Background: Sent from Ephesus to the saints in Corinth, summer 57 AD
Contention and Division in the Church
READ 1 Corinthians 1:10-13
What
is happening in the Corinthian church?
They are arguing over doctrine; they are
converts from a Hellenized culture that loves philosophy and debate.
The devil is sowing the spirit of
contention amongst them – they are showing enmity toward each other.
Pride is the root cause of enmity.
How
do a group of people become joined in the same mind and all speak the same
thing?
The Holy Spirit is the “mind of God” –
when you truly receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost and baptism of fire, you
begin to be filled with that same Spirit, glory or mind as the Father and Son
are (see LoF 5:2-3).
When each individual comes unto Christ
separately, they come together in “mind” or “thought”; the words and actions
that then flow from them are the “same” or are unified because they have all
experienced the same saving knowledge and have received the same “mind” or
Spirit.
Paul is NOT asking them to create a creed
of belief, or (heaven forbid) a standard of behavior – that was what the Law
was all about.
He wants them to come unto Christ
themselves so no one need say “know ye the Lord” because they all will know
Him, from the least to the greatest (see D&C 84:98).
Who
are Paul, Apollos, and Cephas (Peter)?
Leaders, Apostles and missionaries in the
Church (see 1 Cor 3:5-6).
What
does it mean to be “of Paul” or “of Peter”?
It means to idolize them.
To look to them exclusively – they are
your doctrinal expert of choice.
It means to pit the various
prophets/apostles against each other doctrinally and debate the gospel like a
scholar; implied is that the idol is not there in the room to clarify the truth.
Subtly, they are looking to them for
salvation – the leader or prophet who will “save” them if followed slavishly
because they (the idol) have all of the truth (there is nothing more to learn
from anyone else and everything said by the prophet is correct).
READ D&C 76:98-101
What
happens to those who say they are “of” the prophets?
They will inherit the Telestial kingdom.
They have not received the gospel (covenant)
themselves but were relying on another man to save them.
They did not receive THE testimony of
Christ – they did not know Him so He did not know them (which is eternal life,
to know Christ).
They did not heed the words of those
prophets they espouse, because they did not take upon themselves the terms of
the everlasting covenant.
They are like the children of Israel
telling Moses to go up on the Mount to talk to God on their behalf – they
prefer to rely on a man and “follow the prophet” instead of coming to Christ
themselves (see D&C 84:23-24 and Exodus 19:18-21).
READ TPJS 266:2
“President Joseph Smith read the 14th
chapter of Ezekiel—said the Lord had declared by the Prophet, that the people
should each one stand for himself, and depend on no man or men in that state of
corruption of the Jewish church—that righteous persons could only deliver their
own souls —applied it to the present state of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints—said if the people departed from the Lord, they must
fall—that they were depending on the Prophet, hence were darkened in their
minds, in consequence of neglecting the duties devolving upon themselves,
envious towards the innocent, while they afflict the virtuous with their shafts
of envy.”
What
happens if the people depend on the prophet?
Their minds will be darkened.
Ultimately, they are idolaters because
they’ve put a man between them and God; they have enough faith to hear and
believe the man but not God; they will only inherit telestial glory (see
D&C 76:99-101).
Who
is the only one that can “deliver” your soul to be saved?
You.
True prophets can bear testimony to truth
(God’s objectives, nature and plan).
Prophets can witness that they have stood
again in God’s presence and that you can too, if you follow the same path laid
out by God and taught by the prophet who has successfully walked that path
(however, this can get confusing because as we are all so different and God
interacts with us where we are, the path that one might take might look
radically different than the path God will lead another along).
Prophets deliver messages directly from
God’s mouth, having stood in His presence.
Prophets can provide guidance regarding
the way back to God and the challenges that may stand in the way.
But YOU MUST WALK THE PATH back to God
yourself. You stand at the veil alone.
The World’s Wisdom
READ 1 Corinthians 1:18-20 and 26-28
(include JST)
Why
does God choose the weak of the earth?
