1 Cor 15:1-16:24

1 Cor 15:1-8 (NIV) Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

• This section starts out differently than most of the previous sections. What is different and what does that tell us?
  
  • It does not start with "now concerning," so it is not referencing their previous letter
    
  • Either this is an observation that Paul has concerning some, or some others have provided this information, or it would be natural to think this way based on the Corinthian culture
    
• An interesting question, what are the minimal requirements for belief leading to salvation versus belief in vain?
  
  • Minimal:
    
    • Christ died for our sins
      
    • Burial emphasizes the fact that Christ died
      
  • Not necessary for salvation, but salvation is worthless without:
    
    • Christ rose from the dead on the third day conquering death
      
      • "Though the resurrection is part of the gospel message, it is not part of the saving work of Christ on the cross. The resurrection is stated as proof of the efficacy of Christ's death. Having accomplished redemption by His death, Jesus Christ was 'raised because of our justification' (Rom. 4:25). The fact that Jesus Christ is alive is part of the Christian's good news, but individuals are saved by His death, not by His resurrection." [1]
        
    • Knowledge of who and how many saw him after the resurrection
      
• While it is not necessary for salvation to know who and how many saw him after the resurrection, Paul emphasizes this point -- for what reason?
  
  • The resurrection is an established verified historical fact. At the time of the letter, you could talk to eye-witnesses of the event
    
  • Paul's experience as an eye-witness, although in more unusual circumstances, and much later, established his credentials as an apostle
    
• Paul calls himself "the abortion"
  
  • Unusual phrase, since it includes the article "the"
    
  • Some think that it may have been a derogatory term used by the Corinthians and others
    
  • Others have suggested it is a play on Paul's name -- Paulus, "the little one" or "dwarf" [2]
    

  1 Cor 15:9-11 (NIV) For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
  

• How does Paul view himself?
  
  • Very undeserving (grace), but still an apostle
    
• Verse 10, is interesting. The verse begins and ends with the word "grace," but in between, Paul says he worked harder …. How does that fit together?
  
  • Grace means we are undeserving
    
  • Work in not done alone or in our own strength
    
  • Grace provides what we don't have, but does not dismiss the need for work. This is a really hard concept. I'm not accepted on the basis of anything I did. Jesus did it all. Not only was I undeserving, I was deserving death. God provides the himself, in the person of the Holy Spirit to come along side and help me. I do not deserve to be a temple of His presence. But I still have to choose to work. And as I choose, he provides what is necessary to succeed -- something that I also don't deserve. It really is an issue of a mindset of understanding ...
    
• In the final analysis, who preached the message is irrelevant. There is only one message to believe (the point of verse 11)
  

  1 Cor 15:12-24 (NIV) But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
  

  20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
  

• Part of the problem is that the typical Greek accepted the immortality of the soul, they would have never dreamed of the resurrection of the body [3]
  
• Paul starts out arguing from the negative point of view. What are his negative points?
  
  • If no resurrection
    
    • Christ did not raised from the dead
      
    • Paul's preaching is useless (so is their faith)
      
    • Apostles are false witnesses about God
      
    • Faith is futile
      
    • We are still in our sins
      
    • The dead are lost forever
      
    • We ought to be the most pitied group among men
      
• What are the arguments for the resurrection?
  
  • It happened
    
  • Jesus is the firstfruits of all who ever died
    
    • The use of the firstfruits is a reference to a Jewish concept. The Jews offered a sacrifice of firstfruits the day after Passover (Saturday). The then feast of firstfruits occurs 50 days later (Pentecost)
      
    • Jesus was the firstfruit, a spiritual firstfruit
      
    • The disciples were firstfruits of a new kind of person
      
  • Adam, a man, brought death. Jesus, a man, brings life
    
  • Adam, all die. Jesus, all will live (actually, all people will be resurrected, even the ungodly. The difference is so will go onto eternal punishment)
    

  1 Cor 15:35-49 (NIV) But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
  

  42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
  

  If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
  

• What is another way of asking the question in verse 35, a way a skeptic might ask it?
  
  • Are they raised looking like their age? What happens if a fish eats them? What if they die in a house fire?
    
  • Paul describes these arguments as foolish, probably because they ignore God and look at things from a human perspective
    
• So what will our body look like?
  
