Love

For the past couple of months, we have been making our way through a letter Paul wrote to Jesus followers in Corinth. Today, he concludes.


1 Corinthians 16
1 Now regarding your question about the money being collected for God's people in Jerusalem. You should follow the same procedure I gave to the churches in Galatia. 2 On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don't wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once. 3 When I come, I will write letters of recommendation for the messengers you choose to deliver your gift to Jerusalem. 4 And if it seems appropriate for me to go along, they can travel with me. 5 I am coming to visit you after I have been to Macedonia, for I am planning to travel through Macedonia. 6 Perhaps I will stay awhile with you, possibly all winter, and then you can send me on my way to my next destination. 7 This time I don't want to make just a short visit and then go right on. I want to come and stay awhile, if the Lord will let me. 8 In the meantime, I will be staying here at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost. 9 There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me. 10 When Timothy comes, don't intimidate him. He is doing the Lord's work, just as I am. 11 Don't let anyone treat him with contempt. Send him on his way with your blessing when he returns to me. I expect him to come with the other believers. 12 Now about our brother Apollos - I urged him to visit you with the other believers, but he was not willing to go right now. He will see you later when he has the opportunity. 13 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. 14 And do everything with love. 15 You know that Stephanas and his household were the first of the harvest of believers in Greece, and they are spending their lives in service to God's people. I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, 16 to submit to them and others like them who serve with such devotion. 17 I am very glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have come here. They have been providing the help you weren't here to give me. 18 They have been a wonderful encouragement to me, as they have been to you. You must show your appreciation to all who serve so well. 19 The churches here in the province of Asia send greetings in the Lord, as do Aquila and Priscilla and all the others who gather in their home for church meetings. 20 All the brothers and sisters here send greetings to you. Greet each other with Christian love. 21 Here is my greeting in my own handwriting - Paul. 22 If anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed. Our Lord, come! 23 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.

Love. First Corinthians is a letter that was written to a church ... "a community of passionate Jesus followers" ... that was dealing with division, ignoring some really bad decisions, wrestling with some difficult questions, screwing up their worship services and needing correction on some important theological issues. In concluding his letter, Paul offers a series of challenges ... a challenge to be generous, a challenge to be kind, a challenge to be courageous, a challenge to submit and a challenge to appreciate. In the midst of those challenges, he offers a summary challenge ... "do everything with love". Great advice for Jesus followers and even better advice for a community of Jesus followers worshiping and serving together.

Nothing

We are making our way through a letter Paul wrote to Jesus followers in Corinth. Today, Paul talks about nothing.


1 Corinthians 15
50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. 51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. 54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.


Nothing. There are so many amazing thoughts crammed into this short passage that it is nearly impossible to narrow it down to one verse (51, 53, 55 or 58) let alone one word! It took a while; but I was finally able to narrow it down to verse 58. All the other verses present beautiful thoughts that offer hope for the future; but verse 58 provides encouragement and instruction for right now. Even in verse 58, there are a lot of thoughts that we could/should meditate on ... “be strong” because this journey can be a long, weary road ... “be immovable” because there will be many challenges to your faith ... “always work enthusiastically” because there will be setbacks and seemingly impossible obstacles. In the end, I chose “nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless” because it makes the other three seem more realistic and definitely more worth while.

Body

We are making our way through a letter Paul wrote to Jesus followers in Corinth. Today, Paul addresses a question that has stood the test of time.


1 Corinthians 15
35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” 36 What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. 37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. 38 Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. 39 Similarly there are different kinds of flesh - one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. 41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory. 42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. 45 The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam - that is, Christ - is a life-giving Spirit. 46 What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. 47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. 48 Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. 49 Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.


Body. As you can see, there have been questions about the “afterlife” for centuries. In this case, it is a question about our bodies in the afterlife. Paul provides some insights ... glorified, strong and spiritual as opposed to broken and weak; but he primarily focuses on the who part of the question as opposed to the what or how. I specifically love the phrase “God gives it the new body he wants it to have.” It is an element that we too often leave out of the conversations we have in our mind. We tend to focus on the what and the how ... what am I going to do to solve this problem ... how am I supposed to handle this situation. Instead, we should focus more on the who ... who can help me solve this problem ... who can help me handle this situation ... who can help me answer this question.

Think

We are making our way through a letter Paul wrote to Jesus followers in Corinth. Today, Paul talks about downloading a filter for our life ... sort of.


1 Corinthians 15
23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. 24 After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. 25 For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. 26 And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.) 28 Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere. 29 If the dead will not be raised, what point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again? 30 And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? 31 For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you. 32 And what value was there in fighting wild beasts - those people of Ephesus - if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 33 Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all.


Think. The phrase “think carefully about what is right” really stood out to me. In light of the “new life” we have been given because of Jesus (reread 1 Corinthians 15:22), we ought to “think carefully about what is right” when it comes to everything ... what we say, what we do, what we decide, where we go, who/what we allow to influence us ... everything. Sometimes the biggest obstacle for this type of “filter” is our impatience ... our unwillingness to “think carefully” before we speak or act or decide. Slow down a little today ... try implementing a “think carefully about what is right” filter in your life.

Resurrection

We are making our way through a letter Paul wrote to Jesus followers in Corinth. Today, Paul talks about the impossible.


1 Corinthians 15
12 But tell me this - since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God - for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. 20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. 21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.


Resurrection. There is only one thing in life that is inevitable (other than taxes). It incites fear. It dispenses sorrow. It steals hope. It is unavoidable and impossible to overcome. For us. In raising Jesus from the dead, God overcame the inevitable ... the unavoidable ... the impossible. In raising Jesus from the dead, God removed fear, renewed joy and restored hope. If God was able to do all that, imagine what God can do to help you with the other “impossible” parts of your life.