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.
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.
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.
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.
John tells us genuine believers will confess that Jesus is the Christ — the Jesus who was confirmed by three witnesses: “water”, “blood” and “the Spirit.”
In Paul’s time Corinth was the 2nd most important city in the Roman empire. Corinth was an exceptionally wealthy and important city in Greece.
In 1 John 4:7-19, John explains why self-sacrificing love is a mark of a believer: this other-focused love is part of God’s holy character and God is in the process of giving us His character.
The Apostle John says we can identify false prophets two ways: by the content of what they say (4:2) and by the origin of what they say (4:6).
How can John say that love is a mark of believers and hate is a mark of non-believers when we know believers who struggle with hate and non-believers who genuinely love others?