A Coptic Orthodox Journey through the Bible

In the previous chapter St. Paul discussed the purpose of the law and what it was not for, which in part includes the concept that the law does not provide salvation. In this chapter St. Paul continues and concludes his defense that faith in Christ saves us while following the law does not.  In verses 1-7, St. Paul explains that when Christ came, He redeemed those under the Law and made it possibl...

In this chapter St. Paul emphasizes something that should be familiar to us by now, which is that we are saved by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law. St. Paul also calls out the Galatians for going backwards - they came straight to believing and being baptized for Christ but now they are thinking about backing up from Christ and relying on the works of the Law. This makes no sense to...

This chapter discusses what is believed to be St. Paul’s third visit to Jerusalem after meeting Jesus on the Road to Damascus. This is recorded in Acts 15 (the Jerusalem Council). As we will see this chapter discusses his visit about 14 years after his last visit. Barnabas and Titus go with St. Paul. He meets with some of the apostles, the pillars of the Church. The first part of the Chapter discu...

A deep dive into the background of this epistle, including the date, the recipient, and theme of this epistle. This includes a deep dive into why St. Paul argues that Gentile Christians did not have to follow the Law of Moses (become Jewish) in order to be Christian and follow Jesus. This episode includes a review of the first chapter of this epistle.

After showing the Corinthians every love and compassion, confirming that he will spend everything he has, and will give even himself for their sake. He makes his final promise regarding his 3rd visit to Corinth. He encourages them to examine themselves and prays for them that they do not do any evil but do only what is honorable. He also proclaims his apostolic authority, which he will not use exc...

In previous chapters, St. Paul defended himself against those who criticized him. He did it, not for himself but because he wanted the people of Corinth to not lose faith in him and start following the false teachers. These false teachers would take them away from Christ. St. Paul comes to the climax of his self-defense. Having related all his trials, adventures, and persecutions, he is about to s...

In the previous chapter, St. Paul refused to compare Himself with others, especially with the false apostles; counting his call as divine, and his measures as not according to the human mind. Now, however, he decides to respond to all the criticism he has been receiving from the false apostles in Corinth. From what is known, it is believed that these false apostles were Judaizers. As a reminder, J...

In this and the next couple of chapters, St. Paul is preparing them for his next visit. That is why in this chapter we see him responding to several charges and suspicions which they have raised against him, and warns that he will exercise strict discipline if it is necessary when he arrives. We know that there were many detractors who came to Corinth and were casting doubt on his Apostleship. Thi...

Chapter 8 is about the principles of giving. To ensure that he was not misunderstood in the last chapter of accusing the church in Corinth of being mean in giving, St. Paul presents an apology for his zeal in exhorting them to practice that grace (1-5). Then he goes on to give some instructions concerning the well-received gift, and how to practice it. While St. Paul writes about the collection fo...

In the previous chapter, St. Paul continued a discussion about how we perfect our holiness, his joy at the Corinthians repenting, returning to God and the Church. He discussed Godly vs worldly sorrow and he shares his joy regarding their interactions with Titus. St. Paul begins a new topic in this chapter. He discusses collecting donations for the Jerusalem church. We previously discussed how coll...

Remember, St. Paul’s whole goal with this epistle is to get peace back and reconcile the people with him. In the last chapter he was speaking to the people who felt alienated. Telling them to come back to Church and that if they do not come back to church, they will end up joining a different community, away from God. He reminded them that they are different people now. They have been baptized and...

In this chapter St. Paul speaks about his spiritual ministry, the sacrifice he is making for the Gospel, and about his authenticity as an apostle, because he wants the Corinthians to believe in his message - he is an authentic apostle and this message he delivers comes directly from Christ. This is important because there are a number of false prophets who are jealous of St. Paul and speak out aga...

St. Paul has been defending his apostleship and explaining the nature of his service. In chapter 4 he explained that in spite of the suffering, in spite of the false accusations, in spite of hardships he faces he will not lose heart/hope. In this chapter he gives some reasons why he will continue to be hopeful. He says that even if they killed him (tent) he will be raised with the glorious body (a...

