1 Corinthians 1:1-17

Hey, good morning. Good morning. Welcome to Coffee and devotions. When we jump on the computer here, send out a text message. Make sure everybody's able to join us live. sent out a text message, which were wonderful. Well, good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to Coffee and devotions and square every day. You and I we get together a little bit of coffee to get into God's word and we've grown our love for the Lord together this year 2022. We'll make it all the way from x to five Lehman. We've done X, we've done Roman. And we were at first Corinthians Elizabeth third book on our journey in 2022. So we're at first Corinthians chapter one. We do the first 17 verses today and I'm so excited to work through this passage with you together real quick. I'm just going to show you this real fast. This is where Corinth is so you're able to see in the middle of that map there, right in Greece, right below Athens. So you see Rome to the west, and Turkey to the east, where it's now Turkey. And in the middle of there is Athens just below Athens is is Corinth, so that's where this church is located. Why don't we have some coffee? We're gonna get to God's word. Father, thank you so much. This is a very practical book, a difficult book. But a book that is so rich in Christ. But we pray that as we agreed that he was watching for us. By that we need your Holy Spirit we just because we can read these words, doesn't mean that we will have hearts to believe these words in Jesus's name. Alright, here we go room or Romans I've been saying in Romans For too many weeks now. We are at First Corinthians First Corinthians chapter one for 17 verses. Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, through the will of God and sauce and sawston is our brother to the Church of God, which is according to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, but theirs and ours Grace to You, and peace, from God our Father, in the Lord Jesus Christ. I think my God always concerning you, For the grace of God which was given to you by Jesus Christ, that you were enriched and everything by him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ, Lord. Now, I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord. Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there'll be no divisions among you, but that you'd be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment, for has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of closed household that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, I am a Paul, for I am of Apollos or I am a Scifest or I am of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of I think, God, that I have ties none of you, except Crispus and Gaius, les anyways, it say that I baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptized in the household of Stefanos. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other for Christ. did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Not with wisdom of words, less the cross of Christ should be made of No, a sect. Well, we need to ask ourselves a What is this about me what's the best verse to summarize this and see what are we called to do in response to these words, right? Where is Christ and how does this apply to us? So a What is this about? Remember Paul, in the book of Acts that Luke tells us that Paul spent over 18 months in Corinth he's weren't strangers to him now. Paul has passed on you know, he's in a different location. And he's writing this letter. Just a side note here when he says that sawston needs my brother's with him. In Acts chapter 18, a sauce the news from Corinth as mentioned, we don't know if this is the same guy if it is, it'd be pretty amazing because this is the guy who is a synagogue leader in Korea. And when they taken Paul before the authorities to try to have him judged and the leaders that I don't want anything to do with the Saucony to the Jews beat because he was leader at the synagogue. It's possible he was saved. It's a speculation, but it's a pretty amazing point. So Paul is writing this with Saucony, whoever this guy is. And we start with grace and peace from God our Father in the Lord Jesus Christ, because then the sanctified ones, those who have been declared holy, and who God calls for, called saints. Now get the image out of your head if somebody with with a halo or on their head you know, these, these pictures that we have these icons, perfect people who somehow the church is voted on that they were sinless or something like that. No, no, no. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, then you are holy. One of them is calling everyone who believes in Christ in that church, six sanctified, set apart from a common use for God's use. So this is how he begins to address the church. And then he moves on in verses four through nine, speaking to them, about what God has done for them, is doing in them and will continue to do what he says he thinks God concerning you for the grace of God which was given you to you by Christ Jesus, but he thinks he thinks God. He's saying that he prays for them. And whenever he remembers him, and he prays long he's filled with things because God has given them grace in Jesus Christ, right. So what he has done is given them Christ, He's given them His grace. This beautiful thing he remembers about them. And then he tells them, there's something that God is doing right, that you were enriched and everything by him in all utterance and all knowledge even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come, come short and no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Right. So God has given them all sorts of gifts. God has cared for them. God has blessed them God has has still their their congregation with all sorts of different believers. And they all possess these different gifts, or all of them have the same gift. We'll get into that later in the letter in the letter, but they have these gifts so that they can right now and be eagerly awaiting Christ. And we'll get to that in chapter 50 In this letter as well. But there's this present giftedness of this congregation and he thanks God for it. And then there's something future, what God is good. Who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ is one something that triple underline just go ahead and triple underline that God is a form by whom you were called into the fellowship of his own Jesus Christ. This mirrors what he says in Philippians