Paul: The Legacy of a Transformed Man – Part Two – 1 Corinthians
Opening Song: https://youtu.be/LqBpifDpNKc?si=9PEfdvIRUV92up4A
1 Corinthians 15:3-9 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A3-9&version=NLT
Francis Chan Rope Illustration https://youtu.be/86dsfBbZfWs?si=Fd5-o0N0RB8W1ZL6
Synopsis: With the Resurrection of Jesus, a new world has been born, with Jesus as it Lord, the defeat of sin and death as its ultimate goal, and a new human race as the means by which all of this will be accomplished. In other words, God has some pretty big plans for the world, and they include you. But the danger is that we will get distracted and forget what we are here for.
Head/Mind – Important Information About Our Text
“If there were one church that caused Paul to pull his hair out and made him age before his time, it was probably the church of God in Corinth.” Michael F. Bird. The church at Corinth was a church filled with distracted people.
Paul spent 18 months in Corinth, establishing their community of faith. Afterwards, he made two additional visits to Corinth, the second which did not go well. He wrote four letters to the Corinthians, two of which are lost, and two of which are in our New Testament, all of which dealt with problems in the church. Paul’s co-workers, Timothy, Titus, and Apollos also visited to them.
Deep divisions, sexual immorality, suspicions about Paul, and other problems caused by visitors Paul calls “super-apostles.” These super-apostles touted their own credentials and belittled the work of Paul. Paul considered himself a spiritual father to the church in Corinth and constantly emphasizes his love for them when correcting them was necessary. This letter shows us the challenges of living the Christian faith in a pagan world.
Corinth was busy port city with many ethnic and cultural groups. It was a Roman colony ran by a Roman government that prohibited native Greeks from holding office. It had a large transient population of trade merchants, vagabonds, and various types of travelers. The city was prosperous, cosmopolitan, and religiously pluralistic.
Paul began his work there by speaking in the synagogue, but was eventually expelled, taking with him a group of Jews, god-fearers, and former-pagans, who would establish a network of house churches throughout the city.
The head of the synagogue brought charges against Paul, but the Roman government was indifferent to the matter. When a former member of the synagogue and Paul were physically attacked by members of the synagogue, the Roman governor shrugged it off as a squabble between Jews that did not require his attention.
After Paul left Corinth, the church was visited by Apollos and Peter. And while, on one level, hearing from other apostles was good for the health of the church, it also divided the localities of the church’s leadership. These divided loyalties were compounded by spiritual problems in the church.
Paul wrote this letter to answer questions raised about marriage and celibacy, food sacrificed to idols, and spiritual gifts. He also wrote to address problems reported by Apollos about factions, incest, lawsuits, women being inappropriately dressed, disorderly worship, and denials of the resurrection.
Things then got worse. Timothy brought news from his visit that the church had ignored his letter. Paul then made a second visit to Corinth, one he calls a painful visit, because he had to be firm in his correction of the church. He returned to Ephesus, were he was imprisoned and became seriously ill. He then wrote what he calls a “letter of tears” which seems to have gotten the attention of the people.
After being released from jail, Paul began making his way back to Corinth. Before his arrival, Timothy met Paul with good and bad news. The good news was that the church had dealt with those who were causing factions. But, some new visitors, which Paul referred to as “super apostles,” were disparaging Paul’s ministry.
Heart – the Personal Connection
Divided Loyalties (1 Corinthians 3:1-23) – The church was split over which leader they considered to be the best. People compared these leaders and evaluated them based on how well they spoke, personal appearance, outward strength, and eloquence. Paul says that what they needed to focus on was the cross.
Pretensions of greatness is a folly for Christian leaders. Churches that were looking for rockstar pastors were failing to keep Jesus and the cross at the center of their faith. When it comes to Christian leaders, especially pastors, character always counts more than talent. For worldly people, the cross seems a folly. Who would give their life to an executed Jewish carpenter. But the cross is the wisdom of God and shows us that character and leadership come from something deeper than outward appearances. The Cross reveals a different kind of power and authority.
Sexual Perversity has no Place in the Church (1 Corinthians 5:1-13) – A woman in the church had been cohabiting with her step-son. The Corinthians thought that this was something to boast about, saying “Look how free we have become.” Paul says, no. Such moral compromises will lead the church to ruin. The church is to live morally pure lives for the sake of honoring Christ. The church is to uphold the sanctity of marriage and to guard it against moral corruption.
Lawsuits and Believers (1 Corinthians 6:1-11) – The church at Corinth was economically diverse, with slaves, the working poor, artisans, and the ruling class all making up the membership of the congregation. Apparently, disputes between the members were being handled through legal channels, including lawsuits. Paul says that these matters should be handled in way that honors Christ and that the community should work to create and maintain unity. Rank and status have no place in the church, where we are all brothers and sisters.
The Body As The Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) – Paul addresses sexual immorality more directly. The Roman slogan, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach was made for food,” suggest that what ones does with the body doesn’t really matter. Paul says that the body belongs to the Lord and will be raised in the resurrection. So, what we do with it matters. How we use our body either brings honor or dishonor to God. The body is sacred and must be treated as such.
Marriage, Divorce, and Singleness (1 Corinthians 7:1-40) – Paul offers careful pastoral guidance on these matters. Marriage is a good and honorable calling, but singleness is also good and can be a great way to honor God. Christians abandoned by an unbelieving spouse are free to remarry.
