YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → 1 Corinthians 1 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams

1 Corinthians 1 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

by Heritage Press · 2,613 words · 485 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:00So, we're going to study the book of 1
0:03Corinthians.
0:05And
0:06Corinth
0:08is a city, a Greek city,
0:12between the Corinthian Gulf
0:15and the [music] Saronic Gulf.
0:18And it was a notorious city throughout
0:22all of the Roman Empire
0:25for being a debauched,
0:28horrible place. [music]
0:30It was like Vegas.
0:32It was a messed up culture through and
0:35through.
0:36And
0:38yet, while Paul is in Ephesus, [music]
0:41do you remember when we were studying
0:43Acts, Paul was in Ephesus for a while.
0:46While Paul was in Ephesus, he writes
0:48this letter. This is one of the churches
0:50that [music] he started in that season.
0:54And so, he writes them this letter.
0:57And
1:00to understand the book of
1:031 Corinthians,
1:05we need to understand
1:07that Paul sees the church as a house.
1:12The house of God, the temple of God.
1:15And he sees division
1:19as the mechanism for dissolving the
1:23mortar in that temple.
1:26So, his theme is against division.
1:30And then he pivots to deal with the
1:33things that are causing division, to
1:35bring [music]
1:36apostolic authority,
1:38and settle the things that are causing
1:40disputes. [music]
1:42And then finally, he deals with disorder
1:45in their spiritual practices. So, he
1:48talks about their relationships. He
1:49talks about their church services. He
1:52talks about how they respect each other
1:54in gifts. He talks about communion and
1:57marriage. Does that make sense? So,
2:00broadly speaking, this book is written
2:03by an apostle who believes the church is
2:07going to fail because it has accepted
2:11division and disunity. [music]
2:14And his whole point is you've got to
2:16overcome that.
2:17After framing it in that manner, he then
2:20starts to deal with the particulars of
2:22false doctrine or of abominable culture
2:26that they need to get out of or of how
2:28things ought to be done in a decent and
2:31orderly way. So,
2:34it's what it looks like for a church to
2:37be started but in disorder and for
2:40apostolic ministry to come in and start
2:43establishing the patterns and ways that
2:46things should function so as to hold the
2:48house together. 1 Corinthians chapter 1
2:51verse 1.
2:53Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus
2:56Christ by the will of God,
2:58and Sosthenes, our brother,
3:01to the church of God which is at
3:03Corinth,
3:04to those who have been sanctified in
3:06Christ Jesus, saints by calling,
3:10with all who in every place call on the
3:13name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their
3:15Lord and ours.
3:18Grace to you and peace from God our
3:21Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3:24I thank my God always concerning you for
3:28the grace of God which was given you in
3:30Christ Jesus,
3:32that in everything you were enriched
3:36in him
3:37in all speech and all knowledge, even as
3:41the testimony concerning Christ was
3:44confirmed in you,
3:46so that you are not lacking in any gift,
3:50awaiting eagerly the revelation of our
3:54Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm
3:57you to the end, blameless in the day of
3:59our Lord Jesus Christ.
4:02So,
4:03right here in the opening verses,
4:06when he is addressing the church,
4:10he identifies the framework
4:14for what the problem is in Corinth. He
4:17tells them that they were enriched
4:21in Jesus,
4:23and that they have all speech
4:27and all knowledge,
4:30and they lack no gifts.
4:36But those three things,
4:39riches,
4:40spiritual riches even,
4:43knowledge,
4:45and the gifts of the Spirit
4:47are not enough
4:49to prevent the problems that are
4:51threatening to destroy this church.
4:54But he acknowledges them right off.
4:56Those are good things. Paul's grateful
4:58for them,
4:59but they're not enough.
5:01In verse 9, he continues,
5:04and he starts to tease out this thread.
5:06He says, "God is faithful,
5:09through whom you were called into
5:11fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our
5:14Lord.
5:15Now,
5:18I exhort you, brethren,
5:20by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5:24that you all agree,
5:27and that there be no division among you,
5:32but that you be made complete
5:35in the same mind and in the same
5:37judgment."
