tom hogsed

Paul closes out this first letter to the church at Corinth by reminding them about participating in a financial offering which was being collected for the poor believers in Jerusalem who were experiencing a severe famine.  Offerings were also being collected by Paul from other churches such as Galatia and he wanted them to be involved in helping.  So Paul offered some instructions to them regarding giving, “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come” (16:2).  Although Paul did not require a certain percentage from each individual, he did instruct them to collect it on the first day of the week (Sunday) and that everyone should participate.  This offering for the Jerusalem believers was very important to Paul and he even committed to take the offering to them personally, accompanied by a representative  from the church at Corinth (16:3-4).

In 1 Corinthians 16:5-12, Paul details some of his own personal plans for future travel to Corinth (16:5-7), but until that time arrived, he would be staying in Ephesus where “a great and effective door had been opened” to preach the gospel, even though many were still opposing his ministry (16:8-9).  Paul also wrote that Timothy would soon be visiting Corinth and they were to warmly receive him (16:10-11).  In his final few words of the letter, Paul wrote that the Corinthian believers should watch (be alert), stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong, and show love (16:13-14).  He reminded the church at Corinth of the family of Stephanas, some of the first believers in Corinth, who had been faithfully serving in the ministry (16:15).  This family was an example to the Corinthians and the people should give honor, respect, and submit to the leadership of this family who had shown great love and concern for the church (16:16-18).

Paul’s desire for the church of Corinth was that they would, once again, become effective in their witness for Christ, and in order to do this they would need to set aside their differences and receive the truth in obedience.  He knew that this would be a painful process, but Paul was confident that they could walk in obedience to God’s ways.  And “if anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed [committed to discipline]” (16:22).  The church of Corinth needed to return to purity and allow their faith to mature.

Dear God, help me to walk in obedience to Your ways so that I might represent You in a godly manner.

The Corinthian church had been plagued with much internal division over issues such as disunity (1 Corinthians 1-4), immorality (1 Corinthians 5-6), marriage (1 Corinthians 7), personal freedom (1 Corinthians 8-10), worship (1 Corinthians 11), and spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12-14).  Paul wrote this first letter to the Corinthians urging them to leave behind their arguments and fightings to make way for peace and maturity in their faith.  Many of their differences could have been settled through understanding the truth and love for one another, so Paul penned this letter to bring clarity to all these issues.  One of the only doctrinal issues dealt with in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was the resurrection of the dead.

Even though the Corinthians possessed the truth regarding the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the dead, many in Corinth questioned its validity.  Paul wrote this chapter to defend the resurrection of Jesus Christ (15:1-11) and ultimately our own resurrection from the dead (15:12-34).  Those who questioned the reality of a bodily resurrection asked questions such as, “How are the dead raised up?  And with what body do they come?” (15:35).  Paul answered the questions of the cynics by explaining that the current body cannot be resurrected anew unless the old body dies (15:36).  Paul illustrates this concept by explaining that a seed is planted, decomposes in its current form, and then life comes from that dead seed (15:37) just as the old body dies and new life springs from it (15:38).  God possesses the power to make this miracle occur.

Paul has been writing to the believers at Corinth concerning some issues which have kept them divided and distracted from their function as a church. The first fourteen chapters are filled with instruction and challenge to the Corinthians to change their behavior regarding issues such as disunity (1 Corinthians 1-4), immorality (1 Corinthians 5-6), marriage (1 Corinthians 7), personal freedom (1 Corinthians 8-10), worship (1 Corinthians 11), and spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12-14); however, 1 Corinthians 15 provides some of the strongest doctrinal teaching in all of the Bible relating to the resurrection of Christ and the dead.  In the first nineteen verses of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul has already established that “if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.  And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” (15:13-14).  In other words, the resurrection of the dead will not happen unless Jesus Christ came back to life.

The apostle Paul had spent most of his time during this first letter to the church of Corinth dealing with issues which were keeping them immature in their faith. Issues such as disunity (1 Corinthians 1-4), immorality (1 Corinthians 5-6), marriage (1 Corinthians 7), personal freedom (1 Corinthians 8-10), proper worship (1 Corinthians 11), and the proper use of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12-14) had caused much division within the church.  This divisiveness had rendered them ineffective in their witness for Christ.

