Recap

So far in 1 Corinthians we've read the section where Paul addresses the reports he's heard about the Corinthians, and started the section where he addresses things they raised in their previous letter. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians likely as his second letter to the church in Corinth. It was written in response to reports of bad behaviour in the church, and addressing issues that came up in the previous letter.

One key issue in Corinth was the influence of Greek thinking, which led them to believe the spirit was more important than the body. As a result, they either neglected their physical actions or justified sinful behaviours, thinking the body didn’t matter. This affected their views on sexuality, food, and resurrection.

Paul reminded the Corinthians that they were made holy by Jesus and that their spiritual gifts came from God, not their own efforts. Addressing their divisions, he emphasised that Jesus, not their teachers, was the source of their freedom and unity. He explained that God’s wisdom, seen in a crucified Messiah, subverts human wisdom. Using the metaphor of a building, he said that while different teachers played different roles, it’s God who tests the work, so they shouldn’t boast in leaders.

Paul then addressed immorality in the church, particularly a man sleeping with his father’s wife. He urged the church to expel him, hoping he would repent after experiencing life outside God’s protection. Using the metaphor of yeast, he warned that sin spreads and must be addressed to keep the church pure. He also rebuked the Corinthians for taking disputes to public courts and reminded them they were capable of judging themselves.

Paul cautioned that while believers were free from the law, not everything was beneficial. Their bodies, as temples of the Holy Spirit, should remain pure from sexual immorality. He clarified that husbands and wives should meet each other’s sexual needs through mutual submission and advised against withholding sex to prevent temptation. While he recommended singleness he acknowledged that marriage was better for those unable to remain celibate.

Paul also addressed food sacrificed to idols, noting that idols were insignificant but urged the Corinthians to avoid such food if it might cause weaker believers to stumble. He used his own example of giving up his rights as an apostle to avoid hindering the gospel, comparing this to an athlete training for a prize.

Paul then addressed issues in the Corinthian gatherings, starting with head coverings. He emphasised order in the church, noting that men and women have different roles. In that context, women should cover their heads while praying or prophesying. He appealed to cultural ideas about shame and honour, which included long hair for women and short hair for men. Though much of it is debated today it very much reflected the values of the time.

Paul also corrected the Corinthians on their conduct during the Lord’s Supper. Wealthier members were eating and drinking before the poorer members arrived, creating divisions. Paul reminded them that the meal was meant to unite believers as equals before Jesus.

He then addressed spiritual gifts, explaining that all gifts come from the Spirit, and no one should boast or elevate themselves based on their gifts. The church, like a body, needs a variety of gifts to function, and all members and roles are equally valuable. All believers should use their gifts to serve the whole community, supporting and caring for one another.

1 Corinthians 13-14

Paul carries on by showing them the most excellent way to approach their spiritual gifts and the church gathering. Love. 1 Corinthians 13 is typically read at weddings and is used as the ultimate description of love. But note the context Paul writes this chapter into. Love is to be the lens and the compass through which our church gathering and gifts should be worked out.

He starts with eloquence. He can have all the right words to say, speaking in different languages, including the languages of angels. But if he does not speak with love, then his eloquence is like the harsh clang of a gong or symbol.

Many people assume this means that the gift of tongues is speaking in the language of angels. It is more likely however that Paul is using the ‘tongues of angels’ as hyperbole. Even if he could speak the mystical language of the angels, it would mean nothing if he didn’t have love.

Next up Paul points to power, understanding, and great faith, all things the Corinthians prided themselves on. Even if Paul had all of these it would mean nothing without love.

He could be super disciplined and give away all that he has, but it wouldn’t benefit him if he did it without love.

Love should be the primary thing we seek to bring and cultivate, in every area of our lives. Love is the more excellent way.

Paul then defines love. When it comes to others love is patient and kind. It does not allow itself to be irritable or resentful at others’ failing. When it comes to ourselves it is not envious, boastful, or arrogant. It does not demand its own way or expect special privileges.

Then when it comes to life in general, love does not rejoice in evil. Instead, it rejoices in the truth. It is able to endure whatever comes, believe in everything God has promised and hope for their fulfilment.

Next, Paul compares love to other areas of Christian life. Love never ends. It is eternal. But other things, that the Corinthians treasure will end. We currently prophesy and speak in tongues. But eventually Jesus will return and the need for those things will end.

For now, these things serve their role, but they are imperfect. Paul describes it like seeing through a mirror dimly. So when we prophesy, we hear something from God that then gets translated through our human brains and our very human thoughts into our human words. It is limited. One day that will be done away with, just like an adult puts childish things aside when they grow up.

But there are things that won’t be put aside when Jesus returns; faith, hope, and love. Of these three, love is the most important.

Having established that love should be the main goal and lens through which we do everything else, Paul then encourages the Corinthians to pursue love and the spiritual gifts. Most importantly prophesy.

