Christ Crucified – Pt 3

1 Corinthians 2:2 (NASB)

2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

1 Corinthians 3:1-23 (NLT)

1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 4 When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?

5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9 For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.

10 Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.

12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

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.

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,

20 And again,

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.

EXAMINE YOURSELF BY ASKING THESE FOUR QUESTIONS:

1. Are you jealous of one another?

2. Do you quarrel with one another?

3. Do you boast about following a particular human leader?

4. Are you trying to gain God’s wisdom by human effort alone?

God’s wisdom is revealed, not gained.

COMMUNITY GROUP MEETING OUTLINE

Where your faith intersects with real life!

Reconnect:

Each person shares a recent high and low from their life.

Explore:

Review the message notes.

Big Idea: God’s wisdom is revealed, not gained.

Consider:

Choose one or two questions for your Group to discuss as time allows.

▶ Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. What might you be tempted to be jealous of in someone else? What might someone be tempted to be jealous of in you? Instead, how could we celebrate the one who won?

▶ Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 again. On a scale of 1-10, how easy it for you to disagree without disrespecting? (1 is “very easy”- I avoid conflict, 10 is “very hard”- I feel like I need to share what I think no matter what). Share ideas with each other for how to disagree without disrespecting.

▶ Read 1 Corinthians 3:4-10. What human leaders come to your mind when you consider who you follow? How can you glean from a certain person without looking to human wisdom rather than asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom?

Activate:

Spend a moment in silence to consider your response, then share your decision with the Group.

1 Corinthians 3:18-20. Ask God to reveal to you somewhere in your life that you need wisdom from the Holy Spirit.

Prayer:

Thank God  for the highs and lift up the lows.

Ask God for wisdom from the Holy Spirit for us as individuals and for our church as we all move together as growing followers of Jesus.

Want to go deeper?:

Read through the book of Proverbs and ask the Holy Spirit to highlight specific thoughts about wisdom.