Category: Gospel

Paul ends his letter with typical final greetings. Six exhortations are given: Aim for perfection Listen to my appeal Be of one mind Live in peace And the love of God will be with you. And the peace of God will be with you.

The apostle Paul had instructed the Corinthian congregation to examine themselves. (5) He hoped that they would accept the truth, confess the truth of their sins, fully submit to God’s authority, and change their ways by living in the truth of Christ. (7) This is walking in God’s truth. (1 John 1:6, 2:4, 3:18-20; 2 […]

Paul wrote, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless, of course, you fail the test?” How can I examine and test myself? Self-examination can be a foreign idea to many even though Jesus taught that prayer and meditation are important. […]

The apostle Paul reveals that when he arrives in Corinth, if he finds misconduct, as he fears (13:20), they will all partake in church discipline actions and perhaps some meetings too. Church discipline usually includes a trial (of sorts), judgment, and, if someone is found at fault, correction, rebuke, and even punishment. (1 Corinthians 5:3-5, […]

Paul has called the Corinthian congregation his brothers, friends, and children. Paul’s love for them is evident because he did not give up on them. Though they wronged him, did not defend him when he was away, and said they would change their evil ways and then, when he was away, reverted to their sinful […]

“Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them.” (Proverbs 22:22-23) This proverb perhaps sums up Paul’s attitude toward the mission Christ gave him, bringing the gospel to the Gentiles. Not that […]

Many decades ago, before I came to faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, I thought, “If only God would show me miracles. Then I would believe. Yes, a clear miracle. Why doesn’t he do miracles? Then people would believe.” I was ignorant of the power of the sinful nature. Even if God does a […]

You are not up to the job. You do not have what it takes. You are not pulling your weight. You are the lesser child. While your resume looks impressive, we have moved on to another candidate. Others exist who are smarter, stronger, better skilled, more experienced, have better degrees and credentials, have a better […]

Paul reveals weakness, “thorn in the flesh” and “messenger of Satan,” as insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties. He delights in them for when he pleaded for the “thorn in his flesh” to be taken away, the Lord replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God was saying, […]

God protected Paul from the pit of conceit (7). Conceit is a word not in much use these days, probably because conceit, vanity, and pride are considered, at best, normal and, at worst, good mindsets. However, conceit ignores some blatant truths about the human condition, that is, my state of being. When self-truths are not […]

Apostle Paul is going out of his way again and again not to go beyond a line where he would actually be boasting. He approaches the line from many directions. Yet, he does not go beyond it. I tire of counting the number of attempts Paul takes in making his point without crossing that line. […]

Paul continues his peculiar boasting. Most boast of strength, beauty, intelligence, skill, and wealth. Paul’s boasting is peculiar because he only mentions weakness. (30) Why? His weakness glorifies the superabundant strength of the God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever and ever. (31) Paul mentions one example from his […]

Understand the enemy. God appointed Satan a seat of authority. He left. He is the chief of the devils, and in that he has been granted some temporary authority, but not the same authority as before. (2:11, 4:4; Genesis 3:1-6; 1 Chronicles 21:1; 2 Samuel 24:1; Job 1:6-16, 2:1-7; Zechariah 3:1-2; Matthew 4:1-11, 12:24; John […]

Credentials of a True Ministry. Paul, in response to claims from false apostles in Corinth, will present a positive testimony of his credentials in this section. In the first half of the chapter, he exposed the false apostles in Corinth, for they were preaching “another gospel” and discredited his apostleship. Paul presents a positive testimony […]

A cult is a religion or religious sect of Christianity generally considered to be extremist and false, with its followers often living unconventionally under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader. Apostle Paul refers to the leaders as apostles and workmen, but calls them false, deceitful, and masqueraders. They are the same as Satan, the […]

How did Paul identify the “super-apostles” and their gospel as false? How can I identify a false Jesus, a false Spirit, and a false gospel? The Corinthian congregation did not have a New Testament as I do. Most had not been written down in a codex (the precursor to the bound book). They did have […]

Apostle Paul had finished the previous chapter by boasting about his ministry of reconciliation, which led to their faith in Christ and the formation of the Corinthian congregation (10:12-18). He acknowledged that the Lord Jesus made everything possible and did all the real work (10:17-18). Paul knew that boasting was foolishness, but his reason to […]

There is a time for everything, including boasting. A day will come when we will be able to boast about our work obeying the gospel. The time of the gospel is when efforts are made to expand the work of the gospel. Paul would boast, but only within the field God had assigned to him […]

A way to self-improve is to use comparative analysis. Comparative analysis is taking two or more things and comparing how they are alike and different. Some people use comparative analysis for self-improvement, and unfortunately, others use it for self-condemnation. A wise competitive runner and swimmer compare their times from one trial to the next to […]

How many have been accused of making pretenses or false advertising and proven true? How many claim to be one thing and are not, motivated by ill profit? People at one time said, “What you see is what you get.” Often what is presented is not what is promised and expected. So, we go about […]

In times such as ours, when authority is misused in government, business, education, and even the church, I need to set an example of what God says about authority. Paul stated clearly that the Lord came to him in a vision while he was on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus. Jesus told him […]

