1 Corinthians 1:1-17 (CF - Study 1)

Purpose statement:

As Christians we, no different to all other Christians, have received everything we need for
today and for the future through Christ.
Therefore be united, focusing on Christ (the message), and not divided, aligning yourselves to
different human leaders (only messengers).

Context

• Pray (P or G)

We are studying 1 Cor together this year. 1 Cor is a letter by the apostle Paul, probably around
53-54 AD, written when he was in Ephesus (16:8). The letter is addressed to the church in
Corinth, a church that Paul has established a few years earlier. The letter we have is probably
the 2nd of 3 letters that Paul has written to the Corinthians.

Corinth is a Greek city, but under Roman authority and therefore very much influenced by
Roman culture and thinking. As a city it is economically very important, - it has a port and is on
the major trading route between Europe + Asia. It is a city that is up and coming, characterised
by much commercial success (though at the same time there is a vast class of poor people), by
obsession with status and wealth, and by religious pluralism.

What does 1 Corinthians say?

We will look at the passage in 3 parts:

• Read 1 Cor 1-3, 4-9, 10-17

v1-3 Greeting

(1) Paul opens his letter with a standard greeting, saying who the letter is from and who it is to.

But even though the opening is a standard greeting, it is still a greeting that is specifically
addressed to the Corinthian church. So it is quite different e.g. to Paul’s greeting in Philippians.

What is it that makes this greeting specific to 1 Corinthians?

- v1 called by the will of God, to be an apostle

→ emphasis on Paul’s authority

- v1-3 repetition of the full title of (Lord) Christ Jesus

→ focus on Jesus, through whom they were sanctified and who
is their Lord

- v2+3 unity words: saints together, with all who in every place
→ they are united with other believers, no different from other
believers

- v2 they are the church of God,

→ belong to him, not to themselves or human leaders

(2) Why do you think Paul focus on these particular things in his introduction? What might be
the issues in the Corinthians church that make Paul say these specific things in the greeting?

- questioning of Paul’s authority

- focus away from Christ
 - disunity

v4-9 Enriched in every way, but no reason to boast…

(3) From the greeting we get the feeling that there are some big issues going on in Corinth.
Nevertheless, Paul starts the main part of his letter by thanking God.
Looking at v2+4 - Why does Paul thank God for Corinthians?

- they are real Christians (v2)

- they have received God’s grace (v4)

(4) We often speak about God’s grace – What does it really mean here in this passage to be a
recipient of God’s grace here? (looking at v4-8)

- enriched in every way (all speech and knowledge)

(same words as in ch12-14 – gifts of Spirit: speech = spiritual utterance/ tongues;
knowledge = prophetic revelation)
- not lacking in any spiritual gift
- will be sustained
- guiltless

(5) How is God’s grace both encouraging for the present and for the future?

- have all they need now, not lacking anything (all for today)
- will be sustained to the end, found guiltless, v9 b/c God is faithful (security for the
future)

(6) Even though they have all these great things + gifts, why is there no reason to boast? (also
look at v2) Why is there no reason to feel better than other Christians?

- it’s all through God’s grace, given to them

- it’s all through Christ’s work
- they are no different in what they have to other believers

The word “you” in v5 (you were enriched) is plural in the greek. How does this encourage the
individual believer not to boast?

- have their individual gifts for the good of the whole church

(7) Would someone like to try to summarise the picture we have built up so far about the
Corinthians church from v1-9?

- real Christians
- enriched in every way (have all for today, security for future)
- no different to other believers, united with them in Christ
- everything they are + have is through Christ

v10-17 So don’t be divided

(8) How do v10-12 build on the picture of the church in Corinth that we have started to see.
What are the issues? How do we know?

- report from Chloe + co that there is quarrelling

- appeal to agree and not be divided
- division is due to following different leaders
Who is Cephas? Peter in Aramaic
Who is Apollos? Acts 18:24-28

(8) Why is it that the Corinthians are following these different leaders? Is it likely due to
theological issues? Why/ Why not?

- just seen from Act 18 that Apollos = “good” guy, so are Peter + Paul
- 1 Cor 3:5,9 – All servants of God, fellow co-workers (no sense here that Paul has
theological issues with Apollos)
- seems to be more personal preference of speakers (hint in v17 that it might be due
to rethorics, some speaking with eloquent wisdom → see more about this next week)

(9) Why then is there division? Why are the Corinthians lining up behind different leaders? What
hints are we given?

- some leaders look more impressive than others (“words of eloquent wisdom” v17)

Why does Paul mention the baptism issue here? How might baptism by different people promote
faction building? Why might people make a fuss about who baptises them?

- seems that being baptised by different leaders promotes the division

- people might care about who baptises them to share limelight

Why therefore is Paul glad that he didn’t baptise many people?

- his focus is on the message of the cross which is what enables God’s grace to the
believers
- prevents focus on him as messenger

(10) On what grounds does Paul rebuke their behaviour and call them back to unity? Why is
their behaviour inadequate (if not ridiculous)? In light of what we have seen also in v1-9

- v10 apostolic appeal

- v13 folly of it – Christ is not divided – how then can you as his body act as if you are!
- v1-9: they are all recipients of God’s grace + gifts, there is no reason to boast
Thinking it through

Let’s see how we can apply this to us. Letter is written to a Christian church, so we what Paul
writes is valid for us as a Christian church, too.
Let’s split into groups of 3-4 and discuss:

• Can we see similar behaviour at St. H.? Where are the dangers for us within our church to
boast and even be divided? (Those who go to other churches/ have gone to other churches in
the past – what can we learn from them (positively/negatively?)

• Where are the dangers for us in terms of how we think about ourselves compared to other
churches? How we present ourselves to outsiders?

- do we talk about how great preachers are or how great we are, or about the
gospel?
- do we put other churches down who don’t do e.g. RML or CE?

• What can we do practically to help each other not to look down on other Christians? What can
we do practically to avoid division within our church?

- humility towards other

- praying for others
- thanking God for the gifts of others given for the good of all (→ get a higher opinion
of others)

If time: feed back to whole group.

Praying it through

Thinking about what we have seen in today’s passage:

• What can we give thanks for?

• What can we pray for?

In our groups of 4-5 let’s pray about some of these things.

When finished praying, let’s share some prayer requests within our little groups.
1 Corinthians Ch1v18 – Ch2v5

Aim: We are made all that we are through the Power of the Cross.

Purpose: To realise that we shouldn’t look for or add to the Cross.

Prayer Pella or Anja to pray

We are going to look at the study in three sections Ch1v18-25; Ch1v26-31 and Ch2v1-5

1. Can some please summarise the key points of the last study
- we have everything we need in Christ
- so Christians are united in Christ
- so we don’t need to have human leaders that we put before Christ.

2. (a) Lets move onto looking at the first section Ch1v18-25, how does Paul tell us
the world views the Cross and why? What sorts of people reject the cross and why?
- foolish and powerless/weak
- because it has no worldly wisdom or provides a sign which is what man looks for (v22)
- Jews: demand signs = looking for a powerful Messiah to bring in the kingdom
- Greek: looking for wisdom = intellectual argument rather than a cross that looks
unimpressive/ pointless and barbaric

(b) Is it surprising that people think of the cross like this? (v19)
- no God has arranged it such as part of his judgement on people who think they know
better.

3. In God’s eyes and Christian eyes, what does the Cross do?
- it is the power of God (v18)
- it saves those who believe (v.18+21)
- it gives knowledge of God (v21)
- it destroys worldly wisdom and power (v19) – this quote comes from Isaiah the section
before it is warning about the folly of idolatry
- it unities Christians (v24) – this is key given what we learnt last week of the divisions
in the Corinthian church
- it’s despite appearances, wise + strong, not foolish and weak (v25)

4. Where else might we be tempted to put our confidence (other than the cross)?
Impressive speaker (wisdom), signs/healing, Christian community – see how they love
one another, apologetics…

5. Lets us now look at Ch1v26-31, what sort of people does God call to him?
- unwise, not powerful and not noble of birth (not all Roman citizens but slaves etc)
(v26)

6. Why does God call these unimpressive people?

- shame what is strong (v27), to create HIS kingdom on earth (v28) and so no human
should boast (v29).

7. What are the amazing things that the cross has achieved for the Corinthians
even though they are weak and not noble?

- righteousness – made right and acceptable to God

- sanctification/holiness – a holy one/separation from the world
- redemption – freed from slavery
It works like this: “We are God’s “holy ones” (sanctification) because of God’s gift of
“righteousness” to us in our “redemption” by Christ crucified

8. Paul warns us only to boast in the Lord in v31, what else might we as Christians
and as a church be tempted to boast in?
Our intellect, power/status. Our biblical rigour a cut above…, the scale/size of St H’s, it’s
 influential mission field/the City.

9. (a) Looking at the last section, Ch2v1-5, given what we have been taught in
the last two sections how does this impact how Paul teaches?
- not using lofty speech or wisdom (v1)
- only focused on Christ crucified (v2)
- draw out that (v2) Paul actively decided to preach like this in order to show the power
of the Holy Spirit

(b) What reason does Paul give for this?

- his preaching was demonstrating the spirit and the power of God so that their faith is in
the power of God, not the wisdom of men (v.4+5)
- did it work? Yes! The existence of the Corinthian Church is the proof

10. What are we looking for and what should we look for, in a sermon?
Not clever speech, but the cross of Christ. We should ask ourselves in what way did that help
me grow in love and knowledge of God, what change will it bring about in me for God’s sake?

11. How does what Paul tells us help us with our own evangelism to friends and
family?

Prayers

1. Thank God for the cross and his plan to offer us righteousness, sanctification and redemption

2. For us to focus on the cross and not look for human wisdom or signs

3. That we rely on God and his guidance and we full use the gifts he has given us.

4. When we are speaking to non-Christians we use the cross/gospel and not our own wisdom or
signs.

OTHER ISSUES
- Remind everyone to sign up for the weekend away and we should also sign up
- Lee is doing a lecture on baptism on Tuesday night.
1 Corinthians 2:6-16
AIM: To see that the wisdom of God can only be understood/accepted by the person
who’s received God’s Spirit, this is what it means to be spiritual - the wisdom of this
age is no threat, to pray for the “natural person”.

What does the world mean when it talks about being wise and being spiritual? Wise –
clever, intellectual, ability to make good decisions, foresight. Spiritual – mystical, whacky,
charismatic, otherworldly.
What might we mean at St H’s if we say that someone is wise and/or spiritual? Wise -
better insight into what bible teaches, maturity – older, godly advice. Spiritual – tend to shy
away from it, more prayerful.

Context
What has Paul had to say about wisdom so far?
The gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the wisdom and power of God (1:24, 18) has yet been
dismissed as foolish and weak (1:18, 24). This passage explains why…
The word wisdom has so far mainly been used to talk about the wisdom of the world which
rejects God. Paul’s view on wisdom seems therefore quite negative so far. But now slight
change in tone - there is a right kind of wisdom.

Read passage
Vs. 6-10a Two types of wisdom
In verses 6-8, what do we learn about wisdom? There are two types.
- wisdom of God (its character, its purpose, its content) Secret and hidden (v.7a), not an
accident/decreed before the ages (v.7b), leads to our glory i.e. wisdom for the future (v.7),
concerns the crucifixion of the Lord of glory (v.8), of which Paul has understood because he is
imparting this wisdom (v.6)
- wisdom of this age (in relation to God/Jesus, who does it belong to, what is its
end)Unable to understand what God is doing (v.8), rejected Christ (v.8), is that of the powerful
and influential in the world/rulers of this age (v.6), is under judgment and will ultimately come
to nothing i.e.has nothing to offer for the future (v.6); foolish, by crucifying the Lord of glory
the wisdom of the world ruins their own glory.

