Today's passage: 1 Corinthians 16:12-24

Helpful thoughts:

• Earlier in the letter, Paul addressed a “Paul versus Apollos” controversy in the church.  Verse 12 confirms the controversy had nothing to do with Paul and Apollos.  They were in agreement and partners in ministry!
• Verses 13 and 14 do not contradict each other.
  • Loving people (Giving of yourself for their benefit) requires watchfulness, faith-filled firmness, maturity (Manliness), and strength.
• It appears the men (Or some of the men) of Stephanus' “household” were the first elders in the church at Corinth.  Perhaps later joined by Fortunatus and Achaicus, who could have also been deacons.

Questions to consider:

1. Paul was an Apostle and Apollos was not.  Did Paul have authority to tell Apollos where he could and couldn't minister?  Who would decide if Apollos ever preached at Corinth?  What does this teach us about church governance even in the first century?
2. Does it appear Paul was intimidated by people who did not believe (Verse 22)?  Does this mean he had no heart for the lost (Romans 9:1-3, Ephesians 3:8)?  How should we balance these ideas, knowing they do not contradict each other?  What is our confidence?  How should we view people in relation to our calling and identity in Christ?
3. Reading verses 13 and 14 together, what does it mean to act like a man?  Why is it so important the men of the church act like men? (And the women of the church act like women? – No longer little children)  Where can you grow in maturity and love for the sake of others?

Today's passage: 1 Corinthians 16:1-11

Helpful thoughts:

• The final question from the church in Corinth which Paul addresses is about a financial gift the church wanted to send to the church in Jerusalem.
• The early church was already gathering on Sundays to worship.  As part of their weekly giving, Paul tells them to set aside a portion each week to give for this special need.
• Pentecost (The “Feast of Weeks”) had been celebrated by the Jews by God's design (Leviticus 23:15-22).  The events of Acts 2 which we refer to as Pentecost simply happened during the Jewish event by that name.

Questions to consider:

1. What specific things can we learn about the practices of the early church from reading this passage? (For example, they met for worship on Sundays.)
2. What appears to have motivated Paul to spend time serving in these different churches?  Did the presence of opposition push him away or motivate him to stay?  Why do you think that was true?  What can we learn from that?
3. Does it look like churches operated or functioned entirely on their own in the 1st century?  What ways did they help each other?  How did they remain connected?  How can fellowship between churches be a blessing to everyone involved?

Today's passage: 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

Helpful thoughts:

• In order to live forever in the kingdom, we must be changed.
• There will be some who have not yet died who get to go straight to imperishable resurrection body perfection!  When Christ returns, they will be instantly changed in the “twinkling of an eye.”
  • This event is called ‘The Rapture.”  It is also mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
• Through Christ's death and resurrection we have been promised victory over death!
  • Our physical death is temporary, our life is eternal.
  • This is all through the gracious and powerful act of God.  There is no way we could accomplish this on our own!
• All of this knowledge gives us confidence.  We are on the victorious side!  So, let's go make disciples.

Questions to consider:

1. If absence from these bodies we have is presence with the Lord in Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:21-24), if Christ's return and victory is guaranteed, and if Christ's return also marks the day when we get our forever imperishable bodies, what is it that makes us fear other people?  What thoughts control us?  How can these truths build up our courage to go obey the Lord and love people (Perhaps even in ways they won't agree is “loving”)?
2. How does this passage help us to further understand what we are offering to the lost when we share Christ with them?  We often think of how upset people will be with us if we share the gospel…but how joyful will they be in eternity if they hear and repent?  How can we approach people in love?
3. What will our resurrection bodies enable us to do forever?  Who will receive our praise and worship?  What will it be like to have no sin, no sickness, no death, no shame, and to be with Jesus, to go before the throne of God without fear, etc.?

Today's passage: 1 Corinthians 15:35-49

Helpful thoughts:

• The questions in verse 35 are negative in connotation and naturalistic.  They are also foolish.  A person thinking only of what we can physically touch and see on this earth will miss the magnificence and glory of what God is going to do.
• The resurrection is not Christians getting their old decayed bodies back.  What we will become will be better.  It will be heavenly.
• The body we have now is like the body of Adam.  Our bodies are made of dust and to dust they will return (Genesis 3:19).  The body we will have is like the resurrection body of Jesus, immortal, imperishable.

