I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge—because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. (1 Corinthians 1:4-9) Father, may this describe the relationship I have with you as well as all other Christ followers:
- Grace given to me in Christ Jesus and fully recognizable as such;
- Enriched in every way—in all of my speaking and all of my knowledge;
- The testimony of Christ confirmed in me;
- Not lacking any spiritual gift as I wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed; and
- Strong to the end, so that I will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you… (1 Corinthians 1:10-17). I’ve got to wonder what God and our Savior think about the current number of denominations (30,000 at the last count). What happened?
Christ our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:20-31) I’ve got to think that if more denominations read this passage in light of the passage previous, there would be a lot fewer divisions among us.
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. (1 Corinthians 2:1–5) More ways to solve division:
- Resolving to know nothing while we are together except Jesus Christ and him crucified;
- Living together in weakness and fear, and with much trembling before God; and when we do speak, choosing not to speak with “wise and persuasive words” but instead relying on
- A demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that
- Our faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). Father, please, let me know your Spirit as never before, for certainly this is the only true way to know you, and fear you, and love you as you deserve.
So then, no more boasting about men! (1 Corinthians 3-4) Paul devotes the next two chapters to flesh out his thinking on division—summarized in this statement about boasting. Can we stop separating ourselves now as Lutherans, Methodists, Catholics, etc.? Isn’t Paul’s opinion on the subject authority enough for us to quit living divided?
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power (1 Corinthians 4). Is it still? If it were, when the power of God is revealed through his followers, do you think we would still have such division?
Expel the wicked man from among you (1 Corinthians 5). I wonder at an organization that is so powerful that it can expel members—for their own benefit—and then be so attractive as to compel these same members to give up their lifestyle (see 2 Corinthians 2) so that they can come back into the organization. Are we so powerful today? Should we be praying for our Father to “turn the power back on”?
The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers.(1 Corinthians 6) Not much has changed in a couple thousand years, has it?
Of marriage and other relationships (1 Corinthians 7). The two passages that jumped out at me this time through were:
- God has called us to live in peace (v 15b); and
- I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord (v 35)
If these two things are our pursuit—regardless of marital relationship, work relationship, or even in a slave relationship—everything else will work itself out.
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (1 Corinthians 8:1b). What we know doesn’t matter if we don’t know enough to not hurt our fellow Christ followers. Do we enjoy every freedom in Christ? Absolutely! But if in our enjoying such freedoms we cause another of our fellow brothers and sisters to stumble, then we don’t have love.
…we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:12b). Paul extends the discussion on the freedom found in Christ in chapter 9, but he takes the path of “purpose” in regards to his own life. Rather than enjoy the freedom found in Christ, rather than exercise his “rights” to be a paid preacher (and support by the church at Corinth), he turns his back on these freedoms and “rights” in order to win more people with the gospel. This, in my unschooled and ordinary thinking, is the only way “fasting” makes sense. Will we do without so that others may have? Will we set aside our own appetites so that others can see Christ clearer?
Paul continues this thought of putting others before ourselves toward the end of chapter 10, culminating in this statement: “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” Oddly enough, in this same section, Paul talks about our freely taking part in what God gives us: “If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?”
The covering of the woman’s head (1 Corinthians 11:1-16). Boy, this one has caused a lot of uproar over the years… and I wonder why. I think it comes down to how Paul wrapped up the passage: “If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.” I think we, too many times, want to be contentious about the Scripture. Paul doesn’t go into detail about the situation in Corinth, but a little back reading reveals that the female temple prostitutes often had their heads shaven. So, it would be rather odd for a female follower of God to come into service with a shaved head… “but such were some of you” (echoing Paul’s earlier statement). There probably were ex-prostitutes who did come in to a gathering from time to time. Shaved heads would prove distracting in a worship service, don’t you think? But maybe I’m reading way too much into this. Maybe it was Paul’s intention all along for women to wear long hair and men to wear short hair. I guess that’s why Jesus spoke so much about that… oh, wait a minute, he didn’t. He was much more concerned about the condition of the inner person than the outward person. So what do you think? Big deal or overblown cultural issue?
The Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:17-34). This passage gets to the heart of Paul’s teaching, in my humble, unschooled and ordinary thinking. Paul states, “But if we judge ourselves, we would not come under judgment.” This Christian walk, this pursuit of Christ as Savior, is an ongoing, organic, vibrant, alive thing. We must constantly desire to grow, to know him more, to understand his ways more, and in the process of our learning, constantly judging our own actions against Christ’s as our heart is revealed to ourselves. In this constant churn, we’re corrected, disciplined, and directed by God to a better understanding of Christ, his Holy Spirit, and even to the heart of God.
Spiritual Gifts (1 Corinthians 12). These are the manifestations of the Spirit according to Paul in this chapter and he states that these gifts are given to each one of us for our common good and equal concern for one another (v 7, 11; 12-30):
- The message of wisdom;
- The message of knowledge;
- Faith;
- Gifts of healing;
- Miraculous powers;
- Prophecy;
- Distinguishing between spirits;
- Speaking in different kinds of tongues; and
- The interpretation of tongues.
Paul also establishes a pecking order, of sorts and assigns titles to those who practice their gifts from the Spirit:
- Apostles;
- Prophets;
- Teachers;
- Workers of Miracles;
- Gifts of healing;
- Those able to help others;
- Gifts of administration; and
- Those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
What’s intriguing about this hierarchy is what Paul says to wrap up chapter 12: “But eagerly desire the greater gifts.” Are all these listed “greater gifts”? Or, should we shoot for the top three? The top two? I don’t know the answer to this. I do know that Paul says every one is given these gifts. I pray that our churches will begin helping us to understand what gift(s) the Holy Spirit has bestowed on us and how we use these gifts to better strengthen the body(ies) the Lord has made us apart of and will help us to better glorify God through this amazing display of God’s power through his people.
Love (1 Corinthians 13). After this conversation about spiritual gifts, Paul ends what we call chapter 12 and starts the discussion about the importance of love in chapter 13 with this statement: “And now I will show you the most excellent way.” Love is the trump card, the overriding mark of a Christ follower. Love is the cornerstone to our godliness. Love shows the world that we’re truly changed, continually being transformed into the likeness of Christ. In verses 8-12, Paul talks about prophecies ceasing and tongues being stilled. Have we entered this time? I don’t know. Nor do I know if I truly have a spiritual gift or how to practice it; however, God has shown me how to love. This I can practice today and pray for an understanding of any additional spiritual gifting along the way.
Perhaps, in God’s infinite wisdom, the fact that we choose to love one another as described in this chapter, with the absence of these other demonstrations of power, is an even greater testimony to the world that God exists, that he sent our Savior to redeem us, that he calls us to him, and that we live within him even now. As Jesus said in John 20:29: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:1). Obviously, Paul was in favor of prophecy over speaking in tongues. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church (1 Corinthians 14:12). Father, I am eager to have spiritual gifts. Please, Father, bless us with spiritual gifts that will uniquely bless our church home.
Five words of instruction are more valuable than ten thousand words spoken in a tongue without interpretation (1 Corinthians 14:20-25).
Orderly worship (1 Corinthians 14:26-40). Does anyone know or attend a church service that is held in this manor? Those with the gift of tongues allowed to speak; those with the gift of prophecy allowed to speak; those with the gift of revelation allowed to interrupt; and women exhorted to be silent… hmmm. (Keep in mind that Paul does allow for prophetic women to speak as long as their heads are covered.) Is this a cultural example of worship meant only for Corinth or a template for what our worship services should model? Would Paul even recognize what we do today as a gathering of God’s people?
Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15). These waters are deep and wide. But the main thing to me this read-through is the clarity of “first importance” (v 3-8): “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” this is it and the only it. This is our uniting. This is our glory. This is our hope. Anything else we add to this is an accessory that we’ve piled on the truth. The more we pile on, the harder to see the reason we’re united. Our singular response to such a love sacrifice is worshipful, loving, simple obedience.
The collection for God’s people (1 Corinthians 16:1-4). I think it’s really funny that we clamp down hard on this passage as an ongoing part of our worship services when this appears to be a one-time kind of thing (as opposed to the worship structure Paul lays out in chapter 14). Apparently, when money is involved, we take it more seriously.