When we talk of the wisdom of the world/of this age, what examples are we thinking
of? Acquisition of knowledge, information through education, work and achievement. Science –
able to explain all, celebrity atheists – Dawkins et al, pluralism. Often concerned with scoring
points, power play or self-promotion.
How do they make us feel? Intellectually second rate, threatened. What are we tempted to
do (to match them)? Feel compelled to wheel out an expert of equal standing.

If God’s wisdom is so much better, why then does the world cling to its own
wisdom/why can’t it comprehend God’s wisdom from v.9 and 10a? Without revelation,
wisdom is unknown. People through sight, hearing, imagination, in and of themselves can’t
come to know God. Verse 9a+b underlining v.6+8, 9c underlining v.7.
Not about future glory, to which we might have heard these verse applied (amalgam of Isaiah
64:4, 65:17).

Let’s summarise – wisdom of this age (see previous question), and the wisdom of God
(revealed to us through the Spirit).

How might we be tempted to go with the world’s wisdom, individually and corporately
as a church? (In twos/threes)

Vs. 10b-16 Two types of person

Why can we only understand God’s wisdom if we have the Holy Spirit? Only the spirit of
a person know their thoughts, same with God, so only the HS knows God’s mind, so only with
the HS can we understand.

In light of this, what then are the marks of the spiritual person vs.10-13? They have
received the Spirit of God (v.12), this Spirit searches all things and knows the depths of God
(v.10), so they can understand God’s ways. God is known through God alone. The spiritual
person also have the ability to impart wisdom (v.6+13)

Why does Paul tell the Corinthians all this? They think some of their leaders are more
spiritual than others, that’s where the divisions have come from. But Paul makes clear that the
only distinction between spiritual and non-spiritual is Christian vs non-Christian.

How does this challenge the way in which we use the term, spiritual? Not mystical, but
received by the Spirit leading to understanding and able to be imparted.
And super-spirituality? No such thing. The cross places all Christians on the same level, in
equal need of divine grace – so the gifts of wisdom and spirituality similarly operate.

How then is the natural person contrasted with the spiritual person, vs 14-16?
Contrast, the natural person. They reject the things that come from the Spirit of God (v.14a),
because they don’t understand them (14b), because they’ve not received the Spirit of God
(v.12, 14c) who gives understanding – they are incapable of making sense of God’s activity in
the world (v.14).
Paul’s message and methods
What do vs.15+16 mean? Natural person can’t assess spiritual things, don’t be judged by
them. If the Holy Spirit gives to the believer “the mind of Christ”, there is no higher criterion.
Spiritual person judges all things, can discern all things because he has insight into the wisdom
of God unlike the natural person who can’t understand and therefore can’t discern.

How does this challenge our approach to evangelism? Is there any scope for
apologetics? How do people come to believe? Without receiving the Spirit of God, they
won’t understand God’s ways. To pray for them.

What do we need to understand about ourselves? Humbled (no room for

arrogance/boasting cf.last week), all dependant on God’s revelation, immense privilege,
confidence we can have in God’s wisdom, equality – all equally spiritual.
1 Corinthians 3:1-22 (CF - Study 4)

Purpose statement:

Christian ministers are servants and God’s fellow workers, doing the job God has given them. It
is God who does the real work of building his church.

Therefore have a right view of Christian leaders and don’t worship “impressive” leaders (this
kind of “unspiritual” behaviour only cause divisions and strife)

Context

• Pray (Geoff)

• Recap – work in pairs, every pair gets 2-3 cards with keyword, ask them to spend 5 min
reminding themselves what we have learned in 1 Cor about these keywords so far. Feed back to
group (in order below). (10 min)

- Corinthians
- gifts
- divisions
- wisdom of God
- wisdom of the world
- gospel
- power
- weak
- spiritual
- natural
What does 1 Corinthians say?

We will look at the passage in 3 parts:

• Read 1 Cor 3:1-4, 5-17, 18-22

• How have people found prepping this passage? Anything they found particularly difficult/
challenging?

v1-4 Spiritual infants because of a wrong view of Christian leaders

(1) • How do v1-4 follow on from what Paul was talking about in ch 2:9-16?
- picks up on the word “spiritual”

• What did Paul say in ch 2 was the hallmark of being spiritual? Who is
spiritual/who isn’t?
- having HS, i.e. Christian or non-Christian

• So what is Paul saying about the Corinthians here? That they don’t have the HS?
That they are not Christians?
- they are Christians (ch 1), but they behave in an unspiritual way

(2) • How do they behave in an unspiritual way? What lies behind this?
- there is jealousy and strife
- because they follow different leaders

• From what we have learned from 1 Cor so far, why is this a wrong attitude to have?
- power is in the cross, not leaders (1:17)
- cross looks weak + foolish, doesn’t fit then to look to impressive
leaders, etc.

(3) • How would you summarise this little section? (1 min buzz in pairs)
- the Corinthians behave like spiritual infants (unspiritual) because
they have a wrong understanding of Christian ministry

v5-17 A proper view of Christian leaders: servants of God

(4) Look at v5-9. Because of their wrong view of Christian leaders, Paul now goes on
explaining what a proper view of Christian leaders looks like.

• What is the picture/ image that Paul uses to explain what a proper view of
Christian leadership looks like?
- church = God’s field, leaders = people working field
believing = growth

• Using this picture what then is the proper view of Christian leadership?
- servants (v5)
- doing the job God has assigned to them (v5)
- unity (v8)
- God is actually doing the work (v6,7)
- God’s fellow workers (v9)

• Why is it therefore wrong to overvalue leaders?

- only servants, but God gives growth (v5,6,7)

• Why is it wrong to follow one over the other? Is there a competition?

- assigned their jobs by God (v5)
 - rewarded according to their labour (not a competition) (v8)

• Does this passage then imply that we should totally dismiss their job/ undervalue them?
- should still value them, as they are co-workers with God (v9)

(5) Look at v10-15. Here, Paul continues talking about a proper view of Christian leaders.

• How do we know this section is still talking about Christian leaders and not about
something else?
- context = Christian leaders, v9 church = God’s building
- talks about master builders here: still refers to Christian leaders.

• So Paul changes the imagery here from talking about gardening to building. But he is
still talking about Christian leaders.
How does the building metaphor work? What sorts of building/builders is he talking
about?
- building = church
- foundation = Christ (v11)
- builders building upon foundation (= gospel leaders, not heresy!)
- builders building with different material

• What do the different building materials mean?

- good or bad building materials: some more flammable

• Why does it matter with what kinds of material the leaders build? Is it a salvation
issue? Why not?
- their building work will be judged/tested with fire to see if it
survives fire
- if it survives, will receive a reward
- if it doesn’t survive, was useless
- not a salvation matter (b/c foundation was gospel)

• What do you think all this mean in real life? Can you give examples what good/bad
building material might look like?

(6) Look at v16-17.

• How do we know that Paul is not talking about the same leaders here as in the
verses above?
- the leaders in these verses are destroying the church and
will be destroyed themselves (≠ v15)

• What would such builders look like? In practice?

- not building on foundation (cf v14)
- diverting from gospel

• Why does Paul mention this here? What might be the connection with the
Corinthians?
- Is there are danger that this is where their church might be
ultimately heading if they continue with their “unspiritual”
behaviour?

(7) How would you summarise what Paul has told the Corinthians about a proper view of
Christian leaders? (1 min buzz in pairs)
- Christian leaders are only servants doing the job God has assigned
them. God gives growth, but leaders still have a responsibility as to how
they build
v18-21 Application: therefore grow up and don’t boast in men

(8) In light of what Paul has just told them about themselves and about Christian leaders,
how does he want them to respond? What 2 imperatives does he give them?
- don’t deceived yourself
- don’t boast in men

• Let’s look at each of these in turn. How are they deceiving themselves with their
behaviour?
- look for worldly wisdom, impressiveness, but this is foolishness in
God’s eyes

• Why is it foolish to boast in men? What additional reason does Paul give?
- see above
- God has given them all things (Paul, Apollos, life, etc) for their
own good. It’s foolish to pick and choose, if you can have it all!

Thinking it through

(9) In what ways are we falling into the same trap of behaving in an
“unspiritual” way as the Corinthians?

(10) Why are we tempted to fall into the same trap? What’s behind this?
- often have inflated view of man, deflated view of God

(11) How can we avoid falling into this trap?

(12) What warnings are there for our leaders (+ those of us who have any kind of
leadership role to play?)

(13) What do you think our responsibility is in this? How can we have an influence on the way
our leaders are building?

Praying it through

• What can we give thanks for from this passage?

• Where do we need to ask for forgiveness?

• What should we be praying for ourselves?

• What can we pray for our leaders?

• Share prayer requests.

1 Corinthians 4:1-21
AIM:
Have a right view of your leaders (don’t judge them) by recognising your wrong
inflated view of yourselves and what it means to be a Christian.
And stop thinking of yourselves in such an inflated way but rather imitate Paul’s
(=Christ’s) self-sacrificial costly lifestyle, which is what real Christian discipleship
looks like.

Context
What is the Corinthians’ problem? Based on what grounds? Factionalism/divisions, cult of
personality. Revealing? An understanding of things that had more to do with the ways of the
world than the gospel (wisdom/folly, power/weakness)l.
How has Paul addressed these issues so far? How does God work? Through the
message of the cross. Why does he work that way? So that no-one may boast. How do
individual’s roles fit within His purposes? As servants, co-workers.

Read passage (v.1-5, 6-7, 8-13 and 14-21)

Vs. 1-5 Don’t judge your leaders

What same themes, as last week’s study, are being picked up on here? How does this
section follow on?
Continuation of ideas of; teachers/leaders as servants (3:5-9), and the context within which
their work must be viewed, final judgment (3:13-15)

How should leaders be judged? On what basis – who are they and what’s their job?
Faithfulness to task, servants entrusted with gospel of Christ crucified (what is the mystery of
God? 2:6-7, 10) By whom? God, anyone else’s judgement of little importance (v.3) and
suspect, even own (v.4). When? Jesus’ return.
Why is trustworthiness so important (so much more important than impressiveness)?
Because it determines commendation from God.

In what ways have the Corinthians been judging their leaders incorrectly? Applying
wrong criteria (impressive rhetoric, eloquent speech (1:17) and wrong timescale (glory now,
influence, power (2:6).
Why is judgement of leaders (in general and at wrong time) wong? Because judgment
belongs to God, and because you can’t see their hearts and motivation, will only be revealed at
the day of judgment.

How do we judge our leaders? To what extent are these determined by the values of
the world or by the values of the gospel? Impressive talks, that are witty, engaging and
intellectual, successful ministries..

What encouragement and what warnings can leaders take from this passage?
Delivered/liberated from being people pleasers, yet answerable to the Lord, failure to be faithful
will not lead to God’s praise.

