Romans 1

• Al Costlow
• Romans 1:17- For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith,, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.[1] (Habakkuk 2:4)
• How is it that the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel?
• Exactly what we are doing here on the stage… passing our faith to family and friends.
• Not necessarily in words as much as in actions that are a byproduct of what we believe.
• The Gospel is God at work.
• In the Old Covenant it was proven by works, in the New Covenant it is proven by faith.
• Not only just salvation, but a person being transformed and living in freedom.
• Watch people walk this earth of chaos and bring a little bit of heaven to it.

 
Romans 2

• My sister sent me this message this week: “I need more explanation of Romans 2:5-10 sometime”.
• Romans 2:5-11 - 5 Because of your hardened and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed. 6 He will repay each one according to his works: 7 eternal life to those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but wrath and anger to those who are self-seeking and disobey the truth while obeying unrighteousness. 9 There will be affliction and distress for every human being who does evil, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does what is good, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no favoritism with God.[2]
• Bob’s Romans Study: Romans 2:5 states that even the moral man will receive God’s “wrath” due to his “stubbornness and unrepentant heart.” Paul also states that the lost are “storing up wrath for … the day of wrath” (v. 5). Do you realize that God’s “wrath” will be poured out on unbelievers in proportion to the amount of “wrath” they have stored up—in proportion to the degree of their sin? They will face the “great white throne” judgment (Revelation 20:11–15), a judgment of condemnation for all who have refused to exercise repentance and faith while depraved. This “judgment” will be “righteous” (Romans 2:5), which means that it will be just and upright. The unrepentant man will receive exactly what he deserves. After all, he had every opportunity to believe. The “great white throne” judgment (Revelation 20:11) differs from “the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). No believer will be judged at the “great white throne,” for it is a judgment of wrath. A New Testament believer faces “the judgment seat of Christ,” a judgment of rewards. Each of our works will be tested “with fire” (1 Corinthians 3:10–15), and we will be rewarded for deeds done in faith. God “… will render to every man according to his deeds” (Romans 2:6) Those who do “good” will receive “glory … honor … peace … and immortality, eternal life” (vv. 7, 10). Those who “do not obey the truth” receive “wrath … indignation … tribulation and distress” (vv. 8–9). According to verses 7–10, all who habitually do “evil” and enjoy it, proving that they have never repented of sin and accepted Christ as Savior, will receive God’s “wrath.” All who do “good,” if their good deeds result from yielding to Christ’s indwelling presence, will receive “glory … honor and peace.” After studying this comparison, do you wonder how anyone could choose to reject Christ? Note: These verses do not teach that good deeds yield a right standing with God. Paul will confirm this fact to a greater degree in subsequent verses.

 

• Brandon Leum
• In the study, Romans 2, verse 13 talks about "doers of the law" And how this can be misconstrued with "if we do good things (good works) this results in God justifying us or looking better upon us.
• I know that the only thing that matters is that Jesus died one time for us on the cross - One time only!
• I think that in life it can be hard to not fall into being a "doer of the law" and if we do something good (volunteering - helping someone in need – tithing, etc.) for some reason we feel better about how God views us.
• How can we in our mental mind work through every day that "it doesn't matter...Just believing and trusting through FAITH in Christ is the answer is satisfying our Lord and Savior?
• Because of this, we do things in the Spirit...and trusting these are good things.

 

• Bob mentions. Yes, God loves man enough to allow man to live eternally separated from his presence should he (man) so desire.
• If you have a man or woman that has a good heart, does good things, yet does not have a relationship in Christ, it hurts my heart to think that person will be "thrown in the lake of fire" based on Revelation 20:15 (Again, just a discussion around this would be good)

 
Romans 3

• Brandon Leum
• On page 20 of the study, the question for the 4th day, #2.
• In Romans 3:4, Paul writes let God be found true, though every man be found a liar..." what does this statement communicate?
• Would we continue to view God as being "true" and worthy of serving if everyone you know should deny him?
• It communicates Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.

 

• Al Costlow
• Romans 3:23---What is "the glory of God" that is spoken of in this verse that "all have fallen short of"?
• It’s not a thing. It is the greatness, beauty, and perfection of all that He is.

 

• Doug spoke of righteousness and justification that we now have. But doesn’t that lead to a license to sin?

 
Romans 4

• Ryan kept talking about the Old Covenant and New Covenant rather than the Old Testament and the New Testament. What is the difference?

 
Chris Pickrell
You are going through a current season of difficulty with family health/issues… how does what you know from this study impact you directly during this time?

• I grew up in a family that had rules but we didn’t have church. I always knew there was a God that loved me however I came to know that but we didn’t do church or nightly prayer time. I am not even sure I remember a Bible in our house but sure we had one somewhere.
• My point is when I studied Romans, it was easy for me to understand because I didn’t have the preconceived ideas and beliefs to unlearn. I had felt like people had always judged me all through my life, too small, too poor, didn’t belong with this or that group.
• I always treated people how I wanted to be treated and was taught to help others but strive for perfection in my own self. I started thinking perfection wasn’t possible so why try. If I had to walk the tight rope then I wasn’t going to make the cut anyways, had to many personal issues for Jesus to want me in His house. 
• What Romans did for me was give me peace and freedom and my question would be why are people so critical against or so fought against by other people and churches. It is in the same bible most groups read and study.
• Romans 8:1- Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus[3]
• If He loves me, why would He condemn me? I spent my time worrying about and thinking about my actions instead of focusing on who loved me. Why do “Christians” spend so much effort worrying about and judging people (sin comparison- like one is worse than the other) instead of recognizing He died to cover them all regardless of what or when they happened. 
• Like I said- Romans was the good news I always thought the Bible was supposed to be so I guess it just made more sense to me that Jesus would love me no matter what instead of because of what I did or didn’t do. It just made sense. 
• I am not a biblical scholar and trust that loving Him and others with all my heart is what I am supposed to do.  It looks good some days, ugly others and “just not sure” days but what I don’t do is stay in that.   

 
David Speckman
One man discipled you through this study. Tell me about that relationship and how it impacted your family and work.

• About Big Micah (Langmaack) taking me through this, I don't even know where to start....  I feel so far removed from my original line of thinking/feeling but the best way to describe it would be to say I was "lost & confused" prior to going through this with Micah.  It's kinda cool (and pathetic) how much I relied on him to figure out almost everything in my life.  Not sure how in depth you want me to go in this response but I think the biggest thing he helped me realize is that I don't have to control everything.  I can just take a deep breath and relax (Micah always uses the word "REST") and know that no matter what happens "God's got it" as Micah would say.  Watching what he and Shannon are going through with Anna right now is the most amazing testament to that.  He definitely practices what he preaches.
• I always knew/felt that there was a God but I didn't really know what that meant or who he was and what was his role in my life. For me though, I always looked at it like you were either "Team God" or not. I always felt like the guy that wanted to be on the team but was never good enough if that makes sense. So I just always watched from the sidelines and admired. I thought that in order to play for the team I'd have to give up everything and make a drastic change to who I was (at that time I was always in trouble). The irony was that once I learned more about Him, the things I found joy in drastically changed. I thought I had to change my behavior to learn my identity in Him but instead learning my identity in Him changed my behavior....

