1 Joint Heirs Adult Bible Fellowship 1 Corinthians, Week 1, 1 Cor. 1:1-3

Joint Heirs Adult Bible Fellowship 1 Corinthians, Week 1, 1 Cor. 1:1-3 September 11, 2011 Tim Powell, Teacher

“THE FOUR GOALS OF JOINT HEIRS”

1. To study and know the Word of God.  2 Ti. 2:15

2. To apply what we study so our daily lives are changed.  Mt. 7:24-27

3. To build eternal friendships in which we faithfully minister to, pray for, and support each other.  Mt. 22:37-40  “I went out to find a friend; I found none. I went out to be a friend and found many.”

4. To reach out through prayer, giving, and personal witness, and missionary endeavors.

“1 CORINTHIANS”

I. WHO WROTE THE BOOK OF 1 CORINTHIANS? (1 Co. 1:1)

A. “Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.”

1. We have a problem: How can Paul be an apostle?

2. “Apostle” = One who walked with Jesus, was an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ, and called directly by Jesus Christ to be His ambassador.

3. Ac. 9:1-22—The calling of Saul/Paul.

B. Sosthenes (Ac. 18:1-17)

1. Sosthenes was a synagogue ruler in Corinth who trusted Christ under Paul’s ministry.

2. Since Paul usually dictated his letters to a scribe (he had an eye problem), we assume Sosthenes was serving as his scribe when Paul wrote 1 Corintians. Sosthenes did not write the content of the letter.

C. PRINCIPLE: If one is truly seeking God, God will open their eyes.

1. Examples: Paul, Crispus, Sosthenes.

2. What about people who have never heard about God or Jesus Christ?

 Ro. 1:18-21—“What may be known about God is made plain to them . . . men are without excuse.”  Lk. 19:10 Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost.

II. WHO DID PAUL WRITE TO AND WHAT WAS CORINTH LIKE? (1 Co. 1:2a)

A. Very strategic trade city—on the narrow land bridge between northern and southern Greece; a crossroads for North-South trade as well as East-West trade

B. Entertainment center—Isthmus games were there

C. Traveler’s center

D. “Religious”—Aphrodite (goddess of “love”); over 1,000 temple prostitutes

1. Morals: Immorality was the norm, debauchery, drinking, emphasis on $, luxury, self- absorption.

2. To “Corinthianize” = drunkenness, immorality, filthy language

3. Sounds like America today; we could call this “the Letter to the Californians”!

III. WHO DID PAUL SPECIFICALLY WRITE TO IN CORINTH? (1 Co. 1:2b-3)

A. All those sanctified in Christ Jesus are called to be holy (saints).

1. We are “saints”—Ro. 3:21—We receive righteousness from God, apart from the law, through faith in Jesus Christ.

2. Positionally, we have been declared holy; this is what allows us to have a personal relationship with a holy God.

3. Practically, we are far from holy; we all have struggles with sin and are less than what God would have us be. We are going to see later that although Paul called the Corinthians believers “saints,” they were not behaving like saints.

4. Through God’s grace we have peace from God. (v. 3)

 Without grace, we could not have peace with God.  Lk. 2:14—Peace with God for all those on whom His favor rests, i.e., those who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. Only through Christ can we have peace with God.

5. We have been sanctified, i.e., cleansed from all sin past, present, and future.

B. PRINCIPLE: We are all saints/holy, otherwise we could not have eternal fellowship with a Holy God.

1. Positionally, we are holy before God.

2. God put Christ’s righteousness on us.

IV. WHY DID PAUL WRITE TO THE CORINTHIANS?

A. Problems in the church—even though sanctified positionally, they were taking on the ways of the culture.

1. Does this sound like us?

2. E.g., what are we watching on TV?

B. They had questions they wanted answers to.

V. WHAT IS THE KEYNOTE OF THIS EPISTLE? THE SUPREMACY OF JESUS CHRIST AND THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST IN YOUR LIFE.

A. The Christian life is not a bunch of do’s and don’ts.

B. Christianity is about the supremacy and lordship of Jesus Christ.

1. This means that we obey Him.

2. Most Christians live their lives as though everything was about them, but in reality, it is all about Him.

APPLICATION:

 Are you a Saint through sanctification—the cleansing work of Jesus on the cross?

 Have you been in the church so long that you have gotten away from the preeminence of Jesus in your life? He is the solution to the sin that is besetting you or the worry you have or the priorities in your life. Jesus is the solution. Give your life to Jesus.

 Will you commit yourself to this wonderful study of 1 Corinthians?

 Will you commit yourself to be doers of the Word and not hearers only?

 Will you commit yourself to getting involved in one another’s lives here in Joint Heirs, to love, to pray for, and to enjoy the sweet fellowship?