(delayed by accident)
Our reading challenge for the day is 1 Corinthians 1-5. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?
1 Corinthians 1-2 - Paul’s desire is to proclaim the Gospel. It is a proclamation, not a proposition. If it were a proposition we might be free to alter it. Rather, it is a proclamation of truth to be believed. It is foolish to our wisdom but is the power of God to break down divisions between humans and between man and God.
1 Corinthians 3 - Christians do not build themselves up. The work of the Gospel is outside of ourselves. We trust God to build us by Word and Sacrament.
1 Corinthians 4 - Apostles, along with other christian leaders, do not invent anything. We are stewards, caretakers, of God’s words and mysteries.
1 Corinthians 5 - Aside from divisions the Corinthians allow immorality in the church. Why do we tolerate such behaviors which bring shame to our Lord? Should we not rather call people to repentance? Yet it seems we wink at this in today’s world.
Showing posts with label 1 Corinthians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1 Corinthians. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Bible Reading Challenge Week 15 Day 2
Our reading challenge for the day is 1 Corinthians 11-16. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?
1 Corinthians 11 - This is a good opportunity to meditate on the Lord’s provision of his body and blood in communion. See that his body was broken and his blood was shed for us and is effectual when received by faith. We either eat to our nourishment or to our condemnation.
1 Corinthians 12-14 - There’s one Holy Spirit who builds up his people. He does it in an orderly way. Though the saints are different from one another, each is important in God’s kingdom.
1 Corinthians 15 - The resurrection of Jesus is our hope for the future. He has conquered death and will bring us to life as well.
1 Corinthians 16 - Even as we rejoice in considering the resurrection from the dead, our charitable deeds are important. We don’t want to forget either.
1 Corinthians 11 - This is a good opportunity to meditate on the Lord’s provision of his body and blood in communion. See that his body was broken and his blood was shed for us and is effectual when received by faith. We either eat to our nourishment or to our condemnation.
1 Corinthians 12-14 - There’s one Holy Spirit who builds up his people. He does it in an orderly way. Though the saints are different from one another, each is important in God’s kingdom.
1 Corinthians 15 - The resurrection of Jesus is our hope for the future. He has conquered death and will bring us to life as well.
1 Corinthians 16 - Even as we rejoice in considering the resurrection from the dead, our charitable deeds are important. We don’t want to forget either.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Bible Reading Challenge Week 15 Day 1
Our reading challenge for the day is 1 Corinthians 6-10. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?
1 Corinthians 6 - God takes sexual immorality very seriously. How often do we fall prey to our unbelieving society’s norms and allow ourselves to be tempted into denying this issue of purity? What are the implications of telling young people either that they are unable to withstand temptation or telling them that they must withstand temptation and also must wait until they are finished with a college education before they may marry?
1 Corinthians 7 - Marriage and singleness, being a slave or a free person, being a Gentile or a Jew by culture, all is fine. The body of Christ has a place for everyone. But let us be what we are. If married, be married. If single, be single.
1 Corinthians 8 - I wonder what a good parallel to food offered to idols might be in today’s society? We don’t want to do what would make a brother stumble. But what is a serious stumbling block like that in my culture?
1 Corinthians 9 - It is good when God’s people care for their pastors and other Christian workers who have devoted their lives to tending God’s flock. Sometimes it is not necessary but generally it is. Thanks be to God that he raises up faithful saints who will support the work of the Gospel.
1 Corinthians 10 - The language of a “participation” in the Lord’s body and blood in 1 Corinthians 10 is what convinced me of the real bodily presence of Christ in communion. God works throughout Scripture in a strikingly bodily manner. I don’t think we need to try to sanitize it by making it a purely spiritual event. That goes contrary to what we see in the Word of God.
1 Corinthians 6 - God takes sexual immorality very seriously. How often do we fall prey to our unbelieving society’s norms and allow ourselves to be tempted into denying this issue of purity? What are the implications of telling young people either that they are unable to withstand temptation or telling them that they must withstand temptation and also must wait until they are finished with a college education before they may marry?
1 Corinthians 7 - Marriage and singleness, being a slave or a free person, being a Gentile or a Jew by culture, all is fine. The body of Christ has a place for everyone. But let us be what we are. If married, be married. If single, be single.
1 Corinthians 8 - I wonder what a good parallel to food offered to idols might be in today’s society? We don’t want to do what would make a brother stumble. But what is a serious stumbling block like that in my culture?
1 Corinthians 9 - It is good when God’s people care for their pastors and other Christian workers who have devoted their lives to tending God’s flock. Sometimes it is not necessary but generally it is. Thanks be to God that he raises up faithful saints who will support the work of the Gospel.
