1 Corinthians CHAPTER 1 PAUL, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 To 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:
3 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5 That in every thing you are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
7 So that you come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
8 Who shall also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called to the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it has been declared to me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you says, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; 15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
SPRINGBOARDS FOR PREACHING AND WITNESSING 1:18 The Sinking Ship Imagine for a moment that you are standing on the seashore gazing at a large ocean liner.
The sun is shining. There is no wind and the sea is calm. To your amazement, about thirty people suddenly dive off the end of the ship and cling to a lifeboat.
You shake your head in disbelief at their foolishness. Then without warning, the great ocean liner strikes an iceberg and suddenly sinks, taking all on board with it.
Those who looked like fools in abandoning the ship were actually wise, and those who seemed wise by staying on board were, in truth, fools.
The world scoffs at those who abandon the ship of this world and cling to the lifeboat of the Savior. But Christians know that this great pleasure-cruiser will eventually come into contact with the immovable iceberg of the Law of God, sink into hell ... and take all those on board with it.
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but to us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumblingblock, and to the Greeks foolishness; 24 But to them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
POINTS FOR OPEN-AIR PREACHING 2:4 Watch for "Red Herrings" or "Rabbit Trails"
The Bible warns us to avoid foolish questions because they start arguments (2 Timothy 2:23). Most of us have fallen into the trap of jumping at every objection to the gospel. However, these questions can often be arguments in disguise to sidetrack you from the "weightier matters of the Law."
While apologetics (arguments for God's existence, creation vs. evolution, etc.) are legitimate in evangelism, they should merely be "bait," with the Law of God being the "hook" that brings the conviction of sin.
Those who witness solely in the realm of apologetical argument may just get an intellectual decision rather than a repentant conversion. The sinner may come to a point of acknowledging that the Bible is the Word of God, and Jesus is Lord—but even the devil knows that.
Always pull the sinner back to his responsibility before God on Judgment Day, as Jesus did in Luke 13:1–5. Whenever you are in an open-air situation, be wary of socalled Christians who are intent on distracting workers from witnessing. They argue about prophecy, of how much water one should baptize with, or in whose name they should be baptized. It is grievous to see five or six
Christians standing around arguing with some sectarian nitpicker, while sinners are sinking into hell. See Acts 21:30 comment.
26 For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen, yes, and things which are not, to bring to nothing things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
30 But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made to us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
31 That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.
1:18 "To convince the world of the truth of Christianity, it must first be convinced of sin.
It is only sin that renders Christ intelligible."
Andrew Murray, The Spirit of Christ 1:23 There were some in John Wesley's day who refused to preach the Law to bring the knowledge of sin. They justified their method by saying that they preached "Christ and Him crucified." So Wesley points to Paul's method of preaching Christ crucified:
"...when Felix sent for Paul, on purpose that he might 'hear him concerning the faith in Christ;' instead of preaching Christ in your sense (which would probably have caused the Governor, either to mock or to contradict and blaspheme,) 'he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come,' till Felix
(hardened as he was) 'trembled,' (Acts 24:24,25). Go thou and tread in his steps.
Preach Christ to the careless sinner, by reasoning 'of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come!'" John Wesley 1:25 "Everything that can be invented has been invented." Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899
1:27,28 Many years ago, I ran a children's club. At the end of the club I told about one hundred kids to line up for some candy. There was an immediate rush, and the line sorted itself into what I saw as being a line of greed.
The bigger, selfish kids were at the front, and the small and timid ones were at the back. I then did something that gave me great satisfaction. I told them to turn about face.
Everyone did. Then I said to stay where they were, and I took great delight in going to the other end of the line and giving the candy to the smaller, timid kids first.
In a world where the rich get richer and the poor get stomped on, we are informed that