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SIGNIFICANT NOTES ON I & II CORINTHIANS I Corinthians 1:8: This is a great eternal security promise for all believers. It doesn’t say that we will be damned if we fail to endure unto the end. It says that God will confirm us until the end.I Corinthians 1:18: So much for the celebrity preachers who seek the praise of men. If you preach like you are supposed to, you will be thought a fool.I Corinthians 1:21: Similar to the above verse. Preaching is viewed by the world as being foolish, and even by many Christians.I Corinthians 1:22: The Jews do not “request” a sign, as the new perversions say; they require a sign. That is, by nature, as a part of their national and racial heritage, they require a sign. Israel began with signs (Exo. 4), and God gave them signs all throughout the Old Testament. In Psalm 74:9 they even said, “We see not our signs.” Also see Luke 21:7, John 2:18, John 6:30, Matthew 16:1, and Matthew 12:39.I Corinthians 2:14-15: The natural man lives only in the physical and carnal realm, so he never has to discern between flesh and spirit. Consequently, he likes going around and saying that it’s wrong to judge. But verse fifteen makes it clear that Christians must judge. There’s no way to serve God without it. We should not seek to judge people unnecessarily and condemn them—a rush to judgment—but judgment between good and evil is necessary daily.I Corinthians 3:1-7: Christians who play campground Christianity or clubhouse Christianity are “babes,” according to the Bible. Preachers are only ministers by whom we believe. They deserve our respect and gratitude, but they do not deserve our worship.I Corinthians 5:1-5: This is one of the best eternal security passages in the New Testament. One would think that Paul would write such a sinner off as a lost and condemned man, but he counted him a Christian in need of chastening, not a sinner in need of hell.I Corinthians 6:3: The reference is to the white throne judgment of Revelation 20:11-15 where Christians are standing on the Lord’s side and assisting in the judgment of the world and the angels. Daniel 7:10 even says that we will minister unto him. Paul’s reasoning is that since the Corinthian believers will one day judge angels, why can’t they judge among themselves when necessary instead of fighting like babies.I Corinthians 6:19-20: This is a good passage to keep in mind always, but especially when things aren’t going so well. I belong to God. My body is His temple (I Cor. 3:16-17). He is personally invested in me, so He cares about every problem and trial that I have. I serve Him, not myself, and all glory and praise goes to Him.I Corinthians 8:5: So it’s wrong to say that God is worshipped under many names. We worship Jehovah, our Creator and Redeemer, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.I Corinthians 10:4: A great verse, indeed. That rock was obviously not Christ literally. So Paul is teaching typology without even saying it. The rock was a type of Christ, as are numerous other things in the Old Testament, even though it isn’t usually pointed out. Those are nuggets for us to find, not prepared meals for us to eat. I Corinthians 10:13: Satan sends temptations, but God always provides a way of escape. The verse also assures us that the temptations we face are “common to man.” We often feel that other Christians don’t face the kinds of temptations that we do, but this isn’t true. With millions of Christians living in the world today, it is likely that your exact temptation is common to thousands of other believers. God thinks no less of you than them. Besides, having a temptation isn’t a sin anyway; it’s yielding to the temptation that constitutes sin.I Corinthians 10:32: These are the three classes of people that are addressed in the Bible. Some scripture is aimed at Jews, some at Gentiles, and some at the church. Failure to acknowledge this leads to much confusion.I Corinthians 11:19: A very instructive verse. True believers shine even brighter when contrasted to the numerous heretics teaching false doctrine. “Every community needs a good garbage dumpster for collecting all the trash.”I Corinthians 11:30-32: This passage explains why some Christians are weak, sick, and even dead. God, being a good Father, chastens His children when they are disobedient. In some cases this can even lead to severe sickness or death. See Hebrews 12:4-10.I Corinthians 12:3: In their haste to prove that they have the Holy Ghost, the charismatics have latched on to the phrase “Jesus is Lord.” Had they slowed down and read “every word” (Mat. 4:4), perhaps they would have taken note of the fact that the verse says, “no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” Omitting the definite article and simply saying “Jesus