5:40Paul commands them
5:43>> [clears throat]
5:43>> to agree.
5:46Why? Because agreement easier than
5:49disagreement? No.
5:52So that they be made complete.
5:56If they don't have the same heart, if
5:58they don't have the same judgment, if
6:00they don't have the same mind,
6:02they are incomplete.
6:05They are a temple missing a wall.
6:09They are a house missing a roof.
6:12It is when they are together and united
6:16that all the necessary pieces of their
6:19safety and their future and their
6:22flourishing are there.
6:24That you may be complete
6:29is the object of unity.
6:31Disunity leaves you
6:33incomplete.
6:35And when he says that you all agree, it
6:37literally means that you all speak the
6:39same thing.
6:42That you do not have multiple voices in
6:45the church.
6:47But you have one heart, one mind, one
6:50purpose, one voice.
6:53And then he says, verse 11, "For I have
6:55been informed concerning you, my
6:58brethren,
6:59by Chloe's people,
7:01that there are quarrels among you."
7:05Now, I mean this, that each one of you
7:08is saying,
7:10"I am of Paul.
7:13And I am of Apollos.
7:17And I am of Cephas.
7:20And
7:21I am of Christ."
7:26So,
7:28Paul starts off and you think, "Oh,
7:30maybe the disunity is they don't agree
7:32on what baptism should be."
7:34Or maybe the disunity is they don't
7:36agree on what church government should
7:38be.
7:39But the disunity
7:42is going to work into those details, but
7:45it starts off
7:47by this immature church trying to pit
7:51leaders against each other
7:53and saying, "I don't have to submit here
7:56because I'm submitting there."
8:00>> [gasps]
8:02>> And he says that some say, "I am of
8:04Paul." The first one he blames
8:08are the people who are using him.
8:11"I am of Paul."
8:13That's the first group that he calls out
8:16in this disunity.
8:18And the worst of all of these are the
8:20ones who say,
8:22"I am of Christ."
8:24I don't need Paul. I don't need Apollos.
8:26I don't need Cephas, which is Peter.
8:29"I am of Christ."
8:31This is the DNA of division.
8:36This is how churches fail. There's no
8:38Corinthian church
8:40because they didn't ultimately overcome
8:43what Paul is ministering to here.
8:46And then he asks this question,
8:49"Has Christ been divided?"
8:54Now, what does that mean?
8:56That means you cannot be of Peter
9:00and not of Paul
9:02unless
9:03Christ is divided.
9:05Paul is saying that
9:07if we are saved,
9:10if we're part of the covenant body, you
9:12cannot be of one and not of the other
9:15because
9:16the one and the other are part of
9:18Christ.
9:19So, unless you can tear apart the body
9:21of Christ, you can't accept disunity and
9:24division.
9:27The word in English, division, literally
9:30means two visions.
9:36He says, "Has Christ divided? Paul was
9:39not crucified for you, was he?
9:43Or were you baptized in the name of
9:45Paul?"
9:49Do you think Paul was bringing some
9:51things to the church that Peter wasn't
9:53bringing?
9:54We know he was. Do you think Apollos was
9:56bringing things that neither Peter nor
9:58Paul were bringing? Of course he was.
10:02But the whole point is
10:04they're all bringing something that is
10:06essential. And these people are naming
10:08apostles and trying to pit them against
10:11each other.
10:13I thank God
10:15that I baptized
10:17none of you except Crispus
10:20and Gaius, so that no one would say you
10:23were baptized in my name.
10:27Paul's saying, "I didn't baptize you
10:29into my authority.
10:30I baptized you into Jesus' authority.
10:33And Jesus is not divided."
10:37Now, I did baptize also the house of
10:40Stephanas.
10:42Beyond that, I do not know whether I
10:44baptized any other.
10:46Paul's apparently baptized a lot.
10:49Cuz he says, "I baptized these two."
