1 Corinthians 3:18–23 STUDY GUIDE

THE TEXT : 1 Corinthians 3:18–23

18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”
20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
21 So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,
22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future — all are yours,
23 and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. In 1 Corinthians 3:19, Paul references Job 5:13, which says, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.” How is this relevant to the following areas:

A) Paul’s argument -

B) Our current culture -

C) Your life and attitude -


2. Jeremiah 9:23–24 is another relevant Old Testament passage to this text ….

23 Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,
24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

If the Corinthians (and by extension, our churches today!) really believed this, what would be different in the way they operate? What does it look like when God’s people live out these verses? What does it look like when we fail to do so?


3. Read the following two statements about unity and division:

“The proper view of ourselves, the godly and true view, is that apart from divine truth we are fools with empty thoughts. Recognizing this truth opens the door to true wisdom and closes the door to division.”

“We are tied together in an eternal oneness with God the Father and Jesus Christ, and thus with each other in them. How can men who are so much one, be divided? It begins with failure to understand the reality of our spiritual unity in the One who is our Possessor. With a common Possessor and possessions, common leaders and teachers, and common dependence on Scripture, there should be no cause for factions and disunity.”
(SOURCE: J. MacArthur, 1 Corinthians, 93.)


There are several good principles here which, if we apply, will lead to true unity in Christ’s Body and will help head off division at the pass. Please draw out 2-3 of these principles on unity and then elaborate/explain them below:


HINT: If you are having trouble with the exercise above, here are a few notes from the study Bible by the same commentator:

*all are yours (v. 22)—In Christ, all good and holy things are for believers’ blessing and for God’s glory. (see Ephesians 1:3; 2 Peter 1:3).

*Christ’s … God’s (v. 23)—Knowing that believers belong to Christ and therefore to each other is the greatest incentive for unity in the church (6:17; John 9:9–10, 21–23).


4. The five things that follow “Paul or Apollos or Cephas” in v.21 are the basic tyrannies of life, the things that we have least control over and which largely control us. Take some time to consider each of them through the following questions:

In what ways are people controlled by the world? By life? (i.e. our desire for life) By death? By the present? (i.e. the urgency of wanting things “now!”) By the future?

How does being in Christ free us from being controlled by each of these things and instead allows us to have control over them?


REFLECTION QUESTION
Read these comments by Matthew Henry on this passage. In the space after, jot down some of your thoughts on his thoughts. In short, what do you think about what he said here?

“Do not be led away from the truth and simplicity of the gospel by pretenders to science and eloquence, by a show of deep learning, or a flourish of words, by rabbis, orators, or philosophers. Note, We are in great danger of deceiving ourselves when we have too high an opinion of human wisdom and arts; plain and pure Christianity will be likely to be despised by those who can suit their doctrines to the corrupt taste of their hearers, and set them off with fine language, or support them with a show of deep and strong reasoning. But he who seems to be wise must become a fool that he may be wise. He must be sensible of his own ignorance, and lament it; he must distrust his own understanding, and not lean on it. To have a high opinion of our wisdom is but to flatter ourselves, and self-flattery is the very next step to self-deceit. The way to true wisdom is to sink our opinion of our own to a due level, and be willing to be taught of God.”

BONUS QUESTION
Does Christ’s subordination (properly understood) to the Father, which is seen in 3:23 (“you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s”) and later again in 1 Corinthians 15:28, mean He is not deity? If not, why not? Write out a brief outline of how you would interpret these verses in light of God’s triunity and the fact that Christ is co-eternal and co-equal with the Father.

1 Corinthians 3:5–17 STUDY GUIDE

THE TEXT: 1 Corinthians 3:5–17

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.
9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.
11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw —
13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each
one has done.
14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. From the factionalism surrounding certain personalities at this church (3:4-6), we can tell that the Corinthians reflected their secular world in evaluating their leaders in terms of their talents, privileges, or status. What are some of the ways the church in America does this? Are there ways in which you realize you have personally done this (be specific)?


