Paul's Letters to the Corinthians

By Sybrand Van Kwawegen

A daily Devotional / study guide of first and second Corinthians.
Contains full King James Version Texts with each day.
Keynote address and list of abbreviations used.
A Fresh look at what Paul's letters mean in our times.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sybrand Van Kwawegen
• Release date: Mar 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005275280

Sybrand Van Kwawegen

I was born 21 August 1950 and grew up in a home best described as atheist. I knew nothing about Christianity until my high school years. After school I qualified in the trade of bricklaying before doing a BSc degree in Building Science at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). I worked in construction progressing to Construction manager and managing contract in what is currently known as the provinces of Gauteng, North-west, Limpopo, Mpumalanga Free State and Kwa Zulu Natal. I moved on into full time ministry in the Methodist Church of South Africa and studied for a B.Th. through the University Of South Africa (UNISA). During this time I also served as vice chair and chair of the West Rand Local Peace Committee as well as serving on the Regional Peace committee before and during the first democratic elections in South Africa and served as chair of Hospice in the West. I left full time ministry after 12 years and returned to construction and allied industries until my retirement two years ago. I the started acrylic painting as a hobby and doing further Bible studies that led to this publication.

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GOD – God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Pastor – used as a general term for all ordained clergy. Includes those variously entitled ministers, fathers, lay preachers, etc.

Word – as opposed to word is the Word of GOD also referred to as the Bible

KJV – The Authorised King James Version of the Word of God

RCC – The institution known as the Roman Catholic Church.

Born-again – the name given to people that have remorsefully repented and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour and have been baptised in water by full submersion and born of the Holy Spirit.

Tribulation - The moment in time when Jesus Christ will appear in the Sky to call the born-again believers to join him at the wedding feast of the Lamb.

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Suggested way to use this Devotional

Most people that have a regular daily devotional time set aside will adapt their own routine to the use of this book of daily devotions. For those that do not the following is a suggested basis for you to start from. It would be best to stick to the suggested routine for at least three weeks before making your own adaptations to suit your personal lifestyle.

1. Set aside a time each day where you will not be interrupted for at least 30 minutes but preferably an hour

2. Spend a few minutes unwinding and setting the day’s activities aside and then enter into a prayer (conversation) time with the Father through Jesus beginning with the adoration of the Father as our creator and head of the Holy Trinity and ask Jesus to set a guard of His angels around you to keep the tempter out and your mind fixed on the Word of God. Ask that God, the Holy Spirit will open your mind to the understanding and absorption of the Word for the day.

3. Read the daily text(s) carefully and relatively slowly (don’t rush or speed read).

4. Read the commentaries in the text(s) as if they apply to you personally. Where something touches a nerve in you stop, ask the Holy Spirit what He is telling you and then continue. Make a note if something important comes to mind by highlighting the text and making a note as your app allows.

5. After reading spend some time reflecting on the day’s passage(s) and what they are meaning to you. Ask yourself how you can and decide how you will apply that lesson during the next twenty three hours.

6. Close off your time of devotions in conversation with the Lord God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and ask Jesus and the Holy Spirit to help you in your resolutions for the next day. Note that you can expect satan to tempt you extensively to forget or skip just today or a thousand other ways to stop you from a regular pattern of daily devotions. Therefore ask Jesus for a discerning mind so that you will know when satan is attacking and to help you 2Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; The attacks will start in your thought life and that is why we need to take every thought captive to the authority of Jesus and He will make it clear what thoughts to throw out with the trash.

7. The best way to imprint the Word of GOD and its application on our minds is to find someone to share your daily devotion with in the course of the day.

8. On day seven of each week spend your devotion time reviewing the week and making notes that you can come back to in the days and the years ahead.

