1 Cor. 1:10-17 Study - Not With Wisdom of Words
10Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
14I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
15Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
16And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
17For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
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Verse Review : 1 Corinthians 1:13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you?
or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
The same answer is known to all three questions. No.
The beginning of Corinthians starts: 1 Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God...,
Paul is called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ . There is to be unity in the body of Christ as proclaimed in verse 10 --- speak the same thing and
be of the same mind
and the same judgement.
There are a few passages telling us how the Body of Christ should function and three questions asked of Paul in verse 13 - with the intended answer being a solid and firm --no . ** Nothing is about Paul - except that he is a devoted vessel in the hands of God, spreading the good news and pointing others continually to our Lord Jesus Christ.
True children of God are together and function as one.
This is taught in a few places throughout Scripture.
Jeremiah 32
38And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
39And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they
may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
40And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
Ezekiel 11:19
And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
Acts 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Acts 4:32
And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
What did Jesus proclaim ? : John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
All of Scripture points to Jesus . The testimony of Christ is a solid unfailing witness in the heart of all true children of God and can be thought of as a sacred eternal anchor .
Verse Review of 17 -- For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
All who are called upon --honor the following about The Gospel:
Matthew 24:14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Mark 16:15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
And looking at the phrase " Not With Wisdom of Words" - Two places in Scripture come to mind when I read this phrase:
Matthew 18:2And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children,
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child,
the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
1. It all comes back to being humble,obedient and trusting of our Heavenly Father.
It is a clear truth.
***Converted - --is the blessed, unfailing work of the Holy Spirit .
John 3
6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
2.The Word that changes us is the Word of God - wisdom of words is talking of the worldly wisdom and we have heard plenty of preachers out there who have grown weary by overstudying and over preaching or using their own understanding and analogies in their attempt to bring their own meaning to the Scriptures-- *there is written warning of this found in Ecclesiastes 12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
Other parts of Ecclesiastes address the topic of vanity - I have heard many a preacher - preach to the ugly tone of vanity and not that of humble spirit . Announcements of baseball scores, and other worldly matters sounding off from the pulpit do no good to a hungry and hurting soul -needing to learn more of Jesus .
Fortunately- thanks be to God ... I have also known those to truly preach of humble spirit and their true witness and love for the Lord will stay with me always.
****The Bible is the tool God uses to draw and bring His children closer to Him . We must simply trust the Bible to do its work as purposed by The Author .
Isaiah 55:11So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
The grass withereth Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
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