Book of 1st Corinthians


Steve Lewis

These messages discuss the apostle Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth. In this letter the apostle Paul deals with many problems within the church family, including factions, sexual immorality, lawsuits between members, marriage, food sacrificed to idols, the misuse of spiritual gifts, and the resurrection of the dead. A companion commentary on the book of First Corinthians is also available for use with this course. [29 hours]

SessionDescription
01 1Cor Intro Introduction to First Corinthians
This message introduces the ancient city of Corinth and discusses some of the key men and women who played a role in the apostle Paul's ministry there during his second missionary journey. Finally, it reviews Paul's third missionary journey and describes the occasion for his writing of the first letter to the Corinthians. [1 hour 43 minutes]
02 1Cor 1 1-9 Begin with God's Faithfulness
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Paul opens his letter to the Corinthians by stressing the faithfulness of God who called them, sanctified them, provided His grace and peace, enriched them with all spiritual gifts, and will confirm them to the day when Christ returns to take them to be with Him. [56 minutes]
03 1Cor 1 10-17 Divisions Within the Church
1 Corinthians 1:10-17
The first issue Paul dealt with was the divisive spirit within the church. There were factions and rivalries among the believers, and Paul exhorted them to stop quarreling, to heal the rifts, and to restore unity in Christ. [56 minutes]
04 1Cor 1 18-2 5 The Gospel Appears Foolish to the Intellectual
1 Corinthians 1:18 - 2:5
In this passage the apostle Paul begins to explain the cause for the divisions in the Corinthian church: a wrong concept of the gospel. Here he shows how the world views the gospel as foolishness because of its content, its recipients, and its preachers. [1 hour 17 minutes]
05 1Cor 2 6-16 The True Wisdom of the Gospel
1 Corinthians 2:6-16
This passage declares that the gospel is true wisdom because of its unique source in God Himself who predestined it from eternity. Man is able to receive it through the process of revelation, transmit it by the process of inspiration, and understand it through the process of illumination. [1 hour 20 minutes]
06 1Cor 3 1-4 Believers Who Act Like Unbelievers
1 Corinthians 3:1-4
In this passage Paul discusses the condition of the Corinthians which required him to write as he was writing to them. They were inexcusably immature spiritually, and they were allowing their old fleshly nature to dominate the spiritual nature. [1 hour]
07 1Cor 3 5-23 Ministers Are Merely God's Servants
1 Corinthians 3:5-23
Paul now begins to deal with the second cause of the divisions within the Corinthian church: a wrong conception of the role of ministers. He explains what ministers really are, and provides illustrations from agriculture and architecture. [1 hour 3 minutes]
08 1Cor 4 1-21 Ministers Are Stewards of God's Truth
1 Corinthians 4:1-21
Paul continues discussing the role of ministers by using an illustration from household life: ministers are "house managers" and keepers of the treasure of God's truth. Then Paul closes with a personal appeal to the Corinthians to end their divisive spirit within the church. [65 minutes]
09 1Cor 5 1-13 Failure to Deal With Sin in the Church
1 Corinthians 5:1-13
Here Paul provides another example of the arrogance of the Corinthians. He discusses the obvious sin of one Corinthian believer, and he explains the sin of the church in not taking action in the case. Paul then outlines corrective actions for the sin of the individual as well as the sin of the church, and he clarifies his instructions to them in a previous letter. [1 hour 6 minutes]
10 1Cor 6 1-20 Failure to Resolve Personal Differences
1 Corinthians 6:1-20
Paul begins by discussing the tragedy of believers who are engaging in lawsuits with one another in the secular courts, and he shows that this was another area in which believers were acting like unbelievers. He concludes this section by explaining the proper view of Christian liberty in relation to the activities of our bodies. [1 hour 2 minutes]
11 1Cor 7 1-16 More About Sexual Purity and Male-Female Relations
1 Corinthians 7:1-16
Paul continues his discussion dealing with sexual immorality, and he begins to answer specific questions from the Corinthian Christians about singleness, celibacy, and marriage relationships between believers as well as with unbelievers. [71 minutes]
12 1Cor 7 17-28 The Principle of Peace and Contentment
1 Corinthians 7:17-28
Paul continues his discussion about singleness and marriage by sharing the general principle of contentment regardless of a believer's circumstances. He illustrates this principle with examples from circumcision and servitude, and he finishes this section by applying the principle of contentment to marriage. [65 minutes]
13 1Cor 7 29-40 Marriage During Difficult Times
1 Corinthians 7:29-40
Paul concludes his discussion about marriage by describing marriage during difficult times, and he gives further advice for those responsible for young unmarried women. Finally, he explains that the marriage relationship is a life-long commitment. [59 minutes]
