Browsing Category
1 Corinthians
42 posts
Who really speaks for God?—1 Thessalonians 5:21
Paul closes his first letter to the Thessalonians with a series of exhortations. Paul no doubt designed these…
How do we imitate God?—Ephesians 5:1; 1 Corinthians 11:1; and other passages
What does Eph 5:1 mean when it exhorts us, “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children” (NIV)?…
When would Jesus permit divorce?
In the previous post, I emphasized Jesus’s teaching on preserving and, where possible, restoring marriage. Jesus used graphic…
Not rightly discerning the body—1 Corinthians 11:17-34
When Jesus met with his disciples the night before his crucifixion, he ate a meal with them. In…
Will gifts like prophecy and tongues pass away?
Paul says that spiritual gifts like prophecy, tongues and knowledge will pass away when we no longer need…
Christian celebrity cults: Paul vs. Apollos in 1 Corithians 4:6-21
Sometimes we get so excited about various figures we respect today or in church history that we lose…
Paul explains the resurrection to the Corinthians – part 3
These background notes are for 1 Corinthians 15:35-58. Verse 35: Paul advances the case by answering an imaginary…
Paul explains the resurrection to the Corinthians – part 2
These background notes are for 1 Corinthians 15: 20-34. Verse 20: “First fruits” represented the beginning of the…
Paul explains the resurrection to the Corinthians – part 1
These background notes are for 1 Corinthians 15: 1-19. Introduction to Paul’s argument: Resurrection by definition involved the…
The purpose of spiritual gifts – 1 Corinthians 12-14
The Corinthian church was like much of the American church today: socially stratified, individualistic, and divisive. Although Paul…
Loveless Christians in 1 Corinthians 13
We often quote 1 Corinthians 13 as if it is an all-purpose description of love, for weddings, marriage…
Will gifts like prophecy and tongues pass away? — 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 in context
Paul says that spiritual gifts like prophecy, tongues and knowledge will pass away when we no longer need…