1 Corinthians 10 - The language of a “participation” in the Lord’s body and blood in 1 Corinthians 10 is what convinced me of the real bodily presence of Christ in communion. God works throughout Scripture in a strikingly bodily manner. I don’t think we need to try to sanitize it by making it a purely spiritual event. That goes contrary to what we see in the Word of God.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
1 and 2 Corinthians
"1 and 2 Corinthians" Carson & Moo pp. 415-455
Both 1 and 2 Corinthians address questions which have been raised and need answers. Unlike Romans, for instance, they seem to arise from very specific questions which have been asked and may be quoted.
After the salutation and thanksgiving in 1 Corinthians, Paul compares the wisdom of the world to the wisdom of God, observing that God's wisdom seems foolish to the world but that the wisdom of the world is inferior in every way to God's wisdom, displayed in Christ crucified for sinners. In chapter 5-6 Paul discusses conflict about sexual and legal matters within the church. He then goes on to discuss topics apparently raised by the Corinthians: marriage in chapter 7, food sacrificed to idols in chapter 8, and the issue of the authority of Paul as an apostle in chapter 10. Chapters 11-14 are devoted to order in corporate worship, chapter 15 to the resurrection, then chapter 16 with miscellaneous details about a collection for relief in Jerusalem and greetings.
After the salutation and thanksgiving in 2 Corinthians Paul discusses his travel plans, emphasizing his continued commitment to come to Corinth. There have been conflicts which have led Paul to avoid visiting the Corinthians in person for a while. Paul continues in chapters 3-6 talking about the nature of ministry and its relationship to the old covenant and the new. In chapters 7-9 Paul talks about the collection for relief of suffering Christians, emphasizing that contributions are to be rooted in the love of Christ, not in the demands of the law. In the final chapters Paul discusses the apparent weakness of the apostles in terms of the worldly wisdom which the Corinthians have adopted.
Pauline authorship is almost universally ascribed to 1 and 2 Corinthians, but some scholars have suggested that 2 Corinthians was originally several different letters. Paul had visited Corinth during his second missionary journey in Acts 18. After he had left Corinth, almost certainly while he was in Ephesus, Paul heard about the troubles at Corinth and responded with 1 Corinthians. It seems he then waited for some time, though not terribly long, before writing his second letter.
Carson and Moo spend a good deal of time discussing the various theories of arrangement of the elements of 2 Corinthians. There are several fairly persuasive theories but all are lacking any manuscript evidence.
The Corinthian letters were considered canonical from an early date, being cited as early as the last decade of the first century.
Both 1 and 2 Corinthians address questions which have been raised and need answers. Unlike Romans, for instance, they seem to arise from very specific questions which have been asked and may be quoted.
After the salutation and thanksgiving in 1 Corinthians, Paul compares the wisdom of the world to the wisdom of God, observing that God's wisdom seems foolish to the world but that the wisdom of the world is inferior in every way to God's wisdom, displayed in Christ crucified for sinners. In chapter 5-6 Paul discusses conflict about sexual and legal matters within the church. He then goes on to discuss topics apparently raised by the Corinthians: marriage in chapter 7, food sacrificed to idols in chapter 8, and the issue of the authority of Paul as an apostle in chapter 10. Chapters 11-14 are devoted to order in corporate worship, chapter 15 to the resurrection, then chapter 16 with miscellaneous details about a collection for relief in Jerusalem and greetings.
After the salutation and thanksgiving in 2 Corinthians Paul discusses his travel plans, emphasizing his continued commitment to come to Corinth. There have been conflicts which have led Paul to avoid visiting the Corinthians in person for a while. Paul continues in chapters 3-6 talking about the nature of ministry and its relationship to the old covenant and the new. In chapters 7-9 Paul talks about the collection for relief of suffering Christians, emphasizing that contributions are to be rooted in the love of Christ, not in the demands of the law. In the final chapters Paul discusses the apparent weakness of the apostles in terms of the worldly wisdom which the Corinthians have adopted.
Pauline authorship is almost universally ascribed to 1 and 2 Corinthians, but some scholars have suggested that 2 Corinthians was originally several different letters. Paul had visited Corinth during his second missionary journey in Acts 18. After he had left Corinth, almost certainly while he was in Ephesus, Paul heard about the troubles at Corinth and responded with 1 Corinthians. It seems he then waited for some time, though not terribly long, before writing his second letter.
Carson and Moo spend a good deal of time discussing the various theories of arrangement of the elements of 2 Corinthians. There are several fairly persuasive theories but all are lacking any manuscript evidence.
The Corinthian letters were considered canonical from an early date, being cited as early as the last decade of the first century.
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