Paul, The Church and the Gospel

In this letter, Paul dealt with many problems that were happening in the Corinthian church such as a sexual immorality and the idol worship. And at the end of this letter in chapter 15, Paul wrote specifically about the “Gospel”. So what did he teach the Corinthian church about it? What was the connection between Paul, the Gospel and the church?

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand…”
- 1 Corinthians 15:1

God’s Calling for Paul

The word “gospel” was first used in chapter 1 verse 17 in the context about the purpose that God’s calling for Paul. “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”. In this verse, Paul made clear that the reason that God sent him to the Corinthian church was to preach the preach the gospel to them. Paul also had to make clear that God did not sent him to baptize. Because there were some issues in the church about baptism.

“For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
- 1 Corinthians 1:17

The Issues about the Baptism

Some people boasted about who baptised them, and it became the point of controversy among some people in the church. Some people boasted that they were baptised by Paul, some boasted about Cephas or Apollos, and some said that they follow Christ. As you can tell from their issues, those who boasted forgot the real purpose of baptism. So Paul had to write this letter to remind them the reason that God sent him to the church, and also to teach them what the gospel is.

“What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”
- 1 Corinthians 1:12

The Support for the Preachers

Paul wrote about the gospel especially in chapter 9 and chapter 15. In chapter 9, Paul wrote about the rights of the people that preach the gospel. As it’s written in chapter 9 verse 14, God also commanded that those who preach the gospel should get their living by the gospel. So Paul gave an example of a soldier that no soldier will server the army at his own expense. It seems that Paul himself was not receiving anything for his service. Paul believed that the preaching of the Gospel is the work that God gave him, so he said that he does everything for the sake of gospel. In order to reach out to many people. Paul made himself a servant to all, and became as a jew to reach to jews and became as one under the law to reach out to those who is under the law. He even became weak to win the weak.

“I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”
- 1 Corinthians 9:23

What is the Gospel?

So what is the gospel that Paul preached? What was it about? The answer for these questions can be found in chapter 15. After writing about the gospel and the support for living of those who preach the gospel, Paul used the word “gospel” once again in chapter 15 to write about it. This chapter begins with the phrase “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you…”. The gospel is about Christ Himself and it is something that will save you if you believe in it.

The Story of the Gospel

As Paul explained about it in chapter 15, the gospel is the story. This story begins with the death of Jesus Christ for our sins and Paul ended this story about the time that Chris appeared to him. Paul used the phrase “according to the scripture” twice in this sections, and it makes clear that what was written in the Bible that fulfilled by Christ is the gospel. But as you can read from chapter 15 verse 12, there were people in the church who denied the truth of gospel. So Paul had to write this letter to teach the church the truth, so that they will not be deceived by the false teaching. So that they will be saved by believing in the true gospel.

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures…”
- 1 Corinthians 15:3

Edifying Each Other in the Church

Some of the problems that happened in the Corinthian Church were caused by the things that supposed be blessing to the church. These thing brought the disruptions to the church instead of blessings. Paul wrote in chapter 11 that these problems appeared especially within the Lord’s supper. And in chapter 13 and chapter 14, Paul wrote specifically about the prophecy and tongues. Because these spiritual gifts from God have to be used in the right way in order to edify others.

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
- 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

To Pursue the Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues

What Paul emphasized in his explanation about prophecy and tongues is to pursue love. Because even if someone have the gift of prophecy or the gift to speak in a tongue, if the person have no love, there is no point of prophesying or speaking in tongue. Paul described these “gift with no love the noisy gong and the clanging cymbal.

“Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.”
- 1 Corinthians 14:1

Using the Gifts from God for Wrong Purpose

As Paul wrote in these chapters, there were some people in the church that had the gift of prophecy and the gift of speaking in tongues. So Paul taught them the right way to use these gifts and talents, so that it will not cause the whirl in the church. Paul explained these in details and taught them to have few people speak in tongues, one by one and to have someone interpret the unknown tongue. So it is clear that the unknown tongues were not restricted in the church, but Paul had to teach them the right purpose of it in order to bring unity in the church.

“What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret.”
- 1 Corinthians 14:26-27

How to Use the Gift from God

If the people in church do not use their gifts and talent from God for right purpose, these things can split up the church. So it was the same as the problem that they had about the Lord’s supper in the church. Because there were some people in the church that were drunk or starve during the Lord’s supper. The Lord’s supper is the ceremony for remembering the love of God, but some people used it for their own lust. So Paul taught the church not to use their gifts for their lusts.

“So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.”
- 1 Corinthians 14:12

What is Love?

