As he discusses this issue of changing the gospel message to make it more attractive to the world, Paul says let’s consider what happened when I first preached the gospel in Corinth. Let’s consider your calling. What we can learn from it? Our boast is that we belong to God — not because we were smart enough to find Him; but because He was merciful enough to find us.
Paul argues that those who live in rebellion to God will see the cross as foolishness. There’s no way to spin the gospel to change that. If you re-package the gospel to make it attractive to rebels, it is no longer the gospel.
As part of the deeper issues of why factions are developing in the Corinthian church, Paul tells us he’s grateful that he baptized few people in Corinth. His discussion gives us a window into the place of baptism.
Ray Stedman was one of the twentieth century’s foremost pastors and biblical expositors. He was my first pastor. Many of his books and his wife Elaine’s books are now free online. The first two on the list are my favorites.
1Corinthians 1-4 are one of the best examples of why it’s necessary to study an entire letter rather than sets of verses here and there. We won’t accurately understand Paul unless we understand the situation into which he was writing.
Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study both Paul’s epistle to Titus.
In the greeting of 1 Corinthians, Paul introduces 3 themes of the letter: 1) Paul is an authoritative emissary for Jesus Christ; 2) God chose Paul for this role; and 3) speech and knowledge are gifts from God that we ought to view wisely. We’ll also contrast 2 ways to approach studying this letter. One perspective finds little value in some of the practical problems. The other perspective leads to wisdom that can be applied to any situation.
1Corinthians starts May 1 on the podcast — and I can’t wait! 1Corinthians is one of Paul’s most important letters. In this NEW series, we’ll tackle both the interpretative questions and the issues Paul covers, including: divisions in the church, the place of wisdom, rewards in heaven, church discipline, sexuality in marriage, women’s head coverings, the Lord’s supper, spiritual gifts, and more.
Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study the epistle of Jude.
Acts 18 records Paul’s first visit to Corinth. Understanding Paul’s relationship to the Corinthian church is crucial to understanding his letters to Corinth.
John concludes his letter saying believers can have confidence about three things: 1) that you have eternal life, 2) that your sin cannot jeopardize that life and 3) that this gospel message is true.
How many letters did the Apostle Paul write to the Corinthian church? The answer is not as easy as it sounds. We have two letters to the church at Corinth in our Bible, but both of these letters mention another letter. Many scholars believe Paul wrote four letters to the Corinthian church but only two of them survived. If they are right, the chronology of Paul’s correspondence and visits to Corinth might look something like this.
Krisan Marotta is a Bible teacher and host of Wednesday in the Word, the podcast about what the Bible means and how we know.