It is sad but true that this book, and in particular the first three chapters, is completely unknown by christians generally. It is so clear that one might think that these same christians are in fact willfully ignorant. This may not be the case, but the teaching in the first three chapters cuts across the practice of many of the Lord's people. It is therefore the purpose of these notes specially written for all of the Lord's people who have a desire to please the Lord, and are captivated by some of His last words. "If ye love me, keep my commandments" Jno.14:15; "he that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me:" Jno.14:21.

One can never imagine just how much the Lord suffered to save each one of us, and yet we have always a leaning to please ourselves rather than the Lord who suffered for us. It just seems that, as we are saved from the eternal lake of fire, we can please ourselves. If this is true, what a terrible attitude? It defies description. So it behoves those of us who have been purchased by His own precious blood to consider the one "who loved us and gave Himself for us, and who ever lives to make intercession for us", to return that love by obedience to His revealed will in His Word.

Again it may be time for some of us to "wake thou that sleepeth, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise." Eph 5:14-15. For many it is a case of "Making the Word of God of none effect through your tradition..." Mark 7:13. Perhaps the reading of the scriptures in these notes on 1 Corinthians will arouse us out of our sleep, and make us examine the ground on which we stand. We may ask ourselves, have we been put to sleep by the traditions of men in contradiction to the plain revealed word? and if we find we have been then Christ will give us light

Chapter 1, Verse 1.

Paul, called to be kletos; adj. an appointed apostle

an apostle of Jesus Christ apostolos; a sent one

through the will of God dia;

and Sosthenes our brother Paul associates himself with Sosthenes

This verse clearly indicates that Paul was an apostle by the will of God and not by his own will or merit, or by any other christian or group of christian's will. He was a called apostle having been commissioned by the Lord Himself. The scripture is clear as day in showing that God sets whom He will in the church, and NOT man. Paul, an appointed apostle of Jesus Christ, (appointed) by God's will, together with Sosthenes our brother

Verse 2

Unto the church of God ekklesia; called out ones

which is at Corinth en; in or at, NOT of Corinth

to them that are sanctified hagiazo; set apart perfect tense, passive voice

in Christ Jesus called to be kletos; as above

saints hagios; adjective describing saints, fundamentally signifies set apart

with all that in every place (here without question we see this

call upon the name of epistle is written to every christian

Jesus Christ our Lord both Throughout the church age)

theirs and ours (the Lord is both theirs and ours)

We do well to note from the very beginning the words "church of God" because on every occasion it is used in the New Testament it denotes that special band of born again believers gathered by the Holy Spirit to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ in which the unsaved have no part whatsoever.

They are NOT gathered to any other person, name, or group. It directly refers to the church in local testimony. It never pictures a mixture of saved and unsaved which the world and worldly believers call a church. Although these people usually think of the building as the church. Note the church is those set apart in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit, saints by calling, gathered to Him; Mat.18:20.

To them that are "sanctified" sanctified a verb in the perfect tense gives the meaning that the action took part in the past, once and for all, never to be repeated. Next we note that the verb is passive voice meaning that the subject is the recipient of the action, and not the doer of it. Called to be "saints" this word is an adjective describing some noun; in this case it describes the set apart one in this manner "set apart ones by calling"

We notice that this epistle is written to all saints for all time. We may translate as follows: "to the assembly of God which is in Corinth, to the set apart in Christ Jesus, saints (set apart ones) by divine calling". The unsaved have no part or lot in the matter. Furthermore not only is this epistle written to the believers in Corinth, but clearly it is written to all believers throughout all the church age.

Verse 3

Grace be unto you and charis; (grace) on the part of the bestower, the friendly disposition from which the kindly act proceeds

peace eirene; the harmonised relations between God and man.

from God our Father and and the Lord Jesus Christ

Here the apostle Paul expresses his wish and prayer for the Corinthian believers.

Verse 4

"I thank God always on your behalf, for the grace of God epi; for or in respect of

This verse is interesting in as much as he finds little to commend the Corinthian church, but what he does find he commends them for it first. One will notice that Paul credits the grace of God for the spirituality they do have.

The common mistake made in the interpretation of this verse is that it is taken to mean that the Corinthian believers had all that was required for utterance and knowledge. No such thing! The next verse makes that abundantly clear.

Even as kathos; in proportion to

the testimony of Christ marturion; witness mainly subjective having to do with the Corinthian believer's experience

was confirmed in you bebaioo; establish, make secure

It has always been, and always will be that we will only exhibit the person of the Lord Jesus Christ in as much as we are occupied with Him. "that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death" Phil 3:10. We are exhorted to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" 2 Peter 3:18. This clearly tells that we are to know Him, not to know about Him. One will agree that these two things are entirely different.

So that ye come behind in no hustereo; come short in gift

gift waiting for the apekdechomai; to await eagerly

coming apokalupsis; uncovering or unveiling

The Corinthian problem was not one of a lack of gift but in the exercise thereof. Certainly they eagerly awaited the Lord's coming.

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Verse 8

who shall also confirm bebaioo; establish, make secure.

you unto the end sunteleia; bringing to a completion

that ye may be blameless anenkletos; cannot be called to account

The above verse, together with verse 9, is some of the most powerful words in the New Testament. Just look: "The Lord Jesus Christ will establish you and make you secure by bringing to completion (the work that He has begun in you) to the extent that nothing can be brought to your charge, we repeat nothing, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ". "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" Phil 1:6.

One will notice that the Lord has not asked the believer to help, simply because salvation is of the Lord not us. Above we have noticed the great work of the Lord when we read, He that hath begun it will complete it, and that without exception. Having started He will complete it. But look at the end, to be without blemish, blameless, cannot be called to account. Again He will present us to Himself without spot or blemish, Eph 5:27. Can we not praise Him who loved us and gave Himself for us?

God is faithful pistos; faithful, to be trusted.

by whom ye were called unto kalea; call, invite, summons

the fellowship of His son koinonia; communion, sharing in common

God is faithful! We are not, which in no way changes the faithfulness of God. "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." 1 John 5:10-11.

This opens a completely new section in the first chapter, and the Corinthian believer's shortcomings are to be exposed.

Let us note that the apostle Paul was a faithful witness to the Lord Jesus Christ, and it was impossible for him to gloss over, ignore, or cover up error in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" 1 Tim3:15. Not to expose error shows a total lack of concern for the Lord whose house it is, as "holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, forever" Psa 93:5. It did not matter what the Corinthians thought, Paul would put forth the truth in the power of the Holy Spirit, which would do at least three things:

1. Convict the erring ones of their error, Titus 1:9

2. Stop the mouths of the gainsayers

3. Bring the erring ones back to the Lord who bought them, or if they maintained their

error they would leave the church. In which case the holiness of the house of God is maintained.

Brethren this is a day of departure and the time has come, "when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" 2 Tim 4:3-4. It is impossible these days to present the truth to some assemblies without being asked to leave as that place no longer is a witness for the Lord, but rather the opposite. Today, on presenting the truth in the power of the Holy Spirit, precisely the same things will happen:

1. The believers alter their ways and obey the scriptures

2. The members of the assembly throw out the truth with the teacher.

There will NOT be indifference when those in error are convicted by the Spirit of God. Action must and will be taken. See Titus 1:10-11. It seems that in Corinth those in the assembly saw the error of their ways and changed. In the last days, as we have read above, correction is unlikely. Therefore should a teacher visit an "assembly", knowing that sound assemblies do not have fellowship with them, that teacher can only stay there by failing to teach the truth in the power of the Holy Spirit or worse still compromise with the evil and stay silent. It behoves us to have a thorough understanding of the problems in Corinth and the remedies thereof. It behoves the man of God to note the last days order of teaching, "Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine", 2 Tim 4:2.

