Throughout the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul has been imploring the church at Corinth to seek unity over division in their dealings with each other. And each chapter of this book has been leveraged towards attempting to address areas of division within the body. But when we get to chapter 16 it seems as if all of that simply goes out the window in favor or personal greetings and Paul’s future plans. But when we really stop and examine the chapter in full we find that Paul has not abandoned his previous topic, he is simply brining it full circle.

If there is one place in scripture where a person can turn to read the contents of the good news of the Gospel, that is 1 Corinthians 15. But when people approach this chapter, they often stop after verse 9. But that presents an issue, because the entirety of the gospel is not contained in just the first 9 verses. It is the entire chapter that relates the gospel message.

In the course of the Bible, there is only one chapter that even begins to talk about the practical application of Spiritual Gifts in the corporate worship service. And when covering this topic Paul uses two gifts in particular to make his point. Tongues and prophecy. Perhaps the two most controversial gifts in the modern age. But when we get down to it, there is one focus that is put on the church service when it comes to the gifts. Order over Chaos.

Ahh, the love chapter. So sublime. So poetic. So perfectly descriptive of the depths of love. Often when we come to this chapter in 1 Corinthians our minds shut down because we get lost in the depths of the love that is described in this chapter. But this chapter does not stand alone. It appears in the midst of Paul’s description of the usage of the gifts of the Spirit. Why is it that Paul takes this moment to stop and extoll the greatest virtue of love?

In chapter 10 of 1 Corinthians Paul introduced a metaphor for the church that is aptly descriptive and yet goes much deeper than most realize. Yeshua while on this earth walked in a body. When His body left the earth in the ascension, you might assume that His body is no longer present. And yet, in 1 Corinthians Paul calls the church the body of Christ. And if we are the body of Yeshua then what are the implications of this line of thought?

For the past 3 chapters of 1 Corinthians, Paul has been addressing concerns that were raised in a letter that he received from them. In these chapters he has offered great insight into the role that the Christian should play in these situations. If we stop and examine all of these past four chapter and the problems that are addressed we will find that the solutions that Paul offers are not many. There is one solution. A solution that solves each of the issues that the church in Corinth faced.

The idea of sacrifice is all throughout scripture. From the very beginning when Cain and Abel offer the first recorded sacrifices, to the NT where sacrifice is something that becomes more personal. In the city of Corinth sacrifice was a ubiquitous practice but not to God. There were many gods worshipped in the city of Corinth, and food that was available to purchase had likely been offered in sacrifice to one of the many gods in the city. What was the Christian in this situation to do?

Paul has made the case in the previous chapters that there comes a point where a Christian should limit their actions when it comes to causing others to stumble. But in this chapter, Paul brings this topic home as he turns to the one thing that nearly everyone can agree is an important matter. Finances.

For many, the desire to be right is central to their belief. After all, truth is of vital importance and so defending what we see as true is a just cause. But there is a danger to the focused defense of the truth. A side effect that leaves victims in our wake as we seek to elevate our own ideas of what is true over the ideas of others. And as Paul continues in this letter he has addressed this danger, but in this chapter he brings his thoughts on the matter to the front.

When coming to Christ is is all too easy to become zealous. Zealous for God, for His kingdom, and for truth. But all too often this zealousness confuses being right with righteousness. And this can be a problem, because when we become zealous for being right, the outcomes can be detrimental to everything that Christ stands for.