Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
unto the church of God which is at Corinth, even them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, their Lord and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus;
that in everything ye were enriched in Him, in all utterance and all knowledge;
even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ;
who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye be unreproveable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful, through whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
If any man loveth not the Lord, let him be anathema. Maranatha.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Dear Heavenly Father, we are in Thy presence, and we trust Thy Holy Spirit to open Thy Word to us and to open us to Thy Word, that we may see Christ, that we may be conformed to His image, and that we may be to the praise of His glory. In Thy precious name, amen.
We mentioned before that the Bible is the revelation of Jesus Christ. That is to say, God gives us the Bible for one purpose, and that purpose is that we may know Him—we may know the Lord Jesus Christ.
God reveals His Son through the Bible, and we need to ask the Lord to give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we may truly see the Lord Jesus in His Book.
This morning, we would like to take 1 Corinthians as our consideration. In 1 Corinthians, we are to see the Lord Jesus as the answer to all problems.
This letter was written by the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth. But it was not written only to the church in Corinth. It was written to the church in Corinth and to all those in every place who call upon the name of the Lord.
Therefore, we find that this letter is addressed to us too, because we are those in Richmond who call upon the name of our Lord. So do not take this letter to the Corinthians as though it were written to somebody else—to a church that existed about two thousand years ago.
Do not say, “They had problems; those are not our problems. Their solution is not our solution.” Do not take it that way. As we read this letter to the Corinthians, let us remember that it is addressed to us. The problems we find in that church, we find to be our problems; and the solution that God gives in this letter shows us the way to solve our problems too.
The church in Corinth had a wonderful beginning. If you read the Book of Acts, you will find in Acts 18 that Paul came to Corinth after Athens. While he was there, he was pressed in his spirit concerning the Word of God. He preached to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles, and many came to the Lord.
There was much opposition to him. You remember how the Lord appeared to him, telling him:
Be not afraid, but speak and hold not thy peace:
because I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to harm thee:
for I have much people in this city.
Paul stayed in that city for a year and six months, and many came to the Lord.
After Paul left, another great servant of God arrived in that city: Apollos. Apollos was a very eloquent man, a very learned man, and mighty in the Scriptures. Through the labor of Apollos, many believers there were built up.
We do not know whether Peter himself was ever in Corinth, but at least we know that his influence was still in Corinth. In the first letter to the Corinthians, some people said, “I am of Paul,” because Paul was there. Others said, “I am of Apollos,” because Apollos was there. Some said, “I am of Cephas.” Whether Peter himself was there or whether his disciples were there, we do not know; but one thing we do know is that Peter was influential in that church in Corinth.
Now, dear brothers and sisters, just think of that. The church had the labor of the great apostle Paul, the great teacher Apollos, and the great apostle Peter. What a privileged church!
Because of these labors, Paul mentioned in the first chapter that they were enriched in all utterance and all knowledge. They were not lacking in any gift.
Our brothers and sisters, probably we would say, “Well, if this should happen here with us, how glorious that would be.” But unfortunately, you find that even though they were rich in utterance, rich in knowledge, and not lacking in any spiritual gift, these things did not seem to help them grow spiritually.
On the contrary, these things seemed to be a hindrance to their growth. They remained immature, and they were full of problems.
I think this should be a warning to us. Do not think that because you are rich in utterance, rich in knowledge, and rich in gifts, therefore you are bound to be spiritual. Therefore, do not assume that the church must be a spiritual church. Not always.
Sometimes you find it is just the opposite, because people become content with all these things and lose sight of the one thing that is necessary—and that is the Lord.
The church in Corinth had many problems. It was not a perfect church. Do you find any perfect church on earth through the twentieth century? You do not find any perfect church on earth.
Do you find any church that has no problem? Do you find any person having no problem? If you can find people having no problems, then the church, being composed of God’s people, will have no problems. But if you find that people do have problems—many problems—then how can you expect any church on earth to be without problems?
I think only a dead person does not have a problem. All the problems are over. Probably a cemetery has no problem. If the church is living, it is bound to have problems.
Do not be afraid of problems. How often we try to hide our problems. How often we try to evade problems. How often we try to deceive ourselves that we have no problems.
