6th September 2026 : 1 Corinthians ch 1 v 10 - 24

1 Corinthians ch 1 v 10 - 24

I'd like to read to you from the Word of God now, from 1 Corinthians. And this is 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 10 to 24.

And from your readings in the Bible, you'll understand that the Apostle Paul had a great many concerns for the church at Corinth. And because they were doing a lot of things wrong. If ever you want to know whether you're doing something wrong, have a look at the Corinthians and if it corresponds to anything they did, you can smack your own hand.

From verse 10, chapter 1, this is the word of God. 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'm of Apollos, or I'm of Cephas, or I am of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptize none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptize the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. But 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 that is emptied of its power. But the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it's the power of God, for it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent, the philosopher. 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 its wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. The Jews request a sign and Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks, Gentiles, 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.

Let's pray. Bless the word to us, Lord. You've written wonderful things to us, wonderful letters, wonderful psalms. Speak them, Lord, in the spirit to us, Lord. Speak them right to the heart of those who need to hear and go over and above what I say and say what you say. But Lord, in Jesus' name, just bless us in the word that we might know your purpose and just exactly what it is for our own life in Jesus' name. Amen.

There's some power points in this passage. If I work backwards or work from the back and go back to the front, if you will, I'd start in verse 22 and then we'd look at verses 12 to 14 more closely for today than perhaps the rest because it concerns baptism. St Paul wrote to the Corinthians about many things, but you'll see if you read right through the letter and that's your homework, that he mentioned baptism at least three times. The passage we read together, then in chapter 10, verses 1 to 4, and he also mentions baptism again in chapter 15, right at the end of the letter in verse 29. And at the end of the letter he said, why are some of you being baptized for dead people?

You'd have to read it through to get the background and context of that. And what they were doing at Corinth, if somebody died and they'd never been baptized, somebody else would say, well, I'll be baptized in their place. Hallelujah. I've never seen that done anywhere. Okay. And I would say that it is wrong. You can't be baptized for somebody else. And nobody can do that for you. You've got to be baptized for yourself. It's your faith. It's your relationship with God. It's with your lips that you confess. It's with your heart that you believe. And when God calls you, it's for you to get in the water.

And they were doing some peculiar things there, but three times at the beginning, at the end and in the middle roughly, Paul brings this subject of baptism up. And doesn't it, isn't it fascinating, beloved, how it's so much a bone of contention for so many people? They go, I'm all right. I live next door to a minister, so I'm saved, or something daft like that. Or I was done as a baby. I'm okay. They weren't conscious, but they were done. And never mind. And as though it's a formula. There is no formula. It's about relationship. Your relationship with him. Is it real? Are you his?

This is the point and it's stressed many times in this letter. In chapter 10, 1 Corinthians 10 verses 1 to 4, Paul paints us a very peculiar picture in one sense with words saying that in the Old Testament people were baptized into Moses. Do you know how that happened? He said you were baptized into a cloud, the cloud of the pillar of fire and the pillar that oversaw all their journey. If they were in that or the cloud came upon them, it was a form of baptism. That's what we're told there. This is interesting. And he also said that they were baptized in the sea. You know how God piled up the water so that they could walk through. But that was a figure of baptism and said in those days and in the days of Moses, isn't that a figure for you? That they went through the waters that God provided and led them through.

Is God leading you through the waters today? Or would you rather stand back and say, oh, it doesn't matter, you know, never mind God's blessing, never mind God's purpose, even if he piles the water up in a heap like he did the Red Sea and the Jordan, I'm not doing it, you know. And the Apostle Paul is, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote to them saying, look, that was done for you. There's enough information there for you to act upon. And we come right back to our reading.

I'll start in verse 22 because, you know, it's peculiar. Two things, one concerns the Jews and the rest, and the other thing concerns everybody else, what we call the Gentiles. The Jews look for signs. That's what it says there. Paul himself had been a Jew before he was a Christian, and in one sense he always remained a Jew. But he said it's a peculiarity that they're not happy unless they see miracles all the time. You consider when Jesus walked the earth and in his gospel ministry, there were people stood around us and saying, show us a sign, show us a sign, prove who you are. And he said, even if you see somebody rise from the dead, you still won't believe because that's not what faith depends on.

It's not the signs, you'll forget them tomorrow. You'll need to see another and another. Even if it snows miracles every day, that doesn't prove God. It doesn't. There are such a thing as false miracles. Well, the Jews look for signs all the time rather than faith. And that's where they stumbled. They had no faith. They were unable to go in and possess because of unbelief. And then the Gentiles, well, they're looking for an academic experience. So perhaps somebody could stand in front of them and explain the gospel and then eventually they go, I understand now. You're quite right. I think I'll become a Christian.

