Bearing A New Image

I Corinthians 15:35-58

Welcome! Today we continue our exploration of the book of I Corinthians, finishing Chapter 15. This entire wonderful chapter focuses on resurrection. Today we will look at verses 35 to 58, but I want to first review the earlier part of the chapter.

Before I do this, though, I want to talk in some depth about Gnosticism. We have touched on Gnosticism at various times while going through I Corinthians and in other series, but I think a deeper treatment will help us in appreciating some of today’s passage.

Firstfruits

I Corinthians 15:12-34

The theme of our series here in the latter part of 1 Corinthians is “Of First Importance.” Paul has several very important truths that he wants to make sure the Corinthian believers understand. We have love at the center of what it means to be a Christian: the love of God personified in Jesus, our response of love for Him and love for each other. This is what chapter 13 is all about. Then in chapter 14 we are to “follow the way of love” as we seek and apply the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Last Sunday, Fred started us off on chapter 15 by bringing us back to the centrality of the cross. Why did Jesus have to die? What does it mean that he was a sacrifice for sin? And today, in the next part of that chapter, we home in on the resurrection of Jesus. We can accept that He died – even unbelievers do that – why is it important that He rose again? This is certainly a matter of first importance. This chapter tells us that it is essential to our faith. Paul asserts that if there is no resurrection we are of all people most to be pitied. Why does he get so intense about this topic? Why is it so important? Let’s begin reading at verse 12.

Died, Buried, & Raised

I Corinthians 15:1-11

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.  Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.—I Corinthians 15:1-11

When You Come Together

I Corinthians 14:26-40

Good morning and welcome!  It is a blessing to be together as a body of believers.  God has been gracious to us in so many ways that it is difficult to properly understand and express gratitude for all He’s done for us.

I am thankful to God for you His saints, His holy ones.  I am thankful for the opportunity to gather together.  We have the means to gather.  We have safety when gathered.  We have a place to gather.  We have abundantly more than we can ask or imagine.  Sometimes, I wonder what the saints of the first century church would think if they could see us now.  The chairs you sit on are comfortable.  Just the fact that you have chairs at all is a luxury even today.  Our stomachs are filled.  If there is anyone here who didn’t eat breakfast, it was because you chose not to, not because you didn’t have something to eat.  We have musical instruments and musicians to play them.  We have more Bibles here than there are people.  Everyone here can read.  Everyone can hear and see.  I fail to be properly grateful most of the time.  May we make time to be thankful each day.  Let’s give thanks now as we come together …

Signs & Secrets

1 Corinthians 14:6-25

Welcome! Today, as promised last week, we will really delve into the main body of I Corinthians Chapter 14 and explore the meaning of the gifts, especially prophecy and speaking in tongues. I’ve got a huge amount of ground to cover today. It is critical that we see the passage in context, so I am going to go back to I Cor. 12:7, going through to today’s passage, with brief comments as we go.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He distributes them to each one, just as He determines. – I Cor. 12:7-11

The Way of Love

 1 Corinthians 14:1-5

Welcome! Today we continue on in our series of I Corinthians. For the next two weeks we will discuss I Corinthians Chapter 14 which primarily deals with the gifts of tongues and prophecy. At the outset, let me say that Christians, mature believers, have had a pretty wide spectrum of beliefs about how to properly understand and interpret this chapter. My approach this week and next will be, as best I can, while giving an overview of this range of interpretations, to really try to look at this chapter in the context of the rest of I Corinthians and in context with the rest of Scripture.

In order to get that context, I want to go back to Chapters 12 and 13, because there is some key content in these chapters that will really help us as we seek to understand Chapter 14. Going to verse 4 of Chapter 12,

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. – I Cor. 12:4-6

This is one of what I think are the two main themes of Chapter 12 – there are lots of ways God supernaturally equips and empowers believers, but they are all given by the one and only true God. This is also the primary point in the following verses:

The Persistence of Love

I Corinthians 13:7-13

Good morning!  It is so wonderful to gather and praise God together, isn’t it?  He is worthy of praise. 

Why is God worthy of praise? 

2 Samuel 22:4 says He is worthy because He saves us. Psalm 48:1 says He is worthy because of the good things He has done. Psalm 96:4 says He is worthy because He is real, He made the heavens and the earth, He is holy, He reigns. Psalm 145:3 says He is worthy because of His greatness which no one can fathom.

Of course, there are lots of reasons to praise God, not least of which is God’s persistence.

True Love

1 Corinthians 13:5-6

I would like to open to the book of Dabo chapter 35 verse 31. And Dabo saith, “Let the light inside of you shine brighter than the light shining on you.”

Now for our real passage, I Corinthians 13:5-6:

[Love] is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

Paul isn’t saying that we need to follow these rules in order to complete the task of loving others. He’s just showing that the foundational reason for exercising spiritual gifts is to love others. Love is more difficult and less “shiny” than the brand new spiritual gifts that the Corinthian believers were experiencing. I don’t think the list in 1 Corinthians 13 is an exhaustive list of what love is. Paul is listing qualities of love that were in contrast to the way the church in Corinth was exercising their spiritual gifts. Apparently, they had been rude, self-seeking, easily angered, etc.

The Most Excellent Way

1 Corinthians 13:1-4

Welcome! Today we are beginning our series entitled Of First Importance which, over the next few months, takes us through I Corinthians 13-16. Viewed another way, this is the conclusion of our earlier series Broken but Indispensable which took us through the first 12 chapters; this series took place last year from May through early October. With the Christmas season approaching, we chose to do a shorter series on worship and then pick up I Corinthians this year so that we wouldn’t feel rushed through the incredibly rich and dense material that we see in the latter part of I Corinthians. We wanted to take our time so that the content would really sink in, so that we would have time to really explore the practical applications of the material.

Signs of Christian Maturity

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.—Ephesians 4:11-13 (NASB)

Today’s message is going to be centered on verse 13:

Until we all attain unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 

More specifically, this message is going to focus on the signs and indicators that we can look at to determine if we are maturing spiritually.