The lessons for the third quarter in 2026 focus on Paul's two letters,
First and Second Corinthians.

"In Paul's time, Corinth was famous for its wealth and strong commerce, all thanks to its port, architecture, shipbuilding, and ceramics. The city was an important financial center. Nevertheless, it was also known for its sexual immorality, religious cacophony, and shrines dedicated to various gods. Indeed, daily life in Corinth was marked by flagrant idolatry. This historical-cultural background helps us understand Paul's main concerns regarding the Christians in that city and, consequently, his exhortations to them."

There were numerous, and serious, problems in the Corinthian church.
Paul's letters are not only excellent theological sources, they are also a great guide on how to deal with these problems, which still plague churches to this day. Divine inspiration enabled Paul to deal with them in the light of the gospel.

Lesson One
Paul's Ministry in Corinth

Texts to think about for This Week's Study:
1 Cor. 1:1," Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God"
Gal. 1:1, "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father
,
Paul identifies himself as an apostle,-- the title is highly significant. It carries a lot of authority.
Only the twelve and Paul are "apostles" in the strict sense of the word.
Paul did not walk with Christ, as did the other apostles, during Christ's three and a half year ministry on earth, thus his claim to being an apostle may have been questioned. Yet Paul knows and experienced a direct encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus. He had been taught by God, and he knew God had called and commissioned him as an apostle.

Acts 17:16-34, Paul's experience in Athens, and his sermon on "Mars Hill".

1 Cor. 5:9-11,
The sin of immorality within the church. It is not "love" to allow someone in open and defiant sin to retain membership.

Acts 18:4-10,
The story of Paul's 18 months of ministry in Corinth.

2 Cor. 2:4
Paul expresses his affliction and anguish of heart when he wrote to them, not to hurt them, but that they might know the love which he had in abundance for them..

Seems to be much like Ellen White not being allowed as a prophet, had to show her 'credentials' so to speak..

Lesson Two
The Message of the Cross

Memory Verse: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18, NIV).

Paul emphasizes the centrality and importance of the cross.
1 Cor. 1:17-31,
"the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing"
"to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
"a stumbling block to the Jews"
"foolishness to the Greek"
"but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, (the message of the cross) is Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God"

Col. 1:20,
Through the blood of the cross, Christ
--reconcile all things to Himself,
--made peace

1 Pet. 2:24,
-- bore our sins in His own body on the tree

1 Cor. 2:1-5
--I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
--that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

To the worldly mind the cross seems very opposite to the concept of success and personal fulfilment. Someone being crucified is the ultimate defeat, someone laying down their life is opposite to the "look after self first", it all sounds like defeat and giving up, to the carnal mind.

So we see even religions backing away from the cross.
Muslims believe in the historic Christ -- they believe Jesus lived on earth, they even believe he is in heaven and will return, but they deny his divinity, they deny He is the Son of God, and think of Him as only a great prophet, on equal or lower status to their prophet. Yet the Biblcal fact is that, yes, was with God and was God, with God (John 1:1) Jesus died on that cross and rose again and has made salvation to be freely offered to all who will believe and come to Him.

The Jews wanted their nation to be exalted, to have their enemies destroyed, they weren't looking for a Messiah who would die for their sins and deliver them from sin.

So yes, the gospel seems "foolish", to many, whose focus is on the quickest and easiest road to succeed.

Yet, in the end, as one looks back over history, and hears about people rising to fame in a brief flash of momentary success, only to be trodden under by the next ambitious mortal, or disease or war, strikes them down. One can't help but realize, how short and temporal is life itself, here on earth. Like a flash and it is gone. Yet, Christ offers life, everlasting life, with joy we can";.
Why does so much of humanity turn their backs on Him, and go after the temporary, believing the cross is just foolishness?

Lesson Three
Unity in Christ

Read for This Week's Study: 1 Cor. 1:12-17, Rom. 1:29, 1 Cor. 1:10, 1 Cor. 3:1-4, Phil. 2:5-8, 2 Cor. 11:23-28, Col. 1:24.

Memory Text: "I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10, ESV).