Ours and other people’s judgements are fallible, so why do we (if we’re in any
Christian leadership capacity) take so seriously other people’s criticisms or flattery?
What should we rather do?
More immediate, can easily fall in trap of wanting to please people rather than God. Our
concern should rather be to gospel trustworthiness and a recognition that it is God who is our
judge and not others or ourselves.
[In this next section, vs 6-13, Paul talks about why the Corinthians have got their view of their
leaders wrong.]
Vs. 6-7 Instead, recognise your wrong inflated view of yourselves
Looking at vs 6-7:
In what way has the Corinthians’ judgement of their leaders shown they’ve gone
beyond “what is written”? Boasting in men, rather than God (v.6 10, 18, cf 1:31, 2:21)
Which has led to? Divisions, being puffed up in favour of one against another.
What’s meant by “what is written”? The OT, the church’s scripture (e.g. 3:19-20 quote
from Job 5:13)
Who have we learnt is the only one truly qualified to judge? God
So by going beyond, what is being implied? We’ve seen before, 2:11-13, that no-one
knows the mind of God except for the Spirit, and so you can only know about the mind of God
as far as we have it revealed in Scripture.
In this context possibly means, don’t think you know the mind of God and therefore that you
can do the judgment for him by going beyond what he’s revealed to you in Scripture.

Thinking back to last week as well;

What have we learnt is the basis of non-competitive ministry (think back to last
week’s study)? God’s call to service - as servants, assigned, unity, God actually doing the
work, fellow worker (3:5-9).
How does Paul remind them they should view themselves and their leaders? Privileged
(1:2a, 4-5, 7; 3:9, 16) and yet not different (1:2b) and at one level, irrelevant (3:7).

Vs8-13 And what it means to be a Christian

Moving onto vs 8-13, in what tone do you think this next bit is written? Sarcastic ironic
tone.
(In groups)
How does the Corinthians’ view of themselves compare to Paul’s lifestyle?
Which of them looks more like Christ’s lifestyle?
Which of them is wrong? Why do they get it so wrong?
Ridicule, shame, brutal treatment, persecution, slander and dismissal as foolish and weak are
the lot of Christians implied as absent in the Corinthians repertoire - rather than riches, glory
and rule now which they’re seeking. They have a wrong timescale, they want it all now,
whereas the gospel is about suffering now, glory later.

In what way do we mirror a cross-shaped life? Are there errors in our thinking and
practice which derail such costly self-sacrificial discipleship? And what impact does
this have on our view of our leaders? Prosperity gospel issue falls in this category, wanting
it all now without suffering.

Vs 14-21 By imitating Paul’s self-sacrificial discipleship

How does Paul want them to respond to what he has just said to them? To imitate him.
What are the grounds on which he makes this request? His authority as their spiritual
father.
What does it mean to imitate Paul? Return to the message of the cross, which may result in
experiencing the things of v.8-13.

How does Paul show his pastoral care and concern for them in these verses? Not
written to bring shame (v.14), as a father he seeks only their good (v.15), he sends Timothy in
his place until he himself can return to them in person (v.17-19), he longs to find them in good
order, he’s not seeking confrontation and yet won’t rule it out (v.20-21).
What do v.19-20 mean? The contrast between rhetoric and reality, what is effective rather
than spectacular, the difference between just talk, and talk and walk. True wisdom and power
lie in the cross (cf 1:18-2:16)

Are we called to imitate anyone, and if so, who and how? To imitate Christ, and to
imitate holy Christians doesn’t mean mechanically replicating their routines or minutiae of
beliefs. It’s about guidelines and models of holy living, rather than control and prescription.

Praying it through
Pray for a right view of leaders
Repent of any wrong thinking we might have of Christian discipleship, and in particular how this
might lead us astray in terms of the leaders’ (their teaching and ministry) we choose to sit
under.

Pray we might imitate Christ and live cross-shaped lives.

1 Corinthians Ch5

Aim: To alert us to the impact of persistent sin on the church and how we should deal
with in.

Passage split will be v.1-5; v.6-7 and v.9-12

Get someone to read the passage

Get David or Jaco to pray for us before we start

Overview of the Ch5

If we where reading 1 Corinthians as a normal letter would you think that this was a
completely new section of a continuation from Ch4?
- continuation, Paul continues to discuss in Christ like way (4v8-13), discipline (4v21)
and judging (4v4)

What is Paul’s tone in this part of the letter?

- rebuke and outrage

Verses 1-5
Looking at v.1-5 what is the problem here?
- sexual immorality, a man is having sex with his step mother

From these verses how do we know that is bad?

- “not even tolerated among pagans” and it appears from the way Paul is writing its
something that is persistent.

What do the Corinthians make of it? How do they respond to this type of sin?
- from v2 we can see that the Corinthians rejoice in it as Paul is saying they are doing
the opposite of “Ought you not rather to mourn?”

What does Paul expect the church in Corinth to do?

- remove the man from the church (v2)
- Jesus to judge him through the church (v3 and 4)
- Deliver him to Satan so his flesh will be destroyed (v5)

This seems harsh – what is Paul’s motivation for doing so?

- cast out him out from the church so he can see what he is missing and that he will
come back
- “chuck them out but leave the door open”

If we have to exercise discipline on a fellow Christian how does Paul tells us we

should approach it?
- humbly, lovingly, privately (depends on what has happened) but it may have to be
public if the sin is public
- with mourning (v2)
- see Matt 18v15-20 – where Jesus tells us how to exercise discipline

How would we feel if this was a friend of ours was asked to leave a church for
something they are doing?
Need to make sure that we emphasis that this is a persistent sin and the person is not
repenting.

Who is actually doing the judging?

- power of the Lord (v4)

Where does power of the Lord come from?

- gospel (bible) and the cross (Ch4v5 and Ch1v18)
Verses 6-8
Why does the Corinthian church tolerate this sin, if it’s not even tolerated among the
pagan? Where have they gone wrong in their thinking?
- they believe that they are free to live in sin.
- They may also have felt that with their worldly wisdom they could deal with sin with
their church, of course, this is folly

Why is this kind of thinking dangerous both in Corinth but also in our churches?
- even a little sine that is tolerated can destroy the whole church, so it needs to be
kept pure

From these verses what is the persistent sin within the Corinthian church
- malice and evil (v8) and incest (v1)

In our churches what sorts of sins do we tolerate?

- wealth, alcohol, serving/pleasing man and sexual immorality

Verses 9-13
In verses 9-13, where have the Corinthian church gone wrong?
- they are isolating themselves from the rest of Corinth (v10) while allowing fellow
Christians to live in sin (v11)

Looking at the sins Paul lists in this letter what do they have in common?
- all the sins of self-interest or self-indulgence

What does Paul tell us to do with those who are persistent sinners in the church?
- judge them (v12)
- purge them (v13) – this is used a lot in Deuteronomy when the laws are been given
to the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 13:5 (idolatry); 17:7 (forms of worship),
12:21, 21:22 and 22,24 (sexual immorality))

Why is it that we find this difficult to hear today?

- tolerant society
- our view of sine is not as bad as God’s view
- spend a lot of time getting people into the church so we don’t to kick them out
- more individualistic, so we distant ourselves from the body.

Could we try to summarise the main points from tonight’s passage?

To alert us to the impact of persistent sin on the church and how we should deal with in,
purge it from our midst.

Prayer Points
1. Pray that we will understand the need for judgement
2. Give thanks that we have Jesus to judge for us
3. Pray for our church leaders who have to exercise judgement
4. We will not boast in our sin
1 Corinthians 6:1-20

AIM: For us to understand that true Christian freedom is seen in Christ-like behaviour,
not pagan licence (lawsuits of brother against brother, sexual immorality).

Read passage (v.1-8, 9-11, 12-20)

Vs. 1-8 Handling disputes

What is the issue/topic raised here? What are the Corinthians doing? Lawsuits against
fellow brothers.
What does Paul say the Corinthians shouldn’t be doing and what should they be
doing?
Christians shouldn’t be taking their disagreements to the secular courts. They should be able to
settle them within the fellowship of the church.

What argument does he put forward to support his position? What is true of them on
the last day? There’ll be an ultimate day of God’s judgement, when his saints will be united
with their Lord. So how should this truth influence the here and now? If they’re to
exercise jurisdiction in the last day, do they not have enough God given wisdom now to deal
with the comparatively trivial difference which they experience in their relationships in this
world?

Who are the “men of no standing” of v.4? Pagan judges. How else are they described in
v.1+6? Unrighteous and unbelievers.
So in what way are they not “appropriate” to settle disputes between brothers? What
sort of wisdom will they be applying? Applying worldly wisdom, so following different
criteria of judgement.
How do disputes arise? Invariably from pride, self-will, an insistence on one’s rights and a
defence of one’s own interests.
Therefore, why are lawsuits already a defeat? Appealing to pagan judgement, trust no
longer in God, putting pagan wisdom above godly wisdom. Shows how selfish they are and how
little Christ-like and gospel minded. Not a great witness to the outside world.

What should the Corinthians be doing? Suffering wrong, defraudment.

Where do we see the most perfect example of this?
In the wisdom of God, Christ crucified. Utter defeat, actually total victory. Sacrifice road to
reconciliation and forgiveness.

What fundamental mistake have the Corinthians made? To view their disputes as legal
rather than spiritual.
Where have they looked for recourse? Secular law courts. Revealing…? They consider the
problem to be legal. Rather, where should they have looked? The cross. Revealing…? The
heart of the problem correctly, as Divided their lives falsely into the secular and sacred.
spiritual.
How have they divided their lives falsely? Into the secular and sacred.

Vs 9-11 Don’t be deceived

The “unrighteous” of v.9 literally means “the wrongdoers”. How does this section
follow on? By taking fellow Christians to law they are no different from other wrongdoers, who
are outside the kingdom.

If we were to summarise the lists in v.9+10 under two broad headings, what would
they be? Sex and money. What do they all have in common? Habits, practises rather than
isolated acts.
What are the Corinthian Christians in danger of doing? Presuming on God’s grace, free
forgiveness and failing to see sin as God sees it. It’s impossible to combine habitual sexual sin
or love of money, or taking ones brother to court, with kingdom membership.

Why is such behaviour so inappropriate? What three great things has God done for us
through His Son and by His Holy Spirit?
Washed – blood of God’s Passover lamb washed us clean, eradicated stain of sin.
Sanctified – set apart, so as to belong to God
Justified – made right with God, acquitted of all charges (opp. of unrighteous in v.9)

So by reminding them of these things/this wonderful reassurance, what impact is

Paul hoping to have? To challenge the Corinthians complacency with sin, and contentment to
quarrel - such attitudes/positions call into question the genuineness of their discipleship.

Can we think of similar situations, are we ever in danger of thinking/acting like this?

V.12-20 So what is true Christian freedom?

How do vs9-11 introduce the remainder of the chapter? Same theme of appropriateness.

In v.12 Paul picks up their slogan “all things are lawful for me” and exhorts his
readers to ask two questions. What are they?
1) is it beneficial/helpful? For what? Developing a Christian life that’s more like the Lord Jesus.
How different is this to what a non-Christian might ask, when determining whether to
proceed with something? “What’s wrong with it?”, now we’re to ask “what’s right with it?”.
Can you think of a specific example? Relationships, so long as I’m not hurting anyone....
2) does it tend to master/enslave me? At what point do we know when something has
enslaved us? Something maybe lawful, but if it dominates my life so that Christ is being
squeezed out of the centre, I’m no longer free. Can you think of things/activities that are
permissible, but that can overtake us so that we serve them rather than Christ? Work,
hobbies, family life, Christian ministry….