 
Greg Dugger
How long ago and how long did it take for you to see things differently? How has it impacted your life?
 
Al Costlow
I want to hear from you on Sunday about coming to the revelation of your identity through the Romans Study after so many years of viewing it different. You have touched on this recently.
 
Brent Sutton
Would you be willing to share where you are right now and knowing what you do from Romans how it is leading you on a day to day basis?
 
Danny DiSalvo
How does the revelation of grace and identity unfold with you as you lead your family. Share as much as you want.

• Here’s a few questions I have about Romans 1-4.
• Righteous? Me? Right now? Really? How?
• If I am righteous (by faith) what is going on when I commit a sin? Isn’t God upset or mad at me at least?
• If it’s the kindness of God that leads us to repentance... Does that mean I shouldn’t get sideways with people who are lost?
• If the wages of sin are death, and I have been given a gift of eternal life in Jesus, why do I still feel at times like God has to deal with my sin? Wouldn’t that mean I getting paid for something that Jesus paid for? If there is something else that needs to happen for me to be right now today perfect, righteous, blameless, forgiven before God, what is it?
• How can I put expectations of “obeying the law” on my kids or on my spouse if I know that God has no expectation on me to uphold the law?
• If my spouse and kids are righteous because of Jesus....wait what?

 
Brandon Leum
Your journey hasn’t been any easier… how has what you know now impacted your daily conversations with work conversations and friends?

• Growing up in the Lutheran segment of church, there were a lot of rules and expectations in terms of "being a good Christian". Along with that, I grew up in a very small (population 600) town where everyone knew you and the things did. At age 10, I moved away to the city (Indianapolis) and that was when my independence really started. In both of these environments, I knew the figure "Jesus Christ". Even going through confirmation in 7th & 8th grade, I didn't understand. 
• I can tell you this, it took me until I was 45 yrs. old that I finally "tapped out" wrestling with faith, religion, being the good guy, and overall just trying to meet the expectation in order for me to feel good.
• Losing my brother to suicide was not the event, but yet it was the event when the holy spirit walked into my life.
• At that point, that night, was the like the 12th round of a heavy weight match. It took me another almost 4 months until I finally tapped out.
• It took me another 4 months after that to embrace the Leavener family....and it took another 10 months until I started my walk in Roman's.
• What I know, is that is all okay. It didn't matter the time. But I can tell you this, how it came together was truly the Holy Spirit working and knowing us intimately.
• A verse that was shared with me early on was this...Romans 7:17-20. This opened the door to understanding the flesh and the spirit and the spiritual warfare that is going on in this world.  But, I needed more... and that led me to the Romans study...
• That study started on June 23, 2016 and we are still meeting every Friday morning!  
• To all you men,

I struggle everyday with flesh poo poo of life, but I can tell you that I am a believer in Jesus Christ. I am no longer afraid to raise my shield every day and pronounce that when presented that question. He has backed me since the day I was born and walked along side me that entire time. It just took me a little while to see him. But when I did "REALLY" see him, I knew him like my brother, my father, my best friend and my Savior.  All wrapped up in one!

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 1:17). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 2:5–11). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 8:1). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

Romans 4
Fall of 2013, Starbuck in Irvington. Perception of Christian life, behavioral change. I would try, retry, quit, retry. Seemed like a hard road that I couldn’t do, which you can’t. Worldly therapist= Felt like a being was hovering over me waiting to crack my rear-end whom I could never please.
 
Justification by Faith Evidenced in Old Testament
       1     What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?
       2     For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
       3     For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

- Therefore - read backwards
- Genesis - 2 Trees = a choice (Tree of Life vs Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil)
- Adam chose of the wrong tree - his brain received a conscience
- Bad advice = let your conscience be your guide
- Morality - standard of right behavior (sanctioned by your conscience)
- Your morality will not save you.
- Attach yourself to the Tree of Life - Your spirit then unites with God’s Spirit
- Immorality - conflict with your conscience
- Your conscience is unique to you - it becomes your opinions
- Probably true to believe your conscience gets swayed over time by circumstances
- Look for God happenstances rather than right & wrong
- 1 Corinthians 8:1-7 - We need to spend our life focusing on the Tree of Life rather than trying to figure out what is right and wrong.
- Living from the Tree of Life - Your conscience is cleared through Christ.
- This is what the end of Romans 1 says
- Therefore... quit judging people

Bible Verses with the term "conscience":
​
1 Corinthians 8:7
However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
 
1 Corinthians 8:10
For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols?
 
1 Corinthians 8:12
And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.
 
1 Corinthians 10:25
Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake;
 
1 Corinthians 10:27
If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience’ sake.
 
1 Corinthians 10:28
But if anyone says to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake;
 
1 Corinthians 10:29
I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience?
 
1 Timothy 1:19
keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.
 
1 Timothy 4:2
by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,
 
Hebrews 9:9
which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,
 
Hebrews 9:14
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
 
Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
 
Hebrews 13:18
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.
 
1 Peter 3:16
and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.
 
1 Peter 3:21
Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
 
 
 
Acts 23:1
Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.”
 
Acts 24:16
In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.
 
Romans 2:15
in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,
 
Romans 9:1
I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit,
 
Romans 13:5
Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.
 
Romans 14:1
Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
 
2 Corinthians 1:12
For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you.
 
2 Corinthians 4:2
but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
 
1 Timothy 1:5
But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
 
1 Timothy 3:9
but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.
 
 
2 Timothy 1:3
I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day,
 
Titus 1:15
To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.
 
 
1 Peter 2:19
For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.
 
1 Samuel 24:5
It came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe.

Hello and greetings to everyone. For those that may not know me, my name is David Olthoff.
One day I was having lunch with Rusty when he asked me to speak about Romans 1.
In retrospect I am grateful because I was reminded how Romans had made a significant impact on my life.
You see, in Matt Tully’s basement a few years ago several of us sat down to study the book of Romans.  It was then I understood the power of the gospel.   
 

• In Romans, we learned that through our faith in Jesus, we are made right with God. 

Let’s ponder that statement for a brief moment.
If someone says to you “you are right with me”, what do they mean?
If you could choose anyone to say that to you, who would it be? (spouse, parents, kids, sports hero, the President?)
How about from God?
Romans teaches because of our faith, God looks us in the eye and says, “you are perfect with me”. How great is that? Can anyone be the same after knowing this?
 