What does it mean for church members to be in unity?
It does not mean they all think exactly the same, nor do they all have the same gifts and personalities. Each member is unique.
What it does mean is they are unified in purpose, working together to achieve a goal, having love and respect for each other.

Division is most often built on pride, and competition. Division does not see the others as co-partners but rather as competitors or "losers". Division tends to downgrade people in order to further our own ideas and ends.
Division brings confusion. Two factions arguing loudly over some minor doctrinal point will confuse any new comer to the church. Outsiders will not see "Christian love" radiating from a divided church, instead they will see bitter words and angry faces, and they will think: that religion doesn't change any person's life.

So, yes! To have a healthy church pray to have unity.

A house divided against itself cannot stand. When Christians contend, Satan comes in to take control. How often has he succeeded in destroying the peace and harmony of churches. What fierce controversies, what bitterness, what hatred, has a very little matter started! What hopes have been blasted, how many families have been rent asunder by discord and contention! {5T 244.1}

" Paul charged his brethren to beware lest in trying to correct the faults of others they should commit sins equally great themselves. He warns them that hatred, emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, and envyings are as truly the works of the flesh as are lasciviousness, adultery, drunkenness, and murder, and will as surely close the gate of heaven against the guilty. {5T 244.2}

" Oh, if the church would arise, and put on her beautiful garments, the righteousness of Christ, what a change would be realized in her influence, and in her spiritual condition! The jealousies and fault-finding, the heart-burnings, the envy and dissensions, the strife for supremacy, would cease. A close sympathy with Christ and his mission of love and mercy, would bring the workers into sympathy with one another, and there would be no disposition to cherish these evils, which, if indulged, are the curse of the church. In giving attention to the work of saving souls, they would be stimulated themselves to greater piety and purity; there would be a unity of purpose, and the salvation of precious souls would be felt to be of such great importance that all little differences would be completely swallowed up. {RH, October 12, 1886 par. 10}

Lesson Four
Sin in the Church

Read for This Week's Study: 1 Cor. 5:1-13, 2 Cor. 2:5-10, 1 Cor. 6:1-13, 1 Thess. 4:1-8, 1 Cor. 6:19-7:9

Memory Text: "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NIV).

What is sin, and why is it so bad?

1 John 3:4 tells us sin is the transgression of the law. So by the law we find an intellectual knowledge defining sin.
But sin is more than just disregarding rules.
Sin is more than just a personal problem.
Sin is more than just enjoying a forbidden act.
While sin is all of the above, we need to understand more.

God's commandments are not some arbitrary rules, His law is immutable, meaning they are do not experience mutations. They are immutable, unchanging. We can not argue them out of existence, and if we do we will suffer grave consequence, that are the natural result of living in opposition to those commandments.

The mixed up emotions, shattered nerves, sickness, depression, violence, strife, betrayal, sorrow, pain and death, are all consequences of sin.

Our love and devotion to Christ will be in proportion to the depth of our conviction of the deadly disaster of sin. If we have no comprehension of the destructive nature of sin, Christ's coming to save us from sin, and enabling us to live above sin, really doesn't sense the magnitude of Christ has done for us, to save and cleanse us from sin.

Sin is a malignant thing, whose purpose is to destroy me.

God hates sin, He knows it's power to ruin His creation. When people cling tightly to sin despite repeated warnings, they are heading down the road to ultimate destruction.
Their relationship with God is broken. They seek to fill the void with cheep temporary pleasures that just leave them more empty and often start to compromise their health and character.
Sin, disguises itself as freedom, but it is slavery. ?The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him? (Proverbs 5:22).
Their conscience becomes weaker and they sink deeper.

The answer is not beating oneself over the head, the only answer is Jesus. Jesus saves.
He saves, not so we can continue in sin, but He frees us from sin.

As we begin to understand the terrible nature of sin, we rejoice at the news that Jesus saves from sin. It is Christ's presence in our lives that keeps us from sin, and gives us true freedom!

In this weeks Bible reading 1 Corinthians 5 we see Paul dealing with a situation of a man who has fallen into grievous sin.

He is fornicating with one of his father's wives.
It seems he, nor the church are too alarmed by this.
In Corinth the culture isn't very moral. Fornication is very common, but even the Corinthians see this man's activity as wrong. Yet it is being done in the church.

This was violating marriage, violating the seventh commandment, the tenth commandment and the fifth commandment (actual all the commandments).

We have other accounts in scripture where a son fornicated with his father's wife. To do this had even greater sinister meaning than other fornication. Remember the story of Absalom when he tried to take the throne from his father David. (2 Samuel 16) David fled Jerusalem, and Absalom with his advisors entered Jerusalem. David had left 10 of his wives (concubines) to tend the palace. To show contempt on his father and show the people he was the conqueror, Absalom's advisor told him to publicly (on the roof top) basically rape all those ten women. It was an act of conquest and take over of his father's position and house.
Some idea was presented by another of David's son who wanted to be king. Solomon was already crowned king, when this brother, Adonijah, asked to have Abishag (who had been David's last concubine caring for him in his last days) to be his wife. Solomon saw this request as Adonijah asking for the kingdom. (1 Kings 2).
Rueben (Jacobs firstborn son) did the same thing, and lost the birthright because of it.

This was a serious sin, recognized as evil even by the heathen.

It was not only the sin of fornication it was an insult and usurpation of the position and authority of the father.
Yet on a broader base; all sin is an insult and attempted usurpation of the position and authority of our heavenly Father, Who has given us all things, including our very life, and has done much more to provide for us salvation and eternal life.

When we realize this, we come with repentant, humble hearts to Jesus, confessing our sins against HIM, and rejoice and praise His goodness, mercy and grace for His plan of redemption. How can we keep on with our sins in light of what He has done?

A person who abides in His love and grace, cannot sin. 1 John 3:9. Why not? It's not because they are forced into obedience but because of love and thankfulness for Him.
The Holy Spirit is guiding, and Christ's love fills our minds, and we just want to live for Him.

Sin in the Church brings forth the question of discipline.

Reading 1 Corinthians 5 may sound rather harsh.
5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

How do we reconcile this counsel with Matthew 13, where we are told to let the wheat and tares grow together until the harvest?

Could the answer be that we are not to judge people's spirituality when they do things we may question, BUT when someone is engaging in open, willful sin they are no long just immature weeds, but open rebels.



The aim is to act remedial. The church's work is to point people to salvation in Christ.
Matthew 18:15-17 gives the formula:
1. If a church member is obviously committing sin. "Go and tell him his fault between you and him alone" in Christian love and hope that he will forsake that sin. If he won't listen --
2. " take with you one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established" If he/she refuses to listen --
3. "tell [it] unto the church: but if he neglects to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.

This formula agrees with 1 Corinthians 5. After calling a person to forsake his sin, if he/she choses to continue in that sin, disfellowship is necessary. For by continuing in willful, open sin, he/she shows they are following Satan, not God. They have chosen another "lord". As Jesus points out in John 8, when the Jewish leaders were plotting to kill Jesus, they were following Satan, he was their father, and they were sacrificing their salvation on the altar of pride and their own selfish desires and ambitions.
The act of disfellowship is only a token that they themselves have separated themselves from God. It is done with the hope that they will realize the eternal danger of clinging to their sin and realize what sin is doing to themselves.
While he was a church member the church members were cautioned not even to eat with him. They could no longer treat him as a representative of the church.

But once no longer a church member, being counted as a "heathen" places him/her on the same level as everyone outside of the church, as someone to whom the gospel is to be preached in a longing to bring them to conversion in Christ and restoration.

In fact -- if we turn to 2 Corinthians 2, it appears the church, following Paul's message, did disfellowship this man who had been in a fornicating relationship with his father's wife . It appears he has repented and forsaken the sin, and is deeply sorry for what he has done, Paul urges the church to forgive and comfort.
2 Cor. 2:6 Sufficient to such a man [is] this punishment, which was inflicted by many.
2:7 So that contrariwise you now forgive [him], and comfort [him], lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
2:8 Wherefore I beseech you that you would confirm your love toward him.

If they do things out of ignorance, we cannot judge, only try to help. But if they do it knowingly and do it brazenly to challenge openly what is from God, then we need to step in.