20160716 Saturday, July 16 2016
1 Corinthians 01: The Wisdom Of The Cross

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the Power of God"

The Greek city of Corinth was located on the isthmus ("a relatively narrow strip of land, with water on both sides, connecting two larger land areas") that joins the Peloponnesus (the southern peninsula of Greece) to the mainland of Greece. The city was visited during the apostle Paul's second and third missionary journeys (see Paul's First Mission To Greece and The Way To Corinth; see also the maps in Paul's First Missionary Journey, Paul's Second Missionary Journey and Paul's Third Missionary Journey). The church (i.e. the Christian people; see Can You See The Church?) there were the recipients of two epistles from Paul.

Paul's first epistle (see The Epistles: What Is An Epistle?) to the Corinthians was written while Paul was in Ephesus ("I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost"), a city in what is today Turkey. Paul later wrote an epistle to the church in Ephesus, "Ephesians," after he had left there (Ephesus was also recorded as one of "the seven churches of Asia" in the apostle John's Book of Revelation, which itself was also an epistle; see also Where Are The Seven Churches Of Revelation Today?).

Paul's greeting to the Christians at Corinth was a statement that they were a congregation of the one and only Church of God - a Biblical term that no man named or founded (see The Birth Of The Bride and Why Is The Church Called The Body Of Christ?).

"1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

1:3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 1:1-3 KJV)

True grace involves living a life of fidelity (i.e. being faithful; see What Does Grace Really Mean?) to the instructions and Commandments of the Messiah so that when He returns, "ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

"1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 1:5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:

1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 1:8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:4-9 KJV)

Divisions in the Church of God happen when people allow or choose some human "leader" to get in the Way between themselves and the LORD (see The Identity Of The LORD God and The LORD God Our Saviour). Paul warned that such idolatry is a stumbling-block to living a true Christian life (see Satan's Sandals).

"1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 1:11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

1:13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

1:14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; 1:15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. 1:16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect." (1 Corinthians 1:10-17 KJV)

Unbelievers mock the wisdom and the truth of the Word of God, but their foolishness, if they don't repent of it, will one day ripen into condemnation and destruction (see What Prophecy Do Atheists Fulfill For Themselves?).

"1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 1:19 For it is written,

I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:18-31 KJV)

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