Godly Solutions for Church Problems
Bible Passage
Read 1 Corinthians 1:10–3:23, noting the key words and definitions to the right of the passage.
The New Testament An Expanded Translation - Kenneth Wuest
10 Now, I beg of you, please, brethren, my appeal to you being enforced by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ [that Name holding within its compass all that He is in His glorious Person and wonderful salvation], I beg of you, please, that all of you be speaking the same thing, and that there be no factions among you, but that the breaches in your fellowship caused by these factions having been healed, you may remain perfectly united in the sphere of the same mind and in the sphere of the same opinion.
11–17 For it was made clear to me concerning you, my brethren, by members of Chloe’s household, that there are wranglings among you. Now, what I mean is this; that each one of you is saying, As for myself, I am a follower of Paul; But as for myself, I am a follower of Apollos; But as for myself, I am a follower of Cephas; But as for myself, I am a follower of Christ. The Christ has been divided into various parts, with the present result that He lies there broken up into fragments which are distributed among you. Paul was not crucified on your behalf, was he, or, it was not into the name of Paul that you were baptized, was it? I am thankful that not even one of you did I baptize except Crispus and Gaius; lest anyone should say that into my name you were baptized. However, I also did baptize the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know positively whether I baptized any other person, for Christ did not send me on a mission to be a baptizer but to be a bringer of good news, not bringing this good news within the realm of philosophical discourse, lest the Cross of the Christ be emptied of its true significance and power.
18–25 For the story, that story concerning the Cross, is, on the one hand, to those who are perishing, foolishness, but to us, on the other hand, who are being saved, it is God’s power. For it has been written and is at present on record, I will destroy the wisdom of those who are wise, and the discernment of those who have the ability to discern I will frustrate. Where is a philosopher, skilled in letters, cultivated, learned? Where is a man learned in the sacred scriptures? Where is a learned sophist of this age, fallacious reasoner that he is? Did not God prove foolish the wisdom of this world system? For, in view of the fact that, in the wisdom of God, the world system through its wisdom did not come to have an experiential knowledge of God, God saw fit through the aforementioned foolishness of the previously alluded-to proclamation to save those who believe, for, both, Jews are constantly demanding an attesting miracle and Greeks are constantly searching for wisdom. But as for us, we are proclaiming a Christ, one who has been crucified; to Jews, on the one hand, an offense, to Greeks, on the other hand, folly, but to those themselves who have been divinely summoned into salvation, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, God’s power and God’s wisdom, because that aforementioned folly of God is wiser than men and that aforementioned weakness of God is stronger than men.
26–29 For, take a good look at your divine summons [into salvation], brethren, that not many wise men according to human standards, not many men of dignity and power, not many who are of royal or aristocratic lineage are given that divine summons [into salvation], but God selected out for himself those individuals among the world of sinners characterized by the aforementioned foolishness, in order that He might put to confusion those who are wise. And those individuals among the world of sinners, characterized by weakness, God selected out for himself, in order that He might put to confusion those who are characterized by strength. And those individuals among the world of sinners, who are not of royal or noble ancestry but belong to the common people and those who are utterly despised, God selected out for himself, the aforementioned classes of individuals looked upon as nonentities, in order that He might deprive of force, influence, and power those who think themselves to be somewhat, to the end that humanity may not in a single instance boast in His presence.
30, 31 But as for you, out from Him as a source are you in Christ Jesus who became wisdom for us from God, both righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that even as it stands written, He who boasts, in the Lord let him be boasting.
1–5 And as for myself, having come to you, brethren, I came, not having my message dominated by a transcendent rhetorical display or by philosophical subtlety when I was announcing to you the testimony of God, for, after weighing the issues, I decided not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and this very One as crucified. And as for myself, when I faced you, I fell into a state of weakness and fear and much trembling. And my message and my preaching were not couched in specious words of philosophy but were dependent for their efficacy upon a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, in order that your faith should not be resting in human philosophy but in God’s power.
