Overview of 1 Corinthians (4)

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Overview of 1 Corinthians (4)

1 Corinthians 4 is also a letter of self-confession in which Paul speaks of his own qualifications.

In other words, it states the qualifications for writing a letter, and the core of it is that a servant of Christ must possess the mystery of God (1 Corinthians 4:1).

The mystery of God is Christ.

Historically, Jesus, who came to this earth and became the light of the whole world, cannot be said to be a mystery.

The Lord came back to God, and the Spirit of truth came and took over the mission.

If the Spirit of truth is Emmanuel to us, we can also take over the mission with the Lord.

Because of that, I die and only Christ lives in me, and God's power is revealed through loyalty (1 Corinthians 4:2, 20).

However, this mystery is nothing to those who know it.

Christ is hidden to some and close like a friend to others.

To some, he is a treasure, but to others, he is worth nothing.

Because Paul possesses the mystery of God, he can write a self-confession that boasts of himself in the Lord.

With the premise that by the grace of God I am what I am,’ he is writing a  self-confession that he, too, is an apostle.

Now, the question is raised about Paul’s apostleship, and it is a question of whether he possesses this mystery of God.

1 Corinthians 5 is a moral issue.

Here, fornication even goes as far as committing adultery with one's father's wife.

However, rather than suggesting a solution to the problem, Paul warns of the cause and development of the problem and urges them to return to unleavened bread (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

This means that returning to the Word is the way to eliminate problems.

Apostle John also says that those who have God's seed in them do not commit sin.

We cannot overcome sin by trying hard to overcome it.

As someone who died and was resurrected with Christ, if we hate sin in a place where there is no relation to sin, we will overcome sin.

Therefore, no matter how hard we try to correct our behavior, we will only have a small chance of success.

And Paul tells us to associate with people who have moral problems.

However, he says to throw out anyone who calls themselves a brother. Because it becomes leaven.

1 Corinthians 6 is about litigation. For example, there are the litigation faction and the anti-litigation faction in Korea.

The anti-litigation faction did not question whether the content of the litigation was right or wrong, but opposed the litigation itself.

Because of the spirit of Corinthians 6, it can be said that there is a judicial office within the presbytery.

However, because it is not legally binding and has authority issues, disputes always arise.

Rather, we see that it is becoming an absurdity where factions and biased incidents occur.

The influence of the law was also present in the Corinthian church.

Even now, even within the Adventist Church or Christianity, there are some people who personally and specially raise the issue of food.

However, since God created nature, we should not say anything about food.

The reason pork was prohibited in the law was not because it was harmful, but because of the negative image of pigs.

The reason God asked us to offer cows was not because He liked the taste of beef, but because of the characteristics of cows.

It is because of the symbolism and meaning of cows.

However, some people may be physically more suited to pork than beef.

I have heard that pork makes people cold and beef makes people hot, so it depends on the constitution, right?

For some people, alcohol and smoking are not suitable at all.

However, some people live on makgeolli (rice wine).

The negative view of alcohol in Korea's early church can be seen as having a greater influence on the drinking culture of Koreans who drink excessively than on alcohol.

However, the culture that once tolerated drunk people generously is clearly wrong.

Many people do not drink alcohol because of the moral values ​​of the Korean church.

However, just because you have gained freedom in the truth, you should not become an obstacle to others.

For example, let’s take the story of Dr. MacIntyre.

As an anti-communist and conservative theologian, he had a great influence on the conservative denominations of the Korean church.

When we were young, we often heard stories about Dr. MacIntyre.

However, he was a heavy smoker and enjoyed chain smoking.

However, he said he quit smoking once he landed at the Korean airport. That is because of the sentiment of the Korean church.

However, there is a story that when he left Korea, he started chain smoking again, and then a Presbyterian person saw him doing it, so he lost his connection with the Korean church.

In fact, coffee contains caffeine just like cigarettes.

It stimulates the brain just like cigarettes.

Don’t you know that in Germany, people drink beer instead of coffee?

In Korea, no one blames you for drinking 10 cups of coffee a day.

Coffee has the same impact as cigarettes.

This is exactly what shows up in the differences in moral values ​​of the time or region.

In Indonesia, there are regions where pastors preach while elders smoke cigarettes.

They say that they do not find this strange at all.

The principle of the Bible is freedom and naturalness in the truth.

However, the reason why we do not exclude the culture of the region is because humans are beings influenced by culture.

