Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age knew it. For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:7-10)

Chapter two Paul starts off by stating clearly the original reason he had come to Corinth: to proclaim Jesus crucified. To give the gospel message. He didn’t use a lot of fancy words. He wasn’t the best orator. He was focused on the TRUTH. He spoke with wisdom because God GAVE wisdom and gives wisdom. Paul received – and we all receive – these revelations not from the world, but from the Spirit of God. We are not stuck in the patterns of the world. We can renew ourselves and our minds because through Holy Spirit we have access to the mind of Jesus Himself.

Chapter three is a plea for the believers in Corinth to understand what their identity is. They are not followers of Paul or Apollos, but of Jesus. Fellow brothers and sisters in Jesus. Fellow labourers not only with each other, but with Holy Spirit and Jesus. It is by grace that ANYONE has the privilege to preach and work for Jesus. And it is on God’s foundation that we all labour. No one person or school of thought outside of Jesus was anything special. In fact, it was better to be foolish of the world’s thinking and wise to God’s. Every believer belonged to Jesus and Jesus alone.

Chapter four is an exposition about the role of an apostle’s ministry – whether it was Paul’s, Apollos’, or Peter’s. They were stewards of God’s wisdom. Of His teaching. And they were called to be faithful to it. Paul didn’t want anyone to become arrogant toward anyone else. No one was better than anyone else. Besides that, Paul pointed out that the life of an apostle was fraught with hardship because the world tried to kill the message by attacking the messengers. Paul wished maturity for them, but not for them to try and rise up to claim an office that wasn’t always pleasant. He spoke to them as a father seeking good things for his children. Paul warned them about getting full of themselves. He told them that he WAS coming to them and to ask themselves a question: would he come with a rod of discipline or flowers of fellowship?

Chapter five is a long discourse about immorality. It stands just as much for today as it did in Paul’s day. It does NOT MATTER what WE think of something. It matters what GOD thinks of something. And when you encounter something that is contrary to what God says is right – no matter how much you like it, how it feels, what anyone else says about it, what you think about it, or if you believe you have justification for it – you are to RUN from it. Especially sexual immorality which damages us inside more than anything else – even killing. He is not speaking in judgment, but encouraging them to look within themselves and choose not to let even a little corruption remain. To lean on Holy Spirit and get it all out. It only takes a very little to spoil a whole.

Chapter six makes two points. First, he felt that the believers were not walking in love one to another. They were not dealing with each other, but taking each other to the public law courts. They weren’t working out their problems, they were embracing litigiousness. They could EASILY seek solutions to their issues based on the Word, the input of the elders of the church, or Holy Spirit . We were ALL justified by Jesus, so we should not let petty disputes get between us. The second thing Paul addresses were their bodies themselves. This is connected to other immorality, but the basic point is that if we were saved by Jesus and washed clean, we now OWE it to Jesus to do right with what He has purified. We were bought with a price. We are not our own. Because of that, we need to align ourselves with God’s moral character and not OUR moral character. We need to glorify God with ALL aspects of our lives, not just the pretty bits.

Summary

Key Players: God, Jesus, Paul, Apollos

Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 2:10-16; 3:16-21; 4:1-7; 5:6-11; 6:18-20