6–8 There is a wisdom, however, which we are in the habit of speaking among those who are spiritually mature, but not a wisdom of this present age or even a wisdom of the rulers of this age who are in the process of being liquidated. But we speak God’s wisdom in the form of a mystery long hidden but now revealed and understandable, that wisdom which has been kept secret which God foreordained before the ages with a view to our glory, which wisdom not one of the rulers of this age has known in an experiential way, for had they known it, in that case they would not have crucified the Lord of the glory.
9–11 But even as it stands written, The things which eye did not see nor ear hear and which did not arise within an individual’s heart, so many things as God prepared for those who love Him, for to us God the Father revealed them through the intermediate agency of His Spirit. For the Spirit is constantly exploring all things, even the deep things of God. For who is there of men who knows the things of the individual person except the [human] spirit of that aforementioned individual person which is in him? In the same manner also the things of God no one has known except the Spirit of God.
12, 13 But as for us, not the spirit of the world system did we receive but the Spirit who is of God in order that we might come to know the things which by God have been in grace bestowed upon us, which things also we put into words, not in words taught by human philosophy but in words taught by the Spirit, fitly joining together Spirit-revealed truths with Spirit-taught words.
14–16 But the unregenerate man of the highest intellectual attainments does not grant access to the things of the Spirit of God, for to him they are folly, and he is not able to come to know them because they are investigated in a spiritual realm. But the spiritual man investigates indeed all things, but he himself is not being probed by anyone. For who has come to know experientially the Lord’s mind, he who will instruct Him? But as for us, Christ’s mind we have.
1–7 As for myself, I also, brethren, was not able to speak to you as I would to those dominated by the Holy Spirit, but as I would to those dominated by the evil nature, as I would to those in Christ who are still immature spiritually. Milk I fed you, not solid food, for not yet were you able to assimilate the latter. In fact, not even yet at the present time are you able to do so. For, in so far as there are among you jealousy and strife, are you not those dominated by the evil nature, and are you not ordering your manner of life as an unsaved man would do? For whenever someone says, As for myself, I indeed am a follower of Paul, but another of a different character says, As for myself, I am a follower of Apollos, are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? We are ministering servants through whose intermediate agency you believed, servants in each case in the manner as the Lord gave to each of us. As for myself, I planted, Apollos watered, but God has been causing that which was sown to grow. So that he who plants is not anything, nor he who waters, but God who causes things to grow.
8–11 Now, the one who plants and the one who waters are one. But each one of us will receive his specific pay appropriate to his specific work, for we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s land under cultivation, God’s edifice. According to the grace of God which was given to me, I as a skillful master builder laid a foundation, but another builds upon it. But let each one be taking heed how he builds upon it, for an alternative foundation no one is able to lay alongside of the one which is being laid, which foundation is a person, Jesus Christ.
12–15 Now, assuming that anyone builds upon the aforementioned foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, the work of each person will become apparent, for the day will make it known, because it [the day] will be made clear as to its identity by means of one of its attributes, namely, fire. And the fire itself will put each person’s work to the test for the purpose of approving it should it meet the required specifications, the test being to determine what sort of work it is as to quality. Assuming that the work of anyone which he has built upon it [the foundation, Christ] endures in that it has met these specifications, he shall receive a reward. Assuming that the work of anyone will be burned up, he will incur a loss, but he himself shall be saved, but being saved thus, it will be as escaping destruction in the midst of the fire which burns up his works.
16, 17 Do you not all know that all of you are God’s inner sanctuary and that the Spirit of God is making His home in you? If, as is the case, anyone morally corrupts the inner sanctuary of God, this person God will bring to the place of ruin, for the inner sanctuary of God is holy, of which holy character you are.
18–23 Let no one continue to be deceiving himself. If, as is the case, anyone among you thinks himself to be wise in the sphere of the things of this age, let him become a fool [in the estimation of this age] in order that he may become wise, for the wisdom of this world system is foolishness as God looks at it. For it has been written and is at present on record, He catches those who are wise in their false wisdom, and again, The Lord knows the reasonings of those who are wise, that they are futile reasonings. Wherefore, let no one continue to be boasting in men, for all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the existing order of material things or life or death or present things or things about to come, all belong to you, and as for you, you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.