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Contents:

Abbreviations:

Suggested way to use this Devotional

Week 1: 1 Corinthians 1:1 to 1:16

Week 2: 1 Corinthians 1:17 to 2:9

Week 3: 1 Corinthians 2:10 to 3:23

Week 4: 1 Corinthians 4:1 to 5:13

Week 5: 1 Corinthians 6:1 to 7:16

Week 6: 1 Corinthians 7:17 to 9:15

Week 7: 1 Corinthians 9:16 to 10:28

Week 8: 1 Corinthians 10:29 to 11:27

Week 9: 1 Corinthians 11:28 to 12:31

Week 10: 1 Corinthians 13:1 to 14:6

Week 11: 1 Corinthians 14:7 to 15:20

Week 12: 1 Corinthians 15:21 to 15:58

Week 13: 1 Corinthians 16:1 to 16:24

Week 14: 2 Corinthians 1:1 to 2:11

Week 15: 2 Corinthians 2:12 to 4:6

Week 16: 2 Corinthians 4:7 to 6.7 (1)

Week 17: 2 Corinthians 6:1 (2) to 7:16

Week 18: 2 Corinthians 8:1 to 9:15

Week 19: 2 Corinthians 10:1 to 11:15 (1)

Week 20: 2 Corinthians 11:7 (2) to 12:16

Week 21: 2 Corinthians 12:17 to 13:14

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Bibliography

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Day 1 – 1 Corinthians 1:1‭-‬3 KJV

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, Unto the church of GOD which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace be unto you, and peace, from GOD our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul is the same person as we first meet as Saul the persecutor of Christians as a Pharisees of Pharisees.(Acts 7:58). He came from Tarsus in Cilicia from Hebrew parents of the tribe of Benjamin, first a disciple of Gamaliel and a citizen of Rome (Acts 21:39). He was a tentmaker by profession and gave a full account of his calling to king Agrippa (Acts 26:12-19}. It is from there that the description of Jesus Christ through the will of GOD flows. Paul was not only called inspirationally (i.e. by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as most pastors are called) but was called directly in a face to face encounter with Jesus much as the twelve where called. Sosthenes was the chief ruler of the synagogue who had been beaten by the Greeks in the presence of Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus the Roman senator and brother of the famous writer Seneca who later was responsible for a significant hearing of Paul himself. (significant in terms of identifying false Pagan festivals). It is noteworthy that Paul here refers to Sosthenes as our brother", which is a reference to the Family of Jesus Christ to which all born-again believers belong.

Note then that Paul’s letter is not only addressed to the Corinthians but to all born-again believers in the region of Achaia. The way Paul invokes the presence of the GOD we worship is of great importance to identify that he is addressing a set apart group of believers that are distinguished from the general moral decay of Corinth by their salvation through Jesus and their moral adherence to the Law and tenets of GOD. In the third verse Paul opens his letter with a very pointed and specific greeting which draws our attention to both GOD as the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son.

In this simple greeting there are already a number of critically important lessons to present day born-again believers. Not the least of these is the position of us as being disciples of GOD called to fulfil the purposes of God. The way Paul draws attention to himself and his calling immediately exposes him to the eyes and the critique of the world then which like ours has a moral standard far removed from the values of GOD. All too often we are super critical of the visible behaviour of our pastors and then forget we are as much on display as they are. The Corinthians may have openly prayed for more harlots, but what better are we when as born-again believers we are hypercritical of pastors while we all too often are believers for only an hour on some Sundays.

Furthermore there is a focus on the collective or family aspect of believers that is also sadly absent in our churches. As Paul addresses Sosthenes as brother thereby drawing attention to the common bond between born-again believers, we have to start realising that there is a very critical view of the church in the world. The world knows about our supposed brother / sisterhood but what they see is a far greater extent of social status divisions than in many other spheres of life and a great deal of hypocritical behaviour by groups and individual believers. We see far fewer good Samaritans among our brothers and sisters" than we see among unbelievers. Is there a need for born-again believers to stand up and become more conspicuous by their obvious obedience to the Word and to insist on that standard more widely among those we associate with without causing division and dissention?

Jesus, Saviour, great Example,

Pattern of all purity,

I would follow in thy footsteps,

Daily growing more like thee.

More like thee, more like thee;

Saviour, this my constant prayer shall be—

Day by day, where'er I stay,

Make me more and more like thee. (Author: William J. Kirkpatrick).