Questions to consider:

1. How are the differences described between the bodies we have now and the bodies we will have in the resurrection?  In what ways will our resurrection bodies be better than what we have now?
2. Who are those who are “of heaven” (Verse 48)?  What must a person believe in to one day receive this resurrection body (John 1:12)?
3. Even though our resurrection bodies will probably be better than any of us can imagine…what do you imagine they will be like?  What questions do you have?  What are you looking forward to?  What won't you miss about this physical body?  How can our hope and eagerness encourage our praise and obedience today?

Today's passage: 1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Helpful thoughts:

• It makes no logical sense to join the church or call yourself a Christian if Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead.
  • Jesus Christ rose from the dead!
  • If you belong to Christ, so will you!
• All mankind is in Adam.  We have a sin nature and we have sinned.
  • All who are in Christ (All who have repented and are saved by His grace) will be given resurrection bodies when Christ returns.
• Doctrine matters.  We do what we do because we want what we want.  We want what we want because we think what we think.
  • In our baptism, we identify with Christ's death, burial and resurrection.  If our bodies are going to stay dead, why identify with resurrection?  (This passage does not condone baptisms on behalf of those who have already died.)
  • If there is no resurrection, Jesus is a false teacher and false prophet.  If Jesus isn't who He said He is, then why follow Him?  “Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

Questions to consider:

1. What does the resurrection of Christ guarantee for us?  What does it prove to be true?  What hope does it give?
2. What will Jesus do when He returns (Verses 23-28)?  What enemies will be defeated?  Who wins in the end?  What will be left for us to experience and enjoy forever?
3. What must we truly believe if we are to endure persecution (Verse 32)?  How can we see the strength and depth of our faith?  How will our lives differ from others in the world?

Today's passage: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Helpful thoughts:

• From the ESV Study Bible: “Many people in the ancient Greco-Roman world believed that death extinguished life completely or led to permanent but shadowy and insubstantial existence in the underworld.  The concept of a physical, embodied existence after death was known mainly from popular fables and was thought laughable by the educated.”
  • Therefore, Paul encourages the church at Corinth (And us!) about the truth of the resurrection.
• The Old Testament Scriptures told of the coming death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah!
  • Christ did what the Bible said He was going to do.
  • See Isaiah 53:3-12.
• There were hundreds of eye-witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
  • What we believe is not a fable.  It is historical fact.
• The word, “Apostle” means one who is sent out.  Here is a helpful article on the meaning of the term and office in the early church, along with an explanation as to why no one today should be referred to as an apostle.

Questions to consider:

1. The gospel was declared in today's passage!  Where was it?  How would you communicate the core truths of the gospel to a person to lead them to Christ? (Two helpful websites: Two Ways to Live & What Is the Gospel?)
2. Did Paul sound like he was worried people would discover the resurrection never happened?  How did he evidence his confidence?  What did he invite the church at Corinth to do in order to enhance their faith?  Is our faith a fairytale?
3. Did Paul have to earn his role as an Apostle?  How did he come by the title and responsibility (Check the end of Verse 10)?  What did God's grace compel him to do?  How did you come by your standing in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9)?  What does God's grace compel us to do?

Today's passage: 1 Corinthians 14:26-40

Helpful thoughts:

• If churches followed the guidelines given in this chapter for speaking in tongues, no one would be speaking in tongues in their services.
• Prior to the completion of Scripture, if someone in the church were to share a prophecy or a revelation, what they said was to be weighed right there against what Scripture the church already had.  There were limits to how many could speak up and who could speak.
  • Accountability to the truth of God's Word is a great thing.
• What Paul shares in verses 34-35, he teaches again in 1 Timothy 2:12.  Women are able to teach and there are times they should do so (Titus 2:3-5).  The time for women to teach and preach is not before the gathered/assembled church.
• The end of verse 39 must be understood in context.
  • Paul has just given criteria that would stop the church from “speaking in tongues” in their incorrect way.
    • Therefore, it would be right for a church today to tell someone to stop.
  • The heart of verse 39, our application, is to focus our attention on what we should be doing.  Let's busy ourselves with getting God's Word into the ears and hearts of people.

Questions to consider:

1. If God is not a God of confusion, why do people get confused about these issues?  What is it in mankind that makes God's ways confusing or troubling to us?
2. What is the answer to the confusion?  When we don't know the answers, to where should we turn?  What holds authority over the way we live and “do church?”  (Hint: It's a special book!)
3. What must be true of the heart of the believer in order to gain understanding and peace over and against the confusion?  What must a Christian be willing to do in order to learn what 1 Corinthians 14 teaches?  What must a Christian be willing to do in order to change if they currently practice something different than what the Word of God teaches?