Food Sacrificed to Idols (1 Corinthians 9-10) – Most of the meat for sale in the markets in Corinth would have first been sacrificed to idols in pagan temples. Paul’s argument is that there in only one God and that all things have been created good by him, and to be received with thanksgiving. On the other hand, if eating meat from the market causes another person to struggle, then we should refrain from eating it. We may have the right to do something, but that doesn’t mean we should do it. All of our actions should have the goal of honoring Christ.
One may eat the meat, provided they do not enter into and participate in pagan worship. Though the pagan gods are a sham, behind them lies demonic forces that seek to lead us astray.
Abuses in Worship (1 Corinthians 11) – In Paul’s day, gender was marked by hair styles and head coverings. Though Paul is clear that males do not outrank females in the body of Christ, this does not mean equality in the body means erasing the differences between men and women or blurring the distinctions. In worship, it is important for men and women to be who and what God created them to be, by maintaining the distinctions of being male and female.
Paul also addresses communion. Apparently preferential treatment was being given to the wealthy. Paul teaches us that around the table we are all brothers and sisters and that giving special treatment to some at the expense of others dishonors the body of Christ.
Spiritual Gifts, Love and Worship (1 Corinthians 11-14) – God the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to all members of the church in order to enrich and build up the body of Christ. We must work for the good of all. And, spiritual snobbery is out of place in the community of faith.
Chapter fourteen is about order and integrity being important in worship. Spiritual gifts should be used for the good of all. Paul then says a word about women speaking in church. Given that in chapter eleven Paul expects both men and women to publicly pray and prophesy in the church, he can hardly be barring women from teaching, preaching, or prophesying. Likely he has in mind women who are actually interrupting worship. However lively worship may be, it needs also be orderly, for sake of all.
The Resurrection of the Body (1 Corinthians 15) – Every topic Paul has addressed is link to this last big idea. The Christian life depends at every point on the belief that in the Resurrection of Jesus God’s new world really was born. And, all that believe this must live in their lives in light of the fact that we too will participate in this new word.
If there is no future life, then why bother? What God did for Jesus, by raising him from the dead, he will also do for us.
We read again from 15:3-9
3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter[c] and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers[d] at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. 9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.
The point is that with the resurrection of Jesus, a new world has been born, with Jesus as its Lord, the defeat of death and sin as its ultimate goal, and a new human race as the means by which all of this will be accomplished.
God has rescued his creation through Jesus, and when this work is fully complete, God will be all in all. Without the resurrection none this really matters.
But what will the resurrected body be like. Paul contrast the earthly body with the spiritual body. When he speaks of spiritual body, he does not mean that it will not be a physical body. He is not speaking about what the body is made of but what makes it alive. The earthly body gets its life from this world. That is why it can’t inherit the kingdom of God. What good would it do to enter into eternity in a body that is decaying. The spiritual body will derive its life from the God and thus will live forever. That means, any Christian living when Christ returns will need to be transformed so that it can participate fully in the world to come.
Hands – Acting Like You’re Getting Ready for Something Big
Our view of the future has a way of shaping our behaviors in the present. When I worked with people who were homeless, we would a often notice that many of them lacked a sense of long term thinking. For example, one might buy a gallon of milk, drink half of it, and then leave the other half to go bad. They were not being purposely wasteful, but when you do not have a refrigerator, there is no point trying to preserve milk. You use what you can, and forget about it.
The same is true of people who are barely making enough to make ends meet. When it takes all that you have just to survive, you can’t spend much time thinking of saving for retirement.
Paul addresses all of the bad and dysfunctional behavior in his church by reminding them of the future they have in Christ. That is the importance of the resurrection. They are behaving in sinful ways because they have failed to understand who they are and the plans God has for them.
When you understand that you have a great adventure in front of you, you plan journey. My wife and I love to travel together; but she and plan very differently. I like to pack a minimum amount and then just wing it when I get to my destination. But not Stacy. She wants to make sure that we have really considered what we might need.
What if we get motion sickness or a bad headache? You need the right meds for that. What if the weather turns out cooler or warmer than expected? You’re going to need the proper clothing. Stacy plans with the big picture in mind and seldom when I am traveling with her, am I disappointed that she has thought ahead.
I owe the next point to Francis Chan and Mattie Burton. God has created us with an eternal soul that is going to last throughout eternity, yet we focus almost exclusively on the here and now. But if you were to really understand who you are and the destiny God has in store for you, you would plan very differently. You would worry less and enjoy the moment more. Yet, you would know that a moment is just a moment, and you would be less likely to give into peer pressure and sin. You would also be less worried about earning the approval of your peers. You would know that some the people you are most worried about earning approval from would not even be part your life ten years from now.
Embarrassing moments and personal failures that make you think your life is a total disaster now, will not even be on your radar ten years from now. You would now that insurmountable problems and major struggles you wrestle with now, will be so far back in the rear view mirror that they will not define you a decade from now.
Keeping God’s future in mind and view will keep you from being a prisoner to the now, and a hostage to the past. It will give you the hope to keep moving forward, if you keep eternity in mind as you navigate the challenges of today. You will act like your a child of God who has a date with destiny.
Closing Song: https://youtu.be/m_e4RXHF6Yk?si=d17Ye733mO6nPjeV