Desert Springs Community Church
The Importance of Studying the Biblical Text
· The Bible is God’s personal words to us
· Because it is God’s words to us, it is precious and important
· Because it is God’s words to us, if we disbelieve or disobey them we are disbelieving and disobeying God (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
· Because it is God’s words to us it can be understood by those who read and study it (Psalm 19:7)
· Because it is God’s words to us, it is necessary for maintaining our spiritual life and for knowing God’s will (1 Peter 2:2)
· Because the Bible is so important we typically do expositional preaching
Understanding the Historical & Cultural Background of 1 Corinthians
· The first principle of interpretation is to understand the historical and cultural background
· Corinth was ideally situated between the Corinthian Gulf on the east which led to Italy and the Saronic Gulf on the west which led to Asia
· Corinth was a very prosperous city at the time of Paul’s writing
· Corinth socially was all about attaining status, promoting one’s own honor and gaining control, wielding power
· Corinth was inhabited by people with all kinds of religious faiths
· Corinth was known for its sexual promiscuity
The Call to All Believers Everywhere is to Live Their Heavenly Culture Here on Earth
· The believers at Corinth struggled, just like we struggle today in America, to live our Christian culture in the world around us (John 8:23, John 15:19, 1 Peter 2:11)
· We are called to live Jesus in our culture – to be a counter culture (Romans 12:2)
· The best way to live an effective counter culture is to keep your heart longing for home