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.

Paul explained that all spiritual gifts come from the Spirit, and no one should boast. The church, like a body, needs a variety of gifts, with all members and roles equally valuable. Believers should use their gifts to serve and support the whole community.

He emphasised that love should be the foundation for using these gifts. Eloquence, power, and discipline mean nothing without love, which should guide all actions. While prophecy and tongues are valuable, love is eternal and most important. Paul encouraged orderly church gatherings, focusing on building each other up. Prophecies should be shared publicly and weighed, and tongues should be interpreted if spoken.

1 Corinthians 15-16

Paul now moves to the final point of conflict between him and the Corinthians, the resurrection from the dead. Because the Corinthians had such a low view of the body, they believed, as many Christians today do, that ultimately they would end up with God as spirits in some heavenly realm. They did not believe in a physical, bodily resurrection.

So Paul first challenges this by pointing to Jesus. He asks them to think on the message that he brought them, that they have believed, and led to them being saved. Jesus came and died for their sins, as the scriptures predicted. He was buried in a tomb, and then was bodily resurrected, again just as the scriptures predicted.

We know it was a bodily resurrection because he appeared to Cephas (Peter) and the other disciples. After that, he appeared to more than 500 individuals, many of who were still alive and the Corinthians could go speak to.

Finally, he came to Paul. Paul saw the bodily resurrected Jesus. And it’s because of this revelation that Paul has gone on to preach the message that he has, and that others have believed.

Therefore, if we can point to Jesus and agree that he was bodily resurrected, how can the Corinthians now turn around and say, but that won’t happen for others? No one will be resurrected from the dead. They’ll just go be with God. That makes no sense.

If the Corinthians want to say there is no resurrection from the dead, then the same has to be true for Jesus. And if Jesus wasn’t resurrected from the dead, then what’s the point in our faith? All those who have already died have no hope because of Jesus, and we can only hope that ministry of Jesus only impacts our life here, because when we die, it makes no difference.

Paul then flips it back round. I we do say that Jesus was risen from the dead, then he most be the first fruits. The first wave of that resurrection. In the same way that Adam brought death into the world and now all die, Jesus was resurrected, so all may be resurrected.

This leads Paul to point to the end times. There will come a point where Jesus has destroyed every ruler, authority, and power. As we read through the Old Testament, we talked about Divine Council members, spiritual beings, that rebelled against God and used their power and authority for evil fracturing God’s kingdom (Deuteronomy 32:8-9, Psalm 82). These are likely the powers that Paul is talking about.

Eventually, Jesus will defeat every power of evil, darkness, and chaos that sets itself against the kingdom of God, reuniting the kingdom under himself. Included in that will be death itself. When he does this, then all who to him will be resurrected into this reunited kingdom. He will then hand that kingdom back over to the father.

Paul then appeals to the practice of ‘baptism on behalf of the dead’ as reason why there must be hope for those who have died. This simple verse has caused a lot of confusion, in part because we have no evidence that the 1st Century church practice baptism on behalf of the dead.

There are a few different interpretations. One is that Paul means there are those who were baptised in the faith and then died some time later. When this happened, there was something about their hope in the face of death that inspired other and led them to become followers of Jesus and be baptised.

Another interpretation is that these were people who got baptised on behalf of others who died before they could be baptised. Either way, Paul is pointing to the hope of baptism, pointing to a hope after death.

Next up, Paul points to the example of himself and many others. They suffer in this life. Paul has risked his life multiple times for the gospel. Why go through all that suffering in this life if there was no hope after death?

So Paul challenges their assumption that they can live how they want now because they will one day and it will not matter. No. Not only is that not the case, but to allow people to behave that way in their midst is bad for them. He quotes an Athenian playwright, Menander, saying ‘Bad Company ruins good morals’. If this way of living is allowed to continue, it will be to their shame. Instead, they should behave and live right.

But if we are to say that believers will experience a bodily resurrection, then what does this mean? What kind of body will they be raised with? If I die old, am I doomed to spend eternity in an old resurrected body? What if I’m injured or my body is broken? What if I just don’t like my body? Am I really going to be trapped in this forever?

Paul says no, and points to the example of a seed. A seed and a tree are different. You plant a seed and it goes into the ground, and then a tree bursts forth. In the same way, your current body will die and at the resurrection, a new body will burst forth. But the point is there is a continuation. Just as the seed is transformed into the tree, and the tree contains elements of the seed in it, our new bodies will be transformed from our old bodies, and there will be elements of our old bodies in our new ones.

Paul makes the distinction between these a one being a physical body and the other being a spiritual body. This has caused some to argue that that is evidence that our new bodies won’t be material, but that’s not what Paul is saying.

In the Greco-Roman world, their gods were described as having spiritual bodies. That’s not to say that their bodies were immaterial. Instead, it was acknowledging that our bodies are mortal and lead to decay, whereas the bodies of the gods were immortal and immune to decay.

In the same way, believers will have new, immortal, material bodies that no longer face decay. This was true for Jesus when he was resurrected and will be true for his believers. Even those that don’t die before he returns will be transformed into these new immortal bodies. Death and decay will be dealt with and the believers will have victory in Jesus.

Paul then begins to wind down his letter. He encourages them to start saving and collecting aid amongst themselves now, so when he next comes it’s already gathered for him to take on to Jerusalem. Paul will come to visit them after he’s been to Macedonia, and Timothy and Apollos will also visit them when they get the chance.

We also get a final note from Paul written with his own hand. As we know, these letters were often dictated to others to write, and so Paul signed the final line himself so they knew it was from him.

But in this letter, Paul has sought to address the key issues amongst the Corinthians. These issues were born out of a hyper spirituality which caused the Corinthians to chase after eloquent teachers and pursue things that would make them spiritual, at the expense of their bodies and how they treated one another.

Paul has pointed out that the kingdom of God is upside down. It does not seek to boost itself. It does not rely on eloquent teachings. It takes our bodies seriously and is focused on building up one another. That is the book of 1 Corinthians.

Psalm 146

This psalm is attributed to king David and falls into the category of praise psalm. These final five psalms (Psalm 146-150) serves as a doxology for the whole book of psalms. They praise God as king and speak his authority over all things.

Psalm 146:1-2 - I will praise the Lord

Psalm 146:3-4 - Don’t put your trust in leaders

Psalm 146:5-9 - The Lord watches over those in need

Psalm 146:10 - The Lord will reign

The psalmist starts by calling to their soul, their entire being, to praise the Lord. All five of these final psalms open with a call to praise the Lord. Next comes a warning to not put your trust in ‘princes’ and ‘mortals’. They are not God. They will one day perish and be returned to the earth.

Ultimate trust should be reserved for God. Those who do that will be happy and blessed. He is the one who made the heavens and the earth. He is worthy of our trust. The psalmist then lists the many things that God does. He provides justice to the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, set the prisoners free, open the eyes of the blind, lifts up those who are bowed low, loves the righteous, watches over the foreigner and upholds the orphan and widow. In contrast, those who don’t trust in God and do their own thing will find themselves walking towards ruin.

The psalmist then ends with praise to God, declaring his reign forever. This psalm is a declaration that the Lord is king. It affirms that, as king, he does what good kings do. Look after his people.