The Way - Day 063 (1 Corinthians 1)

Pastor Tom's Journal on Today's Reading:
Introduction to 1 Corinthians
Written to the church at Corinth in AD 55, the apostle Paul writes his first canonical letter to the Corinthian Christians from Ephesus while he was traveling on his third missionary journey. This church was established by Paul during his second missionary journey when he also had met Aquila and Priscilla, two Jewish believers whom Paul lived with during his time in Corinth (Acts 18). Paul remained in Corinth for approximately a year and a half, but experienced much resistance from the Jewish leaders in that city, so he departed to Ephesus with Aquila and Priscilla. After Paul's departure, the church at Corinth began experiencing problems because the people remained spiritually immature and divided in their mission; furthermore, they had a difficult time staying distinct from the carnal culture around them and often returned to their immoral lifestyle.

Paul used the majority of this letter to call the Corinthian Christians to a change of behavior, dealing with issues such as disunity, immorality, relationships, diversity, and misunderstandings about worship in the church. Paul knew that the survival of this church was dependent on a proper understanding of truth and a willingness to submit to that truth. Since Paul loved and cared for the people at Corinth, he sent this letter to hopefully challenge them to mature in their faith and remain faithful to the truth they had been taught by him.

1 Corinthians 1
Paul writes a simple greeting to the church at Corinth (1:1-3) and reminds them concerning the grace of God which was provided to them by Jesus Christ (1:4). This grace (forgiveness from the power and penalty of sin) resulted in their ability to speak on God's behalf (utterance) and to be filled with all knowledge (1:5-6). Paul's intention in the beginning of this letter was to reveal to the Corinthians that they were already equipped to obey and fulfill God's ways (1:7-9). Since they were fully equipped for obedience and spiritual maturity, Paul urges the Corinthian believers to stop allowing division and strife to characterize their personal relationships (1:10). Paul had received a report from the household of Chloe regarding the divisiveness which existed in the church (1:11), so he challenged them not to build their loyalty around a certain leader. It appears that the church had given their loyalty to different men in the church and there was infighting amongst those groups (1:12-16). Paul was quick to remind them that Christ had sent him to "preach the gospel," not to develop a personal following (1:17), as these men were doing. He knew that oneness amongst the Corinthian Christians could only be achieved through faith in the message of the cross alone, which has the power to change lives. Although this message may seem foolish to those who are without Christ, Paul was convinced that it brought salvation to those who believed (1:18).

The message of the cross was not rooted in human wisdom, but in the awesome plan of God who desired even the simplest of men to know this message. It could not be received through human effort, but only through childlike faith (1:19-21). The Jews of Paul's day wanted some type of miraculous sign to prove that Jesus was the Messiah and the Greeks wanted to know God based on their human intellect (1:22); however, God made this message accessible through the crucified Christ, who was the power and wisdom of God (1:23-25). So, why did God choose simple and humble means to bring forth the message of salvation (1:26-28)? God did not want man to boast in his own human achievements, but only in Jesus Christ who provided wisdom, righteousness, sanctification (holiness), and redemption (1:29-31). The church at Corinth had much to learn concerning humility and loyalty to God.

Dear God, keep me from following after the agendas of men so that I can be loyal to You alone.