Class 5 from this series was used in GCT Episode 339.
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Thanks Mark.
This is Watch on Lake Bible
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Thanks Mark.
This is Watch on Lake Bible
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School 2022.
Our third speaker for the week
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is Brother Greg Robinson on God
has Made Foolish The Wisdom of
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This World.
This is his first class entitled
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The Wisdom of Man and our
reading was First Corinthians 1
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verses 1 to 11.
Brother Greg.
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Thanks, brother Josh, good
evening, my dear brothers and
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sisters.
It’s a pleasure to be with you
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tonight.
Just a little bit of a
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clarification from remarks last
night.
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So you remember I was talking
about working at CHS.
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And then you probably also
remember that I was talking
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about having all sorts of
struggles and all sorts of
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problems and all sorts of
issues.
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OK, Two totally different
places.
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All right, so just remember
that, all right?
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I don’t want to get in trouble
from from my CHS boss, Jason
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Hensley.
It would be a really bad thing.
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All right, so tonight we’re
going to be looking at the
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wisdom of man.
And tonight our job is to
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understand the problems that the
brothers and sisters in Corinth
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were experiencing.
That’s what we’re going to try
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to accomplish tonight as we look
at First Corinthians chapter 1.
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Our title tonight is The Wisdom
of Man.
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And you can see the other
classes that we’re going to be
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looking at this week.
And The Wisdom of Man I think is
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a very appropriate title tonight
because the world of Corinth was
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one that did not have the
influence of God in its city.
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In the city of Corinth.
There were some Jews there.
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There were some, some Christians
that had just formed there in
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the ecclesia, but the society
was based completely on human
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thinking and human morals.
That’s important for us to
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understand as we begin this and
as we begin to try to understand
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what Paul and the brothers and
sisters were going through in
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the the problems that that they
faced.
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We want to understand this also
because it’s it’s a lot like the
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world that we live in today.
Now, many of us have experienced
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a world in, in years past where
there was some influence of God.
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But if you look around, you’ll
notice that the influence that
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God has had in the world is, is
disappearing.
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And we’re, we’re soon going to
be in a place where what is
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happening in Corinth is very
similar to what is happening in
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the world that we live in today.
So probably some things that
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were worse there and some things
that are worse here.
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But that’s why we entitled this
class the wisdom of man, because
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that’s the environment that the
brothers and sisters were living
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in, and that’s the environment
that we’re living in as well.
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Our structure.
What are we going to do tonight?
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How are we going to go through
this understanding to get to
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this understanding?
Well, the first thing we’re
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going to do is we’re going to
look at the background of the
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city of Corinth.
I’m going to tell you a few
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things about the city of Corinth
that maybe help us to understand
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why the problems that were
happening there were happening.
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We’re then going to look at the
problems in the ecclesia almost
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one at a time.
As we go through the city, we’ll
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see that those same problems
were were surfacing in the
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ecclesia itself.
And then we’re going to take a
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look at the situation in the
ecclesia as Paul presents it to
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us in his letter.
And at the end of our class
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tonight, we’ll we’ll hopefully
have a good feeling or a good
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understanding of what Paul felt
about the brothers and sisters
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problems in the Ecclesia of
Corinth.
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So that’s what our objective is.
We’re going to start with the
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first one then, which is the
background of the city of
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Corinth.
So there’s the city of Corinth
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as it looks today.
Paul was actually the brother
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that started the the ecclesia in
Corinth.
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Does anybody know what journey
Paul was on when he went to
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Corinth and and got the ecclesia
started there?
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Does anybody know, like you got
a few guesses, right?
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So, so second one is the right
answer.
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Yes.
So he’s on his second journey
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and he spent, there’s been how
long he spent there on that
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second journey.
He spent a year and a half
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there.
So he spent a lot of time there.
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That was a big part of his
second journey.
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So when Paul writes to the
Corinthians, it’s about four
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years later, somewhere around
there.
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And Paul’s about 50 years old.
So Paul’s still just a
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youngster.
I better say that, right?
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Paul’s still pretty young guy at
the time when he writes this and
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he writes to the brothers and
sisters while he’s on his third
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journey.
And there’s a, there’s a bit of
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a debate as to exactly where
he’s at when he writes, but he’s
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on his third journey.
And we know that the, the focus
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of his third journey was in
Ephesus.
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So when Paul writes to the
Corinthians, he knows the world
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that they live in because he’s
lived there for a year and 1/2
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he came there, he preached there
and, and the ecclesia started
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because of his efforts.
So he know what it was like.
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He knew what it was like for
them.
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He knew what they were facing,
He knew what their children were
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facing.
And that’s an important thing
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for us to keep in mind as well.
There’s also this, this channel
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of communication between Paul
and the brothers and sisters in
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Corinth that, that that seems
really strong.
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We’ll look at just a couple of
the, the verses that show us
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this in one verse 1.
So first Corinthians chapter one
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verse one, it says, it’s been
declared to me concerning you,
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my brethren, by those of Chloe’s
household.
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So he’s got this information
about what’s happening in the
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ecclesia at Corinth from Chloe’s
household.
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In chapter 5, verse 1, he said
it says it’s actually reported
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that there is sexual immorality
among you.
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So that report was coming to
Paul as well.
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In seven verse one, it says now
concerning the things which you
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wrote me.
So there were letters that were
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going back and forth between
Paul and the ecclesia.
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So Paul was in in close
communication with them and
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there were also people that were
traveling back and forth and
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communicating.
So here we have in chapter 16,
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verse 17, I’m glad about the
coming of Stephanus Fortunatus
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and a chaos.
So Paul was very aware what was
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up in the Ecclesia of Corinth
and that’s important as well
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because Paul, what Paul
prescribes and what Paul says
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here shows that he was in tune
with the, the environment.
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All right.
So that’s an amazing picture to
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me when I first saw that picture
of what the city of Corinth,
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they think looked at about the
time that Paul was there.
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It’s a, a, a really big city.
The Romans took over the city of
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of Corinth in 146 BC and they
made it into a very, very
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successful city.
It’s thought that at the time it
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had a population of about
600,000 people and that’s big
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for those times.
It would have made it the third
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largest city in the Roman
Empire, so behind Rome,
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Alexandria and then the city of
Corinth would have been the
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number three city for population
in the Roman Empire.
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It was one of the coin minting
cities of the Roman Empire just
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to show the respect that that
Rome had for the city.
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And the city of Corinth had a
very, very unique asset, a
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geographical asset.
It was a city that had not just
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one port, not just one harbor,
but it was a city that had two
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ports or Two Harbors.
And I’ll show you hopefully in
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in this map here what that
looked like there.
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So if you’ll see there, the
Isthmus of of Corinth, the city
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of Corinth was located on that
isthmus, it’s a hard word to
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say, right?
Located on that chain of land
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there that crosses over.
So the city was located there
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and there was actually a port in
the Gulf of Corinth as you see
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there and on the Saronic Gulf as
well.
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So there were two ports that
were about 7 miles from each
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other and the city of Corinth
lay right between those two.
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If you go there today, you will
actually find that they’ve
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actually created a channel.
They dug a channel between those
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two ports.
So now ships can actually sail
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all the way through between
those two.
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Also, interestingly, just a
historical point, in the the 1st
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century, a lot of the Jews that
were taken captives by the
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Romans were taken here to help
dig this channel because they
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thought even back then that it
would be a wonderful thing to
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connect these two gulfs.
They didn’t succeed until I
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think that the 18 or the 1900s,
but that was one of the jobs
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that they they had set out for
the Jews to do that were
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captives there.
So these two ports, they were
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really, really important because
what would happen is if you were
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sailing in from Italy to the
left there you could come and
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you could unload your ship in
the Gulf of Corinth and your,
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your, your products could then
be remixed.
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It was like a mixing warehouse
at this point and then put on a
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ship on the other side on the
Saronic Gulf.
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So in those days they didn’t
have ships with with big diesel
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engines on them.
They had ships with rowers.
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They had ships that that went by
wind.
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So if you had a shortcut like
this, it was a very, very
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valuable thing.
