“The Church in Corinth”
| Corinthian Ministry Timeline |
After introducing Paul’s First Epistle to the Church in Corinth last week, I wanted to first show what Paul means by the word “church.” We use this word very often; it even shows up in secular settings. Paul clearly has something in mind when he writes these letters to the churches. When someone says they are “going to church” or asks “what church do you attend?” they often imply the physical gathering or building. Biblically, the church is neither the gathering on Sunday morning nor the gathering place. By unpacking verse two, we see that Paul would define the church as all those saints called out of the world, set apart for God by Jesus’ atoning work and who take on Christlikeness in the world.
Paul continues to show that these churches are enriched in everything by the grace of God. He says that specifically of the church in Corinth, but it holds true to any and all true churches of God in the world. God’s grace is dispensed by Christ and not by any other man. This is important for Paul to mention because divisions in Corinth have arisen based by human distinctions. The testimony of Christ, righty spoken and received is the main avenue through which the church witnesses the grace of God.
This enrichment by grace is to a blameless fellowship. Paul is confident of this because of the finished work of Christ. The Church as the Bride of Christ is covered by His atoning blood and takes on His image. In Christlikeness, the Church as the gathering of the saints is nurtured under the very real fact of God’s preservation. Since this is true, all the saints are called to live into that reality of blamelessness.
The challenge becomes apparent. The city of Corinth was a true Vanity Fair, a place described by John Bunyan as an endless carnival where vain pursuits are marketed at every stall. I commend to you his book The Pilgrim’s Progress in Today’s English as retold by James H. Thomas. A cursory look over this Vanity Fair and you’d think Bunyan wrote this allegory last year. With clarity and truth, this 1678 work highlights both the condition of the Church in Corinth and the Church in America today.
I close with a cliffhanger as to the direction Paul is headed. He chides the Corinthians for entertaining clever speakers and human wisdom while ignoring the sound doctrine handed down by himself and the other apostles. Today, many churches allow culture and experience to carry more weight than the doctrines of Scripture. Today, many churches allow false teachers so that they may be more relevant or more attractional. Paul’s concern is with the wisdom that comes from above. (June 5, 2022)
Paul continues to show that these churches are enriched in everything by the grace of God. He says that specifically of the church in Corinth, but it holds true to any and all true churches of God in the world. God’s grace is dispensed by Christ and not by any other man. This is important for Paul to mention because divisions in Corinth have arisen based by human distinctions. The testimony of Christ, righty spoken and received is the main avenue through which the church witnesses the grace of God.
This enrichment by grace is to a blameless fellowship. Paul is confident of this because of the finished work of Christ. The Church as the Bride of Christ is covered by His atoning blood and takes on His image. In Christlikeness, the Church as the gathering of the saints is nurtured under the very real fact of God’s preservation. Since this is true, all the saints are called to live into that reality of blamelessness.
The challenge becomes apparent. The city of Corinth was a true Vanity Fair, a place described by John Bunyan as an endless carnival where vain pursuits are marketed at every stall. I commend to you his book The Pilgrim’s Progress in Today’s English as retold by James H. Thomas. A cursory look over this Vanity Fair and you’d think Bunyan wrote this allegory last year. With clarity and truth, this 1678 work highlights both the condition of the Church in Corinth and the Church in America today.
I close with a cliffhanger as to the direction Paul is headed. He chides the Corinthians for entertaining clever speakers and human wisdom while ignoring the sound doctrine handed down by himself and the other apostles. Today, many churches allow culture and experience to carry more weight than the doctrines of Scripture. Today, many churches allow false teachers so that they may be more relevant or more attractional. Paul’s concern is with the wisdom that comes from above. (June 5, 2022)
“The Scandal of Wisdom”
Paul admonishes the church in Corinth for their divisions. However, this verse shows that division in and of itself is not sinful. Sin enters in through the how of that division. The problem with the church were its divisions along human lines highlighted in verse twelve. Right and necessary divisions are made along the line of truth and lies. Those who stand on one side stand on folly, and those of us on the other stand on wisdom.
On one side of the line is the foolish “wisdom” of the world. This is the cleverness of speech Paul warned of in verse seventeen. No matter how excellent or persuasive it may be, human wisdom, smarts, brilliance, and genius fall short of conveying the message of the cross. One chief vehicle of proclaiming the good news is the foolishness of preaching. Many in the world call Bible preachers fools for preaching the message of the cross.
The other side of the line is this “foolishness” of the cross, the preaching of Christ crucified, which causes the unbelieving world to stumble and mock. The gospel of Christ is a scandalous, radical message for those who have neither ears to hear nor eyes to see. Very often this produces false Jesuses or antichrists within the church, which seems to be one of the issues plaguing the church in Corinth.
Radically submitting to the alien work of righteousness is a scandal to those who are perishing. Yet, the knowledge of this reality is sweet and powerful wisdom to those being saved by God. This is why the gospel message and those who receive it shock the unrighteous in the world. Those who are firmly entrenched in false teaching and who have built their houses and livelihoods on shifting sands scoff and mock believers as folk who are weak, broken, and dumb. Yet, it is this weakness that God uses to shame the world. (June 12, 2022)
On one side of the line is the foolish “wisdom” of the world. This is the cleverness of speech Paul warned of in verse seventeen. No matter how excellent or persuasive it may be, human wisdom, smarts, brilliance, and genius fall short of conveying the message of the cross. One chief vehicle of proclaiming the good news is the foolishness of preaching. Many in the world call Bible preachers fools for preaching the message of the cross.
The other side of the line is this “foolishness” of the cross, the preaching of Christ crucified, which causes the unbelieving world to stumble and mock. The gospel of Christ is a scandalous, radical message for those who have neither ears to hear nor eyes to see. Very often this produces false Jesuses or antichrists within the church, which seems to be one of the issues plaguing the church in Corinth.
Radically submitting to the alien work of righteousness is a scandal to those who are perishing. Yet, the knowledge of this reality is sweet and powerful wisdom to those being saved by God. This is why the gospel message and those who receive it shock the unrighteous in the world. Those who are firmly entrenched in false teaching and who have built their houses and livelihoods on shifting sands scoff and mock believers as folk who are weak, broken, and dumb. Yet, it is this weakness that God uses to shame the world. (June 12, 2022)
