by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
16Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
11Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. 12We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
9Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad....
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
5Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. 6Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— 7for we walk by faith, not by sight— 8we are of good...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
1For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, 3inasmuch as we, having...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
16Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18while we look not at the things which...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
13But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak, 14knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. 15For all things are...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
11For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12So death works in us, but life in you. As we pointed out earlier, this second letter of Paul’s is his most...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
11For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12So death works in us, but life in you. Death and life are inextricably linked—ever since the fall in the garden....
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; 8we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
6For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. One of the simplest concepts in Scripture is that of seeing the light—that is, simple in terms...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For we do not...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
1Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, 2but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
… 16but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
12Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, 13and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. 14But their minds were hardened; for until this...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
… 6[God] also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
4Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. 5Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
1Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? 2You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
16… And who is adequate for these things? 17For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God. Paul’s critics were concerned with his motivation for preaching the gospel, so he felt...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 15For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16to the one...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
12Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord, 13I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I went on to Macedonia. Rich biographical data occurs throughout Paul’s letters...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
9For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. 10But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
5But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree—in order not to say too much—to all of you. 6Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, 7so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
1But I determined this for my own sake, that I would not come to you in sorrow again. 2For if I cause you sorrow, who then makes me glad but the one whom I made sorrowful? 3This is the very thing I wrote you, so that when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
23But I call God as witness to my soul, that to spare you I did not come again to Corinth. 24Not that we lord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are standing firm. 1But I determined this for my own sake, that I would not...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
20For as many as are the promises of God … 21Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, 22who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. Promises of God form the foundation for our sanctification. To be sure, we are...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
19For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes in Him. 20For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
15In this confidence I intended at first to come to you, so that you might twice receive a blessing; 16that is, to pass your way into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be helped on my journey to Judea. 17Therefore, I was not vacillating...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
12For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you. 13For we write nothing else to you than what...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
8For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
6But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; 7and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
5For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. That the sufferings of Christ are abundant in terms of their benefits to us is clear in the NT Scripture. Paul wrote in another place: “But God demonstrates...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
… 4who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. A little-understood truth of the Christian life—in fact, one of the central aspects of living a...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our affliction … How does one bless God, who is “blessed forever” (Rom. 1:25, 9:5, 2 Cor. 11:31)? We cannot add anything to God, who is the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia: 2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. As this was Paul’s fourth...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
22… Maranatha. 23The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. “Maranatha”is a hopeful word, translated literally as “our Lord, come” and used in Scripture only here. Some scholars believe it came from an expression in...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
22If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed… “Anathema”—that’s a powerful Greek word, translated “accursed.” The apostle Paul used the word four times, reserving it for his gravest denunciation. Twice he used it concerning anyone who would...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
19The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. 20All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. 21The greeting is in my own hand—Paul. Greetings were important ways of...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
15Now I urge you, brethren (you know the household of Stephanas, that they were the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves for ministry to the saints), 16that you also be in subjection to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
13Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14Let all that you do be done in love. Amidst personal greetings, Paul slips in a personal challenge that would certainly reflect on the example of Timothy and Apollos. To minister to the Corinthians...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
12But concerning Apollos our brother, I encouraged him greatly to come to you with the brethren; and it was not at all his desire to come now, but he will come when he has opportunity. Described as “an eloquent man … and mighty in the Scriptures” before he came to the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
10Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid, for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am. 11So let no one despise him. But send him on his way in peace, so that he may come to me; for I expect him with the brethren. The best-known...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
5But I will come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I am going through Macedonia; 6and perhaps I will stay with you, or even spend the winter, so that you may send me on my way wherever I may go. 7For I do not wish to see you now just in passing; for I hope to...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
1Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. 3When I arrive, whomever you...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
53For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
50Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
45So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48As...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. 42So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 43it is sown in dishonor,...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
35But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” 36You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; 37and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
33Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 34Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. The inspired apostle Paul was not ashamed to use shaming as a motivational technique, this...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
29Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? 30Why are we also in danger every hour? 31I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
23But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, 24then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25For He must reign until He...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
20But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. Leaving the argument by...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
15Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17and if Christ has not...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
12Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14and if Christ has not been raised, then our...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
… 8and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. 9For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain;...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
… 5and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles … Wouldn’t it be great if we...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared … The facts are the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“1Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.” This passage begins...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“39Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. 40But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.” Since there is much space devoted to tongues in this chapter and much division among those who...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“39Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. 40But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.” Concluding his teaching on spiritual gifts, the apostle Paul circles back to his earlier...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“37If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. 38But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.” Paul anticipated he would end up in the crosshairs of...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“34The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. 35If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“34The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. 35If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“27If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; 28but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. 29Let two or three prophets speak,...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“26What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation.” Summarizing his teaching, the apostle Paul brings it all together. Spiritual gifts are distributed with...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“23Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? 24But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“20Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. 21In the Law it is written, ‘By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangersI will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“16Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the ‘Amen’ at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? 17For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“13Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“10There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning. 11If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be to the one who speaks a barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a barbarian to me. 12So also...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“6But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or of knowledge or of prophecy or of teaching? 7Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
5Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but evenmore that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying. If chapter 13 can be called the “love chapter,” then...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
1Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 2For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. 3But one who prophesies speaks to men for...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“1Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 2For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. 3But one who prophesies speaks to men for...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“13But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” The “greater gifts” of which “the more excellent way is love” (1 Cor. 12:31) include faith and hope. Did you notice how these latter two are woven into the love chapter?...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“8Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10but when the perfect comes, the partial will be...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“8Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10but when the perfect comes, the partial will be...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“8Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.” Love never fails! It never, never, never, never fails. The underlying Greek construction is...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“…6does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Love relates to truth, which sounds lofty and possibly has inspired many toward higher education and the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered …” This sonnet to love, 1 Corinthians 13, is...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“3And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” Nothing causes more stress in Christian circles than to talk about money. Either the church is criticized for...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“2If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” Spiritual gifts (prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, faith) are given by God for use among...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“1If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” Among the most well-known of Bible passages, the Love Chapter provides a powerful sonnet of a life saturated with meaning and...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? But...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.” What about the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.” Innumerable books...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” When one person in the local church suffers, it should not be at the hands of the other Christians. In Corinth, some suffered food...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.” Repetition is the means of emphasis, as the apostle lays out his response to the divisiveness caused by the abuse of spiritual gifts. Many are...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.” Varieties of gifts, ministries, and effects. Same...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says,...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.” Paul understood a letter couldn’t cover all the Corinthians’ issues. His tome was not exhaustive, but was sufficient for the time being. But what about us today? Who of us hasn’t wished the Lord had given...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.” Can a person really die from abusing the Lord’s Supper? Such punishment seems...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
‘But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.’ Examination goes hand in hand with the Lord’s Supper. No one else can do it for us; we must scrutinize our own soul. To sit quietly and look contemplative in...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.” Paul shames the Corinthians. They had desecrated the Lord’s Supper; their behavior was reprehensible. They had...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
We must not miss the positive truth that God highly esteems women and their beauty. Although the word “beauty” does not appear in this passage (1 Cor. 11:1–16), it is difficult not to see the comparison between God’s glory and the woman’s glory (reflected in and...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.” The final argument for the headship symbolism in this extended passage (1 Cor. 11:3–16) is that of universal practice of the churches of Paul’s day. In...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.” As the old saying goes, we always ask, “What is the ‘therefore’ there for?” In explaining the practice of head-covering, the apostle has appealed to the theology...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake … However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as the woman...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.” To be sure, the place and time where these truths apply is debatable, particularly how we understand “while praying or prophesying”...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved. For if a woman...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.” One...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.” The issue...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.” Theology had been largely settled on the relationship between the Father and the Son, in particular the subordination of...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.” One of the most misunderstood principles in the NT is Paul’s penchant for...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But if anyone says to you, ‘This is meat sacrificed to idols,’ do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake; I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake; for the earth is the Lord’s, andall it contains. If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.” Forgiven you can be if you think Paul repeats himself. Earlier he wrote: All things are...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?” Were some Corinthian Christians secretly (or...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play.” Nor let us act immorally, as...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.” What value is there in the OT for Christians today? Of course, many find solace in the book of Psalms. The book of Job helps sufferers and...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink,...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But I have used none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than have any man make my boast an empty one. For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“I am not speaking these things according to human judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” God is not concerned about oxen, is He? Or is He speaking...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“My defense to those who examine me is this: Do we not have a right to eat and drink? Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.” The issue of freedom was not a slam-dunk for...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. And...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” So idols do not exist, because there is one and only one God. Therefore, if a Christian happens to buy food in the marketplace that has been used in idol...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat,...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.”...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But if any man thinks that he is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter, if she is past her youth, and if it must be so, let him do what he wishes, he does not sin; let her marry. But he who stands firm in his heart, being under no constraint, but has...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“… Yet such [married people] will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; and those who weep, as though they did...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. I think then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you bound to a...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
