Posts from 2020 (Page 8)

I find this line most encouraging and instructive for several reasons: This text encourages me, for it shows that God is concerned about the welfare of His people. Verses 1-2 remind us that God is not unsympathetic to our distress, for they bring to our remembrance Israel’s great deliverance from Egypt as they passed over the Red Sea on dry land, but the Egyptians were drowned in the sea. In this they were unequivocally secured in the hand of Moses.…

Chapter 9 marks an abrupt change of topic and tone. I cannot help but think this is also in response to the letter the brethren had sent him. Unbelievably, some of the Corinthian brethren were questioning Paul’s authority and liberties as an apostle of the Lord. This would continue to be a problem, as Paul would repeatedly return to this issue in his subsequent letter to the church at Corinth (cf 2 Cor 10-13). The issue at hand was the…

Moving from his lengthy response to the Corinthians’ questions on marriage (“Now, concerning the things you wrote to me…” 7:1), Paul now responds to their question of the matter of eating meat offered to idols. (This also being part of their correspondence to Paul, marked by Paul’s transition, “Now…” 8:1). From the statement, “We know that we all have knowledge,” it appears that the Corinthians were eating meat offered idols and defending the practice based upon their knowledge that “an…

There are many admonitions regarding the sin of fornication and sexual impurity. Some want to try and parse the language so tightly to blur the meaning of words like “fornication” and “adultery” (itself a form of fornication). The claim is often made that a loving God wouldn’t condemn anyone in a “committed relationship,” be it a man and woman cohabiting outside of marriage or homosexual unions. One of the most clear and concise texts concerning sexual purity is found in…

Chapter 6 continues Paul’s admonition to discernment, as he rebuked the brethren for taking one another to court to settle their disputes. He contrasted this practice with the fact that the saints (Christians) would judge the world and angels. This being the case, even if brethren could not handle their own disputes, there ought to be at least one brother capable of making judgments regarding their petty affairs. Paul admonished them to suffer wrong and allow themselves to be cheated,…

“Don’t be so openminded that your brains fall out.” This was the case with the spiritual discernment of the church at Corinth. Desiring a permissive culture’s approval, their tolerance of sin reached epic and ungodly proportions, as they allowed fornication that was not even mentioned among the Gentiles. Whether the man under consideration was involved with his mother or stepmother is not as material as the fact that it appears that the father was still living and enduring this wrong…

1 Corinthians 4 is a beautiful chapter but oft-overlooked when one ponders this magnificent epistle. I would love to compose a half dozen blogs on this chapter, but my chapter a day format won’t permit it. Here are a few summary thoughts: Verses 1-6:  The text of our title. The opening line cannot be separated from the preceding context, namely unity. Paul pleads with the brethren to consider Apollos and himself as nothing more than servants (those who own nothing)…

After a brief detour from his opening salvos on unity (1:10-17), Paul returns to this all-important subject. Revisiting the division revealed in “I am of Paul” and “I am of Apollos,” Paul accused the brethren of being carnal and immature (vv 1-4). Any division for any reason is a tragedy. But division that involves the personality of preachers is especially egregious. This is why Paul said he was happy that he had only baptized a handful of the Christians at…

One of the things that impress me when I read about the preaching of Paul is the simplicity with which he preaches. While we know Paul was a highly educated man (Acts 22:3), he preached with a laser-like focus on Christ and Him crucified. He was not interested in making creative arguments or “owning” his opponents with clever retorts, “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom…” (v 4). Paul was satisfied to be…

1 Corinthians 1:17 is one of the most oft-cited passages in attempts to deny the essentiality of baptism for salvation. But is it really the silver bullet they believe it to be? What does the text say? “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.” Some have mistakenly assumed that Paul’s statement is somehow a refutation of the necessity…