If there are problems, do not be afraid of them. Why? Because problems are opportunities. If problems are solved in the proper way, it will mean spiritual growth. But of course, if you allow the problem to remain, it will hurt.
No problem needs to remain forever, because we find there is a solution to every problem.
How do we respond when we have problems? Do we merely try to solve the particular problem that we have at that particular moment? If this is the way that you try to solve your problems, you will find that after one problem is solved, another problem arises. There will be no ending to your problems.
Therefore, when a problem arises, dear brothers and sisters, the secret is to go for the root. Find the root of the problem and deal with the root properly.
You know what the root of most problems is? Actually, the root of most problems is the self, is the flesh. If you learn to deal with the flesh through the cross of the Lord Jesus, then you will find that it is the solution to all your problems.
When you read the first letter to the Corinthians, you find that this church did have many problems.
From chapters 1 through 4, the problem is division—party spirit. These people were all called into the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful fellowship!
Think for a moment: we who were enemies of God, we who had no hope and no God, we who were dead in sins and transgressions, we who were under condemnation, we who could not see God because if we did we would die—now, by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, are called into the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
We are called into a fellowship. Fellowship means sharing in common. We share with our Lord Jesus all that He is. We are called into such a wonderful fellowship.
But unfortunately, the Corinthians, though all called into the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, were divided among themselves. They had different opinions and different ideas.
Some said, “I am of Paul, because Paul led me to the Lord. I belong to Paul.” Some said, “I am of Apollos, because Apollos built me up with the Word of God.” Some said, “I am of Cephas, because Cephas is one of the original apostles. I go back to the root.”
And some said in a sectarian way, “Well, you are of Paul, and you are of Apollos, and you are of Cephas. I am of Christ.” Division and party spirit break the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. It is a big problem.
Then you go to chapter 5. They had another problem. Some of them fell into grievous sin, even into incest—something that was rare even among unbelievers. The church was so insensitive that it allowed this thing to continue without dealing with it.
In chapter 6, you find another problem. One brother sued another brother in the courts of the world. Instead of loving one another, instead of being willing to be defrauded, they defrauded one another and went to the courts of the Gentiles, suing one another.
Can you imagine this in Corinth?
Then you go to chapter 7, and you find that they had marriage problems—all kinds of marriage problems.
From chapters 8 through 10, you find social problems. Some believers went to the temples to eat and drink because, in those days, social activities were carried on in the temples. If you did not go to the temples, you would not be able to enjoy all those social functions.
Some Christians were so eager for social activity that they would go into the temples to eat and drink. When they did that, they stumbled the weak brothers.
Then, in chapter 11, they had problems with head covering. The sisters had their heads uncovered. That does not mean that sisters only need to be covered while brothers need not be covered. The question is: who is the Head?
It also concerned the Lord’s Table. When they came to eat and drink at the Lord’s Table, some ate and drank beforehand and some even became drunk. In those days, they had a love feast before the Lord’s Table, because when our Lord first gave the Lord’s Supper, He was eating the Passover feast with His disciples.
Toward the end of the Passover feast, He gave them the Lord’s Supper. Thus, the practice of the early church was usually to gather and eat first, and then have the Lord’s Supper. But unfortunately, some who were rich ate rich food while some who were poor went hungry. They did not share with each other, and afterward they came to break bread.
Now what is that? Where is the unity? Where is the love? Where is the oneness? A great problem.
In chapters 12 through 14, you find that they had problems with spiritual gifts. They were rich in spiritual gifts. We might say, “If they are rich in spiritual gifts, certainly the whole church will be spiritual.” But unfortunately, they pulled down the church.
Instead of using the gifts to build up the Body, they used the gifts to display themselves and make a show of themselves.
In chapter 15, you find that they had problems with doctrine. Some of them did not believe in resurrection. They asked, “How could people be resurrected? When you die, your body is buried; it is corrupted and disappears. How could you be resurrected? Where do you get that body?” They did not believe in it.
In chapter 16, you find that they had problems with giving. Christians are supposed to give, but they were very slow. Not only did they have problems with giving, they had problems with submission. How could they submit to those whom God had raised up to help them?
