Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• AD 54-55 - imagine that you are sitting in the Church in Corinth
• This church is being charged as carnal - envy, strife, division
• How would you feel about this?
• How were Chloe's household feeling?
• All the church needed to listened to have the problems treated
• Problems are not easy to deal with
• Paul deals with these problems
• Does a church not go forward because of it's problems?
• Paul knew that God was King over His Church and that Jesus was building His Church
• Paul was confident that God would perfect the Church of Jesus Christ - 1 Cor 1:8
• Paul was not complacent about the problems
• Those in leadership and teach - their work will one day be tested by fire
• The Church is holy
• Wisdom should not come from the world but from God
• v10-23, looking at the Christian & the Church
• It's Work
• It's Sacredness

It's Work

• The Church is compared to a building - the foundation is essential (example)
• Paul was a master builder by the grace of God - v10
• The foundation must be built on Jesus Christ - v11
• Paul's preaching was not about morality - he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ
• Apollos taught (Acts 18/19)
• Those in the Church need to be careful how they build – v12-14
• The gold and the silver will remain though burned by fire - but wood, straw, hay will be burnt up
• Some churches do not preach the gospel or believe only in social action
• Some churches exist on mere activity
• God, not man, is the judge of the Church of Jesus Christ – 1 Cor 4:3-4

It's Sacredness

• The Church of God is sacred
• Christians are the temple of the living God
• We are a universal and a local Church
• The letters of the Bible are addressed to specific/local committed churches
• Yet we are to fellowship with those of other congregrations
• The Church of God can be defiled
• Example of Ananias and Sapphira
• Reading 1 Cor 6:13-20
• Flee sexual immorality 
• 1 Cor 5:1
• 1 Cor 5:12 – Judge not those outside the church - but those inside
• 1 Cor 10:20-22
• The Church is supernatural / other worldly
• v21-22 - do not act in carnal ways
• Denominations and divisions (over secondary matters)
• Example of baptism, prominent 'Christians', the Second coming
• All things belong to us and we are Christ's - v23
• Do not be deceived - v18
• Our wisdom is not be from the world
• We are to follow Jesus - which to the world is foolishness
• We are not to reject facts but to reject the schemes of man

Closing Remarks