In this portion of his letter, Paul speaks to a broader issue than simply marriage and singleness. His main point through chapter 7 deals with contentment. Regardless of our status or situation, God calls us to remain faithful to him wherever he’s put us.

Paul turns the corner from how we use our bodies for God’s glory to questions regarding marriage and singleness. He’ll spend considerable time in chapter 7 providing wisdom for marriage.

What is the purpose of our bodies? In continuing to address the issues and sins of the Corinthians, Paul lays out a sort of theology of the body . In our current generation that is terribly confused and distraught about matters related to our physical bodies, we need to hear the thoughts of our Creator on the subject.

Paul moves onto another issue in the Corinthian church: members taking one another to court over minor grievances. How should they, and how should we, deal with conflict in the church?

No matter how you celebrate Easter, whether it’s in a church or out collecting eggs, the truth remains: Jesus is risen! But not everyone believes it’s a true story. In fact, in the aftermath of the resurrection, even one of Jesus’ closest friends & followers had serious doubts. So how should we respond to the claim that Jesus died and rose again?

Paul continues to address the sin issue reported in the church, and how the church is to handle such a matter.

MATTHEW 28:1-8 ESV 1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled an...

PSALM 46 ESV 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst...

MATTHEW 27:45-54 ESV 45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it...

John 13:31-35 ESV 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 34 A new commandment I...

Luke 21: 37-38, Luke 22:1-2 ESV 37 And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. 38 And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him. 1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the...

Matthew 24:36-44 ESV 36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood ca...

Mark 11:15-18 ESV 15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be c...

John 12:12-15 ESV 12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your ki...

The first report Paul heard and addressed with the Corinthians was about disunity in the church. Now he turns his attention to another issue, which is the sexual immorality of a member. How is a church called to handle unrepentant sin among its people? The purity and power of the church rests on the answer to this question.

Paul concludes his plea for unity in the first four chapters with one big statement and one big question. Discipleship is at the center of this passage, where we see the father heart of Paul for his children in the Lord.

Behind all the division and factions in the Corinthian church was one sinister enemy: pride. Pride in church members is the enemy of unity in the church body. So Paul seeks to wake them and shake them from their pride by pointing to the grace of God and by employing a serious does of sanctified sarcasm.

Paul again addresses the factions in the church by addressing the apostles and their ministry. Rather than holding them up and against one another, he speaks to how they should regard them.

Paul returns to some earlier themes of his letter, calling them away from self-deception and boasting in human leaders. He drops a powerful truth that should help them in this: All things are yours.

In this third chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he is addressing their spiritual maturity. He’s calling them to grow up! Then he speaks to how God builds his church. What he says is important for both church leaders and those who are part of the church, God’s people.

As Paul continues to exhort the believers in Corinth towards unity and health, he addresses their spiritual maturity. The goal of the Christian life is not to just receive new birth, but to grow into full maturity. If they (and we) would grow in spiritual maturity, they (and we) would grow in unity.

Paul’s desire was that the Corinthians faith would rest not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. However, he did impart to them a different kind of wisdom. This was a much different kind of wisdom that came from a much different source.

As we move into chapter two, Paul recounts how he came and what he proclaimed to the Corinthians. Paul had been an example from the beginning of what he is exhorting them to now: to center their lives around the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Paul continues to focus on unity in the gospel. He now points to the existence of the Corinth church and how God’s calling and choosing of its people further reveals “the foolishness of God.” He doesn’t chase down superstars; he most often chooses and uses the weak and lowly. In all of this, God receives the most glory.

Paul continues to address division in the church by focusing on two different types of response to the cross of Christ. Some see it as foolish and weak, while others find in it the power & wisdom of God. How ones responds to this message makes all the difference in the world.