is Lord” is no better than what the unsaved world confesses one day, according to Philippians 2:11.I Corinthians 12:8-11: This is a good passage to keep in mind on spiritual gifts. Also note that tongues are not given any special importance over the other gifts, and they are called “diverse kinds of tongues,” not unknown tongues. This corresponds to the “new tongues” of Mark 16:17 and the “other tongues” of Acts 2:4. These are known and established languages, not senseless gibberish.I Corinthians 12:13: No one drinks of the literal water when being baptized in water. This is a spiritual baptism that all believers receive upon being saved. They are baptized by and sealed with the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30). Also see Galatians 3:26-27.I Corinthians 15:1-58: The whole chapter deals with the first resurrection. Every believer should be familiar with it.I Corinthians 15:51-52: A good passage on the rapture to go with I Thessalonians 4:13-18.I Corinthians 16:2: Christians worship on the first day of the week, not on the Sabbath, which is the seventh day of the week (Acts 20:7). The first day worship speaks of a new life in Christ, as opposed to a continuation of the Old Testament covenant.II Corinthians 1:3-4: This is one of reasons for Christian suffering: that we might be better prepared to comfort others in their suffering.II Corinthians 2:17: The verse is altered in the new Bible perversions with the word “corrupt” being changed to “peddle” or something similar. Naturally, those guilty of corrupting the word of God do not wish to be exposed.II Corinthians 4:16-5:1: A great passage that calls us to focus on the unseen world rather than on this present world, and it reminds us that our bodies are nothing more than earthly tabernacles that will be dissolved so we can move on up to our heavenly tabernacle.II Corinthians 5:10-11: The passage deals with the special judgment for Christians called the “judgment seat of Christ,” also mentioned by name in Romans 14:10 and described in I Corinthians 3:11-15. No one goes to hell at this judgment. Christians are simply judged for their conduct as believers while living out their lives on earth.II Corinthians 5:17: A great memory verse for all Christians. The new birth produces a new creature, not just someone who makes a profession and continues to live after the world.II Corinthians 5:21: It’s not enough to say that Jesus died and rose again for us; He was made sin for us. What exactly is meant by that, I am not sure. It at least means that He entered a foreign realm, one that was unworthy of His presence, and it at least means that He, the holy Son of God, came in touch with something dirty and defiling so that we could come in touch with God’s holiness. But what it means exactly to be made sin is beyond this writer’s comprehension.II Corinthians 9:6-8: A great passage on giving. Cheerful giving is the New Testament rule. Also see Luke 6:38.II Corinthians 10:3-6: This is a good passage on spiritual warfare. Our battles are supposed to be spiritual, not carnal, though the only battles that some Christians know how to fight are carnal battles. The focused believer acknowledges that his mind is prone to wander from the will of God and that his fleshy members are prone to do likewise. Being saved just isn’t enough. A conscious effort must be made continually to bring the mind in check and to cast down all that is contrary to Christ. This is a war that is never won while we live in this world. We win and lose battles, but the war continues until the Lord calls us home.II Corinthians 10:12: Compare yourself to the Lord, and you will always see room for improvement. Compare yourself to man, and you will become proud and fruitless as a believer.II Corinthians 11:13-15: Satan has ministers, and, like wolves and sheep clothing, they pass off as ministers of Christ. It is by the fruit, not their words, that we are to know them (Mat. 7:15-20).II Corinthians 12:2: So there are three heavens. The third heaven that Paul speaks of here is up where the Lord and the angels are (Mat. 5:34). The second heaven is what we call space, the abode of the sun, moon, and stars (Deu. 4:19). Then the first heaven is the earth’s atmosphere (Gen. 1:20). Another way to remember it is that the first heaven is where the birds fly, the second one is where the rockets fly, and the third one is where the angels fly.II Corinthians 12:12: Notice that the signs of an apostle are spoken of in the past tense, just as they are in Hebrews 2:3-4. The apostolic signs were for the conversion of first century Jews, not for the entertainment of twenty-first century charismatics.II Corinthians 13:14: Notice that one must go through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ before finding the love of God.