1 Corinthians 1: Integrity and the Christian Life

1 Corinthians 1

What marks the Christian life? Paul in writing to the Corinthian church is forced to admonish them for their failure to live according to the grace of Christ. In essence, their faith in Christ does not coincide with their lives. They needed integrity.

Paul begins 1 Corinthians by responding to the report that he hears from Chloe’s household (v. 11) about their behavior. They have broken into quarrelsome groups warring against each other. Unfortunately, the church today often looks eerily similar. We argue about music, traditions, and everything else that we can think of. But Paul will have none of this among people whom he loves so dearly. Instead, Paul appeals to the unity they have in Christ (v. 13) and his death on a cross (v. 17), because there is something about Christ and the cross that should mark Christians as different.

Instead of quarrels, Christians should be marked by the power and wisdom of God (v. 18, 24), namely Christ. But for the world this wisdom is foolishness and completely contrary to anything they can imagine. It is the foundation of ‘spiritual’ integrity.

Integrity is defined as an internal state or quality of being that leads to strong moral and ethical principles. We are not born with integrity rather it is cultivated within us. We can call it spiritual integrity because it derives from our union with Christ. In him we have been enriched in every way (v. 5) including that we can be strong (v. 8) and live with integrity. True spiritual integrity should mark our lives and there is no greater testimony. Therefore, since we have this foundation in Christ; then let us live with His integrity.

Posted By Aaron