Would you turn to 1 Corinthians
chapter 1? Now, we've been in the Old Testament
for years, but I have wanted to get in the New Testament for
the Bible study for a book, and I believe this is what the Lord
laid upon my heart. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. I'm going to read the first nine
verses. Paul. Called to be an apostle of Jesus
Christ. Through the will of God. And Sosthenes, our brother under
the Church of God, which is at Corinth. To them that are sanctified
in Christ Jesus. called to be saints with all
that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ, our
Lord, both theirs and ours. Grace be unto you and peace from
God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my
God always on your behalf for the grace of God, which is given
you by Jesus Christ. that in everything you are enriched
by him, in all utterance and in all knowledge, even as the
testimony of Christ was confirmed in you so that you came behind
in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
shall also confirm you unto the end that you may be blameless
in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful by whom
you were called under the fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ, our
Lord. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the
Lord Jesus. How we thank you for the salvation,
the grace that's in him. And we pray for your blessing
upon this time. that you would cause him to be
revealed to the hearts of everyone here according to your will.
We ask that you would bless this study of your word for your glory
and for our good. Lord, we confess our sins. We
pray for forgiveness and cleansing. Grant us your presence. In Christ's
name we pray, amen. The Church at Corinth. That's
what I've entitled this. The Church at Corinth. Now one
of the things that's interesting about the Church of Corinth is
we know more about the Church of Corinth than any of the other
New Testament churches because more is written about the Church
of Corinth. Paul wrote two letters to the
Church of Corinth. One was around 55 AD and probably
the other one, the second Corinthians, was written in the same year. And he gives them in this opening
paragraph some very high commendations. He calls them the faithful in
Christ Jesus. He calls them sanctified in Christ
Jesus. He says the testimony of Christ
was confirmed in you and you came behind in no gift. I mean,
he gave them some high commendations, and this tells us that this church
is a true gospel church. Now, it's very important. This
church was a true gospel church. But beginning in verse 10, he
begins with all of these problems in the church of Corinth. And
I'm going to ask you to look at these with me throughout these
first two epistles. This church, while it was a true
gospel church, it was a mess. It was a mess. It had all kinds
of problems, all kinds of sinful problems within this church. I've had people leave here before
because they thought there was too much sin in the church. I
agree. I agree. Anybody going to deny
that? Any sin is too much sin. Amen? Any sin. But this church
was a true church and it was just wrought with problems, inconsistencies,
contradictions. Know anybody like that? Problems. Contradictions, inconsistencies. Well, this church was certainly
like that. And one of the things that I
would like to state as clearly as I can. Remember this. Remember
this. The church is a group of sinners
saved by grace who are still sinners. That's just the truth. Look in verse 10 of this same
chapter. Now I beseech you, brethren,
by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the
same thing, that there be no divisions among you, but that
you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the same
judgment, for it's been declared of me, of you, my brethren, of
them which the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among
you. There are divisions, there are
schisms, there are problems. Well, it was that way. Look in
chapter 3, verse 1, look at the way Paul
speaks to them. He says, And I, brethren, could
not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto
babes in Christ. I couldn't even talk to you like
you were believers. You're carnal, he says to these people. He says,
I fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not
able to bear it, neither now are you able, for you're yet
carnal. For whereas there is among you envying and strife
and divisions, are you not yet carnal and walk as men? Don't
you just act like a natural man and not the way this is in your
midst? Look in chapter four, verses
one and two. Let a man so account of us as
of ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover,
it's required in stewards that a man be found faithful, but
with me, verse three, with me, it's a very small thing that
I should be judged of you or man's judgment. Now I can almost
feel the pain in his voice when he says this. He says, it's a
very small thing for me to be judged of you. uh, they were
judging him. And as a matter of fact, if you
go on through first and second Corinthians, he goes back to
this over and over and over again, they were sitting in judgment
on the apostle Paul. And that was very painful to
him. Um, look in chapter, uh, chapter three, chapter four,
look in verses, uh, 14 and 14 through 16 of this same chapter. I write not these things to shame
you, but as my beloved sons, I warn you. For though you have
10,000 instructors in Christ, you have not many fathers. From
Christ Jesus, I begotten you through the gospel." They were
spiritually immature. They had plenty of instructors,
but no one who showed any spiritual maturity. Look in verse 18 of
this same chapter, chapter four. Now, some are puffed up as though
I would not come to you. He's talking about these church
members You're filled with pride. You have a self-inflated view
of yourself. Look in chapter five, verse one.
