Nathan E. Lewis

Banner of Truth Trust has published a series, “Let’s Study the Bible,” edited by Sinclair Ferguson. To support my sermon series from I Corinthians, the Sermon Discussion Group at Evergreen Presbyterian Church has chosen the volume, “Let’s Study I Corinthians,” as its study guide. The author of it, including the questions listed below, is David Jackman, President of the Proclamation Trust and founder-director of the Cornhill Training Course in London.

Study One: I Corinthians 1:1-9

AIM = To appreciate the Lordship of Jesus Christ and to thank God for the blessings with which he has enriched his people.

1. Imagine that you are talking to a non-Christian friend about why you are studying I Corinthians. Your friend think that Paul’s writings offer just one of many possible ways of looking at the Christian life. How would you respond?

2. Christians are “sanctified” and “do not belong to anyone else but Christ” (chapter 1). How does this encourage you to fight against sin in your life?

3. Are you tempted to live any parts of your Christian life as a ‘lone ranger’?

4. What can you do to encourage and support other Christians more?

5. The Corinthians were Christians who, in many areas, had lost their focus on Jesus. In what areas of your life do you feel your focus on Jesus has been lost?

6. Do you find it difficult to thank God for the good things he does in the lives of other Christians? If so, why might this be?

7. Pray and thank God for the grace he has given to some other Christians you know.

8. ‘Speech and knowledge’ were areas of lifestyle the Corinthians struggled to honour Jesus in. How would you evaluate your living in these two areas of speech and knowledge?

9. Are you tempted to become depressed at failure in your Christian life, or caught up in a focus on present problems? What can you do to stay focused on God’s faithfulness and the future Day of Christ?

10. Thank God for the promise that he will ’sustain you to the end’.

Study Two: I Corinthians 1:10-17

AIM = To prize and promote Christian unity by focusing on the central mesage of the Cross.

1. Why is Paul so concerned that the church family be ‘united in the same mind and judgement?

2. What practical things can you do to help true Christian unity grow in your church? For example, is there somebody you could give an encouraging word? Do you need to say sorry to someone?

3. In what ways are you tempted to idolize Christian leaders?

4. How can you see a quest for spirituality and effective methods eclipse the message of the Cross today?

Study Three: I Corinthians 1:18 - 2:5

AIM = To show that God’s message and methods must be the means we use to promote God’s work in the church.

1. Why is it such foolishness to reject the message of the Cross?

2. Describe your understanding of hte worldly wisdom our culture preaches. How is the church led by the demands this modern culture makes?

3. Why do people find it so difficult to accept that what they most urgently need is not power or wisdom but salvation?

4. Are you determined to follow the crucified Christ despite people around you viewing Christianity as foolishness?

5. Why has God not simply chosen the best looking, most popular and influential people to be his church?

6. When do you boast in yourself rather than God?

7. ‘True Christians delight in Christ’ (p.28). What will this delight look like in your daily life?

8. Why was Paul not trying to make his preaching the most eloquent and polished media presentation available in Corinth?

9. You meet a pastor who leads a large church who thinks that good, relevat preaching must include flashy media presentations and computer displays. He defends his approach by saying that it works really well. How could you respond?

10. Are there any areas of your life where your faith is resting in ‘the wisdom of men’ rather than ‘in the power of God’?

11. Our culture encourages people to live in as much comfort as is reasonably possible. How does the Cross of Christ shatter this respectable approach to life?

Study Four: I Corinthians 2:6-16

AIM = To learn to thank God for the gift of his Spirit who gives us wisdom and understanding that we might know Christ in the Scriptures.

1. What is the eventful end of human wisdom that is man-centered and time-bound?

2. Why can we never work out God’s wisdom for ourselves?

3. What evidence do you see in your daily life of people failing to understand God’s secret wisdom?

4. How has it been made possible for you to know the thoughts of God?

5. What is the great work of the Spirit described in this passage?

6. You hear a teacher who says that in order to truly know God you must not just have the Spirit, but must also have a profound religious experience. How would you respond to this idea?

7. Why can the natural man not understand spiritual things?

8. It is impossible for the natural man to understand the things of God; how should this encourage us as we do evangelism?

Study 5: I Corinthians 3:1-15

AIM = To learn how to work together with God and in a way that will pass scrutiny of the coming judgment.

1. Are there any areas of life where you would like to be content with spiritual childishness?

2. What evidence does Paul produce in these verses to show that the Corinthians are childish Christians drifting back to worldly thinking?

3. What evidence do you see in the church today that we regard jealousy and factions less seriously than Paul did?

4. Is there anybody with whom you have disagreed in a worldly manner, and with whom you need to be reconciled?

5. Try to explain how the Cross is the paradigm of Christian ministry. (It may be helpful to consider how the world’s methods of leadership contrast with this.)