So a lot of cargo went through
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this port in the Port of
Corinth.
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What would it be like today?
So if it was around today, this
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would be like having Vancouver,
which is a port on the Pacific
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Ocean, also be a port on the
Atlantic Ocean.
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Does that give you a bit of a
perspective as to what, what it
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would be like?
And, and probably if you had
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such a thing in these days,
there would be Amazon
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warehouses, right, all along
that whole gulf there on both
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sides as they were mixing
products to be, to be shipped
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from one side to the other.
So it was just a very, very
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prosperous city #3 in the
empire, a great economic
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advantage over the other cities.
It was a place where people went
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to make money.
It was a place where people went
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to get ahead.
So this is a, a first Class, A
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world class city of the time.
And that’s something that I
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really didn’t understand about
Corinth when I first started to
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look into this.
At the same time, if you went to
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the city of Corinth or if you
lived in the city of Corinth, it
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was like the whole world was
passing through your city every
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day because there were so many
people that were travelling
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through on ships.
There would be passengers, there
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would be sailors.
These people were coming and
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going all the time.
And so the cultures of the
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world, the the ways of the world
were, were known in this city
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because they came there every
day on the ships that travelled
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through.
As a result, there was another
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problem that came up for the
brothers and sisters in in the
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area and that was that many
different gods were worshipped
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in this city.
And one temple stood out in the
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city of Corinth.
And we have an idea what that
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temple was.
Anybody know what that was?
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Temple of Aphrodite.
Anybody know what the Goddess
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Aphrodite is all about?
What’s that?
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Yeah.
OK, so, so the goddess of love,
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if we were to say it right,
that’s the that’s the goddess of
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love.
And do you see where the the the
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temple was positioned, was, was
placed?
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It was on a on a rock 2000 feet
up above the city.
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And it said that in this, in
this temple, there were 1000
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female temple slaves which were
dedicated to love.
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And we’re a part, a part of the
cult that they they had up there
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that they practiced in the name
of religion.
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The city then was big on human
pleasure.
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We had all these people coming
and going.
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You had all of this money, you
had all this prosperity.
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And the people capitalized on
that.
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And especially this, this temple
to the goddess Aphrodite was in
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this place.
Now Aphrodite is also known as
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the goddess Venus, the Roman
goddess Venus and the city of
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Corinth actually it’s name
became famous as a
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00:12:41,720 –> 00:12:47,520
representation of immorality to
Corinthian eyes was to practice
218
00:12:47,520 –> 00:12:52,920
sexual immorality.
The Corinthian core was a word
219
00:12:52,920 –> 00:12:55,960
that meant a Corinthian girl,
which meant that a girl that was
220
00:12:55,960 –> 00:12:58,840
one of the priestesses in that
temple.
221
00:12:59,520 –> 00:13:02,520
So Corinth was one of the
leading cities of the world at
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00:13:02,520 –> 00:13:08,280
its time, and it was known for a
very, very sensual way of life.
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00:13:09,120 –> 00:13:12,200
Now, there’s a brother in in
Southern California that always
224
00:13:12,760 –> 00:13:15,920
when he talks about the city of
Corinth, he always says in his
225
00:13:15,920 –> 00:13:20,400
next sentence, it was a city
just like Los Angeles.
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00:13:21,440 –> 00:13:24,960
OK, I think you get the idea.
It was a city that was catering
227
00:13:24,960 –> 00:13:27,120
to the world’s desire for these
type of things.
228
00:13:27,480 –> 00:13:30,400
That’s what was happening in the
city of Corinth.
229
00:13:31,360 –> 00:13:32,800
Now how did that impact the
ecclesia?
230
00:13:33,480 –> 00:13:36,640
What do we find happening in the
ecclesia because of this
231
00:13:36,760 –> 00:13:38,680
environment?
Well, let’s take a look.
232
00:13:39,680 –> 00:13:41,600
Go over to 1st Corinthians
chapter 5.
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00:13:49,920 –> 00:13:52,520
First Corinthians chapter 5.
This is one of those sections
234
00:13:52,520 –> 00:13:55,400
where Paul was getting
communication from what was
235
00:13:55,400 –> 00:13:59,400
happening in the city. 4 year
old ecclesia he’d set up, he’d
236
00:13:59,400 –> 00:14:03,920
left.
He says in First Corinthians 5
237
00:14:03,920 –> 00:14:06,960
verse one, it’s reported
commonly that there’s
238
00:14:06,960 –> 00:14:12,120
fornication among you, and such
fornication as is not so much as
239
00:14:12,120 –> 00:14:16,400
named among the Gentiles, that
one should have his father’s
240
00:14:16,400 –> 00:14:18,480
wife.
So there was fornication there
241
00:14:18,480 –> 00:14:21,600
even even beyond the normal
fornication.
242
00:14:22,320 –> 00:14:24,200
And that was happening in the
ecclesia.
243
00:14:24,520 –> 00:14:27,440
So the immorality of Corinth was
having a big impact on the
244
00:14:27,440 –> 00:14:30,880
ecclesia and many people in the
ecclesia were struggling with
245
00:14:30,880 –> 00:14:32,240
this.
It’s mentioned a number of
246
00:14:32,240 –> 00:14:35,200
times.
Fornication is in Paul’s letter
247
00:14:35,200 –> 00:14:39,240
to the Corinthians.
It’s a very, it was a very real
248
00:14:39,240 –> 00:14:42,320
problem for them back then.
And I think it’s safe to say
249
00:14:42,320 –> 00:14:46,360
that it’s a very real problem
for our world today and for
250
00:14:46,360 –> 00:14:51,280
brothers and sisters as well.
Today, you see, in Corinth,
251
00:14:51,360 –> 00:14:55,560
fornication was accepted as just
a normal practice.
252
00:14:56,120 –> 00:14:59,480
It’s just what people did.
It wasn’t something that was
253
00:14:59,480 –> 00:15:01,800
that was wrong.
It wasn’t something that was
254
00:15:01,800 –> 00:15:05,160
unusual.
It’s just a part of what people
255
00:15:05,160 –> 00:15:08,680
did.
It was a part of the wisdom of
256
00:15:08,680 –> 00:15:10,760
man.
It’s what man’s life or man’s
257
00:15:10,760 –> 00:15:13,640
way of living actually had come
to.
258
00:15:14,480 –> 00:15:16,840
Now, you might remember the
Jerusalem conference.
259
00:15:17,520 –> 00:15:19,360
You remember at the Jerusalem
conference there was a
260
00:15:19,360 –> 00:15:22,800
discussion as to whether or not
the Gentiles needed to be
261
00:15:22,800 –> 00:15:25,600
circumcised.
And the conclusion was no, they
262
00:15:25,600 –> 00:15:28,360
don’t need to be circumcised.
But then there were some other
263
00:15:28,360 –> 00:15:31,960
things that they were told that
they should abstain from.
264
00:15:31,960 –> 00:15:35,000
Do you remember what those were?
And really, I’m only looking for
265
00:15:35,000 –> 00:15:37,280
one, but you could give me the
other ones here too, right?
266
00:15:37,280 –> 00:15:40,360
What was that?
Yep.
267
00:15:40,480 –> 00:15:43,400
OK, so we had meat, Alfred, the
Idols was the one.
268
00:15:43,640 –> 00:15:46,160
We had blood, right?
We had food that were things
269
00:15:46,160 –> 00:15:48,800
that were strangled.
And then of course, fornication
270
00:15:48,800 –> 00:15:51,280
was the 4th thing.
So this was something that was
271
00:15:51,280 –> 00:15:54,720
well known as as being a problem
or a way of life, I guess,
272
00:15:54,720 –> 00:15:57,800
depending on your perspective.
For the Gentiles, this was
273
00:15:57,800 –> 00:16:00,880
something that that was a
problem in the ecclesia in the
274
00:16:00,880 –> 00:16:04,120
1st century and it in Corinth,
probably worse than other places
275
00:16:04,640 –> 00:16:06,760
because of the environment that
they were, they were in.
