Bible Study: Christian Concepts and Terms

Characteristics of People

• Litigious: inclined to engage in lawsuits
• Arrogant: extremely proud
• Selfishness: the ultimate cause of conflict among the Corinthians

Religious Terms

• Humanism: belief that human accomplishments are achieved through human strength without God's help
• Carnal: related to the flesh
• Fornication: reproduction before marriage
• Mystery: something impossible to understand unless God reveals it

Paul's Teachings

• The purpose of reminding Christians that their body is the temple of God is to emphasize the importance of sexual morality and honoring God with their bodies
• The Holy Spirit dwells in believers, enabling them to understand the hidden mysteries of God
• Believers should settle civil disputes within the church, rather than taking each other to court

Understanding God's Mysteries

• All mysteries start with God, and unsaved people cannot know the answers
• The Holy Spirit illuminates the answers to believers

The Church and Disputes

• If disputes arise and the church cannot resolve them, Christians should accept the wrong done to them
• Lawsuits should never take place among Christians

The Corinthians' Demands

• The Jews demanded visible proof (signs/miracles), while the Gentiles desired to be logically convinced
• The Corinthians divided into four groups: Paul, Apollos, Cephas (Peter), and Christ

Sin and Corruption

• The influence of sin can spread quickly, like a little leaven permeating the whole batch of dough
• The church had failed to deal with the man living in immorality with his stepmother

Marriage and Divorce

• Paul taught that if an unbeliever wants to leave, let them leave, but if they want to stay, let them stay

Biblical Truths

• The "mystery of Christ" is the inclusion of Gentiles as "fellow heirs" with Jews, previously unknown to humankind
• The whole church was in sin during the issue with the man living in incest, and they needed to put away their pride and accept the evil person

Hypocrisy

• Some people in the "Christ" group exemplified a very un-Christ-like attitude, claiming to be Christian but not acting like one

Knowledge and Faith

• Nobody can truly know anything, but we can know anything through God, who knows everything