1 Corinthians: The Word of the Cross

by Stephen T. Um, R. Kent Hughes (Editor)

Overview

The apostle Paul wrote 1 Corinthians to a church struggling with their identity as Christians. Designed to help modern readers understand and apply this biblical letter to their own lives—especially when it comes to fighting sin and interacting with a fallen world—this commentary by pastor Stephen Um explains the biblical text with clarity and insight. Part of Crossway's award-winning Preaching the Word commentary series, this volume uses powerful illustrations, engaging anecdotes, and practical applications to help readers truly engage with God's Word in a powerful and authentic way. Furthermore, pastors, teachers, and small group leaders will find valuable assistance in preparing to lead others through the biblical text.

Part of the Preaching the Word series.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433523960
Publisher:	Crossway
Publication date:	11/30/2015
Series:	Preaching the Word Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	737,986
File size:	638 KB

About the Author

Stephen Um (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is the author of Micah for You and 1 Corinthians in the Preaching the Word series. Stephen and his wife, Kathleen, live in Boston, Massachusetts, with their three daughters.

Stephen Um (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is the author of Micah for You and 1 Corinthians in the Preaching the Word series. Stephen and his wife, Kathleen, live in Boston, Massachusetts, with their three daughters.

R. Kent Hughes (DMin, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is senior pastor emeritus of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, and former professor of practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hughes is also a founder of the Charles Simeon Trust, which conducts expository preaching conferences throughout North America and worldwide. He serves as the series editor for the Preaching the Word commentary series and is the author or coauthor of many books. He and his wife, Barbara, live in Spokane, Washington, and have four children and an ever-increasing number of grandchildren.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Surprised by Encouragement

1 CORINTHIANS 1:1–9

WHEN APPROACHING A BOOK OF THE BIBLE it is not uncommon to sense a tangible difference between the ancient setting and our own context. While all of Scripture is clear and understandable, there are admittedly some portions that demand more of the reader than others. Unlike some of the more thorny passages of Scripture, the book of 1 Corinthians is one that presents the modern reader with numerous touch points. Yes, there will be interpretive questions to ask and cultural differences to comprehend, but on the whole 1 Corinthians presents us with an original context that looks strikingly like our modern-day setting. Here we meet a church that faces issues much like the ones we face. How are we to handle disagreements among God's people? What does a Christian sexual ethic look like when promiscuity is the cultural norm? In what ways does the gospel shape the institution of marriage? How should we relate to the cultural customs and practices of those with whom we disagree on matters of faith? How can the gospel tear down barriers that we have built between others and ourselves? We could go on.

The one who sets about answering these and other questions in the book of 1 Corinthians is the Apostle Paul (v. 1).

He writes specifically "to the church of God that is in Corinth," and generally to "all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 2). A little bit of digging reveals that the city of Corinth shared much in common with the cities of our own time. So we'll find that Paul's explication and application of the gospel happens on the ground level. He's working out the implications of God's grace in the context of a pluralized, influential, cutting-edge city.

Corinth was an aspirational city. Its citizens were looking to advance on the ladder of upward social mobility, and they did this by aspiring to affluence for the sake of establishing their own honor. "The core community and core tradition of the city culture were those of trade, business, entrepreneurial pragmatism in the pursuit of success," and "perhaps no city in the Empire offered so congenial an atmosphere for individual and corporate advancement." David Garland gives us a feel for the culture of the city and the way it overlaps with our own experience in the West:

To use terms from American culture: schmoozing, massaging a superior's ego, rubbing shoulders with the powerful, pulling strings, scratching each other's back, and dragging rivals' names through the mud — all describe what was required to attain success in this society.

Alongside the clamoring for affluence and honor, Corinth was also an explorational city. It was characterized by a cosmopolitan spirit and religious diversity. Being a center for trade, Corinth was occupied (and regularly visited) by a diverse group of people from all walks of life. As a result, "Corinthians were rootless, cut off from their country background, drawn from races and districts all over the empire." It was a city that contained a variety of religious faith communities so that the everyday Corinthian had any number of potential options when thinking about which religion or belief system might fit him best. Garland states that "as a cosmopolitan city, Corinth was a religious melting pot with older and newer religions flourishing side by side"; in other words, "they could choose from a great cafeteria line of religious practices."

As an aspirational and explorational city, Corinth looked much like the individualistic cultures in which many of us find ourselves in the twenty-first century.