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Day 2 – 1 Corinthians 1:4‭-‬6 KJV

I thank my GOD always on your behalf, for the grace of GOD which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:

In spite of the very formal and even severe greeting in the first three verses Paul still acknowledges that they are under grace, that they have received grace from GOD and are thereby presently still justified in the sight of GOD: Yet neither they, nor we or even Paul can ever be in a position of needing yet more grace; and that is why Paul continues to pray for them for grace. It is an important lesson for us that goes toward our becoming humble servants in the image of Jesus that we never think of ourselves as being without need of grace. It is a daily necessity to review our thoughts and actions and know and rue the sins we recognise and recognise that in vanity there are yet unrecognised sins that GOD must be asked to reveal to us so that we may ask His help in overcoming them. Christ is both the Author and Finisher of our faith, and will not fail to strengthen them that keep knocking at the door and remorsefully seek forgiveness of our vain selves. Our salvation begins in Jesus, our sanctification is the heart’s desire of Jesus and in the end His desire is to have us seated ot the wedding feast properly fitted out. Grace is indeed from GOD the Father, but Jesus Christ is our mediator from whose Love grace flows like a river of living waters (the Word). No man hath the love of God, but by and through Jesus Christ.

The word everything is from the Greek pas Which term covers them in their whole being, spirit, soul and body. Paul here immediately again invokes the fact that sanctification is a matter of mankind’s spirit, soul and body and it is again significant that Paul raises the issue from the outset of his letter. As if then to emphasis the parts of the Gospel so often neglected Paul states in knowledge (i.e. mind or soul) and utterance" (actions of the body)

An indication that the Corinthians were willing to face persecution (as the testimony of Christ shows Jesus did). Paul is perhaps telling them what they already know but what is the message to us? Are we willing to suffer and why or why not? I am not suggesting that suffering is a prerequisite of being a born-again believer, but the fact is that in the eyes of the world the values of born-again believers are confrontational and they hide from the truths we stand for by mockery and or persecution. The fact is that most of us have at times hidden our faith and even denied our faith and that is neither acceptable or necessary. It is unnecessary because our ability to endure it is not of ourselves but from Jesus Himself and the sooner we understand that and accept it and own it in our own lives the greater our joy will be.

The point is we cannot expect to see the signs and wonders that were so prevalent in the early Church, unless our faith is unshakeable, visible and without fear. The vast majority of known diseases of mankind have their roots in our disobedience and of them again a majority are rooted in the sin of anxiety, fear and stress. If we retain those sins and expect GOD to heal us through Jesus then we are foolish. GOD is not in the business of healing something that will return because we have not dealt with the root cause first. That is part of why Paul emphasises the need for continuous grace, it implies a continuous process of sanctification and the steady healing of every dimension of the existence of mankind.

Great is thy faithfulness, O GOD my Father.*

There is no shadow of turning with thee.

Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not.

As thou hast been thou forever wilt be. (Chisholm, Thomas O. (1866-1960).

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Day 3 – 1 Corinthians 1:7-9 KJV

So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. GOD is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

One of the first points in these verses to really get to grips with is the word gift in verse 7. It comes from the Greek charisma. Thayer Definition: 1) a favour with which one receives without any merit of his own. 2) the gift of divine grace. 3) the gift of faith, knowledge, holiness, virtue. 4) the economy of divine grace, by which the pardon of sin and eternal salvation is appointed to sinners in consideration of the merits of Christ laid hold of by faith. 5) grace or gifts denoting extraordinary powers, distinguishing certain Christians and enabling them to serve the church of Christ, the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating on their souls by the Holy Spirit.

It is clear that contrary to the majority opinion the gifts Paul is referring to are not the gifts of the Holy Spirit alone but that they include amongst others the gifts of faith, knowledge, holiness and virtue. It is also undeniable that Holiness and virtue are incomplete without the healing of the soul and body of mankind because the diseases of the soul and the body are the result of sin in 95% of all cases (Dr, MK Strydom). It follows that holiness and virtue which are brought on by the pardon of sin must include the healing ministry that the disciples of Jesus Christ are sent out on (Matthew 10:7-8).