• Romans also taught me that as believers, our eternal future is secure in Heaven.

In Romans we’ll learn that because of our faith in Jesus, we can be absolutely certain of our eternal future in Heaven. These promises give me great peace.
 
Throughout history the book of Romans has made a great impact on many others;

1. In the summer of 386 it made a great impact on St Augustine. (Augustine was a predominant theologian, philosopher and writer.) He knew his life of sin and rebellion against God left him empty and feeling dead; but he just couldn’t find the strength to make a final, real decision for Jesus Christ.

 
As he sat, he heard children playing a game in the distance. He thought he heard them chanting something like: “Take up and read! Take up and read!”
Thinking God had a message for him in the words of the children, he picked up a scroll laying nearby and began to read: “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires”. The story goes on to say he didn’t read any further at that time, he didn’t have to. Through the power of God’s Word in Romans, Augustine gained the faith to give his whole life to Jesus Christ at that moment.

1. The letter of Romans impacted Martin Luther also.

In August of 1513, Martin Luther’s inner life was nothing but turmoil. In his studies he came across Romans 1:17, which says, “the righteousness of God is revealed through faith”
Luther the monk went on to say: “Night and day I pondered until… I grasped the truth-that the righteousness of God given to us is through grace and sheer mercy and that God justifies us by faith”. He went on to say; “At that very moment I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise”. Martin Luther was born again, and the Reformation began in his heart.
 
Paul most likely wrote the book of Romans in the city of Corinth on his third missionary journey around 53-58 AD.
Back then traveling from place to place on foot could be treacherous so it is believed Paul wrote this letter so comprehensively that should something happen to him, the Romans would have the entire Gospel message.
 
In verse 1, Paul identifies himself first as a servant of Jesus Christ and secondly an apostle. 
John Wesley, an English cleric, theologian and evangelist once said; “A servant of Jesus Christ is a higher title than “monarch of the world”.
I like thinking about that statement. Because of our faith, we hold a bigger title than “ruler of the world”. That’s kind of cool and wonderful, isn’t it?
 
In verses 2-6
Paul speaks of God’s Son Jesus Christ as the center of the gospel.
In verse 2, he starts out by telling his readers the gospel story was first promised through the prophets. Paul wanted to make certain his readers understood this wasn’t his own new idea but something very old in the plan of God.
Verse 3, He mentions “our savior was born in the lineage of David according to the flesh”.  Old school Jews in the crowd certainly knew who David was and I’m sure that caught their attention.
Verse 4: (Jesus is) declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Holy Spirit, by the resurrection from the dead. 
Jesus had a human side being born into the world, but the proof of his deity is His resurrection from the dead.
 
Verse 5;
“Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith”
 
The gospel gave Paul and the church grace and apostleship, and those two gifts produced obedience to the faith.
 
A British theologian named Adam Clarke who lived in the 1700s stated; “Without the GRACE, favor, and help of the Holy Spirit, Paul could not have become an apostle.” I think this to be true. Before meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul was a Christian hater, right? Grace and Apostleship hit Paul straight between the eyes on the Damascus road. He became saved and his first words were very apostle like; “Lord, what do you want me to do?” (Acts 9:6).
 
Verse 8 
I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world:
 
In my readings, I learned Paul was thankful for the good reputation of the church in Rome. ALSO…Because of its location, this church had a special visibility and opportunity to glorify Jesus throughout the Empire. The Roman Empire brought world peace and order AND they brought an excellent transportation system to the world. Paul used all these advantages in spreading the Gospel.
 
Verse 15
Paul says in verse 15…”I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.”
 
Charles Spurgeon, an accomplished Baptist preacher of the 1800s admired Paul’s “I am ready” motto he carried with him.
Spurgeon states;
 
In addition to “being ready to preach” in verse 15,
 
· Paul was ready to suffer (Acts 21:13).
· Paul was ready to do unpleasant work (2 Corinthians 10:6).
· Paul was ready to die  (2 Timothy 4:6).
 
Paul was the “I am ready guy”.
 
In Verses 16-17…Paul introduces the theme of his letter: the righteousness of God.
16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God’s salvation plan for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
Leon Morris, an Australian New Testament scholar said this of verse 16;
The gospel is certainly news, but it is more than information; it has an inherent power. “The gospel is not advice to people, suggesting that we lift-up ourselves. The Gospel is power. We don’t lift ourselves up with the truth. The Truth lifts us up.
 
Now the city of Rome thought it knew all about power: Power is the one thing that Rome boasted of the most. Greece might have its philosophy, but Rome had its power. Despite all their power, the Roman people were powerless to make themselves righteous before God…and they knew it!
 
The Romans of Paul’s day, even the proud Romans looked for salvation. Philosophers spoke of their broken condition in the meeting places all the time. They knew they were sick and needed help. For some in Rome, Paul’s message would be epic.
 
 
Verse 17: “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed.”
Simply put, the gospel reveals the righteousness of God.
Martin Luther said it was the happiest day in his life when he discovered the righteousness of God in Romans. Luther paraphrased the words; “God’s Righteousness” with “God’s verdict of righteousness upon the believer.” I like that.
 
John Murry, a Scottish theologian stated; “This declaration of righteousness is even greater when we understand that this is the righteousness of GOD, given to the believer. It is not the righteousness of even the most holy man. It is God’s righteousness, and we are given this through faith in Jesus.
 
 
Verse 18 (to the end of Romans chapter 1) Paul explains the guilt of the human race and the greatest peril facing the human race is the Wrath of God.  
I must confess, in the past I’ve secretly objected to the idea of the wrath of God because I used to equate it with human anger or revenge.
But the wrath of God here is not that way. The wrath of God is completely righteous in character.
 
Let me explain;
Paul speaks against Romans who were behaving very poorly AND refusing to acknowledge God.  
Sexual lust was rampant. Idol worship was popular and apathy toward God’s very existence was the worst of their sins.
But God expresses His wrath in a surprising way. (I’d think he’d just crush the revolt?) But no, He gave them over to their sinful desires which gave them the quality of life they deserved. Rotten living, anxiety, pain and all the rest.
God is perfect in His ways, amen?
 
In conclusion,
Today, I live in more peace because through my faith I have been made right with God and my eternal future in Heaven is secure.
It been years since I’ve woke up in the morning nervous with anxiety like I used to.
Today I thank God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit for bringing us the truth in book of Romans.

• The final issue out of the barrage of questions that Paul has to deal with in 1 Corinthians—quite possibly the final issue that the Corinthian church wrote to him about in the letter that he turns to in 7:1—has to do with a collection that Paul has embarked on, and that will occupy his attention for at least another couple of years, for a group of fellow believers in Jerusalem and in the province of Judaea surrounding it, that was necessitated by a severe drought leading to a considerable famine in the late 40s of the first century.
• It’s now the mid-50s, but there are still lingering effects, and in 2 Cor 8–9 Paul will discuss this collection in considerably greater detail.[1]

COLLECTION FOR THE JERUSALEM CHURCH
16 Now about the collection for the saints: Do the same as I instructed the Galatian churches. 2 On the first day of the week, each of you is to set something aside and save in keeping with how he is prospering, so that no collections will need to be made when I come.

