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Charles Spurgeon · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 Coríntios 1
Spurgeon - And yet you will perceive that the church is always looking after wise men after the flesh. If it can find these, it immediately cringes before them, and asks these learned doctors to teach it something more than the simplicities of Christ. This is the old disease of the church. May God cure her yet. (1 Corinthians 1 Commentary) Alan
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Spurgeon - Paul could never have sustained the great weight of responsibility and tribulation which fell upon him if he had not felt that he was “called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God.” No man will ever be fit for the ministry of the Word unless he is called to it by God. This also will be your strength in every other station of life; if God has called you to your peculiar work and warfare, he will not send you at your own charges, but he will be at the back of you, and support you even to the end. I think it is for this reason that Paul so constantly dwells upon his own calling when he is about to write to the churches, that he may remind other believers that they have similar privileges in their spheres of labour....Note the humility of Paul in associating with himself an almost unknown brother, Sosthenes. Although the letter is written by Paul alone, yet, as if he did not care to stand in isolation even for a moment, he associates Sosthenes with himself in the salutation. Sosthenes had been put to great shame. He was beaten before the judgment-seat, if you remember, and now he has the great and lasting honour of being mentioned by the apostle with himself. God will honour those who bear dishonour for his name’s sake. Be not ashamed even to be beaten for Christ; the stripes are stripes of glory. Question: Who was Sosthenes in the Bible? Answer: Not much is known about the man named Sosthenes in the Bible. There is a quick mention of Sosthenes in Acts and possibly a second mention in 1 Corinthians. Whether these passages speak of one or two men is unknown. Both mentions of Sosthenes involve the apostle Paul’s missionary journeys. In Acts 18+, Paul arrives in Corinth, where he meets fellow believers Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:2+). Being tentmakers as they are, Paul stays with them while he plies his trade and teaches in the synagogue (Acts 18:3–4). Sadly, the Jews reject Paul’s message, and so he moves on to preaching to the Gentiles instead. Paul goes to stay with a Gentile Christian named Titius Justus, possibly due to the fact that Justus’ home was next door to the synagogue (Acts 18:7). Paul’s preaching is more effective here, and Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, along with many other Corinthians, become believers. It may have been that Crispus left his position at the synagogue at this time, for we see a few verses later that Sosthenes is named the leader of the synagogue. After Paul had been in Corinth about 18 months, the Jews, led by Sosthenes, united in an attack on Paul, bringing him before the Roman proconsul, Gallio. As this city was under Roman rule, the Roman court was the ultimate authority in major disputes. The charge against Paul was that “this man . . . is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law” (Acts 18:13+). Gallio did not feel this particular issue was worth his time: “I will not be a judge of such things,” he said, and he ejected the Jews from the court (Acts 18:15+). At that point, Sosthenes was seized and beaten as Gallio watched without interfering (verse 17). The text leaves it unclear as to who beat Sosthenes and why. Verse 17 simply says it was “the crowd there.” Paul D. Gardner, author of The New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters, speculates that one of two things may have happened: 1) the Jews were angered that Sosthenes had been unable to persuade Gallio to try Paul and so made him the scapegoat; or 2) the Greeks outside the court beat Sosthenes because he was a Jew trying to stir up trouble in their city. The second mention of a man named Sosthenes occurs in 1 Corinthians 1 as part of the salutation of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians: “Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (verses 1–3). Here, Sosthenes is a brother in Christ and was either a voice in the crafting of the letter or its scribe. If this is the same Sosthenes as the man who opposed Paul in Acts 18+, it would be yet more evidence of the transforming power of the gospel. Knowing the power of God and the fact that this Sosthenes was known to the people in Corinth, it is certainly a possibility that they are the same man; however, no one can say for sure. GotQuestions.org THE VALUE OF A PERSONAL LETTER - A 2011 survey by the United States Postal Service indicated that the typical American home receives a personal letter—not including greeting cards or invitations—once every seven weeks. It was once every two weeks as recently as 1987. A stream of advertisements still arrives; but personal letters have largely been replaced by email, Facebook, and Twitter. Perhaps the Spirit might nudge you today to write a personal (hand-written, not email) letter to someone you know or someone from your past. Obey the nudge and be blessed to be a blessing (Acts 20:35+) Getting a personal letter in one’s physical mailbox is a thrill. Consider taking time today to hunt down paper, an envelope, a stamp, and a pen and bless a fellow believer’s life with a prayerful note. Perhaps you can write about a way in which your friend’s faith has encouraged you. Or use this as an opportunity to testify about what God is doing in your life. A SHOUT OR A SOFT REBUKE - In October 2009, a spate of articles in publications like the New York Times and The New Republic as well as on numerous parenting blogs all debated the same question: Is shouting the “new” spanking? As the practice of spanking children has declined in segments of the American population, parents admitted that they resorted to yelling and shouting instead. Now they wondered if that was really better than corporal punishment. When children misbehaved or exasperated them, was it okay to scream at them? Every parent can relate to the occasional frustration caused by their child’s actions and attitude—and as a spiritual father, Paul felt this toward his beloved church in Corinth (1 Cor 4:14,15). Yet in this letter to the Corinthians, which we’ll study this month, Paul sent a message that is paternal and firm but never harsh or screeching. There was just cause for a tongue-lashing. The problems in the Corinthian church—including disunity, pride, misuse of spiritual gifts, and abuse of the Lord’s Supper—were serious indeed. ILLUSTRATION - Lowell
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Spurgeon - A church should be made up of sanctified persons, those who have been set apart in Christ from before the foundation of the world, those who have been called by the Spirit of God to holiness of life. We sometimes sing, — “With them number’d may we be Now, and through eternity;”-- but if we are not holy, if we are not truly sanctified, how can we expect to be numbered with the Church of Christ? Where there is no true holiness, there is no work of the Holy Spirit of God. For all the holy ones Paul desires grace and peace, for they still need these blessings. The holiest of men still have spots about them, and they need that grace and peace should be given to them from day to day through Jesus Christ our Lord....The epistles were written to distinct churches, but they have a bearing upon all Christians; hence the apostle says, “With all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.” Let us thank God no Scripture is of private interpretation; every promise belongs to all the seed. If you are a believer, you may freely appropriate to yourselves whatever was said of old to any individual believer, or to any congregation of believers. (1 Corinthians 1 Commentary)
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Spurgeon - That is a very happy phrase, “their and ours”. There are multitudes of saints whose faces we never saw yet Christ is theirs, there are some with whom we might not agree in all particulars, yet Christ is theirs just as much as He is ours. All Christ is theirs, and all Christ is ours, and here is the grand bond of union between believers of different nationalities and different tongues. The called of Jesus Christ - see Spurgeon's sermons related to calling… Effectual Calling - Luke 19:5 Personal and Effectual Calling - John 10:3 Effectual Calling - His Personal Testimony Effectual Calling Illustrated by the Call Of Abraham - Genesis 12:5 The Call Of Abraham - Hebrews 11:8 The Call Of Today - Hebrews 3:7 The called are those who have been summoned by God, called… according to His purpose (kletos- Ro 8:28+) to salvation (kaleo- Ro 8:30+) saints by calling (kletos- 1Co 1:2+) both Jews and Greeks (kletos- 1Co 1:24+) having been called (kaleo) "with a holy" calling (klesis) (2Ti 1:9+) heavenly calling (klesis) (Heb 3:1+) out of darkness into His marvelous light (kaleo- 1Pe 2:9+) to walk worthy (kaleo- Ep 4:1+) by grace (kaleo- Gal 1:6+) not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles (kaleo- Ro 9:24+) through the "gospel" that we "may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (kaleo- 2Th 2:14+) and be brought "into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (kaleo- 1Co 1:9+) and return in triumph "with Him" at the end of this age (kaleo- Re 17:14+). These magnificent truths on "called" should cause all the "called of Jesus Christ" to cry out "Glory!" Thank You Father for calling me into Christ Jesus my Lord! Who are the CALLED? As this term is used by Paul (and Jude and John) "the called" are those who have heard the good news and responded to it by exercising saving faith. In this understanding "the called" are virtually synonymous with "the elect" (Matthew's use discussed below is an exception). The Lord Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me." (Jn 10:27). If you are following someone or something else, you haven’t heard Jesus and you are not one of His sheep. The ones who hear and respond and follow Him are the called. As someone has well said, let's not get in an argument about who the elect are, because it is as simple as this: God calls and you answer. If you have answered, you are among the elect, one of “the called of Jesus Christ.” I WANT TO BE A SAINT - AT a British university, a group of students asked one another, "What do you want to be?" Among the answers were these: champion athlete, influential politician, noted scholar. Shyly, yet definitely, one student said something that brought silence: "You may laugh at me, but I want to be a saint." Imagine—a saint! What an eccentric ambition. Yet for Christians, that ought to be our primary goal. To be a saint means to be like Jesus. Paul declared that the overarching purpose of God the Father is to make us like His Son (Romans 8:29). That's the essence of sainthood. Of course, every believer is guaranteed conformity to Christ in the world to come. But God does not want us to wait passively until we enter eternity to begin that supernatural transformation (1 John 3:2-3+). We are to cooperate now with the Holy Spirit and become more and more like Christ "in this world" (1 John 4:17). Just as natural birth entitles infants to be called by their parents' name, spiritual birth entitles us to be called saints (Philippians 1:1). But we still have a lot of maturing to do to before we become saintly, just as children must mature before they become like their parents.—Vernon Grounds Barton - FROM GOD TO US - As we read the opening words of Paul’s letter, we may wonder: How do these ancient words apply today? We are distanced from the original readers by time, space, culture, and language. But we do share five striking similarities with the Corinthian Christians: We are people equally needing God’s truthful instruction. We live in a similar aggressively pluralistic society that denies absolutes and makes personal rights absolute. This claim to personal rights challenges the lordship of Jesus Christ within the church today, even as it did then. The ancient philosophy that might and money make right continues to divide churches and destroy people’s lives. The resurrection of Jesus Christ remains the solid fact upon which our faith rests. To some, it will always be a stumbling block. So, in spite of the obvious differences between ourselves and the Corinthians, the points of similarity make it crucial that we read this letter as God’s Word for our day (Life Application Commentary) Spurgeon - Morning and Evening - “Sanctified by God the Father.” —Jude 1:1 “Sanctified in Christ Jesus.” —1 Corinthians 1:2 “Through sanctification of the Spirit.”—1 Peter 1:2 Mark the union of the Three Divine Persons in all their gracious acts. How unwisely do those believers talk who make preferences in the Persons of the Trinity; who think of Jesus as if he were the embodiment of everything lovely and gracious, while the Father they regard as severely just, but destitute of kindness. Equally wrong are those who magnify the decree of the Father, and the atonement of the Son, so as to depreciate the work of the Spirit. In deeds of grace none of the Persons of the Trinity act apart from the rest. They are as united in their deeds as in their essence. In their love towards the chosen they are one, and in the actions which flow from that great central source they are still undivided. Specially notice this in the matter of sanctification. While we may without mistake speak of sanctification as the work of the Spirit, yet we must take heed that we do not view it as if the Father and the Son had no part therein. It is correct to speak of sanctification as the work of the Father, of the Son, and of the Spirit. Still doth Jehovah say, “Let us make man in our own image after our likeness,” and thus we are “his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” See the value which God sets upon real holiness, since the Three Persons in the Trinity are represented as co-working to produce a Church without “spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” And you, believer, as the follower of Christ, must also set a high value on holiness—upon purity of life and godliness of conversation. Value the blood of Christ as the foundation of your hope, but never speak disparagingly of the work of the Spirit which is your meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light. This day let us so live as to manifest the work of the Triune God in us. Oswald Chambers - The vision and the verity Called to be saints. 1 Cor. 1:2. Thank God for the sight of all you have never yet been. You have had the vision, but you are not there yet by any means. It is when we are in the valley, where we prove whether we will be the choice ones, that most of us turn back. We are not quite prepared for the blows which must come if we are going to be turned into the shape of the vision. We have seen what we are not, and what God wants us to be, but are we willing to have the vision “batter’d to shape and use” by God? The batterings always come in commonplace ways and through commonplace people. There are times when we do know what God’s purpose is; whether we will let the vision be turned into actual character depends upon us, not upon God. If we prefer to loll on the mount and live in the memory of the vision, we will be of no use actually in the ordinary stuff of which human life is made up. We have to learn to live in reliance on what we saw in the vision, not in ecstasies and conscious contemplation of God, but to live in actualities in the light of the vision until we get to the veritable reality. Every bit of our training is in that direction. Learn to thank God for making known His demands. The little ‘I am’ always sulks when God says do. Let the little ‘I am’ be shrivelled up in God’s indignation—“I AM THAT I AM hath sent thee.” He must dominate. Is it not penetrating to realize that God knows where we live, and the kennels we crawl into! He will hunt us up like a lightning flash. No human being knows human beings as God does. The Power Of Affirmation September 10, 2013 Read: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus. —1 Corinthians 1:4 During a recent study, 200,000 employees were interviewed to discover the missing ingredient in their productivity. The study concluded that appreciation and affirmation topped the list of what they wanted most from their superiors. This research implies that receiving affirmation is a basic human need. The apostle Paul seemed to realize this basic need in the Corinthian believers, so before he peppered them with firm words of discipline, he showered them with affirmation. As their spiritual leader, Paul began his letter with thanksgiving to God for the grace being displayed in their lives. Once far from God, these believers were now participating in His grace through the death and resurrection of Christ. United with Jesus, they were drawing their spiritual life from Him, and the fruit of this union was their spiritual growth in godliness (1 Cor. 1:4-7). Paul deliberately and continually thanked God for His work in the Corinthian believers’ lives. I imagine that they were better able to bear firm criticism from Paul because of his tender affirmation. When we see people who are obeying God, let’s take time to affirm them and to thank God for what He’s doing through them. Lord, You are at work in so many ways in my life and in the people around me. Help me to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ by telling them how I am blessed to see Your work in them. Praise loudly—correct softly. 