1 CORINTHIANS 1
8 Outlines
1 Corinthians 1:1-3
SOMETHING SPECIAL
SPECIAL PERSON – Vs. 1 –
Paul, called to be an Apostle
SPECIAL PEOPLE – Vs. 2 – The
church in Corinth, called to be saints with all other believers
SPECIAL PLEASURES – Grace and Peace
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1 Corinthians 1:1-3
GREETINGS FROM PAUL
PAUL'S AUTHORITY - Vs. 1
Paul was called.
Paul was an Apostle.
What Paul did was by the
will of God.
God calls each Christian
to a ministry.
Whatever we do should be
according to the will of God.
PAUL'S AUDIENCE - Vs. 2
They were sanctified or
set apart in Christ.
They were saints, just
like every true believer.
PAUL'S ANNOUNCEMENT -
Vs. 3
Paul announces a blessing
of grace and peace. Every Christian has experienced grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) and
peace (Romans 5:1) at the point of salvation.
Grace and Peace are to be a continual part of our lives. 2 Peter 3:18, John 14:27
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Corinthians 1:2-3
THE
1 Corinthians 1:2-3 - 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 theirs and ours: [3] Grace be unto
you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
The church in
THE
1. Is in a
location that is specific - Unto the
2. Is made up
of people that are sanctified - …to them
that are sanctified in Christ Jesus…
3. Is made up
of people that are saints - … called to
be saints…
4. Has Jesus as
Sovereign - …with all that in every place
call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord…
5. Has God who
supplies - Grace be
unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
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1 Corinthians 1:4-8
WHAT A DEAL!
We all like when we get a bargain, or a good
deal. My wife and I once rented a house
for $75 a month. That was quite a deal! Then,
when we were changing jobs, the lady refunded our rent for a month, and then
didn't charge rent for a few months. (You can share great deals that you know
of.)
In our text Paul is sharing with the Corinthians what
a great deal they received when they came to Christ as Savior.
GRACE - Vs. 4
God gave the Corinthians His grace,
or unmerited favor both at salvation and on a daily basis. Ephesians 2:8-9, 1
Corinthians 1:3.
GREATNESS - Vss. 5-7a
"...in
every thing ye are enriched by him..."
"So that ye come behind in no gift;"
GLORY - Vs. 7b-8
We will be "blameless in the day of our Lord
Jesus Christ."
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1 Corinthians 1:4-9
OUR FAITHFUL GOD
It is dark most mornings
when I get up. Imagine how surprised I would be if I got up one morning and
switched on the light and nothing happened!
And imagine how disturbed I would be if there was no electric so my coffee
maker could make my morning coffee. And imagine how uncomfortable I'd feel if
there was no heat. It is electricity
that makes the heater work. Someone is faithful at the electric company!
We are dependent on
faithful people. We get in our cars and
in our travels expect to find faithful gas stations, food stores, clothing
stores, department stores, hardware stores, and restaurants, all providing the
goods and services which we want or need.
We also expect to find
faithful schools. Whether they be public schools or
Christians schools, we expect them to provide education, guidance, and
protection for our children. We assume that someone has been faithful to open
the door of the school, faithful to see everyone has a teacher, faithful to
take attendance, and faithful to see that all the supplies are provided.
We expect police
departments, fire departments, and first aid squads to do their assigned jobs
faithfully. We also expect that our friends and loved ones will be faithful in
loving, in caring and being available when needed.
We live in a society in
which faithfulness is assumed many times a day. We simply act if someone has
done the job that needed to be done to keep us comfortable.
As Christians we need to
remind ourselves that OUR GOD IS FAITHFUL!
Lamentations 3:22-23 -
"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his
compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy
faithfulness."
Consider that God is
faithful to maintain the right orbit of this planet around the sun, so that it
is consistent. Therefore we can depend, more or less, on the weather.
Consider that God is
faithful to provide summer, winter, seedtime and harvest.
Consider that God is
faithful to provide the rain, the snow, the sun and the moon.
God is indeed faithful!
We, as Christians, however often fail to realize just how far this faithfulness
extends. We know that God was faithful to send his Son to die for our sins. We
know that God is faithful to give eternal life to anyone who asks, and we know
that God is faithful in giving us His Holy Spirit when we come to Christ.
We are also aware that
God has promised to take care of our needs.
But, beyond what we have
just shared, most of us do not always see the faithfulness of God at work in our
lives, even though it's there!
In this message we want
to see OUR FAITHFUL GOD and the way he is working in our lives through His
grace. No matter what happens in our
lives, God will remains faithful in these ways.
In verse 9 we read,
"God is faithful..."
I personally believe
that these verses show us at least 5 ways that God is faithful to us who know
Christ as Savior.
Vs. 4 - Introduces this
passage. Paul gives us a good reminder.
He tells us that he
continually gave thanks for the Corinthians. The Corinthians, questioned Paul's
apostleship, permitted immorality in the church, were split their allegiances,
and were spiritually immature. And yet Paul was still able to give thanks to
God for them. He gave thanks, not because he was happy with their problems, but
because of what God had done, was doing, and would do in the lives of the
Corinthians.
Specifically, Paul was
thankful for the grace of God that was at work in the Corinthians' hearts and
lives.