• It seems unlikely that Paul is referring to a fixed percentage of their income; that would be an odd way of expressing it.
• Each person should give generously, even sacrificially, not to trade places with the poor but giving from their surplus but being ruthlessly honest about how much is surplus.[2]
• Everyone can give something and it is highly encouraged… we are not talking about Leavener specifically.
• Every group of people will have givers and takers.
• It is hard to do the opposite of what you are gifted to do.
• We just came out of holidays… gift exchange.
• You had to take.
• Cory bought our dinner last night.
• I take from you each week.
• The Cates had a new baby this week. Meal train.
• The Langmaacks are huge givers but are having to learn how to take.

3 When I arrive, I will send with letters those you recommend to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it is suitable for me to go as well, they will travel with me.

• “If you give enough that it’s clear you were generous, then I’ll accompany it. I don’t want to lose faith or look bad if the collection is a meager one.”
• We are never told in so many words that the money was handed over; we can only assume that it was.
• But there is conflict that arises when Paul is falsely alleged as having brought a Gentile into the portion of the temple precincts that they were not permitted to go into. (Acts 21)
• So, what began out of all the best motives in the world leads to a riot, leads to Paul being arrested to save his own life, leads to him addressing the crowds and then languishing in detention for several years after that.[3]

 
PAUL’S TRAVEL PLANS
5 I will come to you after I pass through Macedonia—for I will be traveling through Macedonia--6 and perhaps I will remain with you or even spend the winter, so that you may send me on my way wherever I go.

• Paul indicates his plans for the future but as we read ahead in Romans and 2 Corinthians we find out that it doesn’t always go as planned.

7 I don’t want to see you now just in passing, since I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord allows.

• Paul was willing to allow time to pass before he visits because he thought his letter needed time to circulate and for them to work on these issues he has written about.
• It would not make much sense to send this letter and then immediately follow up with a visit.

 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 because a wide door for effective ministry has opened for me—yet many oppose me.

• Verses 8–9 also indicate that there is much opposition in Ephesus, and it would be easy to think that Paul should have written (or that we should have translated) that he’ll remain in Ephesus until Pentecost, because there’s an open door for effective ministry or service, but there is much opposition.
• But he uses the word normally translated “and,” and I see no reason to change that here.[4]
• That is a good reason to stay in one place when you have both acceptance and opposition.
• If you have one or another it is probably a sign that Paul needs to move on to another region.

10 If Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to fear while with you, because he is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am. 11 So let no one look down on him. Send him on his way in peace so that he can come to me, because I am expecting him with the brothers.

• Timothy is Paul’s young disciple.
• Paul gives Timothy accreditation here.
• Stamp of approval
• Paul depends on encouragement from Timothy by listening not only to his ministry but also how well the Church is doing.

12 Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to come to you with the brothers, but he was not at all willing to come now. However, he will come when he has an opportunity.

• There is no indication of why Apollos would not go to Corinth other than he understood the conflict of having multiple teachers.
• Remember the “some followed Paul and some followed Apollos” issue.

 
FINAL EXHORTATION
13 Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. 14 Do everything in love.

• Constantly, we say. “Stay focused” as we depart ways with one another.
• “Stay focused” on what? – Jesus
• We know that the evil one is constantly putting negative thoughts into our head and we have to know the difference between them and the Truth.
• Paul is literally just saying “BE”

15 Brothers and sisters, you know the household of Stephanas: They are the firstfruits of Achaia and have devoted themselves to serving the saints. I urge you 16 also to submit to such people, and to everyone who works and labors with them. 17 I am delighted to have Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus present, because these men have made up for your absence. 18 For they have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore, recognize such people.

• Respectfully submit to those you recognize as spiritual leaders.
• There was not a “Bible” at this time for everyone to filter messages through.
• But there were proven messengers, teachers and role models of the faith that were highly respected.
• Paul encouraged the Church at Corinth to pattern their lives after these leaders.
• Why did Paul want to be around these men?
• Because they were encouragers in the faith.

 
CONCLUSION
19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla send you greetings warmly in the Lord, along with the church that meets in their home. 20 All the brothers and sisters send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

• And in our sexually charged world, we need to stress that this was a warm and affectionate greeting on one or both cheeks—not any erotic or sexual context involved with it.
• We need to look for equivalents in today’s world; and if that’s not it, then an appropriate kind of hug, a warm handshake, or some other culturally appropriate greeting may be the way to go.[5]
• In a pandemic, it is more of a wave, knuckles or elbow bump.
• “Greet” is the key word rather than kiss.
• Some might say “holy” is the key word because it is what we are choosing to recognize between the two believers.
• Being in one another’s presence is huge!
• Michelle’s drive by parade was just a few seconds but something she will remember the rest of her life.
• Just bring in the presence of one another is a big deal.

21 This greeting is in my own hand—Paul.

• We believe that Luke penned the letter for Paul because he had issues with his eyes.
• But Paul at least signed the letter at the end.

22 If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse be on him.

• It would not have been politically incorrect—there was no political correctness in Paul’s world—but it still would have had a certain shock value, and Paul would have known that.
• It’s a way of stressing how serious this matter is and not one that’s given directly to the enemies of God, outside of the church, but to those inside the church professing to be believers: “Make sure you are loving God!”[6]
• I don’t believe Paul is wishing or placing a curse on the nonbeliever.
• I think Paul’s understanding is that one who rejects the Gospel has a curse on their life.

Our Lord, come!

• Marantha

23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

• Let grace permeate among you!
• Let grace be the aroma that surrounds you.

24 My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus.[7]

• Paul literally is telling his reader that he loves them.
• Are you one of his readers? Yes! Paul loves you!
• What a great way to end the letter.

 

• This letter is sent to Corinth by Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus.
• Paul gets to see Timothy and then send Timothy to Corinth.
• Nero lifts the ban on Jews and allows them to return to Rome.
• Paul hears of this and send Aquila and Priscilla to Rome.
• Paul wants to establish a gentile church in the Eternal City before the Jews start trickling back into Rome.
• Delegates to the Church in Rome:
•  - Aquila and Priscilla from Ephesus
•  - Phoebe from Cenchrea
•  - Rufus from Syrian Antioch
•  - Andronicus and Junias from Jerusalem
•  - Urbanus from Macedonia
•  - Apelles from Asia Minor

 
Sharpening the Focus: First-century Rome is a cosmopolitan city—the melting pot of the entire world.