276
00:16:07,240 –> 00:16:10,960
There was no reason for a, for a
Gentile to abstain from
277
00:16:10,960 –> 00:16:13,800
fornication.
Man’s wisdom said, that’s fine,
278
00:16:13,800 –> 00:16:16,000
that’s good.
Do what do what pleases
279
00:16:16,000 –> 00:16:20,440
yourself.
But they did they, they just
280
00:16:20,440 –> 00:16:24,160
didn’t understand really the,
the, the negative impact of that
281
00:16:24,280 –> 00:16:25,920
on their lives.
And it’s probably like the world
282
00:16:25,920 –> 00:16:28,360
today.
So I think it’d be fair then to
283
00:16:28,360 –> 00:16:32,160
compare our world to the world
of Corinth in this way anyway,
284
00:16:32,920 –> 00:16:36,120
as the world moves further and
further away from God.
285
00:16:37,000 –> 00:16:40,840
Now come over with me to 1st
Corinthians chapter 6 and verse
286
00:16:40,840 –> 00:16:44,240
13.
It’s one of those verses in
287
00:16:44,240 –> 00:16:46,640
Corinth or in the Corinthian,
the 1st letter to the
288
00:16:46,640 –> 00:16:49,560
Corinthians that you read and
you go, I’m really don’t have
289
00:16:49,560 –> 00:16:52,080
any idea what this is talking
about, right?
290
00:16:52,080 –> 00:16:56,600
You read it, you do it in the
readings and you think, so this
291
00:16:56,600 –> 00:17:00,120
is talking about fornication, of
course, but it says in First
292
00:17:00,120 –> 00:17:05,359
Corinthians 6, verse 13, meats
for the belly and the belly for
293
00:17:05,359 –> 00:17:10,000
meats.
So what Paul’s doing here, what
294
00:17:10,000 –> 00:17:14,480
he’s doing here is he’s actually
answering an argument that had
295
00:17:14,480 –> 00:17:18,319
been brought to the ecclesia by
some of its members, and he
296
00:17:18,319 –> 00:17:22,040
quotes their argument.
He says the reason you give for
297
00:17:22,040 –> 00:17:27,440
fornication being OK is meats
for the belly and the belly for
298
00:17:27,440 –> 00:17:29,520
meats.
And really, really all that he’s
299
00:17:29,520 –> 00:17:32,240
saying here is that that
fornication is a natural
300
00:17:32,240 –> 00:17:34,560
process.
It’s like eating food.
301
00:17:35,040 –> 00:17:37,200
It’s something we shouldn’t even
worry about.
302
00:17:37,640 –> 00:17:42,240
And it should be OK in the
ecclesia because there were some
303
00:17:42,240 –> 00:17:46,800
that were actually promoting
that or trying to make that OK
304
00:17:47,000 –> 00:17:49,000
for the ecclesia to to
participate in that.
305
00:17:49,400 –> 00:17:52,080
And so Paul has to write to them
about that.
306
00:17:52,520 –> 00:17:54,800
They were saying that
fornication was OK.
307
00:17:55,640 –> 00:17:59,360
So how did that happen?
How did it get to where the
308
00:17:59,360 –> 00:18:03,960
ecclesia actually thought that
fornication was OK?
309
00:18:05,760 –> 00:18:08,840
What was happening is, is that
the the, the ways of the world,
310
00:18:09,280 –> 00:18:13,080
the ways of Corinth were pushing
into the ecclesia and the
311
00:18:13,080 –> 00:18:16,440
reasoning of the people of
Corinth was actually rubbing off
312
00:18:16,440 –> 00:18:18,880
on the people.
So what does Paul say in at the
313
00:18:18,880 –> 00:18:20,920
end of the verse there?
He says, but God shall destroy
314
00:18:20,920 –> 00:18:25,560
both it and them.
Now the body is not for
315
00:18:25,560 –> 00:18:30,360
fornication, but for the Lord
and the Lord for the body.
316
00:18:30,360 –> 00:18:35,360
So Paul says satisfying our
sexual desires is not like
317
00:18:35,600 –> 00:18:41,560
satisfying our hunger for food.
He says, let’s get that straight
318
00:18:41,560 –> 00:18:44,880
right from the start.
Our bodies were made for the
319
00:18:44,880 –> 00:18:48,960
Lord, but of course the Gentiles
of the time didn’t think
320
00:18:49,000 –> 00:18:53,480
anything of that.
But that was part of the human
321
00:18:53,480 –> 00:18:56,880
wisdom that they had to live
amongst and part of the human
322
00:18:56,880 –> 00:18:58,840
wisdom that we have to live
amongst as well.
323
00:19:00,640 –> 00:19:04,400
But the Gentiles and the Gentile
world was one that really didn’t
324
00:19:04,400 –> 00:19:08,880
have any respect for God.
In Romans chapter 1, and we
325
00:19:08,880 –> 00:19:14,560
won’t look this up, it says they
did not like to retain God in
326
00:19:14,560 –> 00:19:17,920
their knowledge.
They didn’t look to God for
327
00:19:17,920 –> 00:19:21,680
direction in their lives.
They didn’t look to to God to
328
00:19:21,680 –> 00:19:24,800
help him to decide what’s right
or what’s wrong.
329
00:19:25,320 –> 00:19:29,080
Instead, they relied completely
on human thinking.
330
00:19:30,040 –> 00:19:35,560
They even made-up all sorts of
of of gods to legitimize their
331
00:19:35,560 –> 00:19:38,400
practices.
What do I mean by that?
332
00:19:39,960 –> 00:19:42,880
How did the gods and the, and
the cults that they belong to,
333
00:19:42,880 –> 00:19:46,080
how did they legitimize their
immorality?
334
00:19:47,200 –> 00:19:50,000
But we just saw it, didn’t we,
in the temple of Aphrodite?
335
00:19:50,360 –> 00:19:52,440
They, they made it so that it
was actually a part of the
336
00:19:52,440 –> 00:19:55,600
worship of their God.
And they, they serve their own
337
00:19:55,600 –> 00:19:58,680
pleasures rather than than doing
the right thing and following
338
00:19:58,680 –> 00:20:02,120
the morality of God.
So the city of Corinth was full
339
00:20:02,120 –> 00:20:06,320
of these gods.
There’s a writer, historian at
340
00:20:06,320 –> 00:20:10,800
the time that says that there
were at least 26 sacred places
341
00:20:11,560 –> 00:20:15,760
of devoted worship.
In the city of Corinthus, 26 of
342
00:20:15,760 –> 00:20:20,600
those and most people would
worship the God that that fit
343
00:20:20,600 –> 00:20:25,640
with what their life outlook was
or what their desires, what they
344
00:20:25,640 –> 00:20:28,280
were desiring to do.
They look for a God that would
345
00:20:28,280 –> 00:20:31,560
give them protection, but that
would also allow them to to live
346
00:20:31,560 –> 00:20:33,000
the life that they wanted to
live.
347
00:20:37,560 –> 00:20:39,400
So here’s another one of the
temples.
348
00:20:39,400 –> 00:20:42,560
This is the temple of Apollo,
one of the chief gods of the
349
00:20:42,560 –> 00:20:46,120
city.
The commerce of the city, as we
350
00:20:46,120 –> 00:20:48,440
said, brought many different
religions to the city.
351
00:20:48,960 –> 00:20:51,760
And when the Greek and the Roman
gods didn’t meet the needs of
352
00:20:51,760 –> 00:20:54,560
the people, what they would do
is they would adopt another God.
353
00:20:55,120 –> 00:20:58,960
So there was the cult of Isis,
which was also adopted in the
354
00:20:58,960 –> 00:21:02,920
1st century, an Egyptian
goddess.
355
00:21:03,280 –> 00:21:06,880
And the Egyptian goddess was
thought to be able to convince,
356
00:21:06,880 –> 00:21:11,520
convince Osiris to send a
person’s soul to a place of
357
00:21:11,520 –> 00:21:13,880
reward.
That was one of the the
358
00:21:13,880 –> 00:21:17,640
goddesses that they worship.