The ideal of the Corinthian was the reckless development of the individual. The merchant who made his gain by all and every means, the man of pleasure surrendering himself to every lust, the athlete steeled to every bodily exercise and proud in his physical strength, are the true Corinthian types: in a word, the man who recognized no superior and no law but his own desires.

It is into this context that Paul has occasion to speak. And in doing so he will address Christians who were being forced to ask many of the questions that we now find ourselves asking. Though the letter will go on to reveal significant issues within the Corinthian community, Paul begins with a note of profound, surprising encouragement. We'll consider this encouragement in three movements:

• The Truth of Encouragement

• The Tension of Encouragement

• The Basis of Encouragement

The Truth of Encouragement

Encouragement is a basic human need. Few people flourish in the absence of affirmation, approval, or some external declaration of worth. We long to be inherently valued — to have someone say, "I approve of who you are." We want to be respected for the contributions that we make (i.e., "I approve of what you do"). And we long deeply for assurance that the direction we are heading is one worthy of our investment and commitment (i.e., "I approve of where you are headed"). Paul will have to say some hard things to the Corinthians in the pages ahead; so he begins his letter with a surprising, well-rounded dose of encouragement.

Identity Encouragement

The apostle encourages the Corinthians in their identity in his opening salutation by addressing them as "those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints ..." (v. 2). In this way he reminds them that they have been set apart by God — that they are important and unique because someone has declared them to be. In a city that measured one's honor by the importance of the patron and friends to which a person was attached, to be set apart by God would have been the ultimate reassurance of one's identity. Though all the surrounding voices might tell them otherwise, to be sanctified in Christ — past tense — was to have already received the ultimate word of approval, acceptance, and identity encouragement. Similarly, the fact that they were "called to be saints" meant that their identity and purpose was externally bestowed upon them. Rather than working to build their identity or to self-manufacture a sense of purpose, they had received theirs by way of the gracious call of God.

Aptitude Encouragement

Along with being settled in their identity, Paul wants the Corinthians to know that they are well equipped to live into that identity. In our common experience, the thing that lies beyond the question of identity (i.e., "Who am I?") is the question of aptitude ("What am I to do?"). Aptitude is typically made up of the collection of gifts, skills, and abilities that you have been given, combined with the steps you have taken to hone them. While still rooting their activity in the gracious activity of God, Paul speaks to the Corinthians as those who have been "enriched in ... all speech and all knowledge" (v. 5). They are able to speak clear, convincing words about the faith. They are also knowledgeable; they are not lacking in their grasp of the intellectual content of the Christian faith.

In a city and culture that placed an incredible amount of value on rhetoric and logic, Paul's compliment about their speech and knowledge is an affirmation that they are not lacking in their culture's most marketable commodity. Furthermore, their speech and knowledge is not something they achieved by studying under the most prominent rhetoricians and philosophers, but they have been given them as gifts from God (v. 4). In this way both their identity and aptitude are secure because they have been externally bestowed.

Trajectory Encouragement

When you combine an identity with aptitude, you get forward momentum. We are all heading somewhere, and the questions that hang over our heads are: Where? What does my future hold? How can I know that my trajectory is worthwhile? Is it reasonable for me to be hopeful about my destination? Paul answers these questions for the Corinthians when he claims that Jesus "will sustain [them] to the end" (v. 8). In essence, he tells the Corinthians that they are on the right trajectory. Their lives are worthwhile, and the path that they are on is clearly leading to the beautiful end that God has in store for them. This sure trajectory is rooted in the faithfulness of God (v. 9) who called them and crafted them for his purposes.

We can imagine the substantial encouragement this would have been to readers living in a city where one's trajectory was perpetually insecure. In a meritocracy, one's future is only as secure as one's present success. When your temporal future is only as certain as your ability to keep performing at a high level, the comfort of knowing that your eternal future has already been decided is the ultimate encouragement. In this way we can be encouraged that our futures are just as secure. We are not unfamiliar with the demand for high performance and the temptation of embarking on self-security projects, but the Scriptures assure us that no matter the uncertainty or precariousness of our present situation, our Lord Jesus Christ "will sustain [us] to the end" (v. 8), and we will enjoy life with him because we "were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (v. 9).