Paul has been writing to the church at Corinth concerning some misunderstandings about the issue of spiritual gifts, especially regarding the gift of tongues (1 Corinthians 12-14).  The gift of tongues had originally been given as a way for the truth about Jesus to be communicated to unbelievers who did not speak the same language as the apostles were speaking (Acts 2:1-13).  This supernatural gift was being abused by the Corinthians who were mixing the genuine gift with pagan practices of ecstatic utterances.  They were declaring that this gibberish was a special language from God, although no one knew what was being spoken.  Paul desired to put a stop to this abuse and so he reminded the Corinthian church that spiritual gifts were to be practiced with love (1 Corinthians 12-13) and for the benefit of the entire church (1 Corinthians 14:1-19).  In order to understand Paul’s teaching concerning spiritual gifts, the Corinthian believers were going to need to set aside their limited knowledge and receive the true purpose of the gift of tongues (14:20).  Paul referred back to the Old Testament where God spoke through the prophet Isaiah declaring, “With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people;  And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me” (14:21; see also Isaiah 28:11-12).  This prophecy revealed that God would one day use foreigners and foreign languages as a sign to those in Israel who did not believe.  Paul was revealing one of the keys to the gift of tongues – they would be a sign to unbelievers, not to those who already believed (14:22).  It is obvious that the Corinthians were misusing this gift as a sign of spirituality within the church, instead of using it so that those who did not believe could hear the truth.  Prophecy (speaking the truth) was more desirable than tongues because it had the power to convince an unbeliever of his need for Jesus, whereas tongues only brought confusion to the unbeliever (14:23-25).

In the next few verses Paul provides guidelines for the genuine gift of tongues that the Corinthians were to follow.  First, the gift must be used for the benefit of the entire church (14:26).  The next guideline was that only two or three were permitted to speak during a service each taking their own turn (14:27a).  The last guideline given by Paul was that the language (tongue) must be interpreted for all to understand (14:27b-28).  Alongside these guidelines for the gift of tongues, Paul also provided a couple regulations for prophesying: only two or three could speak at a service (14:29a), the prophets should judge what was being said (14:29b), the prophet hearing from God was to receive speaking priority (14:30), and each prophet should speak one at a time (14:31a).  Prophesying was to be practiced so that all could “learn” and be “encouraged” (14:31b).  Paul also added that the “spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets” (14:32).  This guideline encouraged discernment while practicing any gift so that no one was acting in a bizarre manner or bringing confusion to the listeners (14:33).  Another problem which existed in the church at Corinth was that some women were causing disorder by speaking out of turn and asking questions during worship, so Paul commanded them to “keep silent” and “ask their own husbands at home” (14:34-35).  Church services were to be conducted “decently and in order” (14:40).  Paul concluded this issue of spiritual gifts by reminding them that the words he had written were from God and  should not be ignored (14:36-39).

Dear God, may we abide by Your commandments when it comes to worship in the church.

The issue of spiritual gifts had caused much disunity in the church at Corinth so Paul wrote to bring clarity to this area of contention.  Although God gives each believer spiritual gifts, some of the Corinthians were not satisfied with the gift they had been given and sought after the more visible gifts; furthermore, it appears that some of the Corinthian believers were mixing God-given spiritual gifts with pagan practices, especially with the gift of tongues.  Tongues were initially given to the apostles as a sign to unbelievers to hear the message of salvation in their own language, even when the deliverer did not speak that language (Acts 2:1-13).  Some in the Corinthian church took God’s initial gift of tongues and combined it with pagan ecstatic utterances, saying that it was a special language from God.  Paul brought the Corinthians back to the basics of spiritual gifts by reminding them that spiritual gifts are always to be done with love and for the benefit of the entire church (1 Corinthians 13, 14:1-5).  The gift of tongues, as being practiced by the Corinthians, had become a spectacle and Paul warned against this abuse.