The New Testament An Expanded Translation - Kenneth Wuest |
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The Need for Unity |
Opening Thought
1) Give an example or personal illustration of each of the following:
• the most ridiculous argument or silliest squabble you’ve ever been a part of
• the most serious or damaging church conflict you’ve ever seen
• a situation in which you saw opposing parties settle their differences and find harmony
• a time when you saw Christians break fellowship over a doctrinal issue
2) What are some aspects of the Christian gospel that seemed foolish to you before you turned in faith to Christ? that seem foolish to the watching world?
3) How would you define the phrase “the wisdom of God”?
4) What’s the greatest prize or honor you’ve ever won or received?
Background of the Passage
Most of us who have attended church for a number of years have been in or know of a congregation where there was a split or at least serious quarreling. The problem has existed in the church from New Testament times. The Corinthian believers fell short of the Lord’s standards in many ways, and the first thing for which Paul called them to task was quarreling.
Quarreling is a reality in the church because selfishness and other sins are realities in the church. Because of quarreling the Father is dishonored, the Son is disgraced, His people are demoralized and discredited, and the world is turned off and confirmed in unbelief.
In His high priestly prayer the Lord prayed repeatedly that His church would be one (1 Corinthians John 17:11, John 17: 21–23). Immediately after Pentecost the newly empowered believers were in perfect harmony with each other—sharing, rejoicing, worshiping, and witnessing together. Their unity bore great fruit in their ministry to each other, in their witness to the world, and in their pleasing and glorifying God.
The first need of the Corinthian church was for that sort of harmony. And so Paul made a plea for doctrinal agreement, for repenting of their tendency to form factions around high-profile personalities, and for remembering the great priority of the church: preaching the gospel. Paul argued that supernatural unity can occur only when God’s wisdom is valued over earthly wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18–2:16), and when believers walk in the power of God’s spirit rather than giving in to the sinful desires of human flesh (1 Corinthians 3:1–23).
Bible Passage
Read 1 Corinthians 1:10–3:23, noting the key words and definitions to the right of the passage.
1 Corinthians |
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Godly Solutions for Church Problems |
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Summing Up …
“As Christians, one of the strongest rebukes we can have when we sin is to be reminded of who our Father is. And reminding ourselves of whose we are should be one of our strongest deterrents to sin. Remembering our position can compel us to improve our practice.”—John MacArthur
Reflecting on the Text
12) What “past” benefits of grace are you most thankful for?
13) What “present” benefits of grace do you most appreciate?
14) What “future” benefits of grace do you most anticipate?
15) What specific things can you stop doing or start doing today to better demonstrate your sainthood?
Recording Your Thoughts
For further study, see the following passages:
Matthew 11:15 |
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John 14:27 Acts 9:3–6, 17 |
Acts 22:11–15
Romans 1:1
2 Corinthians 1:14
2 Corinthians 4:6
2 Corinthians 11:2
Ephesians 4:11
Ephesians 5:25–27
Ephesians 6:19
Philippians 4:7
Col. 1:9–10
2 Timothy 3:15
1 Peter 3:15
Revelation 17:14
1 Corinthians
Macarthur Bible Studies
Copyright © 2001, John F. MacArthur, Jr. Published by Word Publishing, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
The quotes from John MacArthur in the “Summing Up” sections are from MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1 Corinthians (Moody Press: Chicago, IL, 1984). Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture passages taken from:
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Cover Art by The Puckett Group.
Interior design and composition by Design Corps, Batavia, IL.
Produced with the assistance of the Livingstone Corporation. Project staff include Dave Veerman, Christopher D. Hudson, and Amber Rae.
Project editor: Len Woods
ISBN 0-8499-5551-3
All rights reserved.
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