1 Corinthians 1

Starting 1 Corinthians today.

1:2 - When Paul uses the word church he means those who:
are sanctified/set apart
called to be holy
together with other Christians
If your idea of church doesn't match that it isn't the church of the Bible.

1:5 - enriched in every way - Do you believe that your relationship with Jesus enriches you in EVERY way? If not, there must be something undeveloped, underdeveloped or missing in your walk. Jesus enriches everything - marriage, parenting, work, play, rest. The life Jesus intends for us is one where He blesses every single part.

1:7 - Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gifts as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. - Remember, Paul is speaking to the church and not just one individual. He says that the church as Jesus puts it together does not lack any of the gifts it needs. We need to pay attention to the giftedness of each person so we can make sure to be the complete and mature church Jesus wants us to be. I think many times we think we lack what we need, but God has provided EVERYTHING we need for success and effectiveness.

1:8 - He will also keep you firm to the end, SO THAT you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1:10 - ... no divisions among you ... perfectly united in mind and thought. - Jesus would have that we be completely united. I find it interesting how deeply everybody else's division bothers us. When someone at church goes their own way and does it their own way it deeply offends our spirit of unity, but how often do we look at the places in our life where we choose ourselves over unity? That is the first thing we can deeply impact anyway.

1:13 - Paul expresses that a couple of the key aspects of Christianity are the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and your baptism into Christ. Check out the word into.

1:17 - This verse can be misunderstood to mean baptism is not or was not significant to Paul. In reality, when you consider the context of the passage you understand that Paul is expressing that faith is not in him. God did not call Paul to baptize people or bring people to faith in Paul, but in God through Christ.

1:21 - We are saved through what is preached.

1:25 - For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. - YES!!!!! Not that God has any weakness, but even if He did it would be stronger than our strongest strength.

1:26-31 - Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. ... - Read this section. What were you before you were in Christ? I was just a guy and now, in Christ, I get to share the most significant message of all time and eternity. What about you? Isn't it true that Christ has made you who you are?

Love, Michael