You can't be saved like that. Salvation is from the Lord. When he introduces himself to you, when he makes himself known to you, is he making himself known to you now? The conviction of the Holy Spirit. He does what he promises. When the Spirit comes, he'll convict people of sin. He has to show you your sin, otherwise you can't repent of it. You can't repent of something you've never seen. No, God comes with conviction first, and also of judgment and of salvation. And he shows you so that you know exactly what's happening when his spirit enters into his temple. Are you his temple? Then you're not depending on anything else but that relationship with him.

All right, so we come back to verses 12 to 14. And what were they doing at Corinth? This is the first thing that the apostle was concerned about. Day one, week one, lesson one, he said, you're a bunch of hero worshippers. He did, read it. So some of you follow Apollo, some Cephas, some somebody else, some Paul and some Christ. Hold it right there. Who was crucified for you? Who was crucified for you? Who bled for you? Who was buried for you? Who went to hell for you? Who rose from the dead for you? Who ascended to where he is now for you and guarantees a place with him in eternity for you? Who is he? What's his name?

Thank you for that. Yeah, God bless you. That's the right answer. I've met so many people who say, oh, are you one of those people? Are you one of those Christians? I believe in God, you know. I say, oh, do you? And then they start going on. I say, well, what's his name? What do you call him? And they're dumbfounded. They don't know what to say. I say, well, who's crucified for you? What is his name? What is the name above all names? Well, the Corinthians probably couldn't answer that. They were worshipping other things. I'm a disciple of Apollos or, Titus or somebody else. And that word in verse 12 to 14 says, just hold it right there. Worship the Lord your God and him only. And if he makes his name known to you, reverence it because it's precious.

But then he goes on to say in verse 14, he said something really peculiar. Have you ever seen this before? He said, I'm glad, I'm ever so glad, ever so glad I didn't baptize any of you. Funny thing to say. It's a privilege, isn't it, to see people baptize and sometimes you think, well, I don't mind doing that. But Paul says, I'm glad I didn't do it for you folks, because you've got it all wrong. Who are you being baptised into? This is something people need to be certain of. You're being baptised into Christ. You're being baptised into all that he is, all that he's done, all that he's doing and all that he will be in your life when your eyes are opened as Pat testified and you see it like he's showing it to you.

And we often lose sight of that, don't we? That's the reality. Christ in you, the hope of glory. That's faith from start to finish, first to last. That's what you live by. Now what more can God do for you? People need convincing. They often say, it's not my time yet. I don't know about it yet. I struggled like that when I first became a Christian. I remember a bloke doing a Bible study on baptism. And I was quite rude to him. That's the, that's rubbish that, I was done as a baby. I've been there myself. Do you know why? Because I was blind. I couldn't see. I was reading the Bible regularly and I still didn't see this is for me. More than that, I didn't see that that's what God wanted for me.

But when he began to convict me and show me, I made all kinds of excuses. So I said I'll think about it, and then maybe it'll be time somewhere. I'll see, and beloved, what more can God do for you? The water, the pool, it's over there. It's over there. Do you think your appearance today is an accident? Nonsense, it's the providence of God. All that he's done for you is sealed in the blood of Christ. What more do you want him to do? What more convincing or conviction do you need? We make all kinds of it.

Well, we resist the Holy Spirit, we do. May the Lord give those resisting today the eyes to see what God is speaking now. He's done everything necessary for you to be baptized in faith and into the love of God in Christ Jesus. And now all that remains is for you to come to Christ. And that might be that some folks have never actually come to Christ. They say, this person you're talking about, I have to be, do you know, Roger, I just don't know him. I'm not certain. Well, you can come as well. You can come for prayer. Don't be shy. Don't be embarrassed. Remember, wouldn't it be better to do that, to lose your life in a body of sin? Let Christ cleanse you and let Christ wash you. Amen.

Let's just pray briefly. Lord, in the precious name of Jesus, lead us out of error, lead us out of sin, lead us out of all our perspective and all our self-concerns. Lead us out, Lord. Deliver us as you delivered your people from Egypt. Deliver us also from our trials and struggles and concerns and hurts, our anxieties, our unbelief and our sins. And face us, Lord, open our eyes with that which you're speaking to us today in Jesus' precious name. Amen.