They are meek and teachable.
They do not trust in the arm of the flesh.
God can work through them because they
are not continually trying to “steady the ark” because they think they know
better or they have their own agenda.
How
will God destroy the wisdom of the wise?
He will reveal the truth. The truth (things are they really are, were
and will be – D&C 93:24) will destroy all falsehood when it is made known publicly.
Light shines and the darkness flees – one
can “see” all things in the light, while things can be hidden or manipulated in
the dark.
READ 1 Corinthians 2:3-5
Remember, Paul was a Diaspora Jew, born
and educated in Hellenized Turkey before going to Jerusalem to learn at the
feet of the greatest Pharisees of Israel, where he became their greatest
student.
Why
does Paul fear to teach these Greeks?
Why does he not use enticing words or rational arguments with them –
surely he could out debate them (as he used to do with the Jewish scholars)?
He knows that nothing but the Spirit and
the power of God will cause in them a personal conversion that will remain in
them as long as they are faithful to God.
He is wary or “fearful” of setting
himself up as a light or doctrinal authority to them – knowing that, as
Gentiles, they are especially liable to idolize him as a “benefactor” and put
him between them and God (see Luke 22:25).
He is also fearful that they will be
convinced by a good argument but that without connecting personally to God, it
will be a testimony planted in “stony ground” which will die in the heat of the
day of the mortal test (see Matthew 13:1-8).
READ 1 Corinthians 2:7-11
What
is the wisdom of God that is hidden in a mystery?
It is that God is a perfected man who
sits enthroned in the Heavens (see TPJS 390:2).
And that mankind can become as God is
(TPJS 391:2).
And what each man/woman must do to get
there and where they are on the “ladder” (TPJS 392:2).
READ 1 Corinthians 2:14
Why
does the natural man think these things are foolishness?
Finite, mortal minds cannot comprehend all
things unless they are quickened and filled with light, which if they will not
come unto Christ, their minds will be darkened to the things of God, which will
seem like foolishness to them.
They don’t align with man’s current
reasoning and can’t be proven through man’s scientific process.
READ 1 Corinthians 3:18-23
Why
is man’s wisdom foolishness?
Because he thinks it’s all about what he
can see, know, do, have, and control in front of him. He wants to be the “god
of this world” – not realizing it is a “Telestial Kingdom” or lone and dreary
world and not worth being god of, as it currently stands.
He doesn’t understand the “mysteries of
Godliness” and will not abide by the principles of righteousness upon which
they are handled (see D&C 121:36) – the “wise” natural man is missing the
whole point of this existence.
You Are the Temple of God
READ 1 Corinthians 3:1-3
Why
can’t Paul speak “unto spiritual” things with the Corinthian saints?
They have not made themselves ready.
Their minds are still darkened – they
cannot understand the things of God because they must be filled with sufficient
intelligence/light/glory/spirit to comprehend them.
God is patient with us but we constrain
what He can give us by our spiritual preparation (or lack thereof) and again by
what we do with it when given.
READ 1 Corinthians 3:13-15
What
is the test of this life?
Acquiring light (or God’s glory,
intelligence, truth, Spirit, fire).
Can we stand in the firey presence of God
and His glory or will our life’s work (what we have become) be consumed in it.
What
does it mean that even if our life’s work shall be burned that we will “suffer
loss” but shall be saved?
We cannot be destroyed – the mind or
intelligence which man possesses is co-equal with God Himself; intelligence is
eternal and exists upon a self-existent principle (see TPJS 396 & 397).
Even sons of Perdition will receive a
body but everyone else will be added upon to a greater or lesser degree based
on the amount of intelligence/light we gathered in this mortal life; so we
shall be “saved” although not necessarily exalted… at least not in this round
of creation or eternity… (see D&C 76:4 and D&C 132:22-24).
READ 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians
6:19-20, and 2 Corinthians 6:16
What
is a temple?
It is a structure which houses something.
It is set apart from the profane world or
made holy.
It is used for worship.
It is the place where the mysteries of
God are taught.
