* Paul talked about spiritual maturity for individuals and now he’s talking about it for the church.
* His goal was that they would be one as Jesus and the Father we were one.
* But this can’t happen if people are spiritually immature.
* Before you can have “oneness” you need “twoness” - two complete individuals.
* Complete in the Bible refers to maturity - a spiritually mature person.
* vs5 - The Corinthians were struggling with people worship, which is a sign of spiritual immaturity.
* Spiritually mature people can see God working through people - both good and bad people.
* God uses peoples’ strengths and their weaknesses!
* Four Principles - Twoness leads to oneness when we:
* vs 6 - He uses the analogy of a plant to define roles - it’s planted, watered, then it grows.
* God causes the growth, but He uses people to plant and water.
* The foundation for maturity is seeing God.
* vs 7 - to properly view God you have to properly view yourself - as nothing apart from Him!
* The important thing is the growth, and that’s God’s job.
* vs 8a - He reminded them they are on the same team - they are one.
* vs 8b - He then lists a caveat - each will be rewarded for their work.
* The planter needs the waterer and the waterer needs the planter.
* Each must do their job as two distinct individuals, or else their job as a team won’t get done.
* Four Principles - Twoness leads to oneness when we:
* 1) See God
* 2) Know our role
* 3) Have a common goal
* 4) Willing to work together
1 Corinthians 3:5-8 (8/31/17)
Oneness
August 31, 2017 • Benham Brothers
1 Corinthians 1:17 (8/22/19)
August 22, 2019 • Benham Brothers
* Baptism was a good thing, something God called some to do. * But Paul knew he was not one of them - he was called to evangelize. * Paul knew his primary thing, so it limited his options. * Often times our lives get out of balance with busyness because we’re not operating according to our calling. * This increases our options and weighs us down. * Are you operating out of guilt in doing some things that are outside your calling? * Too many of us operate out of a CAUSE rather than a CALL. * If we are cause-focused rather than call-focused we lose our ability to see Christ. * We are all called to do certain things - stand up for the defenseless, give to the poor, etc. * But when it comes to our vocation - the thing we spend our lives for - we operate according to a call, not a cause.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (8/17/17)
August 17, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* vs 18 - those without the spirit of God inside them believe the gospel is nonsense. * Testimony of Bill Maher. * vs 21 - it’s not foolish to those who “believe” - faith unlocks understanding. * vs 22-23 - it’s foolish to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles. * The same boiling water that hardens the egg softens the carrot. * We preach the gospel regardless of the response. * Why is the cross offensive? * 1) Because of what it says about us - we’re sinners in need of a Savior. * 2) Because of what it says about other religions - Jesus is the “only” way. * 3) Because of what it says about God - He is a God of love and justice - He punishes and He forgives. * 4) Because Jesus divides humanity - He separates the wheat from the chaff. * vs 24 - our faith leads us to the power and wisdom of God. * Wisdom is the marriage of knowledge with understanding - and our faith w/works unites the two. * Faith with works is our testimony - it shows how God worked through us and/or for us in a situation.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (8/17/17)
August 17, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* Warren Wiersbe shares these three points to keep in mind when we’re sharing the gospel: * 1) Our Approach (vs 1-2) - this has two facets: * * We shouldn’t try to focus on eloquence and being attractional - this will get people to focus on us and not God. * * We don’t need to shy away from speaking because of our lack of eloquence - we should speak regardless. * 2) Our Attitude (vs 3-4) - two facets: * * We should have reverence toward God. * * We should have humility toward others. * Our job is not to persuade - it’s to present the truth so the Holy Spirit can do the persuading. * 3) Our Aim (vs 5) - for others to experience God’s power in their lives. * The best way to do this is by sharing our own testimony.