I attended one of his seminars in Detroit, Michigan with my father. We laughed and cried at his humor and poignant stories that emphasized his remarks. Many of his points stick with me today.

My wife and I used one of them with our children. He told of how he paid his children to read books he thought they should read. We followed his advice with our daughters. (We did test them to make sure they had read them.)

Perhaps he applied the famous quote from Claud Cockburn:

“Never underestimate the effectiveness of a straight cash bribe.”

However, no one can bribe unbelievers to trust Christ. Nor can the assembly of the first-born use it to expand Christ’s kingdom so His glory fills the earth. Further, it does not enable Christ followers to fulfill the impossibilities of the Christian life.

The believers at Corinth in Paul’s day faced the same dilemmas. Their world, like ours, emphasized wealth, wickedness, and wisdom. Especially, the citizens of Corinth prided themselves in their ability to discern truth.

Paul feared that the Corinthian believers, in their desire to know God, would use the means that their fellow citizens followed to attain wisdom.

How did the Corinthians attain wisdom that Paul feared his friends would adapt?