the head of a Corinthian synagogue who was beaten because he protected Paul. 1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, (NASB 1995 - Lockman)Now I make known 1Co 15:3-11 1:23,24 2:2-7 Ac 18:4,5 Ga 1:6-12 . Raised in incorruption raised in glory raised in power: Our resurrection body will be glorious! Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. It is better to bear trouble in this world, than to be miserable for ever. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Pottery and Corinthian brass (a mixture of gold, sliver and copper) from the city were world famous. Death is defeated by resurrection. The ancient Christians were for the most part slaves and men of low station; the whole history of the expansion of the church is in reality a progressive victory of the ignorant over the learned, the lowly over the lofty, until the emperor himself laid down his crown before the cross of Christ. (Alford, quoting Olshausen). We might also think saying called saints is mere flattery, Pauls way of preparing them for coming rebuke. If the cross doesnt seem strange to you, then you either dont understand how the cross was seen in Jesus day, or you dont understand who Jesus is. In the Old Testament, the offering of firstfruits brought one sheaf of grain to represent and anticipate the rest of the harvest (Leviticus 23:9-14). Instead, a stalk of wheat grows. i. They both describe a work in progress. d. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed: Since sleep is a softer way of describing the death of a believer, Paul tells us that not all Christians will die, but there will be a final generation who will be transformed into resurrection bodies at the return of Jesus before they ever face death. a. Click to enable/disable Google reCaptcha. Everything good the Corinthian Christians have from God has come to them by grace. But they were. v. Those who thus veil an unwelcome truth imagine that they make disciples, whereas they are only paying homage to unbelief, and comforting men in their rejection of divine propitiation for sin. Changes will take effect once you reload the page. how God's power is perfected in our weakness. Paul knew this by experience. II. i. c. To put to shame the wise: This explains part of the pleasure of God described in 1 Corinthians 1:21. This wisdom is often in contradiction to mans expectation. iii. The disunion is unnatural and must be cured.. God loves to rebuke the idolatry of human wisdom, and He often does it by choosing and using the foolish things of the world. ii. : Paul will later spend most of this letter rebuking sin and correcting error, yet he is still sincerely thankful for Gods work in the Corinthian Christians. . They were not looking for the message of the cross. . All rights reserved worldwide. For the unbeliever, this life alone gives them any chance at pleasure, and whatever happiness they can find now is all the happiness they will ever know. b. iii. : Paul would argue hard for his apostolic credentials, because he knew he had to be respected as an apostle. He wrote a letter to the Christians in Corinth from the city of Ephesus (Acts 19), which is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5:9. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. He will destroy the wisdom of the wise, not bow down before it. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. b. Greeks seek after wisdom: The Greek culture valued the pursuit of wisdom, usually expressed in high, academic, philosophical terms. (Isaiah 55:8-9). However, we learn something just from the meaning of the ancient Greek word apostolos, which has the idea of a special ambassador. Paul was a special ambassador of Jesus Christ to the world and to the church. b. ii. While therefore it is unscriptural to make baptism essential to salvation or a certain means of regeneration, it is nevertheless a dangerous act of disobedience to undervalue or neglect it. (Hodge). Later in this letter, Paul writes that he transferred to himself and Apollos what applied to others (1 Corinthians 4:6). The church also had even lost Jesus in the message, preaching religious platitudes and social graces. This thought will not only to keep you going, but 1 Corinthians 15:58 also says that it can motivate you to always abound in the work of the Lord.' I believe that God has used this exhortation to encourage the guardians to abound in the work of the Lord. He writes of the constant imminent danger to his physical life. If you must execute this man, do it honorably. Grace means that God gives freely, for His own reasons. iii. Grace means that God gives freely, for His own reasons. In 1 Corinthians 1:17, Paul declared the idea that the cross could, The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, : To those who reject the salvation of the cross, the idea of being saved through the work of a, sound kind of noble and religious to our twentieth-century ears. Three glimpses of the bodys glory were seen, in Moses face, in Christs transfiguration, and in Stephens countenance. (Trapp), iii. The power of baptism is in the spiritual reality it represents, not in who performs it. Jesus gave him the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and hes our man. : We dont often think of the burial of Jesus as part of the gospel, but it is. I Corinthians 15:3-6 " For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. I am of Paul: There was the Paul Party, who declared We are following in the footsteps of the man who founded our church, the apostle Paul. (58) Final application: how our destiny of resurrection means we should stand fast for the Lord right now. Jesus did not die as a mere martyr for a cause. 