Bible

In the Bible room today, we begin reading the book of I Corinthians. Here is Session 1, the summaries of chapters 1 and 2.

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I Corinthians

Session 1

Introduction:

Writer: Paul, the Apostle, along with Sosthenes, a fellow believer. It is thought that Sosthenes penned the words dictated by Paul.

Scope: This is a letter from Paul to the church at Corinth, about which he  had received word that there were several issues, or questions, in the church which he thought it necessary for him to address.

Probably written around AD 54 while he was staying in Ephesus during his first journey as an itinerant missionary. This was not the first of the four letters he wrote to the Corinthians, but it was labeled as such when the canon we have now was assembled.

Chapter 1. Redeemed

Paul, by the will of God, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ,

• With our brother Sosthenes, to the believers in Christ Jesus
• At the church in Corinth, including all the people who are set
• Apart as saints: Grace to you, and the peace of God, our
• Father and the Lord Jesus Christ;
• I am always thanking my God for you, and for God’s grace
• Which you have received from Christ Jesus, and how He has
• Blessed you with knowledge, speaking ability, and other gifts;
• You have proven how eagerly you have accepted Him as He
• Has been revealed to you, and He will continue with you, and
• Find you faultless at the day of His coming; God called you to
• Become a believer in His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord;
• Now, my brothers, I am begging you, in the name of Jesus, that
• You all unite in sharing the same testimony–that there be no
• Divisiveness among you—that you will all be joined in the
• Same mind and judgement;
• My brothers, word has come to me from those in Chloe’s house
• That there is quarreling among you; Some of you are saying,
• “I am following Paul,” or “I am following Apollos,” or “I am
• Following Cephas,” or “I am following Christ;” Do you think
• Christ is separated like this? Did Paul suffer on the cross for
• You, or were you baptized in Paul’s name? Among you, I have
• Baptized Crispus and Gaius, and those in the house of
• Stephanas, and I do not remember if there were others;
• But please do not say that I baptized anyone in my own name;
• Christ has not called me to baptize, but only to preach the
• Gospel; And I never have used confusing words that would
• Cause any misunderstandings; Although, the meaning of the
• Cross cannot be understood by those who will never believe,
• To us who are believers it is the power of God; For it is
• Written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;’
• Where is the wise man, the educated, the debater of society?
• God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish; The
• World, with all its wisdom, could not know God, so He had a
• Simple message preached that people could understand and
• Believe; The Jews have tried to know God through some
• Miracle, and the Greeks have tried to find Him in their great
• Education, but the message we preach is simply about Christ
• And His crucifixion; To the Jews this has proven to be so simple
• It has become like a stone that they stumble over, and so it is so
• Simple the Gentiles call it ‘Foolish;’
• But to those who believe, both the Jews and the Greeks, Christ
• Is the power and the knowledge of God, for in Him even simple
• Things exceed the knowledge of men, and the least of His
• Power is greater than that of men;
• Brothers, consider those among you who have become
• Believers; You can see that there are only a few that are highly
• Educated, or in positions of authority, or among the aristocrats;
• For God has chosen ordinary things to confuse most of those
• Types of people, and weaker things to overcome the powerful;
• He accepts the insignificant, undesirable things of the world,
• And He can also create things from nothing, or reduce things to
• Nothing as He chooses, so that no man can take credit for the
• Things done by God; But now, you are the blessed of God
• Through Christ Jesus, and through Him we can live rightly as
• We have been set apart, redeemed, and we can be greatly
• Satisfied in our relationship with the Lord.

Chapter 2. Prepared

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with great speaking ability,

• Or any special knowledge of the world; I came to deliver to you
• The truth of God which you did not know about; I presented
• Nothing else except Jesus Christ and His crucifixion; I came to
• You in fear, I was so fearful I was trembling, but I did not come
• To deceive you, only to preach to you with simple words to
• Show the power of the Spirit; That power is the source of your
• Faith that does not come from the wisdom of the world;  
• Even when we speak to mature believers, we do not talk about
• The knowledge of the world, but we are able to go further into
• The mystery of God, how He predetermined His plan to bless
• His people long before time began; The rulers of this world
• Have never tried to know God, or to learn of His plan for them,
• For if they had they would not have crucified Jesus;
• It is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered
• Into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for
• Those who love Him; But we now know these things because
• God has shown them to us by His Spirit; And only His Spirit
• Knows all the deepest things of God; And we have received the
• Spirit of God that we might know all these things because He
• Has freely given them to us; These are the spiritual things of
• Which we speak that the natural man, in the wisdom of the
• World, cannot understand; But we have been given the mind
• Of Christ that we may be able to discern spiritual things.

End of Session 1 of the book of I Corinthians.