1 CORINTHIANS Exposition
The Assessment that Matters (1 Corinthians 4:1–5)
In this epistle, Paul is burdened to help the Corinthian church to live differently than the Corinthian culture. The gospel of Christ produces this difference, including...
Danger: Construction Site (1 Corinthians 3:16–23)
It is a fearful thing to enter the dwelling place of God. Ask Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10). Ask Uzzah (2 Samuel 6). Ask Isaiah (Isaiah 6). Ask Ananias and Sapphira (5)....
Caution: Men at Work (1 Corinthians 3:5–15)
Previously, we learned from the opening verses of this chapter that the church members at Corinth was largely immature, behaving as if they did not have the Spirit of God...
Merely Human? (1 Corinthians 3:1–4)
From verse 1 of chapter 3 through the end of chapter 4, the apostle Paul applies what he has been saying about the cross of Christ to Christian ministers. Until point,...
The Mindset of the Cross (1 Corinthians 2:6–16)
Recently, loadshedding kicked in at the office and our secretary dutifully turned the key on the generator, which began to purr like a kitten, a noise that, in some ways,...
The Maturity of the Cross (1 Corinthians 2:6–13)
One of the most cutting barbs uttered among my siblings and I was, “You are so immature!” In the heat of the moment, this was said to cut one down to size, pointing out...
The Messenger of the Cross (1 Corinthians 2:1–5)
Paul, and no doubt Apollos and Peter, were horrified that church members were seeking their identity from them as they wrong-headedly aligned themselves along these...
The Message of the Cross (1 Corinthians 1:18–31)
Having been well-taught by my father, I used to paint houses to make a living. My dad taught me that the key to a long-lasting paint job was preparation. One could...
Schism: Its Source and Its Solution (1 Corinthians 1:4–17)
Symptoms are indications that something is wrong; they are not the cause of the problem. Something causes the rash, and though the rash is uncomfortable, it is not the...
The Christian Church (1 Corinthians 1:1–2:5)
The apostle Paul was a Christian, committed to planting Christian churches. When the churches he planted moved away from being Christian, he worked to bring them back to...
Living Between Easters (1 Corinthians 15:30–34)
Commenting on the promise of resurrection, the twentieth-century German theologian, Erich Sauer wrote, “The present age is Easter time. It begins with the resurrection of...
Thank God for Easter (1 Corinthians 15:12–19)
Erik Weisz was born in Budapest on 24 March 1874. Destined to become a world-renowned escape artist, illusionist, and stunt performer, he studied under the famed...
Communion in the Church (1 Corinthians 11:17–34)
The Lord’s Supper pictures and presents the gospel to us: to our sight, our touch, our taste. In the Lord’s Supper we commune with Christ and therefore with his people....
Worship in the Church (1 Corinthians 14:20–25)
One of the primary assignments of the church is to gather for worship. But what does worship look like? Is worship a free for all? Does God prescribe what worship in the...
Gathered for Good (1 Corinthians 11:17–34)
The Scriptures define a church as a gathered congregation: one body, gathered in Christ, gathered to Christ, gathered to grow in Christ and gathered to serve Christ. As we...
Honourable Care (1 Corinthians 12:25)
What gospel does our life together preach? If the church were a body—and it is—what message do the relationships among us communicate? Is there a disconnect between the...
Wait for One Another (1 Corinthians 11:33)
In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul addresses an assembly of conflicted Christians who gathered for an important ritual (the Lord’s Supper) while at the same time denying its message...
The Greatest Hindrance to Partnering in Church Planting (1 Corinthians 1:4–8)
Pride causes us to divide. It makes us place one preacher, one church, one brand above another. It keeps us from working together, because it makes us feel that we...