The word coming from apokalupsis (manifestation, appearance) and the term the day of our Lord Jesus Christ refers to the end times and specifically to the Rapture of the Saints. When Paul uses the word confirm it is derived from the Greek word bebaioo which includes as its meaning a return to a basal or original state, i.e. a person as GOD created him or her before the influences of disobedience or sin. That means the "confirming of born-again believers includes them being healed in spirit, soul and body.

This whole three verse passage is an emphatic statement that the healing ministry is as much alive and available today as it ever was. And what is more than that that was the intension of GOD as the Father from the beginning (Isaiah 52ff) and the entire Word is our witness that GOD is faithful

Brother and sister as you read this I want to plead that you make sure that you not only see and hear these words of Paul, but that you fully grasp that just as Jesus sent out the disciples in Matthew 10 to heal the sick, lift the curses and cast out the demons, those are the gifts that are the desire of Jesus that we should have before the rapture. That means that Jesus wants to give us full health and immunity right here and now. And it is only our stubbornness that stands in the way to us being properly outfitted in spirit, soul and body for the wedding feast of the Lamb. Do not let the lies of satan that tell you that this ministry ended 2000 years ago stop us from being properly dressed for the wedding feast and then to be thrown out even if we slip through because we are not fitted with the wedding apparel of healthy and sound souls and do not let those lies of satan cripple your body during the eighty years or so that you may live or until the rapture.

We can all be restored to perfect physical and psychosomatic health almost immediately and where miraculous healing is required "GOD is faithful and has sent Jesus so that those miracles can still be performed in the name of Jesus to this day and until the rapture.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen. (Thomas Ken (1674).

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Day 4 – 1 Corinthians 1:10-11 KJV

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

Be ye like minded (Romans 15:5 Now the GOD of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus) What divides believers? Ultimately the lies of satan planted in our minds that we do not take captive to the authority of Jesus Christ. The devil will tell us we know better, we have greater authority, we are older and wiser, and many other lies that the moment we entertain them send us down a slippery slope towards bitterness and judgement and division.

Being like minded is to make the things that bind us in Jesus the pillars of discussion on any and all subjects. Remembering that as brothers and sisters we gain nothing positive by winning and that our common cause in the love of Jesus Christ is to present ourselves sanctified in spirit, soul and body at the wedding feast following the rapture. That means we discuss to the mutual benefit rather than debating or arguing and to that end to be acutely aware of our words, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of GOD on the one hand and the lies of satan being planted in the minds of both sides on the other hand. Before discussing sensitive and or controversial subjects, having first made sure that the discussion is GOD pleasing, let it be saturated in prayer for wisdom, guidance and protection against evil influence.

It is a sad fact, even if it very occasionally has good results, that very little of what is said by one member of the Body to another ever remains between them alone. That therefore makes for a convincing argument that we must be doubly careful of sharing our thoughts; a) before we have taken them captive to the authority of Christ and b) that the leaking of confidential information is to the glory and honour of GOD.

As a last consideration it is also important that as born-again believers we have no intention of ever saying anything that we do not want to be attached to our name (that don't tell anyone business or this is just between us). If it has to be like that then it already tells us that the GOD honouring motive does not exist.

It is as if Paul is living in the present time when we read these introductory verses of the first letter to the Corinthians because there is very little that is as divisive in the churches of our time as the whole subject of sanctification and that therefore Paul is stressing over and over the need to maintain the unity of the Body, the Church of Jesus Christ. That objective may have failed long ago but why is church division still happening on an ever increasing scale? There are many reasons but I would venture to say that the first and possibly biggest reason is that people enter into arguments without having set the ground rules and the first of those being this unity of the Church of Jesus Christ. How else do we start off being likeminded. I know that it is difficult these days to find any church that is 100% orientated to the Word and that that leads to much heartache and divided opinion in the plethora of churches that exist under the Christian banner. How do we Choose?