What Paul said about the gifts of prophecy and tongues that they are nothing without love, can also be applied to other gifts and talent. Because God gave people many kinds of talents, like teaching and giving. So in chapter 13 and 14 Paul taught the church to use these gifts with love to edify each other.

Paul also taught them to pursue love. And the love is explained in details in chapter 13, from verse 4 to 7. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

The Lord’s Supper and the Corinthian Church

Paul concerned and discussed about the issues related to the Lord’s Supper in the Corinthian Church. Because he heard that there was a disruption among the church about it. This problem that Corinthian Church had stood out specifically about the supper that they had together regularly as a congregation. Even though they got together for the Lord’s Supper, they wavered in purpose and instead of bringing unity to the church but they used the Lord’s Supper to fill themselves selfishly. So there were some people starve while other people get drunk. The reality of the Lord’s Supper in the church was far from how it should be.

The Temptation and the Eating

Eating and drinking was causing an big issue in the church, but if you look back in the very beginning of the Bible, you will notice that the first sin was also caused by eating. Eve fell into temptation and ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil which God commanded her and Adam not to eat. So by this sin, the sin entered the world and brought a disruption between God and the creation.

Adam and Eve sinned at the first meal that they had after being created. So it was like a first feast for the human before God in the Garden of Eden. But they turned this feast of blessing into the meal of curse. So it means that they changed the blessing from God into curse by “eating” just like Corithian Church did with the Lord’s Supper.

“For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk.”
- 1 Corinthians 11:18-21

The Curse and the Death

So by the sin that entered the world, people were put under the curse and death, they needed to be restored by the redemption. But than God gave this sinful human a greatest love and mercy and promised the salvation. God showed his greatest compassion to the sinners and he promised the redemption from the dominion of death and curse. And this redemption and salvation that he promised was Jesus Christ, that He will come as the woman’s seed and will bruise Satan’s head. The salvation of Jesus Christ was brought through His death and resurrection. Because He conquered the sin by His death and resurrection.

The Promise of the Perfect Sacrifice

But there were more than thousand years till the promise was fulfilled, so in the mean time,
God commanded the sinners to offer sacrifice as the symbol of perfect redemption to come. There were several kinds of offerings, and the sinners were allowed to eat some of them. So it was like a feasting with God in some ways. But there were also many rules about it and there were many detailed orders about what to eat and what not. Because the sacrifices in the Old Testament was a temporal thing that signifies Jesus Christ the perfect sacrifice.

The Temporal Sacrificial System

Another big difference between Jesus Christ and the temporal sacrificial system was that with temporal sacrificial system, the sacrifices had to be offered constantly. Because it was done by the High Priest who was a sinner as well. So even if he offered a sacrifice, it did not bring the perfect redemption to the world. But this sacrificial system was fulfilled by Jesus Christ. So Jesus Christ died only once as the ultimate sacrifice for the redemption on the cross. And fulfilled the promise of salvation. By this salvation, the “feasts” that were restricted by the sacrificial system became the Lord’s Supper which we will feast before God in the memory of the salvation of Jesus Christ.

The Eternal Life and the Dominion of Death

God sent us His only begotten Son Jesus Christ as he promised us. And by this salvation, we were brought back into the promise of eternal life from the dominion of death. This is what the Lord’s Supper is about that Paul explained in 1 Corinthian chapter 10. But as he wrote in the same chapter, the Lord’s Supper which is the feast of blessing was turned into the meal that brings disruption among the church instead of unity. So we can think about the Lord’s Supper and the first meal of Adam and Eve in parallel. Adam and Eve also brought in death to the world by the food that was given to them as blessing.

The Unity

Paul had to write to the Corinthian Church in order to solve this problem in the church about the Lord’s Supper to bring back unity in the church. So from chapter 11 verse 23, Paul wrote about the Lord’s Supper and how it should be done in details.

“The Same Spiritual Food ”

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul wrote about the ancestors in Moses’ days, that they ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink. Because those Christians that lived in Moses’ days are our fathers and also our brother in Christ. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea. But many of them died in the wilderness for their rebellion against God that unpleased Him.

Even though God gave them spiritual food and drink, they used this blessing from God for the unrighteous purpose to worship the idols. So Paul taught the Corinthian church to not to rebel against God about food and also the immorality like Israel did.

“For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:1-4

What We Have to Learn from Israelites’ Error

Because one of the reasons that theses things happened was for the example for us. So that we will not sin and be punished like Israelites by learning how God punished them. We always have to remember how they sinned and how God judged them for their idol worship and immorality.

“Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:6-7

The Immorality and the Idolatry

In 1 Corinthians, Paul warned against Idolatry and the Immorality. Because these were the sins that Israels had in the wilderness and it was the same sins that Corinthian church was dealing with. This problem in the Corinthian church is quite obvious from what Paul said in previous chapters. For example, in chapter 8 Paul wrote specifically about the food offered to Idols. And again in chapter 10, Paul wrote about the food offered to the idols from the perspective of “what we should eat instead”.

We Should Not Eat Like Idolaters

As Paul explained in chapter 10, we should not eat or drink like the idolaters. Than how should we eat and drink as Christians? What did Paul say about that in chapter 10? One of the clues of that answer is the words that comes out in verse 3 to 6 “the spiritual food” and “the spiritual drink”. Because “spiritual food” and “food offered to idols” are the complete opposite. There is also a phrase in chapter 10 verse 20, where Paul explained about the idol’s food that “pagans sacrificed their offer to demons”. But it doesn’t mean that these food have some kind of a power in it but Paul told the Christians not to eat them, if it causes problem in the church and make the weak brothers stumble. So Paul taught them that they have to be thankful for whatever they eat or whatever they drink.

“No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:20-21

The Table of the Lord

So how we should act like Christians are to do every thing for Godly purpose, not only about food or drink but everything. So if the food cause problem in the church, and make the weak brothers stumble, we should not eat the food offered to idols. Because the reason that God gave us food is for us to be thankful to Him, so that we will unite through eating and drinking together. The fact that the center of the worship service is the communion made clear that the food was given to us for good reasons.

As Paul wrote about the communion in following chapter, the communion is the opposite of the idolatry. In the idol worship, people sacrifice food to gods that doesn’t exist. But in the communion, we eat bread and wine for the purpose to worship the only true God.

“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
- 1 Corinthians 11:23-24

The Immorality and The Idolatry

Through the redemption in Christ, the salvation was given not only to the Jews but also the gentiles. But because of that, there were some problems related to Mosaic Laws among the Jews and the Gentiles. Some Jews taught the Gentiles to keep the Mosaic Laws as they used to do in the Old Testament. So as the story written in Acts 15, some Jews forced the Gentiles to get circumcised in ordered to be saved. So in Acts 15, Paul taught the Gentiles that the least things they have to be aware of are “the things polluted by idols, sexual immorality, and the things that has been strangled”. He also talked about the things that are related to idols in 1 Corinthians. Especially in 1 Corinthians 7-8, Paul talked about the sexual immorality and the idolatry. So what kind of problems did these things brought into the Corinthian Church?

“Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”
- 1 Corinthians 7:1

The Immorality and the Corinthian Church

Paul repeatedly commanded the church to keep themselves away from the sexual immorality. So in order to teach them “what’s right”, Paul taught them about marriage and the right relationships between Christian men and women. Because as Paul mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5, the Corinthian Church had a big problem among them about sexual immorality. Even though the apostles taught the chosen Gentiles to be aware of these sinful desires of the body, the Jews had this bad behavior among them. So Paul dealt with this problem by teaching about the right marriage and also by giving them the advice of not to get married in the circumstance that they were in.

To Stay Away from Immorality

What Paul said to man in 1 Corinthians 7:1 is to not to touch woman to keep themselves away from the immorality. He also said that man should have his own wife and woman should have her own husband to be away from these things. But when Paul wrote this letter, the persecution by the opponents of Christians aggravated so by giving himself as an example, Paul adviced them not to get married if possible. But at the same the, he said that not everyone has a gift to stay single, so those who wants to get married are allowed to get married. So by these things in mind, Paul taught the Corinthian church in chapter 7 that the marriage is not sin, but staying unmarried is recommended to keep themselves safe from the troubles in their lives.

“To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband…”
- 1 Corinthians 7:8-10

The Food Sacrifice to Idols

Paul made clear the problem that he will talk about in the very beginning of chapter 8. He talked about the food sacrificed to Idols to protect the weak brothers from stumbling. So he first clearly stated that there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ. And that there is no other gods exists in this world. This is very obvious truth among the Christians. But as Paul said, there were Christians that were not very familiar with this fact. So Paul had to teach them specifically about the food sacrificed to Idols, so that the weak brothers will not be destroyed. Because having a knowledge about the true God sometimes may lead the weak brothers to stumble. And it should not happen. For Christ died for the weak brothers as well as those who have knowledge. Paul made clear that destroying the weak brothers is a sin.

“Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth–as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”– 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”
- 1 Corinthians 8:4-6

The Solution

So Paul taught the church about the immorality and the idols in order to deal with the problems in the church. So that they will bond and unite in Christ instead of having a confliction among the Christian brothers.

“Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”
- 1 Corinthians 8:12-13