Review of 1 Corinthians 1-4

1 Corinthians 2:2,16
2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Paul wrote the book of 1 Corinthians as a letter to the Corinthian church because he loved them so much. He had changed a lot from who he used to be because of Jesus. From verse 2, we can tell that Paul finds it important to know about Jesus and how he had saved us through his crucifixion. And verse 16 also shows that he understands that our minds have been changed to be that of Christ’s. He wants to know more about who Jesus is and to love him more. If we could have a similar mindset, then the way we experience life could be better.

PD’s first sermon on 1 Corinthians was about our “Identity,” and how we are called.
The key to understanding this letter is knowing our identity in Christ. We have many different identities that play a role in our day to day life: parent, worker, student, and Christian among many others. Often times, these identities can clash and conflict with one another, and we must learn how to overcome these while putting our identity in Christ as a priority.

Another part of our identity is that we are called. This means that we have a relationship with God where we try to listen to him and have fellowship with him. This leads us to be humble because we have to lower ourselves to be willing to obey and be under God.

PD’s second sermon was about “Division,” and about ego and having the mind of Christ. At the time of this letter, the Corinthian church was experiencing division. And the main reason for this was because of ego. They were divided based on their unique qualities such as personality, culture, language, family background, social standing, and so on. However, God made everyone unique – it’s not possible to be identical to another person.

Then why were they really divided? It was because of their ego, or their pride. The way to overcome their ego is to address it – to let go of it and to be united in Christ in our biblical perspective. To identify ourselves in Christ and to be united in the mind of Christ.

PD’s third sermon was about the “Works of the Holy Spirit,” and about prayer.
Paul talks about the “mystery of God” in his letter, but what could the secret of God be?

The mystery of God is that the weakness, or foolishness, of God could become our sanctification and salvation. It is through the Holy Spirit that people can come to understand what God has done and to accept it. Until then, we are blind and deaf.
It is important to increase our time in prayer with God, focusing less on knowing everything about God and more on spending time with him. This is something we do in HC ministry as well, that whatever we do in life, we can spend time in prayer as well.

PD’s fourth sermon was about “not results, but labor.” God rewards us not based on our results but on our labor. God knows all the work that you are doing and will eventually reward you on your work. He sees all the effort you put in, and if we remember this, life can be different.

It will help us realize that all our possessions are “not mine, but God’s.”
We often put our identity in what we have and try to possess many things, but our identity does not come from what we own, but to whom we belong. The simple fact of being God’s possession makes us precious already. There is nothing that we can get or lose that will change that. This can also help us to change our mentality into “not me, but we.”

We are all individuals and have unique aspect to our lives, but we are ultimately part of God’s body. All of our decisions affect this body, so we need to think about the consequences of our actions.

PD’s fifth sermon was titled “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.” Paul says this in his letter, telling us a way we can be a genuine follower of Jesus. He wanted the Corinthians to consider him as a spiritual follower that they can model after. In this way, we can also see our Pastor as our spiritual father, not just as another person, and we can imitate PD as he follows Christ.

Another aspect of a Christian is someone who has the mind of Christ. So we can ask ourselves if we do have this mind. It’s hard to tell if others have it, and it is something only you and God can know if you have it. Be honest with God if you’re struggling with this, or if it is missing in your life, and pray that you can increase having the mind and heart of God.

Discussion Questions:

• Which sermon spoke to you the most?

• Which sermon do you need to work on in your personal spiritual life?