First Corinthians teaches us that the body is to be used to serve God - whether in marriage or singleness.

The biblical idea of intimacy in marriage is designed by God. Body and soul are both good in this mutual companionship.

Christian liberty is not license (v. 12 - 14). The Corinthians thought they had the freedom to do whatever they wanted because they were forgiven. But our bodies are to glorify God, not indulge our desires.

As believers, we are adopted into God's family - and this is our identity. God's adoption is unchangeable, and our righteousness is with Him.

Relationships can be strained, sometimes even in the church. But the Corinthians had taken offense to the point of suing each other, rather than forgiving.

God is holy, and therefore His church must be also. God hates evil and loves good - so to please Him, the congregation must too.

Accepting sin within a church destroys it. The church must mourn over sin, take sin seriously, and act as God's holy people.

The Corinthians thought the Apostle Paul was not worth listening to, though he was their spiritual father. Despite their coldness, Paul continues to love them as children.

Pride is a danger to the church, raising self above others. Pride is destructive, demonstrated in sinful judging, and a wrong view of self and ministry.

Worldly believers exhibit great inconsistency. While the world promotes self-promotion, this wisdom is humanistic and has no lasting value. The Word of God shows us our true condition, though this foolishness to the world.

All believers will be evaluated before the Bema judgment seat for rewards based on faithfulness, and teachers will face a stricter judgment. Paul's admonition to the Corinthians was to be careful in how they taught in the church.

Celebrity is nothing new - in the days of Rome, sophists were the popular icons. But Christian leadership is about God's, and not human glory.

Worldliness is focusing affections on this world rather than Christ. The truth is that we can't love both God and the world - and our choices will affect those around us.

There is no such thing as a carnal Christian - a regenerated heart has new desires. While Christians stumble because of the flesh, they want to live pleasing God.

We are born with sinful hearts, and only choose sin unless we are renewed by the Spirit. For this reason, human philosophy is futile, and cannot come to an understanding of God on its own.

Success in the world's eyes is being able to attract a following by being entertaining, but good preaching is about explaining the Word of God, exalting Christ, and expecting the Spirit to work.

Corinth was a city divided into cliques based on popular speakers. The Corinthian church had borrowed this, and so Paul came to Corinth to remind them that biblical preaching is not about rhetoric or personality, but the Word of God.

In all of the issues and divisions at the Corinthian Church, the root cause was spiritual pride. Because we are equal in Christ, divisions are pride, and pride is selfishness.

The root of the division in the Corinthian Church was forgetting the gospel, and replacing it with human wisdom. The wisdom of God is best, bringing peace with God and others.

The source of quarrels and conflicts are selfish desires in us. But we are to preserve the unity we already have in Christ by considering others more important than ourselves.