‘Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. I think then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is.” Paul continues...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that. For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. You were bought...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches. Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“… if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away.” Under what circumstances, if...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife. But to the rest I...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” Young Christians get tied up in knots over this...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But this I say by way of concession, not of command. Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that.” This passage poses a number of interpretive challenges. First, if...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. But this I say by way of concession, not of command. Yet I...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. What, no touching?! On first reading, many single people...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” Sexual sin is unique in that it attacks the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.” We as believers are now “one spirit” with Christ. The apostle is...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says,...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. “Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren.” Nothing could be more...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people” Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians has been lost to antiquity! What we call “1 Corinthians” was his second actual letter to them. In fact, he seems to have written at least four letters...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you....
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I exhort you,...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other.” Example that he was,...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.” Pride of the pulpit; arrogance of leadership? It is indeed a heady thing to...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.” Since God’s...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, ‘he is the one who catches the wise in...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” Temples, the places where deities supposedly...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. Applying his theology of “Christ and Him crucified,”...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God....
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
… for if they had understood it [God’s wisdom] they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God....
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. The most autobiographical of all his writings, Paul’s...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” The acronym RSS in internet lingo means “Really Simple...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God....
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. Making disciples was what Jesus sent His apostles to do, and that included baptism (Matt. 28:19). Paul talked about many...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? Specificity was Paul’s order of the...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
… so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus...
by Chuck Gianotti | 1 & 2 Corinthians
The apostle Paul directed these two letters, 1 & 2 Corinthians, to a struggling church. While other local congregations wrestled with persecutions from unbelievers, this fellowship of believers was wracked with internal and personal issues, hamstringing their...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
Because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us … (Luke 1:78) This final epithet of God we are considering reflects on the newness, the freshness of God’s coming into the world in the fullness of re-creation. The dawn conjures...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
… they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10) The cry of the heart reverberates through the heavens to the Sovereign Master of the...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation … (Hebrews 5:8–9) Eternal security is a wonderful doctrine! Although the precise English...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David …” (Luke 1:32) Superlatives convey absolutes, beyond which nothing else compares. Jesus Christ, as told by the tongue of an angel, would be...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ,...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them,...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. (Matthew 18:11). As Son of Man, Jesus showed not only His humanness, but also what true humanity looks like. We humans were created in God’s image, have fallen, but are now restored through the perfect image of...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. (Matthew 18:11). A favorite way Jesus referred to Himself was as “Son of Man” in contrast to “Son of David,” which He was reticent to use. Used primarily in the gospel accounts in the NT, it finds common use in...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham … (Matthew 1:1) “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” [The Pharisees] said to Him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
… for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11) The descriptor “Savior” is actually used in the gospel accounts only three times: once by Mary the mother of the earthly Jesus, once in the angelic announcement...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.” (Matthew 2:6) The idea of Jesus being a ruler of His people is multi-faceted. In context, Micah’s...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.” (Matthew 2:6) From earliest times, God’s image bearers have desired to follow a leader. We were created...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” (Revelation 22:16) Understanding the connection between Jesus and the beloved David is crucial to fully grasping the...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers … all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:1–4) We often proclaim, “Jesus is our Rock,” extolling...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you. (Acts 3:22). Peter’s sermon shortly after Pentecost identifies Jesus as a prophet just like Moses, a statement which...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.” (Acts 3:14–15). Second sermons often build on the first...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
… Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth… (Revelation 1:5) Authority comes intrinsic to life—we all have those to whom we answer. Of course our ultimate authority or ruler is the Creator God, who was...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 5:7) What a beautiful word picture of Christ this places before us! He is “our Passover.” What unique light of...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:18) While the inclusion of “Son” in John 1:18 (“only begotten Son of God” NKJV) is questionable in the ancient manuscripts, the phrase “the only...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:18) We include “Son” in this epithet because of the NKJV translation (and the KJV before it), although the inclusion of the word is disputed. Most...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
[Joseph, Mary and Jesus] came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:23) In studying God through His names and epithets, when looked at closely we discover nuances like...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David… (Luke 1:32) Luke, the third Gospel chronicler and author also of the book of Acts, stands alone in his reference to God with the standalone...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” (Revelation 22:16) In today’s vernacular, we sometimes refer to an exceptionally gifted youth as a “rising young star.”...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus … (1 Timothy 2:5) The Majestic, Glorious God (2 Peter 1:17) became the Man of Sorrows (Is 53:3), so that He would become the Mediator between God and man. That in brief captures the...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isaiah 53:3) From majesty and glory in eternity past (John 17:5), the Son of God entered time and...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased …” (2 Peter 1:17) Hymn writer Jack Hayford captures it well: “Majesty, worship His majesty....