The cult of Mithras was a
359
00:21:17,640 –> 00:21:21,640
Persian God, a sun God, and that
was the one that was popular
360
00:21:21,640 –> 00:21:25,000
with the soldiers because the
push of this God was to be
361
00:21:25,280 –> 00:21:28,800
courageous.
And courage was worshipped in
362
00:21:28,800 –> 00:21:31,600
the soldiers.
And some of these cults actually
363
00:21:31,600 –> 00:21:33,320
worked their way into the
ecclesia.
364
00:21:33,320 –> 00:21:36,440
And some of the ideas of these
cults work their way into the
365
00:21:36,440 –> 00:21:39,440
ecclesias.
There was a cult for the Greek
366
00:21:39,440 –> 00:21:43,600
God Dionysius and it was
associated with drunkenness.
367
00:21:45,200 –> 00:21:49,560
Here’s what it says about that.
It says the Dionysian mysteries
368
00:21:49,560 –> 00:21:54,120
were a ritual of ancient Greece
and Rome which sometimes used
369
00:21:54,120 –> 00:21:59,120
intoxicants and other trans
inducing techniques to remove
370
00:21:59,120 –> 00:22:02,840
inhibitions and social
constraints, liberating the
371
00:22:02,840 –> 00:22:05,440
individual to return to a
natural state.
372
00:22:06,480 –> 00:22:09,000
I love that.
Return them to a natural state,
373
00:22:09,120 –> 00:22:12,120
Right?
So what was that practice?
374
00:22:12,440 –> 00:22:15,560
What was the practice here that
was bleeding into the ecclesia?
375
00:22:16,080 –> 00:22:20,160
What’s the connection that that
we’re probably aware of, right?
376
00:22:20,160 –> 00:22:22,000
Come over to 1st Corinthians
Chapter 11.
377
00:22:22,480 –> 00:22:25,960
So this drinking and this
feasting that was a part of that
378
00:22:25,960 –> 00:22:30,200
cult also found its way into the
brothers and sisters experience
379
00:22:30,200 –> 00:22:35,560
at their breaking of bread. 1st
Corinthians 11 verse 21 Paul
380
00:22:35,560 –> 00:22:39,480
says for an eating everyone
taketh before other his own
381
00:22:39,480 –> 00:22:42,760
supper.
One is hungry, another is
382
00:22:43,120 –> 00:22:46,960
drunken.
What have you not houses to eat
383
00:22:46,960 –> 00:22:51,200
and to drinking or despise ye
the ecclesia of God and shame
384
00:22:51,200 –> 00:22:53,920
them that have not.
What shall I say to you?
385
00:22:53,920 –> 00:22:59,440
Shall I praise you in this?
I praise you not so we see how
386
00:22:59,440 –> 00:23:00,960
that was it was a part of it as
well.
387
00:23:01,800 –> 00:23:04,600
There was also First Corinthians
7 verse one where where they
388
00:23:04,600 –> 00:23:08,240
were asking questions to Paul
about celibacy and there were
389
00:23:08,240 –> 00:23:10,840
different cults that that were
that were teaching that celibacy
390
00:23:10,840 –> 00:23:14,760
was required for a person.
And so that worked its way into
391
00:23:14,760 –> 00:23:19,440
the ecclesia.
Now these cults, these cults
392
00:23:19,720 –> 00:23:23,560
were, were more than just
worshipping another God.
393
00:23:24,440 –> 00:23:27,720
They gave the people a sense of
structure in their daily lives.
394
00:23:28,320 –> 00:23:30,240
They gave them a sense of
belonging.
395
00:23:31,200 –> 00:23:33,800
They would share meals together,
they would share ceremonies
396
00:23:33,800 –> 00:23:35,640
together, They would have
rituals together.
397
00:23:36,280 –> 00:23:38,080
It became of their their
religious life.
398
00:23:38,080 –> 00:23:39,720
It became part of their
political life.
399
00:23:40,440 –> 00:23:42,640
It became a part of a person’s
identity.
400
00:23:42,640 –> 00:23:45,480
Which culture, sorry, which cult
you belong to?
401
00:23:46,240 –> 00:23:49,720
And most of social life was, was
actually centered around the
402
00:23:49,800 –> 00:23:52,840
idols temples in the city of
Corinth.
403
00:23:53,800 –> 00:23:55,760
These temples had eating
facilities.
404
00:23:56,440 –> 00:23:58,200
They had theaters for
entertainment.
405
00:23:58,800 –> 00:24:02,480
They had idol displays.
There was feasting, there was
406
00:24:02,480 –> 00:24:04,880
drinking.
And often there were places for
407
00:24:04,880 –> 00:24:08,480
immorality inside of these
temples, and it was very
408
00:24:08,480 –> 00:24:12,040
difficult for the believers to
separate themselves completely
409
00:24:12,520 –> 00:24:14,960
from everything that was linked
to idolatry.
410
00:24:16,240 –> 00:24:18,880
Business would be conducted in
these in these temples.
411
00:24:19,760 –> 00:24:22,960
Coworkers would get together
after work in these temples.
412
00:24:23,480 –> 00:24:26,600
Social events would take place,
family events would take place
413
00:24:26,600 –> 00:24:30,360
in these same temples.
And yet it was the very same
414
00:24:30,360 –> 00:24:33,680
place.
These everyday practices were
415
00:24:33,680 –> 00:24:36,600
happening and there was all this
immorality that was taking
416
00:24:36,600 –> 00:24:39,720
place.
At the same time, there was
417
00:24:39,720 –> 00:24:43,280
another peculiarity about the
cults of the people of the time,
418
00:24:43,960 –> 00:24:48,600
and that was they were very
flexible about their beliefs and
419
00:24:48,600 –> 00:24:51,080
many people belong to multiple
cults.
420
00:24:51,880 –> 00:24:56,280
Here’s a quote from Wikipedia.
It says many priests of ISIS
421
00:24:56,280 –> 00:24:59,440
officiated in other cults as
well.
422
00:24:59,440 –> 00:25:01,160
So you could belong to multiple
cults.
423
00:25:01,560 –> 00:25:05,920
You could have a flexible belief
and have different beliefs in
424
00:25:05,920 –> 00:25:07,400
different cults that you belong
to.
425
00:25:07,400 –> 00:25:11,120
I’m going to skip down there to
the bowl that says mystery
426
00:25:11,120 –> 00:25:15,360
initiations thus did not require
devotees to abandon whatever
427
00:25:15,360 –> 00:25:18,400
religious identity they
originally had.
428
00:25:18,400 –> 00:25:21,400
So you could cross the line and
you could belong to different
429
00:25:21,400 –> 00:25:27,760
religions.
Let’s sum up what it was like
430
00:25:27,760 –> 00:25:30,840
then for these, our brothers and
sisters at this time.
431
00:25:34,920 –> 00:25:38,080
First of all, we talked about
the fornication, didn’t we?
432
00:25:38,320 –> 00:25:43,600
The pursuit of pleasure.
Fornication was accepted and the
433
00:25:43,600 –> 00:25:47,080
practice.
It was an accepted practice and
434
00:25:47,080 –> 00:25:48,960
was a source of income for the
city.
435
00:25:50,800 –> 00:25:53,920
There was a social structure
that was built around the cults,
436
00:25:54,760 –> 00:25:58,120
and if you belong to a cult, it
didn’t matter if you were just
437
00:25:58,360 –> 00:26:02,000
belonging to 1, you could belong
to multiple cults and it was
438
00:26:02,000 –> 00:26:03,920
actually common to belong to
several of them.
439
00:26:05,120 –> 00:26:07,960
The third thing that we didn’t
talk about was the Judaism and
440
00:26:07,960 –> 00:26:12,280
Christianity were looked down on
because they rejected the gods
441
00:26:12,280 –> 00:26:16,200
of the other cults and only
worshipped Yahweh.
442
00:26:17,160 –> 00:26:20,320
Is there anything common in that
statement that we find in in
443
00:26:20,320 –> 00:26:22,960
religion today?
