Read Reflect The church at Corinth, as we’ll see over the next several chapters, was in many ways – depressingly so! – much like an all too common congregation of our time: spiritually immature, self-absorbed, prone to factions based on dogma and personality and so resistant to biblical authority, making a big deal about doctrinal […]
Read More immature, dysfunctional, temple of God, fellow-workersRead Reflect Christian culture seems fixated on leadership. Books, journals, training programs and conferences abound for leaders, but you’ll look long and hard for resources for people who just want to follow and serve. I even wonder about the term “servant leader”. Why don’t we say “leader servant”? Could it be that we, like the […]
Read More love, leaders, self-promotionRead Reflect In Western society, almost the only remaining moral law is “Don’t judge!” Usually what we mean is “Don’t you dare challenge my behavior!” Jesus taught us not to judge, lest we be judged ourselves, but he also taught us to humbly help each other see clearly – having first removed the dirt from […]
Read More arrogance, love, boundaries, immoralityRead Reflect There’s a world of difference between what our society thinks of as justice, and that which characterizes the kingdom of God. The former is essentially state-sanctioned vengeance, bent on the punishment of anyone who breaches our individual rights or contravenes society’s rules. It’s reactive and reactionary, upholding the status quo. The latter proactively […]
Read More kingdom, rights, justiceRead Reflect Your body is incredibly important to God – he made it, after all; Jesus redeemed it and the Holy Spirit lives within it. Consider the two powerful images presented here, and ask yourself how your treatment and use of your own body might change if the truth of them really got a hold […]
Read More holiness, Temple, integrity, sanctuary, bodyRead Reflect The Greco-Roman world, like ours, was full of sexual adventurism and the confusion and destruction to which it leads. Already within the Corinthian church we’ve seen a kind of triumphant incest, and participation in religious prostitution; no wonder some were wondering if it was better just to do away with sex altogether. But […]
Read More marriage, sex, intimacyRead Reflect The idea that brackets this passage – that one should remain in the situation or place in life to which God has called him or her – has been used often and shamefully to justify actual slavery in former times, and effective racial, economic or social slavery to this very day. Powerful people […]
Read More slaves, freedom, loveRead Reflect As far as I’m aware, there’s no other passage in Scripture that begins with the disclaimer that what follows is only the author’s opinion, and is not a word from the Lord. Paul underscores that by also making it clear that what he has to say is specific to “the present crisis” – […]
Read More dévotion, commitment, marriageRead Reflect Very conservative Christians are notorious for their harsh judgment of those whose spiritual or moral (or, alas, political) convictions differ from their own. Perhaps their only rivals for prideful exclusivity are those very liberal Christians whose tolerance extends to everyone – except those whose convictions are rigorous and clearly defined. Paul points out […]
Read More judgment, freedom, rules, convictions, being rightRead Reflect Before writing this letter, Paul had spent at least a year and a half among the Corinthians, founding the church there. For part of that time, he paid his way by making tents – hard, tedious work for a man who had once been a prominent lawyer. He likely endured threats; he was […]
Read More reward, value