Tag Archives: 1 Corinthians

1 CORINTHIANS 16

Intentful relationship leads to intentful generosity. This then inspires intentful giving which opens the door for intentful relationship. The idea of relationship is meant to be a closed system of endlessly spirating intentful acts that prove and proof the true nature of our faith. The gospel goes out and through because it is a workContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 16”

1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-58

Our physical bodies are a gift. We are not gnostics who believe that this body is a curse that has trapped the spark of life within us. However, this gift, though not a curse, has been cursed. It has been given supremacy in our lives and hearts and minds. What was given as a giftContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-58”

1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-39

Paul has harsh words for the foolishness of men and their so-called wisdom. Even in nature itself, a seminal thing such as farming gives us examples that we can relate to on God’s processes. The mystery of the gospel is not so foreign that it is unspoken about all around, it is only told inContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-39”

1 CORINTHIANS 15:33-34

This passage highlights a significant truth. People are meant to be influenced. This is not a negative thing. God created us to crave meaningful relationships. Scripture says that we were created with his Word. We want it & need it to survive. Biblically, this fact also makes relationships a part of our being where greatContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 15:33-34”

1 CORINTHIANS 15:12-32

The resurrection is the lynchpin of all history. With it, all things hold together. Without it, nothing truly matters. Yet, in Corinth, as is today, many try to present the work of Christ without his physical or factual resurrection. Not only should this not be so, because it’s factually in error, but it is foolishContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 15:12-32”

1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-11

There are so many things that can become entangled with the gospel. This is largely because the message contained within it is an open call and doorway for all to enter into God’s blessings through Christ’s sacrifice. But many things come into it that don’t belong. John reveals to us that things will one dayContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-11”

1 CORINTHIANS 14:26-40

The key to living in God’s image is not simply being at peace with one’s self. It is living self sacrificially. This type of living is, by necessity, an ordered, disciplined and structured living. It is not structured according to selfish ambition but toward the reflective benevolence of God’s character. So often, our metric forContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 14:26-40”

1 CORINTHIANS 14:1-25

This passage has much meat on it. Dealing the complexity of desire and application, Paul doesn’t mince words or break into a theological treatise to qualify the gift of Tongues. Many could read into this passage an acceptance of the idea that Tongues is unique prayer language, but a simple reading of the text wouldContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 14:1-25”

1 CORINTHIANS 13

This evergreen passage has captured the hearts of our society for its grand philosophy on the nature of love. People use it, erroneously, to speak about romance but that is not it’s intended usage. It is, at its heart, a treatise on the engine of relationship. Many have confused the driving force of relationship toContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 13”

1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-31

So often people in a community become jealous of the strong. But in truth, the only weak members are the one who are uncultivated in their uniqueness. People in a group are not weak because they “don’t fit in,” with the status quo. Diversity is a recipe for success, not failure. But diversity requires aContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-31”

1 CORINTHIANS 12:1-11

The idea of a spiritual gift is a seminal idea in our active faith. They are a covenant of sorts between man and God that his image will be a productive one as played out in creation. All people in his body bear the privilege of their gift, while also bearing the burden to useContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 12:1-11”

1 CORINTHIANS 11:17-34

The Lord’s Supper is special because of what it accomplishes in the body. On the one hand it manages to recall the sacrifice of Christ. On the other it manages to tie that event into something that nourishes. But their is a spiritual element to it as well. Paul doesn’t focus on mysticism of transubstantiationContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 11:17-34”

1 CORINTHIANS 11:1-16

The roles of men and women in Roman times & throughout Jewish culture were well established norms. Society was tenuously built on it. However, they also made it difficult for the sexes to function as equals because they established a caste system between them. In this passage, Paul describes how those norms can be navigatedContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 11:1-16”

1 CORINTHIANS 10:23-33

This idea that we should “be concerned for the benefit of others,” is at the heart of the “golden rule.” It is a curious thing that happens when people are freed & left to their own devices. They often times practice the very subjugation that they held in such disgust. The measure of the godlyContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 10:23-33”

1 CORINTHIANS 10:14-22

Paul’s challenge is to that of a unity of intent. To be truly united with each other & God is to walk with a conviction about actions. Everything has a base level meaning. It has a base level ideology behind it that, while not itself a threat to God, speaks volumes about where your heartContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 10:14-22”

1 CORINTHIANS 10:1-13

There is nothing that God cannot handle, though there is plenty that will be difficult. The difficulty may result in death to our mortal shells. It certainly did for nearly every apostle and Jesus himself. This verse isn’t about facing adversity and the promise of overcoming it while physically intact. It is about facing sinContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 10:1-13”

1 CORINTHIANS 9:24-27

So many believers do not “run to win.” Instead they “run for joy,” because they have won already. They site this as a facet of their victory in Christ. Clearly this isn’t Paul’s theology. Our victory in Christ is assured, but there is a level of participation in it. We cannot simply lay down inContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 9:24-27”