Is there anything that we see
444
00:26:22,960 –> 00:26:25,440
that’s common?
Isn’t that exactly the way that
445
00:26:25,440 –> 00:26:27,720
it is with religion today?
Really?
446
00:26:27,720 –> 00:26:31,840
Most religions, it doesn’t
matter really what you believe,
447
00:26:31,840 –> 00:26:35,920
but if you actually believe in
one specific God, if you have
448
00:26:35,920 –> 00:26:40,640
one truth, is that frowned on?
Is that admired by others?
449
00:26:41,600 –> 00:26:43,680
No, that’s looked up on it as
something that’s that’s a
450
00:26:43,680 –> 00:26:46,080
problem because you are too
exclusive.
451
00:26:46,320 –> 00:26:48,360
You’re not.
You’re not inclusive enough of
452
00:26:48,360 –> 00:26:50,760
other people’s beliefs and other
people’s thoughts.
453
00:26:51,720 –> 00:26:54,680
So the Judaism, the, the Jews of
the time and the Christians of
454
00:26:54,680 –> 00:26:56,600
the time would have had to deal
with that.
455
00:26:58,160 –> 00:27:00,720
All right, so we have a real
mess, don’t we, of what it was
456
00:27:00,720 –> 00:27:03,160
like in the ecclesia at the
time.
457
00:27:04,320 –> 00:27:07,560
All right, So put yourself now
in the shoes of Paul.
458
00:27:08,840 –> 00:27:11,560
What are you going to say in
this letter that you’re going to
459
00:27:11,560 –> 00:27:14,800
write to the brothers and
sisters in Corinth?
460
00:27:15,520 –> 00:27:21,040
What are you going to tell them
that the solution is what’s the,
461
00:27:21,160 –> 00:27:25,600
the, the, the sanctuary that
they have away from this world
462
00:27:26,040 –> 00:27:28,680
of the city of Corinth?
What would you say to them?
463
00:27:29,480 –> 00:27:33,480
Well, let’s go to chapter 1 and
let’s see what Paul says.
464
00:27:34,720 –> 00:27:37,320
You know, often times when we
read the first few verses of
465
00:27:37,320 –> 00:27:40,480
Paul’s letters, we think, OK,
that’s the greeting that Paul
466
00:27:40,480 –> 00:27:44,200
has.
He’s just saying hello to them.
467
00:27:44,280 –> 00:27:46,920
And let’s get down to the meat
of what he actually has to say.
468
00:27:47,720 –> 00:27:52,200
But what Paul says here is so
important to the problem that
469
00:27:52,200 –> 00:27:54,920
they face.
It is so different from the
470
00:27:54,920 –> 00:27:57,960
world that they live in and so
different from the religions
471
00:27:58,280 –> 00:28:01,080
that they had been used to
before that.
472
00:28:01,080 –> 00:28:03,200
It’s worth spending a few
minutes just taking a look at
473
00:28:03,200 –> 00:28:05,200
this.
Before we get down to the real
474
00:28:05,200 –> 00:28:08,880
problem that they faced.
Let’s take a look at what the
475
00:28:08,880 –> 00:28:10,960
ecclesia should have looked
like.
476
00:28:11,400 –> 00:28:16,080
So first Corinthians chapter one
verse one, it says Paul called
477
00:28:16,080 –> 00:28:21,640
to be, excuse me, called to be
an apostle of Jesus Christ
478
00:28:22,560 –> 00:28:28,160
through the will of God and
Sosthenes our brother unto the
479
00:28:28,160 –> 00:28:29,920
ecclesia of God, which is at
Corinth.
480
00:28:30,760 –> 00:28:33,440
Now that’s a great contrast
right from the start because
481
00:28:33,440 –> 00:28:40,280
Paul says I was called, excuse
me, I was called to be an
482
00:28:40,280 –> 00:28:45,080
apostle of Jesus Christ through
the will of God.
483
00:28:46,040 –> 00:28:49,120
So all of the other cultures,
all of the other cults, it was
484
00:28:49,120 –> 00:28:51,800
just just nothing.
They were fake gods.
485
00:28:52,480 –> 00:28:56,320
And Peter, Paul says here I was
called by God to this position
486
00:28:56,880 –> 00:29:02,320
and he also says to them that
are sanctified in Christ Jesus,
487
00:29:03,440 –> 00:29:07,360
what does it mean to be
sanctified, separated?
488
00:29:08,200 –> 00:29:13,440
It means to be separated.
And he says to them that they
489
00:29:13,440 –> 00:29:17,080
were actually made holy in
Christ Jesus.
490
00:29:17,080 –> 00:29:21,120
They were separated for a
certain purpose that God had for
491
00:29:21,120 –> 00:29:25,320
them, He says, called to be
Saints.
492
00:29:26,280 –> 00:29:31,040
What’s a St.
I say to somebody that again,
493
00:29:31,040 –> 00:29:35,040
that’s set apart for a certain
purpose for doing the work of
494
00:29:35,040 –> 00:29:37,320
God.
And so these people, the
495
00:29:37,320 –> 00:29:39,240
brothers and sisters, were
called to be Saints.
496
00:29:39,840 –> 00:29:42,560
They were set apart for God’s
work.
497
00:29:43,320 –> 00:29:46,520
There was a specific reason that
God had chosen them.
498
00:29:47,760 –> 00:29:52,160
He says with all that in every
place, call upon the name of
499
00:29:52,240 –> 00:29:57,920
Jesus Christ our Lord.
What does it mean to call on the
500
00:29:57,920 –> 00:30:02,080
name of Jesus Christ?
What does that mean?
501
00:30:02,720 –> 00:30:05,440
I remember reading that back in
the Old Testament with the
502
00:30:05,440 –> 00:30:09,760
family of Shem, they began to
call themselves by the name of
503
00:30:09,760 –> 00:30:12,440
Yahweh.
I remember reading it about
504
00:30:12,440 –> 00:30:14,840
Abraham.
He began to call upon the name
505
00:30:15,400 –> 00:30:20,320
of Yahweh, and now here we have
it with all that every place
506
00:30:20,320 –> 00:30:24,520
call upon the name of Jesus
Christ our Lord.
507
00:30:25,600 –> 00:30:28,400
Well, if you look that word up
and you do enough digging, what
508
00:30:28,400 –> 00:30:33,800
you find is that the word there
is the word surnamed.
509
00:30:35,640 –> 00:30:40,400
These people have been surnamed
with the name of Jesus Christ.
510
00:30:40,400 –> 00:30:43,680
Now what does that mean to be
surnamed with the name of Jesus
511
00:30:43,680 –> 00:30:45,440
Christ?
Because that’s a really
512
00:30:45,440 –> 00:30:47,280
important thing we think about
Abraham.
513
00:30:47,280 –> 00:30:51,600
He was surnamed with God’s name.
We think about Shem recognize
514
00:30:51,600 –> 00:30:54,960
the fact that they were surnamed
with God’s name.
515
00:30:56,320 –> 00:30:58,800
What that’s telling us is that
they were a part of God’s
516
00:30:58,800 –> 00:31:01,800
family.
And what this is telling us is
517
00:31:01,800 –> 00:31:06,200
that these brothers and sisters
were a part of the family of
518
00:31:06,240 –> 00:31:09,960
Jesus Christ.
They had taken on the name of
519
00:31:10,000 –> 00:31:13,960
Jesus Christ.
Now, what is that talking about?
520
00:31:14,320 –> 00:31:17,680
The idea of taking on the name,
well, if we go back all the way
521
00:31:17,680 –> 00:31:22,440
to to the beginning and we look
at what God’s purpose was, God’s
522
00:31:22,440 –> 00:31:26,760
purpose from the very start was
to have a family.
523
00:31:28,240 –> 00:31:32,800
His purpose when he created
Adam, when he created man, He
524
00:31:32,800 –> 00:31:37,000
created down him in His likeness
and in His form.
525
00:31:38,080 –> 00:31:43,160
He created man with the ability
to develop a character that was
526
00:31:43,160 –> 00:31:46,240
like his own.
