JEAN'S BIBLE STUDY
| KJV WEB
| Endtime Prophecy
| Parallel Gospels
Page Numbers | Plywood Canoe
OT Commentary | Books
Contact | Gospel Tract

1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 1 KJV WEB 1Cor 1-1,2 (122c) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in God to keep the Church – Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. His confidence in Christ was absolute. He offered it to those who would doubt him, confidence in his experiences with God, not only on the road to Damascus when he first met the Lord, also on many other occasions when the Lord dealt with Him, referenced in the book of Acts. These were life-changing moments for him, but there was something more that gave him confidence as an apostle, the stripes on his back. In Gal 6-17 he said they were the brand-marks of Jesus resulting from persecution as a Christian, evangelist and missionary. Many people have had experiences, but they cannot offer their experiences to people as proof of their apostleship or of any other aspect of their relationship with God, but Paul could take off his shirt and show the physical evidence of his faith. These brand-marks that the enemies of the gospel placed on him were proof of his apostleship. He didn’t point out the number of churches he established or rattle off the number of people he led to Christ or list the number of cities he visited with the gospel as proof of his apostleship, but displayed his identifying marks that separated him from anybody who would pretend to be an apostle. Some impersonators are willing to endure a certain level of hardship to deceive the Church, but to be flogged five times with 39 lashes using a cat-o-nine tails is not something any charlatan is willing to endure. 1Cor 1-1 (248b) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> The will of God >> God exercises His will 1Cor 1-2 (91l) Thy kingdom come >> The called >> Titles of His calling >> Called as saints – Catholics teach that certain people must satisfy a strict set of criteria before they will be recognized as saints, but Paul is saying that all born-again Christians are saints of God. We know that everyone in heaven is a saint, and in this life the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in their hearts; this is the true criterion of sainthood. If Paul prayed for the saints and Jesus is our intercessor, then Jesus prays for us in much the same way that Paul did in 2The 1-11, "That our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power." This means we should have as our goal to live as saints. By this will, God works with us to fulfill every desire for goodness that He placed in us. We possess nothing that we did not receive. This is the rhetoric that Paul posited to the Corinthians (1Cor 4-7), questioning them in anger because they were inconsistently living as saints. (135n) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Similarity in the body >> The things we have in common >> Common Lord (191h) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Set apart >> God sanctifies us through His calling – God sanctifies us through His calling, but if we don’t answer His call, then His calling is nullified. Answering His call is what makes us chosen, an aspect of predestination, according to Jesus’ word in Mat 22-14, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” God calls many people to become His saints, but only those who answer His call are chosen. Everyone who is a Christian has answered the call and was predestined to do so. Christ has sanctified us through His calling to fill the position that He has named over us to become a specific brick in His temple, that there be no missing bricks, which would weaken the Church; if too many bricks were missing, the structure would collapse. So each person has an obligation to fulfill his purpose and calling from God, and by doing so will set us apart from the world to become a unique child of God. 1Cor 1-3 (12j) Servant >> Bond servant >> Salutations – “Grace and peace”; this is how Paul greeted his fellow brethren; it is a wonderful greeting. When any one of the fruits of the Spirit is mentioned, it implies them all in the way James said that if we break one commandment we have violated the Law as a whole (Jm 2-10), so if someone is capable of bearing one spiritual fruit, he can bear them all. Grace is how we get to heaven; it is how we come to know God; we offer them His blessing, who has given us eternal life in paradise. To all those who would receive it, there is no greater blessing of salutation than the grace of God and the fruits of the Spirit. Jesus said, “As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace” (Mat 10-12,13). We are not to let others who reject the gospel of Christ dissuade us of our own grace and peace. We are not to surrender it to anyone, but to share it. This greeting means that if anyone spends time with us, this is what they can expect, the goodness of God and the righteousness of heaven. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 1,4-8 (122d) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in God to keep you – Jesus said in Lk 13-24, “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” Hard as we strive, what we do is miniscule compared to what is being done on our behalf to secure our eternal salvation in heaven, for the Lord is doing most of the work through the Holy Spirit who lives in us. If it weren’t for Him we couldn’t be saved or even have an interest in God. Both Paul and Jesus warned, “the one who endures to the end, he will be saved,” yet when we get to heaven, we will realize that hard as we tried to maintain the faith, God stood alongside us and did most of the work, so that most of our effort was simply letting Him. For example, the poem, Footsteps in the Sand, is about a person who didn’t think he could continue, but had no choice. He looked back for a second pair of footsteps and found only one and thought God had abandoned him, but in heaven when he met God, it was revealed that those footsteps were the Lord’s, who carried him in times of great difficulty. This is an example of God working in us. When that poem first became popular it was very inspiring, but over time it became cliché. In fact, many popular Bible verses have become cliché in the minds of some Christians, while others hid the meaning in their hearts. See also: God saves us throughout our lives; Mat 12-20; 32e 1Cor 1,4-7 (34g) Gift of God >> God is willing to Give >> He is generous with His spiritual blessings 1Cor 1-4 (81k) Thy kingdom come >> Pray without ceasing >> For the Church >> Giving thanks 1Cor 1-5 (80i) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word to minister to God >> Know the word to know God (85h) Thy kingdom come >> Words that are spoken in faith >> Verbalize your faith (249h) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> True