Today's passage: 1 Corinthians 14:1-25

Helpful thoughts:

• Gifts are good…love is first and best.  Desire the gifts that will help you to love other people the most.  Show your thankfulness by exercising your gifting (Whatever it may be) in love.
• The gift of prophecy is referred to as the “forth-telling” of God's Word.  When a Christian communicates God's Word to people so they can understand what it means and how it matters to them, they are exercising this gift.
  • This can happen from the pulpit in preaching, in the Sunday School classroom, and it can happen one-on-one over a cup of coffee.
  • We are not being encouraged by this passage to hope for a new special word/revelation direct from God to share with others.  With the completed Scriptures, we have everything we need (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:3).
• In the New Testament, there was a right way to speak in tongues (Acts 2:1-8) and a wrong way (Akin to pagan practices).
  • When tongues were spoken by the will of God in the early church, there was no stopping it,  and it was beneficial to all those who saw and heard.
  • The kinds of “tongues” which were being “spoken” by the church at Corinth (And the “tongues” that are being “spoken” by those in the Charismatic Movement today), if they actually followed the ground rules laid down by the Apostle Paul in this chapter, would cease altogether.

Questions to consider:

1. Some in the Charismatic Movement have taught that a person can not know they are saved unless they first “speak in tongues.”  How could you utilize this passage to prove that is false doctrine?  How does this kind of false teaching encourage you to keep reading the Bible for yourself?
2. What can verses 24-25 reminds us of concerning our church services?  We are certainly to pray, sing and preach the Word for the discipleship of the body, the church.  But, when visitors/unbelievers come, should we be put off and exclusive or should we be excited and welcoming?  To whom does “our” building, “our” seats, “our” service belong?  How wonderful is a Sunday morning when the body is nourished by the Word AND souls are saved?
3. How does all this thinking show signs of maturity in the believer (Verse 20)?  How does a mature Christian view the gifts?  How does a mature Christian view people and visitors?  How does a mature Christian value their role and service in the church?

Today's passage: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Helpful thoughts:

• The “Love chapter” of 1 Corinthians 13 is written for the context of a church which was envying spiritual gifts for their own selfish pleasure.
  • It didn't matter how amazing the gifting was (No matter how “cool” or “spiritual” we might look), if we don't utilize what the Lord has gifted us to do with love, it's pointless.
  • Our gifts are given to us for the benefit of others.
• To get the full effect of what verses 4-7 are teaching, insert the opposite terms and consider how the church (And other relationships) would change for the better or worse with love and with selfishness.
  • e.g. Selfishness is hasty and rude; selfishness envies and boasts, etc.
• Spiritual gifts are needed for a time (And some of them only lasted for a short time), but all of them are only exercised rightly when they are motivated by what will outlast them all, love.

Questions to consider:

1. How did God commend (Or show) His love toward us (Romans 5:8, John 15:13)?  How do we find the example and the motivation to give of ourselves sacrificially to others (1 John 4:19)?
2. What are some specific benefits of a church that loves one another?  How have you loved others?  How have others loved you?  Why can we thank the Lord for the church?
3. What point do you think Paul was making with the illustration of thinking like a child, then becoming a man and giving up childish ways?  What has that progressive sanctification looked like in your life?  What spiritual maturity (In fullness) are you looking forward to when you see Jesus face to face?

Today's passage: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Helpful thoughts:

• Bodies have members and members make up the body.  Every member is needed.
• When a member of the body is hurting or not functioning, the rest of the body is impacted in appropriate ways.  When a member of the body is fit and active, the rest of the body is impacted in appropriate ways.
• Members of the church at Corinth wanted the same gifts (Or the same gift) because of what they thought it would do for them personally.
  • When enough individuals want everything to work for their own benefit, it ends up killing the body…and eventually there will be nothing left to benefit the individual.
  • Every member of the body needs to do their part, then everyone benefits.

Questions to consider:

1. What was the “benefit” those in the Corinthian church were looking for?  How would a healthy serving Christian redefine what the “benefits” of church membership and service are?
2. How have you been blessed by the ministry of others in various aspects in the church?  How have you been a blessing to others?  What does this passage look like (How is it exemplified) in our church?
3. There are passages like this in scripture which speak to service in the church, and others that appear to speak about ways we can be salt and light by serving in the community.  How do you balance serving in the church (Serving fellow church members) and living out your faith in the community AS the church?