10:50Then he remembers, "Oh, I baptized
10:52Stephanas' house, too, and I don't know
10:53if I baptized anyone else." But his
10:56point is that wasn't my main thing.
11:00For Christ did not send me to baptize,
11:02but to preach the gospel.
11:04Not in cleverness of speech, so that the
11:07cross of Christ would not be made void.
11:12How could the cross of Christ be made
11:15void
11:16in cleverness of speech?
11:20Well, Paul's going to tell us that his
11:22preaching was in demonstration of the
11:24Spirit and power.
11:26And the cross of Christ is all about
11:28what happened to that cross in
11:30resurrection.
11:32So, when someone preaches in the power
11:34of the Holy Spirit, that's a
11:36demonstration of the cross of Christ.
11:39Because that's a demonstration of the
11:41the man being humbled and the power of
11:44the Spirit taking over.
11:46Right? That's the cross of Christ. But,
11:49if he can do that, which is being
11:51clever, with just being persuasive, with
11:54just giving good arguments that resonate
11:56with the carnal nature,
11:57um well, then that we don't need a cross
11:59for that.
12:01We need a cross for someone who stands
12:02in weakness and yet the power of the
12:04Holy Spirit still speaks through him.
12:08For the word of the cross is foolishness
12:10to those who are perishing.
12:13But, to those who are being saved, it is
12:15the power of God.
12:17That's what Paul preached in, the power
12:19of God.
12:20Do you notice he doesn't say the cross
12:22is the weakness of God?
12:24He says it's the power of God, because
12:26there's no consideration of the cross
12:29for Paul that is not followed by the
12:31resurrection.
12:33What happened to the cross at the empty
12:35tomb?
12:36It completes the story.
12:39For it is written, "I will destroy the
12:41wisdom of the wise and the cleverness of
12:44the clever I will set aside." He's still
12:46against cleverness.
12:48He wants the church to hear the
12:50difference between anointed preaching
12:54that is the grace and presence of the
12:56Holy Spirit and clever reasoning.
13:00Oh, I've got an insight. Have you heard
13:02this? Well, what about this?
13:04Clever, clever, clever. But, God sets
13:07aside the cleverness of the clever.
13:11"Where is the wise man?" Paul asks.
13:14"Where is the scribe?
13:16Where is the debater of this age?"
13:19So, they must have been thinking they
13:21were wise, they must have been writing
13:23things, and they must have been debating
13:24things.
13:27Has not God made foolish the wisdom of
13:29this world? He's saying I don't want you
13:31to settle the argument based on how
13:33clever people are.
13:35I want you to settle the argument based
13:38on the fruit.
13:39Based on the way you received the
13:41preached word from me through the Holy
13:43Spirit.
13:45For since
13:48in the wisdom of God, the world through
13:52its wisdom did not come to know God,
13:56God was well pleased through the
13:58foolishness of the message preached to
14:01save those who believe.
14:04We are saved through the foolishness of
14:06preaching.
14:08And God is happy with that. He's well
14:10pleased with that. Why?
14:13Because
14:15nobody came to know God through head
14:17head knowledge. Nobody came to know God
14:20through the world's wisdom.
14:23So apparently, when people encounter the
14:25anointing in preaching, they're actually
14:28coming to know God.
14:30They're coming into a relationship where
14:33the Holy Ghost is speaking to them and
14:35they are responding.
14:37That's knowing God.
14:39For indeed, Jews ask for signs and
14:42Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach
14:46Christ crucified.
14:49To Jews, a stumbling block and to
14:51Gentiles, foolishness.
14:54But to those who are the called, both
14:57Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of
15:01God and the wisdom of God.
15:05We preach Christ crucified, the power of
15:08God.
15:10And the wisdom of God.
15:13Because the foolishness of God is wiser
15:15than man.
15:17And the weakness of God is stronger than
15:20man.
15:23For consider your calling, brethren,
15:28that there were not many wise according
15:30to the flesh,
15:32not many mighty,
15:34not many noble.
15:37But God has chosen the foolish things of
15:39the world to shame the wise.