1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. NET 1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! NLT 1 Corinthians 1:3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. ESV 1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. NIV 1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. GNT 1 Corinthians 1:3 χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. KJV 1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. YLT 1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! ASV 1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. CSB 1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. NKJ 1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. NRS 1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. NAB 1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. NJB 1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. GWN 1 Corinthians 1:3 Good will and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are yours! 1 Corinthians 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Grace and Peace Romans 1:7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, Ephesians 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. 1 Thes 1:1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2 Thes 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Ti 1:2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 2 Ti 1:2 To Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Titus 1:4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Philemon 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. A PRAYER FOR GRACE AND PEACE There is no verb in this verse and it functions in effect as Paul's prayer for the saints at Corinth. The NLT in my opinion rightly paraphrases it as a prayer - "May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace." (1Co 1:3NLT) So Paul prayed for the saints at Corinth to lay hold of and experience the transforming power of grace in their lives, because as we walk through the letter we see they were desperate need of God's grace. They had been saved by grace but now they needed to be transformed by that same grace! (AS WE ALL DO BELOVED!) Grace does not just get you in the door of salvation (which it of course does - Eph 2:8-9+), but God's grace is needed for the rest of our journey of salvation as long as we are in these fleshly bodies (cf Paul's testimony of the role of grace in his life in 1 Cor 15:10+ = grace mentioned three times!)! And even in eternity future God's grace will abound Paul writing "that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Eph 2:7+) Grace to you - Grace is first, because without grace transforming hearts which are naturally at enmity with God, there can be no supernatural peace with God. "God first reconciles sinners to Himself, before He bestows His peace upon them." (M. Henry) Grace prepares the way for the "peace treaty" so to speak. One cannot experience the peace OF God (Php 4:7+) until he has experienced peace WITH God, the peace that comes when we have "been justified by faith, (AND THEN) we have peace WITH God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ro 5:1+) The personal reception and experience of grace and peace are dependent on the new covenant relationship with the Giver which is itself by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9+). Since Paul is addressing those who have already been saved by grace (Eph 2:8-9+). and thus had been brought into a relation of peace with God (Ro 5:1+), the grace and peace for which he prays takes on a different significance (see note below).
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Spurgeon - Grace first, for that is the fountain; then peace comes, for that is the fitting stream to flow from the fountain of grace. Seek not peace first, for there is no peace for unregenerate man; grace first, then peace, and both must come “from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul was going to blame them for some things that were not right, but he began by commending whatever good was in them by God’s grace....Paul is a great preacher of grace, and therefore he is a great giver of thanks. Grace should be followed with thankfulness. “I thank my God.” What a beautiful expression! Not only “I thank God,” but “I thank my God.” He has God in possession, he has taken him to be his own for ever and ever. Beloved, have we all done the same? Can we say, “I thank my God”? You notice how often Paul in the first ten verses mentions the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I think it is eleven times. He was full of Christ. Not only did he love Christ in his heart, but he had Christ’s name continually on his tongue, for he was not ashamed of the sweet name of Jesus Christ. Honey in the mouth, music in the ear, heaven in the heart, is that sweet name of Jesus. Lowell
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Spurgeon - That is wisely written, for Paul was about to upbraid these Corinthians for many serious faults, yet he begins by acknowledging that they had certain excellences. It gives you a ground to stand upon if you are willing to see all that is good in those whom you have to rebuke. But Paul did not merely use this as a polite way of commencing his epistle, but he did really every day thank God for the grace which these Corinthians had; yet how seldom do we thank God for the grace that he has given to other people, especially if they outshine us, if they do more for the cause of God than we do; then, we half regret that they have so much grace, but it was not so with Paul....It is something to be thankful for God’s goodness to yourself, but it is a higher virtue to be thankful for God’s goodness to others. How grateful we might be all day long if we had a quick eye to see the grace of God in our fellow-Christians, and if we blessed God for it whenever we saw it! There are some whose eye is much more quick to see imperfections than to see graces; it is a pity to have such a jaundiced eye as that; may we have a good, sound, clear, gracious eye, which will see all the good there is in our fellow-believers; and may we then ascribe it all to God, and bless and praise him for it! James Smith - “I THANK MY GOD.” (1 Cor. 1:4). It is delightfully easy to thank God for the grace we ourselves have received, but it requires great grace to thank God always for the grace which is given to others. Even Christians are apt to be jealous and envious, thinking themselves better fitted to serve God than their neighbours. Such selfishness can never walk in the fellowship of the Spirit. “In honour preferring one another.” We are unfit to be used of God as long as we are unwilling to acknowledge and thank God for the grace and gifts He has bestowed on others for the edifying of the Body, the Church. This readiness to thank God always for the grace given to others shows a spirit in full and sweetest fellowship with the mind and purposes of God. (Handfuls of Purpose) LOCATIVE OF SPHERE: MEANING & SIGNIFICANCE See more detailed discussion with additional examples at Locative of Sphere Wuest (commenting on Ro 12:7 "if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;") has this informative note (specifically commenting on the preposition "en" = "in" in Ro 12:7 - "en te diakonia...en te didaskalia" = "in his serving...in his teaching"): The word “ministry” is in the locative of sphere. The exhortation is that the one who renders service should render service in the realm or sphere in which God placed him and for which He gave him that gift.
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Spurgeon - The church at Corinth was an important church, with more than the usual number of speaking men among the members. This led to mischief, but had they known how to use this talent aright, the church at Corinth might have been of great service; instead of watch, it split itself up into little parties, and became one of the worst churches that then existed, as certain communities which imitate them in this present day, have also done....t was very wise of Paul thus to praise these Corinthians where they could be praised, for he was about to upbraid them and reprove them for many things which were not pleasing to God. If you have the unpleasant duty of rebuking those who deserve it, always take care that you begin by saying all that you can, and all that you ought, in their favor; it will prepare the way for what you have to say to them afterwards. The Corinthians were a highly-gifted church; they probably had more knowledge and more of the gifts of utterance than any other church of their day; but, alas! they fell into greater sin than did their sister churches. Great gifts are not great graces; but great gifts require great graces to go with them, or else they become a. temptation and a snare. Yet Paul felt quite sure that God would keep even these Corinthians with all their imperfections, and confirm them unto the end; and that which was true of them, is also true of all the Lord’s people, God will preserve them to the very end.
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Spurgeon - Paul continues to recognize the abundance of their endowments, and to express for them the utmost of affection, and then he adds his full conviction that God would prove the power of his grace by keeping them unto the end, and then presenting them “blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
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Spurgeon on fellowship - Where it is not so, the life of piety seems to ooze away. The blessing of God cannot rest upon a church unless we dwell together in unity, and for unity it is necessary that we be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. Fellowship (communion, sharing) (2842)(koinonia from koinos = that which is in common, belonging to several or of which several are partakers) describes the experience (in contrast to koinonia as an act) of having something in common and/or of sharing things in common with others. It describes a close association involving mutual interests and sharing or to have communion (Which Webster defines as "intimate fellowship") It denotes the active, joint participation, cooperation and/or sharing in a common interest or activity. The idea of koinonia is frequently referred to as fellowship (the state of sharing mutual interests, experiences, activities, etc.; a relation in which parties hold something in common; see excellent article on Fellowship). Koinonia in this case a very special kind of sharing—entering into what John and the other apostles experienced with Christ. Believers have fellowship with the Triune God through His Son Christ Jesus and this also leads naturally (supernaturally) to fellowship with other believers. All 17v in NT - Acts 2:42; Rom. 15:26; 1 Co. 1:9; 1 Co. 10:16; 2 Co. 6:14; 2 Co. 8:4; 2 Co. 9:13; 2 Co. 13:14; Gal. 2:9; Phil. 1:5; Phil. 2:1; Phil. 3:10; Phlm. 1:6; Heb. 13:16; 1 Jn. 1:3; 1 Jn. 1:6; 1 Jn. 1:7 ILLUSTRATION OF FAITHFUL - There was once a young boy whose dad left him on a downtown corner one morning and told him to wait there until he returned in about half an hour. But the father’s car broke down and he could not get to a phone. Five hours went by before the father managed to get back, and he was worried that his son would be in a state of panic. But when the father got there, the boy was standing in front of the dime store, looking in the window and rocking back and forth on his heels. When the father saw him, he ran up to him and threw his arms around him and hugged and kissed him. The father apologized and said, “Weren’t you worried? Did you think I was never coming back?” The boy looked up and replied, “No, Dad. I knew you were coming. You said you would.” THOUGHT - And beloved, our Father is faithful as is His Son Who said "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." (Jn 14:3) Life Application Study Note - Before tackling the problems, Paul described his hope for the Corinthians. He guaranteed these believers that God would consider them "free from all blame" when Christ returns (see also Ephesians 1:7-10). This guarantee was not because of their great gifts or their shining performance, but because of what Jesus Christ accomplished for them through his death and resurrection. All who believe in the Lord Jesus will be considered blameless when Jesus Christ returns (see also 1 Thessalonians 3:13; Hebrews 9:28). Today's struggles, difficulties, and failures don't tell the whole story. Keep the big picture in mind. If you have faith in Christ, even if it is weak, you are and will be saved. Jack Arnold - What does God want Christians to learn from this section of scripture - 1 Cor 1:4-9? First, we are secure in Christ. He possesses us and we possess Him. Second, we have spiritual gifts that God wants us to use and not abuse to get His work done. Third, fellowship with Jesus Christ and recognition of His Lordship over our lives is the key to keep from becoming a carnal Christian. Fourth, we need to appreciate the fact that we are rich beyond measure with spiritual blessings in Christ. Are we aware of our wealth in Christ? No one has more right to be called a spiritual plutocrat than a Christian. It is when we realize our spiritual wealth in Christ that we will have the basis for godly living as Christians. Many years ago the U.S. government gave a huge piece of land to a tribe of Indians in Oklahoma. They gave it because they thought it was worthless land. Shortly thereafter, oil was found on the land and this tribe became fabulously wealthy. The land had been divided up among the Indians in individual plots. Sometime after this an Indian died of starvation. He had a locket around his neck in which a piece of paper was crumpled. He valued that paper because it had come from the Great White Father in Washington, D.C. When the locket was opened and the paper read, it was in fact from the Department of Indian Affairs informing this man he was a possessor of one of the wealthy plots of land in the Indian reservation. Yet he died of starvation because he was illiterate and did not know what was in his locket. He was not aware of his wealth and lived accordingly. How many Christians there are who are wealthy in Christ but live in spiritual poverty! Ray
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Spurgeon - He does not go beating about the bush, but he speaks straight out, and gives the name of his informants, for persons who bring reports about others should always be ready to have their names mentioned. It may be unpleasant for them, but it is sometimes necessary to do unpleasant things and those who will not allow their names to be mentioned in connection with a statement adverse to character deserve no notice whatever. (PREACHING CHRIST CRUCIFIED) I have been informed concerning you, my brethren - Notice Paul uses the Greek verb deloo which indicates that the information he has received is not hearsay, rumor or gossip but was a clear report. Paul wanted the Corinthians to know that he had sufficient evidence of the existence of contentions among them. Informed is the first word in the Greek sentence which places emphasis on his receipt of this information. Notice that he continues to refer to them as his brethren (see preceding note on adelphos) in spite of what he has heard about their behavior. Even in using the word brethren Paul was emphasizing unity and the foolishness of divisions, for in Christ they all belonged to one family!