In his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul wrote in order to challenge the believers to pursue maturity in their new found faith.  During Paul’s absence they had been plagued with divisiveness, allowing numerous issues to cause disunity within the church.  Since Paul had a great love for the Corinthian church, he was writing to bring clarity to many of these issues such as disunity (1 Corinthians 1-4), immorality (1 Corinthians 5-6), marriage (1 Corinthians 7), personal freedom (1 Corinthians 8-10), proper worship (1 Corinthians 11), and the proper use of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12-13).  Paul had spent much time on the issue of spiritual gifts, which the Holy Spirit provided at the moment of faith in Jesus Christ, and how each individual’s gift was important in the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12).  Apparently, the Corinthians desired the most visible gifts and had forsaken the importance of using their God-given gift, whatever it may have been, to benefit the church; in fact, Paul accuses them of failing to embrace the most important characteristic of any spiritual gift – love (1 Corinthians 13).  He reminded them that any gift practiced without love was of no benefit to the church of Christ.

In an effort to bring back the basics of spiritual gifts, Paul writes that they should desire the use of gifts which are of benefit to the entire church, not just a limited few (14:1).  Paul placed two spiritual gifts, prophecy and tongues, against each other to prove his point.  Prophesying is the speaking of truth, specifically those things which have already been revealed in Scripture (12:10), and provides edification (building up in truth), exhortation (a call to obedience), and comfort to all people (14:3).  Tongues, as it was originally given at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13), was when an apostle spoke the truth in his native language, but the listeners heard the truth translated or interpreted in their own native language.  This was a supernatural act of God during a time when the gospel needed to be proclaimed to unbelievers in their own language (Acts 2:5-13).  The Corinthian church had perverted this original gift of tongues (known languages) by mixing it with the pagan practice of uttering gibberish.  Each time Paul referred to this false gift of tongues, he used the singular form of the word, “tongue.”  This helps the reader distinguish between Paul referring to the genuine gift of “tongues” (known languages) and the counterfeit gift of an unknown “tongue.”  The Corinthians were speaking with an unknown tongue (gibberish) and claimed that it was a special language from God, but Paul accused them of doing something that was of no benefit to the church (14:4a).  On the other hand, prophesying or preaching was of benefit to everyone in the church, unless those who speak in tongues (known languages) are being interpreted or translated for the entire church to understand what is being spoken (14:4b-5).  Paul concludes that the key to any spiritual gift is that it be practiced in love and for the benefit of the entire church.

Dear God, may I practice my spiritual gifts in love and for the benefit of the church.

Paul wrote this first letter to the church at Corinth with the hope that they would become unified in building the work of God which Paul had begun.  Corinthian believers had allowed disunity and personal opinion to distract them from those things which were most important. It is obvious that the Christians at Corinth possessed spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit to edify the church (1 Corinthians 12), but their disunity and lack of concern for each other had caused them to remain ineffective in their witness of the crucified Christ.  The words penned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 revealed the one characteristic missing from the Corinthian church – love.  Even though they possessed spiritual gifts and doctrinal truth, they were void of sincere love for each other.  Paul writes, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” (13:1).  Possessing spiritual gifts and right teaching means nothing without the presence of love – the absence of love by believers is similar to a “sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” whose sound is briefly heard but then quickly gone (13:1).  Without love, our efforts mean nothing (13:2-3).  What does love look like?  Paul defines it for his readers by saying, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…” (13:4-8a).  These actions are the model of true love and Paul expected the Corinthians to follow this pattern in the church.

Although love is eternal, spiritual gifts are not.  Prophecy, tongues (temporary confirming sign to unbelieving), and knowledge will eventually come to an end, which is the reason Paul desired the Corinthians to make love primary in everything (13:8b-9).  Love outlives spiritual gifts.  Even though spiritual gifts are meant to bring us to a fuller maturity, we will not be completely perfected or mature in this life (13:10-11).  It is only when believers see God face to face that they will fully understand and have no need for spiritual gifts (13:10-12).  Until that time, followers of Christ should walk in love at all times because it is the greatest thing we can do (13:13).

Dear God, may I be known for my love toward You and others.