14 1Cor 8 1-13 The Abuse of Christian Liberty
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
In this chapter Paul discusses the abuse of Christian liberty, specifically regarding things used in rituals at pagan temples. He goes to the heart of the matter by identifying the root cause of the problem, and he ends by explaining the mature Christian response. [70 minutes]
15 1Cor 9 1-27 Mastering Christian Liberty
1 Corinthians 9:1-27
In this chapter Paul continues his discussion of yielding Christian liberty, and he shares another example from his own life to illustrate this important truth. Paul defends his apostleship and the right of Christian workers to receive support from the churches, but he explains why he himself chose to relinquish that right out of love for the unsaved and those who were less mature in the faith. [71 minutes]
16 1Cor 10 1-13 Warnings About Abusing Liberty
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
In this chapter the apostle Paul continued to illustrate the abuse of Christian liberty by describing some events from the history of his people Israel. He ended this section with a wonderful promise for the Christian life based on the faithfulness of God. [54 minutes]
17 1Cor 10 14-33 Guidelines for Christian Behavior
1 Corinthians 10:14-33
In this section the apostle Paul gives a serious warning about idolatry, and he ends with specific instructions for determining whether we should use or yield our Christian liberty depending on the circumstances in which God has sovereignly placed us. [70 minutes]
18 1Cor 11 2-17 Abusing Christian Liberty in Church
1 Corinthians 11:2-17
In this section the apostle Paul dealt with the misbehavior of some Corinthian women during their church services. He outlined the principle of God's hierarchy of authority, and then demonstrated the disgrace of failing to follow appropriate customs which affirm or uphold God's hierarchy of authority. [73 minutes]
19 1Cor 11 18-34 Abusing the Lord's Supper
1 Corinthians 11:18-34
In this section the apostle Paul described the Corinthians' abuse of the Lord's Supper. He then beautifully presented this church ordinance, followed by a description of the serious consequences of celebrating the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner. [77 minutes]
20 1Cor 12 1-11 The True Source & Purpose of Spiritual Gifts
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Here the apostle Paul lays the foundation for his three-chapter discussion of spiritual gifts. He explains the unified source of all spiritual gifts, and he states that these gifts are given for the sole benefit of others within the church. [73 minutes]
21 1Cor 12 12-31 The Illustration of the Body of Christ
1 Corinthians 12:12-31
In this section, the apostle Paul illustrated the importance of the unity of the members of the church by giving an analogy comparing a healthy church to a properly functioning human body. He ends with another list of various spiritual gifts, this time in order of importance. [69 minutes]
22 1Cor 13 1-13 Love as a Way of Life
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
This beautiful chapter shows that the greatest spiritual gifts are nothing without love. Paul lists sixteen specific characteristics of a loving person, and he emphasizes the permanent value of love as contrasted with the temporary spiritual gifts of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge. [72 minutes]
23 1Cor 14 1-40 Rules for Using Spiritual Gifts
1 Corinthians 14:1-40
In this final chapter on the abuse of spiritual gifts the apostle Paul gave rules for determining the value of various gifts, and he showed that prophesy was superior to tongues. He ended with specific regulations for the use of tongues and prophesy, as well as guidelines for the conduct of some outspoken women in the church services. [94 minutes]
24 1Cor 15 1-34 The Doctrine of the Resurrection (Part I)
1 Corinthians 15:1-34
In this first section of Paul's defense of the doctrine of the resurrection, he conclusively proves that Christ rose from the dead. Paul goes on to give at least nine negative consequences of denying the resurrection, and he lays a solid theological foundation for the truth of this important doctrine. [61 minutes]
25 1Cor 15 35-58 The Doctrine of the Resurrection (Part II)
1 Corinthians 15:35-58
In this section of Paul's defense of the doctrine of the resurrection, he describes the true nature of the resurrection body using illustrations from familiar things in the present world as well as giving specific word pictures. Paul also provides new revelation about the Rapture, at which time each Church-Age believer will receive his resurrection body before rising to meet the Lord. [50 minutes]
26 1Cor 16 1-24 Paul's Concluding Words
1 Corinthians 16:1-24
Paul gives instructions for Christian giving and guidelines for ethically handling church funds. He shares immediate travel plans and commends specific leaders before giving his final greetings and exhortations to the Corinthians. [32 minutes]

Copyright © 2023 by Steve Lewis
(Version 1.5 generated on Sat Dec 2 20:54:01 2023)
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