1 Corinthians 1:17,18 - It is the power of God

1:17

Paul was not sent to baptise, but to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. He also then states that the wisdom or eloquence with which he did or did not preach was not the issue either. What mattered was the cross of Christ. We need to be careful that we do not put undue emphasis on preaching styles. This does not mean that we should not try and preach well, but we must always remember that it is the work of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit which bring about effectiveness.

1:18

The previous verse closed with the phrase “lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power”. It is the cross that brings about our salvation. The gospel was the message of the cross and resurrection, and it is the gospel that is the power for salvation (Rom 1:16). This raises two questions: (i) why is the cross so powerful; and (ii) if the cross is so powerful why do so many reject it? It is the second of these that Paul addresses here, but dwelling a little on the first of these. Man’s fundamental problem is sin, the sin we have committed, and our inherent sinfulness. It is only the cross that addresses these two matters. To the latter question, Paul is quite aware that to many the cross is foolishness. It is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Samuel 6:4-6 - What guilt offering should we send to Him

6:4,5

The Philistine leaders are now amenable to taking advice. The religious leaders tell them to make five gold tumours and five gold rats (NIV, other versions have mice). It has been suggested that in the rural areas there had been plagues of mice devastating the harvest. Alternatively, I suppose, the rats/mice could have been plague carriers. The purpose of these gold objects was to give glory to God. Having defeated Israel, they thought they had defeated God (and modern philosophers etc think much the same!). The gold offerings were a sign that they now realised they had not defeated God! Then, they hoped, God would no longer hold His hand against them.

6:6

We see again that there was a general awareness of how the Israelites had escaped from Egypt. In particular, they knew how stubborn Pharaoh had been, and how much it had cost Egypt. So the religious leaders warned the Philistine leaders not to harden their hearts as Pharaoh had done. To do so would only invite harsh treatment from God.

1 Corinthians 1:13-16 - Is Christ divided?

1:13

Whatever the reasons for claiming allegiance to a particular person, the Corinthians were seriously misguided. Christ is not divided. We must never put devotion to a particular church grouping or denomination above devotion to Christ. After Christ returns there won’t be any denominations.  Christ is not divided. Actually the “Is Christ divided?” could be a statement rather than a question. If it is a statement, then it is said in the sense of “what a ridiculous thing to say”, or “do you realise what you are doing?”. As a question it clearly expects the answer no. Paul then gives reasons why saying “I follow Paul” is completely out of order. Paul was not crucified for them. They were not baptised in the name of Christ. Everything is about Jesus. It is His death which atones for our sins. We baptised into Christ.

1:14-16

Paul then reminds them that he did not actually baptise many of them. He then names two people he did baptise, then remembers some others. It was not important to Paul whether he actually baptised someone or not. What mattered was whom they were baptised into.

1 Samuel 6:1-3 - What shall we do with the ark?

6:1,2

The ark remained in the Philistine territory for seven months before they took definite action. Given the disaster that was befalling them this seems a long time to let things carry on. Why not act sooner? Possibly it was because of pride. To act would mean to admit that their god Dagon was pretty useless, and that the God of Israel was greater. However, our societies are no better. All the evidence shows that a stable two parent environment is by far the best environment in which to bring up children, yet we will not admit that marriage is the best and proper family structure. Likewise, it is clear that transideology is founded on a lie, and it causes all sorts of problems, but the leaders in society will not admit this simple fact. And this stubbornness had been going on for much longer than seven months! However, eventually the Philistine leaders call for the priests and diviners to tell them what to do, how to get rid of the ark.

6:3

The priests and diviners seem to have quite a lot of good sense. Clearly they do not have a proper devotion to the Lord, but their advice shows more wisdom than the Israelite priests often displayed.  First of all they say that the ark must be set back with gifts, in particular a guilt offering. So there had to be an admission of guilt. Then they would be healed. Israel often refused to admit their guilt. Mankind in general would often prefer to suffer the consequences of sin, rather than confess their sin. The tragedy is that if guilt was admitted then they would be healed.

1 Corinthians 1:10-12 - I appeal to you

1:10

When we become self-centred in any way, then divisions start to arise in the church, for the focus shifts from Christ to men and women. The flesh starts taking over. The men or women, or the systems, may claim to be Christ-centred, but in truth they are not. Deliberately, or inadvertently, they become man-centred. This is what was happening in Corinth, and Paul now starts to address the  key issues in Corinth. And the one he starts with is that of division. Note that this is not “unity” for its own sake, but unity in Christ. Paul appeals “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”. The goal is that they are “perfectly united in mind and thought”.

1:11,12

Paul had received reports from “Chloe’s household”, we don’t know anything else about Chloe. Anyway, the reports said there were quarrels among the believers in Corinth. When we start becoming man focused quarrels become more prevalent. The people were dividing into factions, claiming to be followers of a particular apostle or evangelist. Apollos was a particularly eloquent speaker (Acts 18:24-26), and given the culture in Corinth that would be one reason for some idolising him. The apostleship of Paul and Peter would be reasons for others choosing them. It isn’t clear why “I follow Christ” is included in the list. Obviously following Christ is what the gospel is all about, but Paul almost certainly didn’t mean it in that sense.

1 Samuel 5:7-12 - Send the ark of God away

5:7

The people of Ashdod were obviously not too happy about the situation. They were right in thinking that it was the ark of God that was inflicting the tumours. Their response was to send the ark away. This was the wrong response, the correct response would have been to repent and turn to God. Likewise, the response of our societies is to try and send God away. It is true that God is judging our societies (Rom 1:18), but the correct response is for us to turn to God and He would heal us (Is 6:10).

5:8,9

The people of Ashdod called the Philistine leaders together, and they decided to move the ark of God to Gath, this was a bit nearer Israel. It isn’t clear why they thought this would improve the situation. Perhaps they thought that because Gath was nearer Israel then the “god” (as they saw it) that inhabited the Ark would be happier. However, this did not happen and tumours broke out among the people of Gath, and the city was thrown into a panic.

5:10-12

Next they tried Ekron. Ekron doesn’t seem to have had any say in this decision, and they were none too pleased about it, for entirely understandable reasons. They reckoned that the rest of Philistine was out to kill them.  So they called together all the Philistine rulers urging them to send the Ark back to Israel. The Philistines were consumed with fear and many died.

1 Corinthians 1:8,9 - God is faithful

1:8

Paul now assures them that God will keep them “firm to the end”. When we start becoming self-centred, or proud of our achievements, or in any way thinking that we earn our salvation, then we start taking on board an intolerable burden. For we are simply incapable of earning our salvation. It is the Lord who keeps us firm to the end. Now let me remind you, as I do often, that this does not in any way mean that we are to be passive. Just read the Bible! There are no passive believers. But we live our lives confident in the Lord keeping us safe. Because of this we will be “blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

1:9

This verse really sums up what salvation is all about. We have been “called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord”. Most religions are a matter of one way or another trying to meet a standard, i.e. earning our salvation. The gospel puts all our focus on Christ. And we have been called into fellowship with God’s Son. This means that we walk alongside Him, seeking to live Christlike lives.