Surprising Encouragement

Can you imagine receiving a letter like this from a leader? Of course, when we read a letter from a superior or supervisor, we are hoping for encouragement, but we recognize that it is almost always attached to our level of performance. Paul avoids tying their identity, aptitude, and trajectory to their performance, opting instead to encourage them flat-out. He is essentially saying, "Regardless of what you bring to the table, God finds you incredibly valuable and worthy of investment. And on top of that, he is going to ensure that you are sustained and carried through to a joy-filled life with him in the future." Perhaps we expect to receive praise for a job well done, but no one expects to receive this kind of unconditional encouragement, particularly not when they were conducting themselves the way the Corinthians were. It's at this point that we are introduced to a significant tension in Paul's letter.

The Tension of Encouragement

In order to sense the tension in this text, we need to look ahead into the rest of the letter. If you are a first-time reader of the epistle, you may think that the Corinthians are doing an outstanding job of living into their God-given identity in Christ. Perhaps Paul will simply go on praising them. Perhaps this is what the original Corinthian readers might have hoped for. But the reality was that the church was profoundly, tragically flawed. As soon as we leave this section (vv. 1–9), we find a letter written to a church that is riddled with problems. The next heading in your Bible likely says something like "Divisions in the Church." The truth of the matter is that the Corinthians are the last people in the world who should be getting the kind of encouraging introduction that Paul has just given them. Let's consider the reality of what was happening in the Corinthian church.

Living Contrary to Their Identity

Although their identity is objectively settled as "sanctified" (v. 2), the rest of Paul's letter bears out that their subjective and experiential reality is far from saintly. Instead the idols of those within the church overlap with the idols of the city of Corinth. For example, the idolatrous aspirationalism of the culture dominates the church. While they ought to be defined by their primary identification with Christ, they are more concerned with aligning themselves to a particular Christian leader, and this has created stratification and factionalism (3:4–9). In their attempts to set themselves apart as honorable they have perverted the Lord's Supper, turning it into an occasion to separate the haves from the have-nots (11:17–22). The moral, ambiguous explorationalism of the city is also vividly present. The fifth chapter makes it plain that the unrestrained passion and unbridled lust that was characteristic of the city was alive and well in the church. To their shame, they were engaged in things "not even tolerated among the pagans" (5:1).

Prideful about Their God-Given Aptitude

God had gifted the Corinthians with an identity, and he continued to pour out his blessings by enriching them "in all speech and all knowledge" (v. 5). But rather than seeing these gifts for what they were, the Corinthians began to take pride in them, mistakenly assuming that their aptitude was the actual basis of their identity. We can see this by looking at the sources of the divisions that unfold throughout the book. For instance, they are more concerned with eloquent speech than with grasping the true wisdom of God (1:18–31). And rather than finding unity in the knowledge they have received they have divided minds (1:10–17). They are overly concerned with pedigree and position, and as a result they are choosing to lead with competence in place of character — gifts in place of grace.

This happens each time we unhinge our gifts from their God-given source and neglect to use them the way he intends us to use them in community. Take an exceptional violinist. She may be heads above the others in her section and able to pull off amazing technical feats. However, if she becomes preoccupied with her gift and ignores her responsibility to accept the authority of the conductor, as well as the community of the orchestra, she will end up playing something that draws attention to herself but is out of tune with the rest of the orchestra. She has a phenomenal gift in isolation, but her pride in her gift has hindered her from using it properly. The end result of leading with aptitude instead of identity is communal disharmony.

On a Dysfunctional Trajectory

Though Paul is convinced that Jesus will "sustain [the Corinthian church] to the end" (v. 8), the rest of the book tells us that the church is severely unhealthy. In one case it is so bad that the apostle instructs the church to remove one of their members due to his flagrant sin (5:4, 5). While even that instruction is given with the purpose of ultimate restoration (5:5), the many issues we confront in the book of 1 Corinthians make us rightly question how this is all going to turn out for good. It would seem that the objective reality by which Paul encourages and commends them is being called into question by the subjective experience of the church. How is it possible that people who have received the grace of God and who will be preserved to the end could live this way?

If all of this is true, and if we see it reflected in our own lives and churches, how can we believe the content of Paul's encouragement? If our subjective experience is one of dissatisfaction and disharmony, then how is it possible to have confidence in believing that this encouragement is true of us? Is there a way to re-ground our identity, to rightly reevaluate our aptitude, and to live lives that are rightly aligned with the promised trajectory of perseverance?