chapter one verses six through 10. Right you guys begin a good work in you will complete it until the day of perfection. In Christ Jesus. God is faithful is nothing going to leave the Corinthians alone. He's has begun this work in them, and he has united them to Jesus Christ has brought them into saving faith. And he's not going to leave them there but he's going to preserve them to do so he's this is kind of an introduction for So now, in this next part of verses 11 through 17, he shifts gears. Now I'm going to tell you that first Corinthians is a letter where he is responding to things he's heard. Members of Chloe's household has come. Now, the fact that this is Chloe, she's a woman. And these are people of her household. Those of her household are coming to him. This means that she's a well to do woman and it might be that she has letters or that people are, you know, working for her and they they've gone to talk to Paul. We don't know exactly where he is. But she has to be someone, some sort of standing as a as a woman of some sort of prosperity because she has members of her own household. And so they're the ones who have brought this report to Paul. And in real reality, there are going to be things that Paul is going to be dealing with topic by topic by topic. And so that's the first six chapters of this book. And then the second half of the book, chapters seven through 15, are all going to be things that the Corinthians themselves have heard from Paul and are asking things about Paul. And so all sorts of we're going to be looking at all sorts of different doctrines as we go through all sorts of different areas of teaching, as we go through the book of First Corinthians. And so the first one is, there's divisions in the church. He hears that people are saying like, Oh, I'm Paul and somewhere else. Oh, I'm a Paul this summer. Oh, I'm obsequious. That's Peter. And some are like I'm above all this junk. I'm of Christ. And he's saying, Am I nuts? Are you serious right now? Did Paul die for you? No. Were you baptized in the name of Paul? No, who were you baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. You were not baptized and, Paul, you were not baptized. Into CIF as you were not baptized into a Paulus? No, you were baptized in Christ. It says, I'm actually happy. I didn't baptize that many people now. But looking back I remember. I baptized a couple guys and I baptized Stefan is in his house. That was the ruler of the synagogue. And so his whole household, household baptism, once again mentioned in the scriptures, and so there's, but it's not about Paul. But this was a thing in Corinth, where we're wisdom and oratorical skills or were really highly valued. People would actually say, My father is and they would name their teacher. I am of and they would need their teacher. So there would be Rival Schools, rival communities of intellectual thought and, and people would actually tie themselves to teachers. We find this today don't when people call themselves a MacArthur, right. Like they've listened to and love everything MacArthur has said and so that's who they listen to. No, no, no, no, no, no. Earth press the brakes, right? No. Are you of Christ? That's who we must radically. Be about. It's not about Paul. It's not about Paul's, not about syphilis. It's about Christ. So this is where he's getting that in this whole section here. It says in verse 17, For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Not with words. of wisdom. Less the cross of Christ should be made have no effect. It's clear that Paul is good at being able to use the talking skills, and he doesn't use them the way that the ancient philosophers would during this time, he doesn't use his oratory. Some people disdained him for this. And he wasn't eloquent like the other teachers. Because he wanted people to know that there was something countercultural on the cross. Was something from an era that was despised and is used for the worst of the worst criminals. And it's the cross of Christ was but even on the one who is hung on the instrument of capital punishment, if they would believe upon Jesus Christ wouldn't be his oratory wouldn't be his wisdom wouldn't be a skill to be Christ. What's the best verses to summarize as well in my Bible, so wonderful, my pet my friends will always keep it here my pocket bows on the table. In my Bible, I have an underline verse three, grace to in peace from God or Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I just love. I say this every week at worship, I love this introductory passage. And then in verse nine, I'm gonna underline that in that second section, God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Jesus Christ, Lord. And then lastly, I'm also going to underline verse 17. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel with wisdom of words. Not with the wisdom of words, less across the price, you may have no effect. So that's what I have underlined in my Bible. Let me know in the comments, what would you underline in your Bible? Let me ask you that. What are we called to do in response to these words? Who are you up? To you live your life as a holy one God? Is the Spirit of God in you. Do you believe in Christ? Maybe you've watched yourself too tight to your favorite teacher, pastor, theologian, writer, author, and you've lost sight of Christ. And then there is everything for you about Christ. Are you of Christ, to remember that you were baptized into Christ? As Christ the focal point is Christ, the center of your heart and of your life? Do you look to Him? To love him? Do you cling to him? I didn't know about Christ until Christ. So you were saying. So if we're going to find unity, you find unity in loving Christ. walking with Christ, and hope in Christ Let's pray. Father, thank you so much. For what a blessing it is to follow after. Lord we pray that we would be radically Price Center or we pray that we would not fall into the missions that are that are so prevalent in our world, that we would focus on Christ, the Christ, the scriptures of Christ, our own imaginations, but that man who truly lived a perfect life for us, and that we deserve and who was raised for our justification, well, we believe in him he was raised to let us fix our gaze on Christ. In his name is Waylon bless you today. As you look to Jesus Christ, you walk in his paths, and always be comforted by His grace and peace, and I'll see you tomorrow. Bye. You Transcribed by https://otter.ai