“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” 2 Peter 1:20 – 2:1
Verses 1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
Paul identifies this letter as being from him and from a brother in the Lord named Sosthenes. The only other scripture reference to Sosthenes is in Acts 18:17 “Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.” There is not enough information to know if these two individuals are one of the same. If they are, then Sosthenes was a converted Jew who gave up his role as leader of a synagogue to follow Jesus.
Application: Like Paul, true Christians are called by God. Like Paul, all Christians are apostles in that they are sent forth into a lost world to share the good news of the gospel which is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why is this good news? Because it is through Jesus’ death that our sins can be forgiven. Without having our sins forgiven, we cannot enter into Heaven. He was the final sacrificial lamb of the Old Testament system. The temple, its priests, its rituals and animal sacrifices all ended when Jesus went to the cross. But the rest of the good news is that Jesus’ resurrection from being very dead and buried proved beyond any doubt that there is life after death and that this life is available for all believers. That is very good news!
Verse 2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
Corinth was a Greek city built on a narrow land bridge. It had a culture that condoned many sinful practices and contained the temple of Apollo which featured temple prostitution in its religious practices. This was not an easy place in which to live out the Christian lifestyle, much less to preach the gospel.
Application: True believers and followers of Jesus Christ are set apart from the things of this world or sanctified. They are sanctified “in” Christ Jesus and not “by” Christ Jesus because they are filled at the time of their conversion with the Holy Ghost which Jesus gave up at the time of His death. So Jesus Christ is living in them by His spirit and they are living in Him by the same spirit. Perhaps if the spirit world could be seen by human eyes, each believer would have their outside physical body, and within it, they would have their spirit and the Holy Spirit/Ghost inside that body intertwined as one. As such, believers are called to be saints in this world, not after their death as taught by Catholicism.
Verse 3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
This sentence is the apostle Paul’s usual greeting and can be found in all of his epistles or letters.
Verses 4-8 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We, like Paul, can thank the LORD for what he is doing in the lives of others. They may not thank Him, especially if they are unbelievers, but we can do it for them. The word “grace” means unmerited favor; we are given things from God that we do not deserve. Just like a parent cares for a child regardless of whether they deserve their care or not, our Father cares for us. We cannot win or earn His approval. We don’t have to because He loves us unconditionally. And because of that love, we should want to please Him by our obedience to His commandments and by showing love and acceptance to others. When we live in a reciprocal relationship with the LORD, we will be “enriched by him” in our wisdom, knowledge and communication. Then the onlooker will know that we “have been with Jesus.” As we grow in knowledge and obedience, the spiritual gifts promised in the scriptures will come into play and grow in our lives also as we patiently wait for the day when we will be with Him in glory.
Verse 9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Application: We did not choose God. He chose us and called us to be part of His family, both here on Earth and in Heaven. He is faithful and will never leave us or forsake us or fail to keep His promises. You can count on that.
Verse 10 Now 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.
Have you noticed all the different so called Christian denominations out there all teaching different doctrines and all claiming that theirs is the true way to God? Unfortunately, they cannot all be right. Paul was dealing with the same problem in this church at Corinth in that there was a division and people were no doubt taking sides.
Application: There is only one true gospel and, if various churches have added to it or taken away from it, there will only be confusion and false teaching. If people are truly being led by the Spirit of God, they will agree with each other and there will be harmony. God is not the author of confusion. People are.
Verses 11-13 For 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. 12 Now 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?
It appears that different people in this church were following after various church leaders instead of following after Christ Jesus. None of the church leaders bled and died for anyone so that their sins could be forgiven and so that they could have access to the Kingdom of God.
Application: We should never follow after any man. I have seen division occur because a believer was following the teachings of Billy Graham and another believer felt that the teachings were wrong. It is perfectly good and correct to have doctrinal differences and to discuss them, but it should be based on what the Bible says and not on what any teacher or preacher says. Anyone can be wrong, including this writer, but the scriptures, when searched will always give the correct information because they are God’s words.
Verses 14-16 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; 15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. 16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
I think that Paul is just saying that he is not the one responsible for anyone’s salvation. It is all in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verses 17-18 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. 18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Although water baptism is an important part of the salvation process, a person cannot get to the point of salvation without first repenting of sin, and that cannot happen until a person hears the gospel and realizes that he needs repentance and the gift of salvation from God. Therefore, Paul’s primary focus was preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to the unbeliever. Paul was not worried about being an eloquent preacher. He wanted the listeners to focus on the content of the gospel and not the presentation. Those people who had already rejected Jesus would interpret the words of Paul as “foolishness.” But those who understood the message of the gospel would recognize the power of God in their lives.
Application: You do not have to be an ordained pastor or a missionary to baptize people. Anyone who is a believer can and should be willing to baptize someone who has repented of sin and wants to be filled with the Spirit of God. Just do it right!!! The Catholics started the practice of baptizing in the name of the father, son and holy ghost. However, they never say the name. Sadly, Christian churches have followed this incorrect example. The correct way is to baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ or Jesus Christ. That is the name given under Heaven by which we can be saved. (Acts 4:12) Lord refers to Father, Jesus is the name of God’s only begotten son, and Christ refers to the Holy Ghost. See Acts 2:38, 8:12,16, 10:48 for early apostolic church example.
Verse 19-21 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
Have you ever tried to present the truth of the Bible to an atheist or a person with an extensive educational background? Not an easy task. Earthly wisdom gets in the way of the simple gospel message. It is so much easier to tell a child about Jesus because their mind is not crowded with man made information. The old saying of “keep it simple stupid” is actually rather wise don’t you think?
Verses 22-24 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
Paul experienced the frustration of trying to reach a dying world with the message of the gospel, people that were unable to see the beauty and the simplicity of the gospel because of their own attitudes and beliefs. Even though Paul adapted his preaching style to the culture of the people he was addressing, he preached the same simple message of the good news of forgiveness and salvation through the cross. He knew that some of the people would understand and convert because they were called by God. These people would understand the sacrifice of Jesus and the wisdom of God to establish this method of saving sinners from death and hell. To those called out ones, the gospel was not foolish, but powerful and full of wisdom.
Application: So often believers get caught up in a debate with unbelievers that goes nowhere. The believer is frustrated and discouraged and the unbeliever is unchanged in his thinking and beliefs. Believers need to stick to the gospel news and just share what Jesus Christ did on the cross and in their own lives. They need to stay away from prophesy and politics and just keep it simple. If the person they are addressing is called by God unto salvation, they will hear and understand the message.
Verses 25-31 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
The above verses deserve careful reading and contemplation. Basically, God’s ways are not ours and His ways are often above our understanding. He is to get all the credit, all the glory and all the praise.