1 Corinthians

Passage: 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1

Join us as our pastor, Jonathan Brooks, teaches on 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1.

In 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1, Paul shows us that God wants us to live in the full freedom of the gospel, and yet do so in such a way that we avoid putting up obstacles to the gospel. This requires us to live in dependence on the wisdom God gives us, the truth of His Word, prayer, and the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Therefore, in this passage, Paul isn’t giving us law, he’s showing us how to navigate living in the freedom of the gospel with love for our neighbor. So, there are three key questions that Paul wants us to ask as we seek to live in the freedom of the gospel:

How will my actions impact others? (23-24)

How will my actions be viewed by others? (25-30)

How will my actions bring glory to God? (31-33)

Passage: 1 Corinthians 10:1-22

Join us as pastor Nathaniel Miller teaches on 1 Corinthians 10:1-22.

In 1 Corinthians 10:1-22, Paul teaches the Corinthians (and us) from the story of the Exodus that we should discipline ourselves, flee idolatry, and pursue faithfulness to Christ in our worship and our lives. We explored this passage with this outline:

1.        We must recognize the faithful provision of Christ (v. 1-5)

2.        We must heed the warnings of evil desire against Christ (v. 6-13)

3.        We must participate in the pure worship of Christ (v. 14-22)

Passage: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27

Join us as our pastor, Jonathan Brooks, teaches on 1 Corinthians 9:19-27.

In 1 Corinthians 9:19-27, Paul is challenging us to be radical in our approach to evangelism, while at the same time being committed to intentional discipleship and holiness. There can be a natural tension that exists between these biblical priorities, and this passage helps us balance them. We can take the risks of laying down our freedoms to win the lost if we are pursuing self-control and discipline in our walk with Christ.

We must lay down our freedoms to win the lost. (19-23)

We must exercise self-control and discipline for faithful endurance. (24-27)

Passage: 1 Corinthians 9:1-18

Join us as our pastor, Jonathan Brooks, teaches on 1 Corinthians 9:1-18.

In 1 Corinthians 9:1-18 Paul puts himself forward as an example to the Corinthians of someone who has given up their rights for the sake of the gospel. In chapter 8, Paul calls us to be willing to give up our rights and freedoms in the gospel for the spiritual well-being of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore, he knew that it would be helpful to show that even he, as an apostle, was willing to give his rights as an apostle. So, Paul gives us three truths about his life to demonstrate that we too should be willing to lay down our rights for the gospel:

Position as an apostle. (1-2)

Privileges of an apostle. (3-14)

Prize of the gospel. (12b, 15-18)

Passage: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Join us as our pastor, Jonathan Brooks, teaches on 1 Corinthians 8:1-13.

In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul is addressing the question of food offered to idols. While he will address the question itself in greater detail in chapters 9 and 10, he first wants to use this opportunity to teach the Corinthian church, and therefore also us, what it means to love our brothers and sisters and help them pursue maturity in Christ. This is the main issue of chapter 8. Are we willing to order our lives in such a way that we’re even willing to give up our freedoms and rights in the gospel for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ? So, how can we help others pursue growth and maturity in Christ?

Build up others through love (1-3)

Show patience in discipleship (4-7)

Guard one another (8-13)

Passage: 1 Corinthians 7:25-40

Join us as our pastor, Jonathan Brooks, teaches on 1 Corinthians 7:25-40.

In 1 Corinthians 7:25-40, Paul is addressing the question of whether or not engaged couples should continue to pursue marriage after becoming Christians. Though this passage is mainly directed at the question of whether or not engaged couples in Corinth should get married, it also has a lot to tell us about how we should process important decisions in our lives. What should we take into consideration? What priorities should influence our life decisions? What Paul is going to show us in this passage is the importance of understanding how we can allow our lives to most effectively be used for the glory of God. That decision-making process applies to pursuing marriage as an engaged couple and it applies to dozens of other major decisions we need to make in our lives. So, Paul provides us with two principles for making life decisions that are motivated by the glory of Jesus:

We must count the cost. (25-31)

We must consider how our lives can be most useful for the Lord. (32-40)

Passage: 1 Corinthians 7:17-24

Join us as our pastor, Jonathan Brooks, teaches on 1 Corinthians 7:17-24.

