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Apostle Paul Brings God to the Corinthian Church
Apostle Paul Brings God to the Corinthian Church
Book of 1 Corinthians
Last time we examined Paul’s epistles of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, which he penned while teaching at the church of Corinth.
https://godcherishesyou.com/do-you-know-the-signs-of-jesus-return/
This begins the apostle Paul’s ‘Third Missionary Journey’ in 52-57 A.D., when he penned his epistle, 1 Corinthians. It had become a Roman colony in 27 B.C.
Paul then journeys back to the Gentile church in Antioch, accompanied by two disciples, Aquila, and his wife Priscilla. During that trip, they spent a few days in Ephesus (a Hellenist city located in modern-day Turkey, which was the second-largest Roman outpost).
The apostle left his disciples at Ephesus, and he finished his journey to Antioch – where he was re-commissioned again by the church, to revisit all the churches he had previously founded. This would constitute his third missionary journey.
When Paul completed this mission, he returned to Ephesus, whereupon God moved mightily through him:
God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled. Ac. 19:11, 12. NLT
Witnessing these miracles Paul performed, seven faithless Jewish brothers tried to drive evil spirits out of a man, so that they could get the glory. You can just bet that they soiled themselves when one of the demons addressed them directly:
“I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul – but who are you?” Ac. 19:15 CS
Immediately, the demon-possessed man overpowered the seven brothers. The news of this event spread like wildfire – brining greater glory and validity to the authenticity of Jesus’ ministry through Paul.
Paul spent three fruitless months in Ephesus, trying to bring the Gospel to the Jews, but they would not accept / believe it. So, he turned his efforts solely to the Gentiles in Ephesus. He remained in that city for three additional years:
So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect. Ac. 19:20 NLT
During this time, the apostle Mark writes the first Gospel of Jesus Christ, while Paul simultaneously writes a letter to the church in Corinth. (It’s amazing to see the revelatory breadth and depth Christ gave the apostle Paul before the written Gospels were even made available).
The town of Corinth was laid to rubble in 146 B.C, when the Corinthians tried to revolt against Roman rule. In Paul’s time it was a wealthy trading center with a population of 60K+.
However, the Corinthians were famous for their immoral behavior and arrogance.
God never teaches confusion, but His human creations are very adept at it. Self-aggrandizers within the church had thrown it into complete disarray. They consisted of subgroups within the laity – each of them claiming that the leader of their group was superior to the other group leaders.
Worse, the church was incorporating pagan practices within the worship services – including idol worship and temple prostitution.
When Paul received reports regarding all this degradation, he sent the church a letter to shepherd them back into godly ways. Unfortunately, this letter was lost to history. Paul then sent Timothy to give him a clearer picture of this debacle.
Timothy sent Paul a letter saying that the church in Corinth had misconstrued his instructions. So, Paul sent a second letter, which we now know as the Bible book of 1 Corinthians. It was a strong letter of ‘loving corrections.’
Paul begins his letter by reminding the church that he had already fully equipped them with God’s instructions for living a godly life:
I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. Through him, God has enriched your church in every way – with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true.
Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Cor. 1:4 – 9. NLT
Well equipped, yes; but now he addressed the disunity within the church:
I appeal to you…by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 1 Cor. 1:10 NLT
Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.’ Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I only follow Christ.”
Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! 1 Cor. 1:12, 13. NLT
Apollos was a highly skilled Christian orator. What Paul is hammering home here, is that it is the message, the word of God that is important, not the messenger. Our focus should center itself on Jehovah and His redemptive work through Christ Jesus, and on doing our best witnessing of the Gospel with the same exactitude:
For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News – and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.
The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 1 Cor. 1:17, 18. NLT
When you have God in your heart through Christ Jesus, (not through something man has done or thought), the Holy Spirit will open your eyes and the Bible will come alive for you:
So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 1 Cor. 1:20 NLT
As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.” 1 Cor. 1:29 – 31. NLT (see also Jr. 9:24)
The message is to remain humble; and Paul leads by example:
I came to you in weakness – timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would not trust in human wisdom but in the power of God. 1 Cor. 2:3 – 5. NLT
Paul then describes what a God-powered delivery of His word looks like and how to get it:
Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of the world, who are soon forgotten.
No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God – his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began.
But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 1 Cor. 2:6 – 8. NLT
This is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. 1 Cor. 2:9 – 12. NLT (see also Is. 64:4)
So, it is by embracing our spirit, which is connected to God’s Spirit, that the revelation of God’s word is given to us. Yet, why does most of the people in this world not see this?
Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, “Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?”
But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor. 2:15, 16. NLT
Unbelievers don’t get it because they deny their spiritual side. Thus, they cannot connect to Christ or to the Holy Spirit.
Paul then emphasizes the ultimate importance of recognizing that only Jehovah can give us spiritual understanding – regardless of the messenger He sends it through:
After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seeds in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 1 Cor. 3:5 – 7. NLT
Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. No others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have – Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 3:10, 11. NLT
So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you – whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, of the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. 1 Cor. 3:21 – 23. NLT
Building Better Americans 211
President at 77. Cognizant damage already visible. Shifted to far Left. Foreign policy disaster. Tried to dismantle Title 9 to destroy women’s sports. Left $10B in armaments in Afghanistan to be used to kill Americans.
Do You Know the Signs of Jesus’ Return?
