In the business end of the letter, Paul explains his travel plans and gives his final admonitions. We’ll also reflect on two important themes we learned from the letter as a whole.
Paul argues that death is a bigger problem than we think because it is more than the end of our earthly life. It is the doorway to judgment. But God will give us mercy in judgment and victory over death because of Jesus Christ.
Paul answers an objection to the resurrection raised by his opponents with three comparisons: a seed versus the plant it becomes; Adam who brought death versus Christ who brings life; and natural lie now versus transformed life in the kingdom of God.
Paul’s discussion of the resurrection in 1Corinthians 15 is powerful! Somehow I never seriously studied this chapter before and I can’t believe how profound Paul’s argument is.
In correcting the Corinthians’ view that there is no resurrection, Paul argues that resurrection is an essential part of the way God intends to solve the problem of sin and death.
Paul starts correcting the Corinthians view that there is no resurrection from the dead by making two points: 1) Jesus, the man, was resurrected and 2) if Jesus wasn’t resurrected, then his death accomplished nothing and we are still guilty before God.
Paul gives the Corinthians a rule for deciding when to speak in their public gatherings: If your speech does not edify the group, keep silent. If your speech does edify the group, take turns in an orderly fashion.
Since churches have had to move their services online, I took advantage of the opportunity to “attend” about 10 different Good Friday services. This was my favorite.
Paul argues that prophesy is a better than tongues because prophesy edifies the larger body while speaking in tongues edifies only the speaker. Implicit in his argument is that we should value truth over emotion.
Everything you need to kick start your study of the Old Testament book of Ruth
Before he explains what he means by the greatest gifts, Paul interrupts his argument to explain something more important than all of the individual gifts: love.
I think 1Corinthians 12-14 are some of the most profound chapters in the letter. In correcting the Corinthians’ view of speaking in tongues, Paul gives us a valuable perspective we can apply to many important issues in life. I’m grateful to finally have a chance to teach through them.
Krisan Marotta is a Bible teacher and host of Wednesday in the Word, the podcast about what the Bible means and how we know.