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Spurgeon - They could not speak the same thing if they had not the same mind and the same judgment. Paul dreaded the introduction of anything that would divide the hearts of believers one from another; and, beloved, let every one of us, wherever we go, be on the side of Christian truth, Christian unity, and Christian love. There is no true unity outside of truth; and the nearest way to Christian union is union in the truth. When error shall be destroyed, that which divides will be taken away; when truth is dominant, union will be universal, but it will not be so before that is the case. Be made complete (2675)(katartizo from katá = with + artízō = to adjust, fit, finish, in turn from ártios = fit, complete) means to fit or join together (see Wayne Barber's illustration below). To mend or repair, making whole by fitting together, to order and arrange properly. Katartizo was used for setting a fracture and mending a net (cf Mark 1:19+). Figuratively, to restore or set right those in error; to prepare, to render perfect. As Arnold says "Paul wanted the breaks among these Christians mended so that they might come into a beautiful relationship of harmony with one another." This verb means to supply that which is missing, to mend that which is broken. In the church at Corinth, the unity or harmony was in effect "broken!"
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Spurgeon - Is Christ divided? Paul begins with that, for it is the worst of all divisions to make Christ the head of a party in his own church.
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Spurgeon - Paul considered that it was a providential circumstance that he had baptized no more of them, else they would have cried themselves up as superior to those who had been baptized by others. There were other people who could baptize for him: it was enough for that he should concentrate all his energies upon that one matter of preaching the gospel, not that he neglected the divine command, but that it was not necessary that he, any more than his Master, should baptize personally, for we read that “Jesus Christ baptized not, but his disciples.” Not to put a dishonour upon the ordinance, but to let us see that the ordinance does not depend upon the man, but upon that sacred name into which we are baptized, and upon the true faith of the person baptized. (PREACHING CHRIST CRUCIFIED) Related Resource: Is baptism necessary for salvation? | GotQuestions.org 1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. Amplified - For Christ (the Messiah) sent me out not to baptize but [to evangelize by] preaching the glad tidings (the Gospel), and that not with verbal eloquence, lest the cross of Christ should be deprived of force and emptied of its power and rendered vain (fruitless, void of value, and of no effect).
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Spurgeon - It is true that baptism is in the original commission of all Christ’s servants, but it occupies a very secondary place compared with the preaching of the gospel; and was an evil day when the Christian Church began to put rites before doctrines, and ceremonies in the place that should be occupied by the gospel itself. Paul therefore says that his main commission was not to baptize, “but to preach the gospel.”....Paul made this statement not to put a dishonor on the ordinance of baptism but to let us see that the ordinance does not depend on the man but on that sacred name into which we are baptized and on the true faith of the person baptized. Other people could baptize for Paul. It was enough that Paul should concentrate all his energies on the one matter of preaching the gospel—not that he neglected the divine command—but that it was not necessary that he, any more than his Master, should personally baptize, for we read that “Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were” (Jn 4:2). (Preaching Christ Crucified) Paul recognized his divine call and obeyed, for when Jesus appeared to Paul on the Damascus Road, He clearly commissioned Paul to concentrate on the "main thing" declaring... ‘But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes (PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL) so that (PURPOSE OF THE GOSPEL) they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that (PARDON OF THE GOSPEL) they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance (POSSESSIONS FROM THE GOSPEL) among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’ (Acts 26:16-18+). Sent (649)(apostello from apo = from, away from + stello = to withdraw from, avoid) means to send off, to send forth, to send out. To send out; to commission as a representative, an ambassador, an envoy. Apostello means more than just to send but "to send off on a commission to do something as one’s personal representative, with credentials furnished" (Wuest) In fact the following are true of the person sent from God -- (1) He belongs to God (TO JESUS), Who has sent him out, (2) he is commissioned to be sent out, (3) he possesses the authority and Spirit given power from God and finally (4) he has a message from the Sender, in this case the Gospel message. Apostello in the present context is another affirmation by Paul that he was called by God as an apostle, which some in Corinth were questioning (cf 1 Cor 9:1-2+). The rabbis used the term apostello to refer to one called and sent as an official representative of another. Apostello was used by the Greeks for the personal representatives of the king, ambassadors who functioned with the king’s authority. To make light of the king’s envoys was to be in danger of insubordination. Preach the gospel (2097) (euaggelizo/euangelizo from eu = good, well + aggéllo = proclaim, tell; English = evangelize) means to announce good news concerning something. Euaggelizo was often used in the Septuagint for preaching a joyful message (1Sa 31:9; 2Sa 1:20; 4:10) and in a Messianic Prophecy of the NT Gospel in Isaiah 61:1+. Euaggelizo/euangelizo in the NT it (with 2 exceptions) refers to the good news of salvation offered through belief in Jesus Christ's death, burial and resurrection. One other point we often forget is that not only is preaching the Gospel for winning the lost (past tense salvation), but for saving the saved (present tense salvation - progressive sanctification - see "being saved" in 1 Cor 1:18 below)! Euaggelizo in the letters to Corinth - 1 Co. 1:17; 1 Co. 9:16; 1 Co. 9:18; 1 Co. 15:1; 1 Co. 15:2; 2 Co. 10:16; 2 Co. 11:7 What prompted this next statement? Remember that Corinth (and Greece in general at that time) was a center of human wisdom, philosophers and oratorical speakers. It would have been easy for the saints at Corinth to fall into the trap of placing a high value on human wisdom, at the expense of lowering the value of God's Gospel or in Paul's words causing it to be "emptied of its power." (ESV).
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Spurgeon - A very remarkable passage! Paul could have used the wisdom of words. In some of his epistles he gives us a specimen of his mighty rhetoric. He was a born master of speech. There was a touch of poetry in him, and always a high logical power, but he would not use it in his preaching, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. You may do what you like with human wisdom, put a bit into its mouth and try to lead it into obedience to Christ, but somehow or other its tendency is to rebel against him. (1 Corinthians 1 Commentary) Calvary shows how far men will go in sin, and how far God will go for man’s salvation. -- H. C. Trumbull Zodhiates - Paul's design here cannot be to condemn true eloquence and just reasoning, but to rebuke the vain parade, the glittering ornaments, and the dazzling rhetoric that the Greeks held in such esteem. Do not shy away from the cross of Christ and the blood that He shed there for sinners. This is the distinctiveness of the Christian gospel. Because it is distinctive, do not neglect it for the sake of ecumenical agreement. At the close of a worship service, a gentleman accosted a preacher and, after conceding that the sermon possessed certain commendable features, added, "But it had one damning defect!" Upon inquiring what this defect was, the startled minister received the following reply: "I am a Jew. I have only recently been born again. Up to that time I attended the synagogue. But there was really nothing in your sermon that I could not have heard in the synagogue, nothing that a Jewish rabbi might not have preached." "That," said the preacher in later years, "was the greatest lesson in homiletics I was ever taught." Be careful lest your words hide the cross, for it is there that sinners can lay down their burden of sin. Remember philosophy deals with abstract ideas, whereas the cross of Christ is a historical event and as such it can neither be doubted nor neglected. It is no theory of thought; it is a fact and should be presented as such. "How is it," a bishop asked a dramatist, "that I, in expounding divine doctrines, produce so little effect upon my congregation, while you can so easily rouse the passions of your audience by the representation of fiction?" "Because I recite falsehoods as if they were true, while you deliver truths as if they were fiction!" he replied. This indeed is the reason for the weakness of most preaching in our day. The truth of the cross is a fact must be related to the need of men everywhere. (1 Corinthians 1: A Richer Life for You in Christ) Whoever receiveth the Crucified One, Whoever believeth on God's only Son, A free and a perfect salvation shall have, For He is abundantly able to save. ILLUSTRATION - A preacher who announced that he was going to deliver a series of sermons on the blood of Christ was approached by a committee and asked to change his topic to "the death of Christ," because "the word 'blood' is not very popular with many of the people in this university town." The preacher replied, "Jesus might have died in bed without shedding His blood, but 'without the shedding of blood there is no remission [Heb. 9:22]. I expect to keep the blood as my theme."