Category Archives: I Corinthians

Prayer: May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our nearest Kinsman, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Text: Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always … Continue reading →

Richard Hays offers a few of the implications of proclaiming a resurrection gospel: …if we deny the resurrection, we will find ourselves turning inward and focusing on our own religious experience as the matter of central interest. That is what … Continue reading →

Note: At the request of a parishioner, I will now post my sermon manuscripts on Saturday nights. People of God, good music tells good stories. Bad music tells bad stories. The Bible is good music, therefore it tells good stories. … Continue reading →

This phrase ( I Cor. 15:50) occurs in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, and it has led to a wide level of speculation. But the more common reading is to be preferred. By “flesh and blood” Paul is simply referring … Continue reading →

There is a possible misunderstanding of Paul’s use of the word ἀτιμίᾳ in I Corinthians 15:43. Paul is in the process of making four distinctions. In the second distinction he refers to our present bodies as “dishonor.” Some translations may use … Continue reading →

Paul argues through several analogies from nature in verses 35-41. The purpose of going so far to make the point of the resurrection is, according to Hays, “to make the resurrection of the dead seem appealing rather than appalling to … Continue reading →

Richard Hays summarizes Paul’s powerful critique of some of the Corinthians in chapter 15. According to Hays: Paul insists that the concept of “resurrection of the dead” should not be naively understood to refer to the resuscitation of corpses; rather, … Continue reading →

Sermon Excerpt What are we then to make of this passage? I would like to make three observations, which are not exhaustive, but it will bring us closer to understanding Paul’s words in this letter. First, Paul is making a … Continue reading →

Paul says that it is “shameful for women to speak in church” (14:35). Of course, this is a perfect excuse for some evangelicals and liberals to feel ashamed of Paul for making such a shameful comment.

In Isaiah 28 God says that He will bring foreign tongues to speak in Israel “as a judgment to wake up his people and turn them from their sins.”The context of Isaiah’s prophecy is about the coming invasion of Israel … Continue reading →

The Corinthians do not understand that the world before them is changing. Something radical and cosmic is beginning to take place in their midst. And because of this misunderstanding, they are not living as they ought. Paul’s instruction is a … Continue reading →

I Corinthians 14 ties some significant themes together. It ties musical instruments with battle; Singing with the mind; Amens with Thanksgiving, etc.; all under Paul’s central theme of intelligibility. Hence, music is intelligible, corporate, joyful, and a call to battle. … Continue reading →

Paul’s central in concern in I Corinthians 14 is for intelligibility in the body. Un-interpreted tongues serve no purpose to the body at large. Charles Hodge sees the phrase “my mind is unfruitful” in 14:14 to mean that since his … Continue reading →

A sermon preached at Providence Church on February, 21st, 2010.

Paul uses a different word for “spiritual things” in verse one than he does for “gifts” in verse four. Hence, he is not referring to the charismatic gifts in verse one, but rather to those things “pertaining to the Spirit.”