perception of wealth >> The infinite and eternal wealth of God >> Being rich in Jesus 1Cor 1,7-9 (254k) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Holy Spirit >> Power of Jesus’ Spirit – Although the apostle Paul doesn’t speak extensively about the Holy Spirit, he often refers to Him without using His name, such as in this passage. It is not actually Jesus who confirms the saints. Jesus can’t; He is in heaven. Rather, the confirmation of the saints is the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the person of the trinity who has direct access with us in that He lives in our hearts. When Paul said we are “called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,” we are not actually fellowshipping with Jesus, but with the Holy Spirit. However, the fact that the Holy Spirit and Christ are one suggests that Paul knew exactly what he was saying. In other words, Jesus has all the experiences of the Holy Spirit, and reports them to His Father. These transitions within the trinity are seamless so that there is nothing lost in translation. The members of the trinity are all one, making their differences irrelevant in that fellowshipping with one is equivalent to fellowshipping with all. Since Christ and the Holy Spirit are one, to be one with the Spirit is to be one with Christ. In this way Paul is right in saying that we have fellow with His Son, but to be specific, we are fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit. 1Cor 1-7,8 (236l) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> The Rapture >> The day of the Lord – The day of our Lord Jesus Christ is unfortunately a controversial subject to some people in the Church today. The day of Christ ultimately refers to His second coming, though there are some who would argue even about that. What does the return of Christ mean? We can be specific in that he called it a single day as it were a moment. Paul also spoke about Christ’s appearing (1Tim 6-14; 2Tim 1-10;4-1,8; Tit 2-13), but what does that mean? Paul didn’t write to unbelievers, so His appearing is in reference to believers, which would indicate the First Resurrection/Rapture, these two being a single event. Paul’s interest is in Christ confirming us to the end, blameless in the day of His appearing, writing to people who are still alive in the flesh. He is not referring to the First Resurrection or to those who have already died in the Lord; he is referring to the Rapture. Paul’s interest in the Church was for the people to let Christ through the Holy Spirit confirm them blameless until that day. If we put our salvation in His hand, He will lead us in the faith. We may backslide occasionally, but so long as we pay attention to He who is working in us to establish His kingdom in our hearts, our salvation is secure. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 1-7 (24e) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Waiting creates anxiety (44g) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Transformed >> Complete >> Lacking in nothing (108ha) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of Jesus Christ >> Spiritual revelation >> Revelation of His return (126k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Patience >> Have patience for the return of Christ >> The physical return of Christ 1Cor 1-8 (42a) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Blameless before God >> Prepare for His return – The Book of Revelation is about the revelation of Jesus Christ, and the culmination of His revelation is the Rapture. The Book of Revelation is about endtimes in that Jesus is returning at the end of the age, so when Paul says that he wants the Corinthian church to be waiting eagerly for His revelation, he was talking about looking for the things that are in the book of Revelation to be fulfilled, up to and especially the Rapture. Jesus promised His disciples that he would return, but never said when. He especially didn’t want the early Church to know that it would be thousands of years later, because they never would have waited for Him. (228h) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God working in you >> God works in you to keep you in His will – It is very comforting to know that God is working in us. This verse correlates with Phi 1-6, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus,” being the key verse for the subject: God Working in You. We have been charged to do many things, such as preach the gospel of the kingdom, maintain unity in the Church, help the weak, be students of the word and disciples of prayer, daily repent of our sins and be constantly vigil and alert, prepared for every good work. It is good to know that when we grow weary, when we just don’t have any strength left in us, we can throw ourselves on the mercies of God and trust in His promises and depend on his grace, not only to get us through the day but through this life, who will faithfully lead us victoriously into his heavenly kingdom, where we will spend eternity with Him in joy and gladness of heart. All the things we do for the sake of the gospel of Christ is the result of God working in us as Jesus said in Jn 15-5, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” 1Cor 1-9 (91f) Thy kingdom come >> The called >> Walking along the narrow way >> Walking in God’s calling is to fulfill His purpose (102b) Faithfulness (Key verse) (102d) Thy kingdom come >> Faithfulness (Loyalty) >> Faithfulness is dependable >> God is dependable – God is faithful, and He has called us to be the same. There are subtle differences between faithfulness and loyalty; they are synonyms. Jesus came from heaven, clothed in human flesh, whose actions and behaviors corresponded with the will of His Father; that is loyal. A person who is loyal is faithful from the heart, but faithfulness alone does not guarantee loyalty. It says we were called into fellowship with His Son. There are other passages in the New Testament that speak of having fellowship with one another; John writes about this in his first epistle, and the prerequisite of having spiritual fellowship is having fellowship with God. If we are conducting a relationship with God through the knowledge of His word and through prayer, then we also have fellowship with one another, but if we have neglected the word of God and prayer, then our fellowship with one another will suffer. (208i) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being the friend of God >> Having fellowship with God KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 1-10 (44f) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Transformed >> Completing the will of God (69f) Authority >> Righteous judgment >> Meditate on discernment >> Judging what is true – We live in a society that teaches we should not judge anyone under any circumstances. Consequently, we should not use the word judgment, yet Paul just