One of my mentors, tiaan, opened my eyes when he told me that the true Church exists wherever two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus. That means me and my wife meeting in the name of Jesus constitute the Church of Jesus. I do not have to be a member of a church to be obedient to the Word, nor do I have to be a member to attend regular worship in a church. I am not advocating division, but a way to have contact with other believers when the odds are against us.

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Day 5 – 1 Corinthians 1:12-13 KJV

Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

Verse 12 and 13 form a unit. The theme is nothing new to us even in our own day, the fact that we make choices or decisions based on our likes and dislikes of individual pastors. To make matters worse the judgement is made on the personality displayed in public and their ability to deliver great: and captivating sermons. Some even go so far as to move wherever their'' pastor goes. Finally we then tend to place that one pastor on such a pedestal that whatever they say is regarded as the final word on the subject and if anyone or even the Word says different then they or the Word are wrong.

Paul deals with this by asking is Christ divided? Paul's elaboration on the other men involved is significant only in underlining the fact that Christ is undivided. Jesus is an inseparable part of the Trinity and stands by the Word (i.e. the original as found in the Authorised KJV) as the literal expression of GOD's dealings with His creation.

The Word tells us that we are all members of the one Body, the Church of Jesus Christ, where all must be united in one single and undivided cause, the glory and honour of GOD. That undivided cause is what Paul is contrasting with the mention of loyalty to individuals. That individual loyalty is neither Biblical nor is it even from any other source than satan.

Whether a pastor holds anyone's past against them, or feels their position or status threatened by anyone; or whether members of the Body discriminate against individual pastors, they are all totally unacceptable.

By that I am not saying that in the churches of our day there is nothing imperfect. In fact that there are such a vast number of denominational and independent churches is already a contradiction of the fact that there is only one Church of Jesus Christ. Whether our divisions are denominational or personal they are not acceptable to GOD.

As born-again believers we cannot ever be a part again of any form of division on any basis. The question we must ask is whether we can ever again be registered members of what is an already divided body.

Titus 2:7-8 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

Matthew 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

James 4:11-12 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

No pastor is perfect, of course—but if GOD has called someone to be a pastor and has sent them to serve a particular church, then they should be helped and encouraged in every way possible. The Bible says, Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless? (1 Samuel 26:9).

Christ, from whom all blessings flow,

perfecting the saints below,

hear us, who your nature share,

who your mystic body are.

freely may we all agree,

touched with loving sympathy;

kindly for each other care;

every member feel its share. (Wesley, Charles, 1707-1788)

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Day 6 – 1 Corinthians 1:14-16 KJV

I thank GOD that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.

There is a frightening implication in what Paul states here. Just what is it Paul implies by tying baptism to this issue? What distinguishes Paul's proclamation of the Gospel from baptising individual people? There are a number of suggestions that I have come across.

When we baptise we do so 'in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Not in the name of Paul or pastor X or Y or Z. That means that if anyone that is a born-again believer (i.e. a believer baptized as described) and they then go on to follow after an individual or cause divisions they are; a) denying their baptismal vow and by implication denying GOD, b) involving the one that baptized them in a falsehood that could lead to demonic possession.

If that line of reasoning is correct then it places an enormous responsibility on us if and when we baptized anyone to be sure that they truly understand that what they are doing has both consequences and is only the beginning of a process. Seen in this way then we can now see why Paul thanks GOD that he did not baptise any (by implication of acknowledging some) of those involved.

Paul saying that he is glad he did not baptise those involved in the disputes also tells us about another responsibility of Baptism. That is that when we decide to baptise new converts in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit that we also accept personal responsibility for their journey towards entire sanctification. That is a thing that we can all take a long hard look at. The common practice in our churches when people are baptised (i.e. full emersion in the name of GOD), there is a general tendency then to leave them to their own devices. I believe the Word instructs us along a very different way because I am my brother’s keeper, and that is that We collectively remain responsible for the sanctification of the members of the Body. That in turn implies that when we baptise people we have the right and duty to encourage them to a system of mentorship.

Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name, This another very important aspect of