Finally, you find that they had a big problem with love. They did not love one another. They did not love the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, is that not a contradiction? On the one hand, these people were rich in utterance, knowledge, and gifts. Yet, at the same time, they had all these problems. These were very basic problems, great problems—problems that broke up the fellowship. Yet they had all these things.
Individually and collectively, we may not have some of the problems just mentioned in the church at Corinth. But most certainly, we have some of them, and perhaps we have some they did not have.
What is the root of all these problems? Why should these problems exist in the church?
The apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit, gives us the answer. In 1 Corinthians 3:3, he says:
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, are ye not carnal, and do ye not walk after the manner of men?
The Bible divides mankind, in relation to spiritual condition, into three groups:
The natural man refers to one who lives by his natural life without the teaching and leading of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 2:14, we read:
Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged.
The natural man is man in his natural state. Of course, when we speak of the natural man, actually it is already an unnatural condition. In the beginning, when God created man, man was without sin. Man was created with spirit, soul, and body.
But because of sin, man’s spirit became dead. We were dead in sins and transgressions. Even though we are still very active in our soul and body, yet before God we were dead in sins and transgressions. That means our spirit was dead.
The scientific definition of death is the cessation of communication with one’s proper environment. The environment of our spirit is God. When we lost communication with God, our spirit was considered dead.
Therefore, the natural man is a person whose spirit is dead toward God. There is no communication with God. You may be very clever and very healthy, but somehow, when God is mentioned, there is no communication, because you are a natural man.
The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God because he considers them foolishness. He has no ability to receive spiritual things.
Now, who is the carnal man? The carnal man is not an unbeliever. The carnal man is one who has been saved, but unfortunately still lives by his flesh instead of by the Spirit.
The Corinthians were believers. They were justified, set apart by God, and called saints. Yet they were still carnal. That is to say, they still walked according to the flesh.
Even though they were saved, they were no different from natural men in their manner of living. The only difference was that they had life. But they still walked according to men; they still did what everybody else was doing. There did not seem to be any difference because they walked according to the flesh.
They had the Spirit. Their spirit had been quickened. The Holy Spirit dwelt in their spirit. But they did not walk according to the Spirit; they still walked according to the flesh. Because of that, they walked like the world. That is carnality.
Then the Bible speaks of the spiritual man. In 1 Corinthians 2:15, we read:
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no man.
Who is the spiritual man? The spiritual man is what a believer ought to be. The spiritual man is what God has intended us to be after we believe.
The spiritual man is one who walks according to the Spirit. The Holy Spirit, who dwells in his spirit, has control over his life. Because of that, he is a spiritual man and is able to discern all things.
So you find that Scripture divides mankind into these three groups. If you are in the Lord, you are not a natural man. You will either be a carnal man or a spiritual man. God’s will is that we be spiritual men, but it is possible for us to be carnal.
The Corinthian believers were saved, yes; but because they were carnal, all kinds of problems arose in their lives, just as you find in the world.
The reason you find all these problems in the church is because the people there were carnal. They did not walk according to the Spirit.
What is the solution? Here you find Paul not only gives the diagnosis, but also the remedy. The remedy for all their problems is one: Christ.
You remember what he said in chapter 2:
For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
Corinth, in the first century, was a city of culture and civilization. It was corrupt, wicked, and depraved. In history, if you were able to present things in a logical and eloquent way, people would say that you spoke in a Corinthian manner.
On the other hand, if you lived a dissolute, dissipated, depraved life, they would say that you lived like a Corinthian. Is it not strange that these two things often coexist? You may think that the more cultured you are, the more moral you will be. But often you find the contrary: the more cultured, the more immoral.
That was what you found in Corinth. Somehow, the spirit of Corinth entered into the church in Corinth. On the one hand, they were eloquent, clever, and knowledgeable. But on the other hand, all these divisions and immoralities followed.
They were no different from the world. They should have been different. They were saved to be different. But why were they not different? Because they were still carnal.
Dear brothers and sisters, the church ought to be different from the world. But sometimes, sadly, you find that the church is no different from the world. Why is it so? It is not because of the weakness of God. Even His weakness is stronger than the strength of men. It is because God’s people remain in the flesh.
What is the solution to this problem?