In 1 Corinthians 7:17-24, we learn that in order to be useful for God and a faithful follower of Jesus, you don’t need to make radical changes to your cultural or ethnic identity, your social status, or your occupation. God is ready to use you for the glory of his name and the advance of his kingdom right where you are as you are. He repeats this guiding principle 3 different times in 3 slightly different ways in these few verses. Verse 17, “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.” Verse 20, “20 Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called.” And, verse 24, “24 So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.”

Paul is saying that your position in this life - whether it’s cultural, socioeconomic, or occupational - doesn’t define you. All of those things are secondary to your primary identity in Christ. We can flourish in our walk with Christ right where we are when he calls us to Himself. So, this passage provides us with three helpful principles to help us live for the glory of Christ where God has placed us:

We can trust his sovereignty over our lives. (17)

We find our primary identity in Christ, not culture or ethnicity. (18-19)

We find our primary identity in Christ, not our status or occupation. (20-24)

Passage: 1 Corinthians 7:10-16

Join us as our pastor, Jonathan Brooks, teaches on 1 Corinthians 7:10-16.

In 1 Corinthians 7:10-16, Paul turns his attention to misunderstandings of the marriage covenant. There were individuals who felt they needed to leave their marriages to honor God and live in obedience to him. There were married believers who thought the right thing to do was abandon their marriage because it was better to be celibate and not engage in sexual relationships. There were others married to unbelievers who thought they needed to leave their marriage because the presence of the unbeliever would corrupt them, make them unclean, and cause them to produce children who were unclean.

It’s important to understand this context so that we understand what Paul is addressing. Paul isn’t covering every possible scenario that leads to questions about divorce and remarriage. Instead, he’s answering a few specific questions they have about their marriage commitments now that they’ve come to trust in Christ. As a result, we’re able to learn that God views marriage as a covenant between two people that is real and should not be broken out of a desire to pursue some greater good for the sake of Christ. Instead, God views the marriage itself as a greater good that should be honored for the glory of Jesus.

There are three situations Paul is addressing in this passage:

Pursuit of piety is not cause for divorce. (10-11)

Having an unbelieving spouse is not cause for divorce. (12-16)

If an unbelieving spouse abandons the marriage, you are not bound. (15)

Passage:1 Corinthians 7:1-9

Join us as our pastor, Jonathan Brooks, teaches on1 Corinthians 7:1-9.

In 1 Corinthians 7:1-9, the Corinthian church has taken Paul’s instructions about sexual immorality to an unhealthy extreme. You can see that in verse 1 where he quotes what they have written to him: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” It seems that some in the church were now teaching that any kind of sexual relation - even within marriage - was forbidden. It was good for it not to happen at all - ever - in any context. This is classic asceticism - the assumption that the best way to fight against sin is to go to the extreme. If sexual relations are sinful in some contexts, then it should be avoided in all contexts.

So, what is Paul’s answer? The Corinthians are claiming that they should engage in some kind of sexual asceticism. Paul, however, has a different answer both for married couples and single individuals. How do you fight against sexual temptation for the glory of Jesus? How should we pursue holiness in relation to sexual temptation?

Married couples pursue holiness by giving themselves to their spouse. (2-5)

Singles who are gifted by God pursue holiness by remaining single. (6-8)

Singles who are not gifted by God pursue holiness by desiring marriage. (9)

Passage: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Join us as our pastor, Jonathan Brooks, teaches on 1 Corinthians 6:12-20.

What and how we think about our bodies drives our ethical decisions. That’s why it’s crucial that we have a biblical anthropology that informs how we think about our bodies. This is what Paul is doing in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20. He shapes how we are to think about our bodies and shows us how a Christ-informed anthropology should drive us to live for the glory of God in our bodies. That’s the end goal: Glorify God in your body.

The main issue Paul is addressing in 6:12-20 is sexual immorality, but he deals with that issue by saying more than just: Don’t be sexually immoral. He also shows the theological truths that should cause us to want to pursue putting sexual immorality to death in our lives. So, there are 4 truths Paul gives us about our bodies to equip us to fight against sexual temptation:

Your body was made for the Lord. (12-14)

Your body is a member of Christ. (15-18)

Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. (19)

Your body was bought with a price. (20)