....A minister was preaching from the text, "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7), when suddenly he was interrupted by an atheist who asked, "How can blood cleanse sin?" For a moment the preacher was silent; then he continued, "How can water quench thirst?" "I don't know," replied the infidel, "but I know it does." "Neither do I know how the blood of Jesus cleanses sin," answered the preacher, "but I know that it does." A.W. Tozer in his book Man, A Dwelling Place for God, admonishes all who are tempted to water down the gospel -- "The new cross that’s being spoken of today does not slay the sinner. It redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and a jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, “Come and assert yourself for Christ.” To the egotist it says, “Come and do your boasting in the Lord.” To the thrill seeker it says, “Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship.” The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public... The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ, we do not bring our old life onto a higher plain. We leave it at the cross. (Mk 8:34-38+) The corn of wheat must go into the ground and die. (Jn 12:24) We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relation agents trying to establish good will between God and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or even modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum." Robby Gallaty - Share the gospel as graciously, lovingly, and tactfully as possible, but always share it boldly, accurately, and fully. A watered-down gospel is a false gospel. (Growing Up: How to be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples - highly recommended resource if you seek to obey Jesus' command to Make disciples - Mt 28:19+) Schreiner has a good summary application of this section writing that "Paul’s theology is eminently practical, and he is concerned here about divisions and factions which focus on human ministers rather than on Christ. When people exalt ministers and their speaking skills and abilities, the significance of the cross has been forgotten. Paul is not saying that sermons and other addresses should be as boring as possible; he is saying that those who proclaim and preach must beware lest they draw attention to themselves instead of to the cross of Christ....The baseline and the centre for Paul is the gospel of Christ which proclaims forgiveness of sins through the crucifixion of Jesus." (1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary) (Bold added) The Hollywood Hills Cross May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:14 Today's Scripture & Insight: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 One of the most recognizable images in the US is the “HOLLYWOOD” sign in Southern California. People from all over the globe come to “Tinseltown” to gaze at cement footprints of stars and perhaps catch a glimpse of celebrities who might pass by. It’s hard for these visitors to miss the sign anchored in the foothills nearby. Less well known in the Hollywood hills is another easily recognized symbol—one with eternal significance. Known as the Hollywood Pilgrimage Memorial Monument, this 32-foot cross looks out over the city. The cross was placed there in memory of Christine Wetherill Stevenson, a wealthy heiress who in the 1920s established the Pilgrimage Theatre (now the John Anson Ford Theatre). The site served as the venue for The Pilgrimage Play, a drama about Christ. The two icons showcase an interesting contrast. Movies good and bad will come and go. Their entertainment value, artistic contributions, and relevance are temporary at best. Thank You, Father, for the eternal significance of the cross. Help us to understand and appreciate the love that caused Your Son to embrace His cross for our sakes. To know the meaning of the cross, you must know the One who died there. Jack Arnold's conclusion of 1 Cor 1:10-17 - What does God want us to learn from this passage? First, the unity of the local church is essential to an effective witness to the lost world. Second, God condemns any attitude which leads to partisanship or faction within the church of Jesus Christ. These Corinthians were all meeting in the same place (probably in a home), but within the group were wrong attitudes which had fragmented the church. God hates any attitude whereby people devote themselves to a man, a doctrine or a practice, refusing to fellowship with anyone who does not think just as they do. The Christian celebrity phenomenon presents great hazards as well, creating “groupies” who hang on every word (or song) of radio and television preachers or singers without testing their messages against the Scriptures as carefully as they do those of their own pastors and leaders (Craig Blomberg, First Corinthians). Third, God wants us Christians, while holding to our convictions, to feel a part of the total Body of Christ. In New Testament times, denominations did not exist. There were no labels put on groups of Christians. They practiced baptism, but there were no Baptists. They believed in predestination, but there were no Presbyterians. They were committed to holy living, but there were no Methodists. They were Spirit-filled, but there were no Pentecostals. They believed in worship, but there were no Episcopalians. They observed the Lord’s Table, but there were no Plymouth Brethren. As Christians, we must get the right attitude about the universal, visible church of Christ. Fourth, separation into cliques often brings pride and not humility, and God hates a proud heart. Pride does not want to change the problem of division, and this problem was never solved in Corinth. Clement of Rome, writing about 95 A.D., talks about the same cliques and divisions in his day. Fifth, the key to defeating divisions in the church is an acknowledgment of the Lordship of Christ, giving Him the authority to rule over our lives through the Word of God. Sixth, we Christians are to be in loving fellowship with all true believers in Christ in whatever denomination or Christian group we may find ourselves. When will the institutional church and particularly the church in the individualized West put away its petty squabbling and begin to demonstrate this biblically mandated unity more visibly? Not a few unbelievers ancient and modern have rejected the gospel on the grounds that a religion as visibly divided as Christianity could scarcely reflect the truth (Blomberg). Too often churches, denominations and renewal movements break off and become their own "church of Christ," forming every imaginable sect or way out group. This kind of activity is a shame for the church and is a cause for deep repentance. ILLUSTRATION - John Wesley was very concerned about all the denominations in Christendom in his day. He told about a dream in which he was ushered to the gates of hell. At those gates, he asked the gatekeeper, “Are there any Presbyterians here?” And he found out there were. “Are there any Congregationalists here?” There were. “Any Baptists? "Yes." To his amazement he also found that there were Methodists in hell. Then Wesley was immediately translated to the gates of heaven, and he asked the gatekeeper, "Are there any Presbyterians here?” The answer was no. “Are there any Baptists or Congregationalists?" Again, the answer was no. “Well, then,” said Wesley, “there must be some Methodists?" The gatekeeper replied that there were absolutely no Methodists. Then Wesley said, “Who then is inside heaven’s gates?” The gatekeeper relied, “There are only Christians here!” If you are not a Christian, you should know that no preacher can save you, no church can save you, and no Christian organization can save you. No evangelist can forgive your sins. No teacher can give you a righteousness that will make you acceptable to God. No man can open our eyes and make you see spiritual realities. Only Christ, the God-Man, the Savior, can forgive your sins, heal your broken heart, give you eternal life, cleanse you as white as the driven snow, and give you assurance of heaven. Do not trust in men to save you. Trust Christ. Do not trust any system of theology to save you. Trust Christ. Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14:6). (1 Corinthians 1:10-17 Divisions Because Of Personalities) 1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Amplified - For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved it is the [manifestation of] the power of God.
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Spurgeon - 1 Cor 1:19 - THIS verse is a threatening so far as the worldly-wise are concerned, but to the simple believer it is a promise. The professedly learned are for ever trying to bring to nothing the faith of the humble believer, but they fail in their attempts. Their arguments break down, their theories fall under their own weight, their deep-laid plots discover themselves before their purpose is accomplished. The old gospel is not extinct yet, nor will it be while the Lord liveth. If it could have been exterminated it would have perished from off the earth long ago. We cannot destroy the wisdom of the wise, nor need we attempt it, for the work is in far better hands. The Lord himself says, “I will,” and he never resolves in vain. Twice does he in this verse declare his purpose, and we may rest assured that he will not turn aside from it. What clean work the Lord makes of philosophy and “modern thought” when he puts his hand to it! He brings the fine appearance down to nothing; be utterly destroys the wood, hay, and stubble. It is written that so it shall be, and so shall it be. Lord, make short work of it. Amen, and Amen. (Faith's Checkbook) WISDOM - GODLY AND UNGODLY The list below is taken from what Paul teaches about wisdom in 1Cor 1:18-31 Source Comes from God (1Co 1:21, 24, 30). Is part of God's eternal plan (1Co 1:21). Is revealed in Christ (1Co 1:24, 30). Is not discovered by human investigation but by divine revelation (1Co 1:21). Relationship to Christ Christ is "the wisdom of God" (1Co 1:24). Christ "became to us wisdom from God" (1Co 1:30). True wisdom is therefore not merely a principle but a Person. To know Christ is to possess God's wisdom (1Co 1:30). Relationship to the Cross The message of the cross embodies God's wisdom (1Co 1:18, 23-24). The cross appears foolish to the world but is actually God's wisdom (1Co 1:18, 24-25). God's wisdom centers on a crucified Savior (1Co 1:23). Relationship to Salvation God's wisdom provides salvation (1Co 1:21). Salvation comes through believing the gospel, not through human wisdom (1Co 1:21). God's wisdom accomplishes what human wisdom never could: reconciliation with God. Characteristics Appears foolish to unbelievers (1Co 1:18, 23). Is wiser than all human wisdom (1Co 1:25). Exalts God's power rather than human ability (1Co 1:24-25). Produces humility rather than boasting (1Co 1:29, 31). Magnifies God's grace rather than man's achievements (1Co 1:26-29). Results Leads people to know God (1Co 1:21). Saves those who believe (1Co 1:21). Produces righteousness (1Co 1:30). Produces sanctification (1Co 1:30). Produces redemption (1Co 1:30). Causes believers to boast in the Lord alone (v. 31). UNGODLY WISDOM (Wisdom of the World) Source Originates from fallen humanity ("according to the flesh," 1Co 1:26). Belongs to "this age" (1Co 1:20). Is man's attempt to understand reality apart from God (1Co 1:20-21). Characteristics Exalts human intellect and reasoning (1Co 1:19-20). Values human cleverness (1Co 1:19). Seeks wisdom apart from divine revelation (1Co 1:22). Rejects the message of the cross as foolishness (1Co 1:18, 23). Cannot understand God's way of salvation (1Co 1:21). Is impressed with power, status, nobility, and worldly achievement (1Co 1:26). What It Cannot Do Cannot know God (1Co 1:21). Cannot save sinners (1Co 1:21). Cannot understand the wisdom of the cross (1Co 1:18, 23). Cannot produce righteousness, sanctification, or redemption (1Co 1:30). God's Verdict on Worldly Wisdom God will destroy it (1Co 1:19). God will set aside its cleverness (1Co 1:19). God has made it foolish (1Co 1:20). God shames it through the gospel (1Co 1:27). God nullifies it (1Co 1:28). Results Produces pride and boasting (1Co 1:29). Rejects Christ crucified (1Co 1:23). Leaves people perishing (1Co 1:18). Ultimately fails before God's wisdom (1Co 1:19-20). Godly Wisdom Ungodly Wisdom From God From fallen man Revealed in Christ Rooted in human reasoning Centers on the cross Rejects the cross Leads to salvation Cannot save Produces humility Produces boasting Knows God Cannot know God Appears foolish to the world Appears wise to the world Results in righteousness, sanctification, redemption Ends in failure and judgment Exalts Christ Exalts man Eternal perspective Temporal perspective Paul's Bottom Line Godly wisdom is Christ crucified. Ungodly wisdom is man's attempt to understand life, salvation, and reality apart from Christ. Or as Paul summarizes: "Christ Jesus... became to us wisdom from God" (1 Cor 1:30). The ultimate test of wisdom is therefore: What does it do with Jesus Christ and His cross? If it rejects the cross, it is worldly wisdom. If it embraces the cross, it is God's wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1:20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? Amplified - Where is the wise man (the philosopher)? Where is the scribe (the scholar)? Where is the investigator (the logician, the debater) of this present time and age? Has not God shown up the nonsense and the folly of this world’s wisdom?