The apostle Paul wrote his first letter to the church at Corinth regarding issues such as disunity (1 Corinthians 1-4), immorality (1 Corinthians 5-6), marriage (1 Corinthians 7), personal freedom (1 Corinthians 8-10), and proper worship (1 Corinthians 11).  The Corinthian believers had not been maturing in their faith and Paul was concerned for their personal and corporate growth.  In the next few chapters of this letter, Paul addressed another issue facing the Christians at Corinth: spiritual gifts (12:1-14:40).  These gifts had been given to each believer at the moment of faith and enabled them to build and strengthen the church (12:1); however, some Corinthians were practicing bizarre experiences associated with their former pagan lifestyle (12:2-3).  Apparently they were practicing these demonic expressions in the name of Jesus (12:3), so Paul wrote to correct their thinking and reveal the true nature of spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit (not from evil spirits).  There even seemed to be some jealousy amongst the Corinthians concerning what they labeled the more desirable gifts within the church.  So, Paul began by teaching them that there are many gifts, but each one was given so that others can profit and know God in a greater way (12:4-7).  Although there are diversities of gifts such as wisdom, knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy (speaking truth), discernment, tongues, and interpretation of tongues, Paul reminds them that all these gifts come from the Holy Spirit (12:8-11).  Paul then uses the human body as an illustration of the unity which should exist inside the church regarding these spiritual gifts and their usefulness (12:12-14).  He writes, “If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?  But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.  And if they were all one member, where would the body be?” (12:15-19).  Every person’s gift in the church is important and needed for there to be unity.  Since every part of the body was needed for it to function properly, no person with a certain gift was more valuable than another (12:20-24).  When each gifted individual realized this truth, there would be unity and equal care for each other (12:25); in fact, if one part of the body suffers, the rest of it suffers also (12:26).  Paul was hoping that the church at Corinth would develop a deep love and respect for each other regardless of the gift they possessed (12:27).  Paul also provides a list of potential spiritual gifts given by the Holy Spirit (12:28-28) and challenges them not to be jealous of those who possess gifts that they may desire (12:29-30).  Instead of seeking the “best gifts,” they should realize that there is a more excellent way, which Paul will define in 1 Corinthians 13 as love.

Dear God, every individual in the church is valuable and I pray You would help me to treat them with love and respect.  Bring unity to Your church so that she may, once again, build Your kingdom.

Paul had already tackled tough issues such as disunity (1 Corinthians 1-4), immorality (1 Corinthians 5-6), marriage (1 Corinthians 7), and personal freedom (1 Corinthians 8-10) in his first letter to the church at Corinth.  In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul addresses two more issues causing confusion and disobedience within the church of Corinth: head coverings (11:2-16) and guidelines for the Lord’s supper (11:17-34).  Both of these issues were addressed because they were important to the acceptability of their worship to God.  There seems to have been some misunderstandings within the church regarding proper conduct in worship.  This misunderstanding stemmed from improper behavior of men and women who had confused their God-given roles.  Paul wrote a few words to remind them of their roles, “But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God” (11:3).  Christ assumes His role as the head of the church, making Him Lord over all who believe.  Man has been placed in authority over the woman, not as a dictator, but as one who is under Christ’s authority and responsible to love his wife.  Paul established these foundational truths to help the Corinthians understand God’s authoritative design in creation.  Men in Corinth had been praying and prophesying with their head covered, which may have been a local custom, but Paul reminded them that an uncovered head was a sign of man’s authority over woman (11:4).  Apparently the women had been worshiping with their head uncovered, which was a dishonor to God’s natural design of authority and submission (11:5).  Although men and women were of equal importance, God has assigned distinct roles to both of them and maintaining them would bring God’s blessing (11:6-16).

Paul also takes the time to address the Corinthians’ misconduct in observing the Lord’s supper, which was meant to be a remembrance of the death of Christ as payment for our sins.  The celebration of the Lord’s supper had been corrupted by disunity (11:17-19) and selfish indulgence (11:20-22).  Paul reminds the Corinthians that this time should be characterized by remembrance of the Lord’s body and blood being given for the forgiveness of sin (11:23-26).  The Lord’s supper was also meant to be a time of personal reflection and confession of any known sin (11:28).  Taking part in this celebration with known sin and irreverence invited the judgment of God upon that person (11:29); in fact, some individuals were sick and even dead as a result of participating unworthily (11:30).  Paul used this chapter as a way to guide the Corinthians back to proper conduct in worship and hopefully they would heed his words.

Dear God, may I worship You with a pure heart while walking in obedience.