This passage describes a turning point in the life of God’s people. The wilderness wandering caused by unbelief and disobedience is finally over. God has raised up a new generation and reconstituted his covenant with them, and they embrace the signs of their covenant relationship. In this way we learn a lot about a covenant relationship with God and the role of covenant signs in that relationship.

This text seems confusing at first. The apostle seems to change subjects mid-stream but in fact he is on the same topic. New angle. He uses ancient world examples to show that there is no point in making changes in your life as a means to get right with God. He gives the only answer to that in going back to his main theme in this letter. He is resolved to know nothing else.

Divorce and Separation

If a believer should not marry an unbeliever does that mean if you get

converted you need to divorce your spouse? What are the Biblical ways we

can divorce or separate? What happens if I am in an abusive relationship?

These are some of the questions the apostle is trying to answer the

Corinthians.

Marriage Intimacy

Based on this chapter some have said that the apostle Paul is against

marriage and places higher value on celibacy but this is far from true.

Here the apostle Paul answers the Corinthian's questions regarding married

life and gives instructions that conflict with the idea of celibacy being

more spiritual.

Bought at a Price

Justifying sexual sin while claiming to live a Christian life is rife today

but it was around in the life of the Corinthians. They had slogans to

justify their “freedom in Christ” but the apostle deals with this as one of

the most grievous of all sins and gives the formula to deal with it.

Broken

The Apostle Paul gives a condemnation list. Don’t be deceived if you are on

that list. You will miss out on the kingdom. Many have used this list to

target homosexuals but it is far more extensive than that. Thankfully it

also gives us a solution.

Hypocrisy is the pancreatic cancer of the soul. It will kill you without you even realising it. In his confrontation with the religious leaders, Jesus uncovers the heart of hypocrisy and points us to its cure.

When Seeing Isn’t Believing

It’s often thought that it would be easier to believe in Jesus if we had

more evidence, perhaps a sign from heaven. But many people in Jesus’ day

failed to believe even though they saw many signs. In this passage Jesus

exposes the heart behind unbelief and points to the one sign that is the

clearest of all: the sign of Jonah.

Which Kingdom Are You In?

Jesus lifts the veil on the unseen world, showing us that we are caught up

in a spiritual conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of

Satan. However, Satan’s kingdom is no match for Jesus. Therefore, we cannot

remain neutral toward Jesus. If we are not on his side we are against him

on the devil’s side.

Ask, Seek, Knock

Through faith in Christ we are given the status of God’s children. We can

call God ‘Father’. Jesus assures us that if we are God’s children then our

prayers will be answered. We should pray with confidence that God will

answer us, and trust that his answers are always the best.