15:20-34 All that are by faith united to Christ, are by his resurrection assured of their own. Paul isnt condemning all learning or education; he merely says that by themselves they are useless for obtaining spiritual wisdom. Click to enable/disable essential site cookies. : This probably refers to the first meeting Jesus had with His assembled disciples, mentioned in Mark 16:14, Luke 24:36-43, and John 20:19-25. 1. I will not fear thee, death, why should I? d. Lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect: Paul makes it clear that it is possible to preach the gospel in a way that makes it of no effect. They take the submission of God the Son as proof that He must not be equal in deity to God the Father. i. When Paul came to Corinth in A.D. 50 the city was famous for hundreds of years before he was born. Paul will tell the Corinthian Christians something they could not have known by reason or research. He is a life-giving spirit. The apostle was addressing Christians, and warning them to beware of the temporal judgements with which God chastised his offending servants. Session 6: Paul and Titus. In the Septuagint it is one of the words used to denote the people of Israel in their religious character as Yahwehs assembly. (Bruce in his. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. The Greeks regarded Christ crucified as foolishness. iv. No. What about the widows son in the days of Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24) and Lazarus (John 11:38-44), among others? We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Yet, we can see by this that, that he baptized so few in Corinth, and he, as an evangelist, could. The Greek word has both a Gentile and a Jewish background. The hearing and trusting of the true gospel will bring the, . It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentilesthat a man has his father's wife! If the cross doesnt seem strange to you, then you either dont understand how the cross was seen in Jesus day, or you dont understand who Jesus is. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site. . It may simply be unrecorded, or Paul may mean beasts figuratively, in reference to his violent and wild human opponents (as he faced at Ephesus in Acts 19:21-41). How does the death of Jesus do anything, i. As noted above, in this chapter Paul deals both with Christ's resurrection (15:1-11) and with our own (15:12-58). You see your calling, brethren: Paul says to the Corinthians, Look at yourselves. When Paul looked at the Corinthian church, he could say: These people proclaim Jesus, they know about Jesus, there are the supernatural gifts of God among them, and they are excited about Jesus return. Whatever problems they had, these are some pretty impressive strong points. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. iii.Redemption is a word from the slave trade. Jesus also made a special appearance to Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5). i. Freud was wrong when he said: And finally there is the painful riddle of death, for which no remedy at all has yet been found, nor probably ever will be. Compare that with Pauls triumphant declaration, Death is swallowed up in victory! When we understand what Paul meant when he wrote, , If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable, , then we understand what a difficult life Paul lived. : God takes pleasure in accomplishing our salvation in a way no one would have expected. At the first meeting of the resurrected Jesus with His disciples, Thomas was absent and Judas had killed himself. Subscribe * indicates required Email Address * First Name Last Name Phone Number Get Prayer Requests and Updates from David Guzik And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. (50-53) The need for the resurrection. (Messiah) meant power, splendor, and triumph. a. I thank my God always: Paul will later spend most of this letter rebuking sin and correcting error, yet he is still sincerely thankful for Gods work in the Corinthian Christians. No one saw the actual resurrection of Jesus. All flesh is not the same flesh: There are all different kinds of bodies in Gods creation, including celestial bodies. (33-34) Knowing the truth about our resurrection should affect the way we live. 1 Corinthians 15:1-19 - The Gospel of Jesus Christ 1 Corinthians 15:20-58 - The Glory of the Resurrection 1 Corinthians 16 - A Collection and a Conclusion 1 2 Bible Commentary Quick Navigation Start Here! Paul writes this letter from Ephesus, where these people from Chloes household visited and told him about the condition of the the Corinthian church. Death is defeated by resurrection. Of course, Paul did baptize a few in Corinth. Paul will not allow this. We are no longer subject to the penalty of the law (death), and we are set free from sin. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. This may seem like a small distinction to us, but it must be an important distinction to God. Click to enable/disable _gid - Google Analytics Cookie. The disputer of this age was the man who wanted to dispute every issue and solve it by human reason. (Mare). It wasnt so much that they thought Apollos was great, but that. AND YOUR POINT, PAUL? The Corinthians were a rich church, not only materially, but also in their speech and knowledge of Jesus (all utterance and in all knowledge the testimony of Christ), in their abounding in the gifts (come short in no gift), and in that they lived in anticipation of Jesus coming (eagerly waiting). He knew that he was forgiven; yet he remembered his sin. Mans flesh only is informed by a reasonable and immortal soul, not so the flesh of other creatures: and hence the difference. (Trapp). That there be no divisions among you: The ancient Greek word for divisions is schismata. Although we derive our English word schism from this Greek word, it does not really mean a party or a faction; it properly means tear or rend. Pauls plea is that they stop ripping each other apart, tearing up the body of Christ. The Apostle Paul spent eighteen months there on his Second Missionary Journey and established a church there. Secondly, it was right and proper for Paul to live as if the coming of Jesus was imminent, though he did not in fact know when Jesus would return. You do not sow that body that shall be God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. 5. i. All the more, this is why they had to hold on! While our present bodies are adapted for the environment of time and earth, our resurrection bodies will be adapted for the environment of eternity and heaven. This is not Pauls gospel in the sense that he created it or fashioned it; it is Pauls gospel in the sense that he personally believes it and spreads it. Their idolatry was that they now had God completely figured out; he would simply repeat the Exodus, in still greater splendor. (Fee). Paul came speaking plainly, without any attempt to dazzle with eloquence or intellect. Certain divines tell us that they must adapt truth to the advance of the age, which means that they must murder it and fling its dead body to the dogs which simply means that a popular lie shall take the place of an offensive truth. (Spurgeon). True wisdom isnt about getting smart. Gods wisdom is received in and through the person of Jesus. Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal, Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, : Paul is not saying, material things cannot inherit the kingdom of God, because Jesus resurrection body was a, , in this context, means our present bodies. Jesus resurrection body was not a pure spirit body, but a material body described as. Nederlandstalige Bijbelstudies door Stan Marinussen. These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. Believers in Palestine are described this way (1 Corinthians 15:9), as well as the church at large (1 Corinthians 10:31-32). a. We are following in the footsteps of no one less than Jesus Himself. He specifies utterance and knowledge, v. 5. c. There are different bodies or structures in the universe (sun moon stars), and each is created with its own glory, and each is suited to its own particular environment and needs. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. i. Paul had an extensive history of contact with the city of Corinth, beginning with when he established the church in Corinth, coming there after Athens and staying a year and a half (Acts 18). e. It pleased God: God takes pleasure in accomplishing our salvation in a way no one would have expected. See passages such as Numbers 16:3, Numbers 20:4, Deuteronomy 23:1, and 1 Chronicles 28:8. iii. Paul understood this principle well, writing, . The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. So this corruptible must put on incorruption. A hard knot must have a hard wedge, a dead heart a rousing reproof. (Trapp). , and therefore an enemy we need not fear. Paul tells them just what kind of apostle he is, . For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.". Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you unless you believed in vain. Corinth was a major city of business, especially because of its location. 2. Click to enable/disable essential site cookies. Copyright - Enduring Word       |      . b. The Corinthian people were also world known: for partying, drunkenness, and loose sexual morals.
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