Why do the Corinthians think sexual immorality is ok (vs 13-17), how does the logic
work in v.13a? Just as you satisfy appetite for food by eating, simply a natural physical
process, so one may satisfy the sexual appetite by casual sex. How does Paul show the
comparison between food and sex is invalid? The body’s not for sexual immorality but for
the Lord and it’s not destined for destruction but resurrection. So it matters what we do with it,
eternal significance.
What does this tell us about the prevailing culture’s view of the relationship between
body and spirit, and how the Corinthians have been impacted by it? Corinthians
conditioned by society, Greek philosophy, dualism between spirit and body resulting in either
asceticism (body so despised as enemy of true spirituality) or libertarianism (if only spirit
inherits kingdom of God, then what we do with our bodies is of eternal insignificance)

Why does our union with Christ make such behaviour? United by faith/in spirit now, so
the Christian’s body belongs to Christ. Contradictory to lie with a prostitute. What does the
quotation in v.16 from Gen 2:24 emphasise? Sexual union exclusively for marriage.

How then, from vs 18-20, does Paul want them to respond? Flee sexual immorality.
What reasons does he give for being so drastic?
Sexual immorality is a sin against; oneself (v.18a), God (v.19) and our redemption (v.20). We
belong to the one who has bought us with His Son’s blood. We have no right to do what we like
with our bodies, we are to honour him with all that we are and have.
In what way is sexual immorality different to other sin?
In what way is sexual immorality no worse than any other sin? Can be forgiven.

What does “fleeing sexual immorality” or in fact any of the sins listed in this chapter
(e.g. vs.9-10), all are inappropriate to kingdom membership, look like in practice for
us? Careful about what we read, watch, physical side of friendships/relationships….

Praying it through
To be ready to suffer wrong for the sake of the gospel and not so quick to stand up on our
“rights”.
For the wonderful reassurance of the gospel, not to allow us to be complacent with habitual sin.
To understand and live out, true Christian freedom.
To be ruthless in fleeing sin – we have no right to do what we like, we are to honour God with
all that we are and have.
1 Corinthians Ch7
Aim – To live in a Godly way if we you are married, single or widowed.
Purpose – Encourage us to live in a Godly way and to stay as God intended us to be.
We are splitting the passage as follows v1-16; v17-24 and v25-40
Get someone in the group to pray, either Katherine or Nadia.
Introduction
1. How is this section of the letter similar and different to what we have seen so
far?

- Similar – deals with sexual immorality and sets minds straight

- Differences – now deals with questions, gives advice and wisdom

2. What does our society and sometimes our churches tell us about marriage and
singleness?

Marriage – sorts out loneliness, its temporary, gives security, it’s about me, tradition,
it’s all about the wedding, more effective in ministry married
Single – you can have more fun, more independent, you are not complete and it’s sad

Verse 1-16
3. Who is Paul addressing/talking to in v.1-7? Christians who are already married.

What is the question that Corinthians have asked Paul and why might they be
thinking this?

- It seems people saying it’s better to be celibate and not have sex. [Cf last week,
dualism, body inferior to spirit.] and if they were married they decided not to have
sex with their wives/husbands

4. (a) In v1-6 how does Paul respond to their question?

- It’s good to have sex because of the temptation of sexual immorality. It is good to
have sex when you are married to avoid temptation of sexual immorality.

- One husband and one wife

(b) In v3-4 how is what Paul tells us different from what our society tells us?
- Marriage is about what you give not what you can get

- In marriage we have to give all including our bodies “All that I am I give to you and
all that I have I share with you, within the love of God”

(c) What is the only reason for not to have sex regularly and what are the conditions
does Paul put on this?
- Only when you devote yourself to prayer BUT only by mutual agreement, for a
limited/short time and it’s not a command rather a concession.

5. (a) Who is Paul addressing in v.8-9? What does he have to say to them?

- Those who’ve been married who now find themselves single.

 - Good to remain single unless unable to exercise self control and there’s a risk of
sexual immorality

Who does Paul then turn his attention to in v.10-11? And what does he say to them?

- Those married to Christians

- Divorce is not an option and if it happens can only remarry the original partner

(b) God hates divorce (Mal 2:16). In what circumstances is it permitted (NB not
required)?
- Sexual immorality, see Matthew Ch19v1-12, especially v9 “whoever divorces his wife,
except of sexual immortaility, and remarries another, commits adultery”

6. (a) Looking at v12-16, what do we think of Paul’s phrase “I, not the Lord” in
v12? (cf v.10)

- It’s still the bible so it’s the word of God

- It ties in with “not I, but the Lord”. No direct teaching from Jesus. Maybe because
not have to have dealt with the issues of Jew’s marrying out, so it’s unlikely that he
would teach on it as the Old Testament dealt with it so extensively.

(b) In v14-16 what is Paul’s teaching to the Christian who is married to a non-
Christian? And what reason does he give?
- You shouldn’t/can’t divorce the non-Christian unless they want it (only other ground
on which divorce an acceptable option)

- God has called you to peace (v.15b), not enslaved.

(c) Do we think from v14 that the unbelieving partner is saved through marriage with
a Christian?
- No

(d) So what do we think Paul means by this?

- The non-Christian is in touch with the gospel, similar to the Old Testament teaching
on if you come into contact with Priests or holy objects you where made clean.

Verses 17-24 – key principle

7. (a) In these verses what is Paul’s key message to the Corinthians and us?

- Stay as you are, v17, 20 and v24 v24 Note: as God has assigned to him -> maybe
draw out that this might change over time; doesn’t mean if you are single you can
never get married

(b) How does Paul’s illustration of circumcision and slavery (ie. race and social
standing) help us to understand his key message on marriage/singleness?
- if a Jew or Gentile comes to Christ one doesn’t have to get circumcised or
uncircumcised. The key issue is keeping the commandments of God.
- slaves and freeman, we all become slaves of Christ and freed from the slavery of man.
(c) In v23, what was the price we were bought by? What is the important thing?
- Jesus dying on the cross for us and not our marital status/race/social standing

Verses 25-40
8. (a) Who is Paul addressing in these verses? Single people who’ve never been
married (betrothed = virgins). What does he have to say to them?

1) It’s good to remain single (v.26). Why/what reason does he give? Time short (v.29,
31), wants them to be free from anxieties (v.32-35, cf v.28b)

2) It’s ok to marry (v.36). But/what are the consequences? Worldly troubles (v.28),
anxieties, divided interests (v.32-35)

What is Paul’s underlying concern for the Corinthians and us?

- verse 35, promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord

Conclusion

9. (a) How what we have learnt is tonight countercultural from what society tells
us?

- Marriage – it’s about giving body away, it’s for all our earthly live, no better than
been single and can stop us serving the Lord.

- Singleness – easier to serve the Lord, it’s only a temporary state, marriage to God
is everlasting, same as been married.

(b) How does the middle section (v.17-24) act as a linchpin between the two sections
either side?

Christians are responsible to God first of all, whether we’re married or single is irrelevant.

Prayer Points
Thanks for the teaching and how is corrects our view of relationship.
To help us to live this out
1 Corinthians 8 (CF - Study 9)

Purpose statement:
To understand that Christian maturity is not about understanding and exercising the freedom
you have in Christ, because this might destroy a weaker brother. Rather Christian maturity is
about holding back on your knowledge and exercising love to build up your brother.

• Pray

Starter Question

• How do we measure Christian maturity? Who do we consider a mature Christian?

- e.g. praying well in public
- going to church for years
- leading bible studies/ church leaders
- good at giving advice

What does 1 Corinthians say?

• Remind ourselves what we have learned about the Corinthian church so far? What are positive
things? What do we know in terms of issues going on in Corinth? Look at ch1-7.
- they are real Christians
- they are divided
- they have no real understanding of Christian ministry nor Christian lif as shown in the
way they
- relate to their leaders
- think about themselves (glory now)
- practise sexual immorality
- practise lawsuits against brothers
- abstain from sex in marriage (being “superspiritual”)

• Why were the Corinthians practising sexual immorality or lawsuits against other believers? (cf
6:12 – what was the sort of motto by which they were living?)
- 6:12 all things are lawful – abusing the freedom they have in Christ

• Read 1 Corinthians 8

(1) What is the presenting issue in this chapter?

- eating food offered to idols

What do we mean by “food offered to idols”?

- probably food that had been offered to idols + is now available to eat
in the temple (v10) or to buy in marketplace (cf 1 Cor 10:25)

(2) In what ways is the Corinthian church divided on this issue? What is going on in the
church?
- some eat, some don’t

(3) Why DO some people eat? (v4-8)

- because they know that ‘idols have no real existence’ (v4)
and that ‘there is no God but one’ (v4)
 - because they know that food will not commend us to God (v8)

(4) Why do some people NOT eat? (v7)

- they don’t possess the knowledge that those who eat have
- through former association with idols, eat as if offered to an idol (this
has to do with their pre-Christian life catching up with them!)
- they defile their weak conscience when they eat

What is meant by “their conscience is defiled”?

- when they eat, they really think they are involved with idol worship
- their conscience will convict them that they have drifted back into
pagan worship and so denied the uniqueness of Jesus and their
submission to him.

(5) Which party is right? Should the Corinthians eat or not to eat?
On what points do Paul and the people who DO eat agree?
- v1 all possess knowledge
- v4 includes himself in having knowledge that idols don’t exist
- v8 food won’t commend us to God

How do we know from the rest of the Bible that this is right?
- Mark 7: Jesus’ teaching on food (read)
- Acts 10: Peter’s vision

(6) So Paul agrees with the people who DO eat, that in fact this food CAN be eaten.
So does he therefore tell the people off who DON’T eat and ask them to get over
their weakness? Why does he not do that?
- they don’t have knowledge + eat as if offered to an idol
- v11 if forced to eat, they might be destroyed (this is serious,
their salvation is at stake)

Why is he telling off the people who DO eat instead?

- their eating has become a stumbling block for the weak (v9)
- their knowledge can destroy their brother (v11)
- they sin against their brother and against Christ (v12)

Looking at v13, how should they behave instead?

- never eat meat again, if it makes their brother stumble. Avoid the
stumbling of their brother at all cost!

(7) Now the food offered to idols is the presenting issue here.
What general mistake have the strong made? What is the motivation behind those who
do eat? How does this seem symptomatic of the Corinthian church?
- think of themselves, their own freedom
- puffed up by their own knowledge (v1)
- know from previous studies who Corinthians look for impressiveness
+ boasting

What principles should govern their behaviour instead?

- v1 love builds up (full heart, not full head!)
- v13 think of weaker brother first, avoid their stumbling at all cost

(8) Is the knowledge bad then? Does Paul advocate ignorance among Christians? What
do we need to understand about knowledge? (v1-3)
- knowledge is good, but it is dangerous as it can puff you up and so
 destroy your brother
- v2 even those who know much, actually know very little, and all the
knowledge we have actually comes from God (cf ch2)
- v3 love is the only true way to be known by God + the this is the
important thing, to be known by God, not to have lots of knowledge!

(9) How would we summarise the main point(s) of this chapter? Can you think of a
summary sentence?
- (in pairs + then feed back)
Thinking it through

• What might be the equivalent areas where people’s conscience might be

weak in our church today?
- general note: this is about pre-Christian lifestyle, not gospel issues
- alcohol
- films
- clothes (showing too much flesh)

• How are we tempted to behave towards people who might struggle with such
things? How should we react?
- let love trump knowledge
- take serious the damage it might cause!
- need to know people to avoid making them stumble
- issue is not if we are right or wrong, but about building up the
other person
- avoid doing things if others might stumble (v13: NEVER eat meat!)