  • Whatever God has determined (verse 38)
    
  • Rarely does the grown plant look like the seed
    
  • The splendor of spiritual is different from the splendor of the earthly
    
  • It will be imperishable (suggests an immaterial form)
    
  • Jesus' resurrection seems to provide some hints (also we will bear the likeness of the man from heaven -- Jesus)
    
    • It was and it wasn't completely recognizable
      
    • It was full grown
      
    • It was material and immaterial
      
    • It could experience food (don't know if it required food)
      

  1 Cor 15:50-58 (NIV) I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
  

  55 "Where, O death, is your victory?
  

  Where, O death, is your sting?"
  

  56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
  

  58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
  

• Paul mentions "a mystery" -- one of 8 mysteries in the NT
  
  • A mystery is something revealed in the NT that was hidden or unknown in the OT
    
• Rapture is a mystery
  
  • Occurs at the last trumpet -- 2 views of the last trumpet
    
    • The first is the mid-trib view which views the term as the last of the seven trumpet judgments in Revelation
      
      • I don't think this view is consistent with other verses of scripture and requires too much adjustments to make work
        
      • Also, Revelation was not written nor revealed yet, so few readers would have made that assumption
        
    • The second view is the more common to moving an Army out into battle. Everyone and thing steps out with the last trumpet blast
      
  • The rapture occurs as follows
    
    • Jesus descends and meets believers in the air (which is why it is not the second return, since Jesus never comes to earth, as mentioned at the end of Revelation)
      
      • The dead (perishable) in Christ rise first and are change to imperishable bodies
        
      • The alive or mortal in Christ rise next and are given immortal bodies
        
    • Not clear if there is a distinction between imperishable and immortal
      
  • At that point, at least for believers, death has lost its sting, which is sin. Our new bodies, free from the flesh, are not subject to temptations of the flesh (for me, this is hard to imagine, since I see my flesh so intertwined with everything I do)
    

  [1] Thomas L. Constable, "The Gospel Message," in Walvoord: A Tribute, p. 203
  

  [2] Fee, The First …, P.733
  

  [3] Barclay, The Letter …, p.156
  

1 Cor 12:1-14:40 (pt 2)

• Up to this point, Paul has discussed
  
  • Unity (one body) 2. Diversity (many gifts) 3. And now maturity (love)
    

  1 Cor 13:1-3 (NIV) If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
  

• From the first few verses, what is the issue that Paul is addressing?
  
  • To me: Corinthians believed that their spiritual gifts (especially tongues) indicated spiritual maturity
    
• Without love, what do the spiritual gifts give you?
  
  • For tongues -- resounding gong or clanging symbol (annoying)
    
    • Very common in pagan cults of the time were the use of gongs and cymbals
      
    • Noise, but gibberish (today, many churches just have gibberish)
      
  • For prophecy, knowledge, faith, giving, etc -- nothing
    
• Why the two gifts as examples?
  
  • Tongues is the one the Corinthians exalted
    
  • Prophecy and faith (miracles) are in Paul's list above tongues
    
• APPLICATION: Spirituals gifts without love are useless and worthless. Possession of the gifts is not a sign of spirituality, but rather the expression of love in the person's life
  
  • So knowledge of the word is not a measure of spirituality. Knowledge of the word ought to lead a person, by way of conviction, to a more loving lifestyle, but not necessarily
    
• Love is not just a concern for a Pentecostal-type church but can be an even greater concern for a non-Pentecostal church, why?
  
  • In a Pentecostal church, emotions are sometimes over emphasized, more likely to express love
    
  • In a non-Pentecostal church, without a lot of emotion, it can seem cold and sterile. The letter of the law, rules, and traditions can trump the spirit of the law, which really revolves around love
    

  1 Cor 13:4-7 (NIV) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
  

• But what is love?
  
