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The Ending of a Letter And so we come to the end of 1 Corinthians. Paul has addressed all the issues he can in this first letter and he now has some final words of instruction, encouragement and greetings. Over the last 15 chapters, we have walked with the Corinthian church through their need ofContinue reading “1 Corinthians 16”

Christ’s Resurrection So far in this first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul has addressed their lack of understanding of how the body of Christ should work, their need for God’s wisdom instead of their own, and the necessity of a true understanding of agape love. Now Paul wants to clarify a very important doctrinalContinue reading “1 Corinthians 15”

Edify, Encourage and Console At the conclusion of chapter 13, Paul says – the greatest of these is love. He then starts the next part of his letter with “pursue love.” It is obvious that the Corinthian church was having a problem with unity of the body. Obvious, because Paul deals with a problem withContinue reading “1 Corinthians 14”

The Greatest of These is Love We are now at 1 Corinthians 13. As I said last week, it is one of the most famous and quoted scripture passages in the Bible. Often done at weddings, it is known as the love chapter. In this chapter, Paul lays out his argument. The “better way” heContinue reading “1 Corinthians 13”

One Spirit, One Body Before I get into this chapter, I want to do a bit of review. After his introduction, Paul begins his letter to the Corinthian church urging them “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you,Continue reading “1 Corinthians 12”

Imitating Christ Chapter 11 of 1 Corinthians deals with two distinct issues. The first being headship and the second is the Lord’s Supper. While they do not seem connected, they actually have one foundational tie – and that is the sense of betterment. It is an issue that Paul has been dealing with the entireContinue reading “1 Corinthians 11”

Beware of Temptation After a brief hiatus in chapter 9, we are back to the subject of eating meat sacrificed to idols. In chapter 9, Paul used himself as an example to show the church at Corinth why it is so important to think of others before yourself. He showed them that he had theContinue reading “1 Corinthians 10”

How To Run the Race Chapter 9 may look a bit like a rabbit trail, but it is really an extension of the previous chapter. Last week, in chapter 8, we looked at the issue of the church either blowing it up or building it up. Are we so filled with pride in our knowledgeContinue reading “1 Corinthians 9:1-27”

Blow It Up or Build It Up? This may be a short chapter, but it is chock full of things we need to understand as believers. Paul begins the chapter by addressing food offered to idols, but he takes a slightly different approach than one would expect. Earlier in his letter he said, “Everything isContinue reading “1 Corinthians 8:1-13”

To Marry or Not To Marry? This is the Question! As we continue in this letter to the Corinthian church, Paul seems to take a moment to address an issue the church has brought up to him. Apparently, they had written to Paul with a “perfect solution” for the problem of sexual immorality. Let’s readContinue reading “1 Corinthians 7:1-39”