15:43And God has chosen the weak things of
15:44the world to shame the things which are
15:47strong.
15:49He says, "I want you to think about your
15:51own yourselves.
15:52How many of you were intellectuals?
15:56How many of you were rich?
16:00How many of you were political and and
16:02had might?
16:04Not many wise, not many noble, not many
16:06mighty.
16:08The closer you are to worldly success,
16:11the less likely you are to recognize the
16:14power of God
16:16in the cross and the resurrection of the
16:18Holy Spirit.
16:21Think about your own calling. Think
16:23about how God brought you.
16:24He brought you in weakness.
16:26He brought you in simplicity.
16:29But God chose the foolish things of the
16:31world to shame the wise, and God chose
16:33the weak things of the world to shame
16:35the things that are strong.
16:37You see someone come in who's an addict?
16:41You see someone come in who's ruined
16:42their life on drugs?
16:45And in a meeting they hear the
16:46preaching, they receive the power of
16:48God, they're changed. What has God just
16:51done?
16:52He's chosen that weak person, the weak
16:54things of the world,
16:56and he's done something that all the
16:58universities and training can't do.
17:01He's overcome evil with good.
17:04He's brought forth the power of the
17:05Spirit.
17:06And the base things of the world and the
17:08despised God chose.
17:13The things that are not
17:16he chose so that he might nullify the
17:19things that are.
17:21God chose the families that weren't
17:23families
17:26to make a family out of them
17:28and the glory to go in the right
17:29direction.
17:31God chose
17:33those who didn't have sound minds.
17:36The foolish things
17:38so that when they were overcome by the
17:40spirit and grace of God and preached his
17:42wisdom, he would get all the glory.
17:49So that no man may boast before God.
17:53But by his doing
17:56you are
17:57in Christ Jesus
17:59who became to us wisdom from God and
18:02righteousness and sanctification and
18:04redemption, so that just as it is
18:07written, let him who boasts boast in the
18:09Lord.
18:10So in chapter 1
18:12Paul tells us
18:14we got divisions.
18:16Christ is divided. That needs to change.
18:19I command you because you're going to be
18:22partial if you don't overcome your
18:24disunity.
18:25And then he [music] starts showing us
18:29how their disunity is working.
18:31They think they're smart. They think
18:33they're clever. They think they're
18:35writers.
18:36They think they're something.
18:38And Paul is saying, all of that doesn't
18:40matter
18:41because what saved you was the power of
18:45God through the foolishness of anointed
18:47preaching.
18:49And you are getting away
18:52from the power of God
18:54and you're getting you're putting your
18:56trust in the wrong things.
18:58Does that make sense? [music]
18:59And so he finishes chapter 1 by saying
19:03stop boasting
19:05in the things that God rejected
19:07and boast in the things that God chose.
19:10Amen. So that whatever we boast in, it
19:13can go the honor and glory can go to
19:15God. And he says
19:18He says by his doing
19:21you are in Christ Jesus.
19:25You used to be out of Jesus.
19:27Jesus is a person, but that person is a
19:30place. [music]
19:32Jesus is a people. He's a house.
19:35He's a place.
19:37And Paul speaks of salvation [music] as
19:39being placed in Jesus.
19:42How did you get there? Did you get there
19:44by cleverness? Did you get there by
19:46wisdom? Did you get there by decision?
19:48How did you get there?
19:50You got there by his [music] doing.
19:53God worked. God moved. God convicted.
19:57God showed. God picked you up out of the
19:59kingdom of darkness and [music]
20:01transferred you into the kingdom of the
20:03son of his love. He put you in Jesus.
20:07And if you don't remember how you got
20:08there
20:09you're going to fall out of there.
20:11You're going to be led astray. You're
20:13going to be pulled out, led away from
20:15your confidence.
20:18Led away
20:19from Christ.
20:22>> [music]

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of 1 Corinthians 1 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams by Heritage Press, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 2,613 words across 485 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to translate the transcript into 100+ languages.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, translation to 100+ languages, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.