Paul did not try to match eloquence with eloquence or logic with logic, even though Paul was well able to do that. Paul knew the root of the problem. He said, “When I came among you, I determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
Jesus Christ is the solution to all your problems. If only you can see Jesus Christ, your problems can be solved. Or, to put it another way, you have problems, but thank God, your problems can give you Jesus.
So do not be afraid of problems. The more problems you have, the more opportunity you have to see the Lord. If you see the Lord Jesus through your problems, your problems will be solved.
They had the problem of division. How could that problem be solved? Paul said, “Is Christ divided?”
You are divided. You say, “I am of Paul. I am of Apollos. I am of Cephas.” But is Christ divided? In whom do you believe? In whose name were you baptized? Whom do you follow?
Do you follow Paul? Do you follow Apollos? Do you follow Cephas? Or do you follow Christ? Of course, you would say, “I believe in Christ. I am baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. I follow Christ.”
If you follow Christ, and I follow Christ, and we all follow Christ, is Christ divided? We are not divided. We are one. Thank God for that. You cannot be divided.
The only reason why you can be divided is because you are following men. No matter how spiritual these men are, if you follow men, you are divided.
Paul said, “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos?” They are but God’s servants. Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. We are nothing. We are merely servants and instruments. It is God who gives the increase.
Paul says, “All things are yours.” You have not only Paul; you have Apollos and Cephas. All are yours. Do not take Paul alone. Take Apollos also; take Cephas also, because God has given all these servants to all of you. But you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
If we only see Christ, the party spirit and division will disappear. We will have one mind and speak one thing: Jesus. That is the solution.
The solution is not merely trying to work out an agreement. The solution is a revelation of Jesus Christ.
How about the grievous sin among them? The church was insensitive—not only insensitive, but even proud. One among the Corinthian believers had committed grievous sin, but the whole church looked at it as though it were nothing. They prided themselves on being liberal and broad-minded.
There was no discipline. Everything was allowed, and they thought that was being liberal. But it was wrong.
In 1 Corinthians 5:7–8, Paul says:
Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are unleavened. For our Passover also hath been sacrificed, even Christ:
wherefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Remember Christ, our Passover. Remember how Christ offered Himself to stop sin. Remember how His blood was shed for the remission of our sins. Remember how His body was broken, that we may feed upon Him and receive strength to walk upon this earth. Just remember Christ.
We are today celebrating the feast of unleavened bread. In the Old Testament, Passover was one day. But immediately following Passover—beginning from Passover—the children of Israel had to keep the feast of unleavened bread for seven days. In their houses and throughout their land, there was to be no leaven.
We who have had our Passover are today keeping the feast of unleavened bread. That is to say, we should live upon this earth not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Leaven in Scripture speaks of something that corrupts—either wicked concepts or evil things. These should not exist among us. We must purge ourselves from these things because Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us.
They had the problem of suing one another. What a shame! Paul says, “You are brothers. You should be willing to be defrauded.”
You should not defraud others, but you should be willing to be defrauded. If you have any problems with your brother, in the first place, if you are willing to be defrauded, there will be no problem.
In the second place, if you are not willing to be defrauded and you have been defrauded by a brother, are there not any wise brothers among you who can help settle the differences? Why do you go to the world? Have you despised the church’s ability to settle such matters? Is that not a shame?
You have been washed. You have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. You have been bought with a price. Glorify God in your body.
If we only see how much God has forgiven us, and if we see that this body belongs to Him, that we have been bought with a price and are not our own, then we will not do anything that brings shame to His name. We would rather suffer than bring shame to His name, because we belong to Him.
Very simply, Paul says, “As the Lord hath distributed to each man, as God hath called each, so let him walk.” Whatever God has called you to, whatever He has given you, walk in it.
If God gives you a family, thank God for it. Raise the family for the glory of God. If God does not give you a family and gives you grace to remain single, then remain single. If a husband dies or a wife dies, and you desire to marry again, that is fine—but marry only in the Lord.
Nothing is to be forced. Everything is according to the Lord’s distribution and calling.
From chapter 8 onward, you find the matter of social activities. What is the solution? Love. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
You can eat whatever is set before you. Give thanks to God for it; it is given to you. Whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God.