1 CORINTHIANS 9:15-23

Paul understands that ministry is multifaceted. On the one hand, he is due compensation on the merit of his efforts. They are true, respectable and bear fruit. On the other hand, his efforts are only made possible through the free gift of God’s grace in his life. Without this, all of his efforts amount toContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 9:15-23”

1 CORINTHIANS 9:1-14

This passage is about fair treatment. It isn’t about lining the pockets of church workers, but like many things in the Corinthian letters, it is about intentional equity based on Gods grace. God can work despite a lack of money from those he supports through church workers, but those in the church do not functionContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 9:1-14”

1 CORINTHIANS 7:25-40

The thing that is often missed in this passage is the unique way in which singleness is presented on par with marriage in terms of being a fulfilling life of ministry. Whereas the married man will always struggle to bring his family into ministry, the single man feels no such gravity. I had the benefitContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 7:25-40”

1 CORINTHIANS 7:17-24

I have heard this passage used to justify that we can and should remain in our sins; specifically in cultures that are sinful and have counter biblical ways of living. But the call here, to stay in a circumstance is toward domination of the environment rather than abandonment. There is never to be a mentalityContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 7:17-24”

1 CORINTHIANS 7:10-16

The passage ends with the quip, “don’t you realize?” The question here is hope. If your hope is in God’s ability to show a person that you love about himself through your continuing sacrifice in their life then you have already won them to Christ. But if your hope is to end the fighting, haveContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 7:10-16”

1 CORINTHIANS 7:1-9

Again we see that something in our culture that is viewed as purely biological is maintained with an eye toward its purpose in the unity of the marriage relationship. Even in abstinence within marriage, the point of functioning this way is to draw closer to God. This is why it should only be done forContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 7:1-9”

1 CORINTHIANS 6:12-20

Sexual sin is unique because of how many facets of the human experience it touches. Yet humans have done everything they can to compartmentalize it as hurting no one. The biblical model for sex is that of a permeating and pervasive experience. Sex is an act of worship in the covenant relationship. It is aContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 6:12-20”

1 CORINTHIANS 6:1-11

Paul demonstrates wisdom. With a bold directness, he calls out a foolish way of thinking to the point of shame. In today’s culture, this would be perceived as shaming and gaslighting. The idea that we would accept an offense and wait for God’s ultimate judgment rather than smear the name of Christ or the unityContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 6:1-11”

1 CORINTHIANS 5

This is the hardest part of being a follower of Christ. This is that moment of truth wherein you must protect the church by being harsh with it. It seems counterintuitive to call for separation if the inheritance of following Christ is unity, but unity is never at the sake of holiness. You may findContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 5”

1 CORINTHIANS 4:6-21

Here we can see some of Paul’s snarky genius peeking through. In his admonishment, he doesn’t shy away from leaning into the” so-called wisdom,” of Corinth and pointing out their foolishness. This reminds me of Jesus to the Pharisees when he calls them,” gods.” There is wisdom in his judgment of his people here. HeContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 4:6-21”

1 CORINTHIANS 4:1-5

Judgment does not belong to us except where authority has been given. Another way to think about this is to insert the word, “pass,” before the word, “judgment.” We have no authority to pass judgment like a magistrate. This doesn’t mean that we have no authority or call to be discerning. On the contrary, weContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 4:1-5”

1 CORINTHIANS 3:10-23

What do we ultimately build on? That foundation that was already laid. We can often be confused by the strong structures built by others but at the end of the day, the strongest structure is only as strong as the foundation it rests on. Our solidarity is also a structure. How we build it isContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 3:10-23”

1 CORINTHIANS 3:1-9

This passage is important to unity. It is about the perspective from which our unity comes. Namely, the issue is allegiance and understanding that in Christ, we not only have new end goals and results but also new origins. Our churches and church workers may have brought us to Christ, but faith in him throughContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 3:1-9”

1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-16

Relationship is key to this passage. One cannot be educated if one doesn’t have knowledge. But not knowledge of a subject but of the character that inspired that subject. Our world is not made up of mere cogs but it is the vast tapestry constructed by a personality. If we can first see this andContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-16”

1 CORINTHIANS 1:18-31

This passage is integral to understanding ourselves in this universe. God is so much more clever we could ever be. Becoming clever ourselves is only an extension of how he enables us to think. In truth, many of the world’s most brilliant atheists can only ever be considered this when they borrow liberally from theContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 1:18-31”

1 CORINTHIANS 1:1-9

Paul had previously told the Corinthians that they were well equipped to live out their faith. This is part of the framework for his coming admonition to the church. Letting people know that they must live rightly is not a statement about a lack of equipping but a lack of discipline, focus and drive toContinue reading “1 CORINTHIANS 1:1-9”