• How can we practically avoid making other people stumble? What is a prerequisite for this?
- need to know the people well, so we know their issues
- put others before ourselves (forfeit our own rights + freedom)

• How are we to view all the knowledge we have at St.H. with it’s emphasis on
teaching and training? What is the proper place for “knowledge”?

• Should we never tell the weaker brother the “truth”? What’s the proper place for challenging
them? Or should we always “indulge” them?

• We started off by discussing what the hallmark of a mature Christian is?

How has what we learned today challenged what we said earlier?

Praying it through
1 Corinthian Ch9 v 1-23
Aim: To help us see how the cross and gospel needs to be at the centre of our lives and the
decisions we take.
Purpose: To follow Paul’s example in our decision making particularly around forwarding the
gospel.
Structure
v1-2 Paul clearly establishes his authority and his relationship with the church in Corinth
v3-7 Paul defines his rights as a full time minister
v8-12a Biblical justification for his rights
v12b-18 Paul doesn’t exercise his rights
v19-23 Reason why he gives up his freedom
Introduction
1. (a) What do non-Christians believe they are entitled to?

(b) What do Christians believe they are entitled to, is there any difference?

v1-2 - Paul clearly establishes his authority and his relationship with the church in
Corinth
2. (a) What is Paul doing in these two verses?

- Establishing his authority

(b) How does Paul establish his authority?

He is an apostle (v1), he brought the gospel to Corinth (v1) and the fact that there is a
church in Corinth shows Pauls authority (v2)
v3-7 - Paul defines his rights as a full time minister
3. (a) Why was it necessary for Paul to establish is apostleship?

- Certain people or groups of people are examining/criticising him

(b) From what we know about the Corinthians what do we think this criticism
might be?

- Paul is not as good as other preachers (Ch1v12)

- Not using eloquent words (Ch1v17)

- Not overlooking sin within the church (Ch5)

- Does look as grand as some of the other preachers or religious leaders

4. (a) In v4-7 what rights does Paul say he has as an apostle?

 - Right to eat and drink (v4), right to be married (v5), right to earn a living from been
an apostle (v6). If we look at Act18v3, we know that Paul made tents to earn money
when he was in Corinth.

(b) How does Paul justify these rights?

- All in v7 – using the example of soldier paying for himself to serve in an army and a
farmer not benefitting from his own crops or cattle. This is a very simplistic human
principle if you do work you expect to get paid for it. Also in v13 Paul says “Do you
not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the
temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offering?”

v8-12a - Biblical justification for his rights

5. (a) How does Paul further establish his rights in these verses, particularly v8-
10?

- Using the Old Testament law (Deut 25v4)

- Yet again the principle of being paid for work “sharing the crop”

(b) What precedent has been set that further supports Paul’s argument that the
Corinthian church to pay him for his work amongst them?
- v12 – they support other teachers, so they have acknowledged this principle in other
cases so why not Paul too? Is he so different (v4-6).
v12b-18 - Paul doesn’t exercise his rights
6. (a) So after Paul has spent the last 12 verses establishing his rights, what is
surprising about what he says in v12-18?

- puts down the right to get paid for doing gospel work(v12) and he does not want to
make the Corinthians feel guilty that they are not supporting him (v15)

- Not wanting to put an obstacle in the way of the gospel (v12) and not want to be
deprived of a ground for boasting (v15)

- Even though Jesus teaches that those who preach the gospel should receive their
living from the gospel (v14) See Luke 10v7 or Matthew 10v10.

(b) In v13-14 what right down Paul not take up?

- The right to get paid for doing gospel work

7. In what ways would getting paid put an obstacle in the way of the gospel for
the Corinthians?

- Because not taking money excludes boasting which is a Corinthian problem (see
below), also it might emphasise to the Corinthians that not Paul is not important, but
God is doing the work of the gospel

- Also the Corinthians are standing on their rights (eg. to eat meat), so Paul is
demonstrating the right gospel –centred behaviour

- Might be worth bring out that this specific to the Corinthian situation. Doesn’t
necessarily mean that our leaders should give up their right to be paid.

8. (a) How might getting paid, deprive Paul of a ground for boasting? (What
exactly is Paul’s ground for boasting? If needed)

- The gospel, this ties in with Ch1v31 about not boasting in man but boasting in the
Lord
 (b) So why does preaching the gospel give Paul not ground for boasting?
- Necessity is laid upon him (v16); he is in trouble if he doesn’t preach it (v16)

- Also preaching the gospel is not solely about getting a reward now (v17)

(c) What is Paul’s reward?

- To present the gospel free of charge (v18) so he doesn’t have to make himself look
or sound good to get message across the gospel stands on its own.

v19-23 - Reason why he gives up his freedom

9. (a) In these verse what is Paul saying about the use of his freedom in the
gospel?

- He is careful how he uses his freedom and will not use his freedom if it would offend
someone. He is also surrendering it or exercising it according the situation he finds
himself in. Paul is will to surrender his freedom to relate to the people in his culture
(as long as it doesn’t comprise the gospel) in order to win them. So he is not only
careful how he uses his freedom to avoid offending people, but more than that
actively forfeiting his freedom to make it easier for people to engage with the gospel.

(b) What is Paul’s prime motivation in these verses?

- All for the sake of the gospel (v23)

- Becoming a servant all (v19) following the role of Jesus

- So that some might be saved (v22)

Application
10.(a) Who do we know that has give up their right to reach other for Christ? How
might we support them?

- How can we support our church leaders – prayer, words of encouragement, serve

(b) How does this challenge us in our own evangelism?

- As we are all involved with evangelism v19-23 give a very clear message that we
should be going out at getting along side non-Christian whoever and wherever they
are from

(c) If we have same motivation as Paul “all for the sake of the gospel” what
rights/freedoms might we have to surrender to serve the gospel?
1 Corinthians Ch9v24-Ch10v14
Aim: To show us how important been focused on pleasing God is in our Christian life
Purpose: If we trust in God his spirit will help us please him.
Passage splits into three parts
v24-27 how we pursue the reward that awaits us
v1-5 just because you get God’s blessing that does not mean God will always be pleased with
you
v6-13 warning about when sin is not sorted out from Israelites in the wilderness. If we trust in
God he will look after us.
v24-27 how we pursue the reward that awaits us
1. Looking at v24-27, how do these tie into the rest of Ch9 which we looked at last week?

- ties in with v23 “all for the sake of the gospel”

- following Paul’s example as an apostle

- shows that it’s not just the apostles that have to sacrifice and live for the gospel, it
also applies to rank and file Christians.

2. Paul uses Greek athletes to illustrate the Christian life, what are the characteristics of
Greek or Olympic athlete?

- dedication

- single mindedness

- competiveness

3. So if the Christian life is about been an athlete, what are some of the things that might
be stopping from the Corinthian church getting into the race from what we have seen so
far in this letter?

- tolerance of sin (Ch5 and 6)

- arrogance, division and been puffed up (Ch1&2)

- standing on their rights

- divisions within the church (Ch4)

4. How does Paul want the Corinthian church to respond this?

- they need to get into the race rather than sitting on the start line

- “discipline my body and keep it under control” v27

- reminds them they need to be capable of staying in the race v25

5. What is the imperishable wreath that Paul refers to?

- ties into with v18 “reward is the gospel and preaching it”

- also refers to reward in heaven and eternal life

 - Paul sees his wreath as the congregations he as established (Phil 4v1 and1 Thess
2V19)

Phil 4v1 - Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and
crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

1 Thess 2v19 - For what is our hope or a joy or crown of boasting before our
Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?

6. In summary from these verses what have we learn about the prize / imperishable
wreath?

- Received - in the future (v24)

- Its value – it is worth having (v25)

- How is it attained – self discipline, it’s possible to start the race and end up not
finishing.

v1-5 just because you get God’s blessing that does mean God will always be pleased
with you
7. In Ch10v1-5 how are the Corinthians like the children of Israel?

- both benefit from God’s blessing (v3 and 4)

- rescued from slavery (v1 and 2) Corinthians slavery to sin, Israel actual slavery

- sustained by God (Israel) and sustained by Jesus (Corinthians)

- Corinthians have God’s grace and are justified in Christ.

- Israel – blessing given to Abraham and laws

8. (a) In these verses what period is Paul referring to in history of Israel?

- wondering in the wilderness for 40years

(b) Why did God make Israel wonder in the wilderness for 40 years?

- because they sinned and his punishment was that no who left Eygpt would enter the
promise land Number 26v64-65 except Joshua and Caleb.

- But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest,
who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said of
them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the
son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

9. (a) How are we and the Corinthians similar to Israel?

- we have all of God’s blessings (v4) “Rock was Christ”. We are actually in a much
better place than the Corinthians as we have the gospel and bible
 - if we do not be please God we will be thrown in the wilderness

(b) How do we please God?

- V24-27 run the race, be disciplined in spirit and body and live the gospel

v6-14 warning about when sin is not sorted out from Israelites in the
wilderness. If we trust in God he will look after us.
10. (a) What are the similarities between how the Corinthians and Israelites in the desert
respond to God

- Sexual immortality (v8) (Ch6)

- Rebel against God

- Idolatory (Ch7)

So these are sins that all of God’s people have to face and deal with.
(b) What should Christians be focused on and what comfort can we take from these
verses?

- v13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful,
and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he
will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

- What happened to Israel was an example for us (v11) and don’t do as they did (v9)

11. If God provides an escape from sin and temptation why do we not take it?

- Self-sufficiency

- Enjoy the sin

- Living for the here and now and not worried about God’s judgment

- Don’t take sin seriously

- Blame God for causing the sin

12. How does this study instruct us to avoid setting hearts on desiring evil?

- Flee from it (v14)

- Exercise single mindedness (v24-27)

1 Corinthian Ch11 v2 – v16
Aim: To make sure that we are all aware of the difference roles of married couples particularly
in public worship.
Purpose: To ensure that we maintain the difference and inter-relationship in married couples.
Split of the passage – v2-6, v7-12 and v13-16
We need to be careful not to get sidetracked with comparing the historical/cultural issues in
Corinth with today’s society.
Introduction
1. Does anyone know what the significance of head coverings, hair length was in
the Greek-Roman world?

- If no one can answer this, Anja could you step in with an explanation

2. Is this passage focused on relationships between men and women in general or

specifically between husbands and wives?

- This is passage is primarily focused on husbands and wives; we can see this from the
hierarchy being outlined, similar to Ephesians and Colossians.

- The “head” in v3 and v4 is the same Greek word used in Colossians and Ephesians.

- The other choice would be head as in the source of a river, but this wouldn’t make
sense in terms of this passage.

3. What is the biblical teaching on how husbands and wives should relate to one
another and why?

- Ephesians 5v22-28 and Col 3v18-19

- Its relationship hierarchy God then Jesus then Man then Women

God to Jesus to Man to Woman to Creation

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the
wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the
church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that
he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he
might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that
she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as
their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh,
but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of
his body.

4. In Ch8-10 Paul spends a lot of time correcting the Christians in Corinth in the
appropriate use of their freedoms, what is Paul issue around use of freedoms is
Paul correcting here?

- This is a correction to those who want to use all their freedoms for their own benefit.
Perhaps part of the issue here is that the gospels teach that everyone is equal under
Christ, the only difference is non-Christians and Christians. However, this ignores the
difference roles of men and women particularly in marriage.

