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Episode notes, devotionals, and Bible study writing — 97 posts and counting.
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How the Church in Corinth Got Started: Apostle Paul's Missionary Journey 1 Cor. 1:1-3
Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God
Modern-Day Apostles: Fact or Fiction? You decide. 1 Cor. 1:1-3
Paul, called to be an apostle
From the Early Church to Modern Denominations: The Legacy of "The Church of God" 1 Cor. 1:2
Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
The Heart of an Apostle: Paul's Deep Affection for the Churches 1 Co 1:4–9
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus
Confirmation: Embracing Transformation 1 Co 1:4–9
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was
The Paul, Peter, and Apollos Dilemma: Uniting Under Christ's Teachings 1 Co 1:10–13
Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment, for it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Co 1:10–13).
Holy Drama: Church Splits and Feuds - Jesus Facepalms! 1 Co 1:10–13
Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Co 1:10–13).
Paul's Dodgy Baptism Dance and Forgetful Moments 1 Co 1:14–17
I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name.
Faith Meets Intellect: The Surprising Union of Wisdom and Discernment -1 Co 1:17–25
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
Beyond Signs and Philosophy: Discovering the Power of the Cross 1 Co 1:20–25
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Co 1:20–25)
Unleashing Divine Surprises: The Power of Unlikely Candidates - 1 Co 1:26–31
For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
From Tents to Testimony: How Paul Balanced Work and Ministry 1 Co 2:1–5
And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Co 2:1–5)
Breaking the Preacher's Trap: Beyond Homiletics and Elocution
And I, brethren
The Hit Single: Christ and He Crucified - Paul's One-Sermon Wonder 1 Co 2:2
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (1 Co 2:2).
Wisdom Beyond the Ages: Exploring Paul's Radical View on Divine Knowledge 1 Co 2:6–8
However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Co 2:6–8).
From Religious Leaders to Demonic Beings: Unveiling the Recognition of Jesus -1 Co 2:8-9
Which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Co 2:8-9)
Love vs. Fear: What Motivates Our Actions in God's Kingdom? 1 Co 2:9–10
But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. (1 Co 2:9–10)
From Concealed to Revealed: The Astonishing Truths Unveiled by God -1 Co 2:10–12
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us (1 Co 2:10–12).
Unveiling the Holy Spirit: Insights from Corinthians
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.
Understanding the Spirit of Man
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
The Two Systems: Worldly Thinking and the Kingdom of God - 1 Co 2:12
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God
Spiritual Discernment 1 Co 2:13–16
These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Co 2:13–16).
Discernment, Judgment, and the Mind of Christ. 1 Co 2:15–16
But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Co 2:15–16).