6. Are there any ministry areas that you are possessive of and have come to cherish as belonging to you rather than Jesus?

7. How should knowing that God will not compare our ministry with another person’s ministry change our attitudes and thinking?

8. What is the foundation upon which a church must be built?

9. What other foundations do people try and build churches on?

10. The Corinthians’ main concern is impressing the world around them; Paul’s aim is surviving the coming judgment. Which of these two perspectives dominates your thinking and church life?

11. How can you lovingly encourage other people in your church to keep a focus on future-looking ministry that will sruvive the coming judgment?

12. How does this passage help us deal with despair that our ministry does not look that impressive?

Study Six: I Corinthians 3: 16 -4:5

AIM = To see and evaluate wisdom, power and Christian ministry from God’s perspecctive.

1. How does Paul’s definition of the church transcend our more worldly definitions such as the “denomination’ or ‘building’?

2. Summarize the delusion the Corinthians are living under.

3. What does it mean to be a ‘Christian fool’?

4. How does the positive perspective of 3:21-23 help us to stop envying the wisdom and power of the world?

5. Read Matthew 9:36-38 and pray that God would raise up workers who have this Cross-focused sacrificial ministry.

6. What does Paul say is the correct standard by which to evaluate ministry?

7. When are you tempted to judge other people’s ministry?

8. How should our inability to judge our own secret motives change our thinking about our own ministry?

9. How should Paul’s focus on the future judgment affect our attitude to judging ministers today?

10. Are there any areas of ministry in which you are not being faithful?

Study Seven: I Corinthians 4:6-21

AIM = To learn that a powerful and fruitful Christian life is marked by self-denial and suffering for Christ’s sake.

1. What is the attitude that lies at the heart of the Corinthian problem?

2. How does a love of ‘extra-biblical revelation’ flow from this wrong attitude?

3. How does grace liberate Christians from the tyrannies of comparison and judgementalism?

4. Why is it wrong to think that we have already received all the riches God has for us?

5. How would you explain Paul’s view of the normal Christian life to an unbeliever?

6. When Paul faces suffering and hostility, how does his response reveal the amazing power of God?

7. How did God in Jesus resolve the conflict between humanity and heaven?

8. How does this provide a template for Paul’s resolution of the conflict between himself and the Corinthians?

9. How does Paul’s lifestyle relate to his teaching?

10. Why is it so urgent that we turn from forms of ministry and living that are focused on talk of our own power and ingenuity?

Study Eight: I Corinthians 5:1-13

AIM = To view sin in the light of the Cross and to understand the need for corporate discipline to keep the body of Christ pure and holy.

1. How would a corporate church approach to sexual ethics be different to the more individual approach we are most used to?

2. What should our reaction be to cases of sexual scandal within the church?

3. What does it mean for discipline to be an act of love?

4. What point does the illustration about leaven make?

5. How does the death of Jesus as our Passover Lamb lay upon us the greatest of responsibilities to get rid of sin?

6. What are the two extremes to which the church tends to swing regarding the nature of its relationship with the culture around it?

7. Is the church today known for sexual purity and loving, firm judgment of those within it?

8. What are the effects of a hard and critical spirit in dealing with matters of discipline?

9. Does your church have guidelines on how it would deal with a matter of discipline, should the event occur?

Study Nine: I Corinthians 6:1-11

AIM = To learn that the church is a family, the members of which are to love one another, and if mistreated to bear it, while seeking reconciliation within the church.

1. Why is it so wrong for Christians to get secular courts to settle their internal disagreements with each other?

2. What kind of problem in church life do we think of as legal which may in fact be spiritual?

3. Why is any court case between believers a defeat before the trial has begun?

4. Would you rather be wronged and cheated than stand by your ‘rights’?

5. Why is it necessary for Paul to warn us ‘not to be deceived’ regarding the concrete realities of moral demands in the church?

6. How does the example of the Corinthians in verse 11 hold out great hope for us?

Study Ten: I Corinthians 6:12-20

AIM = To realize that our union with Christ has very important implications for what we do with our bodies, and in particular, sexual purity.

1. What is the difference between true Christian liberty and license?

2. Are you engaged in behavior that is not beneficial to your Christian walk?

3. Are you engaged in behavior that enslaves and addicts you?

4. Why is what we do with our bodies in this life so important?

5. Why is it not possible for sex without commitment to be ‘loving’?

6. What situations do you need to flee from to avoid sexual immorality?

7. Why does sexual sin cause so much pain and damage to people?

8. List all the motivations Paul gives us to help us fight sexual temptations.

Study Eleven: I Corinthians 7:1-16

AIM = To realize our responsibilities to Christ and one another in marriage.

