To
the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to
be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ-their Lord and ours:
Grace
and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I
always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in
him you have been enriched in every way – in all your speaking and in all your
knowledge – because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore
you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus
Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be
blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into
fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
I
appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you
agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you
may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s
household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is
this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I
follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
Is
Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of
Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,
so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized
the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone
else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel-not with
words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
For
the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us
who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
“I
will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will
frustrate.”
Where
is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age?
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of
God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the
foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand
miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a
stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God
is stronger than man’s strength.
Brothers,
think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human
standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God
chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak
things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this
world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things
that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you
are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-that is, our
righteousness, holiness and redemption.
Therefore,
as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
This
was one of the most welcoming churches. We were early and appreciated the time for
longer conversations.
There
were a few Christmas trees, but I couldn’t find a cross anywhere. I thought it
was smart to bring my earplugs, but the acoustic ceiling kept the music from
being too loud.
Looking
around I noticed that I was again the old man in worship; this happens often.
Most of the praise songs were ones I had no memory of hearing before, but with
a lot of repetition.
The
message was on 1 Corinthians 1, and I thought it was an insightful look at this
passage of Scripture. The pastor explained a lot of what was going on in modern
terms to which the congregation could relate.
The
Greeks were known to themselves as thinkers and were trying to intellectualize
their way to Christ. I have known many “thinkers” who struggle with this.
I did
get to pray for the church during a few songs following the sermon. I had hoped
to lay hands and pray for the pastor but the opportunity slipped away.
Today’s
visit was déjà vu for me, as this was the very location of my first job. Back
then it was a business office, so of course it looks very different than I
remember it, and I like it much better. It’s been transformed into a beautiful
worship space, including thoughtfully designed classrooms for the children’s
ministry.
From
the moment we walked in we were greeted by one person after another, (the first
of whom pointed out the restrooms before we asked); we were engaged in
conversation, and made to feel cordially welcome.
After
looking around, I was offered a cup of coffee and we found seats in the
sanctuary. The comfortable chairs were spaced to provide ample legroom, and the
volume of the music was just fine.
The
praise band consisted of a drummer, two vocalists, three guitarists (one
guitarist provided the lead vocals), and all were joined later by a violist.
The
practice here is for the pastor to teach through books of the Bible, and today
was week one with 1 Corinthians. He pointed out that Paul wrote this letter 3-5
years after planting the church at Corinth, the members of this faith community
had been influenced by the prevailing culture and now believed themselves wise
and spiritual, but in fact had moved far from the faith in Christ they had been
taught and were actually ungodly. Since love does not ignore sin, Paul responded
to their issues and questions via this letter.
The
Corinthians had come to think too highly of themselves and too little of God…to
them, pride was a virtue and self-esteem was a right. (By this time a loud bell
was ringing for me…it sounds just like our current culture.)
The
pastor reminded that all we are and all we have is because of Jesus; we are
redeemed and rescued by, in, and through Him; we are broken sinners, and if we
derive our identity from anyone or anything besides Jesus, it is idolatry. It
is all about Him. He rescued people with issues.
And
thank God, He still does.
Holy Lord, help us remember that no one is great…whatever we are or become is due to Your grace. We give You thanks for the blessings You have heaped upon us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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