1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 2 STUDY GUIDE
UNDERSTANDING UNITY: WISDOM OF THE SPIRIT
1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-16
2:4-5: GREAT PREACHING is not with "swelling words"- (2 Peter 2:18) but with (1): THE ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND (2): THE DYNAMIC OF GOD'S POWER...
2:6-7: THE MATURE -(Greel- teleioi) are the spiritual (Greek-pneumatikoi) of (v. 15): MYSTERY- here is the gospel of the Kingdom- (see-Romans 16:25; Ephesians 3:3,4,9; and Ephesians 6:19; Colossians 4:3; 1 Timothy 3:9, 16), which neither angels nor any other creature knew before it was revealed by Christ, even though the Incarnation of the Son was God's plan for eternity for transforming creation...Moreover, that Gospel is hidden from those who perish-(2 Co 4:3): Those who will not believe do not grasp what is clear to the faithful...
2:8: THE LORD OF GLORY demonstrates that the dignity and honor of Jesus is that of God the Father Himself-(Exodus 24:16-18): The Incarnate Son of God, who clothes Himself- with light as with a garment-(Psalm 103:2), stood naked before human judges, receiving blows from hands which He had formed...The Lord of Glory, the Son of the Father, was crucified in His humanity-(Acts 2:36): THEY CRUCIFIED GOD!!!
2:9: PAUL seems to have collected phrases from several passages-(Isaiah 52:15; 64:3; and 65:17; Jeremiah 3:16; WSir 1:10), though this may have come from an early hymn...
2:10-3:4: WE COME TO KNOW GOD'S WISDOM through the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit KNOWS THE THINGS OF GOD (v. 11), just as THE SPIRIT OF THE MAN knows what is in man: note Paul's threefold classification of humanity:
(1): THE NATURAL MAN-(soulish; v. 14) Is one not yet joined in Christ, unenlightened and unregenerate : For such people, divine THINGS appear to be FOOLISHNESS because they inquire into divine things by human and natural reasoning rather than receiving these by faith...
(2): THE SPIRITUAL MAN- (1 Co 2:15) is filled with the Holy Spirit given at Chrismation and is maturing in his knowledge of Christ...
(3): THE CARNAL MAN ( fleshly; 1 Co 3:1) Is the person who, while in the Church, has his mind set on earthly things, still trying to satisfy personal wants and selfish desires...We reveal our spiritual condition by our relationship with other Christians: The lesson is plain: Growth in our fellowship with God demands living in the overcoming strength of the Holy Spirit, who brings unity to the Church and great victory over petty nonsense and bickering's...
2:12-15: ENLIGHTMENT FROM GOD in itself is beyond all words, and even beyond evaluation by other men-(v. 15): nevertheless, the Holy Spirit speaks through spiritual people words that truly reflect the unspeakable knowledge of faith: This language of faith in turn leads spiritually minded people to know God better, although it baffles THE NATURAL MAN- (v. 14)...
2:16: THE MIND OF CHRIST is enlightenment by the Holy Spirit- (v. 10): He brings those chrismated into communion with Christ and others of like mind in His Body, the Church: The Mind of Christ, then, is not private but is given to all: it is the mind of the Church...
1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 3 STUDY GUIDE
WISDOM IN THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY
1 CORINTHIANS 3:1-17
3:1-4: NOTE the gospel was first communicated through the spoken word of the apostles...Since God inspires both oral-(apostolic preaching) and written- (scriptural) communication of His Word, oral and written Tradition form a seamless whole...
3:6-17: THE CHURCH is an organic whole: it is (1): PLANTED- (vv. 6-9), (2): A BUILDING-(vv. 9-11), (3): A TEMPLE- (vv. 16, 17): IN vv. 16, 17-YOU is plural and refers to the whole Church...One who would break this unity would desecrate a sacred place...
3:9: FELLOW WORKER (Greek-synergoi) refers to the biblical concept of synergism, shown here by the way the apostles work together with God in carrying out the ministry...So too, we as God's fellow workers cooperate with Him to do His will...By this cooperation or synergy with God, we do not mean a working together of equals, or a so-called fifty-fifty arrangement...Rather we mean that He is the Lord, and we His servants are called to participate obediently in His work...
WISDOM IN CHRIST'S CHURCH
1 CORINTHIANS 3:18-23
3:18-20: THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD- (v. 19) is attractive and reasonable, and on the surface appears to be true...But such earthly wisdom denies God and leads us away from Him-not to fulfillment, but to death...True wisdom and life are found only in Christ, in our total abandonment to the love of God and neighbor...
3:21-23: YOURS AND YOU here are plural...They refer not to the individual but to the corporate Church...The Church possesses the whole, ALL THINGS, because the Church is the Body of Christ-His perfect and glorified humanity- and Christ is God: Individual opinion in doctrine and private interpretation of Scripture that stand apart from those of the Church, or outside of apostolic tradition, are marks of worldly wisdom...
PSALM 17 (18) STUDY GUIDE
PSALM 17 (18)
PSALM 17 (18): is set in the historical background of David's deliverance from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul- (1 KG 19-31): however, this Psalm is forecasting and MAGNIFYING THE SALVATION-(v. 51) of the Father's King, who is called Christ-(His anointed) and David, for He is the Son of David...The seed of the Son of David is the Church...Man's enemies were death and decay of the body in the grave, Hades, and the devil...And these held man in great fear and dread and in bondage to sinful passions-(vv. 1-6; see also Hebrews 2:14-15): But in His Incarnation, Christ DESCENDED FROM HEAVEN- (v. 10) and destroyed these enemies- (vv. 7-16), and brought everything into the light- (v. 29; see also 2 Timothy 1:10): He ascended on high and called the Gentiles- (vv. 17-50)...