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  The Foundation is Jesus Christ   1 Corinthians 3:10-13 “ According to the grace of God given to me, I laid the foundation (demerios) as a wise builder, and others build on it. But each one should be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any other foundation than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on it with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, or straw, each person ’ s work (to ergon) will be revealed, for the day will make it clear, for it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person ’ s work. ” Paul laid the foundation of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is planting Jesus Christ in the hearts of people. "Demerios" means foundation or basis. Just as the foundation of the floor is laid first before constructing a building, that very foundation is Jesus Christ. Just as a building can collapse or be incomplete if the foundation is not properly laid, if Jesus Christ is not properly established, people w...

  "I say to Paul, and another says to Apollos."   1 Corinthians 3:4-5 "One says, 'I say to Paul,' and the other says, 'I say to Apollos.' Are you not carnal people? What then is Apollos, and what is Paul? They are servants whom the Lord gave each to lead you to faith." Seeing that the church was divided into the Paul faction and the Apollos faction, Paul points out the very low quality of religious practices in the Corinthian church. He states that Paul and Apollos are merely ministers dedicated to spreading the gospel of Christ. Faith in the one true God originates from Judaism. However, the church began when Jesus, the Son of God, was born into the world and started preaching the gospel, breaking away from Judaism, which had degenerated into legalism. Although Jesus' disciples left Jerusalem and established churches in various regions, spreading the faith, the Roman government officially recognized Christianity, causing it to expand int...

  I speak to you as to little children in Christ.   1 Corinthians 3:1-3: “ Brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as to spiritual people (pneumatikois), but as to fleshly people (sarkinois), as to little children (nepiois) in Christ. I fed you with milk, not with solid food, because you were not able to handle it, and you still are not able to. For you are still fleshly. For there is jealousy and strife among you; is it not because you are fleshly and walk according to men? ” Pneumatikois ( πνευματικο ῖ ς ) are those belonging to the spirit. It refers to those who are guided by the Holy Spirit. Sarcinois are those in the flesh who maintain their faith through religious devotion. Nephiois means a nursing infant, and Paul described those with religious faith as nursing infants. This implies that a nursing infant knows nothing about the faith of the Ho Logos. Paul is saying that he deals with them in Christ. He is treating them with the heart of a parent. 3. ἔ τι ...

  Spiritual things are discerned spiritually. 1 Corinthians 2:13 "We speak of these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, discerning spiritual things spiritually." The work of the Holy Spirit first causes the world to operate. Although Satan rules the world for a certain period, the Holy Spirit is the ruler of all things (the Spirit of the world). And when a sinner repents and is born again, the Holy Spirit causes him to be born into new life. He is born again of water and the Spirit. The Holy Spirit causes those who are dead to the world to be born again, and gives baptism to those who are born again. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit enables us to realize that the Logos is present and working within the hearts of believers (the indwelling Holy Spirit). And when believers preach the gospel of Christ, the Holy Spirit enables them to bear witness (the ex-dwelling Holy Spirit). The ex-dwelling Holy Spirit is also referred to as the other Cou...

  For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 "But God has revealed these things to us through the Spirit. For who knows the things of man except the spirit (to pneuma) which is in man (tou anthropo)? In the same way, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. For we did not receive the spirit (to pneuma) of the world (tou kosmou), but the spirit (to pneuma) which is from God, that we may know the things which God has freely given us." "Tou anthropo" (τοῦ ἀνθρώπου) means not an ordinary person, but a special one (a saint). A special person refers to a saint who has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When the definite article is present in "pneuma" (πνεῦμα), it signifies the Holy Spirit. Paul states that the work described above is accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit. The spirit of the world refers to the Holy Spirit who governs the world. In Genesis 1:2, where it states, "The eart...

  Perspective on sin   According to Question 7 of the Heidelberg Doctrine, there is a question about where the fallen nature of man came from. The answer is that it originated from the fall of our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, through disobedience in the Garden of Eden. Due to that Fall, human nature became corrupted, and from the moment humans are conceived by their parents, we are born as sinners. Sin is viewed as this corrupt human nature. Since everyone is born with such a nature, they are considered sinners. Therefore, sin is defined as the factor that causes the fall, rather than any specific act of committing sin. Jesus also stated that harboring lustful thoughts is the sin of adultery. This is a type of greed, and the Bible even refers to greed as idolatry. Furthermore, according to the ninth question of the Heidelberg Doctrine, in response to the question, “ Then, is it not an unjust act for God to prescribe laws that humans cannot keep? ” the answer is, “ N...