It's reported commonly that there's fornication among you. And such
fornication as is not as much as named among the Gentiles that
one should have his father's wife. They had sexual sin going
there and shameful, scandalous sexual sin. There was an incestuous
relationship going on. And he's confronting them about
this. Look in chapter six, verse one.
Dare any of you having a matter against another go to the law
before the unjust and not before the saints? And you know what
was happening at this time? They had people in the church
taking other members of the church and suing them, going into litigation,
taking them in to have them sued to try to get what they want.
Now, what if I sued one of you all? What if one of you all sued
me? You might be thinking about it.
I've had people threaten it before, but I really have. I really have,
but the point is, what a lack of love at this time to have
people bringing each other to law. That's what was going on
in this church. You read chapter seven, it's
all about marriage, questions about marriage and divorce and
so on. Everybody's always interested
in that, but he deals with that in chapter seven and some wrong
views they had. And then in chapter eight, look
at verse one. I love this. Now remember, this
is a true church we're talking about. He's talking about all
these things that are taking place in this true church. Verse one,
now, touching things offered unto idols. We know we all have
knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but charity
builds up, edifies. And if any man thinks that he
knows anything, he knows nothing. Yes, he ought to know, but the
point is in chapter eight, he deals with when they would offer
a sacrifice, well, the animal would be left. You could eat
it. If somebody offered up a cow
and it was offered up to a false idol, should we not eat the cow?
Some people thought, no, you shouldn't do that. I mean, it
was offered up to idols, and some saw that there was nothing
wrong with it. I mean, steak's just as good
in one offered idol as one that wasn't. I mean, steak's good.
Everybody likes steak. And some of the people who thought
it was wrong, The people who didn't thought
it was wrong belittled them and went ahead and did it anyway,
not caring what they thought. He was talking about this lack
of love through that. Chapter 9, they criticized Paul
for holding a job, for not holding a job. He says in verse 4, have
we not power to eat and drink? Have we not power to lead about
a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles and as the brethren
of the Lord? Or I only in Barnabas, have we not power or the right
to forbear working? They were criticizing Paul for
not having a job. He gave himself to the ministry
of the Word, to preaching, to traveling, and they're saying
he ought to have a job. As a matter of fact, he goes on to say, I
didn't take anything from you, forgive me this wrong. He said
that in the next book. He was, I wouldn't take a thing
from you. Forgive me for this wrong. In
chapter 10, look at beginning in verse Six, now these things are our
examples to the tent that we should not lust after evil things
as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters as some
of them, as it's written, the people sat down to eat and drink
and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication
as some of them and fell in one day three and 20,000. Neither
let us tempt Christ as some of them also tempted but were destroyed
of the destroyers. Neither murmur ye as some of
them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer. destroy the
serpent in the one and then destroy the destroyer. But the point
is, this characterized this church, these things that he is rebuking
them about that the saints in the Old Testament did. He said,
you guys are doing it too. Chapter 11 speaks of the The
abuse of the Lord's table, they actually had people meeting together
to observe the Lord's table and some were getting drunk and some
were overeating. And there was a separation between
the rich and the poor in the eating of the Lord's table. They
separated themselves. He said, this is shameful activity. This is wrong as it can be. And
chapters 12 through 14 deal with spiritual gifts. And in this
church, there was the horrible abuse of spiritual gifts. They
did have these gifts. There were people who could speak
in other languages and so on, and instead of using it to preach
the gospel, they used it to show off how gifted they were. They
started speaking in other languages to other people, and Paul rebukes
them for this. In chapter 15, look what they
had. Verse 12, now if Christ be preached
that he rose from the dead, how say some among you in this church
that there's no resurrection of the dead? Where you getting
off on that? But they had people that were
actually teaching that. And this gives us some idea of
the enormity of the terrible things that were going on in
this church. And 2 Corinthians is just a continuation of it.
Look in chapter one, Verse 17. When I therefore was thus minded,
did I use likeness? Or the things that I purpose,
do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me should be
yea or nay? Now he's answering an accusation against him. They
say he's just fleshly. He's doing things in a fleshly
way, and he's a yea, nay man, yes and no to the same thing.
He's answering this objection. He's saying, no, I'm not like
this. Remember when I was talking about
the sexual immorality? Well, this letter was written
in the same year, probably, maybe just a couple months later. And
the person he rebuked for this immorality, the church all of
a sudden becomes too hard on him. For out of much, look in
verse four, for out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote
unto you of many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that
you should know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.