How should we instead evaluate Christian leaders? (Note in particular how Paul describes himself and Apollos)


2. Reports of revival or numerically successful ministries sometimes give the credit to the leaders involved. Yet we see here that Paul gives all the glory to God alone (3:7). How can we cultivate this same attitude in both our congregations and our pastors? What are things we can do to make sure we are always pointing towards God and Jesus (again, be specific)?


3. What should 1 Corinthians 3:11 - 15 inform how a Christian leader builds up the church? What are some “bad materials” upon which to build a church? What are some “good materials” upon which to build a church? How should the foundation of Jesus Christ inform how we do church and how pastor-elders lead the church?


4. How should the fact that as member of a local church you make up “God’s holy temple” affect how you act as a member of the church? For example, how should it influence how you speak to and about other church members? How should it influence how you evaluate and participate in various church ministries? How should it influence your prayer life?


BONUS QUESTION:
How would you argue against a Roman Catholic who claims that 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 refers to purgatory?

1 Corinthians 3:1 – 4 STUDY GUIDE

1 Corinthians 3:1 – 4 STUDY GUIDE

THE TEXT

1 Corinthians 3:1–4 (ESV)

1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.
2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,
3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. In distinguishing the mature from infants, Paul intimates that it IS NOT what they “know”
that is different between them but rather that the mature use and apply what they know in
regards to the gospel. One could say the difference is between gospel behavior over and against mere gospel knowledge. Think about what you know about the gospel – please write down some of the ways and areas you know your behavior needs to be more in line with your knowledge:
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2. Look over your list again. What is stopping you from living out a lifestyle that looks more
gospel-based? What are some the roadblocks, hurdles, and idols in the way? In short, can you discern the sin behind your sin?
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3. Review both of your lists. Take these things before the Lord in prayer and create some
“action steps” towards real change! Write down some of your plan below and share it with
someone who will help hold you accountable…
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4. Galatians 5:13-26 has been called a “kindred text” to 1 Corinthians 2:10-3:4. Look it over,
draw some comparisons and write down some of the connections (and their importance) below.
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REFLECTION

Reflect and comment on this quote by Gordon Fee in regards to 1 Corinthians 3:3:

“Those who do not have the Spirit are ‘mere humans’; thus they consider the cross folly. At the same time their behavior stems from a merely human, thoroughly self-centered point of view. The Corinthians have the Spirit, but are behaving precisely like people who do not …. What is intolerable is to have received the Spirit … and to continue to live as though one were nothing more [than a ‘mere human’].”

BONUS QUESTION

Within these four verses lay both hope and a warning. What is the “hope” and what is the
“warning”?

1 Corinthians 2:1–5 STUDY GUIDE

1 Corinthians 2:1–5 STUDY GUIDE

1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,
4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What does it mean “to know nothing…except Jesus Christ and him crucified”?

Why was Paul resolved to do this in Corinth?



2. Describe Paul’s view of preaching and teaching according to this passage.



3. In what ways has our celebrity culture (i.e. we like to set up people to be celebrities; we then glorify them or tear them down) influenced the church?

Why is a celebrity culture antithetical to a cross-shaped lifestyle?


4. What other things in our culture should we be aware of that would comprise the gospel’s
focus on Christ crucified?



5. How can we effectively relay (or “contextualize”) the gospel within our culture without
jeopardizing the essential message of the gospel? Or, to put it another way, how can you
better connect with the people in your life but do so with a firm commitment to a cross
-shaped life?



6. Do you pray that you might proclaim the gospel in such a way that people’s faith would
come as a result of a “demonstration of the Spirit and of power”?

Take some time now to pray that the Lord would give you (and our church) the kind of words and life that would result in many people believing in Christ because they have seen his power and been changed by his Spirit through your proclamation of Christ.

The Gospel and Trans-racial Adoption

The Gospel and Trans-racial Adoption

Check out DAN CRUVER giving props to Dennae who gave props to Vermon!

http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?p=12347

Reddit Andrews sermon about the Christian artist

Below is a link from the Roots conference. Really good stuff! Enjoy!

