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Unity and Encouragement in Corinth

Explore the call for unity in the church of Corinth and the importance of grace, peace, thanksgiving, utterance, knowledge, and testimony. Discover the message of hope and encouragement amidst challenges.

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Unity and Encouragement in Corinth

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  1. 1 Corinthians

  2. Corinth was a strategically located Roman city on the main land route between East and West and was the crossroads for several sea routes. Corinth was famous for its intellectual and material prosperity and was honored with being the capitol of Achaia. It also became famous for its corruption. Its name became a byword for profligacy.

  3. Paul began his ministry in Corinth on his second missionary journey under much opposition (Acts 18:6-17), but he was able to convert several influential people and consequently remained for about one and a half years in Corinth.

  4. He left Corinth and traveled to Ephesus. The city’s corruption had its influence on the church and Paul heard of the problems and divisions in the church. It is from Ephesus that he wrote and sent this letter to Corinth in about 53 A.D.

  5. I. A CALL FOR UNITY Chapter One

  6. 1. The Salutation • Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenesour brother,Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's(vs. 1, 2).

  7. Paul’s Right To Be Heard • He was an apostle! • Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection (Acts 1:21, 22)

  8. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do (Acts 9:3-6).

  9. Sosthenes • The chief of the synagogue at Corinth, who was beaten by the Gentiles when the Jews carried Paul before Gallio the proconsul, Acts 18:17. He appears to have been the leader of the Jews in this attempt to destroy Paul. Whether he was converted, and is identical with the "Sosthenes our brother" in 1 Corinthians 1:1, is unknown.

  10. Unto the Church at Corinth • Sanctified • “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth” (Jn. 17:19). • By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Heb. 10:10)

  11. Saints • “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ: (Eph. 3:8).

  12. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations (Rev. 13:7).

  13. Grace & Peace • Romans 1:7, Gal. 1:3, 2 Cor. 1:2, Eph. 1:2, Phil. 1:2, 1 Thess. 1:1, 2 Thess. 1:2, Philemon 1;3. • Common in Paul’s Salutations

  14. Thanksgiving • I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ(vs. 4). • Paul embraced the concept of ALWAYS!

  15. “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers” (Rom. 1:9). • “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Eph. 6:18).

  16. That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you (VS. 5, 6).

  17. Utterance, Knowledge, Testimony • Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also (2 Cor. 8:7).

  18. Knowledge • “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:8). • We are talking about inspirational knowledge!

  19. Testimony • “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God” (1 Cor. 2:1).

  20. So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (Vs. 7, 8). • Three words stand out…

  21. Waiting • For what? • The coming of the Lord… • To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints (1 Thess. 3:13).

  22. Confirm • “Who shall confirm you unto the end…” • “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him” (Heb. 2:3). • Term bears the concepts of recognition and truth.

  23. Blameless • And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless(Lk. 1:6). • That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world (Phil. 2:15).

  24. The Calling • “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord (vs. 9).” • This phrase “God is faithful” is used also in 1 Corinthians 10:13.

  25. It is this “faithfulness of God” that calls us into fellowship with Christ. • “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, whilewewere yetsinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

  26. 2. The Charge

  27. “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (Vs. 10).

  28. Is this what we see in the religious world today? • Paul is expressing the true meaning of unity (Jn. 17:20, 21; Eph. 4:1-4).

  29. 3. The Condemning Factors

  30. Contentions • “For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you” (vs. 11).

  31. The name Chloe means “Green Herb.” It was either slaves or family members that informed Paul of the problems in the church at Corinth.

  32. Preacheritis • Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? (vs. 12, 13).

  33. I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect (Vs. 14-16).

  34. Household of Stephanas • Stephanas and his household are mentioned in only two passages in Paul’s first epistle to the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:16; 16:15-18), and a member of the family is hinted at in one verse in the book of Romans (16:5b). Yet these passages tell us quite a bit about this active family in the city of Corinth.

  35. Probably no family in the Early Church did more for the Apostle Paul and their local church than this family, yet they were not fully appreciated for the work that they were doing among the saints at Corinth.

  36. The lack of appreciation, I would like to suggest, was due to the Corinthians’ prejudice against non-Corinthians within the church. Paul appealed to the believers in the church at Corinth to give them due recognition.

  37. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect (Vs. 17).

  38. Do Not Misinterpret This Verse • The emphasis of baptism was not based on who baptized who, but on obedience to the word.

  39. Not Accepting the Gospel • “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

  40. The Power of God • “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the powerofGod” (Matt. 22:19). • “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the powerofGod unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16).

  41. “By the word of truth, by the powerofGod, by the armourof righteousness on the right hand and on the left” (2 Cor. 6:7). • “Who are kept by the powerofGod through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:5).

  42. IV. CHRISTIAN WISDOM Vs. 19-31

  43. Wisdom of the World • For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? (Vs. 19, 20).

  44. This is taken from Isaiah 29:14. • “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7).

  45. The Christian apologist cannot forever be defensively constructing atomistic answers to the endless variety of unbelieving criticisms; he or she must take the offensive and show the unbeliever that he has no intelligible place to stand, no consistent epistemology, no justification for meaningful discourse, predication, or argumentation. They must see that the pseudo-wisdom of the world, in which all their criticisms are based, is foolishness and those criticisms have zero force.

  46. The Wisdom of God • “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (vs. 21).

  47. “The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord” (Prov. 19:3). • “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14).

  48. Why Is Earthly Wisdom Foolish? • “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (vs. 22-24).

  49. “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (vs. 25). • Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee? (Deut. 32:6).

  50. Three C’S • The Calling • The Choosing • The Confounding

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