1 Corinthians 1

Introduction

• What is something you own? How does your interest in something change if you own it?

• Ownership tends to be a big deal, people treat what they own with a lot of respect. People have a vested interest in what they own. Similarly, God has a vested interest in His church.

Lesson

Greetings

Paul: God’s man (V1)

• What aspects of his own life does Paul choose to highlight in his greeting?
  • An apostle was an eye-witness to the risen Lord and the word αποστολος carries the idea of a messenger. The idea here is that Paul was an eye-witness to the risen Lord and specifically commissioned for service to the gentiles. A natural question is when did Paul actually see Jesus? The answer comes from Acts 9:1-7, 1 Cor. 9:1, and Gal 1:12.
  • Paul was called to be an Apostle. It is significant that Paul did not choose to be an Apostle. The call to serve Christ in this role was impossible to refuse.

The Corinthians: God’s church (V2)

• What characteristics of the church does Paul highlight in his introduction?

-Of God -Sanctified in Christ -Called saints -Part of a larger body

Thanksgiving

• The object of thanks: God (V4)

-Specifically, God’s abundant grace

Paul’s Response to Reports

A Church Divided

• The Plea (V10)
• What plea does Paul make in verse 10?

The problem (V11-13)

• What problem does Paul describe in verse 11?
• What specific problem is brought up in verse 12?

The Solution: the gospel

• The wisdom of the gospel and the world
• The gospel contradicts worldly wisdom because of the foolishness of the cross.

How is the gospel described in verses 18-25?

• “The message of the Cross” is the message of self-renunciation, of obedience to God which may lead as it did in Jesus’ case to humiliation and death, but which ultimately leads not to self-destruction but to preservation (Mark 8:34–35) and exaltation (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 22:5).
• The gospel contradicts world wisdom because of the foolish followers. (V26-31)

Why do you suppose God chooses to work through the foolish and weak?

• The gospel contracts worldly wisdom because of its foolish preaching (2:1-5)
• Why is it important that we recognize the human imperfections of our spiritual leaders?

Application

How would we score in each of the following?

• The church is all about God, not about us.
• The message must be about the Cross, not about us.
• Out boasting must be in the Lord, not in us.

David K. Lowery, “1 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 509.