• It is the Roman Empire in microcosm with representatives of every race, ethnic group, social status, and religion.
• The city is a perfect square—about two and one-half miles by two and one-half miles (many of the poor are densely populated outside the city walls).
• Rome sits on seven hills and contains fourteen districts. The city has 1,790 palaces and 46,602 tenement apartments (called insulas).
• The population is about one million.
• Citizens range from the miserably poor to the lavishly rich.
• Half the population is made up of slaves, making it the “slave capital of the world.” Many of the freedmen live in horrible poverty.
• The Roman poet Juvenal (A.D. 110) described Rome as a filthy sewer into which flowed every abominable dreg.
• The Stoic philosopher Seneca (A.D. 55) spoke of Rome as a cesspool of iniquity.
• The Jewish population is large and free, sitting around 40,000-60,000. Jews are spread all over the city, but most of them live in a pocket of the city called the Trastevere area.
• Rome has about a dozen synagogues. All but the rich (excluding the homeless) live in insulas. Most insulas are seven stories high, covering an entire block.
• Heat and light are very inadequate. The first floor is used for shops. The second floor is very expensive. The poor live on the third floor or above. The third-floor rooms are very tiny. They do not have running water. They are also poorly built and sometimes collapse, killing the tenants inside.
• The insulas are made mostly of timber, so they are a fire hazard in the dry season.
• The city is extremely crowded with densely packed apartments. It is also unbearably noisy. From dawn to dusk, there is constant babbling in the streets and from the apartments.
• It is hard to sleep because of the racket. There is no public transportation and no street lighting (these things will not appear in Rome until the fourth century).
• While the main concourses of the city are attractive, the back streets are dirty, unlighted, pitiful, and smelly.
• They are littered with garbage and covered with flies. The garbage is never removed. The residents must await a heavy downpour to flush it into the Tiber River.
• In the pits along the sideways you can see the bodies of the poor who could not afford burials.

If you are poor, Rome is the worst place to live on planet Earth.[8]

[1] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[2] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[3] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[4] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[5] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[6] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[7] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 16:1-24). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Viola, Frank. The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. Destiny Image Publishers, Inc, 2004. PP 121-122.

RESURRECTION SUPPORTED BY CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE
1 CORINTHIANS 15
29 Otherwise what will they do who are being baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, then why are people baptized for them?

• Baptism of believers has always been debated as essential or non-essential for salvation… or for future resurrection of the body.
• In the Corinth church there is record of them vicariously baptizing living believers for the sake of the believers who had already died without being baptized. Solely for the purpose of their physical bodies to be resurrected upon Christ’s return.
• A proxy baptism.
• 1) Salvation is a personal matter that each must decide for himself.
• 2) Nobody needs to be baptized to be saved.

30 Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I face death every day, as surely as I may boast about you, brothers and sisters, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• “I die daily” – Not talking about “dying to self” as Paul mentions in Romans 6… but physical dangers.

32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus as a mere man, what good did that do me? If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

• Actually a quote from Isaiah 22:13 – But Isaiah was quoting it as a popular philosophy at the time Israel was about to be invaded by the Babylonians.
• If the resurrection is not true, then we can forget about the future and live as we please!
• But the resurrection is true!
• Jesus is coming again!
• Even if we die before He comes, we shall be raised at His coming and stand before Him in a glorified body.[1]
• Paul is simply arguing ad hoc from things that actually are happening and making the point that the reason people participate in them and tolerate them and accept them, rightly or wrongly, is because there is a hope of life to come.[2]

33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

• Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t make it right.
• Think of all the things that are acceptable today that weren’t acceptable when you were a child.
• It happens… it creeps in…
• Mob mentality… everyone else is doing it.

34 Come to your senses, and stop sinning; for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame.

• Quit living your life by the way of the world.
• Quit getting in worldly arguments.
• I’m going to live in a world that is facing a pandemic.
• I’m going to live in a political world that finds itself greatly divided.
• But that doesn’t mean that has to become my world… especially my discussion.
• My opinion is not going to change the world.
• My participation in protests, discussions, rallies, social network feeds is not going to change the world.
• But my servanthood, my love for God, my love for others… may greatly impact those around me.
• In those days, public shame was a huge deterrent.

 
THE NATURE OF THE RESURRECTION BODY
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come?”

• This is a typical question even for today.
• Everyone wants to know what does the future hold?
• What is going to happen? What does it look like?

36 You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And as for what you sow—you are not sowing the body that will be, but only a seed, perhaps of wheat or another grain.

• Paul can’t even answer their questions.
• We don’t know!
• Have you ever planted an unknown seed to see what it becomes?

38 But God gives it a body as he wants, and to each of the seeds its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same flesh; there is one flesh for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is different from that of the earthly ones. 41 There is a splendor of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars; in fact, one star differs from another star in splendor.

• Paul goes on a tangent about all the different subjects that we have determined to have/be “bodies”.
• Humans (gender, size, ethnicity, etc)
• Animals (2 legged – multi-legged, winged, water)
• Heavenly bodies (moon/stars, sun, galaxies)
• Who has any idea what a “resurrected body” likes like except God?
• With Jesus, we assume we saw a transitional body.
• The disciples didn’t even recognize Him, yet he still had scars in His hands.
• Assuming there won’t be scars in resurrected bodies in heaven.
• His point is simply to say, “Think of the extraordinary, rich diversity of things God has created that we as people call ‘bodies,’ we think of as having embodied form—and if God is that creative, surely He knows how to create resurrection bodies.”[3]

42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; 43 sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; 44 sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body.

• There will be nothing wicked, nothing flawed, nothing imperfect.[4]
• Our baptism represents this transition.
• We recognized people (as non-believers) for the things they did.
• They were born with a dead spirit because they came from the seed of Adam.
• They are born dead.
• But because of their belief in Jesus… they are made a new creation.
• We no longer view them as a physical being that does things… but as a spiritual being who can’t be made any more perfect than they already are.
• So what we do does not define us.
• Who we are impacts what we do.

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; (Genesis 2:7) the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual.

• First you are physically born… with a spirit… that is dead… inherited from Adam.
• Then Jesus came along so that our Spirit could have life.

47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 Like the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust;

• Born dead, separated from God.

like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven.

• Made alive with the Spirit inside.

49 And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.

• We still have these physical bodies but we are recognized by our living Spirit.
• The world is only going to know we are different because we are more interested in things above than the things of this world.
• How am I any different if all I talk about is the things of this world?
• If it’s real, it ought to change the way we think about everything in this life, putting no ultimate allegiance in anything that lasts only for this life.[5]

 
VICTORIOUS RESURRECTION
50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, (a church nursery posted that on their door) 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.

