1 Corinthians 1: Greetings & warnings about divisiveness & God’s way

• v.1-3  Hints in Greetings
• v.4-9 Thanksgiving with Hints
• v.10-16 Paul’s Challenge to a Church with Divisions
• v.17-31 Christ Crucified is God’s Power and Wisdom

[Chapter Synopsis: Paul greets the church in Corinth, a church he knew well having stayed with them over a year and a half, and it is clear he has things on his mind as he subtly reminds them that they are saved by grace, which is all-important, and the disunity he hears about has no place in the body of Christ. As he reiterates his calling, he reminds them that the gospel is folly to the unsaved world, but it IS God’s way of saving humanity and (implied) the Cross needs to be kept at the forefront of all preaching.

Additional Note: Because there is a large measure of unity within the first four chapters, we will provide a Summary-Recap of these chapters at the end of chapter 4 so that we may see how they link together and flow from one to another.]

v.1-3 Hints in Greetings

[Passage Synopsis: Paul’s greetings give a warning of what is to come as he reaffirms his calling and their need.]

v.1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

v.2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

v.3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

[Note: Paul’s credentials? Called of God to be an apostle. As so often in his openings, he hints at what is on his heart for his readers – a reminder that they are called to be sanctified and made holy. That is what is behind most of this letter. Grace brings peace, and both are needed foundation stones of our lives.]

v.4-9 Thanksgiving with Hints

[Passage Synopsis: Again within these verses are hints about what is on his mind. Yes, they have been greatly blessed with God’s grace in the form of spiritual gifts, but they are not the be-all or end-all, as we might say today. It is their relationship with Jesus that will hold them and keep them.]

v.4 Grace imparted…

v.4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.

v.5 … and thus enriched…

v.5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—

v.6 … and testimony confirmed

v.6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you.

v.7 Gifts imparted

v.7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

v.8 Kept by God

v.8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

v.9 Called into fellowship with Christ

v.9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

[Note: His thanks in prayer is for the grace they have received from God, because God has enabled them in speech and knowledge, showing that what they had taught them was true. He had been with them for a year and a half – see Acts 18:11 and knew the great things God had done in raising them up. They have been endued with spiritual gifts from God, but it is God and not the gifts [implied] that will keep them to the end. God has remained true throughout, calling them into close relationship with His Son, Jesus, the Christ, and their Lord.]

v.10-16 Paul’s Challenge to a Church with Divisions

[Passage Synopsis: As he goes straight into dealing with things he’s heard through the grapevine about them, he starts with the subject of the divisions there and makes the strong point that there is no room for disunity in the body of Christ. Note: the name of Apollos arises here and will be repeated a number of times. He had ministered in that same area – see Acts 18:24-28 – and the nature of his fervent ministry made him a favorite of many.]

v.10 Appeal for unity

v.10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

v.11-16 What he’d heard (Celebrity Culture?)

v.11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.

v.12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

v.13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?

v.14,15 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name.

v.16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)

[Note: Paul clearly has a list of things on his mind that he needs to raise with them. He starts with an issue that could undermine the church – disunity – he’s been told of upsets occurring there. They appear to have different ‘heroes’ of faith. Hold on! Is there division in Christ, was I the one crucified for you so you were baptized in my name? No way! I remember I actually only baptized two of you, so don’t hold me up as your savior! Oh yes, there was one other I baptized, but that’s all.]

v.17-31 Christ Crucified is God’s Power and Wisdom

[Passage Synopsis: Having reiterated his calling, not to baptize but to preach the Gospel of Christ, he declares the central focus of his message – the cross of Christ. It doesn’t matter that it appears folly to the unsaved world, it IS God’s method for saving mankind.]  

v.17,18 Paul’s calling and the message of the cross

v.17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

v.18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

[Note: My calling wasn’t to baptize but to preach the Cross, a message that may be folly to some but actually is the power that enables people to be saved.]

v.19,20 Isaiah had prophesied about God destroying the world’s ‘wisdom’

v.19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

v.20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

[Note: Isaiah prophesied God’s intent to come with a different approach. [Isa 29:14] So where are all the smart guys? Lost! God shows how foolish their ways are.]

v.21-24 The ways of the world that don’t work, and God’s way that does

v.21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

v.22-24 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

[Note: Human wisdom wasn’t up to saving people, so it had to be by the apparent folly of the gospel it would happen. Jews and Greeks both had their own ideas, but our message is still Christ crucified, a message they still struggle with, but it still saves those who hear God’s calling.]

v.25,26 Whose way works

v.25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

v.26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.

[Note: God outclasses this ‘foolish’ message, both human wisdom and human strength. Stop and think about yourselves, how you were not ‘great’ people when you were saved.]

v.27-29 God’s five choices

v.27 But God chose the [1] foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the [2] weak things of the world to shame the strong.

v.28,29 God chose the [3] lowly things of this world and the [4] despised things—and the [5] things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

[Note: But God turns the world’s values on its head as He chose to call nobodies to become somebodies, so there is no room for boasting in any of us.]

v.30,31 His choices leave no room for human boasting

v.30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

v.31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

[Note: It’s only by accepting Christ and his death for you that you are made righteous and holy and are being redeemed, so there is no room for boasting, people! [Jer 9:24]

For those who may wish to make a study of this chapter, to perhaps think some more about what you have been reading, use the link below: