1 Corinthians Week 7

Day 1 

READ 

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 

¹⁶ Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? ¹⁷ God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 

Although each believer in Jesus is considered to be a temple of the Holy Spirit, Paul seems to be referring here to the collective group in the local church. This is because the “you” is plural in the Greek text. The local church that is made up of those who are Christ-followers is also seen as God’s temple. It would be serious for anyone with false teaching to seek to destroy it. 

REFLECT 

As a believer in Jesus, do you realize that the Holy Spirit lives in you as well as in other believers? 

RESPOND 

Join with another believer and read 1 Corinthians 6:15-20. This passage reveals that even though the Holy Spirit is everywhere present, He also resides in the inner person of every believer in Jesus.  

Day 2 

READ 

1 Corinthians 3:18-20 

¹⁸ Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.” ²⁰ And again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; he knows they are worthless.” 

No matter how wise a person is with this world’s wisdom, that wisdom is considered as foolishness in comparison to God’s wisdom. In verse 19 Paul cites Job 5:13. In verse 20 he cites Psalm 94:11. Paul was thoroughly acquainted with the Hebrew Scriptures and often drew parallels to them. 

REFLECT 

When a cross reference is given in your copy of the Scriptures, do you take time to look it up? It is a good way to do Bible study. 

RESPOND 

Apparently those in the Corinthian church were being impressed with some teachers who seemed to be wise but were not teaching the true gospel. Paul did not want those believers to have their confidence in those who only pleased their hearing. See 2 Timothy 4:1-4 in this regard. 

Day 3 

READ 

1 Corinthians 3:21-23 

²¹ So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you— ²² whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, ²³ and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. 

Paul reminded them of the debate they were having about who was the best human leader. He had chided them over this in 1 Corinthians 3:3-4. As he returned to this issue he mentioned himself first as he listed “whether Paul or Apollos or Peter.” Paul did not want them being followers of him or others. He wanted the Corinthian believers to realize they had all they needed in Jesus. 

REFLECT 

Do you realize that God has given you a divine teacher because He has given every believer the Holy Spirit? 

RESPOND 

Join with a friend in seeing some Bible references to the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Examine passages such as John 14:26; 15:26; 1 Timothy 4:1. 

Day 4 

READ 

1 Corinthians 4:1-2 

¹ So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries. ² Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. 

Apparently some in the Corinthian church were especially impressed with Apollos. Perhaps he had a more illustrious oratory than the apostle Paul. The believers needed to be reminded that the most important thing about any servant—as both Apollos and he were—is faithfulness.  

REFLECT 

Can you always be counted on to do what you say you will do? That is being faithful. 

RESPOND 

Talk with a friend about the importance of being faithful. Read Luke 16:10 that records what Jesus said about this. 

Day 5 

READ 

1 Corinthians 4:3-4 

³ As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. ⁴ My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. 

Others were evaluating who had the better ministry among them. Paul did not pay any attention to what they thought nor did he even evaluate his own feelings. He would leave it to the Lord to make the true evaluation. 

REFLECT 

Although you should not do things with the wrong motive, it is not wise to keep doing introspection. You can spend so much time looking inward you have little time to look outward to others.  

RESPOND 

Matthew 7:1 says not to judge or you will be judged. Yet verse 7:6 says “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.” This would include making judgments about what falls in the category of pearls and who falls in the category of pigs. Actions can be judged; what cannot be judged are motives. Talk about this with a friend.