• But flesh and blood (basar ve-dam in the Hebrew) was a standard Jewish idiom for finite fallen humanity.
• There are literally hundreds of parables in the writings of the rabbis in the early centuries of the common era that begin, “There was a king of flesh and blood.”
• And the moment you read that, you know that what follows is going to be a comparison, usually from the lesser to the greater, of something about the nature of human kings with something that is true all the more about God as King.
• “Flesh and blood” does not mean “embodied” then here, it means finite fallen humanity cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
• The perishable cannot inherit the kingdom of God, that which is imperishable. So Paul is pursuing his same line of argumentation.[6]

53 For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. 54 When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:
Death has been swallowed up in victory. (Isaiah 25:8)
55 Where, death, is your victory?
Where, death, is your sting? (Hosea 13:14)

• The Church of Corinth was consumed with the idea of death – terrified.
• Life span was short and many illnesses.
• Today we live in a pandemic and we have death statistics all around us.
• There is anxiety and depression consuming us because of the thought of death.

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

• It is because of our sin that death entered into this world.
• And what gives sin its power is the law.
• The law came along so sin would increase (Romans 5:20)
• This is the corruptible
• The incorruptible is that God gives you freedom.
• Live your life by the Spirit and there is no law.

57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

• Throughout the New Testament, and particularly throughout Paul, eschatological teaching—teaching about the end times and the last days in the eternal state—is never given simply to satisfy someone’s curiosity.
• It appears in contexts of encouragement, of encouraging the beleaguered, of encouraging the persecuted, of telling folks “All that makes life hard now is worthwhile.”
• Today’s bumper sticker “Life is hard, and then you die,” if by that one means “and there is nothing more after that,” is absolutely false from Paul’s perspective.
• The only way to redeem that bumper sticker is to make the slogan longer: “Life is short, life is hard, and then you die, and then it gets fantastic if you’re a follower of Jesus.”

 
In everything you hold dear and in everything that is trivial, ask yourself “What does it mean to make this choice in light of the fact that I am living forever?”[7]

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 618–619). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[3] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[4] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[5] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[6] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[7] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

ORDER IN CHURCH MEETINGS
1 CORINTHIANS 14
26 What then, brothers and sisters? Whenever you come together, each one has a hymn, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Everything is to be done for building up.

• For one verse, Paul reflects again on a representative sampling of the whole range of spiritual gifts.[1]

27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, there are to be only two, or at the most three, each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, that person is to keep silent in the church and speak to himself and God.

• But even there, he didn’t rule out the public use of tongues altogether.
• When we get to the end of the chapter he will say, “Do not forbid speaking in tongues.”
• We need to be extraordinarily cautious, therefore, in our contemporary world whenever we hear Christians claiming that this gift or any of the gifts is not for today or should not be practiced or should be practiced but limited to a private context.
• We should also be extraordinarily careful for those who refer to tongues or prophecy or any other gift without reflecting on checks and balances, accountability, mechanisms for controlling and evaluating the alleged presence and use of these gifts.
• So what Paul does in verses 29–36, recognizing that no true gift of the Holy Spirit is ever given in a way that that individual cannot exercise control over it, is to give some criteria for their regulation, for what he will call, at the end of the chapter, “a fitting and orderly [practice].”[2]

29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate. 30 But if something has been revealed to another person sitting there, the first prophet should be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone may learn and everyone may be encouraged. 32 And the prophets’ spirits are subject to the prophets, 33 since God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

• If there is a prophecy in the nature of a future prediction, we need to wait to see if it, in fact, comes true.
• If it is an instruction for people today, is what it is teaching or commending consistent with biblical teaching elsewhere?
• If it’s something that can’t readily be evaluated by these criteria, does it seem to have the intention of edifying or building people up?
• We can never allow the so-called word of a Christian prophet, whether it’s in “ordinary preaching” or a spontaneous utterance to trump what we know God is saying from His Word.
• There has to be discernment.
• There has to be evaluation.[3]
• This was typically done by the elders in the church.

As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but are to submit themselves, as the law also says. 35 If they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home, since it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

• Paul had already permitted the women to pray and prophesy (1 Cor. 11:5), so this instruction must apply to the immediate context of evaluating the prophetic messages.
• It would appear that the major responsibility for doctrinal purity in the early church rested on the shoulders of the men, the elders in particular (1 Tim. 2:11–12).[4]
• It seems much more likely that some combination of a privilege restricted to the elders as the leaders of the church, in conjunction possibly with the intrusive questions, lack of education, need for women to in public be perceived as appropriately submitting to their husbands, is what’s going on.[5]

36 Or did the word of God originate from you, or did it come to you only?

• How am I able to speak to you each week?
• If this is me making these messages up… look out!
• You can be mad at me, but all I am actually doing is reading the Word, studying it in context of all 66 books and teaching what has been revealed to me.
• You have the ability to evaluate what I am teaching as truth.
• But there is no reason to be mad at me.

37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, he should recognize that what I write to you is the Lord’s command. 38 If anyone ignores this, he will be ignored. 39 So then, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.
40 But everything is to be done decently and in order.[6]

• So, he winds up the passage by saying, “Prefer prophecy.
• Seek prophecy.
• Don’t forbid speaking in tongues, but let everything be done decently and in order.”
• And to whatever degree there still is some tension, as there is at times in our world, between the noncharismatic and the charismatic world.
• These two closing verses say almost all that we need to hear:
• To the noncharismatics, “Don’t exclude any spiritual gift;”
• To the charismatics: “Don’t see how wild you can get. Do everything decently and in order.”[7]

 
RESURRECTION ESSENTIAL TO THE GOSPEL
1 CORINTHIANS 15
1 Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: 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 Cephas, then to the Twelve.

• It’s not surprising because, while bodily resurrection was commonplace in the Jewish world (indeed all but the Sadducees of the major leadership sects strongly believed in it), it was not at all common in the Graeco-Roman world.
• Much more common was a belief in a disembodied immortality of the soul, if indeed there was a hope for an afterlife at all.
• The movie “Soul” – Conveyer belt of souls to the big bug zapper in the sky. What?
• And here is the potential creed or early Christian confession: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.”[8]

6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he also appeared to me.

• Jesus appeared to the witnesses and disciples within 40 days of his resurrection from the tomb.
• The 500 plus brethren all saw Him at the same time, so it could not have been a hallucination or a deception.
• Mass hallucination has occurred numbers of times throughout history, but always in conjunction with a place and a visible, tangible, physical element of some kind—a statue of a person perhaps, or a painting, or an icon, a holy shrine.
• There was nothing in common about the locations or the contexts of all the places that Jesus was said to have appeared.[9]
• This event may have been just before His ascension[10]
• For Paul, it was within 2-3 years from Jesus’ resurrection, on the road to Damascus.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

• 1 Timothy 1:15 - This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them.[11]
• Paul is referring to his life before his spiritual conversion and transformation.

