After almost two years of studying 1 Corinthians, tonight we looked back over all 16 chapters and thought about the things we have learned from this book.
- People don’t really change very much, so the issues discussed by Paul are as relevant today as they were when he wrote to the Corinthian church. Division, worldliness, sexual immorality, lack of holiness, lack of tolerance, arrogance and empire-building go on today just as much as then. We should neither despair over this or assume that we have progressed from such sins! (see Eccl 1:9) Many of the topics discussed (meat offered as sacrifices to idols, women’s headcoverings etc.) may seem irrelevant to us, but the principles behind the topics – treating people with love and respect – remain very much relevant in our intolerant age.
- Paul may be revered nowadays as a great apostle and author of much of the New Testament, but his own descriptions of how he felt (coming in ‘fear and trembling’) and his emphasis on the cross above worldly wisdom remind us that he was an ordinary man, and encourage us to serve God as he did. God uses ordinary people! (see 1 Cor 1:18-31)
- We have to keep clearing away the irrelevant and non-essential to find the essentials of faith. The chapters on the centrality of the crucifixion and the resurrection to our faith are vital doctrine, but Paul is keen for us to see how everything ties in with this. He is not afraid to answer questions about issues which to us may seem arcane or outmoded, always going to the heart of issues, not being distracted by peripherals. We can easily be distracted by non-essentials, but must, to some extent, have ‘tunnel vision’, keeping the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ central to all we do.
- Love has to be at the root of all we do and all we are. 1 Cor 13 remains the yardstick by which all our service and living are judged.
- God’s love and faithfulness give us hope, even when we get things wrong. (1 Cor 1:8-9, Phil 1:6) The Corinthian church was far from perfect, but Paul (and God!) did not give up on them. We can be sure that the God who sees our hearts and motives will sort out our mistakes and enable good to come from everything. He is looking for humility and service, not arrogance and boastfulness.
- God uses each one of us, valuing diversity and unity. The chapters on the church as a body and a family remind us constantly that we are all valuable, important and different! It’s not always easy to get on with each other, but the letter has much to teach us about mutual love, respect and honour.
- Using spiritual gifts is a vital part of church life, but does not guarantee perfection! We need to see these gifts in operation in our churches, but must also recognise that these are gifts, not things we earn through our ‘spirituality’ or because we ‘deserve’ them.
Someone commented that we can never remember all we learn in a Bible study, and this is true. As we study God’s Word together, however, we are able to see things from different perspectives, have different light shed on issues, get to grapple with things we might not understand (or misunderstand) and learn the benefits of corporate study. God’s Word washes us (see Eph 5:25-26) and helps us to be clean; God’s Holy Spirit is able to bring to our remembrance things we have studied and learned so that God’s Word becomes alive and alight at the times we need it. It’s not enough to study simply for information or knowledge (see 1 Cor 8:1); we have to apply the knowledge we gain and obey the commands God gives us!