did. Judgment is synonymous with the word “discernment”; the way Paul was using it, we discern the truth from God. Paul wanted the Corinthians to have a greater affinity for the truth than a lie. We Christians all have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, and Jesus said, He will lead us into all the truth (Jn 16-13). That is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit, for Jesus called Him the Spirit of truth in Jn 14-17. (78h) Thy kingdom come >> Renewing your mind by the word of God >> Be of one mind, His mind – Paul was very bold with the Thessalonians and said in 1The 2-13, “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” Paul did not risk his life establishing churches based on his opinions. Anybody could write letters to churches, but it was the fact that Paul’s ministry was the work of God that allowed his letters to remain in social consciousness for thousands of years. Therefore, Paul told them to focus their attention and center their agreement on the words that he wrote to them, not on mere opinions, and “be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (129n) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Being in one accord >> Having one mind – God wants us all to agree on the truth, and the ultimate goal of truth is unity, which can be realized only through the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit of truth dwells in each believer, and if the saints all seek the truth, then we will arrive at the truth together. Through our agreement on the truth, knowledge and obedience will be made complete. This verse uses many of the same words of Phi 2-1,2. The Philippians were a mature church, whereas the Corinthians were immature, yet Paul didn’t lower his standard for the Corinthians because they were spiritually callow but maintained the same expectations in both churches, and Paul worked very hard to raise their development to a proper standard of maturity, and unity is that standard. Signs and wonders are nothing compared to unity as evidence of spiritual maturity; in fact unity is a prerequisite to signs and wonders and to all the gifts of the spirit. Unity is the ultimate goal of Christianity according to Jesus (John chapter 17), nor can we have true unity in a church without unity between other churches. We are not islands unto ourselves; nor are we independent of each other; we are all one in Christ. Each person represents a member of His body, and we could say the same about churches; they too are members of His body. (138i) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Exhortation >> Exhorting the people to work together (158d) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >> Strife >> Disagreements – Paul encourages the Corinthians to agree with one another, for having a contentious spirit under the pretext of debate is unprofitable. Nothing good comes from being argumentative. The Spirit of God is not argumentative or competitive but seeks peace, but He does not compromise the truth. So how do we agree on the truth without arguing about it. If we start with the word of God and end with the word of God, continually taking the Scriptures into prayer, God will reveal whatever He wants us to know. Since Paul was an apostle to the Corinthians, he was telling them to come into agreement with his teaching, but to erroneously agree on deception is useless. If we have settled on something other than the truth, our agreement on deception is actually more ruinous than division. In fact, to be united in satanic delusion is what endtime prophecy promises will be the condition of the last days' Church. The false church at that time will fall under a spell that will mimic unity (2The 2,7-12), but it will not be divine because it will not have its foundations in the truth. See also: Deception (Satanic delusion); 2Jn-7,8; 183k KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 1,11-16 (9d) Responsibility >> Prevent disunity within the body of Christ >> Prevent division – The Corinthian church was very worldly and hedonistic, and Paul had to harshly rebuke them for their fleshly ways. For them to argue with one another about whether they had been baptized in the name of Paul gives the impression just how off the mark they had become, and they were the early Church, supposedly the most spiritual of all Christians. They were basically making up the truth and stationed Paul as the centerpiece of their new religion, but he would have none of it. They were not going to make up a religion about him so long as he was alive and could do something about it. The Church never did build a religion around Paul throughout the millennia, because he was not exactly an adorable fellow. There are some in the Church today based on his letters who despise Paul, but it was probably his intension to inhibit people from worshipping him. For someone to not like him is similar to not liking his own father, because that is what he was to the Church, and his influence with us today is the same through his writings. He probably had the greatest zeal of anyone and loved God with all his heart and loved the Church just as much, but to build a religion around Paul never happened, because he offended everyone. He knew the truth, not only about God, but also about man, that people have a tendency to worship anything that breaths, all the more when they quit breathing. 1Cor 1,11-13 (166l) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind cannot discern between good and evil >> The old mind – The Corinthian Church was not ready to settle down and receive from Paul in a relaxed manner, but had issues with carnality and doctrine. They wanted to indulge their flesh, being unwilling to release this life to embrace the one to come, busily finding doctrines that would condone their hedonistic pursuits, which created a negative environment that Paul had to resolve in them. He often could not teach them the deeper things of God, but had to regularly stop and correct them. (169l) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Stepping on people to get to the bottom >> Those who seek their own glory idolize men 1Cor 1,17-25 (166f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Wisdom of the world >> Nature of man’s wisdom >> Man’s wisdom does not know God – The goal of the world is to make God as small as possible, like astrophysicists have done to His universe with their math wizardry. They developed formulas to explain the universe prior to the “Big Bang”, saying that all matter was gathered into a single point, small enough to fit on the head of a pin, thus minimizing the creation. After doing this to His universe, His star witness, they can now take that little dot and throw it in the wastebasket, but the only thing that plinked in the trash can was their future. 