We must think about and respect the morals and ethics of the country.

Chapter 6 of the Corinthians emphasizes internal issues rather than external moral issues (verses 12 and below).

In particular, looking at verses 19 and below, if we consider our body to be a temple where the Holy Spirit dwells, we will find the answer on how to use the body that has already been sold to the Lord at the price of his blood.

We go through many hardships and learn dedication until we come to fear God with the body where the Holy Spirit resides, and finally, we become weapons of righteousness with our bodies and glorify God.

1 Corinthians 7 is about marital problems and is a sensitive issue in the church in reality.

However, even though the Bible clearly points this out, the church is silent.

Most divorce issues are resolved in 1 Corinthians 7. 

Therefore, the church must speak out boldly.

One of the basic desires of humans is the desire for sex.

Appetite, sexual desire, and possessive desire are basic human desires.

Appetite is the desire for survival.

However, people are now enjoying this appetite.

Sexual desire is a gift from God for the propagation of the species, that is, for growth.

This generation is not even properly observing this.

That is because sex, along with mukbang, has now developed into a means of pleasure.

Possessive desire is also necessary for the order of materials, but this has also become a target of people's greed.

We should not regard sex as a sin or feel disgusted by it, but be thankful to God.

God has given us blessings that we can enjoy. However, indulgence becomes obscenity.

The issue of marriage in 1 Corinthians 7:25 is the same as the issue of food in chapter 6.

If you want to get married, get married, and if you don’t want to get married, don’t.

However, it is not right to get married out of necessity.

The number of single women in our country is continuously increasing.

The social structure and convenience are making it so.

However, the Bible says not to force marriage into a condition.

That is why stories of divorce after the condition is broken are rampant on the airwaves.

In the Bible, A man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife and becomes one flesh is the standard for marriage.

However, God did not hold polygamous Abraham or David in question.

After David took Bathsheba illegally, God even rebuked him, saying, 'If you had needed it, I would have given you more' (2 Sam 12:8).

However, in modern society, polygamy is not possible even if one wants to.

It is a change in the consciousness structure.

However, God values ​​the principles of nature.

The important verse is 1 Corinthians 7:40.

“I think that I too have the Spirit of God.”

The spirit of chapter 7 is to think and act under the guidance of the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 8 is about food sacrificed to idols.

“Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world stand, lest I make my brother to offend.” (1 Corinthians 8:13)

This is the answer to the question of whether or not to eat food sacrificed to idols.

Chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians is a debate about whether Paul is really an apostle.

At that time, an apostle had to be called while Jesus was alive in the flesh.

He had to participate in Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection, and he had to be someone recognized by the church in Jerusalem.

However, Paul did not have any of these things.

Instead, he persecuted Christians.

Therefore, there was opposition as to whether he was truly an apostle.

But why is an apostle important?

It is because it is a matter of the authority of the words he preaches.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 9, Paul presents the conditions to prove that he is an apostle.

In verse 1, he declares that he was a free.

At that time, the word “free” had a lot of meaning.

Next, he saw Jesus Christ in Damascus and received the calling of Christ himself.

However, the problem is that there is no objective evidence.

Then he speaks of the results of his ministry (1 Corinthians 9:1-2).

Don't you guys already know this?

Jesus also said to believe in what I have done.

Applying this word to the present, we can see that God's servants are not a system but are called by God.

When we are called, we are servants of the Lord.

But have we truly received the Lord's calling? This is the calling.

This calling is an internal calling, which means the assurance of the Holy Spirit.

The next thing we will study in chapter 9 is the spirit of the apostle's ministry.

Paul does not use all his authority because of the gospel (verse 12).

Along with the words, "for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void" (1 Corinthians 9:15), not using all his authority is the spirit of the apostle.

It tells us what kind of person a true apostle is.

Therefore, although many people call themselves apostles, an apostle must love the gospel and the Word.

And the last part of 1 Corinthians 9 implies that even an apostle can be abandoned (1 Corinthians 9:26-27).

It says that the apostle must also work out his own salvation through his ministry.

You should not be discarded because you have not progressed while preaching to others.

If the Word just passes by you and has no benefit to you, you will be like a delivery driver.

Therefore, like a runner in a racecourse, Paul ran a 2-person 3-legged race with Christ, who won first place,  and beat himself into submission so that he could preach to others and avoid being abandoned.

Written by Ptr. Yohan Kim.

Translated by  Nancy Chung

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