August 4

who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Corinthians 1:8

2 Chronicles 35:1-36:23
1 Corinthians 1:1-17
Psalm 27:1-6
Proverbs 20:20-21

Today’s Scripture – Read

Listen to Today’s Scripture

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 1:1-17

Summary: Greetings, Thanksgiving, Divisions in the Church

And now, as we begin our reading in the New Testament here today, we’ll with a little background on the book of 1 Corinthians, Corinth, the capital of Achaia, was perhaps the richest and most important city in Greece. It was also the most corrupt, a center for trade. Paul spent many of his ministry years in or around the cities of Achaia.

Corinth was invaded by all kinds of religions and philosophies. The Apostle Paul founded the Corinthian Church during his second missionary journey and ministered there a year and a half, now after he left, serious problems developed in the church and Paul wrote the members a stern letter that was not successful. He heard that the church was divided, and then a delegation from the church arrived in Ephesus with a letter asking Paul’s help regarding specific questions. 1st Corinthians, this book in the Bible, was his response.

Paul dealt with sin in the church, and then he answered the questions they asked. He discussed marriage, idolatry, public worship, spiritual gifts, the resurrection, and the special offering he was taking for the Jews. And here in the very first chapter, we’ll see that even though believers are all one in Christ Jesus, the local church often suffers from division. Why? For one thing, we forget the calling we have in Christ.

It is only by God’s grace that we’ve been called, and this fact should humble us and encourage us to love one another. Another factor is our tendency to follow human leaders and develop kind of a fan club mentality. Christ died for us and lives to bless us, and He must have the preeminence. A third factor is a dependence on human wisdom and philosophies, of which there were many in Corinth. The world’s wisdom had crept into the church and it did not mix with the wisdom of God.

Various theologies are the attempts of scholars to interpret the Word of God, but they are not the Word. Never allow them to be a cause of division.