1Cor 1-17,18 (149fa) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Preaching the word to the world >> The gospel of the kingdom >> Preach the gospel of salvation 1Cor 1-17 (75c) Thy kingdom come >> Motives of the heart >> Being motivated to do the will of God – Paul explains his deliberate manner of preaching, not in cleverness of speech that the gospel of Christ might be maligned, but in simplicity of truth. In contrast, there are many cleaver personalities who are nullifying the gospel and voiding the cross of Christ preaching a false message of salvation. Paul deliberately made sure not to do this, so no one could accuse him of ulterior motives. He did not have the sort of personality that readily lent itself to idolization, for people are seldom tempted to worship a person they don’t particularly like, and the way to get people to not like you is to tell them the truth. Tell them even in love they will still hate you. People may not have liked Paul, but they respected him, which is what he needed. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 1,18-31 (151i) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Creation is evidence of God >> No other source but God can explain the creation – There is one obstacle the world will never hurtle, the creation itself, which is not just evidence of God, but solid proof that He exists. There are no other writings that come close to describing Him and His works like the Bible has throughout the ages, written long before science was established. Science is the world’s alternative to religion, its mouthpiece to condemn faith. Science is unwilling to believe anything; rather, its aim is to prove its assertions. Science looks at the stars and by its own creed cannot believe in a creator, but develops it own theories about their existence. The fact that man needs a theory about the universe speaks volumes about the importance of understanding its origins. Man must have an answer, for he has learned since childhood that everything has a cause. The creation is God's riddle to the unbeliever, and if he doesn't show an interest in solving it, he must concur that he is no higher than the animals. Man’s wisdom is leading him to all the wrong conclusions. It has not led him to know God, and it never will, suggesting that man’s objectivity has an agenda to exclude God from his world. (154d) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Witness that the world is godless >> Witness that the world does not know God 1Cor 1,18-29 (16k) Sin >> Continuing in sin to avoid the light >> Suppressing the truth they cannot deny – The world doesn’t understand faith, hence it does not feel the need to believe in God. Some people, such as atheists, think God should reveal Himself in order to eliminate the need for faith, but it wouldn't change anything. Meanwhile, the Church not only believes in God’s existence, it also believes He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. The world would continue in its disobedience, fueled by unbelief, because God does not abide in their hearts. Doesn’t God have a right to do what He wants with what is His own? There are many good reasons God does not reveal Himself to the world. Most importantly, God requires faith from man because God is the very substance of faith and man was created in His image. God exists, and for that reason so does everything else. Therefore, it is necessary that His children also share in the composition of God’s essence by believing in Him. See also: God's substance is faith; 1Tim 3-8,9; 230h (19g) Sin >> Having the mental disease of the world >> Man’s twisted understanding – Worldly people think they are clever enough to debate with God, but of course, they do not actually debate with Him but with His people. They make giant complaints about God and come to the conclusion that He is evil, and claim this is the reason they don’t serve Him. Many actually believe they are better than God, and at the end of the day it is the mindset of every person in hell. God may be bigger, but worldly people think they know better than God, and they refuse to serve Him, picturing Him a fool and an ogre. They find fault with Him, thinking there is something intrinsically wrong with Him, but God finds fault with them. Those who would argue with God, who take offense at Him, express their arrogance. God has made foolish the wisdom of the world, but the world does not see it that way. God sent Jesus to us, not only as the Son of God but also as the son of man, the humblest of all, the youngest and servant of all. He didn’t come as the big kid on the block and command everybody to fall down and worship Him. The world may have respected Him for that, but He came as a humble servant, and the world despised Him, because He wouldn't relate to their sinful nature. The world views weakness as weakness and strength as strength, whereas Jesus taught that the least are greatest and the greatest are least. The world discounts this; they simply disagree, again because it doesn’t correspond with the sinful nature in their flesh. Had Jesus come in a form their flesh could appreciate, the whole world would have been converted to Christ. Instead, He came and taught a gospel that was contrary to their fleshly nature, and for that reason they murdered Him. (56c) Paradox >> Opposites >> Humble yourself to be chosen of God (62a) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Being clever >> Responding with wisdom to your enemies >> Outwit them – God has undermined the wisdom of the world through the simplicity of the gospel, through the weakness of Jesus’ flesh nailed to a cross by wicked men, who thought they had power over Him, but were merely doing what God had predestined to occur before the foundation of the earth. This is the foolishness of the world, that they have undermined themselves in the crucifixion of Christ. Their judge will one day sentence them to eternal darkness, unless they repent. Man thinks He can play chess with God, but man is too predictable to make it a contest. (159m) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit God >> Counterfeit truth (199i) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Rejecting Christ >> The world rejects God >> World rejects God because it does not know Him (202g) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running from the word of God >> Running from the gospel (216j) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> God Is Independent Of His Creation >> You cannot control God’s desire for you >> man is not in control of his own destiny (221d) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden behind the veil from the world >> God hides from the mind of man >> He hides behind man’s intellect – Man’s wisdom does not arrive at the knowledge of God; instead, it leads him in the opposite direction. Man’s wisdom will never come to know God, and for this reason it is imperative to renew our minds in His word. Man’s