1 Coríntios 4

1 Coríntios 4

1 CORINTHIANS - PROBLEMS OF A LOCAL CHURCH Charts from Jensen's Survey of the NT - used by permission FROM CHART: Note 2 major divisions: FIRST DIVISION - Chapters 1-6 = Problems of Congregation - Divisions & Depravities, SECOND DIVISION - Chapters 7-16 = Personal Problems, Worship Problems Paul Apple's Summary DIVISIONS IN THE CHURCH -- EXALT GOD RATHER THAN MAN (1 Cor 1:18 - 2:16) The effective communication of the wisdom of God by powerfully preaching the crucified Christ = Exalting God rather than Man (1 Cor 1:18-25) Wisdom of God: The word of the cross is true power and wisdom -- Only the message of Christ crucified impacts man with the power and wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:26-31) Nullifying man’s pride: Divine election leaves no room for man’s pride -- The divine initiative in election nullifies man’s pride so that God gets all the credit (1 Cor 2:1-5) Powerfully preaching Christ -- The effectiveness of preaching derives from its focus on the crucified Christ and its dynamic of the power of God rather than from the eloquence or personality or popularity of the particular preacher (1 Cor 2:6-8) The mystery aspect of the wisdom of God -- The message of the cross is only foolishness to those who don’t understand the coming glory (1 Cor 2:9-16) Spirit taught truth -- Spirit reveals . . . Spirit inspires . . . Spirit illumines -- The Holy Spirit directs the communication and understanding of divine wisdom through three fundamental processes (1 Cor 2:17 - 4:5) Ego-less construction of the church of God by following the blueprint of the wise master builder = Exalting God rather than Man (1 Cor 3:1-4) The danger of sectarianism -- Fleshly sectarianism is an unnatural state for the believer and stunts spiritual growth (1 Cor 3:5-9) Sectarianism defeated by giving all glory to God -- All of the accolades for spiritual ministry should go to God who causes the growth -- not to the particular servants laboring together on God’s behalf (1 Cor 3:10-15) Divine blueprint for spiritual construction -- The hard work of spiritual ministry can reap eternal rewards when we build wisely on the proper foundation (1 Cor 3:16-17) The sanctity of the local church as the temple of God -- Because the local church is God’s holy sanctuary, anyone who damages (destroys / corrupts) it will be punished accordingly (1 Cor 3:18-23) God’s wisdom always trumps man’s wisdom -- Two foolish mistakes that undermine God’s wisdom and cause division within the local church: - Thinking too highly of self- Thinking too highly of any prominent men (notable teachers, spiritual leaders) (1 Cor 4:1-5) Performance review for Christian ministers -- The judgment of the Lord is all that matters when it comes to ultimate accountability for Christian ministry (1 Cor 4:6-21) Power to Discipline those Causing Divisions in the church (4:6-13) Exposing arrogant pride and self sufficiency -- Boasting in particular prominent preachers demonstrates arrogant pride and self sufficiency (1 Cor 4:14-21) Tough love -- Effective spiritual leadership aggressively confronts sin and provides just the right balance of nurture and discipline for the need of the moment to achieve the desired change in behavior 1 Corinthians 4:1 Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Amplified - SO THEN, let us [apostles] be looked upon as ministering servants of Christ and stewards (trustees) of the mysteries (the secret purposes) of God.