Verse 10

Now I beseech you brethren parakaaleo; stronger than ask, more like implore

you brethren, by the name of dia; the ground or reason by which something is be done

that ye all speak lego; say referring to the substance of what is being said, whether actual speech or unspoken thought

no divisions among you schisma; denotes a cleft, rent, crack, metaphorically a division or dissension

but that ye be perfectly joined katartizo; to make fit, prepare

together in the same mind nous; "speaking generally, the seat of reflective consciousness" WEV

and in the same judgment gnome; a means of knowing, mind, understanding, purpose.

The apostle is now embarking on dealing with a very serious shortcoming. There was no doubt whatsoever that they had no idea of the doctrine of the church, which is His body, or the church in local testimony. Here he deals with the symptoms resulting from this misunderstanding. In that day it was a forerunner of what was to come. The almost total disintegration of christians into all manner of evil doctrine as we see it today.

Paul commences this section with a strong plea to consider the Lord Jesus Christ. One would think by pointing to the Lord for ground or reason why the scriptures should be carried out, christians would obey. Two things were a serious matter:

1. he asked them to have the same mind in actual thought and speech

2. and that there be no divisions among them.

From these two things we can see that differences of opinion had developed which had caused arguments among those holding these opinions. If one is led by the Holy Spirit to learn doctrine they can only be led to one conclusion, the truth. Problems arise, however, when the flesh intrudes and believers become self-opinionated. The apostle implores them to become perfectly united, where each member of the body had his place, and the whole operated as one body controlled by the Head. If it was broken, then it was to be mended.

The same mind meaning that, in exercising their faculties of perception and understanding as led by the Holy Spirit, it would result in their having the same purpose or opinion. The Holy Spirit, or allowing the Holy Spirit to lead, would firmly unite believers in spiritual purpose, and eliminate the contention born by pride. We must add that it was not uniformity that the apostle desired, but a welding together of the believers by the Holy Spirit in singleness of mind and purpose. Uniformity is usually obtained by legalism, observing norms and standards set by men whereas the Holy Spirit draws believers to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ in love and obedience. If the Lord is not obeyed there is emphatically no love for Him.

For it hath been declared unto deloo; make plain

that there are contentions among you eris; strife, quarrels, especially rivalry

What Paul now does is to disclose the source of his information; he is not a talebearer. It allows those who are affected by the disclosure to rectify the position should the information be wrong. Chloe's information made it plain that there was rivalry, arguments, and quarrels marring the testimony of the assembly. This is most dishonouring to the Lord, the head of the church.

This was a shocking revelation to the apostle Paul, but to us it generally means nothing, we are used to it. Why? because we live in the age of declension, and of a great falling away. We have become insensitive to the will of our Lord who bought us. It is as if christians are saying, "so what, we will do what we like, I will not have this man to reign over me". It is in fact a revolt against the Lord who loved us and gave Himself for us. It is at the best a total ignorance of the will of God, but one must say, a willful ignorance as; "if any man will to do His will he shall know of the doctrine". Jno 7:17. Worse still it totally destroyed the testimony of the assembly before the world and before angels.

Had the apostle been here in our day he would have seen the full-blown heresy, which is the next step after contention. This step brings the breaking away from the church of the contentious, self opinionated ones, 1Cor 11:9. The church is believers gathered by the Holy Spirit to the Lord alone. Today Paul would have written verse 12 as "every one of you saith, I am of Presbyterian, and I am of Catholic, and I am of Christian Brethren etc". Whatever the gathering point other than Christ it robbed Him of His glory.

1 Cor 12:27 describes the church of God, which is at Corinth. Now when we look at the "church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all." Eph 1:22-23, we see a complete unit without division. Again we will see more of this aspect later in these notes. Now let us note, "So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another", Rom 12:5. Again, "that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another." 1 Cor 12:25. We are commanded that there should be no divisions in the body!

To even suggest, or even worse still to act in such a way as to perpetuate divisions in the church, which is His body, is blasphemous in the extreme. "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith". Eph 4:4-5. How dare we act out, and make divisions in the body of Christ. How dare we join another body! Scripture clearly shows this to be spiritual fornication. It is blasphemous in that it debases the Father and the Son.

1. It is calling the Father a liar by saying that we are not baptised into one body

2. It takes away from His glory as this witness on earth

displays numerous bodies rather than "there is one body"

3. It totally replaces the Lord as Head over the local church, and replaces Him with a sinful man. Going back then to verse 12 we see that some of the believers were stressing their own personal preferences of leaders. From the statement "that every one of you saith" it seems it was common practice in the assembly at Corinth. From the following verses it is obvious that each had selected the person they thought should be the leader or head. This can only happen when the believer is so carnally minded as to forget the Lord. This is seen in Paul's reaction to this situation in Corinth.

Verse 13

Is Christ divided? merizo; cut in pieces (passive) voice

The first question can only have "no" as the emphatic answer. Who can climb up into heaven and reach God? God is far above every thought of man and if He says there is one body then that is the end of it, the Christ cannot be tampered with, He is head over all to the church, which is His body! More outwardly obvious is the answer no to the second question, was Paul crucified for you? Similarly they were not baptised in the name of Paul. Following these questions the apostle spends some time in clearly pointing out, "he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord' 1Cor.1:31

It must be mentioned that whatever they did was wrong, but the wrong could in no way attach to the named believer. It is indeed a terrible thing for believers to try to grade or judge others to be what they never claimed to be. This human judgment stems from pure pride from which can only come contention.

Verse 14 & 15

The mere fact that the apostle thanked God, no doubt stemmed from the knowledge, that his name would not be attached to the baptised one or ones. He baptised only a few for which he was thankful.

The importance of Paul himself baptising is minimised here. Paul will not take any glory for himself for baptisisng believers, as there is no glory in it.

but to preach the gospel, not euangelizo; announce glad tidings

cross of Christ should be made of none effect kenoo; made void or empty

The primary purpose in the commission to Paul was that he should preach the gospel, and not to baptise. That should be quite obvious. Only believers are baptised, and obviously there would be no baptisms without the gospel being preached. Might we add that in baptism the importance is derived from the objective truth it signifies; certainly not in the actions of the baptiser, nor indeed the qualities of the baptised or baptiser. How Paul was to preach the gospel now becomes a very important point. One suspects that the Corinthians being what they were, lovers of debate and philosophy may possibly have clouded the gospel in some cloak of man's wisdom. That this seems proven see v.22. Be it sufficient to say that Paul points out that he did not preach with wisdom of words, which would have made the cross void. It is the cross with its meaning, the utter ruin of man, and the person on the cross with His relationship with the Father which is the power of the gospel. It is certainly not in any way related to the way in which that message is preached.

For the preaching of the cross is logos: the thought concept, idea

The preaching of the cross is the facts concerning the righteousness of God, the determination of God to do good to an object in which He could see no good (man), Christ's death on the cross, the utter ruin of man are some of the thoughts of the cross. Perhaps one sentiment which may embody some of the meaning is, "but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a bond slave, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross" Phil 2:7-8. This He did to save me the lowest of the low. To the unsaved that is complete foolishness, they can save themselves by their own efforts, but the end thereof are the ways of death! For the believer it is the power of God unto salvation. Not only so, but each believer has the witness within himself that he is born of God.

the wisdom of the wise, and will sophos; that which is naturally learned

We read, " for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid" Isa 29:14. This confirms the verse above. The preaching of the cross does all this in that it is not in the nature of man to understand the righteousness of God as he has no righteousness of his own, and can not rise to His heights.