We are going to look at the passage in the following sections v2-6, v7-12 and v13-16

v2 – 6 – Using biblical relationships to establish authority

 5. (a) What is the underlying issue that Paul is addressing here?

- Wives not submitting to their husbands headship

- Disorder of the proper hierarchy

(b) From these verses what is the proper hierarchy that married couples should
be modelling?
- all outlined in v3 - But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ,
the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God

6. (a) According these verses what is the problem with wives not submitting to
the husbands?

- It brings shame on her husband and therefore on her relationship with Jesus and God
(v5)

(b) Why would this be an issue in public worship?

- Disruptive to the rest of the congregation as not exhibiting the proper order and for
leaders in a church this could cause a lot of problems.

v7-13 – Using Creation to establish order

7. (a) In these verses how does Paul justify the proper hierarchy?

- Uses creation and Genesis Ch2

- We need to make sure that we go through the logic in v7 to 9

- It’s interesting how Paul introduces angels her who are expected to submit to women
– this ties in with creation, as angels are part of God’s creation and women is over
creation.

Man in the image of God

Woman in glory of man – in the Greek this means that in a proper hierarchy women
submitting allows men to show they are “proper” men

Woman created for men

Woman for angels

(b) Does this hierarchy belittle women in eyes of God?

- NO

- Man and women are interdependent not independent (v11)

- All things are from God (v12)

- Same but different

V13-16 – Summary
8. (a) If Paul was writing v14-16 today what examples would he be using?

- dress, attitude to husband when leading a bible study, wedding rings

(b) How does Paul challenge anyone who wants to step outside this proper
hierarchy?
- v16 we just don’t do it in all churches
Application
Split the group up into married and single people to answer, How does this passage apply to us
today?
- Married people

- Single people

The church should do everything to encourage married people to stay within the
proper hierarchy.
Prayer Points
Help to accept the different roles of genders in a society that doesn’t
Make sure that we use our different roles in a way that imitates Christ
Help us to encourage others particularly married couples.
1 Corinthians 11:17-34 (CF - Study 14)

Purpose:

• to understand the significance of Lord’s supper and thus the need to approach it with the right
attitude (and the dangers if we fail to do so)
• to make sure that we are united when we eat the Lord’s supper together

• Pray

Starter question:

What do we/churches get hung up on concerning the LS?

What does 1 Corinthians say?

4 sections:

11:17-22 the problem: denying the cross by eating Lord’s supper in disunity
11:23-26 the purpose: proclaiming Christ’s death by eating Lord’s supper
11:27-32 the consequence: sin + judgment
11:28,33-34 the solution: examine yourself, eat in unity

11:17-22 the problem: denying the cross by eating Lord’s

supper in disunity

(1) What is Paul’s tone in the passage? How does it compare to his tone in the last passage?

- not happy, doesn’t commend them (v1, 22), quite adamant, serious issue

(2) What is the presenting issue in this passage? What are the Corinthians doing/ not doing?

- eating the Lord’s supper

- divisions (v18), no unity as they come to eat together
- each goes ahead with his own meal (don’t wait) (v21)
- some go hungry, others get drunk (v21)

(3) Why does it matter? What does such behaviour show about their attitude towards one
another?

- v17: for worse (not a good thing)

- v19: some think they are more worthy of honour than others
- v20: they don’t eat Lord’s supper
- v22: despise the church of God
- v22: humiliate some people in the church
- → no unity, look to their own interest

(4) Where have we seen this attitude before?

- 1:10 divisions over leaders

- 3:1ff strife, jealousy, division
 - 4:8 glory now attitude, not self-sacrificial, denying cross

(5) What is underlying such an attitude? What are they demonstrating about the cross?

- denying the cross: Christ has given himself up for them, but they only look to their
self-interest, v22 despise the Church (= the body of Christ, which he achieved at the
cross)
- they don’t think about each other as the united body of Christ

11:23-26 the purpose: proclaiming Christ’s death by eating

Lord’s supper

(6) In this section, Paul reminds the Corinthians about the true meaning of the Lord’s supper.
What does he say the Lord’s supper is for?

- remembrance (v24)
- new covenant (v25)
- proclaim the Lord’s death (v26)

(7) What do each of these mean?

- remembrance: = active participation – live lived in response to Christ’s death;

remembering helps to live this out (what did Christ’s death achieve? what does it mean
to live this out?
- new covenant: speaks of forgiveness of sins; note also the corporal component →
formation of new community (unity with Christ + with his people)
- proclaim Lord’s death = summary

(8) How does this help us understand where the Corinthians go wrong and what they are
actually doing as they eat?

11:27-32 the consequence: sin + judgment

(9) Why is this serious? What does Paul say in v27?

- v27: eating in an unworthy manner: guilty concerning body + blood of Christ =

profaning his death, disrespect for what Christ has done, selfish behaviour as opposed
to self-sacrifice of Christ

(10) And what is the consequence of doing so?

- v29 judgement
- v30 in some cases immediate judgment (note: not always are illness, etc a direct
consequence of God’s judgement + not always does sin result in immediate judgment
like this!)

(11) Why is God judging?

- v32: discipline, to save people (where have we seen this before?)

11:28, 33-34 the solution: examine yourself, eat in unity

(12) What then is the solution? How should the Corinthians behave when it comes to the Lord’s
supper? What does this mean practically? What sorts of questions should we ask ourselves
before we eat the LS?

- v28 examine themselves, v30 discern the body = corporately: is there division?
- v33+34 wait for one another (+ eat at home beforehand if you are really hungry)

• Do I trust Christ as my sin-bearing substitute? (cf 10:16-17)

• Am I living in humble obedience to his lordship, the self-sacrificial life- style of the cross?
• Do I believe his death makes us members of his new covenant community?
• Do I therefore love and honour my fellow believers?

(13) Sum up.

Thinking it through

(14) We started by asking: What do we/churches get hung up on concerning the LS? What do
we make of these in light of tonight’s passage?

(15) How does what we have learned apply to us here in CF? At St.H? In our Sunday churches?

- servant attitude, self-sacrificial lifestyle

- respect for one another + acceptance of one another

(16) How does what we have learned about the LS motivate us to apply it to ourselves? Are we
aware of the seriousness of eating the LS in an unworthy manner? Do we ever think about it this
way?

(17) Are there attitudes/practices we've adopted towards the LS that we need to be challenged
on/seek forgiveness for?

Praying it through
1 Corinthians Ch 12 v 12-30
Passage split is
- v12-13 – what is really happening

- v14-20 – experience of those who think they are not important - WRONG

- v21-26 – experience of those who think they are important - WRONG

- v27-30 – the interdependence of the church on God and one another

v12-13 – what is really happening

1. (a) Think back to last week what unites us all as Christians?

- One spirit (v11) as he give us all the gifts listed in v4-9

(b) How does v12-13 add to this?

- Baptized into one body (v13)

- Drink of one spirit (v13)

(c) What do we think “drink of one spirit” means?

Options are something to do with the Lord’s supper – but why didn’t he just say that.
Possibly relates to conversion – when repent the spirit enters us, this is not selective as
some would suggest – within the context of the passage this seems more appropriate.
Some churches will use this verse to suggest that there are different levels of Christians
– WRONG.
v14-20 – experience of those who think they are not important – WRONG
2. (a) Looking at v14-20, what of people within the congregation is Paul
addressing here?

- Those who feel they have gifts of little value – “I am not a hand, I do not belong”
(v15) and “I am not an eye ..” (v16)

(b) Why might people feel like this?

(c) What should people who are in this mind set realise?
- God wants diversity (v17-19)

(c) Why does God want diversity? Why is diversity good? v19+20
(d) Is there anything wrong with feeling like this or do we expect that there will
always be people in the church who complain and feel hard done by?
- Grumbling and complaining to God actually rebelling against his sovereignty. He has
given all these gifts for his church, so we should get and use them whatever they are

(e) If we came across someone like this in one of our churches how would we
help them?
- Realise all the gifts are from God so we should be thanking him not complaining

- Help them see that their gift is equally as important as someone else, it is their
opinion not God’s or other people in the church. Encourage them, show them that
you are thankful to God for the gifts they have.

- help them realise that they HAVE gifts (some people think they don’t). help them
discover their gifts and how they can use them.

v21-26 – experience of those who think they are important - WRONG

 3. (a) In these verses what sort of people in the congregation is Paul addressing?

- The opposite of the last section, those think they have better gifts that other (v21)
those who say “I have no need for .....”

(b) Why might some people feel like their gifts are more important?
- see last week’s study – don’t realise that no gift means that they are more “spiritual”
and thus superior. All gifts are from God and for the good of the people.

(c) What attitude might such people have towards others and how does Paul
say how should they react towards other?
- Weaker are indispensable (v22)

- Great honour and modesty (v21)

- God demands greater honour be given (v24)

- This is also very Christ-like behaviour, servant king, eating and being with the lowest
in society – tax collectors, adulteress, Samaritian women, thieves on the cross.

(d) So far how have the Corinthians failed to care for one another?
- Divisions (Ch1 and 3)

- Legal issues

- Not supporting their leaders – Paul had to make tents

- Eating when others have none

- Putting some gifts above others

- Basically they think they know better than God (v24)

(e) If we came across someone like this in one of our churches how would we
help them?
- Realise all the gifts are from God so they can give themselves credit for what they do

- Also by not giving God thanks they are dishonouring God, which is the whole point of
the church and Christians.

v27-30 – the interdependence of the church on God and one another

4. (a) How do v27-30 act as a summary of the passage so far?

- God has created the church thru his son and spirit (v12-13)

- We are to respect one another

- We are to thank God for whatever role he has chosen for us

(b) In v28 Paul lists gifts that given to a congregation from the passage are
some more important than others?
- Obvious answer is NO but why from the passage, (v29-30) no one has all the gifts so
we are all interdependent on God and one another.

Application
Which gifts do we most value as a congregation? If we become a church focused on
gifts what is the most likely outcome?
Is the fact that we value such gifts a sign of our maturity or immaturity?
- If we know we do it is maturity, but also a massive sin as we are worshipping idols
almost.

If any of our churches moved away from making been a Christian and having Jesus as
Lord a basis for the unity of the congregation what would the other outcome be?
It focuses on human success and become a social club

Personal application:
- do we think we have no gifts (i.e. belong to first category of people)? How do we
need to change our attitude?

- do we think our gifts are better than others? How do we need to change our attitude?

Prayer Points
Thank God for his gifts
As for help that we value all gifts and unity improves
Pray for our leaders at our churches but also in the wider church?
1 Corinthians Ch14 v 1-25
Aim: To ensure that we understand now important intelligible teaching and preaching is to both
Christians and purpose.
What do we understand of speaking in tongues and prophesy?

1. What did we learn about gifts from God in Chapter 13?

- Have to be exercised in love

- How you exercise the gifts is more important than gifts themselves

2. In Chapter 14 what gifts are focused on?

- Prophesy and tongues

3. In Corinth what are the meetings in the church like?

- Noise, disorderly and impressive talking (like in Ch1v17)

4. Looking at v1-5 why is prophesy better than speaking in tongues?

- Building up, encouragement, consolidation, building up

5. Looking at v6-12 why is prophesy better than speaking in tongues?

- Tongues – other don’t understand (vXX)

- Prophesy – brings revelation and knowledge (v6), builds up the church(v12)

- We can see from the illustrations that tongues are unintelligible

6. Looking at v13-19 why is prophesy better than speaking in tongues?

- Tongues – needs to be interpreted (v13); mind is unfruitful but spirit fulfilled (v14);
no one can agree with prayers and the other person who hears you speaking in
tongues is not built up (v17) but it is a gift from God.

