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.
No comments:
Post a Comment