Having talked about the mutual relationships of love between the shepherd and his flock (Chapter 2), and having revealed the glory of the ministry of the New Covenant, entrusted to him (Chapter 3). Here St. Paul continues to discuss his ministry, and the importance of faithfulness in ministry amid labors and afflictions. And warns the Corinthians about getting distracted by the devil to focus on t...

In this chapter, St. Paul reveals that the ministry of the New Covenant is a ministry of the Spirit that grants life; and not a ministry of the deadly letter, which is the Old Covenant, the law of Moses. St. Paul presents a comparison between the gospel of the New Testament and the literalness of the law, without denigrating the law in itself. He also shared that there is glory in the Old Covenant...

In this chapter, St. Paul presents to us the concept and nature of ministry of seeking repentance of sinners and not their grief. He expands on the end of the last chapter on the idea that he delayed his visit because he did not want to bring them more grief. He begins by letting them know how much he loves them . We revisit the man who St. Paul commanded them to excommunicate in 1 Corinthians 5 (...

This episode offers a general introduction to St. Paul's Second Epistle to the Corinthians and a review of chapter 1. This chapter reveals the heart of the shepherd who seeks, not what is his, but what is for the sake of the church of God. In the midst of his anguish th at he despaired even of life (8), he was only preoccupied with the mutual and practical love between him and his flock.  He b...

Having dealt with the behavioral, dogmatic, and social problems in the church of Corinth, St. Paul ends his epistle, proclaiming his love for them. Specifically, this chapter completes an epistle that dealt with a diversity of issues with feelings of true practical love in the Lord, He exhorts them to give to those persecuted in Jerusalem, who became poor for the sake of Christ (1-4); proclaims hi...

In the last episode we reviewed verses 1-34 where St. Paul discussed a heresy among the Corinthians. Some in the Corinthian Church were saying that while they believed that Christ had risen from the dead, they did not believe in the final resurrection of the dead for people. While St. Paul is concerned that they understand this theologically, he is also concerned how their mistaken idea negatively...

This is the first part of chapter 15. In this episode we review verses 1-34. Having dealt with problems of divisions and immorality in the community and having answered the questions asked of him, St. Paul turns to a heresy among the Corinthians. Some were saying that there was no final resurrection of the dead. They were not denying that Christ had been raised—only that we would also be raised. H...

Chapter 14 begins just after the 12:20 mark in the podcast In looking at this podcast, we remember that in chapter 12, St. Paul discussed spiritual gifts and how all spiritual gifts are offered by the Holy Spirit for the benefit of the Church. We should not be jealous of other’s gifts and we should not take pride in any gifts we may have. Here in Chapter 13, he pauses to discuss love. He seems to...

Beginning with this chapter, St. Paul deals with spiritual gifts that members of the church in Corinth have received, though many have misunderstood and abused the gift they received. He highlights that spiritual gifts are offered by the Holy Spirit for the sake of the one Church. They have to be diversified, so that the members support each other in their various needs. None of them should boast...

Starting with this chapter, St. Paul changes subjects. He has been dealing with social issues, including divisions in the church, sexual immorality, and eating food that had been dedicated to idols. Now he shifts to questions regarding worship. In this chapter, the apostle deals with certain spiritual church regulations. He specifically discusses 1) head covering for women during prayer: and 2) be...

Chapter 10 is the last chapter of a 3-chapter arc discussing food dedicated to idols. Building on the previous chapters, St. Paul answers three questions concerning the same issue: How does a believer respond when invited to banquets in a pagan temple? (vv1-22) May a believer eat meat sold in the market that was probably came from a sacrifice made to idols? (vv23-26) May a believer accept an invit...

Chapters 8-10 are a discussion about eating food dedicated to idols and living out Christian love by putting the needs of others before our own. In chapter 8, he begins the discussion of food dedicated to idols. In lessons that apply to us today, St. Paul develops the argument that our behavior should be determined by our love for others, and not just our knowledge. This means that we will need to...