wisdom and our fleshly minds are a match, and if we are not careful, we will become attracted to the knowledge of error and the spirits that promote deception and embrace darkness. God is not saddened that man’s wisdom leads him in the opposite direction but is well pleased. If man and God agreed, that would not be very flattering to God, because He finds fault with the world. This way, everybody finds God on Jesus' terms and not according to the world’s wisdom. We must develop the heart of a servant before we can understand God, because He is first and foremost a servant to his creation. (223f) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Miss God >> Missing the point >> Miss the meaning of the truth KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 1,18-27 (64j) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Weaknesses of God >> Foolishness of God – Since man is determined to exclude God from the world, God was pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. The foolishness of the gospel is a slap in the face to the world's faith in unbelief, for it has the power to undermine their wisdom. All we need do is look in the heavens and see there is a God, and from this we know the world is wrong. Jesus Christ, the man people would call a fool, is wiser than the world, in that one day He will be their judge, who will send them to everlasting punishment for loving evil and rejecting all that is good and right. He came in weakness, and the world despised Him for it, because it values only strength. He submitted to the cross and allowed people to lay hands on Him, mistreat and kill Him, but the foolishness of God is wiser than those who think the Bible is a fairytale. The weakness of God is stronger than men, who rose from the dead through the strength of His Father. Those of His children when this life ends will go to heaven and live with Him forever, because they have shown their love for His ways, and have demonstrated their desire for His kingdom more than the kingdoms of this world. 1Cor 1,18-25 (178d) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Presuming the facts about the circumstances >> Philosophy (212e) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> He is the creator >> Evolution (Defaming God) >> The scientific mind cannot know God 1Cor 1,18-24 (20f) Sin >> Nature of sin >> Seeking a sign – The wisdom of God is different from the wisdom of the world, which does not accept God and His faith. The Jews asked Jesus for a sign to compare with the signs they were anticipating. They could have asked the people, and they would have told them that He performed many wonders, but they were not signs they expected to see. They were looking for the second coming of Christ, who will come in great glory and power, but failed to see His first coming in the Scriptures as the lowly Lamb of God, and so they rejected Him. He healed the sick, raised the dead, performed many signs and had wisdom uncanny to both the Jews and the gentiles, yet these were all of the wrong type. The signs they sought became stumbling blocks to the Jews, which blinded their eyes to their Messiah, who stood right in front of them and they couldn't see Him, just like man’s wisdom does to the gentiles. This also has application to His second coming! The Church has a certain criteria that they are waiting to manifest that will plot their point on the coordinates of endtime prophecy, but their signs are skewed, and they will become confused at the time of His return, proving that false knowledge is worse than ignorance. There is nothing wrong with a sign, but the problem with them is they require us to know a little about the future. For this reason signs are as much misleading as they are leading, which is what happened to the Jews, and will happen to the Church in the last days. 1Cor 1,18-23 (198b) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Unteachable >> Too busy being a teacher to learn anything 1Cor 1,18-21 (71b) Authority >> Believer’s authority >> We have authority in the wisdom of God -- These verses go with verses 25-29. These statements are so global in application that it would take a lifetime to assimilate their full meaning, something we must understand by revelation. The only way we can understand God's word is to dedicate our lives to its wisdom, and even then through a course of many years will our understanding slowly deepen. They are true on a level that transcends man’s concept of truth, which is merely factual, whereas God’s truth is infinite and eternal and therefore of a spiritual nature. We can preach the gospel to people in the world, who will consider us fools for believing it, “but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” Every believer is being transformed, continually increasing in the knowledge of God, becoming better people over years of service. God will help us overcome our weaknesses so we are no longer slaves of sin, emerging from dark influences and setting our lamp on the table for all to see the work that God has performed in us. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 1-18 (37j) Judgment >> Jesus emptied Himself of all His blood (38b) Judgment >> Blood of Jesus >> God judged man through the blood of His son – Partially understanding the progression of God setting aside man's wisdom, He mocks the ungodly man who rejects the gospel of Christ. Of his so-called great wisdom, man defends himself from the gospel, with all his arguments unraveling at his death. We are all indebted to the earth for our bodies, which originated from the earth and will return to the earth when we are done with it, and all the sinner's wisdom will die with him and be forgotten, and then eternity will bury him under endless layers of time. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God's wisdom, who said, "You fool! This very night your soul is required of you" (Lk 12-20). He came in the weakness of human flesh as the servant of all, submitted to His Father and spoke the oracle of God to rebellious Israel during His 3½-year ministry, until those who heard could no longer endure Him and had Him crucified, that his death might fulfill the requirement of old covenant temple worship, which they performed through the blood of bulls and goats for centuries as practice for murdering their Messiah, as instituted by Moses. God raised Him from the dead three days later, never to die again; He was received in heaven as the King of angels to eventually become Lord of the earth, in the process of subjecting all things to Himself. Jesus accomplished all these things as the lowliest of all servants, but man insists that God's wisdom is impotent. (47j) Judgment >> God judges the world >> Eternal judgment against unbelief toward Christ – Those who want heaven must treat their own flesh as their worst enemy, and how did Jesus tell us to treat our enemies? We