Who is on the side of the truth of Christ and who is not can be determined by the weapons they utilize. Words are the weapons of both sides. Jesus told Pilate that the reason he was born, the reason he came into the world, was to testify to the truth. (John 18:37) Jesus’ double-edged […]

Is Apostle Paul making a threat, a warning, or presenting a proposal to the Corinthian congregation in these two verses? Since he is begging them (2), Paul is not threatening them. So, is this a warning or proposal? Since Paul confesses that his words are in the meekness and gentleness of Christ, this is not […]

Paul expends most of the chapter explaining and defending his ministry of reconciliation. Others, especially from within the church, were trying to undermine him and his ministry. Verses 3 through 6 stand out. Here Paul defines his work allegorically. He sees his ministry as a spiritual war. Jesus told his disciples, “Go into all the […]

Paul compares charitable giving to a farmer sowing seeds. He borrowed and expounded upon Jesus’ “Parable of the Sower”. (Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 14:1-14; Luke 8:1-15) In that parable, a farmer scattered seed on four different types of soil. Only one produced a crop. The point of the parable is to be the good soil that […]

Steady steps walk a mile. One mile turns into two, so soon, tens of thousands of footsteps, reach the goal. The Corinthian congregation, as soon as they received news that fellow congregations in Judea were experiencing a drought and persecution, responded by preparing a donation. Sometime later, evil people entered their congregation, posing as important […]

Understanding what transpired before Paul wrote this letter clarifies an important concept Jesus taught his disciples in Matthew 21:28-32. Paul had learned of the drought and persecutions the congregations in Judea and Jerusalem had experienced a year before this letter. The Lord inspired Paul to collect a charitable gift from the Gentile congregations. So he […]

The Bible distinguishes between charity and tithing. Tithing is giving ten percent back to what God has graciously given. Tithing can require faith at times. Yet still, tithing is a command, and not without God’s promise. (Leviticus 27:30-33; Malachi 3:8-12) Tithing predates the Old Covenant law, as Cain and Abel presented offerings to the Lord […]

Apostle Paul concluded his previous thoughts by saying in 7:12-16 that he had bragged to Titus before he delivered the first letter to Corinth about the congregation at Corinth. Paul said they were devoted to him and would follow his direction, as hard as it was. Paul told Titus they would, and their positive response […]

Paul is continuing the instruction of giving to the poor, suffering believers in Judea that he started in chapter 8. The principle that when I give to the poor, God supplies me back and increases my money and makes me more profitable is introduced (12). This is true. Yet, not all the time is it […]

The eastern shore of the Mediterranean was experiencing a drought. The Judean churches were experiencing hardships not only because of the drought but also because they were ousted from the synagogues, forbidden from taking some jobs (i.e., priests), and became social outcasts. Paul was coordinating a free-will gift from the Gentile churches to help their […]

Ancient Christian Steps -based on John Cassian’s (360-435 A.D.) “The Rule of the Master” (5th century A.D.), the source of St. Benedict’s (480-530 A.D.) “12 Steps of Humility”, chapter 7 of the book “The Rule” (6th century A.D.). John Cassian’s concepts are drawn from the ascetic traditions of the “Egyptian Desert Fathers,” monks who date […]

Lately, I have come to passages in this letter that I find hard to apply or make fresh. This is one of them. Paul tends to repeat himself, as he does in 2-4. Added to that, the subject matter started in 2:12-13; Paul has deviated from it until now, when he returns to it in […]

If Apostle Paul was a coward in his youth, the power of God overcame his cowardice as a servant of God. Paul did not show ignoble fear in the face of troubles, hardships, and distress. (4b) God enabled Paul to have great endurance. Three troubles Paul lists that he endured are beatings, imprisonments, and riots. […]

Paul wanted to live an exemplary life so as not to discredit the ministry of reconciliation he was called to. (4, 5:18) If I talk the talk but do not walk the walk, then, as people notice my contradictory walk, they will not listen to my reconciliatory talk. When I repeat Jesus’ message of turning […]

Every human who has ever lived has experienced events they never wanted to happen, whether self-imposed or due to nothing they had done or failed to do. In this world, everyone has troubles. Added to that some suffer from frequent depression. Troubles rebuff even the strongest souls. Jesus’ apostles experienced perhaps some of the worst […]

Apostle Paul continues his logic with a transitional statement, “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men.” “Fear” is the Greek noun “phobos”. The English words “fear” and “terror” are used to translate several Hebrew and Greek words. In the Old Testament, the most common word used […]

I had estranged myself from God. I did this by not believing he loves me and that his ways are best. I harbored lust, envy, greed, and other kinds of godlessness in my heart. I thought about these and occasionally acted on those thoughts. God told me not to do these, for they were harmful. […]

Apostle Paul utilizes clever word crafting by altering the use and meaning of “at home”, “body”, and “away”. While “home” always means where we dwell, in one sentence, the place of occupation is the physical body, and in another, the place of occupation is in paradise with the Lord. The meaning all depends on which […]

God created humans with 3 parts: a physical body, a soul, and a spirit. The soul is my emotions, thoughts, and will. My spirit was dead until Jesus gave it new life when I first believed in him many years ago. (John 3:3) My physical body is like a tent. It temporarily contains my soul and […]