There is no doubt that the carnal christian, one who conducts his life as any other ordinary man, not only tends toward a party spirit, but also must exhibit his corruption by depending on mortal wisdom. "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord", Jer 17:5. What a condemnation! The man that relies on his own reasoning, even on his own personal interpretation of the scriptures makes, flesh his arm. Above all however his heart has departed from the Lord. Now should there be any misunderstanding, "arm" is symbolical of human strength. We should all be aware that, "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Zec 4:5

Who has discovered the mind of the Lord? Who is able to advise Him? What unbelievable arrogance! We finite mortals counseling Him, the infinite all wise God, utterly impossible! See Isa 40:11, Job 41:11, Rom 11:34. What infinite grace when we have been brought into the very mind of God, as we will see later in this book.

Here the very arrogance of sinful man is crushed, and that finally. The foolishness of God is infinitely greater and higher than the wisdom of men. In fact the wisdom of men is far worse than that. It ridicules and opposes God Himself in as much as it tries to make man his own saviour. Its end is greater darkness, greater distance from God, and finally the eternal lake of fire.

Man can not by searching find out God, " Canst thou by searching find out God?...Job 11.7 "...No man knoweth the Son, but the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and He to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him" Mat 11:27. The wisdom of man can never rise above himself. He can never reach God. The only revelation of God to man comes from God Himself through Christ.

It seems obvious that the Jews sought after God by looking for a sign, which is absolute unbelief on their part. They had seen the lame walk, the blind regain their sight, and the dead brought to life, and through hardness of heart would not believe.

The gentiles sought after wisdom but did not learn the first lesson because "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom", Prov 9:10. The problem with the believers at Corinth was that they obviously thought that their christian life commenced with faith, but progressed by using human intelligence. The result of this, of course, was sin in their life.

unto the Jews a stumblingblock skandalon; a trap or snare

and unto the Greeks foolishness just plain stupid nonsense

The very wisdom of God in the cross was a trap to the Jew who firmly believed the Messiah would come in power. A suffering Saviour was not a possibility to them. To the Greek it was just pathetic to think that God could or would operate through suffering by way of the cross. It was their natural reasoning, not only was it tainted by sin, but also tainted by the cultural background.

But unto them which are called os; called, invited

When the Spirit of God opens the eyes of the believer he sees the Lord Jesus Christ as the very power of God and the wisdom of God. It is all revealed in Him. The plan of God's salvation for man is absolutely perfect in every way. Man could not even in his wildest imagination devise such a plan simply because he is in absolute darkness.

But the foolishness of God moraino; dullness

is wiser than men; sophoteros comparative degree, (just the human estimate)

and the weakness of God asthenes; without strength

is stronger than men ischuroteros; comparative degree, (just the human estimate)

Just looking at this situation strictly from a human point of view there is really no comparison whatsoever between God and men. God is not understood at all, and His grace is beyond their comprehension. This is particularly so when the cross is brought into view. The cross, to the natural mind, is unintelligible. How can you win by being defeated. The resurrection is simply not believed either.

The cross brings to nothing everything the natural man holds dear, and reveres. Grace takes the nothingness of man, and brings him into union with Christ by pure grace.

This group of four verses is written so that the christian should be forced to come to a momentous conclusion, "that no flesh should glory in His presence" v.29. Let every born again soul read, learn, and inwardly digest!

God will have nothing of the first creation in His presence. That which was utterly corrupt God has brought into His presence by absolute grace, and then only brought into His presence by having been remade a new creation. This new creation is wholly and solely His own work. All glory goes to God!

It seems evident that the Corinthian christians had forgotten these very evident truths above, and being carnal, believed that there was something good in man. They gloried in their own estimation of things, but worst of all they gloried in their ability to select natural man to be a leader rather than Christ. Each one had chosen a leader which of necessity relegated the Lord to some inferior rank below the person of their choice.

One may say, "what terrible christians these Corinthians were". Let us be crystal clear about christian profession in these last days. It is many times worse; it is in fact spewed out of His mouth, Rev 3:16. Worse in this respect: christians generally are no longer gathered as representing one body, but have degenerated by having a party spirit. Each gather to the group of his choice 1 Cor 11:19. Some say I am of Christian Brethren etc. This is a completely carnal mind; the Lord has condemned it outright in the verses above, and is continuing to do so in this book. The Corinthians gloried in the flesh, and the Lord points out that their own observation shows that not many wise, mighty, or noble people became christians.

The Lord now points out that He has chosen the foolish and weak, to confound (kataischuno; to put to shame) the wise and mighty. For those who are carnal, and believe they have superior wisdom in choosing their leader naturally boast about the number of the wise and mighty in their ranks. This is quite contrary to the mind of Christ who alone should be the One in whom we boast, for He is worthy. No other man is!

Here God has chosen the lowest and despised of the world, whether it be Gallalean fishermen, or the ordinary man in the street to bring to naught (katargeo; to abolish, make ineffective) the worldly wise. The Corinthians could see that this message from God via Paul was true from their own experience.

God deliberately and definitely has chosen an action, which puts the believer in the correct place, dead and buried with Christ, and raised a new creature. It was the place planned for the believer for all eternity. It is only the new man in Christ who inherits the things God has prepared for him.

The nature of the case is that no man has anything to boast of before God, because we owe Him our very existence. God is to be praised alone, as He alone has saved man. He is righteous in all that He has done, His holiness is maintained, and He is the highest of the high. Not only does man have nothing that he has not been given by God, but also his very existence is owed to the grace of God. Again flesh has nothing to boast about.

But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus ek; by, from, en; fixed position

who of God is apo; from origin of a cause . ,

made unto us ginomai; become passive voice

wisdom sophia; wisdom

and righteousness kai; also. dikaiosune; the character and quality of being right

and sanctification hagiasmos; holiness, the sum and measure of it, the thing as an effect, as a whole, characteristically

and redemption apolutrosis; the strengthened form of the payment of a ransom.

We pass now from the negative to the positive and find this verse truly wonderful. We are about to see that we have everything in Christ. This is undoubtedly a marvelous verse. To paraphrase, But by God we are in a fixed position in Christ Jesus who has become for us wisdom which is from God, also God's righteousness, also God's holiness, also God's redemption.

The first thing to notice is that God has placed us in a fixed unmovable position in Christ, baptised into His body. Next we notice that in Christ He is made the wisdom of God, together with His righteousness, together with His holiness, and also His redemption for us. Nothing we have is from ourselves and everything that we do have is in Christ. He is our all in all.

The Lord Jesus Christ becomes the wisdom from God to us which brings us back to the Lord's words in Mat 11:27, "all things are delivered unto Me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." This is repeated in Luke 10:22.

Man cannot search out God, and therefore can never find knowledge of the spiritual and eternal without God. It is by the grace of God that the Father draws the believer to the Son, and once coming, is received. It is from this position the Son reveals the Father. Here is the very source of wisdom for in Christ we may find all the wisdom of God. In as much as we are occupied with Him then, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord", 2 Cor 3:18.

Now let us look at how pathetic and evil it is to turn to the human mind not only to find God, but also to try to come to know Him and please Him. The Corinthians had turned to their own reasoning to appoint for themselves men from among themselves as leaders. It is pathetic to follow men from whom no good can come, and it is evil to turn from the Lord who loved us and gave Himself for us. Man has failed under every position into which God has put him even in the garden, under the law, under grace, and in the church. In the last days the church is run by men, and only fit to be spewed out of His mouth, with the Lord outside. Rev3:20.