- Prophesy – rather speak five words with my mind in other to instruct than ten
thousand words in a tongue (v19).

- Mind and spirit need to work together

7. In verses 20-25, how Paul says speaking in tongues and prophesy applies to the
unbeliever?

- Paul used quote from Isaiah, so speaking in tongues “intelligible language” is a sign
of God’s judgment to the unbeliever as it will make the unbeliever harden their hearts
because they don’t understand (v20)

- Highlights why prophesy is much better and sign of highlighting God’s judgment.

- v23b and v25b acts as a contrast.

Applications
1. Don’t complicate the bible as its not helpful for the unbeliever

2. Speaking in tongues is not a bad thing as it’s a gift from God

3. When might it be better to limit the exercising of my gifts so that others might be built
up?
 4. How we can better build one another up in our meetings by ensuring that all we do in
our church meeting is readily intelligible.

What is speaking in tongues – unintelligible, builds up a person, can be interrupted, it’s not bad,
visibly working as person built up.
1 Corinthians Ch 14v26-40
Aim: to encourage us to have orderly worship that builds up the church and to
evaluate what we are been taught.
Introduction
Since Ch11 Paul has been trying to help the church in Corinth move from been a divided church
to a united one, how does Paul say a united church should behave:
- Concern for others in the church and gifts used in the right way (11v33; 13v1-13)

- Building up of one another (14v2-19)

- Make everything understandable to believers (14v2-19) and unbelievers (14v24)

- Conduct themselves in a way that is in inline with the natural male/female order
(11v2-16)

14v26-36 – order in service

What is Paul’s major concern in these verses?
- Orderly worship when the congregation meets, we have seen in various parts of the
letter that this is not always the case Ch14v1-20; Ch11v20-21; Ch1v11

So what does Paul say about speaking tongues to ensure orderly worship?
- They must be interpreted (v27); only one at a time (v27); only two people (v27) and
if it can’t be interpreted the speaker should be silent

So what does Paul say about prophesy to ensure orderly worship?

- Two or three people prophesy (v29); one at a time (v30) and it should be weighed
(v29)

Optional: What are the similarities in how speaking tongues and prophesy should be
used in worship?
- Limited number of people; only one person at a time and it needs to be
evaluated/interpereted

What do we thinking Paul means by weighing prophesy?

- Evaluate it (v29)

- Spirit of prophets are subject to the prophets (v32)

- So anyone who speaks publicly in Corinth or another church needs to have what they
say judged against what the bible says. 2 Tim 3v16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out
by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good
work.”

Who should be weighing prophesy in the church?

- Others (v29) this implies the rest of congregation – 1Thess 5v21 and 1John 4v1-6

- Only by men (v34-35)

Where else in the letter have we seen Paul been concerned about the role of women in
the Corinthian church?
- Chapter 11 on the issue of heading coverings

What was the issue in Chapter 11?

- Men and women, particularly marrieds, did not respect the natural order set down in
Genesis 2.
Why do we think Paul argues that women should not evaluate prophesy in public?
- Women could end up contradicting their husbands in public and this would be
unhelpful in building up the church

- So Paul’s directive here only relates to the weighing of prophesy

14v37-38 – do get above yourself you muppets

In v36-37 and 33b what is Paul reminding the church in Corinth?
- He reminds the Corinthians that they are part of the larger church, v 33b “As in all
the churches of the saints” and this is reinforced in v36 implying that Corinthians
can’t make up the word of God to suit themselves. Similar to what he told them in
Ch11v16 “If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do
the churches of God” – this was around the issue of head coverings.

What does Paul say about his own teaching in these verses?
- “the things I am writing to you are a command from the Lord” v 37

Why do Paul prophesy/words not need to be weighed?

- He is an apostle Ch14v1

What marks the apostles out as special?

- There were and will only be 12; they all saw the Jesus their job was specific to spread
the word.

- And Jesus came and said to them, Matt 28v18-20 “All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with
you always, to the end of the age.”

14v39-40 – a summary
How does v40 summarise chapter 14?
- It highlights Paul concern for order in their worship and it should be decent, this of
course will mean different things to different people and perhaps this is Paul allowing
for cultural differences

Application
How should we be fulfilling our responsibility to evaluate what we are being taught?

How should you / should we as a congregation react if someone began to pray on tongues?
1 Corinthians 15:1-19 (CF - Study 20)

Purpose statement:
• To understand that the resurrection is central to the gospel: without the resurrection our faith
is pointless and we lose all the benefits of the gospel
• To live in the light of the truth of the resurrection

• Pray

Starter Question

• When you present the gospel to someone, what do you normally say? (do you include the
resurrection in your presentation?)

• What does the resurrection of Christ mean to you?

Context

• read passage

• What is the presenting issue in this section? What do we mean by “resurrection”? (spiritual or
bodily event)?
- v 12 some of Corinthians say that there is no resurrection of the dead
- note: this is a disbelief of the bodily resurrection
- note: they are not saying that Christ hasn’t risen, but that the dead don’t rise

• Any ideas where does this attitude came from? Think of the culture.

- cf Acts 17:32, Greek culture does not belief in resurrection concept

• From what we have seen about the Corinthians before, how does a disbelief in the resurrection
show itself in the way they live / relate to one another?

- ch 4, very much concerned with the here and now (think that they have got it all
already now), focus on this life
- ch 5+6 sexual immorality (body doesn’t matter) (6:12)
- ch12-14 high view of “spiritual” things (dto)

15:1-11 Christ’s resurrection is central to the gospel

• Why does Paul start addressing the issue of the resurrection by reminding them of the gospel?
What is the gospel?

- the gospel is what saved them (v1)

- the resurrection is a big part of the gospel (v3+4)

• How can the Corinthians know that the resurrection was always part of God’s plan to save
people?

- v 4 in accordance with the Scriptures

• How can the Corinthians know that the resurrection really happened?

- v 5-8 the resurrection is a historical event + witnessed by many

• How can the Corinthians know that Christ is still risen and at work today?

- v1+2, 11 Corinthians themselves have received gospel and believed it

- v 8-10 the powerful change that the gospel achieved in Paul’s life

[• Why else does Paul talk about himself here?

- establishes his authority as an apostle again]

15:12-19 Only because of the resurrection do we have the benefits that come with the
gospel

We said earlier that the Corinthians problem is that they don’t believe in the resurrection of the
dead, though they believe in Christ’s resurrection.

• Why therefore does Paul talk so much about Christ’s resurrection?

What is the link between Christ’s resurrection and the general resurrection (of the dead / of the
Corinthians / of all believers) ?

- v13 either both or none of them is true

- if the dead don’t rise, then Christ hasn’t risen + if Christ has risen, then the dead can
rise, too

• What would be the consequences, if Christ hadn’t been raised?

(go through each of the consequences individually)

(i) v14 no faith (preaching + faith is in vain)

• Why would the apostles’ preaching + the Corinthians’ faith be in vain?

- b/c there is no guarantee that anything Jesus talked about + did is still valid

• What would be the logical consequence, if this were so?

- Corinthians should abandon their faith

(ii) v15 no truth (misrepresentation of God)

• Why would the apostles have been misrepresenting God?

- b/c they said God raised Christ, which he didn’t, if Christ wasn’t raised

• What should the Corinthians do, if this were so?

- not believe anything the apostles say

(iii) v17 no forgiveness (still bound by sin)

• Why would the Corinthians still be in their sins?

 - b/c resurrection shows that Christ’s sacrifice was enough to pay for sin

• What would this mean for the Corinthians, if this were so?

- pointless to believe, should be scared of judgement

(iv) v18 no hope (dead have perished)

• Why would those fallen asleep have perished?

- b/c they cannot rise if Christ hasn’t been raised

• What would this mean for the Corinthians, if this were so?

- despair in the face of death, no hope

(v) v19 pity

• Why should Christians be pitied if Christ hasn’t been raised?

- b/c it’s stupid to believe something + live accordingly if it’s not true
- cf 4:8ff and 15:31ff Paul’s life-style of suffering for the gospel
• How should the Corinthians live, if this were so?

- give up their Christian life, v32 “eat, drink + be merry”

• In summary what would be the consequences if Christ hasn’t been raised?

- none of the benefits + blessings of the gospel would be true

- v19, we should be pitied

• Why, therefore, is Paul so concerned that the Corinthians believe in the resurrection of the
dead? How does the argument flow?

- no resurrection of the dead = no resurrection of Christ

- no resurrection of Christ = no benefits in the gospel / no gospel truth

• What does Paul want the Corinthians to do?

- v1 remember the gospel, stand firm in it

Thinking it through

• Are there areas in our lives, where we don’t live as if the resurrection of the dead was true?

• How would fully believing in the resurrection of the dead change the way we live?

• Which of the consequences of the resurrection (blessings of the gospel) we have spoken about
are you most grateful for?
• What is the meaning of life? How does the resurrection give meaning to people’s lives?

- cf Ecclesiastes (meaningless, vanity) - compare to v2, v10, v14 (b/c of the

resurrection our faith/work/life is not in vain

• How does this challenge the way we present the gospel to others?

Praying it through
1 Corinthians Ch15v20-34
Passage split is v20-28, v29, v30-34
• Someone to pray

Introduction
1. Could someone summarise what issue Paul was addressing last week and how
he argued his point?

- Some of the Corinthians didn’t believe in bodily resurrection of believers

- If Jesus was resurrected then Christians will be, you can’t have one without the other.
So if you deny that Christians are resurrected you deny the resurrection of Christ

- And if Christ hasn’t been resurrected then there are no blessings of the gospel to be
had.

v20-28 – Consequences of the Resurrection

2. How is this a change from the previous passage?

- Assumes an acceptance that Christ is raised so he concludes the argument

- It is more positive in tone

- Opposite from last week, where we looked at what would be the consequences if
Christ hadn’t been raised. This passage looks at consequences of Christ having risen.

3. (a) What does Paul mean by the first fruits?

- First fruits of a harvest are those that show it is coming, in the wine business the first
fruits are generally the best

(b) How does this apply to Jesus?

- He is the first to be resurrected so have a guarantee that the resurrection is real

4. (a) Why is our resurrection inevitable given Jesus’ resurrection (v.21-23)

- Death came through Adam, resurrection life through Jesus, the curse of Gen 3 has
been reversed

- v.22 all who belong to Adam die, likewise all who belong to Jesus are made alive
(note: the all shall be made alive is not universal here, we get passages on general
resurrection, to life and judgement, elsewhere e.g John 5:29)

(b) Why do you think Paul adds v.23 (given what we know about the
Corinthians?)
- they always think they’ve got it all already in the here and now, Paul emphasises that
God’s timescale is different, Christ has risen, but they will only when Christ returns

5. What else happens when Christ returns, i.e. what else happens because Christ
HAS been raised (v24-28)?

- Jesus gives the earth back to God after he has destroyed every rule, authority and
power (v24)
 - Jesus will destroy his enemies (v25)

- Death will be destroyed last of all (v26)

- When Jesus returns the earth back to God he will be subject to God (v27 and 28)

6. (a) Do we find v28 a problem or odd?