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Spurgeon - “It is certain that a blind man is no judge of colours, a deaf man is no judge of sound, and a man who has never been quickened into spiritual life can have no judgment as to spiritual things.” (The Word of the Cross) Bob Utley on did not come to know God - Fallen humanity cannot discover God, but God has chosen to reveal Himself through Christ, (the Living Word), and through the Bible (the written Word), as well as through redeemed humanity (the established word)! (1 Corinthians 1 Commentary) Brian Bell - Brilliant astronomers chart the orbits & shapes of the stars & planets. But their telescopes never lead to God.. Astronauts some of the finest specimens of humanity, explore our universe. But they don’t discover God (ED: UNLESS THE STEP OUT OF THEIR SATELLITE AND OUT OF THEIR SPACESUIT!) Scientists peer through their microscopes & record the details of a world invisible to human eyes, scrutinizing, analyzing, hypothesizing, theorizing. But their spiritual lenses are also microscopic, so they never see God.. Intellectual Educators read & study & probe the classics. But in all their humanistic research, they, too, never find God. No, the world through its wisdom has not come to know God. (1 Corinthians 1 - Bell's Commentary on the Bible) Paul encountered the best of the world's wisdom in Athens and declared that despite their great wisdom they did not come to know God... “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you (READ THE FOOLISHNESS OF THE MESSAGE PAUL PREACHED TO THE ATHENIANS - Acts 17:24-30, 31+ THEN READ THEIR RESPONSE! Acts 17:32+). (Acts 17:23+) Comment - As
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Spurgeon - You have only to study the history of the world at the time when Paul was writing, and you will see that the “world, by wisdom knew not God.” It had made itself exceedingly philosophical and sage, but if you weigh its wisest conclusions you will find that they were only polished folly. There is nothing left us of all the wisdom of that period. Time itself has proved it: nay, has disproved it. God, in his infinite wisdom, raised up a number of philosophers just about the time of the coming of Christ, and a little before that great event. If ever there were great minds upon the earth, it was then; yet these men, with all their schools of thought, knew not God, and the people did not follow after them, so that the earthly wisdom turned out to be a failure. (1 Corinthians 1 ) Wisdom (4678) see preceding note on sophia God was well-pleased (eudokeo) through the foolishness (moria) of the message preached (kerugma) to save (sozo) those who believe (pisteuo in the present tense - continually believe) - The foolishness of the message preached is tantamount to the Gospel. The act of preaching is not foolish, but to the unsaved world the content of the message preached seems to be utter foolishness. And so the foolishness is only foolishness to natural, spiritually dead men (1 Cor 2:14+). To those who have ears to hear the foolishness of God is the glorious truth revealing God's way of salvation for those who believe (present tense). Don't misunderstand Paul. He is not giving approval to one who preaches foolishly. The foolishness of the message preached is the pure, profound truth of the Gospel WITHOUT any additives (i.e., without addition of man's wisdom, cleverness of speech, etc), and ultimately is Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Cor 1:24, cf 1 Cor 2:2+= "Jesus Christ and Him crucified"). The cross is a symbol of freedom, From sin, separation, and shame; For there our redemption was purchased— Salvation in Christ's holy name. —Fitzhugh
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Spurgeon - There are some sciences that may be learned by the head, but the science of Christ crucified can only be learned by the heart. (The Evil and its Remedy) Henry Morris on foolishness of the message preached - To the wisdom of the ungodly, "foolish preaching" is preaching the crucifixion of the world's Creator by his creation. (1 Defender's Study Bible) In 1 Cor 2:4+ Paul says "my message and my preaching (kerugma) were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." Well-pleased (took pleasure) (2106)(eudokeo from eu = well, good + dokeo = to think) means literally to think well of and so to be well pleased, to take pleasure or delight in, the very word the Father used to affirm His Son (Mt. 3:17+, Mk 1:11+; Lk. 3:22+). The idea is to find satisfaction in something or someone or to view with approval. This verb should overwhelm us with gratitude, that God should take delight in sinners (Ro 5:8+), His enemies (Ro 5:10+) and bestow on us His love in sending His Son (Jn 3:16+) to be the propitiation for our sins (1 Jn 4:10+). Eudokeo - 21v in the NT - Mt. 3:17; Mt. 12:18; Mt. 17:5; Mk 1:11; Lk. 3:22; Lk. 12:32; Ro 15:26; Ro 15:27; 1 Co. 1:21; 1 Co. 10:5; 2 Co. 5:8; 2 Co. 12:10; Gal. 1:15; Col. 1:19; 1 Thess. 2:8; 1 Thess. 3:1; 2 Thess. 2:12; Heb. 10:6; Heb. 10:8; Heb. 10:38; 2 Pet. 1:17 Foolishness (3472) see moria Message preached (2782)(kerugma where –ma means the result of <> from kerusso = to proclaim or announce in public) means not so much the presentation of the message, but the content of the message (WHICH NATURAL MEN FIND "FOOLISH" AND IN THIS CONTEXT = THE GOSPEL). The preacher is like the ancient Greek kerux, a public servant vested with authority, who was to summon the ekklesia (1577) the town gathering. The kerux would also cry out state messages such as a declaration of war or “publication” of honors or victories. Kerugma is used only 8x in NT - Mt. 12:41; Lk. 11:32; Ro 16:25; 1 Co. 1:21; 1 Co. 2:4; 1 Co. 15:14; 2 Ti 4:17; Titus 1:3 To save (4982) see preceding note on sozo. To save sinners, rescuing them from the power of sin, the danger of eternal death, restoring them to spiritual health and preserving them safe and secure until the end of their life. Believe (4100)(pisteuo from pistis) means to consider something (IN THIS CASE THE "FOOLISHNESS PREACHED") to be true and therefore worthy of one's trust. It describes a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability, in the case of the Gospel, the ability of Jesus to save forever (Heb 7:25+). W E Vine defines belief as consisting of (1) a firm conviction which produces full acknowledgment of God's revelation of Truth - (2Th 2:11+ -"in order that they all may be judged who did not believe [pisteuo] the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.") (2) a personal surrender to the Truth (Jn 1:12+ "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe [pisteuo] in His name") and (3) a conduct inspired by and consistent with that surrender (See the obedience of faith) Pisteuo in the Corinthians letters - 1 Co. 1:21; 1 Co. 3:5; 1 Co. 9:17; 1 Co. 11:18; 1 Co. 13:7; 1 Co. 14:22; 1 Co. 15:2; 1 Co. 15:11; 2 Co. 4:13 Charles Swindoll on the root of pisteuo, the noun pistis - This word denotes confidence in the reliability of a person or thing and can describe one’s trust in a person’s word, a compact or treaty, or a deity (or deities). The term implies both knowledge and action. One may receive knowledge of a certain truth and may even offer verbal agreement, but “trust” or “confidence” is not said to be present until one’s behavior reflects that truth. In the Hellenistic period, this word came to connote the conviction that gods do exist and are active. The Greeks worshiped and feared their gods, but they did not have a relationship with them. NT readers, however, would also have known the word from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), where it—and related words, like pisteuo, “to believe,” “to accept as truth,” “to commit one’s trust”—is linked to the relationship with Israel’s covenant-keeping God. For the Jew, and therefore the Christian, pistis became a description of the means by which someone relates to God—so much so that the participial form came to designate members of the church as “believers” (e.g., Acts 2:44; 4:32; 5:14). (Insights on Luke ) It has well been said that faith is not believing in spite of evidence—that’s superstition—but obeying in spite of circumstances and consequences. As pistis relates to God, it is the conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things well as the Provider and Bestower of eternal salvation through Christ. As faith relates to Christ it represents a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through Whom we obtain eternal salvation and entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Stated another way, eternal salvation comes only through belief in Jesus Christ and no other way. A good acronym for saving F.A.I.T.H. is... Forsaking All I Trust Him Wayne Grudem defines faith that saves one's soul - Saving faith is trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and for eternal life with God. This definition emphasizes that saving faith is not just a belief in facts but personal trust in Jesus to save me... The definition emphasizes personal trust in Christ, not just belief in facts about Christ. Because saving faith in Scripture involves this personal trust, the word "trust" is a better word to use in contemporary culture than the word "faith" or "belief." The reason is that we can "believe" something to be true with no personal commitment or dependence involved in it. (See online Systematic Theology) (Bolding added) Related Resource: What is easy believism? | GotQuestions.org What is lordship salvation? | GotQuestions.org What is the relationship of faith, works, and security in salvation? | GotQuestions.org Why is faith without works dead? | GotQuestions.org What are some of the signs of genuine saving faith? | GotQuestions.org See study on the Power of God's Word The Word of God - Quotations and Illustrations God's Word is a word… … of Thy lips - Ps 17:4+ … of this salvation - Acts 13:26+ … of God - Acts 13:44+, et al … of the Lord - Acts 13:48+, et al … of His Grace - Acts 14:3, 20:32 … of the Gospel - Acts 15:7+ … of promise - Romans 9:9 + … of faith Romans 10:8 + … of Christ - Romans 10:17 + … of the Cross - 1 Co 1:18+ … of reconciliation - 2 Co 5:19 + … of truth - 2 Co 6:7+, Col 1:5 +, 2Ti 2:15 +, James 1:18+ … of life - Philippians 2:16 + … of God's message - 1Th 2:13 + … of His power - Heb 1:3 + … of righteousness - Heb 5:13 + … of the oath - Heb 7:28 + … of exhortation - Heb 13:22 + … (living and abiding) - 1Pe 1:23 + … of Life - 1Jn 1:1 + … of My perseverance - Rev 3:10 + Go Beyond The Cross The message of the cross is . . . the power of God. — 1 Corinthians 1:18 Today's Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 In central India in the mid-20th century, tensions were running high between non-Christians and Christians. A young man was told to climb to the top of a 3-story building and tear down the cross from its roof. He was not successful, though. In fact, he fell off the roof to the street below and was severely injured. When he was taken to the hospital, he was placed on a cot next to a patient who was a Christian. When the believer told the injured man what the cross represents and what Jesus did for him on the cross, his heart was touched. He cried out, “Lord Jesus! Forgive me! I didn’t mean to do it. They made me.” No matter what people try to do to eliminate the symbols of Christianity, we know that they cannot stop its message. Paul said, “The message of the cross . . . is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Jesus said that even the gates of hell would not prevail against the church (Matthew 16:18). The cross stands as the symbol of Christianity. But its symbolism has no value to someone who doesn’t understand what Christ did on that cross. He died there to provide forgiveness (Colossians 2:13-14), not to create an icon. The cross is a symbol of freedom, From sin, separation, and shame; For there our redemption was purchased— Salvation in Christ's holy name. —Fitzhugh The pathway to heaven begins at the foot of the cross. A Powerful Message The gospel of Christ . . . is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. —Romans 1:16 Today's Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Bible teacher Lehman Strauss was brought to Christ through the power of the Word when he was young. At his girlfriend’s suggestion, he read Romans 3:23, 5:8, and 10:13. As he did, he was convicted of his sin. He wept and believed. When his son Richard was 7 years old, he asked his father how to be saved. Lehman used the same verses that his girlfriend (who was now his wife) had used years earlier. His son believed too, and eventually became a pastor. God’s Word has tremendous power! The first recorded time God spoke, He created light (Gen. 1:3). He spoke a promise to Abraham (17:15-19) and enabled his 90-year-old wife Sarah to bear a child (21:1-2). God still speaks with power today, and all who hear and believe the gospel are saved (Rom. 1:16). Yes, the message of Christ and His saving work on the cross can change the direction of a person’s life. It has the power to reach the heart of that person you love and have prayed for many times. So don’t give up in your witness. Be consistent in your daily walk. Keep praying and sharing the gospel with others. It’s a powerful message! By: David C. Egner Sweetly echo the gospel call— Wonderful words of life; Offer pardon and peace to all— Wonderful words of life. —Bliss Our words have power to influence; God’s words have power to save. Play and listen to the powerful hymn by Phillip Bliss.... Wonderful Words of Life Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life, Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life; Words of life and beauty teach me faith and duty. Refrain Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life, Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. Christ, the blessèd One, gives to all wonderful words of life; Sinner, list to the loving call, wonderful words of life; All so freely given, wooing us to Heaven. Refrain Sweetly echo the Gospel call, wonderful words of life; Offer pardon and peace to all, wonderful words of life; Jesus, only Savior, sanctify us forever. Refrain Our words have power to influence; God’s words have power to save. Which Way? January 17, 2007 Read: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. —1 Corinthians 1:18 Every night, Howard and Mel frequented the cheap bars in Grand Rapids, Michigan, hoping to drown away another miserable day. Finally, the pain of a wasted life was too much, so Mel hopped a train for Chicago, where he hoped to end it all. But as he walked barefoot through a Chicago snowstorm in 1897, heading for a self-imposed demise in Lake Michigan, he was stopped by a worker from the Pacific Garden Mission. Mel went inside, heard the gospel, and accepted Christ as his Savior. Later, Mel went back to Grand Rapids to start a mission. Howard heard that he was saved and sober. But instead of trusting Jesus, Howard just laughed at “Old Mel.” To him, “the message of the cross [was] foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:18). Finally, the drinking took its toll on Howard, and he committed suicide. More than 100 years later, the Mel Trotter Mission still welcomes people who need a place to stay and who need Jesus. And 100 years later, our family is still saddened by Howard’s demise. He was my wife’s grandfather. Which way will you take? The question is clear— The choice you must make with a heart sincere; To Jesus the Lord you now are inclined— Today is the day to make up your mind. —Hess To choose Christ now is a choice for eternity. 1 Corinthians 1:22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; Amplified - For while Jews [demandingly] ask for signs and miracles and Greeks pursue philosophy and wisdom,