In Christ we see the righteousness of God. We see it in God's hatred of sin, and His faithfulness to His Word in punishing sin in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. His Son took our place, bore our sins, and died for them. In this way God is consistent with Himself in forgiving our sins. Christ paid the debt. We see all this in Christ.

We are set apart for God, and we stand complete in Christ. Not only are we counted as being holy, but also, as we consider Christ we are progressively moulded into His image, transformed by the renewing of our mind. It is a work of God in keeping Christ before us, and in the power of the Holy Spirit making us practically holy with our state progressively moving toward our standing.

This is not the redemption, the forgiveness of sins. It is the redemption of the body which gives complete deliverance from the power and effect of sin, but it is our total removal from the very presence of sin. Taken out of time and space, and brought into the spiritual and eternal. It is then, and then only that our state matches our standing. Christ is our redemption.

The whole chapter is written to show, prove, and demonstrate that there is nothing in any man in which to glory. Furthermore human wisdom, and following the dictates of the natural man, only take the believer further away from God. Everything, we repeat, everything that the believer requires is in Christ. In fact anything that tries to elevate man above his status of being totally dependant on the Lord is evil. There is none other than the Lord who has anything of value. Let us glory in Him. See Isa 45:25 and Jer 9:24.

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CHAPTER    2

The whole chapter is given to showing that the wisdom of the natural man is absolutely useless, and positively evil. The very essence of the evil of the natural mind and its wisdom is clearly seen in the party spirit, which chooses and follows leaders other than the perfect Lord who loved them. It is constant repetition of this fact. The first four chapters are given to this subject, which is highlighted by the Corinthians' sin in selecting men to be their leaders. We must therefore conclude that God hates it, and reasonably so. It robs God, it takes His glory from Him, and gives it to man who is nothing but a worthless creature saved by grace.

came not with excellency huperoche; superiority persuasive

unto you the testimony of God marturion; a witness

Here the apostle gives us an insight into his attitude first of all towards the Lord, and secondly towards men. Here was a man totally dependent upon the Lord having no confidence in the flesh. It may so be that the Corinthians, not only exhibited the flesh in opposition to God in the selection of leaders, but also in clouding the gospel in the use of philosophical arguments. In any case the apostle points to his preaching among the Corinthians who heard, believed, and were baptised. He did not use human reasoning or involved argument.

For I determined not krino; determined, resolved

to know anything among you, oida; full knowledge of

save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit led Paul to be particular in his preaching of the gospel. Therefore it behoves us to take special note of what he did. Paul's critical faculties were exercised, and observation made it clear to him that he had to preach Christ in simplicity. Not all the mystery of Christ but, "Christ and Him crucified". That is, the person of Christ is presented, and most importantly the work of the cross.

It is this, which sets this message apart from all others for Christ was "God manifest in flesh reconciling the world unto Himself", and that through the cross. It is the cross which brings to naught all that pertains to man in Adam. His rightful end is death and separation from God. It is this cross that is foolishness to men, but it glorifies God. Note the complete absence of human reasoning, philosophy, or persuasiveness of any kind. The man of God does not need it, but the Corinthians used it. They were carnal, and certainly not led by the Spirit of God.

and I was with you in weakness asthenes; without strength

and in fear phobos; terror

and in much trembling tromos; trembling

This is indeed an incredible statement. Can we imagine the apostle Paul fearful? When we look at church leaders today, do we see such fear? Far from it, we see anything but that. We see them dressed up like peacocks, taking up prominent positions, making a name for themselves in the world, and loving the limelight. Just what is that? It is the very exhibition of Satan in his opposition to the Lord. It is an exhibition of sinful flesh so hateful to God. So hateful , in fact, that when His Son took our sin upon Himself, "God spared not His own son, but delivered Him up for us all", Rom 8:32. All this human glory, God hates.

not with enticing words of man's peithos; persuasive

wisdom, but in demonstration fortapodiexis; showing h

of the Spirit and of power dunamis; inherent ability

Over and over again the apostle Paul contrasts the sinful flesh of man against the almighty power of God. The Corinthians had sunk to the lowest level by turning to the weakness of the flesh as clearly indicated in their selection of a human leader. Perhaps the reader might say, "why is the writer repeating this point over and over again?" Be absolutely assured the writer of these notes is not the originator of the repetition. It is the apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit, in writing the scriptures.

There were no enticing words from Paul. The preaching of Christ crucified leaves no room for it. He would never use such words as "give your heart to Jesus" which on examination is demonic. In the first place, "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked..." Jer 17:9. Furthermore this giving has the connotation of giving to receive. If these words mean that the sinner is to give that which is wicked to the Lord to receive salvation it is worse than "saved by works". If it is a plea for the sinner to have affection for the Lord then that is impossible

The cross is foolishness to the unsaved, and it is only when one is convicted of sin that the cross has any meaning. The convicted sinner is looking for mercy, and when he sees Christ on the cross his heart is broken, he sees the suffering is for him. The only thing he thinks of giving the Lord is tears of contrition, and asking for forgiveness. "We love Him because He first loved us."

We now see that the apostle totally depended on the power of the Holy Spirit to convict sinners, to present the crucified Christ, and then to work a powerful change in the life of those who believed the message. He could point to the work of God in the lives of the Corinthian believers.

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That your faith should not stand eimi; to be

The apostle would, under no circumstances, take anything from the glory of God. Salvation was God's work through His Son whom He will glorify through all eternity. Paul's whole objective was to see Christ magnified, and God glorified. May we be as careful to do so in our own life. Saving faith is in Christ, nothing else.

them which are perfect; leios; full grown or mature

From verse 6 to the end of the chapter we have a section in parenthesis. In this section Paul states that there is wisdom in Christ for the mature christian, but he points out in the next chapter that it would be beyond the understanding of the carnal Corinthians or any carnal believer.

The apostle here indicates that there is wisdom for the mature christian. There were the mysteries, that is, things veiled till the appropriate time that are now revealed. It was not the wisdom of this age nor the wisdom of the princes of this age, which was nothing, but the wisdom of God now ready to be revealed.

in a mystery even the hidden musterion; that which is known only to the initiated

wisdom which God ordained proorizo; to mark out beforehand

This hidden wisdom was marked out beforehand (predetermined) by God to be revealed in due time (the church age). This wisdom deals with Christ risen high above all principality, and power, and who is given a name which is above every name. This is in the heavens where He glorifies God throughout all eternity. It is the place where the Lord Jesus Christ is "head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all." Eph 1:22-23.

This fact is only made known to believers by faith. The princes of this world refused to draw near to the cross of Christ. To the Jews He was a threat to their religious position, and to the gentiles He was a laughing stock. They did not know that this man was the Prince of Glory, nor did they want to know.

It is interesting to note that this is a quotation from Isa 64:4 where we are left with the inability to enter into what God has in mind. The apostle on the other hand, sees the veil rent, His blood sprinkled before the throne with the christian having the ability to draw nigh by the blood of Jesus.

This is a marvellous verse as it tells us that the Spirit of God within us searches the deep things of God and shows them to us. Being adopted into His family brings with it the wonderful privilege of having access into the hidden things of God. Best of all, it tells us of our intimate association with the Lord, and shows us all the glories bestowed upon Him by His loving Father. The Father's infinite grace associates us with those glories.

Should we still suffer from unbelief, God forbid, we are given an analogy. Just as no one can read another man's mind, except the individual himself, so it is with God. The Spirit of God knows His own mind, and so can inform us. It is not possible to discover the mind of God except it be revealed this way to the seeker.