But if any have caused grief, these not grieve me, but in part
that I may not overcharge you all, sufficient to such a man
is the punishment which was inflicted to many, so that contrarywise
you ought rather to forgive him and comfort him, lest perhaps
such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. All
of a sudden, they became these judges and became very hard on
this man for what he'd done. And he was rebuking him for this.
Look in chapter three. Do we begin again to commend
ourselves? Do we need to have commendation? And what it is, they were saying,
Paul doesn't have the right credentials. What makes him think he ought
to be apostle? He doesn't have the right credentials. And he's
saying, you shouldn't be treating me this way. Chapter 6 of 2 Corinthians, verse
11. O ye Corinthians, our mouth is
open unto you, and our heart is enlarged. You're not straightened
in us, but you're straightened in your own bowels. Now for recompense,
in the same I speak as in you as my children, be ye also enlarged.
Quit being so narrow-hearted. Receive me, is what he's saying.
Receive me. Quit holding me off. Receive
me. Receive what I'm saying. Look
in verse 14 of this same chapter. Be not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers. They had people doing that. For
what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what
communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ
with Belial? What part hath he that believeth
with an infidel? What agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? You see, they were joining in.
They were accepting these things. And Paul is rebuking them for
this. This is what was going on in this church. Look in chapter
seven, verses two and three, he says, receive us, we've wronged
no man, we've corrupted no man, we've defrauded no man. I speak
not this to condemn you, for if I said before you're in our
hearts to die and live with you, they were accusing Paul of these
things. And he said, don't do that. Chapters eight, nine, he deals
with the subject of giving, and they were not a generous church,
and he rebukes them about this, and he says, I wouldn't even
take, you all didn't support me, and he rebukes them about
this, on down. Chapter 10, 2 Corinthians chapter
10. Here's another one of their accusations
against the Apostle Paul. He says in verse three, for though
we walk in the flesh, we don't war after the flesh. And here's
what people were accusing of. Look in verse two, I beseech
you that I may not be bold when I'm present with the conference,
wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of
us as if we walked according to the flesh. They were accusing
Paul of walking after the flesh. And here Paul is the man God
raised up to preach the gospel and they were constantly calling
him into question. You can look in chapter 11. Would to God you could bear with
me a little in my folly and indeed bear with me. And the folly he's
speaking of is when he starts commending himself. And he says,
I've got to do this. You ought to be commending me,
but instead you're judging me. And he's telling these people
this is wrong. And this is where he calls this
folly. I'm going to start talking about
how much the Lord has used me and what he's used me for. And
I realize this is folly for me to do this. And he spends so
much time doing that in this book. Look in verses five through
eight of chapter 11. I suppose I was not a wit behind
the very chiefest apostles, but though I be rude in speech, yet
not in knowledge, but we've been thoroughly made manifest among
you in all things. Have I committed offense in abasing
myself that you might be exalted because I preached to you the
gospel of God freely? I robbed other churches, taking
wages of them to do you service. Verses 16 through 18. I say again,
let no man think me a fool. If otherwise he has a fool received
me that I may boast myself a little that which I speak. I speak not
after the Lord, but as it were foolishly in this thing, confident
in this confidence of boasting, seeing that many glory after
the flesh, our glory. Also, you see the way he's dealing
with this. Look in chapter 12. Verse 11,
I've become a fool in glory, and you've compelled me, for
I ought to have been commended of you, for nothing am I behind
the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. Truly, the signs
of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience and signs
and wonders and mighty deeds. For what is it wherein you were
inferior to other churches, except that I myself was not burdensome
to you? Forgive me this wrong. Behold,
the third time I'm ready to come to you, and I'll not be burdensome
to you, for I seek not yours, but you for the children. I'll
not be saving up for the parents, but the parents for the children.
I'll be very gladly spend and be spent for you, though the
more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. Look at chapter
13, verse five, examine yourselves. This is who he's talking to,
these people who are examining me. Examine yourselves, whether
you be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know you
not that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobate? Look
in verse 10. Therefore, I write these things,
being absent, lest being present, I should use sharpness according
to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification and not
to destruction. Now, this was a true church.