The Basis for Encouragement

In short, the basis for Paul's encouragement to the Corinthian church is that their past, present, and future have been confirmed, declared, secured, enriched, and sustained in Christ. Take a look at our text again and see just how Christ-saturated it is:

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge — even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you — so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1:1–9)

All of the realities of Paul's surprising encouragement are grounded in Christ. The Christian's identity is not self-made or self-maintained. It is the result of an outside action of God on our behalf. We are sanctified not in ourselves but "in Christ Jesus" (v. 2). We are "called to be saints" not because we are inherently saintly but simply because we "call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 2). The grace and peace we experience is delivered to us "from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 3). The grace we experience was not earned but was a gift given to us "in Christ Jesus" (v. 4). Our speech and knowledge are "enriched in him" (v. 5). We are confident in our faith because God confirmed the "testimony about Christ" among us (v. 6). Our future hope is not in our manifold gifts or in the potential of our achievements but in "the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 7). In Christ, God sustains us to the end. He has promised to make us — the guilty — "guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 8). And we are absolutely certain of this because "God is faithful," and he has called us into "the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (v. 9).

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "1 Corinthians"
by .
Copyright © 2015 Stephen T. Um.
Excerpted by permission of Good News Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

A Word to Those Who Preach the Word 11

Preface 13

1 Surprised by Encouragement (1:1-9) 15

2 The Appeal of Unity (1:10-17) 23

3 Rewriting the Storyline (1:18-2:5) 31

4 A New Understanding of Community (2:6-16) 43

5 God-Given Growth (3:1-9) 51

6 The Architecture of Community (3:10-23) 59

7 A Proper Evaluation (4:1-13) 69

8 The Indispensability of Authority (4:14-21) 79

9 The Grace of Discipline (5:1-13) 91

10 Grace and Grievances (6:1-11) 103

11 Sex (6:12-20) 113

12 The Beauty of Marriage (7:1-16) 121

13 On Calling (7:17-24) 133

14 Singleness (7:25-40) 141

15 The Right Use of Rights (8:1-13) 151

16 The End(s) of Entitlement (9:1-18) 159

17 An Effective Witness (9:19-27) 171

18 Escaping Idolatry (10:3-22) 179

19 The Glory of God and the Good of Neighbor (10:23-11:1) 187

20 Issues in the Worshiping Community (11:2-16) 195

21 Discerning the Body (11:17-34) 203

22 A Gift-Giving God (12:1-11) 211

23 The Gift of Interdependence (12:12-31a) 221

24 What Is Love? (12:31b-13:13) 229

25 An Upbuilding Project (14:1-25) 239

26 Order out of Chaos (14:26-40) 247

27 The Power of the Gospel (15:1-11) 255

28 Resurrection (15:12-34) 265

29 The Resurrection Body (15:35-49) 273

30 Victory over Death (15:50-58) 281

31 A Community of Reconciliation (16:1-11) 289

32 A Common Bond (16:12-24) 297

Notes 305

Scripture Index 350

General Index 359

Index of Sermon Illustrations 363

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Stephen Um’s dynamic ministry in downtown Boston is grounded in his faithful, weekly ministry of the Word of God. His experience there makes him an ideal expositor of 1 Corinthians, because today’s secular city is an ideal context for understanding and applying the same gospel message that Paul first preached to the Christians in cosmopolitan Corinth.”
—Philip Graham Ryken, President, Wheaton College

“1 Corinthians: The Word of the Cross is not only a journeyman’s exposition of 1 Corinthians; it’s also a demonstration of a culturally astute pastor at work. Stephen Um combines his pastor’s heart, his disciplined mind, and his communicator’s gifts to bring us a commentary that will remind the Church of the gospel Paul preached to us.”
—George W. Robertson, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Augusta, Georgia; author, Deuteronomy: More Grace, More Love

“Stephen Um demonstrates the intellect of a scholar, the heart of a pastor, and the experience of the city to relate the truths of the gospel for city dwellers of the apostles’ time that were no less cultured, urbane, or sophisticated than we imagine ourselves to be.”
—Bryan Chapell, Stated Clerk, Presbyterian Church in America

“Stephen Um’s pastoral and preaching ministry has been a bright spot in the evangelical world. I have benefited from his wisdom and insights for a long time, so I am glad to see the arrival of this volume. Pastors will benefit from Um’s ability to apply the Biblical text to the human heart and the idols of our culture. Stephen is a wise exegete and good pastor.”
—John Starke, Lead Pastor, Apostles Church, New York City; author, The Possibility of Prayer