1 CORINTHIANS
(Answers)
(Updated
02/2024)
CHAPTER 1
- There were contentions among
the people because some thought they were more secure or superior than
others because of who may have taught them or baptized them.
- God did not choose many wise,
mighty, or noble to do His work but chosen the foolish, the meek, and the
base so that no flesh can glorify them.
- Jesus came to teach and show
us the mind of God. He received this word and knowledge from God. He became wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption
over death and sin.
CHAPTER 2
- Paul preached Jesus Christ
and Him crucified.
- Paul used no persuasive
words of wisdom but was led by the power of the Spirit.
- We have like spirits and
know the nature of man by our human spirit in each of us.
- By God's Spirit, which He
gives us, we will know the things of God. The Spirit helps us to learn and
obey God.
- The natural spirit of man
cannot understand the spiritual things of God.
CHAPTER 3
- The solid food are teachings
that sanctify a believer and make him more like Christ. The teachings of
milk are general in knowledge and are good for conviction and conversion
to Christianity.
- The servants of God plant the
word while God will give us the understanding and growth.
- We are rewarded according to
the type of work we do for the Lord. One will ready the field; another may
plant the seed; while another will maintain the field or teach the church.
Each has their purpose.
- We should be careful in what
we teach. It must be true (not a man-made doctrine) and useful for growth
of the believer.
- These are the different
levels and accuracy of teachings. The gold being the deepest and most
valuable teachings for the growth, faith, and strength of the believer.
The wood, hay, and straw are the more shallow teachings or are from human
wisdom and will not help the believer grow in sanctification and maintain
a righteous walk.
- One who builds on the
foundation will either have believers who remain strong and faithful and
produce fruit in the kingdom or they will have believers who are fruitless
in the kingdom (and who may stumble and fall or even reject their faith).
- a. One who teaches false
doctrines or avoids the absolute truth of God that would help believers to
avoid sin or remove it from their life is destroying the temple of God. b.
God will destroy those who try to destroy the place He now dwells in by
His Spirit.
CHAPTER 4
- Paul wanted to be viewed as
only servants of the word of God. Paul also did not want to be judged as
good by them. They did not know his heart as well as God. God would judge
him at the end.
- As a steward of God we must
be devoted and faithful in the faith, doing what God wills and living as
God wills.
- The church had become
arrogant and self-confident in their cliques.
- The Corinthians never faced
the persecution and suffering that Paul and the other apostles went
through.
- Paul brought the word to
them first and instructed them in the ways of the Lord. He was their
spiritual father.
- Paul sent Timothy who would
remind them of Paul's ways in Christ. He would lead them back a humble
mind so Paul would not have to speak and discipline them harshly.
CHAPTER 5
- Sexual immorality was in the
church.
- The church is to shun the
sinner from the church so that he may fall into misery because of his sin
and so, perhaps his fleshly sinful desire would be destroyed and his soul
could be saved.
- a. The church felt excluded
from the sin because it was someone else sinning, not them. b. Paul
included them in the sin because they let the sin stay in the church. A
little evil has made them all evil because they have not removed it from
among them.
- Anyone who claimed to be a
believer but was committing or passionate about a sin, we should not
associate with them.
- We can judge a brother if
they are in sin. We must admonish them first (James 5:19,20; 2 Thes.
3:14,15). Then if they still will not repent of the sin we are to shun
them from our association.
CHAPTER 6
- We should settle disputes
between ourselves or before other believers.
- The souls of the lost will be
justly judged by the lives of the saints.
- All things are lawful for us
but not profitable (vs.12). We should accept a wrong done to us since we
have wrong others ourselves. God will be the ultimate judge and righter of
wrongs. However, brothers and sisters in Christ should be able to
reconcile their differences between themselves.
- Homosexuals have no part in
the kingdom of heaven
- We should dedicate our bodies
to God. We were bought at the price of His son. God's Spirit is in us. We
should not defile His Spirit by adjoining any immorality to our bodies.
CHAPTER 7
- To avoid sexual immorality
due to lustful inclinations we should have our own spouse.
- a. A spouse is not to
withhold their body from the other. b. When a couple commits to a time of
fasting and prayer for the Lord they can deprive themselves of sexual
activity.
- A husband and wife must not
depart from each other but remain married. If they do depart they must
remain unmarried and try to reconcile.
- Do not divorce the
unbelieving spouse. You sanctify the unbeliever because you are one flesh
and your children will be sanctified also.
- You are not in bondage or do
not have to submit to an unbelieving spouse. Let them depart to avoid
fights and contention and perhaps to have a chance for reconciliation. If
they afterwards commit adultery you will not be bound to the marriage.
- An unmarried person will care
more about the things of the Lord and how they may please Him.
CHAPTER 8
- Believers should not let
their knowledge and liberties in the Lord become a stumbling block for the
weaker brother. They should consider the conscience of the less
knowledgeable.
- We must consider the level
of understanding of the less knowledgeable brother and do not do things in
front of him he may consider wrong. He may believe it is permitted to do
things because he is following your example.
CHAPTER 9
- Paul defended their liberty
and privilege as an apostle.
- The teachers should be able
to receive material needs if they have sown the spiritual needs of the
people. Those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.
- Paul can boast he preached
the gospel willingly and for free.
- They who ministered in the
temple ate of what was brought to the temple. (The same principle applies
to the teacher and the people.)