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, so we proclaim and so you have believed.

• He acknowledges his utter unworthiness to even being the recipient of this gracious—three times referring to the concept of God and His grace—being the recipient of this gracious touch from God’s Spirit, and puts himself on a level playing field, neither above nor below these other apostles because of this experience.
• “Whether it was they or I who preached, it was this same gospel.”
• It was the gospel that you believed.
• The bodily resurrection is central to it all.[12]

 
RESURRECTION ESSENTIAL TO THE FAITH
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”?

• Those of you Corinthians who are still inappropriately influenced by your Graeco-Roman background, who don’t believe in the resurrection of a dead person ever, let’s think through the logic that inexorably follows from that.
• That means that our teaching that Jesus was raised is false.
• But if He was not raised bodily, then our teaching that we can look forward, one day, to all the wrongs of this world being righted in a glorious and perfected and eternal future of incomparable joy and blessing is equally false.[13]

13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith. 15 Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified wrongly about God that he raised up Christ—whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. 19 If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.

• This is very similar to putting our hope in 2021.
• Yes, 2020 was a dumpster fire for many.
• That’s because they view life from a worldly perspective.
• The perspective of 2020 is different for those who stay focused on the resurrection of Christ and the eternal abundant life that is afforded to us.

 
CHRIST’S RESURRECTION GUARANTEES OURS
20 But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

• Once you saw the first of the crops, you knew that there were plenty more to come, even if not instantly.
• And that’s what Paul is saying about Christ’s resurrection compared to ours.[14]

21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. 22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
23 But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be abolished is death. 27 For God has put everything under his feet., Now when it says “everything” is put under him, it is obvious that he who puts everything under him is the exception. 28 When everything is subject to Christ, then the Son himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.[15]

• There is a functional subordination of the Son and Spirit to God.
• The Father never proceeds from the Son or the Spirit; the Son and the Spirit never command or send God the Father to do anything.
• But God rightly commands and sends the Son and the Spirit to do things.[16]

[1] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[2] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[3] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[4] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 615–616). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[5] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 14:26–40). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[8] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[9] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[10] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 617). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[11] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Ti 1:15). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[12] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[13] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[14] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[15] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 15:1–28). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[16] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

PROPHECY: A SUPERIOR GIFT
1 CORINTHIANS 14
1 Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. 2 For the person who speaks in a tongue is not speaking to people but to God, since no one understands him; he speaks mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the person who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement, and consolation. 4 The person who speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 I wish all of you spoke in tongues, but even more that you prophesied. The person who prophesies is greater than the person who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be built up.

• Two divisive spiritual gifts are compared to one another by Paul.
• Tongues allows a person to address God in an unknown language or linguistic configuration of syllables, but the speaker him/herself does not necessarily know what they are saying, and certainly others do not.
• Whereas prophecy, the proclamation of God’s Word in a message directly given by God to an individual, with or without advance preparation, speaks intelligibly to address a whole wide variety of possible human recipients.
• “Tongues edify [oneself],” build up one’s own assurance that God is with one and working in and through one and can bring a great sense of peace and encouragement and love on the part of God’s Spirit, especially in troubled times, especially when, as Rom 8 talks about it, we don’t even know with what words we should pray, and the Spirit prays for us.
• Whereas prophecy immediately edifies others, if the message is truly from God, to encourage, even perhaps to rebuke in a positive way, to communicate important information, to show God’s love and justice and all the other range of His revelatory activities.[1]

6 So now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you with a revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 Even lifeless instruments that produce sounds—whether flute or harp—if they don’t make a distinction in the notes, how will what is played on the flute or harp be recognized? 8 In fact, if the bugle makes an unclear sound, who will prepare for battle? 9 In the same way, unless you use your tongue for intelligible speech, how will what is spoken be known? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different kinds of languages in the world, none is without meaning. 11 Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker will be a foreigner to me. 12 So also you—since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek to excel in building up the church.
13 Therefore the person who speaks in a tongue should pray that he can interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with my understanding. I will sing praise with the spirit, and I will also sing praise with my understanding.

• Pray and sing with their mind so that they are benefited with understanding as well as a good feeling.[2]

16 Otherwise, if you praise with the spirit, how will the outsider say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may very well be giving thanks, but the other person is not being built up. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you; 19 yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, in order to teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

• This is the only time in Paul’s writings that he even hints at speaking in tongues personally.

20 Brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your thinking, but be infants in regard to evil and adult in your thinking.

• In your thinking, function as adults.
• With respect to evil or wickedness, be like children, innocent, at least of certain characteristic adult sins,
• But be fully mature in one’s understanding.[3]

21 It is written in the law,
I will speak to this people
by people of other tongues
and by the lips of foreigners,
and even then, they will not listen to me,,
says the Lord.

• Paul then goes on to quote Isa 28:11–12, which is a context in which foreigners and their unknown languages, the languages that the Israelites do not understand, are a sign of God’s judgment—in context, referring to the Assyrians from the north who are going to invade Israel.[4]

22 Speaking in tongues, then, is intended as a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers.

• This is totally backwards from what Paul was previously saying in verses 1-19.
• But in light of “judgment by God” which is in reference to the verse quoted out of Isaiah…
• Unbelievers won’t be able to speak in tongues.
• Believers will be able to understand prophecy.
• The Corinthians, as we’ve seen throughout this letter, had an unfortunately smug attitude toward numerous issues of Christian growth and maturity and behavior.
• And just as Isaiah had to catch Israel’s attention, so Paul uses the same text, the same principles, the same dynamic to try to shock the Corinthians into attending to these concerns.[5]

23 If, therefore, the whole church assembles together and all are speaking in tongues and people who are outsiders or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all are prophesying and some unbeliever or outsider comes in, he is convicted by all and is called to account by all. 25 The secrets of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is really among you.” [6]

• Here at Leavener, we have personally tried to remove all the obstacles that would keep nonbelievers from being turned off by religion.
• We meet in a pub.
• Not interested in putting on a show. (no smoke machines or countdown clocks and every minute planned, no pipe and drape)
• Dress casual.
• No hierarchy of leadership
• And no offering
• We don’t do this as a marketing ploy.
• We don’t do this to boast either.
• We just don’t see this as necessary.
• But what we will do every week, is teach from the Word of God for the sake of the believer.
• I’ve always believed that if this community can be real with who they are… and the struggles we have… that outsiders (nonbelievers) would be captivated by the difference we are to the rest of the world.
• The nonbelievers could show up here on a Sunday morning without marketing towards them hear the Good News that is being taught and lived out through this people who are perfect in Christ yet struggle through living in these flesh suits.