That’s what God did.
527
00:31:46,840 –> 00:31:50,080
And the reason that God did that
is because God intended to have
528
00:31:50,080 –> 00:31:53,440
this family of his own.
So God did this.
529
00:31:53,440 –> 00:31:56,760
He created man in this way of
the image and in his image and
530
00:31:56,760 –> 00:31:59,680
in his likeness.
And he said for those people
531
00:31:59,680 –> 00:32:03,440
that are willing, that are
willing to use this image and
532
00:32:03,440 –> 00:32:08,880
this likeness to develop a
character like mine, he said, I
533
00:32:08,880 –> 00:32:13,880
will give them eternal life and
they will be fully a part of my
534
00:32:13,880 –> 00:32:16,720
family because they will have
immortality.
535
00:32:17,720 –> 00:32:21,360
So in the Bible says there’s no
other name under heaven that we
536
00:32:21,360 –> 00:32:24,200
could be saved at the coming of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
537
00:32:24,200 –> 00:32:27,520
What is that saying?
It’s like there’s no other
538
00:32:27,520 –> 00:32:32,560
family that we can have access
to God’s family than taking on
539
00:32:32,560 –> 00:32:34,360
the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
540
00:32:35,160 –> 00:32:37,440
I think that’s really, really
powerful what he’s saying here
541
00:32:37,440 –> 00:32:41,360
to the brothers and sisters.
He’s saying words to them that
542
00:32:41,360 –> 00:32:52,600
are absolutely solid.
He says, our Lord, sorry, our
543
00:32:52,600 –> 00:32:55,600
Lord, both theirs and ours in
every place.
544
00:32:55,760 –> 00:32:59,400
Sorry, I skipped that part.
He says in every place our Lord,
545
00:32:59,400 –> 00:33:03,040
both theirs and ours.
So this brotherhood is is around
546
00:33:03,040 –> 00:33:09,040
the world and we have our Lord,
the Lord Jesus Christ, our
547
00:33:09,040 –> 00:33:11,440
brother Simon talked about this
a little bit last night,
548
00:33:11,520 –> 00:33:13,400
probably talked about this a
little bit this morning.
549
00:33:14,160 –> 00:33:20,640
What does the word Lord mean?
What would you say the word Lord
550
00:33:20,800 –> 00:33:25,920
means here in the New Testament?
Master, if you look up that
551
00:33:25,920 –> 00:33:29,960
word, you find that it means
master or supreme authority.
552
00:33:30,720 –> 00:33:35,680
So all of us, all of them were
under their Lord.
553
00:33:36,400 –> 00:33:42,240
They had joined his family and
they had become servants of the
554
00:33:42,240 –> 00:33:45,720
Lord Jesus Christ.
It continues in verse five.
555
00:33:46,400 –> 00:33:53,040
He says that in everything ER
enriched, you’re made rich by
556
00:33:53,040 –> 00:33:57,960
Christ in all utterance and in
all knowledge.
557
00:33:59,160 –> 00:34:02,320
How are we made rich by the
words of Christ?
558
00:34:02,320 –> 00:34:06,400
What would you say?
How does that make us rich?
559
00:34:09,480 –> 00:34:13,840
We’re all here tonight.
Do you feel the power of being
560
00:34:13,840 –> 00:34:17,840
here tonight, of being here at
Bible school of of hearing the
561
00:34:17,840 –> 00:34:20,440
word of God?
And do you feel what that does
562
00:34:20,960 –> 00:34:23,440
for you in your life?
Can you feel what that’s like?
563
00:34:24,840 –> 00:34:26,040
That’s what he’s talking about
here.
564
00:34:26,080 –> 00:34:30,280
He’s talking about how our lives
are completely changed and were
565
00:34:30,280 –> 00:34:36,840
made a part of his family in
verse six he says even as the
566
00:34:36,840 –> 00:34:41,920
testimony of Christ was
confirmed in you so they could
567
00:34:41,920 –> 00:34:45,920
see that the words of Christ
actually had an impact on their
568
00:34:45,920 –> 00:34:50,440
lives that it had an impact on
the brothers and sisters in the
569
00:34:50,440 –> 00:34:55,840
ecclesia.
Verse seven he says so that she
570
00:34:55,840 –> 00:35:00,520
come behind in no gift waiting
for the coming of our Lord Jesus
571
00:35:00,520 –> 00:35:04,240
Christ.
The word gift there suggest that
572
00:35:04,240 –> 00:35:06,640
he’s talking here about the Holy
Spirit gifts.
573
00:35:07,800 –> 00:35:10,480
The word there, charisma, it’s a
present.
574
00:35:10,480 –> 00:35:12,520
It’s, it’s, it’s a power that
they were given.
575
00:35:13,000 –> 00:35:15,880
He’s telling them.
So why were they given the Holy
576
00:35:15,880 –> 00:35:19,400
Spirit gifts?
Why would a young ecclesia like
577
00:35:19,400 –> 00:35:22,600
this need to have the Holy
Spirit gifts in this time
578
00:35:22,600 –> 00:35:28,200
period?
Why would why would Paul need to
579
00:35:28,200 –> 00:35:31,320
be able to give them those gifts
or to show them those gifts?
580
00:35:33,880 –> 00:35:37,480
What was that, Mike?
Yeah, it was a testimony.
581
00:35:37,480 –> 00:35:40,480
It was proof that he was
speaking on God’s behalf.
582
00:35:41,560 –> 00:35:46,400
Verse 8, it says, who shall also
confirm you to the end that you
583
00:35:46,400 –> 00:35:49,160
may be blameless in the day of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
584
00:35:49,840 –> 00:35:51,200
So what’s he saying to them
there?
585
00:35:51,640 –> 00:35:55,080
He’s saying all of this, all of
this organization, all that’s
586
00:35:55,080 –> 00:35:58,280
been done for you up to this
point is to bring you to what?
587
00:35:59,680 –> 00:36:04,160
To being blameless, to bring you
to the forgiveness of your sins.
588
00:36:04,920 –> 00:36:08,720
It’s to save you and to take you
back to which was God’s purpose
589
00:36:08,720 –> 00:36:13,040
in the very beginning, which was
to make you a part of his family
590
00:36:13,840 –> 00:36:17,040
and to build you into that.
I think that’s amazing.
591
00:36:17,680 –> 00:36:20,480
That’s how he starts that.
That’s how he addresses them.
592
00:36:22,320 –> 00:36:24,880
One more verse that that shows
the power of what he’s saying
593
00:36:24,880 –> 00:36:28,640
here.
Verse 9 he says, it says God is
594
00:36:28,640 –> 00:36:35,560
faithful by whom you were called
unto the fellowship of his Son
595
00:36:35,600 –> 00:36:40,640
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Does anybody know what that word
596
00:36:40,640 –> 00:36:49,520
fellowship there means?
It means partnership isn’t that
597
00:36:49,520 –> 00:36:51,200
powerful.
You’ve been called to the
598
00:36:51,200 –> 00:36:56,240
partnership of the work that
Christ is doing, the work that
599
00:36:56,240 –> 00:36:59,760
God had set out for him to do,
and we are a part of that
600
00:36:59,960 –> 00:37:06,440
partnership, and we have a Lord
in that partnership, and that’s
601
00:37:06,440 –> 00:37:16,230
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let’s put it all together.
602
00:37:17,110 –> 00:37:20,110
It’s going to visually look at
what we have so far.
603
00:37:21,630 –> 00:37:27,070
So we have the ecclesia and the
strength of the ecclesia, this
604
00:37:27,070 –> 00:37:32,070
group of people is the fact that
they were set apart for God’s
605
00:37:32,070 –> 00:37:36,400
work.
They were set apart to do and to
606
00:37:36,400 –> 00:37:40,600
complete God’s plan.
Paul says you’re also part of
607
00:37:40,600 –> 00:37:44,000
Christ’s family.
You’ve taken on his name, you’ve
608
00:37:44,000 –> 00:37:46,360
been surname a part of that
family.