For every child of God has, from the Father Himself, gracious confirmation of the fact that the Spirit of God can reveal to us what the eternal thoughts of God are. This being so we should be very happy to be in this wonderful position. It is not the spirit of the world that we have received, it is the very Spirit of God. And why? That there should be communication between the believer and the great God of creation. Furthermore that great God, who is our Father, freely gives us this information. This information is "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto ALL good works," 2 Tim 3:16. Our fellowship is with the Father and His Son.

Which things also we speak, not in the words which men's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing sunkrino; join fitly, combine

From verse 9 to verse 13 has led the believer up into the very highest plain. We have been, as it were, in the very presence of God, where we will be eternally. We have been at the feet of the Creator, Governor, and the Preserver of the whole universe who has brought us into His mind. We are there by the blood of Christ.

Paul is also conscious that the Corinthian believers were of the world, and had never risen above it. They were amongst it's weak and beggarly elements rather than being uplifted right into the very highest of the heavens in the presence of God.

It is with this in mind that the apostle clearly tells the Corinthians, and all those who are carnally minded throughout the church age, that he and his associates did not use men's wisdom. Their position was in association with their Lord. This is in contrast with the carnal christian who is associated with the thoughts of those who crucified their Lord.

The apostles says he communicated spiritual things by spiritual means which gives the idea of a process of receiving information and comparing it with other information received from the Holy Spirit so that correct information is communicated to others. All this was a work of the Holy Spirit. We ourselves, in bible study, should never make a doctrine of one verse. First note the context, then the whole bible must line up with the verse and context, and thus confirm or deny our thinking.

We now have the position of the natural man, that is the unsaved person, given to us, which is one of total estrangement to God. There is no possibility of communication whatsoever. Similarly there is no communication between the carnal christian and God either. The Holy Spirit will convict the carnal worldly christian of his wrong position and condition, and until there is confession and repentance the communication channel to God is blocked.

The commandment most often disobeyed by the carnal christian is, "be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers" 2 Cor 6:14. When challenged, this person will offer all kinds of excuses for his disobedience:
"I have to get close to the unsaved to win them." This may be partly true, but the command is not to be in the same association mutually working together.

"These christians are gathering as commanded by the Lord." This is not true on two grounds at least.

1. The gathering of saved and unsaved together is strictly forbidden as shown in 2 Cor 6:14.

2. The gathering in these cases is purely carnal, done by the disobedient. The Holy Spirit who is the

gatherer will not gather to a man, creed, or organisation, nor will He gather unsaved to the Lord’s assembly. but to the Lord alone.

Whereas the carnal christian may appear to have a fine testimony to the world he point blank refuses to obey his Lord in this matter. Can anything be worse?

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things; anakrino; examine, investigate yet he himself is judged of no man

The spiritual christian has the ability, by the indwelling Holy Spirit, to be able to exercise discerning judgment in all things. Yet he himself is outside the reach of being discerned by the natural man, or for that matter, the understanding of the carnal christian.

Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counselor hath taught Him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and shown to Him the way of understanding?" Isa 40:13-14. The answer to this is so obvious, no one! We see the same thing in the book of Job, the ways of God are past finding out. He cannot be reached. This is so in the Old Testament, and also the New. The word of God is the only approach.

Let us repeat that, we have the mind of Christ! Unbelievable but true! The spiritual christian who walks not after the flesh but after the Spirit, has the Holy Spirit indwelling. He enlightens our mind so that we understand the scriptures thus giving access into all truth. The apostle, by the power of the Spirit of God, delivered messages containing the mind of Christ to those who were in a spiritual state to discern them, no doubt it was a special gift.

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In the few verses above the apostle has clearly and graphically shown that the believer has the mind of Christ. The believer has the Spirit of God indwelling who reveals and communicates from the Word to us thus enabling him to believe and receive the mind of God. Let us remember today that the Word of God contains the whole mind of God for christians. Also remember that there is no revelation from God by any other means.

It can be said without question that the indwelling Spirit convicts us when we are wrong, and directs us to the scriptures against which we can measure ourselves.

Having been convicted every born again believer has an option either to obey or disobey the Word of God. It behoves us neither to grieve nor quench the Spirit by continued disobedience.

We should study Ephesians 4:30 where we see that our actions can cause sorrow and heaviness to God, and we are particularly commanded not to do so. Again we are commanded to "Quench not the Spirit" 1 Thes 5:19. The word quench is the same word as used in quenching a fire that is putting it out. Operating in the flesh rather than the Spirit will stop the Holy Spirit from enlightening us until we respond to His leading, and forsake our error.

Two chapters of Paul's letter to the Corinthians have been pointing out the evils of the carnal mind, and that which resulted from it, the worst of which was denominationalism. Some may ask what is a denomination. Our dictionary tells us that a denomination is a class, division, subdivision, etc. The apostle saw that the following of each person's favourite leader was division 1 Cor 1:13, "Is Christ divided." It matters not whether the Corinthian christians saw it or not, the Holy Spirit here condemns it.

The second question, which may be asked is, what is a carnal christian? It is a christian who operates using his own intelligence as his guide, rather than the Word of God. William Kelly describes carnal christians thus, "Those who, though quickened of the Spirit, are either not yet set free (as in Rom 7) and still swayed by the influence of men, and nature unjudged."

The chapters 6,7, and 8 in the book of Romans clearly describe the experience of all spiritual christians. As the Spirit works in the life of the individual believer he comes, often by bitter experience, to finally cry in despair, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing." Have you and I, in the power of the Holy Spirit, condemned everything that I am, and everything that emanates from me. We have to arrive at the conclusion that "we are the circumcision....and have no confidence in the flesh", Phil 3:3. Whilst ever we think that we are capable of making our own right decisions, engage in whatever christian activity we like, and that without reference to the Word of God, we are operating in the flesh.

The new born christian has not judged the old nature, nor seen its total evil, and certainly does not hate it in all its forms and degrees. He believes that there is something in it that is good. For example he may come to a conclusion that he may follow a certain division of christians even though the Word of God condemns it. He then goes into the exercise of self justification.

The apostle preached the gospel at Corinth, "and many of the Corinthians hearing, believed, and were baptised". Unfortunately very little progress from that time had been made. The apostle could not progress beyond the sincere milk of the Word, they were babies in the faith, without strength.

That, of course, was not their estimation of themselves. They were perfectly able, to use a modern term, to choose the denomination of their choice without any thought of being wrong. No doubt this verse was a blow to their pride (for I is the centre of pride) and should have convicted them of their error.

there is among you envying, phthonos; a feeling of displeasure by seeing the disadvantage of others

and strife, and eris: strife, the expression of enmity

The facts are stated, the witnesses (Chloe's household) support the facts, that these terrible traits existed in the church at Corinth. Have we not seen this in the world, and christendom? The traits listed in this verse are from the very pit of hell. Surely the church is heavenly and should exhibit those characteristics which are heavenly 1Cor.12:27.

Today tradition has destroyed christendom's conscience of sin in the dividing of the Christ by denominationalism. Each individual christian exercises his own volition as to which division he will follow depending on each person's thinking. We repeat it is wholly and solely their own estimation, even in the best of situations. In every case it is totally opposed to the revealed will of God in the scriptures. It is carnality, and more often than not it is accompanied by the sin of an unequal yoke.

It has been, in a number of cases, the carnal christian's judgment in joining the denomination to choose the group with the least error. Fine in as far as it goes, but it is still direct disobedience to the word of God. It is a sad, almost hopeless case, when the carnal christian ignores the evil in his chosen denomination, and worse still when he sees no discipline of that sin or evil.