  • Is patient
    
    • NT:3114 makrothumeo (mak-roth-oo-meh'-o); from the same as NT:3116; to be long-spirited, i.e. (objectively) forbearing or (subjectively) patient [1]
      
    • Patience is a passive response [2]
      
    • Long-suffering is an attribute of God
      
  • Is kind
    
    • NT:5541 chresteuomai (khraste-yoo'-om-ahee); middle voice from NT:5543; to show oneself useful, i.e. act benevolently [1]
      
    • Kindness is active, and often initiated [2]
      
    • First two are positive, then 7 negative statements (first five are clearly characteristic of the Corinthian church)
      
  • Does not envy
    
    • NT:2206 zeloo (dzay-lo'-o) or zeleuo (dzay-loo'-o); from NT:2205; to have warmth of feeling for or against [1]
      
  • Does not boast
    
  • Is not proud
    
  • Is not rude (me-first or doesn't consider others important -- proud)
    
  • Is not self-seeking (me-first attitude)
    
  • Is not easily angered (overly sensitive or demanding own way)
    
  • Keeps no record of wrongs (bitterness)
    
  • Does not delight in evil
    
    • Even toward my enemies
      
  • Rejoices in truth
    
  • Protects people
    
  • Trusts (God, but probably also people)
    
  • Hopes (Again God, but also in people)
    
  • Perseveres (Whatever the situation, but also does not give up on people)
    
• APPLICATION: You will be burned by people with this love. But, the mature Christian is more concerned about others and serving God than in what can happen to themselves
  

  1 Cor 13:8-13 (NIV) Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
  

  13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
  

• The main point is what?
  
  • Love will continue, even into the next age
    
  • But the gifts will pass away
    
• Some commentators have argued on the basis of the verbs used here that tongues passes away before prophecy or knowledge
  
  • The verb Paul used to describe what will happen to prophecy and knowledge is in the passive voice in Greek and means "shall be terminated" (from katargeo; cf. 2:6). The verb he used to describe what will happen to tongues is in the middle voice and means "automatically cease of themselves" (from pauo). [3] The passive voice points to God terminating prophecy and knowledge when we see Him. The middle voice suggests that tongues will peter out before we see God. [4] Church history testifies that this is what happened to the gift of tongues shortly after the apostolic age. [5] [2]
    
• It is not clear what Paul is referring to here when he discusses perfection, thoughts?
  
  • Some think it is the word of God, or the completion of the New Testament canon
    
    • Also, James suggest that the word is like a mirror
      
  • Others that it is when we are with Jesus (either via the rapture or the second coming)
    
• Either way, the gifts are temporary. Faith, hope, and love endure, but the greatest is love
  

  1 Cor 14:1-5, 12 (NIV) Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. 3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.
  

  ...
  

  12 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.
  

• Verses 1 and 12 imply that not all gifts are bestowed at conversion
  
  • Also, you can desire a gift
    
• What is the problem with the gift of tongues?
  
  • By itself, it does not edify the hearer, it requires interpreters
    
  • On Pentecost, interpreters were not needed, because people heard the message in their native languages
    
• In this passage, Paul uses tongues and languages interchangeably. This is an important argument that tongues were actually languages and not babbling. Although in 13:1, Paul writes of the "tongues of men and angels," so that would argue that they were not all understood
  
• Tongues do have some positive value, what is it?
  
  • It can edify the individual
    
  • It does not edify the church without an interpreter
    
  • So, Paul's application is what?
    
    • Speak in tongues at home
      
    • Speak in a way that edifies others in the church
      

  1 Cor 14:20-25 (NIV) Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. 21 In the Law it is written:
  

  "Through men of strange tongues
  

  and through the lips of foreigners
  

  I will speak to this people,
  

  but even then they will not listen to me,"
  

  says the Lord.
  

  22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, 25 and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"
  

• This passage seems to contract itself until you think it through. What is the prophecy in the OT saying?
  
  • That God will use tongues as a sign of his kingdom
    
  • And he did, in Acts on the day of Pentecost
    
  • So, tongues were a sign for unbelievers (the Acts story will continue past the Rapture)
    
• But now, an unbeliever comes to your church, and what does he think when he sees people speaking in all different tongues?
  
  • "These people are out of his mind"
    
• What has more impact on an unbeliever and why?
  
  • Prophecy, the sharing of the word of God and it's impact on a person's life
    
  • BECAUSE IT IS TRUTH
    
  • Truth cannot be hidden unless it is not understood (in a different tongue)
    
• The next few paragraphs discuss order in the church
  
  • One at a time sharing
    
  • Tongues if there is an interpreter (but only two or max three)
    
  • Two or three prophets should speak
    
  • There should be order
    
• The role of women
  
  • Women can speak / share in the church (11:5)
    
  • But in the service, the prophecy or teaching role was the responsibility of men. Why?
    