Tongues is good for speaking to God, but it doesn’t help others. They can’t understand what you are saying. But if you seek to prophesy, others will be built up and encouraged. Tongues is great for building yourself up, prophesy is great for building up the church. If love is our primary goal, then we should be seeking to build others up more than we are building ourselves up.

It’s good to build yourself up. Paul wants to see all the Corinthians speaking in tongues so they are built up. But prophecy is better for the church as a whole.

Paul unpacks this further. What we speak should be understandable. If someone is playing music but there aren’t clear notes then it’s just noise. It’s not really music. Similarly, if someone is speaking in tongues but others can’t understand what they are saying, then it’s meaningless.

That’s why the gift of interpreting tongues is so important, because it allows believers to be led by the Spirit to bring worship and prayer to God and then allows others also to understand this and be encouraged.

When we pray in tongues, we’re allowing our spirit to pray, inhibited by the limits of our minds. But sometimes it is better to pray with our minds so that we can benefit others who can understand what we say. Better five words from our minds that others can understand than 10,000 words from our spirit that they can’t.

Paul quotes Isaiah 28:11-12 to highlight that before the exile, God intentionally used foreign speakers to pronounce judgement on the Israelites for their wickedness in a way that they wouldn’t understand.

They’d gone too far and needed to be punished. He didn’t want them to understand and to change their external behaviour so they could say they were being obedient, when the wickedness was still in their core.

In that sense, some might argue that tongues then should be used with unbelievers, to pronounce judgement on them for their wickedness as God did with the Israelites. Prophesy would then be used in the church to bring correction to the believers so they could change and make a difference.

But Paul points out that’s not the goal. We don’t want unbelievers to walk in, not understand, and think we’re all crazy. We want believers to be convicted, and that God is really there. In that case, prophecy is better, as it can reveal what is going on inside an unbeliever to let them know that God is real and knows them.

So Paul provides some guidance to their services together to give them order. Let each person be ready to bring something, whether that be a song, a short lesson, something that God has revealed to them, a tongue, or its interpretation.

If someone is going to speak in tongues, then there should be a pause to allow for interpretation. If no interpretation comes, then that person should be silent as they’re not benefiting the church in that moment.

If someone brings a prophetic word, let the people then weigh up what is said. If a second person starts prophesying while someone is already speaking, let the first person be quiet to let the second person speak. You don’t want two people speaking louder and louder, competing to be heard.

The purpose of prophecy is that all may learn and be encouraged. This is a far cry from how prophecy is often practised in churches today, where it is shared one on one off to one side. Amongst the Corinthians, prophecy was to be shared publicly so that all could weigh it up and be encouraged by what God was saying in their midst.

All prophecy is to be held accountable to others in the church, for God wants order in his church, not disorder where people can say what they want and claim it is prophecy.

Then comes another controversial passage, 1 Corinthians 14:34-36. In this passage, Paul seemingly tells women to be silent in church and ask their husbands at home if they have questions, for it is ‘shameful for a woman to speak in church’.

When we look at the manuscript records we’ve got, there’s some evidence to say this was added at a later date and wasn’t original to Paul. Others argue that Paul is quoting the Corinthians here, and that he is disagreeing with them. Others still claim that Paul is making a comment on something specific to the Corinthian church, such as uneducated women shouting out questions in the middle of the service.

Whatever your interpretation, it’s clear that this is at odds with Paul’s other teaching on women in the church. We read in 1 Corinthians 11:5 that Paul assumed that women would be praying and prophesying, so this can’t be a blanket ban on women speaking in church.

Paul then emphasises his authority to bring these commands and then summarises his stance. The Corinthians should be eager to prophesy. They should allow people to speak in tongues but make sure it’s in an orderly way.

Psalm 145

This psalm is attributed to king David and falls into the category of praise psalms.

Psalm 145:1-2 - I will bless the Lord

Psalm 145:3-7 - You are worthy of praise

Psalm 145:8-9 - The Lord is good

Psalm 145:10-13 - The Lord’s works and kingdom

Psalm 145:14-16 - The Lord satisfies

Psalm 145:17-20 - Blessed are those who trust the Lord

Psalm 145:21 - I will praise the Lord

The psalmist starts with a declaration that they will bless the Lord. They will praise his name forever. Why? Because he is worthy of it. He has done mighty acts that are shared from generation to generation. He is majestic, which is something the psalmist meditates on. The psalmist will declare of the Lord’s awesome deeds to other, and they will celebrate the Lord’s goodness and righteousness.

He is a gracious and merciful God. His works are good and his kingdom is glorious, lasting forever. And he satisfies those in need. He lifts up those who are falling or bowed down. He gives food to his people and satisfies their desires. Those who call to him he is near to. Those who fear him he fulfills their desires and hears their cries. Those who love him he will watch over. But the wicked, those who don’t call to him, fear him, or love him, but do their own thing, he will destroy. And so the psalmist ends with praise.

This psalm celebrates God as king. He is king over all the earth, and all people rely on him for provision and protection.