1. How do we respond to the accusation that Christianity is against sex?

2. What is Paul’s teaching to the married Christian couple?

3. Why is it important to remember that neither marriage nor singleness is necessarily permanent?

4. Are you tempted to think that the best way to improve your godliness would be simply by a change in the external situation?

5. What is Paul’s teaching to the unmarried and widows?

6. How does this differ from our surrounding culture?

7. What can you do to make single people feel more valuable in your church life?

8. What is Paul’s teaching to married Christian couples?

9. Why does God regulate and make provision for the breaking of his laws?

10. What is Paul’s teaching to a Christian married to a non-Christian?

Study Twelve: I Corinthians 7:17-40

AIM = To learn contentment with the place in life the Lord has appointed for us and to serve him in it.

1. Why does Paul urge people to stay as they are?

2. How does this contrast with the attitudes of our secular society?

3. How does a deeper appreciation of God’s sovereignty help us deal with a restless longing to change our life situation?

4. What is the supreme issue which concerns Paul regarding how we live our lives? Is this our concern?

5. Are you in danger of becoming a ’slave to men’ as you pursue a change of external circumstances?

6. What does it mean for a married man to live as if he is not married?

7. If you are single, are you using your gift of singleness to be devoted fully to the work of the Lord?

8. What can your church family do to encourage single and married people to use their respective gifts for the glory of God?

9. Are people in your church put under pressure either to stay single or get married?

10. Are you enjoying the liberty of being a slave to Christ in your present situation?

Study Thirteen: I Corinthians 8:1-13

AIM = To ensure that all our conduct is guided by love and not pride.

1. How does knowledge on its own ‘puff up’?

2. How does love change this situation?

3. Why can knowledge without love not lead to a person knowing God?

4. In what areas of your life are you using your knowledge in a way that is not loving?

5. How sensitive are you to young Christian converts?

6. In what kind of situations do you need to be careful not to upset a recent convert?

7. How does the Cross model for us sacrificial love and rights set aside for the benefit of others?

8. Are there any ways in which you sacrifice your freedom for the benefit of others?

Study Fourteen: I Corinthians 9:1-23

AIM = To embrace the ‘freedom’ of sacrificing your rights in order to further the cause of the gospel.

1. How does Paul defend his authority?

2. What rights does Paul say that he is entitled to in his ministry?

3. Why has Paul laid these rights aside?

4. Do you care enough about the gospel not to take up material privileges to which you feel entitled?

5. How deos the Cross of Jesus govern your life-style decisions?

6. Why does Paul want to be sacrificial in his ministry life-style?

7. What situations and cultural barriers do you feel uncomfortable crossing?

8. Will you become all things to all men in those situations to win some to Christ?

9. In what areas of your life can you change your attitudes and decisions so that you are living sacrificially to further the gospel?

Study Fifteen: I Corinthians 9:24 -10:5

AIM = To learn that discipline is an essential in living the Christian life.

1. Are you working hard and being disciplined for a crown that will fade?

2. What will you do to win the crown that lasts forever?

3. In what areas do you need to work at self-discipline?

4. Are you tempted to just think that everything will work out in the end?

5. Are you running the race in such a way as to finish well?

Study Sixteen: I Corinthians 10:6-22

AIM = To learn from the example of others the dangers of sexual immorality and idolatry and our responsibility to pursue the way of escape from these temptations that God provides.

1. What are the things that your heart runs after in addition to Jesus?

2. Why is sexual immorality incompatible with single-hearted love to God?

3. What does grumbling reveal about our heart’s attitude to God?

4. How does verse 11 help us deal with the objection that the Bible is not relevant to the modern person?

5. What are you going to do in response to the warning of verse 12?

6. What are the ‘ways of escape’ God has provided for the temptations that you face in normal life?

7. God provides a way out of temptation (v13) , what then is our responsibility?

8. How does communion show fellowship with God and Christians?

9. With what does idolatry bring us into fellowship?

10. Are there any areas in which you are subtly compromising and allowing idolatry a foothold in your heart?

Study Seventeen: I Corinthians 10: 23 - 11:1

AIM = To learn how to imitate Paul and Christ by seeking the good of others and the glory of God in everything.

1. What are the things which Paul says must control our exercise of freedom?

2. Who does your life influence? Is it an infulence that builds them up?

3. In what way should our view of the world be positive?

4. In what way should our view of the world be negative?

5. How can you change your behaviour to make your presentation of the gospel to non-Christians more consistent and compelling?

Study Eighteen: I Corinthians 11:2-16

AIM = To appreciate the distinct, yet dependent, roles of men and women in the church.