If the link doesn't work, try copying it.

http://soundandpound.org/files/Reddit_Andrews_III-The_Citizenship_of_the_Christian_Artist.mp3

Pass it on...

Catalyst @Sound and Pound3 [video]

Catalyst "OUR GOD!"

Sound & Pound 3 - November 2011

TODAY & TOMORROW!!!



music by iSix:5 - Great Name

Sound & Pound 3 - Urban Ministry Conference

FRIDAY November 5, 2011



http://www.youtube.com/user/soundandpound3

1 Corinthians 2:6-16_Study Guide

THE TEXT - 1 Corinthians 2:6–16 (ESV)

6Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers ofthis age, who are doomed to pass away. 7But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which Goddecreed before the ages for our glory. 8None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had,they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor earheard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— 10these thingsGod has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.11For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no onecomprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12Now we have received not the spirit of theworld, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13Andwe impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritualtruths to those who are spiritual. 14The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, forthey are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15Thespiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16“For who has understood themind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Up to this point in 1 Corinthians, Paul had emphasized the “foolishness” of the gospel but in 2:6, he begins talking about the gospel as the wisdom of God. Why the change? List a few reasons you think why Paul made this transition in his argumentation and why it was important for him to do this.

2. Why would “the rulers of this age” think it strange – even foolish - to call someone who was crucified “The Lord of Glory”?

3. Do you think Paul recognizes that the world would see this title in regards to Christ as odd and silly? What is one factor in Paul’s theological equation that makes all the difference in the world in this regard (HINT: Peter expresses this missing ingredient well in Acts 2:31-32)? Another way to put it is, what event would allow Paul to call someone who was crucified the Lord of Glory?


4. The word Spirit appears 6 times in the span of 5 verses here (2:10-14) – what does this tell us about the fundamental theme to this whole passage? How does the Spirit help us according to this passage? Why is this important to realize and appreciate?


REFLECTION
Reflect and comment on this quote from the Pillar Commentary on 1 Corinthians (Ciampa & Rosner, 2010):

“The Spirit does not impart wisdom out of thin air, for the Spirit and the cross go together. The mind of Christ is not exercised by thinking about nothing. Rather, those who are spiritual habitually turn to the cross (2:8), as Paul did in the face of divisions in Corinth in 1:18-2:5. For the cross is where we find Christ’s mind-set on such behavior.”

‘BONUS’ QUESTION
What are the thematic and topical connections between Matthew 16:16-17 and our passage (1 Corinthians 2:6-16)?

1 Corinthians 3:1-4_SERMON NOTES

TITLE: “Spiritual People”

INTRODUCTION
The War of 1812 is often overlooked but some interesting events took place during this conflict between the United States and Great Britain. For example, the White House was burned and ransacked by British troops – leading to the heroics of the First Lady, Dolly Madison, running into the flames to save as many paintings as she could. This is also when Francis Scott Key composed The Star Spangled Banner and when the coalition put together by the influential Shawnee chief named Tecumseh was defeated by William Henry Harrison. This was also the last military skirmish between these two nations which went on to become the closest of allies.
           
Postwar fighting
One particularly key battle during this war was called The Battle of New Orleans. It was hailed as a great victory for the U.S., making Andrew Jackson a national hero and eventually propelling him to the presidency. Here’s what happened - British forces under Edward Pakenham assaulted New Orleans on Jan. 8, 1815, and were soundly defeated by Andrew Jackson's ragtag army, an event that contributed to the notion of a U.S. triumph.

The British appeared off Mobile on February 8, confirming Jackson's fear that they planned an attack in that quarter. They overwhelmed Fort Bowyer, a garrison manned by 360 Regulars at the entrance to Mobile Harbor. Before they could attack the city itself, word arrived that a treaty had been signed at Ghent on Christmas Eve, two weeks before the Battle of New Orleans.

The Battle of New Orleans was a smashing American victory, as the British suffered 2,000 casualties: 291 dead (including Pakenham and his second and third in command); 1262 wounded, and 484 captured or missing. The Americans had 71 casualties: 13 dead, 39 wounded, and 19 missing. The commissioners signed a treaty on Dec. 24, 1814 - the Treaty of Ghent. 2 weeks before!