    • I think it goes back to Adam's failure to lead spiritually
      
    • Men are supposed to be the spiritual head of the family
      
    • When the spiritual head of a church is a women, it basically communicates that the spiritual head of the family can also be a women
      
    • Too many households have that as the issue because the men do not want to assume their role
      
    • In fact, the reasons they discuss it with their husband is so that the husband would assume the role God has given him
      

  [1] Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.
  

  [2] Constable, Dr. Constable's Notes on 1 Corinthians, 2010.
  

  [3] Robertson, Word Pictures of the New Testament, Vol 4:179, 1931.
  

  [4] See Stanley D. Toussaint, "First Corinthians Thirteen and The Tongues Question," Bibliotheca Sacra 120:480 (October-December 1963):311-16.
  

  [5] Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, 1:236-37. See also George W. Dollar, "Church History and the Tongues Movement," Bibliotheca Sacra 120:480 (October-December 1963):316-21; and the series of four articles by F. David Farnell, "Is the Gift of Prophecy for Today?" Bibliotheca Sacra 149:595 (July-September 1992):277-303; 596 (October-December 1992):387-410; 150:597 (January-March 1993):62-88; and 598 (April-June 1993):171-202.

1 Cor 8:1-11:34

1 Cor 8:1-6 (NIV) Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But the man who loves God is known by God.

4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

• This is a fascinating discourse which really needs to be understood in the entire context, but let's start with the first paragraph to understand the particulars
  
• The "now about" or "now concerning" refers to what?
  
  • Goes back to the letter the Corinthians wrote to him
    
• The topic is "food sacrificed to idols," but the discussion seems unrelated. What is going on?
  
  • The have made an argument about why eating meat sacrificed to idols should not be an issue
    
  • Their reasoning and argument is good but it ignores other factors
    
    • Reasoning doesn't solve all issues
      
  • In fact, reasoning can lead to two faults
    
    • Thinking you know it all
      
    • Becoming puff up or prideful. Wiersbe writes "Some Christians grow, others just swell"
      
  • What is missing from their "reasoning" is the aspect of love and building others up (which actually good reasoning can also lead you to, but only if your are seeking to love others)
    
• And one last point in the first few verses is that God can not be found in knowledge (a collection of information), but rather through a relationship (knowing versus knowledge of)
  
• So Paul goes back in verses 4-6 to the letter, which suggests that he is in part agreeing with their letter. The gist of their point and Paul's agreement is what?
  
  • One can eat meat sacrificed to an idol or false god, since the false god does not exist. If the meat is sacrificed to something that is meaning less or non-existent, how can that be bad (besides it was probably cheaper meat)
    
  • There is only one God
    

  1 Cor 8:7-13 (NIV) But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
  

  9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
  

• Verse 7 starts out with a critical "but" or "however" suggesting what? There is more to the argument than what has been discussed
  
• What is wrong with the previous reasoning?
  
  • One, not everyone knows these facts
    
  • Two, some have come out of heavy idol worship, and it affects their conscience to go back
    
  • Three, since food is not essential to our relationship with God, being denied meat sacrificed to idols does not change the status of our relationship
    
  • But, four, eating meat could change the status of someone else's relationship
    
  • Five, the consequence then of eating meat sacrificed to idols is? We sin against our brothers, and we sin against Christ
    
• What started out as a very simple thing with no implications of sin, on the basis of logic, reasoning, and love, has turned into sinning against others and against God
  
• Paul's logical conclusion: I will never eat meat (sacrificed to idols) again
  
• APPLICATION: What is it that we know is technically not a sin but if someone else saw us doing it might casus them to doubt? And what are we going to do about it?
  
  • We live in a culture that exalts personal rights
    
  • Our willingness to follow this example reveals our true love for God and for people (Constable, 2009, p. 91)
    

  1 Cor 9:1-12 (NIV) Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? 2 Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
  

  3 This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. 4 Don't we have the right to food and drink? 5 Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas? 6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?
  

  7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? 8 Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn't the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more?
  

• This section is missing what? The "now concerning"
  
  • Therefore, it would seem to be a continuation of the previous thought applied in a new context
    
  • The previous discussion opens up a discussion on Paul's authority
    
• Paul starts out by making a claim, what is it and why can he make the claim?
  
  • He is an apostle (claim). And he is an apostle to them at a minimum
    
  • He has seen Jesus (criteria for an apostle, also why some do not think the gift or position is valid today)
    
• Paul says he has rights. What are they?
  