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Spurgeon - 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. Whatever the preacher may mean in his heart, he will be guilty of the blood of souls if he does not clearly proclaim a real sacrifice for sin....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.” (The Word of the Cross) Preach (proclaim) (2784) (kerusso from kerux/keryx = a herald - one who acts as the medium of the authority of one who proclamation he makes) means to proclaim publicly or to herald or act as a public crier - the town official who would make a proclamation in a public gathering. Kerusso was used of the official whose duty it was to proclaim loudly and extensively the coming of an earthly king, even as our gospel is to clearly announce the coming of the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 19:16+)! The Imperial Herald would enter a town in behalf of the Emperor, and make a public proclamation of the message which his Sovereign ordered him to give, doing so with such formality, gravity, and authority as to emphasize that the message must be heeded! (Think about this in regard to the Gospel of God instead of the decree of a man! cf 1Th 2:13+). He gave the people exactly what the Emperor bade him give, nothing more, nothing less. He did not dare add to the message or take away from it. To preach, proclaim, publish, always with the suggestion of formality, gravity and an authority which must be listened to and obeyed. The idea is to preach or proclaim with the goal to persuade, urge or warn to comply. Kerusso in the Corinthian letters - 1 Co. 1:23; 1 Co. 9:27; 1 Co. 15:11; 1 Co. 15:12; 2 Co. 1:19; 2 Co. 4:5; 2 Co. 11:4 Crucified (4717)(stauroo from stauros = cross, in turn from histemi = to stand) means literally to nail or fasten to a cross and so to crucify -- literal death by nailing to and hanging from a cross (a stake). Stauroo in the Corinthian letters - 1 Co. 1:13; 1 Co. 1:23; 1 Co. 2:2; 1 Co. 2:8; 2 Co. 13:4. Stumbling block (SCANDAL)(4625)(skandalon from a root meaning jump up, snap shut) was originally the piece of wood that kept open a trap for animals. When the animal stumbled over the stick, the trap would shut. Outside the Bible it is not used metaphorically, though its derivative skandalethron (e.g. a trap set through questions) is so used. The English word scandal is derived from the noun via the Lat. scandalum.Thus skandalon was literally, that movable part of a trap on which the bait was laid, and when touched caused the trap to close on its prey. Skandalon thus came to mean any entanglement of the foot. Figuratively, as used most often in Scripture, skandalon refers to any person or thing by which one is drawn into error or sin. Skandalon has two meanings. (a) It originally meant the bait-stick in a trap. (b) It then came to mean any stumbling-block placed in a man’s way to trip him up. It is ironic that Jesus called the Jews themselves skandalon! (Mt 18:7) Skandalon - 13x in NT - Matt. 13:41; Matt. 16:23; Matt. 18:7; Lk. 17:1; Rom. 9:33; Rom. 11:9; Rom. 14:13; Rom. 16:17; 1 Co. 1:23; Gal. 5:11; 1 Pet. 2:8; 1 Jn. 2:10; Rev. 2:14 Foolishness (3472) see moria Play Michael Card's powerful song Scandalon... The seers and the prophets had foretold it long ago That the long awaited one would make men stumble But they were looking for a king to conquer and to kill Who'd have ever thought He'd be so weak and humble Chorus He will be the truth that will offend them one and all A Stone that makes men stumble And a Rock that makes them fall Many will be broken so that He can make them whole And many will be crushed and lose their own soul Along the path of life there lies a stubborn Scandalon And all who come this way must be offended To some He is a barrier, To others He's the way For all should know the scandal of believing Chorus It seems today the Scandalon offends no one at all The image we present can be stepped over Could it be that we are like the others long ago Will we ever learn that all who come must stumble Repeat Chorus ILLUSTRATION - Let every pulpit rightly say, “we preach Christ crucified!” A strong church once inscribed these words on an archway leading to the churchyard. Over time, two things happened: the church lost its passion for Jesus and His gospel, and ivy began to grow on the archway. The growth of the ivy, covering the message, showed the spiritual decline. Originally it said strongly, we preach Christ crucified. But as the ivy grew, one could only read we preach Christ, and the church also started preaching “Jesus the Great Man” and “Jesus the Moral Example” instead of Christ crucified. The ivy kept growing, and one could soon only read, we preach. The church also had even lost Jesus in the message, preaching religious platitudes and social graces. Finally, one could only read we, and the church also just became another social gathering place, all about we and not about God. (1 Corinthians 1 Commentary) To the Greeks the message of the Cross was foolishness. There are at least two reasons according to William
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Spurgeon - Christ crucified 1 Corinthians 1:23, 24 I do not believe it is preaching Christ and him crucified, to give our people a batch of philosophy every Sunday morning and evening, and neglect the truth of this Holy Book. I do not believe it is preaching Christ and him crucified, to leave out the main cardinal doctrines of the Word of God, and preach a religion which is all a mist and a haze, without any definite truths whatever. I take it that a man does not preach Christ and him crucified, who can get through a sermon without mentioning Christ’s name once; nor does that man preach Christ and him crucified who leaves out the Holy Spirit’s work, who never says a word about the Holy Ghost, so that indeed the hearers might say, “We do not so much know whether there be a Holy Ghost.” And I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and him crucified, unless you preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. I have my own ideas, and those I always state boldly. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in his dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering, love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the peculiar redemption which Christ made for his elect and chosen people; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having believed. Such a gospel I abhor. The gospel of the Bible is not such a gospel as that. (1 Corinthians 1:23 Preaching Christ Crucified; 1 Corinthians 1:23-24 Christ Crucified) 1 Corinthians 1:24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Amplified - But to those who are called, whether Jew or Greek (Gentile), Christ [is] the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. [This is] because the foolish thing [that has its source in] God is wiser than men, and the weak thing [that springs] from God is stronger than men.
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Spurgeon - Christ—the power and wisdom of God 1 Corinthians 1:24 Christ is the power of God, for he is the Creator of all things, and by Him all things exist. But when he came to earth, took upon himself the fashion of a man, tabernacled in the inn, and slept in the manger, he still gave proof that he was the Son of God; not so much so when, as an infant of a span long, the immortal was the mortal, and the infinite became a babe; not so much so in his youth, but afterwards when he began his public ministry, he gave abundant proofs of his power and godhead. The winds hushed by his finger uplifted, the waves calmed by his voice, so that they became solid as marble beneath his tread; the tempest, cowering at his feet, as before a conqueror whom it knew and obeyed; these things, these stormy elements, the wind, the tempest, and the water, gave full proof of his abundant power. The lame man leaping, the deaf man hearing, the dumb man singing, the dead rising, these, again, were proofs that he was the “power of God.” When the voice of Jesus startled the shades of Hades, and rent the bonds of death, with “Lazarus come forth!” and when the carcase rotten in the tomb woke up to life, there was proof of his divine power and godhead. A thousand other proofs he afforded; but we need not stay to mention them to you who have Bibles in your houses, and who can read them every day. At last he yielded up his life, and was buried in the tomb. Not long, however, did he sleep; for he gave another proof of his divine power and godhead, when starting from his slumber, he affrighted the guards with the majesty of his grandeur, not being held by the bonds of death, they being like green twigs before our conquering Samson, who had meanwhile pulled up the gates of hell, and carried them on his shoulders far away. (1 Corinthians 1:24 Christ--The Power and Wisdom of God) 1 Corinthians 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Amplified - [This is] because the foolish thing [that has its source in] God is wiser than men, and the weak thing [that springs] from God is stronger than men.
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Spurgeon - And, at this day, it is a great snare to the Church when she glories in her education, when she puts any confidence in the learning, or the wit, or the eloquence of her ministers, when she relies in any degree whatever upon an arm of flesh. The sword of the Spirit, if it be put into a velvet and embroidered scabbard, is all the worse for that; pull it out. The Word of God cannot cut while it is hampered with human wisdom and human learning half as well as when its keen edge alone is used. It is the Lord, by the power of his Spirit, who must make the Word effectual. Oh, for more faith and truer faith in him! (1 Corinthians 1 Commentary) Consider (991)(blepo) basically means to have sight, to see, to look at, then to observe, to discern, to perceive with the eye, usually implying more especially an intent, earnest or special contemplation. It can also be used for intellectual or spiritual perception as in the present passage. Paul's uses in the letters to Corinth - 1 Co. 1:26; 1 Co. 3:10; 1 Co. 8:9; 1 Co. 10:12; 1 Co. 10:18; 1 Co. 13:12; 1 Co. 16:10; 2 Co. 4:18; 2 Co. 7:8; 2 Co. 10:7; 2 Co. 12:6; Calling (2821)(klesis from kaleo = to call. See note on "the called" kletos in 1 Cor 1:1) means a call and was used for an invitation to a banquet. In the NT the word is used metaphorically of the call or invitation to come into the kingdom of God with all its privileges. Here "klesis" refers to the divine call by which Christians are introduced into the privileges of the Gospel. God’s invitation (klesis) to man to accept the benefits of His salvation is what this calling is all about. It is God’s first act in the application of redemption according to His eternal purpose (Ro 8:28). Used 11x in NT - Ro 11:29; 1 Co. 1:26; 1 Co. 7:20; Eph. 1:18; Eph. 4:1; Eph. 4:4; Phil. 3:14; 2 Thess. 