The word discipline oftentimes means something negative. What the text commends to us is that discipline is good for the church. It's redemptive. It's not about pushing people out; it's more about pushing people towards Jesus so they'll reengage with the church community.

Among a host of other issues, the church at Corinth's view of leadership was warped. They wanted to follow leaders who looked more like Roman rulers or stoic philosophers and less like Jesus. And they were becoming like who they were following. So do we.

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul continues to address the problem of division at the church at Corinth that stemmed from their love of human leaders and worldly wisdom. The "remedy" that Paul essentially gives for this division is a reminder of their identity, not just who they are, but whose they are.

In chapter two, Paul continues to challenge the Corinthians on their division that has stemmed from their love of worldly wisdom over and above the godly wisdom of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Paul reminds the Corinthians of the fact that even in spite of his lack of "worldly wisdom" and rhetorical skills, that the Holy Spirit showed up in power and transformed their lives from hopeless pagans to forgiven and redeemed children of God.

Biblical wisdom is the skill of living that is aligned with the things of God. The Corinthians were viewing wisdom and knowledge as a tool for achieving self gain. Paul takes on this idea of worldly wisdom and says… don’t be impressed.

Paul begins his letter to the church at Corinth with an appeal, which kicks off a big issue and will end up being an underlying theme of what Paul will talk about throughout this whole letter. That theme is unity.

Most commenters say the church at Corinth was a mess. So you might ask… how did it get that bad? Along with being a young church full of new Christians, this church had been overly influenced by their culture, to the point that the culture was more influential in their lives than the gospel. Corinth is like many modern day churches.

God provides for our simples needs, our real needs, and our greatest need in advance us even asking him. He does this by giving us Jesus, who was cast down so that you might be lifted up… just like an ax head at the bottom of the Jordan River.

God’s Word is His revelation to humanity, the unveiling of who He is and what He has done for us. His Word is both information, but most importantly, it is an invitation to a life-transforming relationship with Him, made possible through trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Many of us have a vague sense of what happened after the resurrection, but a lot of us have no idea, at least in terms of knowing not just what Jesus did but why it matters.