1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians has always been one of the most interesting books of the Bible for me. The Corinthians are "notorious" in Bible studies because, as most people know, there were a lot of problems in the Corinthian church. I mean, a LOT of problems. Some people were doubting the resurrection of the dead (a VERY important doctrine). There were different groups of people bickering over which teacher or apostle was the best ("I follow Paul; I follow Apollos; I follow Peter; I follow Christ."). It must have been pretty unnerving for Paul to see these people, including himself, put on the same level as Jesus. Many of the Corinthians must have been proud people, looking for acceptance and glory from the world, not understanding how God works with humble people. There were issues with the Lord's Supper, issues of rejection of each other. Some were boasting of the sexual "freedom" which approved of one man to be sleeping with his father's wife.
This is a serious mess. And some people think their church has problems!
The really amazing thing about the Corinthian church is that Paul stuck with them, and, more importantly, so did God. They had power in spiritual gifts in this church. God's presence was still among them. Paul does not excommunicate the whole church. The last two lines of the book are "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus." Paul's love to all of them? Yes, Paul loved them. And so did God.
Still, Paul wrote a firm letter of exhortation, stating that they needed to really work on these sinful issues. The church is meant to be holy and loving, representing the One who died for it, and we can't back down on that.
I think the Corinthian church and the American church have a lot in common. By God's grace, we'll learn a lot by going through this wonderful book of the Bible.
One other note: when it comes to commentary, I'm going to be using Gordon Fee's The First Epistle to the Corinthians. Fee is a reputable evangelical scholar who believes that the spiritual gifts are still in operation today (as does Horizon).
Thanks for joining me!
This is a serious mess. And some people think their church has problems!
The really amazing thing about the Corinthian church is that Paul stuck with them, and, more importantly, so did God. They had power in spiritual gifts in this church. God's presence was still among them. Paul does not excommunicate the whole church. The last two lines of the book are "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus." Paul's love to all of them? Yes, Paul loved them. And so did God.
Still, Paul wrote a firm letter of exhortation, stating that they needed to really work on these sinful issues. The church is meant to be holy and loving, representing the One who died for it, and we can't back down on that.
I think the Corinthian church and the American church have a lot in common. By God's grace, we'll learn a lot by going through this wonderful book of the Bible.
One other note: when it comes to commentary, I'm going to be using Gordon Fee's The First Epistle to the Corinthians. Fee is a reputable evangelical scholar who believes that the spiritual gifts are still in operation today (as does Horizon).
Thanks for joining me!
posted by Rob | 9:16 AM
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