must love them and pray for them but by no means trust them. We must hate sin and love the sinner. That is, we should love ourselves but hate our sinful nature and seek to suppress it and keep its ugly influence from rising and taking over our lives. Salvation is all about the Holy Spirit dwelling in the believer, not in our flesh but in our spirit, so when we meet God at death, the Holy Spirit is dwelling in us, but He cannot dwell in the unbeliever. That would be like pouring new wine into old wineskins (Mat 9-17). How could God let unbelieving man into His heaven who will not let the Holy Spirit into his heart, or how could God trust him to submit to His authority in eternity? (66h) Authority >> Jesus’ authority >> His cross is the power of God -- This verse goes with verses 25-29 (87m) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Committed to the word of God – We believe the Bible is God's truth, since there are no other competitive writings that come close to explaining Him. We believe God is the kind of person who would leave a record of Himself for us to follow, a written testimony of His dealings with man throughout the ages. (94f) Thy kingdom come >> God’s perspective >> His perspective on the gift of God -- This verse goes with verse 25 (96e) Thy kingdom come >> Attitude >> Positive attitude toward God >> Good attitude toward Jesus (111f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Word and the power (meaning) of God >> Word in obedience cannot evade the power of God (201f) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Jesus is an offense >> Jesus offends the world >> The cross offends the world -- This verse goes with verse 23. God was well pleased with the foolishness of the gospel that automatically screens people from heaven through their unbelief. Man rejects the gospel when it doesn’t fit with their sinful nature. God is well pleased that He didn’t have to judge the wicked, in that they have judged themselves unworthy of eternal life (Act 13-46). Those who believe the gospel modify their lives to accommodate the message, while those who don’t believe reject it, because it doesn’t fit in their secular, humanistic worldview, which is conveniently based on the elementary principles of their sinful nature that allows them to follow the inclinations of their flesh. Those who follow their sinful nature have no hope of the afterlife and fade into the eternal darkness and are lost forever. Once death claims them, they are unable to change, permanently fixed with no hope of repentance or opportunity to show a change of heart. (208a) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >> The kindness of God >> The cross KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 1,19-31 (84g) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> Boasting in men is not needed 1Cor 1,19-29 (22k) Sin >> Pride glorifies self >> Being wise in your own eyes – God made a written record in the Scriptures of all His words and deeds, detailing the manner in which He has related to mankind through Israel, and that record is foolishness to the world, yet the word of God makes it easy for His people to believe in Him. We not only have evidence of God in His word, we also have proof in the creation, so the world is without excuse. God has made foolish the wisdom of the world, starting with the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, who put themselves in charge of interpreting God's word, and accordingly missed the coming of their own messiah. Jesus completely undermined their wisdom, showing that they had come to all the wrong conclusions about virtually everything. God is doing the very same thing to the Church today. Are we wiser than the Pharisees? Maybe we too are wise only in our own eyes. (207f) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >> The Kingdom of God >> Children of God’s kingdom 1Cor 1,19-24 (95a) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective >> False perspective in the world 1Cor 1,19-23 (167g) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind does not receive the things of God >> It does not understand the word of God (195f) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Worshipping men >> Idolizing men 1Cor 1,19-21 (246i) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Demonstration of God’s kingdom >> God demonstrates His glory >> Demonstration of His words 1Cor 1,21-31 (77h) Thy kingdom come >> Tapping into the power of God through humility >> The high position of a humble servant – Not many important or talented people come to the Lord, for their giftedness becomes an impediment to believing in Jesus. Those who consider themselves wise think they are above Him. Instead, God has chosen the weak and foolish people of the world to shame the so-called “wise” and “strong.” 1Cor 1,21-24 (89j) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Jesus is the wisdom of God -- These verses go with verse 30. God filtered His elect from the world by sending Jesus Christ to save those who would receive Him by subjecting their sinful flesh to His will in order to serve Him. The wisdom of the world leads people to reject God, disseminated from the prince of the power of the air, from a spirit that corresponds with their corrupt nature. People are unwilling to subject their passions and desires and their addictions and bondages to the will of God, and they are unwilling to subject their philosophies and ideas and their attitudes and values to the wisdom of God. This is forthcoming when we talk to people about Jesus and discover their stubbornness, up-close and personal. Some will be honest and say they have a lifestyle they don’t want to sacrifice for the cause of Christ, and others will debate and argue according to the wisdom they received from the social malaise of this present darkness. Either way, to believe in a simple gospel about a loving God who wants to save them from their sins they consider trite and out-a-step with the world. Who then can be saved? "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Mat 19-25,26). KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 1,21-23 (156l) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Living an ungodly lifestyle >> Associating with the world (168f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world listens to itself >> The world receives itself 1Cor 1-21 (166a) Wisdom Of The World (Key verse) (217i) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> I never knew you >> Because you never knew Him (247j) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> God’s interests >> God’s interests are not man’s interests 1Cor 1-22 (132f) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> God gives his spirit as a pledge >> God pledges His Spirit 1Cor 1-23 (201f) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Jesus is an offense >> Jesus offends the world >> The cross offends the world -- This verse goes with verse 18 1Cor 1,24-29 (91i) Thy kingdom come >> The called >> God’s calling transcends the will of man >> We are called by God through His choice of us – God’s children are by no means the dregs of society or a hodgepodge of mentally challenged droolers, who can’t make a go of this world. On the contrary, many who are born of God never felt they had a place in this world or felt comfortable in their own skin, and for this reason they are Christians. Paul is saying that the Church is full of people who are dissatisfied with life and don’t see true meaning in the world and feel there is something bigger and better than what the world offers, and they sense that God is the solution to their quandary. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 1,25-31 (23f) Sin >> Poverty (Oppression) >> Rich are those who are poor in their own minds – The Bible says there will be a new heavens and a new earth, and it says that the New Jerusalem is a place of great splendor and glory, as Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many mansions," and so there is much wealth and glory in heaven, not because God values stuff, but because He is rich can afford it. Since most Multibillionaires in this world live in nice palaces, what kind of house does God have, who has only to imagine and speak it into being? It is unimaginably glorious because He is a great King, though He proved He doesn't need all that stuff when He came here and lived modestly among us. God is more than a trillionaire and more than a gazillionaire; He has nice things to be a good host to us and to mock the wicked, but He doesn’t personally value being wealthy. When Jesus came and lived among us, He revealed His true heart as He is also in heaven. He didn’t choose poverty as though He gravitated to it, but shared in our suffering and at the same time showed us His value system, revealing that He would rather have us than all the riches of heaven. The religious leaders considered Him a fool for having such power and not using it to exploit the people for personal gain, though they would have hated Him all the more for becoming rich and famous and stealing their pageantry. (64h) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Weaknesses of God >> God subjects himself to human frailty >> His weakness is stronger than men – The religious leaders who so often confronted Jesus considered Him foolish, because He was a miracle worker and drew large crowds, yet He lived in poverty. He associated with sinners (as they called them) and cared about the poor. He didn’t focus on things that the world values, such as power and prestige and has commanded us to live according to these same principles, which make us also appear foolish; hence, there are only two conditions that can exist in this world: either we are weak and foolish, or we are shamed by the weak and foolish, and either way there is no place for boasting. A result of the curse is that God appears weak and foolish, and the world is weak and foolish to God. It is only when we receive Him as Lord and savior and serve Him in Spirit and Truth that we see Him as Mighty God, acting by the principles of His character that make Him Lord of all creation. He flourished throughout eternity past and will preserve His kingdom in eternity future, for God is in it for the long haul. 1Cor 1,25-29 (66h) Authority >> Jesus’ authority >> His cross is the power of God -- These verses go with verse 18. Jesus is an example of someone weak and foolish in the eyes of the world, hanging Him on a cross as though from a lack of fortitude with natural selection weeding out another wimp. The Pharisees despised Jesus for having the power of healing in their hands and not using it to become filthy rich; had God endowed them with this gift, they would have sold His miracles and made a fortune. The people would have formed a line down the street and around the corner, giving their money to them, just like the doctors do today. Had Jesus done this, the Pharisees may have been jealous, but they would have at least respected Him as one of their own, but to give Himself freely to the people made Him incomprehensible to them like an alien from another planet, possibly best explaining why they hung Him on the cross. (71b) Authority >> Believer’s authority >> We have authority in the wisdom of God -- These verses go with verses 18-21 (112d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Jesus light in us overcomes darkness >> The light of His power 1Cor 1,25-28 (37i) Judgment >> Blood of Jesus >> He emptied Himself >> From equality with God to human frailty – Jesus performed His miracles for the poor and healed their bodies and revealed to everyone that He was no ordinary man. He got everyone’s attention through His miracles, then opened His mouth and spoke the word of God, so the people rejected Him in full knowledge, their sin fully defined, proving they valued the world more than they valued God. The religious leaders sought honor, posing as the greatest men of their time; meanwhile, people tried to make Jesus king, and He resisted their efforts (Jn 6-15). He was a fool in the eyes of the world, because He viewed their riches and glory with contempt. After His 3½-year ministry performing miracles, they figured He could perform one more and pop off the nails and jump to safety in perfect health, and when He died, they viewed Him with all the more contempt as a man who may have performed a few miracles and had a little insight into the Scriptures, but at His core He was weaker than them. When He rose from the dead, he never presented Himself alive to His enemies but showed Himself only to His followers who believed in Him, 500 witnesses at one time (1Cor 15-6). (96h) Thy kingdom come >> Attitude >> Having an attitude of humility KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 1-25 (64g) Weakness of God (Key verse) (94f) Thy kingdom come >> God’s perspective >> His perspective on the gift of God -- This verse goes with verse 18. God's foolishness is wiser than men, and His weakness is stronger than men. Jesus not only came in the weakness of human flesh, He also came in the foolishness of the gospel, operating under God’s so-called inferior principles, appearing weaker than His enemies. When God invited us to become citizens of a heavenly city, He also called us to be sheep in the midst of wolves. Jesus lived for thirty-three years as a sheep among wolves, coming in weakness to demonstrate the love of God, and He has called us to do likewise. This love, appeared weak and foolish compared to the laws of nature that normally wins in the end. What is stronger, a lion that tears apart a gazelle, or Jesus who rose from the dead, never to die again? To us who believe, the gospel of Christ is the power of God, because it holds promise for the resurrection from the dead, and death is the one obstacle that man can never hurtle without Christ. Man can solve many problems, but he cannot solve the problem of his own mortality that has plagued him since the Garden debacle. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 1,26-31 (56k) Paradox >> Opposites >> Least are gre atest >> Smallest in the eyes of men are big to God – The Pharisees considered Jesus a fool for not converting His miraculous powers into a money making scheme, which is what they would have done. They had to get rid of Him, for He was a threat to the persona they expected the people to believe about them, and He was a threat to their business of religion, but in the end His kingdom will reign forever, and we will reign with Him in glory. No one can boast before God, not the contrite, for they have no interest, and not the proud, the opportunity taken from them. 1Cor 1,26-29 (62o) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Righteous deception >> God deceives the world – God puts His Spirit in little people and they do big things. They go unnoticed like insects that are a world unto themselves, so is the Church a kingdom unto itself, working under the feet of the mighty and the noble to keep the world from annihilating itself. The Church is able to accomplish many things before it is noticed, and the world is better for it, the momentum having already shifted in our favor before the world has a chance to react. Jesus is the creator of the universe, Israel’s Messiah, the Son of God, the greatest man to have ever lived, but while He lived in the flesh, he went unnoticed, and so the people in His hometown who knew Him from infancy could not accept that He was able to perform miracles, though they were eye witnesses of His eloquence and wisdom. They could not fathom where He got His abilities, because of His anonymity. He was born in a stable and lived in Galilee, having grown into manhood without anyone noticing Him, unassuming in appearance and behavior. All his relatives and neighbors familiar with Jesus were offended at Him, thinking they knew Him, but they knew only what they wanted to know. In that way God deceived them to discount His Son, small and insignificant, and in this way so is the Church. Nobody knows the potential of a Christian, except those who know and love God. We know our potential to be a blessing and our ability to change the world in ways nobody else can. This age of grace has continued for 2000 years and man has not destroyed himself because of the Church. We are the salt of the earth, the preservative of the world for those who refuse to have a conscience of their own. (94a) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective on this life >> It is our investment in the Kingdom of God – The cross of Jesus Christ undermined the world and poured contempt on all its strength, wisdom and authority that it uses to prove its greatness. Man uses his wisdom to explain God's absence, and when He appeared, he used his violence to hang Him on a cross. All man accomplished was to fulfill God’s predetermined plan, so now anyone who believes in Jesus’ blood sacrifice may have eternal life. Man’s satanically driven ambition to lay their hands on Jesus was based on God's permission, which man interpreted as weakness. Man receives his wisdom from Satan, who attempted to overpower God by nailing Him to a tree to prove he was greater than God, but it was a divine trap designed for the Satan's downfall and for man's salvation. Rom 8-3 says, “As an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh.” It was God’s intended plan from the beginning. He knew that giving man free will would result in rebellion against Him, and He knew that in his rebellion he would kill His Son, and He determined before creating the heavens and the earth that anyone who would believe in His blood sacrifice would be grounds for healing their relationship with God. In this way God destroyed man's strength through weakness; in His most vulnerable position God made foolish the wisdom of the world. His eternal purpose was demonstrated that he should not accept anyone in His kingdom who feels he deserves to be there. Consequently, to partake of Jesus’ sacrifice, we must divest our pride, confess our sins and realize that if it weren’t for Jesus no one would go to heaven. (219b) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> The elect >> Man is a spectator of his own salvation >> Man is not in control of God’s calling 1Cor 1-27 (153k) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Shame >> Living for Jesus exposes sin >> Your walk with God puts others to shame 1Cor 1-30 (41g) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> God’s righteousness is His doing (89j) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Jesus is the wisdom of God -- This verse goes with verses 21-24 (117e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Rest in Jesus (Sabbath) >> Let Jesus do the work >> Let Him work on you (191g) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Set apart >> God sanctifies us by His doing – When a person wants to get saved, she asks the Lord in her heart and is born-again to eternal salvation, and from that moment the process of sanctification begins, which is defined as salvation in this life. The Bible teaches that if we are unwilling to let God save us in this life, then neither are we saved in the life to come. Nevertheless, many Christians these days interpret salvation as having permission to live however they want while God sanctifies them, but this is self-contradictory and some of the worst theology ever devised. We would hardy find a Christian who would admit they believe this, yet most Christians live this way, meaning they believe this on some level. God orchestrates our sanctification, but we are the ones following Him with our feet on the ground running into the fray. Whatever God commands, we obey, and by that we are sanctified, set apart from the world to do the Lord's work. In the process of sanctification Paul said we become wisdom from God, righteousness and redemption. Eph 2-10, speaks about doing the works that God has prepared for us, which is the concept of sanctification, possibly the poorest understood teaching of the Bible, yet the most popular teaching is in Eph 2-8,9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” By this we think works are of no use, and so we discount all teachings that prescribe having good works, but Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5-20). He didn’t raise the bar very high telling us that we need to be better than law-breakers who were utterly corrupt. Nevertheless, putting these two teachings together we get Eph 2,8-10, ‘By the righteousness of God we obtain heavenly salvation through grace, leading to an earthly salvation through sanctification. See next page