1 Corinthians 1
1 Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
Sosthenes, Greek is "savior of his nation" and he was the chief ruler of a synagogue in Corinth; Ref. Acts 18:17. Because of his conversion from Judaism to Christianity he was beaten.
2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:
3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
We have been given "grace" = "unmerited favor" by the blood of Christ Jesus, The last sacrifice.
4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
You can be as smart in the worldly ways as you want to think you are or wise, full of knowledge in everything. The difference is having God's Word or not.
6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
It's confirmed in you because you believe. You know what Christ did for you and you're ready to tell others.
7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
We've confirmed our belief by faith and we study His Word. It brings peace of mind and the ability to help others while we wait on His coming.
8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Your faith in Christ saves you until the 7th trump = The Lords day.
9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Do you know what a denomination is? It's a division from others. I'm simply Christian. There is no denomination with this Ministry. We serve The Lord and His name is Christ Jesus Yashua. We study from the The King James Bible, the closest to the original manuscripts for the English reader. Paul is begging us to get together on The Truth. New "bibles" and denominations have separated people from The Truth.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
"Chloe" Χλόη Chlóē, khlo'-ay; feminine of apparently a primary word; "green"; Chloë, a Christian female:— Chloe = "a green herb" sadly they have problems within.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
That's four divisions within this church. A REAL church of God follows Christ, nothing else. Look what has happened to us today. Today, this has nothing to do with a name of a church, but what is being taught within it.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
A REAL church of God has nothing to do with what we say, but that of God. Paul doesn't like what he is hearing. They are dividing themselves in different beliefs. It's why we have so many denominations today. People have gone their own ways. Re-written Gods Word. Put traditions in place instead of Truth.
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
Paul had baptized Crispus and Gaius.
15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
People take one thing and turn it into something else. Paul is saying if he had baptized anyone else, they would have twisted it by saying he did so in his name, not Christ Jesus. As far as he's concerned, he has only baptized these two and another named, Stephanas.
16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
Paul is saying he doesn't know the names of people he has baptized other than Crispus, Gaius and Stephanas. It's not important who he has baptized. Why?
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
What mattered to Paul is the fact that they [hear the Word of God], "lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect". The cross is what makes the effect of salvation. The blood is what has saved us. His sacrifice.
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
If you believe you must be washed by water to be saved, then the preaching of the cross you must find foolish. It's the preaching of the cross that by faith receive the Lord Jesus Christ into their hearts, through the repentance of their sins to our Father, always in Jesus name. That death of Christ on the cross is what gives us hope and the security that we have eternal life. Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? The "eternal Spirit" is the Holy Spirit. Christ was without spot, He had no sin. These dead works and traditions have nothing to do with your salvation. Taking a bath in front of people will not save you. We have proven that in this study. Christ saves us through His blood. Hebrews 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
"It is written" is in reference to Isaiah 29:14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. People are wise in their own minds. They're worldly, boastful, foolish thoughts have nothing to do with reality. They make up their own ways, throwing away The Way. People believe in "global warming" and not God. Many believe all "religions" are the path to the same god, without knowing they serve a god in their minds, satan.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
TRUE wisdom comes from ONLY one place, God's Word. EVERYTHING else is waste. Most churches have brought the world into the church, making void The Truth. Deceiving themselves to the tricks of satan.
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
These worldly people look at any talk about The cross of Christ as foolishness. They look at TRUE Christians as the fools. Beware! There are many today that play both sides.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
The Kenites religious leaders wanted a sign from Christ and Christ tells them; Matthew 12:39-40 39 But He answered and said unto them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:" 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. This "wisdom" that these Greeks seek, Paul is talking about "reasoning" or "conforming" in today's world. They want to twist it to believe in when their faith should carry them through.
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
They don't believe in life after this flesh, so they refuse to believe Christ was crucified on the cross and rose on the third day.
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
God is The Only Way to Truth, wisdom, knowledge and power; period!
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
There is no comparison to humans. If God had any foolishness, it would be wiser than our wisest.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
God rarely calls on those high scholars or professors to teach His Word. He calls on fishermen, carpenters, tax collectors, housewives, garbage collectors, janitors, etc. Know it alls not needed!
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
God gives the worldly people exactly what they ask for, people just like them. When you refuse Him, He'll let you go your way. True love isn't forced.
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
These "base things" are those little things of the world and this is what God has chosen to let bring the worldly people down. Stock market crash? It brings them down because they don't want to see what is truly important in life. Don't have enough money to go to the movies, but your cigs? You have no real focus on what is real.
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
People should wake up in the morning and see the blessing of life God has given them and keep that frame of mind throughout the whole day, but the worldly people refuse to see any blessing from God as that from Him. It's a me, remote control society.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
These things aren't foolishness to us, Real Christians. These things have given us true peace, the only peace you can have in an evil world. We have the surety of the cross and the blood has given us life everlasting. There's power in the blood and wisdom in The Word.
31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 23 Thus saith the Lord, 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord Which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.