Books 1 and 2 Thessalonians
We left the apostle Paul teaching in a new church in Corinth during his second missionary journey. (See Paul and Barnabas Part Ways.)
At that time, (~ 50 A.D.), he wrote two letters, with the help of Silas (also called Silvanus – a prophet and elder in the church in Jerusalem), and Timothy (a Christian acolyte whom Paul was mentoring). These letters would become the biblical books of 1 and 2 Thessalonians.
Paul wrote the first letter in response to a report from Timothy that indicated the church of Thessalonica was confused about Christ’s second advent. The congregants feared that if they died before Jesus’ return, their salvation would be forfeit.
The church was also concerned about the secular persecution that they were currently experiencing.
The apostle begins his first letter by commending the church for their exemplary walk in Christ:
…what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you! 1 Th. 2:19 NLT
Then, Paul addresses their persecution and reminds them of their calling:
…we sent Timothy to visit you. He is our brother and God’s co-worker in proclaiming the Good News of Christ. We sent him to strengthen you, to encourage you in your faith, and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through.
But you know that we are destined for such troubles. 1 Th. 3:2, 3. NLT
Jesus told us that we’d be hated for following Him. We are a ‘peculiar people’ in this world, who have chosen to walk the singular path that leads to eternal salvation.
Next, Paul tells them how to walk that path:
God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor – not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways…Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. 1 Th. 4:3 – 5 & 8. NLT
After the ‘don’ts’, Paul reveals the right road:
…honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peaceably with each other.
…warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Jesus Christ. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil. 1 Th. 5:12 – 22. NLT
Now, Paul shifts to the main event, which is to remove the confusion in the church over the return of Jesus Christ:
…we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 1 Th. 4:13 – 15. NLT
Paul now tells us about the signs of Jesus’ return:
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Th. 4:16, 17. NLT
How cool is that? God is saying that we needn’t worry about those who have died before Jesus returns, because they are the first ones Jesus will rally to Himself. Those who are still alive at the second advent then become airborne to join the eternal throng.
Jesus’ second coming, the second advent, the ‘Day of the Lord,’ will be a wondrous event for the followers of Christ; but it will be decidedly disastrous for those who have shunned Him:
For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.
But you aren’t in the dark about these things…and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and clearheaded.
Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. 1 Th. 5:2 – 8. NLT
For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive, when he returns, we can live with him forever. 1 Th. 5:9, 10. NLT
God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. 1 Th. 5:24 NLT
A ‘false teacher’ had infested the church in Corinth and was circulating a fabricated letter – supposedly from Paul, saying that the ‘day of the Lord’ had already come and gone. This prompted the apostle, (again with help from Silas and Timothy), to repudiate the false teaching with a second letter (2 Thessalonians).
Paul begins by telling the church to endure in the face of persecution. Then, he tells them that the day of Jesus’ return will be a day that cannot be mistaken for any other. It is the day that heaven beckons:
And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering. In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you.
And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.
They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people – praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him. 2 Th. 1:5 – 10. NLT
The apostle is talking about the ‘great sifting.’ That’s the time to be on the side of Christ.
He then tells the church not to place any faith in that counterfeit letter – stressing that the day of the Lord has not yet come:
Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed – the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. 2 Th. 2:3, 4. NLT
What Paul is saying is that there will be unmistakably distinct events that presage the second coming of Christ. One of those will be the revelation of the identity of the ‘lawless one’, (the Antichrist) – who will be worshiped by most of humanity as a god. We will extensively dig into these events in our future study of the book of Revelation. However, the apostle drops us a few teasers now:
And you know what restrains him now [from being revealed]; it is so that he will be revealed at his own [appointed time]. For the mystery of lawlessness [rebellion against divine authority and the coming reign of lawlessness] is already at work; [but is restrained] only until he who now restrains it is taken out of the way. 2 Th. 2:6, 7. AMP
Who is this ‘restrainer’ that does not allow the Antichrist to reveal himself until God’s appointed time? (It’s obvious that Paul’s listeners do know). There is some controversy about this. Some biblical scholars say that God will use the Roman government, others say it is the Holy Spirit, and yet others make a fairly strong case for the archangel Michael: (See Dn. 10:13 & 21; 12:1; Mt. 24:15; Rv. 12:7 – 12.)
What you can take home from the aforementioned Scripture, is that there is already a force of evil at work in this world:
Then the lawless one [the Antichrist] will be revealed and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of His mouth and bring him to an end by the appearance of His coming. 2 Th. 2:8 AMP
This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing in the truth. 2 Th. 2:9 – 12. NLT
Thus, the Antichrist will be empowered by Satan himself to work false miracles – brining him the adulation and worship of a rebellious world. It is then that Jehovah will begin the extraction process of those who have pandered to themselves. They separated themselves from the children of God.
We also see that when Christ comes, the curtain falls for the Antichrist.
Finally, Paul changes his focus to encourage the church to remain steadfast in their faith:
…God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation – a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ…stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you… 2 Th. 2:13 – 15. NLT
God chose you before you took your first breath.
…the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you [setting you on a firm foundation] and will protect and guard you from the evil one. 2 Th. 3:3 AMP
If we remain at the side of God, the ‘day of the Lord’ is something that we can look forward to with rapt expectation…
Goodnight and God bless.