Series on First Corinthians

We must remember that the church was very divided, it was a big problem. They were arguing about everything. People become divisive when they forget [that] they’re just one beggar along with another beggar who got given some bread. Nobody’s better than anyone else. Nobody is. But you become haughty when you think, "You know, I think God got me on the first round draft pick." No.

What better way to begin [this] letter than to remind them that they are undeserving of God’s grace which was bestowed on them from the beginning (verse 4). We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19 (NKJV)).

How did they receive this enrichment? (verses 5,6) It was through the speaking of the word and the knowledge possessed for which they were enriched. God completed their testimony because He backed it up with miraculous [powers] (verse 7), including the gift of speaking and the gift of knowledge, both of which are spoken of [later] in chapter 12.

Now even though the mindset of the Roman [civilization] was world-domination, [and] believe me, Rome was major-league oppressive. If you could imagine [for] a second, if Canada took over the U.S. and you not only had to pay all the taxes and everything that you have: the local city, state, federal, property tax, sales tax, but then Canada says, "Hi, we’re going to put a hockey tax on you and it’s equal to [all your] other [taxes] and we’re going to force you to pay for it and we’re going to start taking your stuff if you don’t pay for it…​ I doubt many of you would want to eat maple syrup on your pancakes anymore.

Rome was much more oppressive and they really got pushy, they [would] just come and destroy your city and say, "Okay, now you can live in tents." If you live at all.

Paul confirmed the reality of a temporal world [that is, one that is a physical & temporary, not an everlasting spiritual world]. He confirmed that this world, which seems so powerful and never ending, was only temporary. It was just temporary. And this lines up with the Christian view that the world is only temporary. Everything we have, as hard as it is to imagine, but everything as you know it and as you have it and I have it, it’s all going away, everything is.

This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through…​

Naked from my mother’s womb I came
and naked shall I go the same
but Lord, oh Lord, blessed be your name, paraphrasing
Job (1:21).

The Christian must view this world as temporal and soon to fade away if they are going to be in line with God’s thinking.

Another phrase [from verse eight] that Paul’s emphasizing is: “the day of the Lord”, this is a common phrase from the Old Testament, echoing that this earth and her ways will someday meet its end.

When Paul uses "the day of the Lord" he’s having all these divisive Corinthians who are out dressing each other, out arguing each other, thinking one’s fancier than one another. This is all going away my friend. It’s all going away.

SR:
In verse 8, Paul says that Jesus will CONFIRM us to the end, blameless "in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." He’s talking about judgment day, the end of time. We will be confirmed blameless on that day. "The day of the Lord" is the judgment.

I looked up the phrase, "day of the Lord" in my Bible app. Depending on the translation, most had between 24 and 38 occurrences. Some of the them had editorial headings that inflated the count, but there are a good number of references. They all deal with judgment. Look some of them up, I think you’ll be surprised. There are many references in the Old Testament.

One thing I particularly liked about Paul’s use of the phrase here (in verse 8) is that he identified who the Lord is, in "the day of the Lord…​"

1 Corinthians 1:8 (NKJV) [Jesus] will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When you go back and look at "the day of the Lord" in the OT, remember, that the Lord there IS our Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The day of the Lord IS THE DAY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST!!!

Chloe’s people were likely slaves within the household [who had evidently observed all the squabbling, all the immorality going on within the church]. They obviously had informed Paul of the incredible pettiness concerning their “Christian” approach to each other. We must remember that the primary reason for writing this letter was to deal with all their divisiveness, so that they could get their house in order.

Paul encouraged them to be of the same mind and of the same judgment. It was not a matter of simple, trivial matters for which they were to agree, but the core teachings. The word that Paul used for exhort/appeal was one with authority. It’s better said, “I order you to be of the same mind and judgment.” He’s not suggesting that they do this, he’s ordering them to have the same mind and the same judgment. He could do this because he had apostolic authority.

One of the great quarrels among them was over who the individual was who baptized them. Instead of being focused on Whom one was baptized into, that is the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, it had become a point of bragging!

Apollos had been there, he lead some to Christ, he baptized some. Peter had been there, he baptized some. Paul had baptized some. And they started making arguments saying, "I’m better than you because I was baptized by Paul himself." "I always say, "Well, Peter’s better than [him], I was baptized by Peter." "Well, Apollos is mighty in the scriptures, educated in Alexandria, I was baptized by him." And then some actually were saying, "My baptism is of Jesus." Now, they were the only one[s] that [were actually] right at that point, but they still made it a point of divisiveness! It is possible to say the right thing from the wrong motives!

It is of interest to note that a common phrase of the pagans in Corinth at this time. Here’s what it is, ready? “I am of Aphrodite.” Written all over the city. It’s like, I heart New York. You know what that means, right? This was their way of saying that they had gone all the way in their pagan worship even to the immoralities of the Temple of Aphrodite.

Now Paul borrows a phrase of their own. What they’ve done is they’ve taken that, that spirit that [is] almost patriotism and then applied it to who baptized them…​ I am of Paul, I am of…​, Do you see how they did that?

You see, everyone has bias, I don’t care who you are.
All of us have bias. You would not be you, if you did not have bias.
We all have different experiences in our life.
We’re all at different levels of study,
but if we do not recognize our implicit bias it will come back and haunt us all the time just like things that they did.

Was it just by mistake, [an accident,] that they were rampant in immorality? No, that was their bias.

Is it just that they’re rampant and saying things, "I am of Paul, I am of Apollos?" No, because they’ve been saying it for years (to Aphrodite), their father[s], their grandfather[s], their great-grandfather[s], their brothers, sisters, cousins, everybody was saying it. They just slid it over with their bias and Paul called [them] on it.

This [is] what happened when they took a pagan view into [their] relationship with God. And the only way to deal with those biases are to acknowledge that there’s bias.

Paul would say to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 8 verse 2

That should be all of our slogans. "Oh, I know exactly what…​" No, no, you better rethink it and rethink it. You have to take it with a new heart and a new approach every time. If it’s true, it’ll come out the same, but at least you’ll be stripped of your biases.

Our father will have no other gods before him and that includes connection to other gods as well. When they were focusing on who baptized them instead of Christ, they were playing the old Aphrodite idolatry game with God and he does not like that.

Now there are those of the “baptismless movement” who like to quote verse 17 in an attempt to “prove” that baptism is not important.

That was not what Paul was saying, but that his focus was to preach the gospel inclusive to baptism. He did not come to [perform] the most baptisms, but to preach Christ crucified (2:2), including baptism as part of it. The mere fact that he admitted baptizing respondents to his preaching, combined with the actual record of this from the Book of Acts, confirms this is what he taught.

He is simply saying that he was an instrument in God’s hand to spread the gospel of salvation. To conclude a “Baptismless” gospel is nothing more than a disingenuous attempt to cling to false teaching that leads to false conversion and false hopes. This “baptismless” gospel has even led to division in the church today.

SR: I want to look at Paul’s argument in this context. To see what Paul is saying about baptism.

From this we get that baptism is important, it is done in a name. That name is in Christ. We can say we are of Christ, if we were baptized into his name. And baptism is done in the name of the ONE who was CRUCIFIED for us! Baptism connects a NAME and a CRUCIFIXION to US.

Maybe now we can understand Jesus saying, "Depart from me, I NEVER KNEW YOU" and we can understand it would be to those who never took on His name…​ They were never baptized into His name OR crucifixion (ie death!). Baptism is done IN THE NAME of SOMEONE!

We are extending the invitation, now, to anyone who is subject to it. Come,…​ while we stand and sing.