The apostle has already said they were carnal, but here was the terrible proof of it. The question does not need an answer. They stood guilty, and were convicted of the crime of dishonouring, and disobeying the Lord Jesus Christ! The Corinthians could not see, nor can many christians today see, that party zeal for Christian Brethren Presbyterian or any other divisive name was no better than party zeal for Plato or Aristotle, Paul or Apollos.

The scripture which clearly shows that the Holy Spirit only gathers to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ is almost totally unknown, Mat 18:20. The exact opposite of this is when christians gather to some other name. Careful reading of Mat 18:20 shows that the verb "are gathered together" is passive voice meaning that the subject, "two or three" do not do the gathering; the Holy Spirit does. In chapter 1 verse 13 the Holy Spirit gives powerful reasons why gathering to any other person is wrong. He will now embark upon other compelling reasons also.

We should not think that in the introductory verses of this book that Paul's thanksgiving was for the Corinthian's actual state; it was not. It was for the real privileges actually bestowed upon them by God by pure grace. They stood perfect before God, but certainly their state did not match their standing. Furthermore the apostle did not call them bad men or walking like bad men, but simply "walk as men". The apostle is indignant, they were saints, and should they not walk as saints!

ministers by whom ye believed, diakonos; servant

In some circles "minister" is a title wrongly derived from these scriptures where "minister" simply means servant. Quite in contrast to those who take to themselves this title. What the apostle is really saying, let us examine each individual which you have presumed to be the superior person to follow. Who is Paul or Apollos? Who is the leader you are following? They are only servants of the Lord with each one obeying the Lord's orders. They were all on the same level, servants. Each only gave of that he had received, nothing more and nothing less.

If the Corinthians believed, or if they had learnt anything progressively, it was all from the Lord. We will have noticed that the apostle did not project his personality because his purpose was always to magnify the Lord, and particularly when he came to Corinth. Today this vicious crime against the Lord is evidenced by the way in which these unscriptural leaders assume or take on man made titles. For example they have used, reverend, pastor, bishop, and most vile of all archbishop. Let us look at what these titles mean in the world and then in the bible.

First reverend: which means, I am to be revered and held in esteem. I am your leader. Reverend belongs to the Lord, "Holy and reverend is His name." Psa.111:9. This title, belonging to and stolen from the Lord, by man in his evil pride and opposition to the Word of God.

Second pastor: (poimen; shepherd). Those who take this title act like the reverend mentioned above. Pastor, in the scripture, is never used as a title or position, but most definitely as the gift of shepherding the flock of God, an elder's work.

Third bishop: (episkopos; overseer) this is a more powerful position of reverence for it signifies being a master of a number of churches. Bishop means one who watches over or keeps guard. Again it is NOT a title but a work of an elder (presbuteros). Nowhere in the scripture is there a title or function of a man being the lord over a number of churches. Again it is contrary to scripture.

Here we see each servant obeying his Master's command, the one planted, and the other watered. Each according to his given gift. It was neither Paul or Apollos who gave the increase. It was God.

How absolutely pathetic it is when men claim credit for what God has done. Man can do nothing in the spiritual realm. He can, however, be obedient to his Lord. It matters not what gift he exercises unless it is attended by the power of the Holy Spirit it accomplishes nothing, absolutely nothing. It is God that giveth the increase. How terrible it is to hear men boast of their accomplishments whether it be the results of preaching, teaching, or the exercise of any gift because without God nothing is done. Can the farmer actually make the grapes grow? No, God alone does that! How insignificant the instrument.

He that planteth and he that watereth are one thing, they are on the same level, and they were servants of the Lord. Was there no difference between them? Of course there was, but only as God made them to differ. This indeed rebukes the party spirit of the Corinthians and no less, denominationalism today. Is not the Lord Jesus Christ sufficient for all our needs? Is He not worthy to be followed? Can we not own Him as our Lord and sovereign? He loved us and gave Himself for us so can we not show our love by obedience to His Word? The apostle now brings up the servant's reward which God will give in that day when all is revealed. It is reward according to God's perfect judgment, and not man's. The servant would be judged on his obedience to his Lord. It most certainly would not be according to his personality, his qualities, his abilities, his results, or the vote of his contemporary brethren. All that is vanity. We will see more of this in the 4th chapter.

For we are labourers together with sunergos; fellow worker(s of God)

God: ye are God's husbandry georgeon; cultivated field

ye are God's building oikodome; building, edifice

The way this verse is translated one can quite easily make a mistake as to its exact meaning. For we are fellow labourers who belong to God. Under no circumstances does the original Greek remotely mean that we are fellow workers with God. It is blasphemous to raise our level to that of God as we are all servants who work together for God, not rivals. Graciously we are His servants, and glad to be so. The following verses show that the primary emphasis is on the assembly being God's building and field. Now it is, not will be, or hope to be, but it is God's field and God's building. We are His property, and we should strive to have produced in us what He will. It is our obedience which is the central factor: "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me." Jno 14:21.

This verse and those to verse 17 bring before us very important points concerning the truth of the church, but most importantly the attitude of the apostle in his work at Corinth. Might we say it is at great variance with what we see in missionaries today. That is if they are really sent ones at all. It most certainly sets out a pattern for those who follow.

According to the grace of God charis: free mercy of God

masterbuilder, I have architekton; architect, principle artificer

laid the tithemi; put in place

foundation, and another buildeth themelios; place a stone, foundation

heed how he buildeth thereon blepo; earnest contemplation

This verse is one of vital importance. We have seen the apostle doing the work of the Lord in establishing a new assembly. Now we have his instructions to those who follow throughout the church age in building on an established foundation.

Here the apostle says that by the grace of God, and certainly not man, he acted as a chief artificer in setting the stone for the foundation. This laying was a once only thing, and once laid that was final. This does not mean that an assembly would last forever, far from it. In Revelation chapter 2 and 3 we see that the disobedient assemblies were told to repent or the lamp stand would be removed. They failed to repent, the lamp has been removed, and they are no longer a witness for the Lord, nor a habitation of God. However, the foundation having been laid, others following are warned just how and what to build upon that foundation. Now specific instructions follow in the next verse, and all who would teach in an assembly should take careful note as eternal consequences for them are at issue. It is not a light matter as the following labourer's work would be tested by the Lord.

It is important to note that there is only one foundation, and only one, Jesus Christ! No man, no creed, no country, or any other thing constituted a foundation of a christian assembly such as was Corinth! The Lord Jesus Christ, and He alone is the true centre. This is perfectly consistent with Matthew 18:20, where the Holy Spirit gathers believers to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ who is in the midst. The scripture never ask believers to do the gathering. We should notice that Paul connects all to God from whom everything spiritual flows, and we notice that it comes by grace. Not by the results of work, knowledge, human power, but by the grace of God. Paul, by preaching the gospel, watched God work in people being saved, and believers being gathered to the Lord Jesus Christ who was their centre. In no way was human effort the originator of the church of God at Corinth nor anywhere else for that matter. It is of God, from God, and by God, and that to His glory.

The responsibility of the Lord's servants are clearly marked out. They could build upon the foundation, which had been laid, things of a permanent nature, or things most transient and worthless. In this verse the builder who follows has a choice of materials with which to build.

Gold speaks of the deity, and righteousness of God; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It would last, shine, and be untarnished, so that the testimony of the assembly would show forth the glories of our great God.

This spoke of redemption; the blood of Christ, and the person of Christ. He could say "I have glorified thee on the earth". It also spoke of the mercy, the grace, and the holiness of God. Above all the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

These are things, which reflect the light. The stronger the light the stronger the reflection! The Lord reflected this in His humanity, reflected the glory of the Father in all His different aspects, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father". It also reminds us of our position as members in the body of Christ, as we reflect the glory of our Lord.