1:11; 2 Tim. 1:9; Heb. 3:1; 2 Pet. 1:10 Wise (4680) see sophos = clever and skillful in ability to use acquired knowledge, but sadly not knowledge about God. Mighty (1415)(dunatos from dunamai = referring to power one has by virtue of inherent ability and resources; see study of dunamis) means powerful, able, strong. Able describes that which has sufficient or necessary power, means, skill, or resources to accomplish an objective. Noble (2104)(eugenes from eu = well + genos = family, race) means literally of high or noble birth in this context. In Acts 17:11 eugenes figuratively describes those who were noble minded, noble sentiments, character, morals. Eugenes is the source of the English word "eugenics" (eugenes - well-born, from eu- + genes = born) which is the study of methods of improving the quality of the human race, especially by selective breeding! The Nazi physicians took this horrible practice to demonic levels! Jack Arnold - Election to salvation by God is a prominent biblical doctrine and it must be dealt with by every Christian. The fact of God's election is not easy to understand, but when properly understood it will bring great peace and comfort and confidence to God’s children. We must never view election as a cold theological doctrine. The Greek literally says, “God chose you for Himself to be saved.” He is personally interested in us. He owns us by His own loving choice. For sure, there is an element of mystery between God’s sovereignty in election and man’s responsibility to believe in Christ, but if we are saved, it is because God elected us to salvation. Election cannot be understood unless it is coupled with the truth of total depravity. The Bible declares all men are sinners and deserve hell. Why? People, in their natural state, do not want Christ. They are like a barrel of apples which has been in the hot sun for several months. All are rotten; there is not a good one in the bunch; all must be buried because of their condition and stench. All men are sinners and deserve nothing from God. Why God picked some out of this rotten barrel of mankind for salvation is one of the great mysteries of the scripture. If we are Christians, we can simply raise our eyes and voices to God and say, “Thank you, God, for choosing me!”. "I'm glad God chose me before the foundation of the world for salvation. For had He waited until I was born to choose me, I'm afraid He would have never chosen me, considering what a depraved, debased sinner I am” (Charles Spurgeon). (1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Gods Call To Salvation) A Dime Among Pennies Read: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 We are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. —Romans 8:16-17 One day, educator and comedian Sam Levinson was standing with a group of men who seemed to tower above him. Someone asked, “Sam, don’t you feel strange surrounded by so many tall people?” He replied, “Yes, I do. I feel like a dime among a lot of pennies!” This reminded me that we who are Christians may not be very “tall” in the eyes of some, and in fact the world often looks down on us. But in God’s sight we are of great worth! The apostle Paul wrote, “Not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise” (1 Cor. 1:26-27). We may not hold positions of prestige and power in society, but in Christ we are given a position far superior to those held by the “big shots” of this world. Because of our relationship with Christ, we have great value. Paul said in Romans 8 that “we are children of God … and joint heirs with Christ” (vv.16-17). Not many wise has the dear Savior chosen, Not many noble shall enter His rest; Foolish, despised ones are heirs to His mercy— Simple in faith, by His grace they are blest. —HGB The world may discount you, but in God's eyes you are priceless. Forlorn Hope John Clough was called to the harvest field while working in one. He had grown up without religious inclinations, and in college seemed resistant to evangelistic efforts by friends. His roommate tried to read the Bible and pray with him each evening, but John, growing exasperated, drew a chalk line down the middle of the room, forbidding prayer or Scripture on his side of the line. But the Holy Spirit worked on his heart, and one evening, unable to study and overwhelmed with his need, he crossed the line and knelt by his roommate. Shortly after, hearing a missionary sermon, John wondered if God would have him overseas, and he applied. He was atop a four-horse reaper breaking off grain when a farmhand approached him with a letter from Boston. Clough wiped away his sweat and tore open the news from the Baptist Foreign Mission Board. “What do you know!” he shouted. “They want me to go to India as a missionary!” Missions officials wanted to send him to “Forlorn Hope”—Telugu, India—where 17 years of painful, plodding effort had produced no apparent results. On November 30, 1864 Clough and his wife sailed from Boston on a tiny ship, hardly seaworthy, called the James Guthrie. It rolled and pitched its way across the ocean, finally limping into India the following April. John, leaping into service, was immediately confronted with a dilemma. The higher caste of Indians refused to attend church with the lower caste and outcasts. Praying for wisdom, Clough randomly opened his Bible and read in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 of God choosing the lowly. Across the room at the same moment, his wife randomly opened her Bible to the same place. Clough, amazed, took it as divine guidance. He announced that all were welcome in his church, that he would not accept a segregated congregation. He started preaching, and conversions multiplied. Fifteen months later two Indian preachers stood in a river and began baptizing the converts. When they grew weary, other preachers relieved them. By five o’clock 2,222 had been baptized, and the baptisms continued for two more days. (On This Day - Robert Morgan) God Looked Down … 1 Co 1:26,27, It had started on a bus in England. Gladys Aylward, a poorly educated 28-year-old parlormaid, was reading about China and the need for missionaries there; and from that moment, China became her life and passion. She applied to a missionary agency only to be turned down. Crushed with disappointment, she returned to her small servant’s room and turned her pocketbook upside down. Two pennies fell on top of her Bible. “O God,” she prayed, “here’s my Bible! Here’s my money! Here’s me!” Gladys began hoarding every cent to purchase passage to China. She knew she couldn’t afford to travel by ship, so she decided to go overland by train right across Europe and Asia, though it meant slicing through a dangerous war zone on the Manchurian border. On October 15, 1932 a little bewildered party gathered at London’s Liverpool Street Station to see Gladys Aylward off for China. The journey was hair-raising and nearly cost her life. But eventually Gladys reached China, showing up at the home of an older missionary who took her in—but didn’t quite know what to do with her. And yet—to make a long story short—Gladys Aylward eventually became one of the most amazing single woman missionaries of modern history. Her missions career was so extraordinary that the world finally took notice. Her biography was made into a movie starring Ingrid Bergman. She dined with such dignitaries as Queen Elizabeth and spoke in great churches. She even became a subject of the television program “This Is Your Life.” But Gladys never grew accustomed to the limelight, for her heart was always in Asia. “I wasn’t God’s first choice for what I’ve done for China,” she once said. “There was somebody else. … I don’t know who it was—God’s first choice. I don’t know what happened. Perhaps he died. Perhaps he wasn’t willing. And God looked down … and saw Gladys Aylward.” (On This Day - Robert Morgan) The Way Made Plain February 20, 1995 Read: 1 Corinthians 1:17-31 | Bible in a Year: Leviticus 26-27; Mark 2 You see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh … are called. —1 Corinthians 1:26 It was Abraham Lincoln who said, “God must have loved the common people, since He made so many of them.” I would modify that to say, “God must have loved the common people, since He made the way of salvation plain enough to be grasped by all”—yes, even me. One need not have a high IQ to qualify for God’s favor. Nor does experiencing salvation depend on a person’s ability to understand a complex philosophical presentation of religious truth. If that were necessary, few could be saved! Receiving salvation is a matter of faith. It’s believing God and accepting His Word about His Son Jesus Christ, His payment for our sins through His death on the cross, and His resurrection. It’s trusting Him completely for salvation. John 1:12 tells us, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” A ruler once came to Jesus by night To ask Him the way of salvation and light; The Master made answer in words true and plain, "Ye must be born again." —Sleeper Christ believed is salvation received. 1 Corinthians 1:27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, Amplified - [No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame.
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Spurgeon - Morning and Evening —1 Corinthians 1:28 Walk the streets by moonlight, if you dare, and you will see sinners then. Watch when the night is dark, and the wind is howling, and the picklock is grating in the door, and you will see sinners then. Go to yon jail, and walk through the wards, and mark the men with heavy over-hanging brows, men whom you would not like to meet at night, and there are sinners there. Go to the Reformatories, and note those who have betrayed a rampant juvenile depravity, and you will see sinners there. Go across the seas to the place where a man will gnaw a bone upon which is reeking human flesh, and there is a sinner there. Go where you will, you need not ransack earth to find sinners, for they are common enough; you may find them in every lane and street of every city, and town, and village, and hamlet. It is for such that Jesus died. If you will select me the grossest specimen of humanity, if he be but born of woman, I will have hope of him yet, because Jesus Christ is come to seek and to save sinners. Electing love has selected some of the worst to be made the best. Pebbles of the brook grace turns into jewels for the crown-royal. Worthless dross he transforms into pure gold. Redeeming love has set apart many of the worst of mankind to be the reward of the Saviour’s passion. Effectual grace calls forth many of the vilest of the vile to sit at the table of mercy, and therefore let none despair. Reader, by that love looking out of Jesus’ tearful eyes, by that love streaming from those bleeding wounds, by that faithful love, that strong love, that pure, disinterested, and abiding love; by the heart and by the bowels of the Saviour’s compassion, we conjure you turn not away as though it were nothing to you; but believe on him and you shall be saved. Trust your soul with him and he will bring you to his Father’s right hand in glory everlasting. 1 Corinthians 1:29 so that no man may boast before God. Amplified - So that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and] boast in the presence of God.
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Spurgeon - To bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence. This is what flesh always likes to do. Proud flesh we speak of, and all flesh is such. Flesh has a great tendency to swell, to corrupt; it is easily puffed up; but God will not have it so. What is flesh to God? Did not he make all things? Shall the thing formed boast itself against the Former? (1 Corinthians 1 Commentary) Boast (exult, glory) (2744) see note below on kauchaomai. See also "Boasting" (below) NO BOASTING PLEASE - Those in the church at Corinth had nothing to be proud about … to boast about. They were all just common, everyday sinners. I like the fable about the two geese that were about to begin their annual fall migration south when a frog entreated them to take him with them. The geese said they would be willing to do so if he could devise a means of conveyance. So the frog produced a long stalk of grass and got each goose to take an end in his mouth while he grasped the middle with his mouth. The geese took flight and the frog held on as they began their long journey south. They made great progress on the trip when they were noticed by some men below. The men loudly expressed their admiration at such ingenuity and asked who had been cleaver enough to come up with this plan. The proud frog opened his mouth to say , “ I did” and fell to his death. The moral of the fable is simple: When you have a good thing going, keep your mouth shut! Casting Shadows Read: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 No flesh should glory in His presence. —1 Corinthians 1:29 Legend has it that Michelangelo painted with a brush in one hand and a candle in the other to prevent his shadow from covering his masterpiece in progress. That’s the kind of attitude we should adopt if we are serious about wanting to display the masterpiece of God’s glory on the canvas of our lives. Unfortunately, we tend to live in a way that draws attention to ourselves—our cars, our clothes, our careers, our position, our cleverness, our success. And when life is all about us, it’s hard for people to see Jesus in us. Jesus saved us to be reflections of His glory (Rom. 8:29), but when we live for ourselves, our shadow gets cast on the canvas of His presence in us. When the believers in Corinth were feeling too full of themselves, Paul warned them “that no flesh should glory [boast] in His presence” (1 Cor. 1:29), and reminded them of what Jeremiah said, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Cor 1:31; Jer. 9:24). My life is a painting created by God, And as such I’ve nothing to boast; Reflecting the image of Christ to the world Is what I desire the most. —Sper A Christian’s life is the canvas on which others can see Jesus. 1 Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, Who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, Amplified - But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, [revealed to us a knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as] our Righteousness [thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God], and our Consecration [making us pure and holy], and our Redemption [providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin].