But Paul said, “If meat maketh my brother to stumble, I will eat no flesh for evermore.” It is not that I cannot eat. I can eat; I have the liberty. But I love the brother. Therefore, I will not do anything that causes him to stumble.
Dear brothers and sisters, do all things to the glory of God.
What about head covering? Is it only for the sisters to have a covering on their heads? Does it mean that only sisters need to have their heads covered and brothers do not need to have their heads covered? No.
Christ is the head of every man; the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Here we see the divine order. It is a principle, not merely an outward practice.
If we see Him who was equal with God, and yet submitted Himself under God, then, brothers and sisters, it is glorious to have our heads covered before Him. The sisters’ covering is there to remind us that we all need to be covered before Christ.
How about the Lord’s Table? Do not merely come to the feast and forget what it means. If you cannot have the feast in the proper way, then you should not allow the feast to hinder the proper celebration of the Lord’s Supper.
But the important thing is this: remember that you are in communion with His blood, and you are in communion with His body. Even though we are many, we are one bread, one Body.
How about spiritual gifts? If we see that it is the one Spirit who gives all the manifestations of the Holy Spirit according to His will to different members of the Body, for what purpose? For the building up of the Body.
Gifts are not for personal display. Gifts are for the building up of the Body.
What about resurrection? Christ is risen, the firstfruits, and of course we will be resurrected. There is no problem.
Even if you find it difficult to imagine how every atom of your body will be gathered together again and become your resurrected body, there is no problem with God. Some say that after you die, your body is corrupted in the earth; grass may grow, a cow may eat the grass, someone else may eat the cow, and so on. How then will you be resurrected?
Perhaps you find it a problem, but there is no problem with God. As a matter of fact, your body changes continually. Scientifically, every seven years, the cells of the body undergo a complete change. Seven years ago and seven years from now, you are different so far as your physical body is concerned.
There is no problem, because in resurrection we will be clothed with a spiritual body. This physical body will be replaced by one a million times more beautiful and glorious.
Today we have this body of humiliation, but one day we will be clothed with a body of glory, just like His body in resurrection. No problem.
What about giving? Remember Him who was rich, yet for your sakes became poor, that ye through His poverty might become rich.
How about submission? The Son learned obedience through the things which He suffered, obedient to the Father unto death—even the death of the cross.
Why can we not submit to one another and to those whom God has put before us? We are not submitting merely to men. We are submitting to the Lord.
What about love? “If any man loveth not the Lord, let him be anathema. Maranatha.” Anathema means cursed. Maranatha means, “The Lord cometh.”
Oh, brothers and sisters, first love is so important. Oh, that we may not lose our first love. May we love Him with all our hearts. Do not allow anything to come in and take away our love for Him.
Let us ask the Lord to bind us with Himself. The Lord Christ is coming. If you want love to fill you, just think of how much He loves you. Then you will learn to love one another.
Dear brothers and sisters, the solution is Jesus. If only we have a revelation of the Lord Jesus, then all the problems will be solved. In having these problems solved, you find spiritual growth.
What is the cross? The cross is God’s way to deliver us out of our flesh and get us into Christ—the Christ. Therefore Paul said, “I determined among you to know nothing save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
Brothers and sisters, on the cross of the Lord, do you see yourself?
I think there was one person who should have known this very deeply, and that was Barabbas. Barabbas was supposed to be crucified. But in Barabbas’s stead, someone was crucified: the Lord Jesus.
I wonder whether Barabbas went to that hill and saw the Lord Jesus crucified. I wonder what he would say to himself. Perhaps he would say, “I should be there, but He died in my stead.”
I wonder whether that experience touched his life so deeply that he could no longer live in the same former, murderous way. He had to live as another man.
Brothers and sisters, if we only see the cross, we will see that all the flesh has been crucified with Him. Therefore, no longer is it I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
It is Christ whom they should see in you. He ought to be seen in us.
Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee for all our problems, knowing that these problems can lead us to Christ. Oh God, how we pray and thank Thee that Christ is the solution to all our problems.
We pray that when we are confronted with problems, Thou wilt open our eyes to see the Lord Jesus. We pray that our problems may become occasions for seeing Him. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.