 

• Some pastor once defined love as this: “Love is the unconditional giving of the very best we have on behalf of another, regardless of response.”
• And each of those four key parts is crucial.
• We give ourselves unconditionally to others.
• That doesn’t mean we give ourselves to others approving of everything they do, but there is nothing they can do, there are no conditions that we put on our commitment to them.
• And we commit to them the very best we have.
• It’s other-centered and not self-centered; we’re not doing it for some hidden agenda of our own.
• And we continue that self-giving even when it is rejected, even if it’s thrown back in our face; it’s regardless of response.

 

• Using Our Gifts to Build Others Up
• In that spirit of love, how do we use our spiritual gifts?
• Do we go to church?
• Do we participate in Christian gatherings with the goal and the priority of using our gifts to encourage and build others up?
• Or do we go asking what we can get out of the situation?
• Our modern world that does so much church hopping and shopping suggests that way too many people are in it for what they can get out of it, first of all, rather than how they can find a place to best use their gifts.[7]
• Here is the real struggle for newbies to our community:
• You will not be entertained here and provided with a bunch of programming for you to get involved.
• Neither can you ask the question, “How can I get involved and used my spiritual gifts?”
• You might initially become a part of this community because you discovered us in the midst of a crisis.
• This group of people will definitely help people in crisis.
• But at the same time, there is an investment of your own spiritual gifts.
• Have you been checked on lately? I can’t answer that.
• How much checking on have you done of others?
• In this community, you are probably going to get out of it what you put into it… most of the time.
• There will be times when this community does not meet your expectations.
• One of the best areas of ministry with this group is the lack of expectations they have placed on me as the pastor.
• They have discovered they have the same Spirit in them that I have in me.
• They are able to visit, check on, do things for those in need just as well as I can.
• I’m not the only one in here that does weddings and funerals.
• The purpose of the spiritual gifts is to edify and build up the community known as the Church.
• A true Christian is not in it merely for the fire insurance, merely for whatever positive, touchy-feely experiences she or he can get from God, but seeks to identify their spiritual gifts, seeks to exercise them in love, and does so for the building up of the Christian church for the work of God in the world.[8]​

[1] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[2] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[3] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[4] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[5] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 14:1–25). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[8] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

• The main evidence of maturity in the Christian life is a growing love for God and for God’s people, as well as a love for lost souls.
• Few chapters in the Bible have suffered more misinterpretation and misapplication than 1 Corinthians 13.
• Divorced from its context, it becomes “a hymn to love” or a sentimental sermon on Christian brotherhood.
• Many people fail to see that Paul was still dealing with the Corinthians’ problems when he wrote these words: the abuse of the gift of tongues, division in the church, envy of others’ gifts, selfishness (remember the lawsuits?), impatience with one another in the public meetings, and behavior that was disgracing the Lord.[1]

Review:

• 1 Corinthians 12:31 - But desire the greater gifts. And I will show you an even better way.[2]
  
  

LOVE: THE SUPERIOR WAY
1 CORINTHIANS 13
1 If I speak human or angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

• In reference to the spiritual gift of tongues mentioned in Chapter 12.
• Tongues apart from love is just a lot of noise!
• It is love that enriches the gift and that gives it value.
• Ministry without love cheapens both the minister and those who are touched by it; but ministry with love enriches the whole church.[3]

2 If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.

• The gifts of prophecy, knowledge and faith

3 And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give over my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

• The gift of giving.
• Without love… these 5 gifts are worthless.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:9 - About brotherly love: You don’t need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.[4]
• 1 John 4:19 - We love because he first loved us.[5]
• John 13:34-35 - “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”[6]
• Romans 5:5 - This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.[7]
• Ephesians 4:15 - But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ.[8]
• Truth does not equal our opinion.
• Opinions can be based on a combination of things… Truth, misinformation, experience, feelings, the processing of thoughts in our head.
• I don’t always have to express my opinions… especially if it is not loving.
• Then you have to ask yourself the question, “I might think this is loving, but will it be received as a loving expression?”
• I don’t always have to share my opinion.
• But at the same time, I might be led by the Spirit to speak Truth (in love) which still hurts when it clashes with others “opinions.”
• The intent of Paul is to remind the Church that the Spiritual Gifts should be wrapped in love for the “enriching” of the Church body.
  ​
  
• In the next 4 verses Paul emphasizes the purpose of love in the Church body is to “edify”.
• 1 Corinthians 8:1 - We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.[9]

4 Love is patient, love is kind.

• Corinthians were impatient and rude with each other.
• 1 Corinthians 14:29-33 - Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate. 30 But if something has been revealed to another person sitting there, the first prophet should be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone may learn and everyone may be encouraged. 32 And the prophets’ spirits are subject to the prophets, 33 since God is not a God of disorder but of peace.[10]

Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs.

• Knowledge is not puffed up.
• Let the “love feast” be based upon love… not eating.
• 1 Corinthians 4:6 - Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying: “Nothing beyond what is written.” The purpose is that none of you will be arrogant, favoring one person over another.[11]
• Romans 12:10-18 - Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another. 11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit;, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. 13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.[12]
• Compare verses 4-7 with Galatians 5:22-23
• Galatians 5:22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.[13]

6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

• This means we must not think of ourselves, but of others; and this demands love.[14]

8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end.

• The gifts of the Church are necessary for the enrichment and edifying of the Church.
• But some day they will become less important until they are no longer needed.
• But “love” will always “endure”.

11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things.

• Christmas gifts… As a child, you make your Christmas list. As an adult, you end up saying, “I don’t really need anything.”

12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.

• In those days, it was a polished piece of silver or bronze that they looked at their reflection.
• Face to face… so much clearer.

13 Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.[15]

• The extent to which faith refers to “the conviction of things unseen,” as Heb 11:1 puts it so powerfully.
• Hope refers to that which one believes is going to happen but does not have the conclusive evidence to demonstrate that it will, in the eternal state the evidence will be conclusive.
• But love, in all of its interpersonal, self-giving nature, will continue throughout all eternity.[16]

 
12:31 - But now I want to lay out a far better way for you.
The Way of Love
1 CORINTHIANS 13 (The Message)
1       If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.
2       If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.
3–7     If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
        Love never gives up.
        Love cares more for others than for self.
        Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
        Love doesn’t strut,
        Doesn’t have a swelled head,
        Doesn’t force itself on others,
        Isn’t always “me first,”
        Doesn’t fly off the handle,
        Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
        Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
        Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
        Puts up with anything,
        Trusts God always,
        Always looks for the best,
        Never looks back,
        But keeps going to the end.
8–10    Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.
11      When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.
12      We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
13      But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.[17]

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 610). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 12:31). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 610). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Th 4:9). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Jn 4:19). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Jn 13:34–35). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 5:5). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Eph 4:15). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 8:1). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 14:29–33). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 4:6). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[12] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 12:10–18). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[13] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ga 5:22–23). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[14] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 611). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[15] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 13:1–13). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[16] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[17] Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (1 Co 12:31–13:13). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.