1 Corinthians: A Higher Calling

Cypress Crossings Christian Church

1 Corinthians: A Higher Calling

Part 1

January 28, 2024 • Steve Hinton • 1 Corinthians 1, 2 Corinthians 5:20–21, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19–20, 1 Corinthians 10:24

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1 Corinthians 1:20-21, 25, 27-31

Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. (NIV)

The Choices and Consequences.

They needed to be reminded of who they were and that God’s wisdom glories over the wisdom of the world.

1. Their Position in Godly Wisdom.

1 Corinthians 1:1-3 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 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: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:8-9 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2. Worldly Wisdom.

Matthew 10:16 I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

James 3:13-16 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. (NIV)

For Personal Profit

For Personal Power

For Personal Pleasure

For Personal Piety

3. Godly Wisdom.

1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. (NIV)

4. Our Path in Godly Wisdom.

1. Choose to Surrender to Christ.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

2. Choose to Remember Your Identity.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

2 Corinthians 5:20a Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.

3. Choose to put Others First.

1 Corinthians 10:24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

4. Choose to Play the Long Game.

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (NIV)

5. Choose to Look up.

2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (NIV)

There will be Eternal Results:

Rejection:

1 Corinthians 16:22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord.

Embracing:

1 Corinthians 2:8-9 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him.

There has always been a choice:

Acts 7:22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action. (NIV)

Hebrews 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

Some Famous Wise Men Choose

Matthew 2:1-2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

There is now the choice before you.

The Choice to Stand

April 7, 2024 • Steve Hinton • 1 Corinthians 16:13–14, Ephesians 4:13–14, Joshua 1:9, 1 Peter 5:8, Daniel 3:17–18

1 Cor 16:13-14 “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.” 1. Be Watchful 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 2. Stand Firm Daniel 3:17-18 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” 3. Act like Men Ephesians 4:13-14 “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and for by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” 4. Be Strong Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Hebrews 11:36-38 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 5. Do All This in Love John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Ephesians 4:15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ Ecclesiastes 4:12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

On This We Stand

March 31, 2024 • Steve Hinton • 1 Corinthians 15:1–8, 1 Corinthians 15:19, Romans 5:1, 1 Peter 2:24, John 14:6

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 1 Corinthians 15:19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. Hope Comes When We Make the Choice to Remember 1. Remember the Gospel Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ 2. Remember the Basis for the Gospel 1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” Hebrews 10:10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Luke 19:9-10 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” 3. Remember the Fruit of the Gospel John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 1 Corinthians 15:55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. John 14:1-3 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am.” Revelation 21:1-4 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearance.

1 Corinthians: The Choice for the Higher Love

March 24, 2024 • Steve Hinton • 1 Corinthians 13:4–8, 1 John 4:9–10, John 3:16, 1 John 4:19, 1 Corinthians 10:24

-God’s Love is All You Need. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.” 1. See God’s Love. Luke 6:35b “for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” 1 John 4:9-10 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 2. Receive God’s Love. Romans 5:8 God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 3. Walk in God’s Love. 1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us. 1 Corinthians 10:24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (NIV)