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Spurgeon - The figure of redemption is very simple, and has been very frequently used in Scripture. When a prisoner has been taken captive, and has been made a slave by some barbarous power, it has been usual, before he could be set free, that a ransom price should be paid down. Now, we being, by the fall of Adam, prone to guiltiness, and, indeed, virtually guilty, we were by the irreproachable judgment of God given up to the vengeance of the law; we were given into the hands of justice; justice claimed us to be his bond slaves for ever, unless we could pay a ransom, whereby our souls could be redeemed. We were, indeed, poor as owlets, we had not wherewith to bless ourselves. We were, as our hymn hath worded it, "bankrupt debtors;" an execution was put into our house; all we had was sold; we were left naked, and poor, and miserable, and we could by no means find a ransom; it was just then that Christ stepped in, stood sponsor for us, and, in the room and stead of all believers, did pay the ransom price, that we might in that hour be delivered from the curse of the law and the vengeance of God, and go our way, clean, free, justified by his blood. (Spurgeon's sermon Justification by Grace) Spurgeon - In fact, we have everything in Christ; we have in his prophetic office wisdom, in his priestly office righteousness and sanctification, and in his royal office, in which he paid the price of our salvation, we have redemption. Here is room for glorifying, and it is our duty to glory in God. Let us do so more and more!....In this extraordinarily comprehensive text, observe, first, that the apostle here attributes the fact that we are in Christ Jesus to the Lord alone; he shows that there is a connection between our being as Christians and the love and grace of God in Christ. This is our spiritual existence. Then, second, Paul goes on to write of our spiritual wealth, which he summed up under four words—“wisdom … righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” Paul declared that Christ is to us all these four things. Third, Paul closed the chapter by telling us where our glorying ought to go—it should return to the Source of our spiritual existence and heavenly wealth: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1 Commentary) Spurgeon - Morning and Evening - Man’s intellect seeks after rest, and by nature seeks it apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Men of education are apt, even when converted, to look upon the simplicities of the cross of Christ with an eye too little reverent and loving. They are snared in the old net in which the Grecians were taken, and have a hankering to mix philosophy with revelation. The temptation with a man of refined thought and high education is to depart from the simple truth of Christ crucified, and to invent, as the term is, a more intellectual doctrine. This led the early Christian churches into Gnosticism, and bewitched them with all sorts of heresies. This is the root of Neology, and the other fine things which in days gone by were so fashionable in Germany, and are now so ensnaring to certain classes of divines. Whoever you are, good reader, and whatever your education may be, if you be the Lord’s, be assured you will find no rest in philosophizing divinity. You may receive this dogma of one great thinker, or that dream of another profound reasoner, but what the chaff is to the wheat, that will these be to the pure word of God. All that reason, when best guided, can find out is but the A B C of truth, and even that lacks certainty, while in Christ Jesus there is treasured up all the fulness of wisdom and knowledge. All attempts on the part of Christians to be content with systems such as Unitarian and Broad-church thinkers would approve of, must fail; true heirs of heaven must come back to the grandly simple reality which makes the ploughboy’s eye flash with joy, and gladens the pious pauper’s heart—“Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.” Jesus satisfies the most elevated intellect when he is believingly received, but apart from him the mind of the regenerate discovers no rest. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” “A good understanding have all they that do his commandments.” Philpot - Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. God has made Christ all these to his people. He has set him up as their eternal Head, made him the Bridegroom of their souls, that out of his fullness they may all receive. Then, just in proportion as they learn these two lessons--what they are, and what he is--they receive him into their hearts actually what he is to them in the purpose of God. Am I a fool? Do I feel it and know it? Have I had painful experience of it, so that all my creature wisdom is turned into one mass of foolishness? Do I catch by the eye of faith a view of the risen Mediator, "Immanuel, God with us," and see what he is made of God to us? The moment my eye sees him as "WISDOM," that moment a measure of divine wisdom flows into my conscience. Am I polluted and defiled throughout? Have I no righteousness of my own? Is all my obedience imperfect? Am I unable to fulfill the requirements of God's holy law? If once I catch by the eye of faith this glorious truth, through him who is the truth, that Jesus Christ is of God made unto me "RIGHTEOUSNESS"--the moment I see that by the eye of faith, that moment a measure of imparted righteousness flows into my heart. Am I an unholy, depraved, filthy wretch? Does corruption work in my heart? The moment I catch by the eye of faith Jesus made unto me of God "SANCTIFICATION," that moment a measure of sanctification comes into my heart, drawing up holy affections, casting out the love of the world, curbing my reigning lusts, and bringing my soul into submission at his footstool. Am I a poor captive, entangled by Satan, by the world, and my own evil heart? The moment that I catch this glorious view, that Jesus Christ at the right hand of the Father is made unto me "REDEMPTION"--if I can believe that he is made such for me, that I have a standing in him, and a union with him, so that he is my redemption--that moment a measure of deliverance comes into my soul, and redemption imputed becomes redemption imparted; the soul receives then internally what Christ has done externally. In a word, when Christ is received as "wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption," he becomes all these in vital manifestation. Oswald Chambers - Sanctification. 1 Cor. 1:30. The Life Side. The mystery of sanctification is that the perfections of Jesus Christ are imparted to me, not gradually, but instantly when by faith I enter into the realization that Jesus Christ is made unto me sanctification. Sanctification does not mean anything less than the holiness of Jesus being made mine manifestly. The one marvellous secret of a holy life lies not in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfections of Jesus manifest themselves in my mortal flesh. Sanctification is “Christ in you.” It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification, and imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace. Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His word? Sanctification means the impartation of the holy qualities of Jesus Christ. It is His patience, His love, His holiness, His faith, His purity, His godliness, that is manifested in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy; it is drawing from Jesus the holiness that was manifested in Him, and He manifests it in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is on a different line. In Jesus Christ is the perfection of everything, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfections of Jesus are at my disposal, and slowly and surely I begin to live a life of ineffable order and sanity and holiness “Kept by the power of God.” Christ—Our Everything Read: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 You are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God … and sanctification and redemption. —1 Corinthians 1:30 Thomas Shepard (1605-1649) was raised in a godly Puritan home, but while he was attending Cambridge University he fell into a life of sin. One Sunday morning, when he awoke from a drunken stupor, a heavy weight of sadness over the enormity of his guilt crushed him to the point that he left his former way of life. For the next 9 months, the fear of God’s wrath almost drove him to “run my head against walls … and kill myself.” But while listening to a sermon on 1 Corinthians 1:30, he suddenly realized that Christ was everything he needed—that Jesus had lived the perfect life he couldn’t live, had paid for his sins on the cross, and was now his Advocate in heaven. Commenting on John 1:12, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,” Shepard wrote, “The Lord gave me a heart to receive Christ with a naked hand, … and so the Lord gave me peace.” The outstretched hand of God extends To those weighed down by sin; He offers to remove the load And give His peace within. —Sper Jesus died in our place to give us His peace. 1 Corinthians 1:31 so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD." Amplified - So then, as it is written, Let him who boasts and proudly rejoices and glories, boast and proudly rejoice and glory in the Lord.
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Spurgeon - Some boast in chariots and some in horse. Chariots and horses make an imposing show, and with their rattling, and dust, and fine caparisons, make so great a figure that vain man is much taken with them; yet the discerning eye of faith sees more in an invisible God than in all these. The most dreaded war engine of David's day was the war chariot, armed with scythes, which mowed down men like grass: this was the boast and glory of the neighbouring nations; but the saints considered the Name of Jehovah to be a far better defence. As the Israelites might not keep horses, it was natural for them to regard the enemy's calvary with more than usual dread. It is, therefore, all the greater evidence of faith that the bold songster can here disdain even the horse of Egypt in comparison with the Lord of hosts. Alas, how many in our day who profess to be the Lord's are as abjectly dependent upon their fellow men or upon an arm of flesh in some shape or other (2 Chr 32:8), as if they had never known the Name of Jehovah at all. Jesus, be Thou alone our Rock and Refuge (Ps 18:2-3, Ps 62:7-8, Ps 94:22), and never may we mar the simplicity of our faith. AMEN. we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God. "Our God" in covenant, Who has chosen us and Whom we have chosen; this God is our God. The name of our God is JEHOVAH, and this should never be forgotten; the self existent, independent, immutable, ever present, all filling I AM. Let us adore that matchless Name, and never dishonour it by distrust or creature confidence. Reader, you must know it before you can remember it (OR BOAST IN IT). May the blessed Spirit reveal it graciously to your soul! Arnold - God has provided a complete, perfect gracious and supernatural salvation for undeserving sinners. There can be no boasting on man's part. Human wisdom had nothing to do with the salvation of the Corinthian believers. Therefore, the Christians at Corinth (as well as all Christians) ought not to be exalting men. They ought to be exalting God. Man’s wisdom leaves men to boast in man. God's wisdom leaves man only to boast in God. The wisdom of God and the wisdom of man in the area of salvation are fundamentally opposed to one another. There can be no middle ground between the two, and compromise between the two is unthinkable for a Bible-believing Christian. (1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Gods Call To Salvation) Alan
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Spurgeon - In this chapter the apostle magnifies the cross of his Lord, as God’s greatest gift to the world; and as the highest glory of God’s self-revelation to men. He praises God that the Corinthian Christians have experienced the saving grace that comes by faith in the sinner’s sacrifice on Calvary. He rejoices, too, that that same grace has taught them to look forward to the Saviour’s return in glory. But he is compelled to reprove them for some divisions and rivalries that sprang from their glorying in gifts rather than graces. This leads him to remind them how God had disparaged mere worldly wisdom by saving mankind by the death of Jesus. And he brings all to a very practical application in the verses that we now ponder. (1 Corinthians 1 Commentary) This great exhortation recalls the beautiful line "Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast" in the hymn by Isaac Watts... When I Survey the Wondrous Cross When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast save in the death of Christ, my God; all the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood. Pride is the Root Problem at the church in Corinth 1 Corinthians 1:29—“so that no human being might boast in the presence of God …” 1 Corinthians 1:31—“Therefore, as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’ ” 1 Corinthians 3:7—“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” 1 Corinthians 3:21—“So let no one boast of men.” 1 Corinthians 4:6 (at the end)—“… that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.” The end of verse 7—“If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?” 1 Corinthians 4:18—“Some are arrogant as though I were not coming to you.” 1 Corinthians 5:2—“And you are arrogant!” 1 Corinthians 8:1—“Knowledge puffs up, love builds up.” 1 Corinthians 13:4—“Love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude.” 2 Corinthians 1:9—Hardship comes even up to the brink of death, “but that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” 2 Corinthians 3:5—“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our sufficiency is from God.” 2 Corinthians 4:7—“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.” 2 Corinthians 12:9—“I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ might rest upon me.” John
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Spurgeon - Glorying in the Lord Glory in the Lord practically, by having a contempt for those things which others value so much. Do not be greedy after the world. Love God too much to care for earthly treasures. If God gives you wealth, thank him for it and use it. If he does not, do not worry about it. Feel that you are rich enough without heaps of yellow metal. You have your God and that is the best wealth; you have a heaven to go to and a little heaven below. Rejoice in that which you find in your God. Live above the world. ‘For our conversation is in heaven.’ May God’s Spirit help you. Thus glorify God and when men look at you, compel them to feel that there is something in you and about you which they cannot understand, for you have been with Jesus and you have learned of him. In all these ways, ‘He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.’ I am sorry to feel compelled to say that I am afraid many do not understand this. Perhaps you have gloried in your priests and thought they were great. Very possibly some of you glory in your minister; you think he is very eminent. Some of you, it may be, glory in your purses and your possessions. Some of you glory in your broad acres and large houses. Some of you glory in the skill you have in your trade or your quickness in business. It may be many of you glory in the fact that you are not as other men are. All these gloryings are evil. God help you to put them down. Even to glory in your church, your sect and your creed is wrong. To glory in the Lord is the work of his Spirit, and to live to make him glorious in the esteem of men is the only thing worthy of an immortal mind. You will never glory in God until first of all God has killed your glorying in yourself. Boast in the Lord—1 Corinthians 1:30-31 Thomas Beecher was one of the children of the famed clergyman Lyman Beecher. His older sister was Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin and a leading abolitionist. His older brother was Henry Ward Beecher, one of the most dynamic pastors in nineteenth century America. Thomas was chaplain of the New York Volunteers during the Civil War and then settled in Elmira, New York, to be minister of the Independent Congregational Church. There Beecher built a church gymnasium, library, theater, and dancing room, all unheard of at the time. His methods were unconventional but his message was the lordship of Jesus Christ. Once Thomas was guest preacher at Henry Ward's Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York. When Thomas stepped to his brother's pulpit some disappointed people started toward the exits. Calmly he raised his hand and said, "All those who came here this morning to worship Henry Ward Beecher may withdraw from the church; all who came to worship God may remain." Are you prone to boast of something other than Christ and His love for you? Today in prayer give thanks to the Lord that He is gracious. Only because of His grace do you have life in Christ. "We are not in the world bearing witness to Christ. We are in Christ bearing witness to the world." —G. Allen Fleece WHY DO YOU GO TO CHURCH? - Francois Fenelon was the court preacher for King Louis XIV of France in the seventeenth century. One Sunday when the king and his attendants arrived at the chapel for the regular service, no one else was there but the preacher. King Louis demanded, "What does this mean?" Fenelon replied, "I had published that you would not come to church today in order that Your Majesty might see who serves God in truth and who flatters the king." Why do you go to church? To meet your friends, to hear the preacher, to fulfill an obligation? These reasons are not wrong, but they do not represent our highest motivation. Our primary reason must be to worship Christ. When we gather with God's people, let's not do so to be seen, nor to flatter the preacher. Let's be united in heart and keep Christ preeminent. Make worshiping Him your primary reason for going to church. —Paul R VanGorder TRUE WORSHIP ACKNOWLEDGES THE TRUE WORTH-SHIP OF CHRIST. Giving Credit Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:31 Today's Scripture & Insight: Jeremiah 9:23–26 In the early 1960s, some unusual paintings featuring a person or animal with huge, sad eyes became popular. Some considered the work “kitschy”—or tacky—but others delighted in it. As the artist’s husband began to promote his wife’s creations, the couple grew quite prosperous. But the artist’s signature—Margaret Keane—didn’t appear on her work. Instead, Margaret’s husband presented his wife’s work as his own. Margaret fearfully remained silent about the fraud for twenty years until the couple’s marriage ended. It took a courtroom “paint-off” between them to prove the true artist’s identity. The man’s deception was clearly wrong, but even as followers of Jesus, we may find it easy to take credit for talents we possess, leadership skills we display, or even for our kind deeds to others. But those qualities are possible only because of God’s grace. In Jeremiah 9, we find the prophet lamenting the lack of humility and the unrepentant hearts of the people. He wrote that the Lord says we shouldn’t boast of our wisdom, our strength, or our riches, but only that we might understand and know that He is the Lord “who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth” (v. 24). Dear Father, thank You for all the good gifts You so graciously give. We were created to give God glory.