Read: 1 Corinthians 4:1-21
Open
What is the best Christmas or birthday gift you have received?
Dig
In v. 9 Paul describes the apostles as captives in a Roman triumph parade. In that parade the king or conquering general would lead the procession, followed by the triumphant army, then the booty of their conquest, followed finally by the vanquished who would be led to the arena to die in gladiator games or some similar kind of spectacle. Paul says the Corinthians see themselves as “kings” at the head of this procession [v. 8] while Paul sees himself and the other apostles as those at the end of the procession who are condemned to die [v. 9]. How do you think Paul sees himself and the apostles as those who are like the condemned ones at the end of the parade? [note especially vs. 10-13]
Can you imagine a theological argument for why we should see ourselves as the victorious king or general in this parade?
How do you think Paul would refute this “victorious Christian” view and argue that we should see ourselves more as the condemned and vanquished ones at the end of the parade?
The key to the sermon was v. 7b: “What do you have that you did not receive?” How does this verse help us to understand Paul’s warning [v. 14] in this chapter?
In the sermon, we were told that if we forget v. 7b then it is all too easy for us to become critics. “The heart of the Christian life is not criticism but gratitude.” How are we prone to forget this? How were the Corinthians prone to forget this?
Reflect
As you think about your own experience of the Christian life, which part of the triumph parade do you think would best describe your life?
What is the impact of these two different views of our place in the parade on our Christian life? What was the problem with the “victorious Christian” viewpoint for the Corinthians? Are we susceptible to the same problem? Is there a corresponding danger to seeing ourselves as “men condemned to die”?
In worship after the sermon we received communion. How is communion a gift for us in the “fragile nature” of our life together at Blacknall? How does communion (also called “the eucharist” which comes from the Greek word for “thanksgiving”) help us to hold together as God’s people in this place?