609
00:37:47,720 –> 00:37:55,040
He says you’ve been made rich by
Christ’s word to the end that
610
00:37:55,040 –> 00:37:58,200
you’ll be blameless at Christ’s
return.
611
00:38:00,200 –> 00:38:04,160
And then he says in you’re a
part of a partnership with
612
00:38:04,640 –> 00:38:09,680
Christ.
And then he says, and you’ve got
613
00:38:09,680 –> 00:38:16,080
Jesus Christ as your Lord.
So that’s the strength of the
614
00:38:16,080 –> 00:38:18,760
ecclesia.
That’s the purpose of the
615
00:38:18,760 –> 00:38:20,320
ecclesia.
That’s where that’s where we’re
616
00:38:20,320 –> 00:38:25,320
trying to get to.
Now imagine that sanctuary
617
00:38:25,520 –> 00:38:27,000
that’s up on the screen there
right now.
618
00:38:27,480 –> 00:38:31,440
Imagine that sanctuary, because
that sanctuary is strong enough
619
00:38:31,440 –> 00:38:34,840
to defend itself against the
pressures of the world around
620
00:38:34,840 –> 00:38:37,040
us.
That’s what it was designed by
621
00:38:37,040 –> 00:38:40,280
God to do.
And that is the ecclesia that we
622
00:38:40,280 –> 00:38:43,160
all belong to.
We all belong to different
623
00:38:43,160 –> 00:38:51,840
eccleses.
And then if we move that to the
624
00:38:51,840 –> 00:38:56,640
top, I think we finally have the
complete picture with Jesus
625
00:38:56,640 –> 00:39:02,080
Christ as its Lord.
We have a strong defense then
626
00:39:02,120 –> 00:39:06,360
against the world and against
the wisdom of man, this
627
00:39:06,400 –> 00:39:09,480
fortress.
So that’s what Corinth was
628
00:39:09,480 –> 00:39:12,200
supposed to look like.
So that’s why Paul starts this
629
00:39:12,200 –> 00:39:14,680
way.
And he says this is what has
630
00:39:14,680 –> 00:39:18,040
been done for you already.
This is what’s been set up for
631
00:39:18,040 –> 00:39:19,920
you.
And this is what I would expect
632
00:39:19,920 –> 00:39:26,520
to see when I come to Corinth.
Let’s come to verse 10.
633
00:39:27,480 –> 00:39:30,600
Because that’s not what he finds
in the city of Corinth.
634
00:39:31,960 –> 00:39:37,040
Verse 10 says, now I beseech
you, brethren, by the name of
635
00:39:37,040 –> 00:39:41,000
our Lord Jesus Christ, that you
all speak the same thing.
636
00:39:41,800 –> 00:39:46,000
He says, I beseech you, I
beseech you means literally to
637
00:39:46,000 –> 00:39:51,040
call near, to call you alongside
to exhort you.
638
00:39:51,600 –> 00:39:54,760
He says there’s a problem, and I
need you to come over here
639
00:39:54,760 –> 00:39:57,960
because I’m going to tell you
what the problem in the Ecclesia
640
00:39:57,960 –> 00:40:02,280
is all about.
It’s a letter, but Paul has this
641
00:40:02,280 –> 00:40:06,520
closeness with the brothers and
sisters, and he says by the name
642
00:40:06,520 –> 00:40:11,440
of Jesus Christ that you all
speak the same thing.
643
00:40:12,760 –> 00:40:16,120
I want you all to agree with
each other.
644
00:40:17,360 –> 00:40:21,520
You know, at first those words
come across as a soft words, but
645
00:40:21,520 –> 00:40:24,160
those words are urgent words
that Paul’s speaking to them.
646
00:40:25,200 –> 00:40:28,320
Imagine the ecclesia.
Imagine they’re sitting there
647
00:40:28,320 –> 00:40:30,920
and they’re listening to the
words of Paul, and they’ve seen
648
00:40:30,920 –> 00:40:33,000
this picture that Paul’s painted
of the ecclesia.
649
00:40:33,680 –> 00:40:35,280
And then Paul says, but there’s
a problem.
650
00:40:36,080 –> 00:40:40,400
And the problem is, is that I
need you all to speak the same
651
00:40:40,400 –> 00:40:42,760
thing.
And the brothers and sisters
652
00:40:42,760 –> 00:40:47,160
would, would, would look at each
other, and they probably have a
653
00:40:47,160 –> 00:40:48,920
good idea about what he was
talking about.
654
00:40:50,320 –> 00:40:58,560
He goes on, he says, and that
there be no divisions among you.
655
00:40:59,880 –> 00:41:03,000
And the word there for divisions
is the Greek word schisms.
656
00:41:04,840 –> 00:41:07,440
It’s a powerful word, right?
The dictionary says that a
657
00:41:07,440 –> 00:41:13,120
schism is a split or a division
between strongly opposed
658
00:41:13,120 –> 00:41:19,560
sections or parties caused by
differences in opinion or
659
00:41:19,560 –> 00:41:24,560
belief.
That’s what the ecclesia had.
660
00:41:25,520 –> 00:41:29,200
It had these divisions that were
forming in the ecclesia and
661
00:41:29,200 –> 00:41:32,080
these divisions needed to be
corrected.
662
00:41:32,080 –> 00:41:35,040
They needed to become of the
same mind.
663
00:41:36,600 –> 00:41:42,680
And so Paul says, but that she
be perfectly joined together in
664
00:41:42,680 –> 00:41:46,200
the same mind and in the same
judgment.
665
00:41:48,880 –> 00:41:52,600
There’s only one way of
thinking, he says, and that is
666
00:41:52,600 –> 00:41:57,200
with the mind of Christ.
He says that she be of the same
667
00:41:57,320 –> 00:42:01,240
judgment.
There’s got to be proper
668
00:42:01,240 –> 00:42:04,120
decision making in the ecclesia,
he says.
669
00:42:04,160 –> 00:42:08,440
Now, how would the brothers and
sisters feel at this point when
670
00:42:08,440 –> 00:42:11,280
they hear this come out of
Paul’s letter, when they hear
671
00:42:11,280 –> 00:42:14,880
these words written, read to
them?
672
00:42:15,880 –> 00:42:19,480
Because these divisions in the
ecclesia that Paul speaks about
673
00:42:19,480 –> 00:42:23,760
here, we’re causing huge
problems, potentially
674
00:42:23,760 –> 00:42:25,640
catastrophic problems in the
ecclesia.
675
00:42:27,840 –> 00:42:30,160
They couldn’t agree on how to
deal with the problems of the
676
00:42:30,160 –> 00:42:32,960
world around them.
They couldn’t agree on what was
677
00:42:32,960 –> 00:42:37,040
right and what was wrong.
They all had different ideas.
678
00:42:40,040 –> 00:42:45,440
Verse 11, it says for a death
have been declared to me of you,
679
00:42:45,440 –> 00:42:48,720
my brethren by them, which are
of the House of Chloe, that
680
00:42:48,720 –> 00:42:55,960
there are contentions among you.
The word contentions there means
681
00:42:55,960 –> 00:42:58,200
strife.
There’s strife, there’s
682
00:42:58,200 –> 00:43:03,440
quarreling and there’s rivalry.
They’d argue about issues.
683
00:43:03,880 –> 00:43:07,600
There was animosity between the
brothers and sisters, and as a
684
00:43:07,600 –> 00:43:10,040
result they couldn’t agree on
how to solve problems.
685
00:43:11,040 –> 00:43:16,720
There was a lot like the God
Supper and the feasting and
686
00:43:16,720 –> 00:43:19,880
drinking.
They used the spiritual gifts,
687
00:43:19,880 –> 00:43:24,920
the Holy Spirit gifts to glorify
themselves and they questioned
688
00:43:24,920 –> 00:43:27,520
the resurrection.
Those are some of the problems
689
00:43:27,520 –> 00:43:30,120
that they faced.
And because they weren’t united
690
00:43:30,120 –> 00:43:32,480
together, they couldn’t deal
with them.
691
00:43:32,920 –> 00:43:34,400
They couldn’t handle those
problems.