1. How should we react to the Bible passages that are difficult and which have been misused in the past?

2. What does headship mean?

3. How does the Trinity act as an example of a relationship where there is both authority and equality?

4. What will it mean for a man to be under the authority of his head in church?

5. What will it mean for a woman to be under the authority of her head in church?

6. Why does Paul see a need to emphasize the interdependence of men and women in their relationship with each other?

7. How does this teaching challenge our culture and offer answers to problems people face?

Study Nineteen: I Corinthians 11: 17-34

AIM = To learn how to partake of the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner.

1. How does the behaviour of the Corinthians at the Lord’s Supper contradict the reality of the Cross?

2. Do you see any of these attitudes in your church meetings?

3. How does the image of the broken bread help us grasp the fact that Jesus’ death was ‘for us’?

4. What does it mean for the cup to remind us of God’s covenant with us?

5. To what great task does our taking of the Lord’s Supper commit us?

6. How do we take the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner?

7. What will you do in preparation before you next take part in the Lord’s Supper?

Study Twenty: I Corinthians 12:1-31

AIM = To grasp the implications for unity and edification of being a member of a body that has many parts.

1. What is the purpose of gifts?

2. Why is speaking unintelligibly and being uncontrolled in behaviour unloving things to do?

3. How can you seek to benefit other Christians?

4. What could be done in your church to help people use their gifts for the building up of others in unity?

5. Do you act towards other Christians as if you are part of one body?

6. How does baptism provide a basis for our unity?

7. What are the two dangers we can face as part of a church body?

8. To which danger are you most tempted?

9. Why are word gifts important?

10. Why is it impossible for the gift of tongues to be the biblical proof a person is Spirit-filled?

Study Twenty-One: I Corinthians 13: 1-13

AIM = To see the crucial importance of love as the controlling motivation in all that we do in the service of Christ and his church.

1. Why is this section on love included in Paul’s letter?

2. What practical difference will love make to the use of our gifts?

3. Are you more impressed by love or gifts?

4. What things other than love can motivate Christians to great (futile!) acts of service and ministry?

5. What is the mark of true spirituality?

6. Why should this passage shame and humble us?

7. Are you holding on to past hurts done to you which hinder you from exercising love?

8. How does Paul extol the greatness of love in this passage?

9. What childish attitudes do you like to hold on to?

10. How does the future of heaven spur us on to the maturity of love in this life?

Study 22: I Corinthians 14:1-40

AIM = To grasp the vitally important place the ministry of the Word has in the edification of the church.

1. How is the church most edified today, in terms of its public spoken ministry? How can we best support this in our local congregations?

2. In an age where ’spin’ and ‘image’ are frequently regarded as more important than truth and content, how does Paul’s argument in this section nerve us to be counter-cultural?

3. What evidences in our thinking as Christians today remind us that the old Greek dualism of body and spirit, physical and spiritual, secular and sacred still persist? What is the remedy?

4. How do we see Paul’s pastoral ability demonstrated in this passage?

5. What will it mean for you to be an infant in evil, but mature in your thinking?

6. What does it mean for tongues to be a sign for unbelievers?

7. Do most people who ’speak in tongues’ understand the phenomena in a biblical way?

8. What is so different about prophecy, that it is able to have a positive effect on people?

9. What were the problems in the Corinthian meetings that Paul sought to correct?

10. How do we see the concern for order in the corrective teaching?

11. What will it mean for a woman to ‘be in submission’?

12. What will happen to anybody who ignores Paul’s teaching on these matters?

13. How would you define Christian maturity from this passage?

Study 23: I Corinthians 15:1-11

AIM = To learn that we are saved by believing and continuing to believe the contents of the same gospel that Paul and his fellow apostles preached.

1. Are you holding firmly to the same gospel by which you were saved?

2. What is the content of this gospel?

3. What does it mean for Christ to die ‘according to the Scriptures’?

4. What would you say to a person who believes that the resurrection of Jesus was spiritual and non-physical?

5. How has the grace of God changed you?

Study 24: I Corinthians 15:12-34

AIM = To grasp the fact of Christ’s resurrection and its implications for Christian life and mission.

1. Why may the Corinthians have denied the resurrection?

2. What are the results of denying the reality of Jesus’ resurrection?

3. How does the resurrection of Jesus encourage you to suffer patiently and with confidence?

4. Are you often tempted to forget the importance of Jesus’ resurrection? Take some time now to thank God for it.

5. What is the essence of the contrast between Adam and Christ?

6. What are we still waiting for in the process of God’s plan, as described here?

7. How does the certain knowledge that death will be defeated give us strength to live Cross-centered lives?

8. What things do you do in your life that shows you are living for the future rather than the present?