United in Weakness
1st Corinthians Series
CCCAG 7-13-25
Welcome to the start of our new sermon series on 1 Corinthians.
Introduction: The City of Corinth and Its Church
Today, we dive into Chapter 1.
1st and 2nd Corinthians are letters that were written by the Apostle Paul to a church wrestling with its identity and purpose in a bustling, complex world. To set the stage, let’s travel back to the first century and explore the city of Corinth and the church Paul addressed.
Corinth was a thriving metropolis in ancient Greece, a hub of trade, culture, and diversity. Strategically located on a peninsula connecting the Peloponnese Island to mainland Greece, it was a melting pot of merchants, sailors, and philosophers.
In our modern context, the closest city in our modern world that would be like Corinth is Las Vegas- a city of multiple cultures, high in entertainment and moral laxity. The one difference between the two is that Corinth was also a major port- so trade was a huge part of their life.
While wealth and opportunity abounded, so did temptation. Corinth was infamous for its moral laxity, with a temple to Aphrodite fueling a culture of sensuality and excess. Into this vibrant yet spiritually challenging environment, The Apostle Paul planted a church around 50 AD during his second missionary journey (Acts 18:1-18). This fledgling congregation was a mix of Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, slave and free.
This church wasn’t without its struggles.
Paul wrote 1 Corinthians around 55 AD from Ephesus, addressing issues that threatened to fracture the community: divisions over leadership, moral compromises, and misunderstandings about spiritual gifts.
The believers were navigating a tension between their new faith and the pull of their city’s culture. Paul’s letter is a call to unity, holiness, and reliance on God’s wisdom over human pride. As we unpack Chapter 1 today, we’ll explore three key sections that speak to being filled with the Holy Spirit, overcoming division, and embracing God’s strength in our weakness.
Let’s pray and dive into the text.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, open our hearts to Your Word today. Fill us with Your Spirit, unite us as Your body, and humble us to receive Your truth. Speak through 1 Corinthians 1, and may it transform us for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Let’s start by reading verses 4-9 in chapter 1.
Section 1: Filled with the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 1:4-9)
Paul writes, “I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
I want you to note something here that can be very helpful in your life. Even though there were a lot of issues in this church that Paul needed to address, Paul starts with gratitude, not criticism.
In fact, in typical Paul fashion, he gives the standard before he starts telling you how that standard is being strained or broken.
This is very instructive for us- because this is how the bible encourages us to handle these intense situations.
There is a lot wrong in Corinth and the temptation would be to dive right in with the correction, but instead Paul gives them the spiritual standard, and then spends the rest of the chapter and the book explaining that standard.
The standard is this- it is an absolute necessity to be filled with the Holy Spirit to live out God’s calling on our lives.
Yes, you have a calling on your life. It’s not just the pastor or worship leader- it’s everyone who has called on Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior. You all have a calling, and therefore you need an anointing of the Holy Spirit to equip and empower you to fulfill that calling.
The Holy Spirit is the lifeblood of the Christian life.
Without His presence, we’re like a car with an empty gas tank—shiny on the outside but going nowhere.
It’s a reminder that God equips His people for His purposes. The Holy Spirit is not a side show to get us whooping and hollering- it’s an empowerment for service.
This is why the Spirit empowers us with gifts—whether prophecy, teaching, discernment, or service—to fulfill our individual callings to build up the church and glorify God. But these gifts flow from intimacy with Him.
Intimacy with God is the foundation of a Spirit-filled life.
Jesus said in John 15:5, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” We must abide in Him through prayer, worship, and the Word, allowing the Spirit to fill us daily.
Ephesians 5:18 urges us, “Be filled with the Spirit,” using a present-tense verb in Greek that implies a continual filling. It’s not a one-time event but a lifestyle of seeking God’s presence.
When we’re filled with the Spirit, our words reflect His wisdom, our actions reflect His love, and our lives reflect His power.
It isn’t just a seeking of something for ourselves as many have treated the Holy Spirit’s presence in the past, but a continuous infilling so that we reflect HIS thoughts, HIS Heart, and HIS actions in every aspect of our lives.
Paul also assures the Corinthians that God will keep them “firm to the end.” This is a promise of perseverance, not because of our strength but because of God’s faithfulness. The Spirit seals us, guides us, and sustains us until Christ’s return.
So I ask you this morning-
When it comes to seeking the Holy Spirit, are you seeking HIM to cultivate intimacy with God?
Are you open to the Spirit’s filling, letting Him shape your thoughts and actions?
As we move forward, let’s recommit to seeking Him daily, trusting that He equips us for every good work.
Section 2: Unity Over Division (1 Corinthians 1:10-17)
Now, let’s turn to verses 10-17, where Paul addresses a pressing issue: division in the church. He writes, “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
The Corinthian church was splintering over loyalty to human leaders. Some rallied behind Paul, the church’s founder; others preferred Apollos, an eloquent preacher; some clung to Peter, while others claimed a superior devotion to Christ alone.
These factions weren’t just preferences—they were tearing the church apart. Paul’s response is a passionate plea for unity, rooted in the name of Jesus Christ.
A few years into being a Christian, I felt God’s call to ministry, so I told my pastor at that time about it, and he started bringing me into some of the leadership aspects of the church. He began a mentoring process that included moving me toward earning my certified minister with the Assemblies of God.