I've read all these passages of scripture, so we can see all
the problems going on in this church. You didn't have them,
did you? This was a true church sanctified
in Jesus Christ, faithful and gifted by God. But it is what
every other local church is, a company of sinners saved by
grace who are still sinners. And if that fact concerning me
has escaped me, I'm in trouble. And if that fact concerning you
has escaped you, you're in trouble. Now that is the state of this
church. Now, when, and this is the question
that I thought in looking at this church that had so many
troubles, so many troubles, I've had people ask or leave
because of What's going on in the church? So he says, what's
going on? I don't know. I'm just, I'm not
even talking about us personally. I'm talking about all the churches,
just like the church at Corinth. Well, I'm going to leave. Too
much sin there. You ought to feel real comfortable there if
that's the case. In reality, you ought to feel just at home
there. I thought somebody says there's
too many hypocrites in the church. Well, you fit in right well there.
I mean, you do real well there. The church is a company. This
is not making any sin OK under any circumstance. It's not excusing
sin. But remember, the church is a
company of sinners saved by grace. Now, when is a time? to leave
a church. There's only one reason to leave
a church, because the gospel's not preached. That's the only
reason. And if the gospel's not preached,
it's not a church anyway, is it? It's ceased being a church. There are so many religious institutions
where maybe the gospel was once preached, but it left. A local
church never continues. It left. And now you have just
the machinery going on without the spirit of God. When is it
time to leave the church? Only when the gospel is not preached. Which makes us think about this. If that's the case, I better
know what the gospel is. Who the gospel is. So I can know
if I'm hearing the gospel or if I'm not hearing the gospel. The issue is always what is the
gospel? And you know, Paul answers that
so eloquently in first Corinthians, chapter 15, when he says the
gospel is how that Christ died for our sins, according to the
scriptures. And this is so important. Somebody
says, well, the gospel is the Christ died for our sins. No,
it didn't. No, it didn't. Somebody's misquoting the verse
and leaving out that which is vital. Look in 1 Corinthians
15. I want you to see this with me. Verse one, moreover, brethren,
I declare unto you the gospel, definite article, the gospel. It's the same gospel I preached
unto you, which also you have received, wherein you stand,
by which also you were saved. If you keep in memory of what
I preached unto you, unless you believe in vain, for I delivered
unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that
Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. Now he's talking
about the Old Testament scriptures. You can't preach the gospel without
preaching on how that Christ died for our sins according to
the Old Testament scriptures. Now, I could go to so many different
examples in the Old Testament, but the first thing that comes
to my mind is the Passover. You remember how that spotless
lamb, the lamb without blemish, was to be slain, the blood put
over the door? You got in the house with the
blood over the door. Now, if you got outside of the
house, what happened? You'd be put to death. God said,
when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. What did God say he
was looking for? The blood. He didn't say, when I see your
good works. He didn't say when I see your sincerity. He didn't
say when I see your faith. He didn't say when I see your
remorse over your sin. He didn't say when I see your
effort to fighting sin. All those things are good. I'm
not saying they're not, but what did he say when I see the blood?
Not when I see anything about you. When I see the blood, I'll
pass over you. Now here's the, Big question
that I think will deal with Christ dying for our sins according
to the scriptures. Let's say somebody in one of those houses
that very day, they committed some horrible sin, maybe murder,
maybe some horrible sexual sin, something just unclean and dark,
wicked. That very day, they committed
a horrible sin. And then they go into that house
with the blood over the door. Here's my one question. Were
they safe? Absolutely. Completely. Positively. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
son, cleanseth us from all sin. If you are in the house with
the blood over the door, you're secure. You're safe. God said,
when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And I've often
thought about how I would have felt. There are different people.
I bet there's, I bet old Moses, when he was in the house with
the blood over the door, I doubt that he had any fear. I'm safe. I guarantee you somebody else
was trembling. Was he a safe? Yeah, he was just
safe as Moses was. Whatever he felt, he was just
as safe as Moses was because the acceptance is in the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ, being found in him. So that's, the
Church of Corinth was a mess. The Church of Corinth was perfect
in Christ Jesus, without fault, without wrinkle, without sin,
without holy, unblameable, and unreprovable in God's sight.
Now that's the church today. You find a group of people, you're
going to find sinners. Without not seeing, I agree,
I agree, ought not. but you're going to have a bunch
of sinners saved by the grace of God who are still sinners. That's true of me, that's true
of you, but what a blessing it is, what a blessing it is to
be in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, to be in the house
with the blood over the door, to be in Christ. So you pray
for me, pray that the Lord will bless this study of 1 Corinthians,
there's a lot in it. lot in it. I pray the Lord will
bless it to our hearts. Okay.