>SEE PICTURE ILLUSTRATIONS HERE… I use these to illustrate that even though the war is over, sanctification is still a process of spiritual mop-up battles

MAIN OUT LINE: THE SIX NAMES PAUL CALLS THE CORINTHIANS …

1.      Brothers (v.1a)

2.      Spiritual People (v.1b)

3.      People of the flesh (v.1c)

4.      Infants in Christ (v.1d)

5.      Of the Flesh (v.3)

6.      Merely human (v.4)

THE TEXT - 1 Corinthians 3:1–4

VERSE 1 (4 names!)

1^ST Name - Brothers (v.1a)

2^ND Name - Spiritual People (v.1b)

Spiritual men (pneumatikos) – the mature who are God-centered as opposed to being self-centered
πνευματικοι [pneumatikoi]. Spiritual persons are those Christians in whom the Spirit has really become the fundamental power of life Galatians 6:1 and they are the opposite of persons directed by the spirit of the world Ephesians 2:2. They show true maturity by the readiness to respond to the implications of the word of the Cross for life together.

Read Romans 8:4–9; 12-17 

3^RD Name - People of the flesh (v.1c)

v. 1 (made) of flesh (sarkinoi) - σαρκινοι [sarkinoi]. flesh equals human nature apart from God

4^TH Name - Infants in Christ (v.1d)

Babes (nepiois) - babes (νηπιοι [nēpioi]), not adults (τελειοι [teleioi])

“Instead of mature behavior characterized by humility and concern for others—obedience to God—the Corinthians were infantile, self-centered, and therefore divisive (v. 4; cf. 1:12). They wanted lives of exaltation (4:8) without lives of humiliation (4:9-13) because they did not understand that “Christ … crucified” was a message concerned not only with justification but also with sanctification (cf. Phil. 2:1-8).” ^- The Bible Knowledge Commentary .

milk is ‘missionary preaching’ - not ‘crossless’ preaching 2.2

See 1 Corinthians 13:11 and 1 Corinthians 14:20

VERSE 2 (NO NAMES)

“For Paul the gospel of the crucified one is both “milk” and “solid food”. As milk it is the good news of salvation; as solid food it is understanding that the entire Christian life is predicated on the same reality … thus the Corinthians do not need a change in diet but a change in perspective.”

Read Hebrews 5:11–14; 6:1-2
                                        *Not even infantile Christianity is  non-doctrinal!

Flesh = unredeemed human nature. 1 ½ year stay, Apollos came, the first letter – 3 years later.

VERSE 3 (1 NAME)

5^TH Name - Of the Flesh (v.3)

Rom. 7:14 Paul says, “I am fleshen (σαρκινος [sarkinos]) sold under sin,” as if σαρκινος [sarkinos] represented the extreme power of the σαρξ [sarx]. v.3 ruled dominated by the flesh (sarkikoi) - σαρκικοι [sarkikoi] (carnal)

VERSE 4 (1 NAME)

6^TH Name - Merely human (v.4)

Ordinary men, Merely men - *but not psychikoi (natural) ψυχικοι [psuchikoi] (unregenerate).” Are you not living from the old point of view – where the cross is folly and  life is self-centered…

“It is not true  [that there are unspiritual Christians] in the sense that the Spirit is the crucial factor in whether one is or is not a believer; one cannot be a Christian and be devoid of the Spirit (Romans 8.8, Galatians 3.2-3, Titus 3.5-7). On the other hand, the Corinthians are involved in a lot of unchristian behavior; in that sense they are “unspiritual”, not because they lack the Spirit but because they are thinking and living just like those who do.”

Read James 3:13–18

Read Galatians 5:13–26                            NOTE *15 items, 6  w/divisions!

CONCLUSION - “nothing hinders great preaching like the dulness caused by sin on the part of auditors who are impatient with the high demands of the gospel” ^- A.T. Robertson, W P N T