It was a pretty intense time in the life of the church, as there was some tension developing between the board of directors and the pastor.
One Wednesday night, a person who was very influential in the church sat me down outside of the offices and told me that the board of directors was having an argument with the board of elders about removing the pastor. Apparently, there was a person of high influence on the board of directors that hated the pastor, and was sneaking around behind the scenes to turn the church against him. This man who drew me aside thought he was doing me a favor in warning me in no uncertain terms not to “hitch my wagon to this pastor as he was going down, and he’d take me with him.”
I really liked this guy who was talking to me, and he had been a role model to me as a young Christian. But now I’m questioning- is he really concerned about me, or is he helping that board member in recruiting me into subverting God’s appointed leader?
After the discussion, I went to the prayer room of the church to seek direction from God. I was really struggling with what to do. I wasn’t worried at all about me, but about the health of the church and the pastor. Finally God spoke, “Respect the authority placed over you.”
I called the pastor, and he invited me over and we had a talk about what was going on. That lead to the pastor calling an emergency meeting of the combined boards, and after an evening of very intense fellowship, the combined boards rejected the idea of removing the pastor, and the troublemaker left the church.
That memory has always stuck with me and really reinforced this fact- Unity is critically important to the church. Not that it means you have to be in total agreement, but you need to have it settled in your mind that you will seek first the health of the body of Christ over your personal desires.
Division in the church is like a crack in a foundation—it weakens the whole structure. The Corinthians’ quarrels stemmed from pride, a focus on human personalities rather than the gospel.
Paul reminds them that no leader died for their sins or holds their salvation. Only Christ was crucified; only in His name are we baptized. Our identity is in Him, not in our favorite preacher or teacher.
Because you know what? The kingdom of darkness is actually better at this than the church.
I mean, when do you see 3 demons talking about leaving the devil and forming a different hell?
Right?
We need to be better than that.
So, How do we deal with division biblically?
First, we pursue unity in Christ.
Paul urges the Corinthians to “agree with one another” and be “united in mind and thought.”
This doesn’t mean we all think identically, but we align on the essentials of the gospel: Jesus’ death, resurrection, and lordship.
Second, we reject prideful loyalties. As we previously read- No pastor, no ministry, no denomination is the source of our salvation.
Third, we focus on the cross, which levels us all as sinners saved by grace. As Paul says in verse 17, “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” The gospel unites us when human agendas divide.
My friends, Everything in our modern world is about dividing people into camps based on race, religion, political beliefs, skin color, sexual desires, even sports teams.
This happens in the church as well. We can split over worship styles, politics, or personal preferences. But the Spirit calls us to humility and love, to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).
Let’s examine our hearts: Are we fostering unity or sowing discord? Are we exalting Christ above all?
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Section 3: God’s Strength in Our Weakness (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)
Finally, let’s focus on verses 26-27: “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
The bible now shifts to the heart of the gospel: the message of the cross. To the world, it’s foolishness.
After all, a crucified Savior seems weak, not powerful.
Yet to those being saved, it’s the power of God.
The Corinthians, living in a city obsessed with status and wisdom, were tempted to rely on human strength. Paul reminds them that God’s ways are not our ways. God’s ways confront and upend human pride.
In verses 26-27, Paul points to the Corinthians themselves. Few were wise, influential, or noble by the world’s standards. They were ordinary—fishermen, merchants, slaves. Yet God chose them, not because of their credentials but to display His power through their weakness.
Why?
So no one could boast in themselves. As verse 31 says, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
This truth is liberating: God uses us, sinners though we are, to accomplish His will.
He doesn’t need our strength; He supplies His own.
Consider Moses, who stuttered yet led Israel out of Egypt.
Or David, a shepherd boy who defeated Goliath.
Or Mary, a humble teenager chosen to bear the Savior.
God delights in using the “weak” because it showcases His strength and sidesteps our human egos.
What does this mean for us?
First, we don’t have to be perfect to be used by God. Our flaws, failures, and insecurities don’t disqualify us; they form the canvas for His glory.
Second, we live successfully through His strength, not ours. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Third, we must humble ourselves. Pride builds walls but humility opens doors for the Spirit to work.
Where do you feel weak today?
In your faith, your relationships, your calling?
Offer that weakness to God. He’s not looking for superstars; He’s looking for surrendered hearts.
When we lean on His strength, He does what we could never do alone.
Conclusion: One in Christ, Empowered by the Spirit
As we close, let’s tie these truths together. The Corinthian church faced challenges we can relate to: the need for spiritual vitality, the danger of division, and the temptation to rely on human strength. The bible’s message to us in 1 Corinthians 1 is clear:
Being filled with the Holy Spirit unites us in Christ and empowers us to live for Him.
The Spirit fills us when we seek intimacy with God, equipping us with gifts to serve His kingdom.
The Spirit unites us, healing divisions when we focus on the cross and humble ourselves.
The Spirit works through our weakness, not our pride, so that God’s power shines through.
Let’s all commit to this: Seek the Spirit’s filling daily through prayer and the Word. Pursue unity by exalting Christ above all.
The world may call us foolish, but in Christ, we are strong. Let’s live as one body, empowered by the Spirit, for the glory of God.
All Rise
Closing Prayer