We must consider another aspect of the church where she is seen as the Lamb's bride and described as that great city of Rev 21:19, "having the glory of God", where everything about her was of great beauty as she reflected the glory of God. In her the prominent things were the gold, silver, and precious stones. One should see hat the building up of the church in local testimony should reflect the character of the church, which is His body.

The purpose of teaching is to build up the local church so that its moral character and witness answers to her eternal state in the heavens. In doing so the more the true character of her Lord is displayed the more the reproach. Nevertheless one should be careful that what is built gives the assembly all those moral qualities so that her state matches her final standing before God. Let us not detract from that.

Is that which speaks of the worthlessness of that which comes from nature. It is only temporary and transient and is of no value whatsoever and is not fireproof. Only building materials such as gold, silver, and precious stones would pass the test by fire.

We must remember that this verse has particular reference to those who teach in an assembly, those endeavouring to exercise the gift of pastor and teacher. On examination day the teacher has either edified or marred that particular group of christians. He has either built with gold, silver, and precious stones or worthless wood, hay, and stubble. The gift was not given for the edification of self; it was given "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry (service), for the edifying of the body of Christ." Eph 4:12. Every man's work will be made manifest, that is absolutely certain. The consuming fire of the judgment of God searches out, and destroys that which is of the flesh. One fears that most of what is viewed today is just wood, hay, and stubble which will fail that test by fire. We must remember not only the work will be judged, but also the worker.

"For God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Eccl 12:14. Again "For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ" Rom 14:10. "Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body. according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 2Cor.5:9-10.

Before leaving the above verses in Romans 14 we must be careful to note the context. It has to do with days and eating, and not discipline. The whole New Testament demands discipline in the assembly without which there is no assembly testimony, and for this judgment (discernment) is required. The point above is that the weak brother should not be argued with, particularly when he is not a member of the assembly. "if any man will to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine." Jno 7:17.

Having seen then that each and every christian must give an account of his stewardship and each teacher must watch his work being tried by fire, it behoves us to be careful in what we do for Him. If we are like most of the Corinthians we will build wood, hay, and stubble.

All our efforts will come from the flesh, our ideas, our interpretations of the scripture, and our common sense is used instead of scripture, all of which is pure wood, hay, and stubble. It will all go up in flames. This results from no serious study of the scripture, and not bringing that particular effort or teaching to the light of the Word of God for critical examination, and self denied. On the other hand we can wait on the Holy Spirit to enlighten us from His Word which so that we can pass it on to others. This will be the revelation of God in Christ as the base, and then that, which is of God, His deity, His Son, His commandments, and mysteries, all of which will be according to the scriptures as a whole, but definitely not by making, and teaching a doctrine based on a single verse.

Now we see the purpose of the test by fire, which is to reveal that which is of God Himself, and destroy the works of the flesh. The laborer, being faithful and diligent, is rewarded for his work; he had been building with gold, silver, and precious stones. He has studied "to show himself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth" 2 Tim 2:15.

For the faithful it is certainly a cheer to know that the Lord indeed rewards loving service. Let us, however, make it quite clear that it is only the obedient that love the Lord, we repeat, it is only the obedient that love the Lord, and it is the only measure of love. "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me." Jno 14:21. The reverse is true he that keepeth not My commandments loveth Me not!

The faithful servant will find constant opposition to the word of God, even slander, and not only from the world who hates Christ, but from the Lord's own people. The carnal christian is opposed to the Word of God, and embraces that which is of the flesh.

but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire dia; through, in spite of.

We now observe the result of the carnal servant's labour where we see the fire consuming it. The wood, hay, and stubble of the flesh cannot stand the test of divine fire. It must all go up in smoke. Brother, can you look forward to that day, and see your life's work in the assembly go up in flames. If it does, all that work has been in vain, eternal loss will be suffered with nothing to show for it.

This is not necessary. We can now study our position before the Lord according to the Word of God, renounce the works of the flesh whether it is evil doctrine or evil works, and walk in the Spirit, and build with gold, silver, and precious stones. Is our work dividing the assembly either by strife, or vertically and horizontally? By vertically we mean separating men and women with separate meetings. By horizontally we mean by dividing the assembly between young and old. If so we have destroyed the assembly's witness as to the unity of the body of Christ. It is worthless.

There is one thing for those in error, who are born again, the faithfulness of the Lord. "he himself shall be saved", how wonderful is the grace of God. The unprofitable and disobedient servant is finally saved for eternity. This is so in spite of the testing fire. He nevertheless has suffered eternal loss! We may not understand now fully just what that means, but it is eternal loss, something surely that we must avoid.

So far the above two verses have not taken into consideration the whole mind of God. They have been viewed from the servant's point of view. The obedient servant receives a reward, and the disobedient servant suffers eternal loss. The next two verses look at the same subject from the Lord's point of view. In them we see how terrible the judgment for those who build wood, hay, and stubble.

This is of vital importance because we can trace God dwelling among His people from the Tabernacle onward where we find that He dwelt among His people on the ground of shed blood. The building of the local church at Corinth, and anywhere else, is also based upon shed blood, and is a work of God alone. It is the place of holiness, which must be maintained. It is God's property, not man's, and should it be marred He may leave it as He did the Temple in Jerusalem. Please note in this verse the assembly is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. That we are the temples of the Holy Spirit is another truth.

The building of this temple of God begins when a person believes the gospel, and he allows the Holy Spirit to gather him to where the Lord Jesus Christ is in the midst. Please note the scripture is very careful to clearly show that the christian does not do the gathering. It is not his choice, the Holy Spirit gathers, "Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house."1 Peter 2:5. We also read "...how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God" 1 Tim 3:15.

Furthermore the principles of God never change. We read in Deuteronomy chapter 12 that it is in the place where the Lord places His name there ye shall offer your sacrifices. Similarly the Lord placed the temple in Jerusalem. In every place the Lord chooses to place His name, there and only there believers are to worship. It is the presence of God, which makes the temple. This is seen in Mat 18:20.

If any man defile the phtheiro; to destroy by means of corrupting

temple of God him shall naos; the house itself

God destroy; for the phtheiro; (as above)

temple of God is holy, which naos; (as above) temple ye are.

This verse requires careful study for it contains one of the most severe judgment of God upon disobedient believers. As severe as it is that person may not even be aware that they have been judged. One would think that this would be impossible. The disobedient one is an unprofitable servant, their work will be destroyed by fire, they will suffer eternal loss, they will be saved in spite of the fire, and still not be aware of it. Impossible you say: not at all!

Let us note this verse; " The servant of the Lord must not strive; be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." 2 Tim 2:24-26. What a statement, these people are opposing themselves, not God, by opposition to the truth. Satan has taken them captive, and it is only a maybe that they will ever come to know or acknowledge the truth, and get out of Satan's trap. This believer has been blinded to his position, and willingly works for Satan! Unbelievable but it is true.

In returning to our verse we see, "if any man destroy by corrupting the local church, God will destroy him by corrupting." We ask, what does destroy by corrupting it mean? If refers to teachers in an assembly primarily, so we have to know what this corrupting teaching is. First of all it is building wood, hay, and stubble; it is that which emanates from the flesh be it ever so refined, it is still evil. It is that teaching which is contrary to the scriptures.

Let us look at some examples of this kind of teaching. First we have already been shown that denominationalism is wrong, and very clearly so. Then follows the usurping the Lord as head of His church by appointing men to be leaders in the local church thus preventing direct communications between the member and his Lord. The misunderstanding of what an assembly is provides fertile ground for error of this kind. If we confine ourselves to those groups of christians who call themselves christian assemblies, and look at their error in the past 50 years or more we see almost all have become denominational by forming the Christian Brethren movement. This denominational tag has allowed a denominational handbook to dictate to them, and list adherents to that denomination. The Steward's Foundation, for example, who own the local church's property is Satanic in origin.