  • Food and drink (free board)
    
  • Take a wife along (free room?)
    
    • We learn that Peter, James, and at least one other of Jesus' brothers has a wife
      
    • Also, reiterates that Jesus had brothers (in contrast to Catholic doctrine), otherwise Paul is saying he doesn't consider Cephas a brother
      
  • Salary, in addition to room and board
    
  • Paul makes six different arguments in this passage (v7, it was customary; v8-9 OT support; v11, principle of community reciprocity; v12 precedent of other leaders; v13 practice of the priesthood; v14 Jesus teaching)
    
• But Paul makes the point, that while he has those rights, he hasn't chosen to take advantage of those rights
  

  1 Cor 9:12-18 (NIV) But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
  

  15 But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. 16 Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.
  

• What is the application here?
  
  • Just because you have a right to something doesn't mean you should take advantage of it
    
  • We can sacrifice our rights for others, especially if the goal is higher
    
  • Paul sacrificed his personal rights so that he would not hinder the advance of the gospel by charges of getting rich or whatever people might say
    
• APPLICATION: So Paul gives up the right to money, out of love for God and people. That really makes our complaints seem petty
  

  1 Cor 9:19-27 (NIV) Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
  

  24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
  

• What is Paul saying in verses 19-23?
  
  • I will do whatever it takes and sacrifice whatever is important to my personal comfort to win others for Christ
    
  • This reminds me of the missionary Hudson Taylor, who gave up western clothes to wear the clothes of the Chinese because he saw his clothing as a hindrance to the gospel. The other missionaries were aghast
    
    • Tell story of the button in the back
      
• Paul follows with a slightly different argument, what is it?
  
  • There are eternal rewards for living for people
    
  • It is not aimless and it is not just sacrificial, it is purposeful. And the purpose must be God's glory and a love for people
    
  • If those aren't the reasons, you are wasting your time …
    

  1 Cor 10:1-10 (NIV) For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.
  

  6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did — and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did — and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did — and were killed by the destroying angel.
  

• What is Paul's point in verses 1-5?
  
  • You can do all the right things, at least on the surface, and still displease God
    
• The Israelites were believers, but they were idolaters, sexually immoral, testing God, and grumbling. And what does verse 6 say?
  
  • They serve as examples to us to be careful on setting our hearts on evil things
    

  1 Cor 10:23-24 (NIV) "Everything is permissible"-but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"-but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
  

• We are skipping over a discussion on why participating in a idol feast would not be appropriate
  
• But this seems to summarize much of the discussion
  
  • Yes, everything is permissible
    
  • But not everything is beneficial
    
  • And not everything is constructive
    
  • So, seek the good of others in determining your actions
    

 

• Notes on head coverings
  
  • In Greek and Roman culture, men and women covered their heads in worship
    
  • Christian men did not cover their heads
    
  • Prostitutes wore their hair very short and did not wear a head-covering in public
    
  • Short hair was considered a shame (Jewish law required adulterers to cut their hair)
    
  • Paul uses five arguments for women wearing head coverings in that culture
    
    • Divine order: God, Christ, man, and woman (3-6)
      
    • Creation (7-9)
      
    • Angels (10)
      
    • Nature (13-15)
      
    • Universal church practice (16)
      
  • In light of 10:23-24, it would seem that this is a cultural norm, and Paul is expecting them to follow some cultural norms
    
    • Today, items of clothing do not identify a woman's acceptance or rejection or her role in God's administrative order (at least in western culture) (Constable, 2009, p. 120)
      
    • The important thing is her attitude and how she expresses it, not the clothes she wears
      
• Notes on the Lord's supper
  
  • They did not write about it, verse 18 says he heard about it
    
  • Verse 17-22 suggest an abuse of the poor
    
    • One commentator thought each was bringing his own food and eating it there rather than sharing with each other
      
    • Or, certain people were eating without considering others behind them
      
  • Verses 23-26 describe the Lord's supper
    
    • A remembrance
      
    • A time to give thanks
      
    • A time to proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again
      
  • Verses 27-32 warn about partaking in an unworthy manner
    
    • Not recognizing sin
      
    • Not judging self
      
  • Verses 33-34
    
    • Suggest letting the poor go first
      
    • Thinking of others ahead of self