692
00:43:35,560 –> 00:43:41,600
And so verse 12 says, now this,
I say that every one of you said
693
00:43:41,720 –> 00:43:50,120
I am of Paul and I am of Apollos
and I of Cephas and I of Christ.
694
00:43:51,400 –> 00:43:54,840
He says you guys are actually
dividing yourself into these
695
00:43:55,120 –> 00:43:59,320
factions and these factions,
these parties in the ecclesia
696
00:43:59,560 –> 00:44:05,080
have leaders and these these
leaders have followers.
697
00:44:05,720 –> 00:44:09,200
And people would say I am of
this brother and I am of that
698
00:44:09,200 –> 00:44:11,880
brother because I follow this
brother or I follow that
699
00:44:11,880 –> 00:44:14,480
brother.
We have to be careful, I think,
700
00:44:14,480 –> 00:44:19,280
with the way that we read verse
12 here because when we read
701
00:44:19,280 –> 00:44:22,960
through the rest of, of First
Corinthians, it’s quite clear
702
00:44:22,960 –> 00:44:26,400
that the leaders that these
people were following were not
703
00:44:26,600 –> 00:44:30,880
Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and
Christ.
704
00:44:30,920 –> 00:44:33,040
That’s not who he’s talking
about here.
705
00:44:33,560 –> 00:44:38,320
In this case, he’s saying that
he had actually used those names
706
00:44:39,160 –> 00:44:42,280
to represent the, the, the
leaders that they were actually
707
00:44:42,480 –> 00:44:46,120
leading the ecclesia into these
factions that were taking place.
708
00:44:46,840 –> 00:44:50,240
Come over with me to chapter 4.
We’ll get to this, Lord willing,
709
00:44:50,240 –> 00:44:52,800
by the end of the week, but I
think it’s important to
710
00:44:52,800 –> 00:44:57,200
recognize this right now, that
these factions were being led by
711
00:44:57,280 –> 00:45:03,120
brethren, and these brethren
were not Paul, Apollos, Cephas
712
00:45:03,560 –> 00:45:07,320
in Christ, but that they were
actually other brothers that
713
00:45:07,320 –> 00:45:11,240
were leading these groups.
And what Paul does is Paul
714
00:45:11,240 –> 00:45:15,280
actually uses these names in
order to not have to name the
715
00:45:15,320 –> 00:45:20,640
actual leaders by name.
All right, So First Corinthians
716
00:45:20,640 –> 00:45:28,400
chapter 4, verse 6 it says.
And these things, brethren, I
717
00:45:28,400 –> 00:45:33,640
have in a figure transferred to
myself and Apollos for your
718
00:45:33,640 –> 00:45:38,200
sakes, that you might learn in
us not to think of men above
719
00:45:38,200 –> 00:45:42,840
that which is written, that no
one of you be puffed up for one
720
00:45:43,200 –> 00:45:47,920
against another.
So Paul was not talking then
721
00:45:47,920 –> 00:45:51,880
about the divisions in Corinth
being caused by himself, by
722
00:45:51,880 –> 00:45:56,400
Apollos, by Peter, or by Christ.
He’s talking about that these
723
00:45:56,400 –> 00:46:00,560
were caused by other brethren.
He actually talks in chapter 4
724
00:46:00,560 –> 00:46:05,720
about these leaders reigning
over the people, and he uses the
725
00:46:05,720 –> 00:46:07,920
fact that they were being made
rich by these people.
726
00:46:08,600 –> 00:46:11,400
So Paul didn’t want to put these
names, the names of those
727
00:46:11,400 –> 00:46:14,480
brethren in his letter.
And so he uses the name as it
728
00:46:14,480 –> 00:46:20,800
says here in a figure, he uses
the name Paul, Apollos, Cephas
729
00:46:21,160 –> 00:46:25,240
in Christ.
All right, so if we come back
730
00:46:25,240 –> 00:46:30,760
then to chapter 1, verse 12,
let’s analyze the problem and
731
00:46:30,760 –> 00:46:33,440
let’s see if we can get our
handle a handle on the problem.
732
00:46:34,160 –> 00:46:38,160
And then tomorrow, Lord willing,
we will see Paul’s steps towards
733
00:46:38,160 –> 00:46:44,040
the solution.
So here we have what the
734
00:46:44,040 –> 00:46:45,120
ecclesia should have looked
like.
735
00:46:46,040 –> 00:46:49,600
We’ve got Christ at the top, and
we’ve got this sanctuary that’s
736
00:46:49,600 –> 00:46:52,760
set up by the purpose that the
ecclesia should have been
737
00:46:52,760 –> 00:46:56,920
following and doing the work of
our Heavenly Father organized
738
00:46:57,200 –> 00:47:00,120
with Christ as the Lord of this
group.
739
00:47:01,280 –> 00:47:02,720
But what did it actually look
like?
740
00:47:05,080 –> 00:47:09,760
That it almost disappeared, that
it almost gone away, and that
741
00:47:09,760 –> 00:47:14,440
had been replaced instead.
But what we’ll call leader one,
742
00:47:15,320 –> 00:47:20,720
leader 2, leader 3, leader four,
and the dot dot dot, because who
743
00:47:20,720 –> 00:47:23,520
knows how many leaders there
actually were in this case.
744
00:47:24,320 –> 00:47:26,920
And each of those leaders had
people that were following those
745
00:47:26,920 –> 00:47:30,280
leaders, and they made-up these
factions in the ecclesia.
746
00:47:30,280 –> 00:47:34,720
And what Paul tells us is that
because of these leaders, these
747
00:47:34,720 –> 00:47:39,080
factions formed.
There were divisions and there
748
00:47:39,080 –> 00:47:41,320
were contentions in the
ecclesia.
749
00:47:43,960 –> 00:47:48,320
Then the world came.
The wisdom of man came in to the
750
00:47:48,320 –> 00:47:55,160
ecclesia and it set itself up.
We have envying strife and
751
00:47:55,160 –> 00:48:00,120
division.
We pride and we have arrogance.
752
00:48:02,000 –> 00:48:05,400
We have permitted fornication to
continue.
753
00:48:07,200 –> 00:48:09,840
We have wronged and sued each
other.
754
00:48:11,760 –> 00:48:16,520
We have questioned the
resurrection, we’ve turned the
755
00:48:16,520 –> 00:48:19,280
Lord’s Supper into feasting and
drinking.
756
00:48:20,560 –> 00:48:23,440
We’ve used spiritual gifts to
glorify themselves.
757
00:48:24,960 –> 00:48:27,640
And finally, we have questioned
the need for head coverings.
758
00:48:27,640 –> 00:48:30,880
And that’s just a list that we
have tonight.
759
00:48:30,920 –> 00:48:32,840
But there’s more things that
were happening in the ecclesia.
760
00:48:33,720 –> 00:48:35,360
And why were all of those things
happening?
761
00:48:36,720 –> 00:48:40,280
Because they had these factions
that had taken root in the
762
00:48:40,280 –> 00:48:42,920
ecclesia.
So that’s what the Corinthian
763
00:48:42,920 –> 00:48:49,320
ecclesia looked like.
And now I imagine Paul at night
764
00:48:50,640 –> 00:48:54,560
laying awake, trying to figure
out how he was going to fix the
765
00:48:54,560 –> 00:48:59,360
problems in this young ecclesia
that was allowing the world to
766
00:48:59,360 –> 00:49:01,960
just walk right in the front
door.
767
00:49:03,040 –> 00:49:05,760
It was almost as if the ecclesia
had taken because of what’s
768
00:49:05,760 –> 00:49:08,800
happening here at taking their
force field down, and the world
769
00:49:08,800 –> 00:49:13,400
could walk right in.
What would you do?
770
00:49:15,720 –> 00:49:18,920
What would you do if you were
Paul and you wanted to try to
771
00:49:18,920 –> 00:49:22,280
fix this problem?
How would you solve the problem?
772
00:49:24,240 –> 00:49:26,000
Well, that’s what we’ll talk
about tomorrow.
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