You and I will not agree
with everything other Christians do, but we can be thankful when we see God's
grace at work in the hearts and lives of others.
WE ARE ENRICHED BY HIS
GRACE - Vs. 5
When someone is
enriched, he is given riches. He is made wealthy.
Here, we are told that we
are enriched by Him! We are made wealthy.
Notice how all-inclusive
this is - in all things.
Not one aspect of your
life is left untouched.
You've already heard the
classic stories about people who were rich, but never claimed their riches.
All Christians are rich
in Christ. Many have just not taken the time to discover and claim all their
riches. 2 Peter 1:3, Colossians 1:10
In this verse we find
ourselves enriched in two ways. We are enriched in utterance and knowledge.
Both of these help us be the witnesses we need to be for the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, 1 Peter 3:15
WE ARE CONFIRMED BY HIS
GRACE - Vs. 6
I have been confirmed
twice in my lifetime.
When I was twelve years
old, I took a course in the church I attended, and then a bishop came and laid
his hands on me.
This meant that I was
confirming the faith which someone else, my parents and Godparents, spoke for
me when I was a baby.
There was only one
catch. Although I had been christened and confirmed, I was still lost. I did
not have the right idea of how to get saved and go to Heaven.
Then came
my second confirmation. One night while listening to Billy Graham on the radio,
I came to trust Christ as my Savior. At that moment I knew I was saved, and God
began to bring about change in my life. Later I was Scripturally
baptized by immersion.
The first time I was
confirmed by man.
The second time I was
confirmed by the grace of God!
The word confirmed means
"settled, steadfast, solid".
And although some may
doubt their salvation for a brief period, the one who is truly saved has
assurance of knowing they have eternal life. Romans 8:16
WE ARE GIFTED BY HIS
GRACE - Vs. 7
We are waiting for the
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We do not know when He
is coming back.
We do know,
that He is coming, and He will come first for us, His church.
What are we to be doing
until He comes?
We are to love one
another.
We are to be meeting
together.
We are to be celebrating
the Lord's Table.
We are to be living
Godly lives.
We are to are to be reaching out to a lost and dying world with the
message of salvation.
All of these things
require talent and ability that we don't naturally have. We couldn't save
ourselves and we can't live the Christian Life without help.
Verse 7 is telling us
that we are lacking no gift that we need in order to live for Christ. You might
not have the same gift as someone else, or ability, but when it comes to Godly
living, you have all you need. Ephesians 1:3
As you know God has
provided many Spiritual Gifts and gifted people to the church. We find lists of
these gifts in such passages as Ephesians 4, Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12.
God does not give all
his Spiritual gifts to one individual, but He spreads them out. He may give the
gift of preaching to one, and the gift administration to another. Also He might
give still others gifts of helping, evangelism and giving. I believe that God gives the individual
church all the gifts necessary to get the job done.
WE ARE ESTABLISHED BY
HIS GRACE - Vs. 8
The same God who confirmed your testimony within you, when you first
came to Christ, will continue to confirm or establish you to the end. Here the word confirm means establish. One day we are going to stand
blameless before God, not because we did something but because God was faithful
in establishing us that way.
WE ARE INCLUDED BY HIS
GRACE - Vs. 9
Notice that God has
called us into fellowship with Him.
Fellowship here means
partnership.
There is a oneness that
takes place that joins us together,.
Have you ever thought of
the Lord Jesus as your partner?
He would be senior
partner for sure!
Wherever you go He is
there.
Whatever you say, He's
there.
Whatever you try to
accomplish for His glory, He's there.
Whenever you hurt, He
hurts.
Whenever you love the
right things, He loves.
So, if Jesus is here,
why not let the senior partner have control.
May it be that wherever
you go Jesus takes you.
And whatever you say,
Jesus is saying through you.
And whatever you try to
accomplish for His glory, He is doing through you.
And whenever you love,
He loves through you.
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1 Corinthians 1:10-18
ONE MASTER, ONE MESSAGE
The church in
The church in
In our text Paul makes an appeal for unity among true
believers.
COHESION OF THE BODY Vs. 10
CONTENTION WITHIN THE BODY Vss. 11-16
CONCERN BY THE BODY Vss. 17-18
Correct doctrine is important! However, we should not
concern ourselves with following a particular human leader. Paul's main concern was the preaching of the
cross of Christ. Preaching the Gospel is
what brings folks to faith in Christ!
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1 Corinthians 1:18-31
THE PREACHING OF THE
CROSS
THE PREACHING OF THE
CROSS IS GOD'S POWER - Vss. 18, 23-24
THE PREACHING OF THE
CROSS IS GOD'S WISDOM - Vss. 19-25
THE PREACHING OF THE
CROSS IS CHRIST'S SUFFICIENCY - Vss. 26-31
God has taken a bunch of
"nobodies" and made them "somebodies"
in Christ!
Christ is sufficient to
provide "wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and
redemption".
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1 Corinthians 1:30-31
ALL I NEED!
In order to have salvation and to live a Godly
Christian life, Jesus Christ is all I need. (Let the text be your outline.)
WISDOM
RIGHTEOUSNESS
SANCTIFICATION
REDEMPTION
GLORY (Vs. 31)
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