- a. Paul was free but enslaved
himself to others to teach them the gospel and never sought any form of
payment. He worked with the level of their beliefs and knowledge whether
Jew or Gentile. b. Paul did not make the Jews forsake the law nor force
the Gentiles to follow the law.
- Paul’s reward would be nothing
if he preached unwillingly. It would then be out of obligation.
- Our race is to discipline our
lives for salvation and consider the interests of the weaker brother. The
prize is a saved soul.
- a. Paul disciplined his body
and brought it into subjection to God’s will. By proper example he walks
the walk that he teaches. b. Paul feared he could be disqualified. C. Paul
was afraid that he should be disapproved, rejected, cast off; that it
would appear, after all, he was unfit to enter into heaven. (Because of
the cliques and liberties of the Corinthians, Paul implies he must have
earnest, self-denying watchfulness over himself, even with all his labors
for others, to make his own calling sure, so much more the same is needed
by the Corinthians, instead of exercising their liberties and establishing
cliques).
CHAPTER 10
- a. Israel followed Moses and
did as he instructed because he had the spiritual food and drink of God.
b. The wording in the Greek is 'the spiritual food and drink followed the
Rock'. c. The Rock was Moses who (like Christ) was the anointed messenger
of God. He had the words and authority given to him by God to lead and
instruct the people. They followed that ‘Rock.’
- The things that happened to
Israel were written for our instruction. We learned what God expects and
what happens when we do not obey, depend on, and honor Him. We should be
wiser in our walk with God.
- Let him who thinks he stands
take heed lest he fall. We must be guarded against sin for we could be
tempted or influenced into sin causing us to fall from righteousness.
- God does not allow you to be
tempted by more than you can resist or overcome. He will also provide a
way to escape the temptation.
- Seek the well being of
others. A knowledgeable believer must be careful not to partake of
anything that a less knowledgeable believer may think is sinful. You may
weaken him or cause him to sin.
CHAPTER 11
- a. God is the head of
Christ. b. Jesus is the head of man. c. A man is the head of a woman.
- a. A man dishonors Jesus by
not living by the will of Jesus. He is not submissive to the Spirit of
Jesus. b. A woman dishonors a man when she is not submissive to the
authority of a man. c. Man has authority over a woman because a woman was
made from man and for man. Also, the ministering angels react to the
leadership of the man, not the woman.
- Man is the image of God
because he was made in the image of God. Woman was made from man, she is
the image and glory of man.
- We should be holy and
reverent when observing the Lord’s Supper. We must not be looking for a
meal or eat like gluttons or drink as drunkards. It is not a feast but a
memorial of Christ.
- God chastens us so we will
be corrected and not condemned with the world.
CHAPTER 12
- The manifestation of the
gifts of the believers is for the benefit of all.
- The believers and their
gifts make up the whole body of the church, which is the body of Christ.
- The body is one and has many
(diverse) members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are
one body. They become a unified body of Christ.
CHAPTER 13
- The gift of love given to
one another makes one perfect.
- Other gifts are temporary
and can be forgotten by those who receive them. The gift of love has the
potential to have a permanent effect. When you show love to someone it is
not easily forgotten. It is a gift that comes from the heart and goes to a
heart.
- Each gift is not given to
every person. Each person has his own gift. Even at our best we are only
given what God wills us to have.
- The gifts are temporary but
the perfect gift is love. God’s love for all people should be in each of
us for others. As we mature we will grow to love others with the love that
God has.
- We are still seeing and
knowing as a child. However, when we have at last attained to "the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 3:14) we
will know how to love with God’s love just as we know He loves us.
CHAPTER 14
- a. Prophesying is better
thaan speaking in tongues. b. By prophesying, others are edified and
comforted and the church is built up.
- No one will understand or
learn from what one speaks in tongues.
- The purpose of tongues at
that time was to reach people outside the church (in their language) to
convince them of the reality of God.
- An unbeliever will hear and
understand prophesying. He will be convicted and convinced.
- a. Two or three at most,
should speak in tongues publicly and then one at a time. b. An interpreter
should speak for the person speaking in tongues or that person should also
interpret his words.
- Women were to keep silent
and learn from their husbands (or fathers) at home.
CHAPTER 15
- a. We should hold fast to
the gospel of Christ. b. If we accept the gospel only temporarily or only
in part we will have believed in vain. We will miss out on eternal life.
- Some Corinthians were
saying there was no resurrection of the dead therefore making their faith
and hope empty.
- We believe and hope that we
will be raised from the dead just as was Christ.
- The resurrection from the
dead began with Jesus, then those who die in Christ, after that, those who
are His when He returns.
- a. All things are in
subjection to Christ. We especially are subject to Him b. Jesus is in
subjection to God.
- Some were keeping company
with those who did not know the gospel and were being corrupted by them.
- Our bodies will be raised
an incorruptible spiritual body
- a. At the sound of the last
trumpet when Jesus returns a second time. The dead will rise first then we
who remain shall be taken (1 Th. 4:16-17). b. In a moment, like the twinkling of an eye, we will
be taken.
- If we are not to be
resurrected then there is no reason to spread the gospel!
CHAPTER 16
- According to how each one
prospered they were to store up a gift at the beginning of the week for
the saints in Jerusalem.
- a. We should still give
today. b. We should give to any church or saint in need.
- Pricilla and Aquila held
church in their house.