It is where God will come and abide with
man.
It is the House of God.
What
does it mean that our bodies are the Temple of God?
He has given us a “tabernacle” or
“temple” of clay to live in while on earth (see D&C 93:33-35), an “avatar”.
He asks that we not defile the body but
make it holy through our obedience to His commandments, which will fill us with
light/spirit.
The body is an opportunity to worship our
God – what we choose to think about, say, do and love while in the body tells
us which God we truly worship.
The Lord desires to teach us the
mysteries of Godliness, which cannot truly be taught so as to be comprehended
by a man from another man, but must be taught by God to each of us through His
Spirit, angelic messengers or the Lord Himself (see 2 Nephi 32:2-7), so that we
will be filled with light and able to comprehend what is being taught; in
addition, these mysteries are only as good to us as the opportunity we have to
use them – i.e. if we do not have our own personal promise directly from God,
and authority to rend the veil and enter His rest (see Helaman 10:4-10), then
all we have is spiritual voyeurism or titillation if a man teaches us these
things, because we have no right or ability to actually use them – this comes
only from God.
The body can host the Holy Ghost, a
member of the Godhead (see John 14:16).
And if your temple is holy, this “First Comforter” will be joined by
Christ and eventually the Father, who will make themselves known to you and
abide with you (see John 14:18, 20-21, 23 and D&C 130:3); what this “Holy
Ghost” is (and why “He” is not featured in the Temple ceremony at all but
Michael/Adam/we are) is an interesting subject to consider further, as is the
question of how one’s own “ghost” becomes “holy”.
You can become part of the House or
Family of God when you are adopted as His Son or Daughter and sealed up to
Eternal Life by the Father, through the Testimony and Atonement of the Son (see
Moses 1:4, Psalm 2:7, and D&C 88:75).
What
does it mean that we are not “our own”?
He created our bodies from materials/elements
that He organized and emanate from Him/are part of His being.
He is lending us breath and preserves us
from day to day (Mosiah 2:21).
And when we are resurrected, that will be
Him, too (as we have not yet attained to the resurrection ourselves).
Because He paid for these materials –
suffering all that a God could suffer to redeem them.
Under
what conditions does the Spirit of God dwell in us?
Ultimately, the Spirit of God dwells in
us when we are declared “holy” by God (see Exodus 3:5 in the context of Moses
1:4).
The true temple of God is the redeemed
individual – wherever Moses stood it was holy ground because he was holy,
having been redeemed from the fall by being taken back into the presence of God
and pronounced clean (see Ether 3:13 and D&C 88:75).
In the meantime, the Spirit begins to
dwell in us and sanctify us when we are born of the Spirit and receive the
Baptism of Fire, although we may grieve and lose the Spirit through our
behavior and must quickly repent to receive it back again.
We can become the “House of God” with His
Spirit dwelling within us. You can
become a holy place He can and will visit from time to time. He will take up His abode with you. Use the Temple rites and other means to
cleanse yourself and separate yourself from the world. Make yourself “sacred space” which is set
apart from the world, behind a veil, where the Spirit of the Lord is
unrestrained. The Temple rites apply the
power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to cleanse, purify, wash, anoint, clothe
and endow you with power.
READ 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Who
will not inherit the Kingdom of God?
Sinners.
What
words of hope does Paul give us?
Such were some of you, but…
Ye are washed.
Ye are sanctified.
Ye are justified.
… Through Christ and His Spirit.
“If we come unto Him with a broken heart
and a contrite spirit, sacrificing our whole soul on His altar, laying down the
sins and temptations which do so easily beset us, with faith believing that He
will save us, God will be able to plug the leaks, repair the hinge and fix the
broken window. He really does have a house of order, or better put, He will
only enter a temple that is holy, which temple ye are. (1 Cor. 3: 17) It's not
built by human hands. It was built by God in the womb of your mother and you
were endowed with it when you took your first breath. You are wearing it now -
it is His temple. The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple (see
Malachi 3:1). But it must not be defiled.”
