Geoff Hohneck
Series on 1 Corinthians
The Christian, The World, And The Flesh
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
13 July 2014
Whilst life for the new believer can appear sweet owing to the reconciliation they now have with God through Christ, it soon dawns on them that life actually is a whole lot more demanding and filled with more struggles than before. The reason is the allies they once had have now become their enemies; one of them being Satan and the forces he controls in the world. And then of course, internally, the believer still has to contend with the flesh that still rears its ugly head from time to time with its sinful desires.
Similarly, the Corinthian church was contending with the same enemies – the external world and its influences; and the internal flesh with its sinful and indulgent desires. So Paul writes to them to help them and even reprimand them for their attitudes which were causing divisions within the congregation. And there are three steps he takes to do this.
SERMON OUTLINE
1. The reason for the division (vs 1-3a)
2. The demonstration of division (vs 3b-4)
3. The solution to division (vs 5-9)