The meetings discussed in this passage were causing more harm than good because they were underlining the basic social divisions of Corinthian society. The Corinthians were gathering and eating socially and tacking communion on at the end, and Paul teaches how this was bringing disunity.

This passage is one that pastors almost want to skip over. Its topics are complicated and controversial, but there's a reason why God included this passage in the Bible and there's much we can learn from it.

While there is much controversy about submission and some think that it is just a power move, it is not by accident that at the same time we have increasing relational fracturing. Our communities are breaking down. You can come to church and not know the people sitting near you. You can live for 20 years in a neighborhood and never speak to your neighbors.

We can become passionate in the church about secondary, non-essential issues without considering the damage that can be done by wounding the conscience of another Christian. We sometimes judge others who disagree with us about these things, and instead we need to have our passions rightly ordered around the centrality of Christ and the gospel.

We have to be aware that when we call ourselves Christians, people are watching how we behave. Paul opens up his own life to the Corinthians in this passage. Those in Christian leadership are called to a gospel authenticity and a vulnerability so that people can see them wrestling and struggling to follow Jesus. Then those who are watching have a template of what it means to follow Christ in the 21st century.

Part of our condition is not only that we are not good, but that we think we are. We have a tendency to think that there's nothing really wrong with us.

So much of our lives, so much of Christianity, so much of the world would be better if we would read the Bible, take it seriously, soak it in, and be changed by it. Paul says to follow his example.

When we're told not to do something, it becomes a temptation, and we all struggle with this. But there is a much greater motivation to avoid temptation than just to obey rules. We want to follow God.

A truly free person is free to serve, to give, to love; they are no longer bound by the biggest slaveryto self. In this passage, Paul talks about using his freedom for the benefit of others and giving up his rights in order to serve.

Imagine the Apostle Paul walks in the door, fired up, and he tells you to ask your questions. The book of 1 Corinthians is full of questionsones the church there had asked Paul. This passage holds some answers for us too.