- No – why not?

- Yes – what is the problem

(b) Where have we seen this hierarchy elsewhere in 1 Corinthians?

- Ch11v3 – “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the
head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God”.

- Ch3v23 – “and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's”.

7. How does what will happen in the future make us feel? Does this excite you?
Do you ever think of the resurrection on such a global scale?

- Comfort

- Scary

- Jesus’ resurrection is a massive event in history, it’s the beginning of the end, the re-
establishment of God’s kingdom

- Planned from the beginning by God, so we can trust it.

v29 – If you don’t believe in resurrection, then why are you been inconsistent
8. (a) How do the Corinthians show that actually they DO believe in the bodily
resurrection of believers?

- If you don’t believe in the resurrection they why are you baptising people on
behave of the dead. It’s a complete waste of time.

On the issue of baptising the dead we will tell the group what it might mean, but the big issue is
that it shows how messed up the Corinthians are in their thinking.
v30-34 – Follow real Christians and live for the resurrection
9. How does Paul demonstrate his belief in the resurrection?

- He is will to suffer (v31) willing to run the risk of dying every day, which was a real
possibility

- But if there is no resurrection then there is no point suffering (v32) as he gains

nothing

Beasts of Ephesus – Acts 19v21

10. In contrast, how do people live who don’t believe in the resurrection?

- The way they live shows that are they are focused on the here and now

- Not focused on the glory in heaven

 11.What warning does Paul give the Corinthian church and us in v33-34?

- Avoid Christians that don’t stand firm in the gospel (v33)

- Stop sinning (v34) How have they been sinning? By denying bodily resurrection.

- Need to correct those false teachers or those that don’t understand the gospel
properly (v34), and not associate with them, if you don’t then it is your shame

Application
12. How are we influenced by the world’s view of the resurrection of Jesus and
that of believers, and how can we avoid this?

- The world plays it down its historic rather than been past, present and future

- The world scoffs at it, disbelieves and mocks it and Christians who believe it

- Read the bible and understand what the resurrection means for human history

13. Has tonight’s study broadened our understanding and appreciation of what
Jesus’ resurrection achieved. [So much more than just evidence Jesus who he said
he was, or the means by which are sins are forgiven, it heralds the beginning of the end
and inaugurates God’s kingdom] And if so, are we living for the resurrection and
what might this look like?

14. Do we avoid those that do not stand firm in the gospel?

1 Corinthians Ch15v35-58
Purpose statement; To have greater confidence in our resurrection bodies – they’re
believable, amazingly wonderful and essential. So always abound in the work of the
Lord...

Passage split v.35-44,45-49, 50-57 and 58

Starter question
What have we learnt so far about resurrection in this chapter?
Some of the Corinthians didn’t believe in bodily resurrection of believers (v.12)
If Jesus was resurrected then Christians will be, you can’t have one without the other (v.16), we
have a guarantee, Christ the firstfruits (v.20+23)
And if Christ hadn’t been resurrected then there are no blessings of the gospel to be had. But
the curse has been reversed (v.20-22)
Jesus’ resurrection is a massive event in history, it’s the beginning of the end, the re-
establishment of God’s kingdom (v.20-24a), God’s enemies will be destroyed (v.24-26)
v.35-44 Misplaced scepticism - a raised body unbelievable...
1. What is the issue here that Paul now turns to address? Q of v.35, how will dead
bodies be raised, and what will they look like.

2. What do you think of Paul’s immediate response in v.36, “you foolish person!”
Bit harsh? How reasonable is the Q? It’s not senseless, it’s a very natural one to ask,
and Paul goes on to spend 13 verses to answer it. So what do we know of these
Corinthians that might have led Paul to issue such a harsh rebuke? Intended for
attitude behind Q posed by the Corinthian “wise men”, using difficulty of understanding
how it could happen to ridicule idea it ever could happen at all. In what tone do you
think the questions are being raised? Sceptical, scoffers of Acts 17:32

3. How does Paul go on to answer the question? Uses 2 illustrations. Seeds and plants
(v.36-38) and the variety of creation (v.39-41)

4. What 2 points does Paul draw out in the analogy of seeds and plants? Death is
the condition of re-birth (v.36); there is an amazing difference, as well as a hidden
continuity (v.38). And what achieves the miracle? God, His initiative (v.38a)

5. How does the second illustration answer v.35. What we do see in this world is
already hugely varied (v.39-41), So, how does this help us to imagine that God can
raise up his people in new resurrection bodies? Don’t limit God, we can see such
variety now, so why not then with our resurrection bodies. Trust Him, he’s done it
before.

6. What are the contrasts in vs 42-44 between the present and future life?
Perishable, imperishable; dishonour, glory; weakness, power; natural, spiritual. And the
conclusion being? Superiority in every way of that which is to come.

*dishonour = indicate loss of rights, e.g. of citizenship. Stateless, no right of permanent

abode.
v.45-49 God is going to re-boot creation

7. What are the contrasts in these verses, between the first man Adam, and the
last Adam? First man Adam – living being (Gen 2), natural, earthly, of dust. What
does it mean of dust? See v.21-22. It will die. Last Adam – life-giving spirit, spiritual,
heavenly. And the conclusion being? How much better spirit is.

8. What is the order? First man Adam came before, last Adam after (v.46). And how
are they connected? One leads to the other (v.49). God is going to re-boot creation.

9. How do these verses address those that claim a super-spirituality in this life,
that the natural body and the life we live in it don’t matter? Distort the divine
order. What clues have we been given previously in this letter, that this is
something the Corinthians may have been in danger of claiming? Wrong thinking,
leading to wrong living. Sexual immorality, cf 6:12-14, the body and what one does with
it is important, not least because it’s raised. Worth attributed to certain spiritual gifts
over and above others, e.g. tongues seen to be more “spiritual” [Cf Chap 12-14].

10. How do these verses address those who claim we can have the full glories and
triumphs of heaven here on earth (over realised eschatology)? The apprenticeship
of cross-bearing is necessary as a preparation for glory [Cf Chap 4].

v.50-57 We will be changed

11. What are we told in these verses about the natural body, flesh and blood, the
perishable? It can’t inherit the kingdom of God. What must happen for it to be able
to do so? It must be changed. When will this transformation take place? At the
end of time as we know it, and the beginning of eternity - when Jesus returns.
[References to last trumpet – Zech 9:14, coming of Lord, Joel 2:1, judgement; Isaiah
27:13, summoning of God’s people from the corners of the earth]. Who will it affect?
All believers, both those already asleep and those still alive. [Cf V.18 and 20 – asleep in
Christ]. And why is it necessary? To enable them/us to live in the new order.

12. What are the implications of this transformation? Death is swallowed up forever.
And from vs.56-57, how does this work? In what way is death able to rule over
the whole human race? Because of sin (Rom 6:23). How does the law fit in? It
defines sin and by it we are condemned, pronounced guilty. So how are our enemies,
the law, sin and death, conquered forever? The sinless One, Jesus, satisfies the
law’s just demands (dies on cross as our representative and substitute), and by his
resurrection provides ultimate proof that his victory over death is total and final.

Summary
 13. In summary so far, what have we learnt about our resurrection bodies? They’re
believable, they’re amazingly wonderful and they’re essential.

Application

What aspects of resurrection do we struggle to explain to both other believers and our
non-believing friends? The way it works? It’s significance? Has this chapter helped, and
if so how?

V.58 So what now...

14. So what are the Corinthians and we called to do? To live now, but always in the
light of the future, citizens of heaven but fully engaged in the Master’s service in this
world. What from tonight’s passage will help us to be steadfast, immovable? And
what are we to be steadfast and immovable in (cf vs1-2)? The risen Lord will
return, he’ll bring every son and daughter home to glory, we shall be changed into his
likeness, we shall live with him forever. How should this be expressed? Through lives
of sacrificial cross-shaped service. Because...? This work is not in vain. We will be raised
for eternity with Jesus, we can’t lose.

Application

When are we tempted to give up, how does this chapter help us?
1 Corinthians 16

• Pray
• Read

What does 1 Corinthians say? Are you asking for a summary of the entire book?

• Why doesn’t Paul just finish his letter at 15:58?

(1) 16:1-4 Collection for Jerusalem

• What is the issue in this section?

- collecting money for Jewish Christians in Jerusalem

• Why should the Corinthians collect money for the church in Jerusalem?

- Christians in J. are in need. Famine? (Acts 11:27-30)

- Corinthians and other gentile churches are part of wider universal church

• How does this touch on things Paul has already mentioned in his letter?

- saints together with those in every place (1:2b)

- show concern for other Christians (11:21)
- division and in fighting (lawsuits) to be replaced by love for one another

• How is the collection to be organised?

- planned (v2)
- regular (v2)
- proportionate to income (v2) but not prescriptive – note: another example of Christian
freedom!
- proper administration (v3)

• Why do you think, Paul wants it organised in this way (and not done when he
comes?)

- continuous commitment
- not out of guilt, but love
- not to look good in front of Paul, Paul anxious not to be seen as money grabbing (cf
9:12-18)

• This was a specific collection for a specific reason - what can we learn from this
section?

(2) 16:5-9 Paul’s travel plans

• What are the details of Paul’s travel itinerary?

 - stay in Ephesus for ministry
- go through Macedonia
- come to Corinth in winter (surprising? Where have we seen this before: ch 4:19)

• What can we learn from Paul’s way of making plans?

- planning is ok
- but bear in mind that God is in charge (v7), so planning is flexible and dependent on
God
- plans are motivated by ministry: Paul stays in Ephesus because he has great
opportunities there, despite the opposition

• How is this different from the way we make plans?

(3) 16:10-16 Fellow workers

• What do we learn about Paul’s attitude towards his co-workers? How does this pick
up on issues that Paul addressed earlier? From what we know of the Corinthians why
are these instructions necessary (i.e. don’t despise Timothy v.11, give recognition to
Stephanus et al v.18)

- fellow workers
- v10 Tim: doing the Lord’s work, therefore Corinthians should not despise him
- v12 Apollos: Paul wants him to go back to Corinth despite the factionalism (shows that
rivalry is product of Corinthians, P+A are united in gospel work)
- Paul disagrees with Apollos’ travel plans, but: freedom to disagree over non-gospel
essentials
- v15-16: Stephanus (cf 1:16, among those Paul baptised): devoted to serving church,
co-workers: be subject to them
- picks up on issue of leadership ch 1-4

• How does this challenge our attitude towards our leaders?

(4) 16:13-23 Let all be done in love

• What exhortations does Paul give the Corinthians in v13-14? Why do the Corinthians
need to hear each of these? What’s been the Corinthians main problem(s)? How would
these verses correctly applied have dealt with the issues the Corinthian church has
been wrestling with?

- be watchful – they think they have it all already now + are super-spiritual (false sense
of security) (10:12)
- stand firm in the faith – it’s the gospel (which they’d received, 1:4-6, 15:1-2) that
saves (3:11, 15:1), but Corinthians are in danger of moving away from gospel in
various aspects (cf 14:37, 15:33)
- act like men – they behave like infants (3:1) by quarrelling etc
- be strong – they are a too tolerant of sin + don’t stand up against it, don’t deal with
error
- do all in love – they don’t only look to themselves but not their weaker brothers (chaps
 8-10), don’t exercise their gifts in love (chaps 12-14), they don’t have a “cross-
shaped” spirituality

• To what extend do we need to hear those exhortations?