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:37–38) Salvation belongs to the Lord; winning lost sinners to Himself is His responsibility....
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
… we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory… (1 Corinthians...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
… we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory… (1 Corinthians...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all) …” (Acts 10:36) Peter had become accustomed to calling Jesus “Lord.” One of his more iconic responses to Jesus’ teaching came when Jesus intensified His teaching of...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” says the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:18) To Christians ears, calling Jesus “Lord” does not sound strange or earthshaking. Even in our post-Christian Western society, Christian terminology...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
[If] you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation … for “Whoever...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.” (Acts 17:23) “… for in Him we live and move and exist, as...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
…one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” (Revelation 5:5) This title or description of our Lord sounds manly and strong. King Richard I...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
The next day [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29) The greatest presentation the world has ever heard. Such a simple little sentence in an obscure part of the world, during the...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” (Matthew 2:2). And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “This is Jesus the King of the Jews.” (Matthew 27:37) The book of Matthew...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
14… the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15… who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion!...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “This is Jesus the King of the Jews.” (Matthew 27:37) At His birth and at His death,...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Colossians 1:15) So what do we do with a God we cannot see? Are we guilty of resorting to the God of the gaps as a way of explaining things that seem to have no scientific basis? We must beg the...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Colossians 1:15) Simply put, God is invisible; we can’t physically see Him the way we would see another person. He is beyond our five senses. Yet God at times, straining language conventions, does...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. (Romans 1:22–23) Nothing bodes worse for anyone than to exchange...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” (Mt 1:23). Normally we don’t think of this name of Christ except around the Christmas season—probably because it has to do with...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant— (Luke 1:69) To non-Jewish ears, “Horn of Salvation” is an odd description of Christ. Interestingly, this phrase was uttered by the father of John the Baptist, who had been struck...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church … (Ephesians 1:22) Often Christians don’t pay attention to the significance of Christ being the head of the church—that is, He is the ultimate authority of the...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. (1 Peter 2:25) We have seen in other places that the Lord is our Shepherd (Ps 23:1, 80:1), our Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14) and our Chief Shepherd (1...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession … (Hebrews 3:1) Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:20) In a time before modern communications technology, long before the internet, telephone or telegraph, long distance communication was...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Colossians 1:15) God incarnate, of course, takes the most preeminent position in creation. But we must not confuse this fact with the false notion that Christ was a created being. He took up a place...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God …” (Revelation 3:14). Eyewitness accounts can differ, whether in the minor details of an event or in the major elements. Juries in court are...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Colossians 1:15) Many are the descriptions, titles and epithets of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the most interesting is that He is the “image of the invisible God.” To Moses, God said, “My face...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) At the birth of Christ the Messiah, the angels...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) Odd as it sounds, the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ,...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) Many times in the Bible we see the mightiness of God,...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) Four magnificent names of Christ! Musically rendered by...
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:1) Chosen One, or as the NKJV renders it, Elect One—what a beautiful description of Christ in the OT....
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
[God]… in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power....
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
[God]… in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power....
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
[God]… in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power....
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
[God]… in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power....
by Chuck Gianotti | Names of God
[God]… in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power....