Then look at evil doctrine in teaching that sectional meetings are scriptural. With this comes "youth leaders" which is absolutely contrary to "Christ followers". In fact anything which destroys the local assembly being characteristic of the church, which is His body' is Satanic. The local assembly must demonstrate the Head controlling the members directly, and NOT indirectly through an appointed person, and all must be according to scripture with the flesh excluded.

We read in this verse "him will God destroy by corrupting" which is quite remarkable. It would indicate that the corrupting influence of the teacher indicates his spiritual state, completely carnal. What is God's response to one corrupting the assembly? He does so by corrupting of the offender. Destroy and defile in this verse is the same Greek word, "to destroy by corruption". The word defile - destroy, "is used of marring a local church by leading it away from the condition of holiness of life and purity of doctrine in which it should abide" W E Vine. The Lord allows the offender to be led away similarly.

"Holiness, O Lord, becometh thine house forever" Psa 93:5. This fact demands that those who teach in the assembly be spiritual, and have no confidence in the flesh. The flesh must be judged and forsaken in the individual so that its outworking can not affect the assembly. Above all the teacher must "study to show thyself approved of God rightly dividing the word of truth". With this knowledge the apostle, in speaking to the elders of Ephesus, said, "take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock" Acts 20:28. Those whom God has made responsible for the shepherding of the flock must first take heed unto themselves. Here elders are clearly told personal condition proceeds teaching others, because the responsibility is great. The local church has been purchased by the precious blood of Christ, and is dear to Him. He will not allow any defiling of the temple without chastisement and judgment.

The Spirit of God, with divine foreknowledge, shows us the state to which an assembly may descend in the third epistle of John. Here a carnal christian has taken control of the meeting, and even refused the apostle, and cast out whom he would. So it is today where we have many Diotrephes in assemblies. Without discipline, and if the flesh has taken complete control, the spiritual believer may find he has to leave the place from which the lamp-stand has been removed. To all such, the Lord will guide by obedience to His Word.

Verse 18

Let no man deceive himself. If any exapatao; to thoroughly deceive

man among you seemeth to be wise dokeo; to be of the opinion

fool, that he may be wise moros: dull sluggish

The apostle continues from this verse to the end of chapter 4 to show the evil and futility of the wisdom of men. It seems it is not enough for the Corinthians to take the Word of God, therefore the apostle points out the futility of the wisdom of men which is the fruit of the flesh. Far from being disjointed the first four chapters teach that denominationalism is evil. He then gives his own testimony together with Apollos to point out that they were first of all faithful, then despised, suffered all kinds of persecution, and counted the dregs of humanity. Which things are those who are followers of the Lord. He then contrasts this with the Corinthians who lived as kings, and suffered none of the reproach of Christ.

Finally at the end of chapter four he suggest that should he come again it would be to discipline. In spite of such powerful arguments christians throughout the ages have continued in the Corinthian's error. It shows the power of tradition, the weakness of the flesh, and the guile of Satan. It is nevertheless disappointing to see the wholesale destruction of the church today. Let us return to the Lord and obey Him. After all the argument put forth by the Holy Spirit to convince and convict the carnal christian that worldly human wisdom is totally useless and sinful the Holy Spirit now makes a profound statement. Do not thoroughly deceive yourself. If any Corinthian christian or any christian through the church age is of the opinion that he is wise by the world's standards, he is commanded to become a fool, in order that he may be wise.

In the first verb in the sentence "let" and "deceive" are two words used in English for the intensive of "deceive", another wording may be "make sure you don't thoroughly and completely deceive yourself" The verb "become" is in the imperative mood which is equivalent to a command hence "let" proceeds "become". In effect if one thinks they are wise they are commanded to become a fool in order to be wise. Surely nothing could be clearer.

written, He taketh the wise in Job 5:13

their own craftiness panourgia: unscrupulous conduct

Here again it is a repetition of the fact that worldly wisdom is absolute foolishness with God. One wonders how often this statement really has to be made, but irrespective of this repetition christians will not listen nor understand. Here is another warning to those who follow after and teach in the assembly. "He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." This is a fact, this is what God does. How foolish to fight against God, yet christians do so. Let us quote Job; "He disappointed the devices of the crafty,, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong. They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night", Job 5:2-14.

Who are the crafty? Those who oppose the truth of God primarily for their own advantage. These are gainsayers whose mouths must be stopped, with all who peddle error. Previous verses have given us an insight, but this verse seems to indicate craftiness is used for base gain.

The apostle uses a quotation from Psalms; "The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity." Psa 94:11. More repetition, surely meaning that the message is of vital importance. We pray that all who read His Word may bow to it and obey.

Again the Lord repeats these words of wisdom, and one supposes that it is somewhat like the cries of the Lord long ago when about 22 times He asks the question "How long?" The Lord is patient, the Lord is kind to His people, but to the unrepentant there eventually comes the rod of chastisement. The issue at stake is, His Holiness, and His Glory which our witness dims by our disobedience.

Why glory in frail and evil humanity when we have everything in Christ. Look up, for our redemption draweth nigh. He shall descend from heaven with a shout, and we will be forever with the Lord.

This statement seems to be difficult to understand: how can we have all things? Let us note this passage: "Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him." Eph 1:9-10. Here we see everything is His. Not only that but we read on: "In whom we also have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will:" Eph 1:10.

Everything is gathered up in Christ and in Him we have an inheritance. Not only so, but we have been sealed WITH, not by, the Holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest (arrabon; a pledge) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory." Eph 1:13-14.

This is without a doubt one of the most marvelous verses in the bible. We are given the Holy Spirit to indwell as a pledge or down payment on the purchased possession. What is that possession? It is the new creature into which we are made when we believe. How long do we have the Holy Spirit as a pledge or down payment? Until the purchase of the possession! Can we loose the pledge? It is not our business! We have been purchased by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, no greater price can be paid, than that which He has purchased as His. "We are not our own we have been bought with a price" 1 Cor 6:20 & 7:23. We have an inheritance and it is ours eternally, and can never be forfeited. We read on, "and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all." Eph 1:22-23.

How remarkable, what is His is ours. We have been adopted in God's family, and as sons we have an inheritance in light. There is nothing more that we need; in Him we have everything.

What is there on earth that can compare with the "everything" with Christ in heavenly glory, nothing! We wish that christians today could just see that in reality. Yet a little while and we shall be with Him in a state beyond our comprehension. Our inheritance is beyond our imagination in its glory, its extent, and its substance. See "How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which is not lawful for a man to utter." 2 Cor 12:2.

The first four chapters of this book are most remarkable for its repetition. This being the fact the student of scripture should recognise the vital importance of the subject matter. This subject is the intrusion of the flesh into the realm of the Spirit to destroy the temple of God. That is the important point. The temple, His dwelling place, is that which reflects the glory, and man has the audacity to mar it. Even the heathen recognise the importance of their idol temple whereas christians seem to have no such feeling.

The temple of God is the believers, in a locality, gathered together around the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this capacity they reflect the glory of God as seen in Christ with His members joined to Him. Each member baptised into His body, bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh, and each receiving power and communications from their Head. The church, which is His body in heaven glorifies God above all else for eternity. The church in local testimony should faithfully reflect that without interference from man, yet man has no hesitation in carving it up by denominationalism. No wonder this is the first and greatest condemnation of christians everywhere.

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